Ruth and John's Travels: AB, MT, WY, CO, NM, TX, LA, MS, AR, MO, OK, TX, NM, CO, WY, MT, AB, April/May 2012

Our trip to the south. Deep South, in April and May of 2012.

Click on a picture for a larger version

Leaving on a hoar-frosty morning.
Alpenglow on the mountains.
Just north of Bragg Creek, AB

Refinery construction in Billings, MT. A honkin' big crane.

Ruth at the Colorado sign.
The scenery changed markedly a few miles south of here, from the spare, almost bleak Wyoming to the greener Colorado.
New territory for both of us.

The "Manitou Cliff Dwellings"
Partly constructed, partly re-constructed and parly moved here from actual Anasazi villages.
Maybe less 'authentic' than Mesa Verde or Chaco, but more 'user friendly'

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The 'Sangre de Christo' church in San Luis, the oldest town in Colorado.
A walkway with the stations of the cross leads from the town to the chruch on the hill.
A shrine of the Mexican Martyrs is behind the church was vandalised in 2006, which went unnoticed until '08
The martyrs were recently beatified, and even better- hollywoodmovie-fied :-).

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Driving through northern New Mexico, we slipped through a tear in space-time and ended up in Tibet.
It's really one of a series of Stupas along the Rio Grande. This is one of the newest, and is dedicated to the Kagyu Mila Guru.

Ruth in the still very chilly water of the Rio Grande, just North of Santa Fe, NM.

Camping 'wild' just north of Santa Fe, NM.
One of the fun parts of a small, nimble camper.

Ruth and I waiting for our (my) Marble beer on the central plaza in Santa Fe, NM

The resting place of Smokey the Bear, in Capitan, NM.
Those CGI Smokeys are kinda creepy and vaguely threatening, no?

The shackles of Billy the Kid, pried out of the floor for his escape.

John striking a 'western pose' at the entrace to Tunstall's Store, the focus of the Lincoln County Wars.
Often romanticized, moviefied, fictionalized, hagiographized. The unpardoned Billy the 'Kid', Pat Garrett, John Chisum

We met these folks in Roswell. Nice enough, but they didn't talk much, and one of them seemed obsessed
with Ruth's Shoes. They would probably not have fit his webbed feet.

The hotel in the near ghost town of Carizozo, NM.
It has become a bit of a colony for artists in the area.

Street Light in Roswell, NM.


Is the beer any good? Are the bottles full or empty? Their bigger seller is (of course) their alliterative Alien Ale

Ocotillo _almost_ open.
Further south and a week later they were in full bloom

A cactus blossum along the way to Carlsbad Caverns

Deep underground at Carlsbad Caverns

The 'Hall of the Giants' in Carlsbad Caverns

Eerie lighting in Carlsbad Caverns

My rootin' Tootin' six-gun shootin' Roothie.
Ride 'em cowgirl!!

El Capitan, the south end of the Guadalupe Mountains.
A well exposed Permian reef, part of a complex of Permian reefs in Texas

Yes, ma'am. Eevr'thins bigger 'n Texas

John shopping for a present for Ruth at the Prada store.
North of Valentine TX.

Inside the beautifully maintained Hotel Paisano, in Marfa, TX.
It hosted Liz Taylor, James Dean, Rock Hudson, and a (very young) Dennis Hopper, while they filmed 'Giant'
Marfa is also host to the 'Marfa Lights'

Dikes of igneous rock cutting through thick layers of tuff in 'Three Dike Hill'.
Maybe not quite enough to be a dike swarm.

Ocotillo at sunset near Lajitas,Tx

A Collared Peccary, or 'javelina' by the roadside near Big Bend Park.
Related, but not closely, to the domestic pig.

On the road into Big Bend Park

A happy couple by 'Wilson's Ranch' in Big Bend Park.

The cacti were in bloom in Big Bend.

Hard, resistant dark basalt, resting on easily eroded white volcanic ash.

