Next stop Dallas

The best part, friends!! These are girls I knew when I lived in Mannheim Sabine
Irmi and the twins
Carol and Sabine

It was a short but very nice trip. Always great to see the girls.

Back in TEXAS

Stopped at a very Texas Dairy Queen for lunch - only fast food spot for MILES. Texans really know how to decorate - specially stamped chairs...
and Texas flag benches (no big, blonde hair'd Texan eating that day.)
Here's another thing Texas gave us - at one point we were detoured to a different road (either that or cross 5' of water, needless to say we went around)

Cows in New Mexico.....

have got it made!! Check out the landscape and view (notice the babies)A lonely cow in the "field".

"Bottomless Lake"

Very pretty lake with a 90' bottom - lots of underwater caverns fed by an underground spring The whole area is notorious for sinkholes - don't build a house there.....
Floating is so easy to do when you've got a little orange thingy on....
Pretty Baby
Alien on board - she was so brave floating around with us
Christina on a paddle board - and one heck of a sexy foot (nails by Ginger)

Unfortunate accident on the lake - my glasses are currently on the bottom - waiting for a scuba diver to find them. It's a very popular spot for scuba with the bottom as deep and interesting as it is - and my little treasure - waiting.

The Aliens.....

Well, not really - that's not so nice (but they DO live in Roswell so you can understand the mix-up involved here, right? Ashley - my new best friend (a much improved relationship from when we went on that ski trip together - hee hee.)
Always a sweetie - Christina (she likes Pokemon Glenn!!)
Michele (did I mention she is a Grandma?)
Alora's "Covergirl" shot (at 3 months she has not yet learned how to give an autograph - I may be expecting too much)

Adventures in New Mexico

For those of you who've never seen it - that white line is White Sands in my rear-view mirror. About 1/8th of it is open to the public - the rest is a super secret missile range. It is an amazing place that you NEVER visit in the summer during the day (just because it looks like snow doesn't mean it is cold) - although they have evening programs on a nights with a full moon. Sierra Blanca (Spanish lesson #2 - White Mountain).

Well, not today but it is decent skiing those winters when they get decent snow.

Aaahh, final destination - must see the aliens.....

"Bye El Paso" Parting Images

Look closely, there's a striped lizard in there.

Old Cars, no rust. For you honey......
Desert landscape at its finest
Cell Tower visible from my mother's home - no reliable cell service

Hhhhhmmmm, definitely a mystery to be solved....

"SugarLoaf - I actually climbed this one when I was a kid. Can you see the "Old Man"? I was shocked to hear that some people never saw the sleeping old men in the Franklin Mountains. FYI - the cliff makes up his nose.....
"Hey, hey look at the "A"!!" Austin High School is the only school that owns the property on the mountain where the letter is placed. When I was in high school there was a club that would hike up to the letter and set it on fire during home games. To the best of my knowledge they don't do that now.....

Been trying to get a post of my Mommy

Here is the best I can do for a photoMom does not allow herself to be photographed, I kid you not, I have more than one shot over the years of her hand over her face - it's photography by surprise or nothing.
Here is her pride and joy - there are 17 tomatoes on that one plant.
Here are another two sights to entice you - My mom is working on her piles in the yard. The BBQ belongs to my sister - circa ???

Tina takes the wheel

Finally!! Seriously, this girl works too hard, we waited all this time for her to take us for a cruise in her sweet ride. At first I positioned myself in the passenger's seat - not good for Ginger's blood pressure. Look how comfortable she looks in that seat! Sexy shot on the extremely hot hood - what we do for beauty - Carol burned her hand getting this shot (The temp in the "Pass of the North" was a scorching 101 yesterday"
Room for the bodies in the trunk as modeled by the "lovlies".....we look for shade in this town where ever we can find it....
At Starbucks Ginger lowered her blood pressure by having an extensive conversation with a cute little fella - check out that body language....

Maria Branch @ Marie's

Art and food - yum!
Carol and Marie (Carol's holding my drink)
Allam was waiting tables that night :P
Allam, Carol and Javier
The picture I liked the best - reminds me of Alison and all the waiting Moms

"Kitty" gets a bath

Can you see the bug carcasses on the windshield? Reminds me of an excellent joke - what goes through a bug's head when he hits a windshield.....(email for answer) So, the red "X" is to let them know I only wanted the outside washed.....All shiny and happy - they ran her through twice - Texas has some stubborn bugs!
Carol and Tina wait in the shade
And now for the rest of the story - after the bath was a trip to the PX. Right in the middle of shopping what do I hear - a terrible THUNDERSTORM - complete with hail. Tina got a real kick out of that one....she had warned me. $11 on a wash and the car is all dusty when we leave the PX - BTW, this is the second hail storm she's been subjected to this trip...

Grandparents - can't get enough of them....

Carol does love her Grandma Stella She spent a wonderful couple of days visiting with her and her aunt and cousins.

Likewise with Grandpa Manny and Pennie - It was not enough time, you don't realize how much you miss them when you're 2000 miles away.

I have been accused of not loving this dog....

This is Yiyo - he needs braces.

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EVERYBODY loves Yiyo - so named for the famous Mexican mouse Topoyiyo (whom I LOVED as a child)

I'm not saying he's not a nice dog - he's a wonderful, sweet dog with a bit of a foot fetish. My heart belongs to Wanda - sorry!

Riverbend Pics

Marie soaking in the water and the sights of the Rio Grande
Javier
Marie dancing the salsa (ok, she's sleeping)
My lovely foot in 107 degree water
Lacy braves the frigid Rio Grande water

T or C

Years ago it was named Hot Springs, New Mexico because there is a hot springs there - (a name and a description all in one). Back in the 50's there was a radio/tv show called Truth or Consequences (Bob Barker was the host for a few years.) So, going with the same theme, you told the "truth" or payed the consequences (clever, right?). One day Ralph Edwards announces that he'll do a broadcast from the first town that will rename itself after the program. Guess Hot Springs wasn't worth keeping - the rest, as they say, is history.
Locals call it T or C

This is a cool looking fountain near the museum complete with that wonderful hot mineral water. Sadly I don't expect it to stay a sleepy little healing town as Virgin Galactic is building a spaceport less than 20 miles away - the 80 acre sub division is in the works. Along the banks of the Rio Grande. While there we visited the Riverbend Hot Springs http://www.nmhotsprings.com/ . What a wonderful place!! Makes me want to rename T or C to TLC - if you're passing through, I'd give it two enthusiastic thumbs up - tell Jake you heard about it from me!!