Friday, May 22, 2009

Camping from Central Texas to the Gulf Coast


This trip has been about people. But we walked away from our first three visits without taking pictures. So we apologize to the Abergs, Hashes, and Campbells. We enjoyed our visits so much, but we forgot to take pictures. These pictures, in chronological order, are of our campsite near Bangs, Texas, where we spent time with Harold and Loveta Campbell. How we got the camper between these two huge oak trees -- very, very carefully!

The next pictures are of John and Kay (Whitehouse) Blewster and Kay's daughter Julanne and granddaughter Monica. Kay is a friend from our days in France in the 1960's. Scott and Patti Benjamin and their daughters Kathryn and Courtney are friends from Victory Ranch. They live near Houston.

The last pictures are our campsite in Sam Houston Jones State Park, Louisiana. This campsite was in the Louisiana Bayou. Lovely. We're now at Pensacola NAS, Florida. If it ever stops raining, we'll take pictures.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Sunset and Moonrise at White Sands National Monument, Alamogordo, NM

This was a sunset walk at White Sands National Monument which started at 6:45 PM. The ranger explained how different plants survive the shifting sands of this monument. The Yuccas dig roots that go down deep and sprout their stalks as long as necessary to keep from being covered by the sands. Some of the other plants form a root base that is huge. When the sands shift, they leave these stacks with the plant on the top. Click on the lovely pink flowered plant. It is beautiful. We missed the actual moonrise when the moon looks so large on the horizon. The sand is not quartz, but actually gypsum.

On the Desert


From Edwards AFB, which is in the Mojave Desert, our next stop was Salome, AZ in the Sonoran Desert. We love the beauty of this desert. So much more color. For people who do travel, this is near Quartzite.

First Stop on the Adventure -- Edwards AFB

We were at Edwards AFB, CA for three days. During that time, we visited NASA headquarters where the shuttle lands when it can't land in Florida. Here are some pictures of planes NASA has flown.