Ruth in the Rio Grande at Santa Elena Canyon

The 'Mule ears' in Big Bend, with a turkey buzzard.

Looks furry, but it's just as spiny and painful as any other cactus.

Ruth at Chisos basin in the heart of the Chisos mountains

We went through many of these 'Inspection Stations' close to the US-Mexico border,
searching for illegal immigrants from Mexico.
When they realized we were harmless Canucks, and not 'Coyotes' or 'Zetas' we were waved through.

A mockingbird on a cactus in the bright morning sun in Marathon, TX

In 'The Jersey Lilly' in Langtry, TX. Judge Roy Bean's bar, courthouse and parlor.
I'm sure you've seen the movie.
"A Bourbon and branch fer me and a sasparilla for the purdy filly with the cam'ra."

A cholla cactus in bloom

A beavertail or Opuntia cactus in bloom

John outside "The Jersy Lilly"

Ruth with two feet two feet into Mexico at Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
We were warned away from most other larger border cities, like Reynosa or Nuevo Laredo, (warning: link is graphic)
even (or especially) by Mexicans themselves.

Dentists, doctors, pharmacists, car mechanics have all set up shop in Nuevo Progreso.
Certainly cheaper, but you need to know for sure what you are getting, and avoid getting what you don't want.

An elaborate (and to our anglo sensibilities) maudlin cemetery in Rio Grande City near the Mexican border.

Isidro is safe in the arms of 'Our Lady of Guadalupe'

Looking north along the Gulf of Mexico beach at South Padre Island.
The two towers are visible for tens of miles around.
Looming. Creepily.

Ruth. . . .

. . .and John in the Gulf of Mexico surf of South Padre island.
We would pay dearly for our few hours in the sun. Our lily white Canadian skin got fried.
I didn't know skin could actually turn purple.

One of the South Padre natives.

Sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico at South Padre Island.
Shhh. . . Ruth is still asleep.

Our Campsite on South Padre.
$6 a night, and you got it refunded if you brought back a bag of garbage.
Good deal

Ruth at the mouth of the Rio Grande. The vehicles in the background are in Mexico.
We had folowed the river from almost its very beginning, and were now at its very end.


Mexican fishermen untangling their nets at the mouth of the Rio Grande			.

One meeeen om-bray. A reg'lar des-pe-ray-do on the streets of San Antone. Check out those bandoliers.
Neither Ruth nor I tried the Tripas tacos on sale behind him.

Pretty side-saddle senoritas waiting to join the parade at the San Antonio fiesta.

The Alamo by night.

John in front of Antone's, _the_ Texas blues bar.

Ruth and her buddy Willie Nelson in Austin, TX.
The statue had been unveiled the day before by Mr. Nelson hisself.

An homage to Willie at the nearby W Hotel.

Lady Liberty on the steps of the Texas State capitol in Austin.

Under the rotunda of the Texas Capitol.
The six flags Texas has flown in its history.
Anti-clockwise from 4:00: Spain, France, Mexico, The Confederacy, The USA,
and in the center, the Republic of Texas

A great-tailed grackle. Smart, bold, but not the most agile fliers in the world.
They hold the feathers of their long tail vertically like a rudder to steer.

We wanted to visit 'Dubya' in Crawford.
Maybe help him clear some brush, maybe share an O'Doul's or two, but this is as close as we got.

The compound of the 'Branch Davidians' just outside Waco TX.
All was serene, peaceful. In the background is a low wall with the names of those killed in the raid.

The arched and orieled, towered, finialed, castellated and crennelated court house in Waxahatchie, TX
A story of the gargoyles.

A replica of 'The Munster House' just outside Waxahatchie

Ruth at the grave of Stevie Ray Vaughan in Arlington, TX

Behind those doors, Jack Ruby shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald.

The grave of Clyde Barrow and his brother, Marvin.
Bonnie is not buried here.

Over-paid pretty-boy Alex Rodriguez doesn't like a call.
Boo-Hoo. Cry me a river.

The Yankee dugout doesn't seem too worried. They are beating the Rangers 7-3

Dealey Plaza.
Except for the skyscrapers in the background, mostly unchanged from November 1963.
The Texas School Book Depository is the first building visible on the left.
The sixth floor is one floor down from the top.
The white truck is right at the first of two x's that mark the spots.

The Texas Theater, now an 'art house' theater, playing indies and oldies.
Oswald went here immediately afterwards, and was arrested. . .

. . . .in the seat third row from the back and five seats in from the aisle.

Lee Harvey Oswald's grave in the Shannon Rose Hill Memorial Park in Dallas

The grave of Bonnie Parker. I guess B+C weren't
'beneath the ground together' after all.

The business end of one of the five engines of the Saturn V rocket.
At the Johnson Space center, just outside Houston, TX.

The latest version of the 'Orion' capsule. Eventually to be used to go to Mars.
Soon, Inshalla

Ruth at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, dedicated to Sonny Carter.
A full-size mock-up of the International Space Station is in the water.
The intense blue is from the halogen lights filtered through the water.

The 'new' Mission Control.
They are watching the International Space Station as it orbits.

Ruth at Chris Craft's desk in the 'old' Mission Control.
Through the small speaker Ruth is pointing at came large memorable words:
"Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed"
"One small step for (a) man. . ."
"Houston we have a problem
"Failure is not an option."

The latest version of what will eventually be the vehicle used on Mars.
The latest 'Canadarm' is lying in front.

Galveston Bay, a hub for the offshore O+G service industry in the Gulf of Mexico.
Two or three jack-ups, and a semi-submersible.

A pelican waiting for the ferry to the Bolivar Peninsula

The Bishop's Palace, one of the many grand old houses in Galveston.

An hibiscus in Galveston

The beautiful old down town (The Strand) of Galveston, TX.
A Carnival cruise liner has docked.

A hurricane-resistant general store on the Bolivar peninsula.
No windows facing the gulf, a shielded entrance, and the floor of the store is 2-3' higher than the lot outside.

We had no trouble finding access points and ramps to get to the beach on the Bolivar peninsula.
We thought at the time the driveways were there for future access for houses not built yet.
WRONG. Backwards. They were the driveways for houses wiped out by hurricane Ike in 2008.

Houses are now built more prudently.
The space underneath is for storing less valuable cars and bar-b-cues.

The 'old' State Capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A music festival was using the grounds.

This _is_ the corridor in which Huey Long was shot. _Many_ shots were fired.
Whether or not I'm pointing to an actual bullet hole actually from that day- I won't swear.

The not-pretty 'new' Louisiana Capitol in Baton Rouge. The house that Huey Built.
Folks are settin' up a podium and marquee for a pray'r meetin'

Ruth in the Mississippi mud at Baton Rouge

Much of southern Louisiana is swampy- a challenge to road engineering.

St. Louis Cemetery #3, one of the famous cemeteries ("Cities of the Dead") in New Orleans.
Because the ground water is high, and space limited, the graves are re-used by families,
with a plaque left behind to remember those who were moved to make room.

A new section of retaining wall replacing a section that failed during Katrina

One of the 'Brad Pitt' houses in the lower 9th ward.. Eco-friendly, subsidised, but still not popular.

Another repaired wall. This breach flooded the 'lower ninth' ward.
Some 'Brad Pitt houses' are visible to the right.

The buskers in Jackson Square in the French Quarter were taking a break.

A house on Bourbon Street in New Orleans

'Old' New Orleans, with 'new' New Orleans in the background.

"Let's make this for supper tonight, sweetie"
"errrm maybe not, eh?"
Judging by the frost on the package, It's not very popular, even among the locals.

Les bicyclettes du vieux carre

The long, and I mean llooonngg causeway over Lake Pontchartrain.
Really, _two_ llooonngg causeways side by side.

The Lamar Life Insurance Building in Jackson, MS.
Built in 1924, its president at the time was the father of Eudora Welty

Under the rotunda of the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson.

We canucklhead tourists were read into the record of the House as friends and visitors from Canada,
and made to feel very welcome by Representative Greg Haney (R) of Gulfport.
Ruth is _very_ happy.

A Green Anole on the grounds of the Mississippi capitol.

The home of Medgar Evers, in Jackson, MS

It's a bridge. It's over the Tallahatchie, but. . .
It's not _the_ Tallahatchie Bridge
_The_ Tallahatchie Bridge was in Money, MS, a few miles to the south, and collapsed in the 70's

'The Crossroads' in Clarkesdale, MS where Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the devil to become the greatest blues musician in the world.
Johnson himself never never told the story, it just kind of grew.

Elvis's parlour in Graceland.

Elvis's grave in Graceland.
With the graves of his father Vernon, mother Gladys, grandmother Minnie-Mae,
and a marker for his twin brother Jessie.

Waiting for the shuttle bus at Graceland, we bumped into an old buddy of ours from Salmon Arm.
Johnny Winter. Looking frailer than ever.

John and Ruth at the front doors of Graceland.
We had expected a palace, and although large, the house was not overdone.
It's in a remarkably unremarkable average neighborhood of Memphis.

Ruth singing into the microphone at the Sun studios.
Elvis recorded 'That's allright Mama' at the spot marked X, and that microphone was used by
Elvis, Carl Perkins, LeadBelly, and Johnny Cash.

The picture of the 'Million-dollar quartet' was taken where the $0.99 solo act is now sitting.
Jerry-Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis at the piano.
Elvis was already big, and had brought a Vegas show-girl with him

The sign from Stax Records in a pub on Beale

The view down Beale Street, Memphis (very) late at night.

The Lorraine Motel, Memphis, TN.
The wreath is at the spot, just outside room 306, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
It is all now a part of the "National Civil Rights Museum"

Inside the Civil Rights Museum, a bus identical to the one in which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat.
The actual bus is in Detroit.

The bathroom in the rooming house from which James Earl Ray fired the shot.

This lady, Jacqueline Smith, was the last resident of the Lorraine Motel, and was evicted to make room for the museum.
She makes a good point. The museum is now undergoing a renovation and expansion.
Of course, they are looking for donors and sponsors. Is this the best way to honor MLK?

Ruth going up the steps of Little Rock Central High School

A reunion of the Class of '62 at LRCHS

Ruth at the door of the governor's office in Little Rock, AR.
Recent occupants were ex-President Clinton, and Mike Huckabee.
There's a lewd joke in the picture, somewhere.

John studying the timeline of the Clinton presidency at the Clinton library.
There are gaps and omissions.

The exterior of the Clinton Library, in Little Rock, AR.
It symbolizes a bridge being built, reaching over the Arkansas River.

Bill Clinton's childhood home in Hot Springs, AR

The original Wal-Mart, (back then Walton's 5 and 10) in Bentonville, AR.
Now combined with the building next door and made into a museum.
You can buy stuff there.

John in the moderne 'Glass House' McDonald's; once the largest McDonald's anywhere.

Ruth standing at the entrance to a concrete tornado shelter.
Not very comfortable, but you'll only be needing it for a minute or so, right?


The Frank Lloyd Wright designed Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK. Always partly residential, it's now part hotel, part office space.

A detail of the Price Tower. We stayed a night with FLW.


Memorial to the people killed in the Oklahoma City bombing. The smaller chairs are for the children.


Oklahoma City Memorial. The bomb exploded at 9:02.

The state capitol in OKC is built on a prolific oil field.
The well in the foreground draws oil from immediately beneath the building.

Buddy Holly's childhood home in Lubbock, TX, and where he married his wife, Maria.


Ruth Marie (Oh, Ruth Marie-ie-ie) at the Buddy Holly center in Lubbock (Luhbuk), Texas The museum is well worth a visit, but they don't allow pictures to be taken..