>>
Checkin'
in from the road-day 12-17.. >>
Posted By: Ricky
Lee McBroom
Date: Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 4:29 a.m.
Day 12-17 (June 28th to July 4th); El Paso, TX
(with several side-trips out New Mexico way)
Spent the first day of the El Paso layover spoiling my grand-daughters. Hey, 'tis a tough job, but that's what Grandpas are for.
06-29, the Sweetest Grand-daughters Ever Definitely an appropriate activity, too, as temps cracked 100F every day, and on this day topped out at 107.
My daughter, Dana, flew in the following day, and the first order of business, after much huggin' & kissin', was to open her 'Happy to see you' present.
06-30, Dana's Kitty watch
She 'bout had a stroke over this watch. I nailed it perfect, if I do say so myself.
'ere's a closeup;
Sellers pic
I couldn't stay off the bike very long, so the next day Dana & I took a wee ride over the Trans-Mountain Parkway and on to Las Cruces, NM;
07-01, Trans-Mountain Parkway, El Paso 'twas quite a climb. The picture doesn't really do it justice.. or maybe it does. Note how small the bike looks. Anyway, we got our exercise for the day!
We were back at home by 14:00, napped for an hour, and then were most pleasantly awakened by Bobby arriving home earlier than expected. Thanks, Uncle Sam! More presents were then opened ('twas Bob's belated birthday, remember (t'anks again Uncle Sam..
);
Archive pic, my wrist, not Bob's Amazing family resemblance though, eh?
He liked this one a lot. But he went ape over this 'un;
He's a real Dodge Boy, he is. Makes my heart proud, it does.
Bobby showed us around the base the next day, with the main attraction being the ADA Museum. They did a helluva job on this, and we spent 3 hours perusing it. It could've been twice that, easily, if we hadn't had 2 cranky pre-schoolers in tow.
07-02, Air Defense Museum, Ft. Bliss, TX The next day was spent mostly in the shade. Bobby and I knocked back beers, and consoled Dana while she;
07-03, Dana nursing her sunburn You gotta be careful with the sun down here. As Dana learned.
07-04, 1st Dgtr Dana & Ssgt Robert, Carlsbad Caverns, NM An amazing sight, is Carlsbad Caverns. Indeed, it rivals the Grand Canyon, I think, in a sort of inverse fashion. Where the GC humbles you with it's awesome expanse, CC sort of makes you look inwards. Can't really compare them 'cause of that, but each is awesome in it's own way.
And to stay on topic, here's a
of a Carlsbad Cavern bee that took a particular interest in my Casio;
< Caverns, Carlsbad bee, w Casio> Or maybe 'twas the Gatorade I spilled on me wrist. Whatever.
We finished our tour of the Caverns a good 2 hours before the famed bat flight, so we elected to skip that part. (Cranqy grand-babies, remember
07-04, Incipient fire-ant attack, somewhere in the Chihuahua Desert Yup, seconds after that photo was taken I was set upon by rabid fire-ants, and spent the rest of the evening self-medicating with Benadryl and Budweiser Ice, in equal amounts.
Still, that didn't keep me from enjoying the sunset;
07-04, Sunset, somewhere in the Chihuahua Desert Stunning.
More Bud Ices as we watched the fireworks (hand over heart, and a rousing rendition of The Star Spangled Banner). More Bud Ice, then we trundled off to bed. God, I love America.
-Ricky
Checkin' in from the road-day 12-17..
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 4:29 a.m.
Absolutely Great Shots of a wonderful vacation!
Mannu -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 12:04 p.m.
Great,
and
Reto -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 11:25 a.m.
Just Super, Rickyvery much
Mark S. -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 10:06 a.m.
Great stuff, Ricky! Makes my travellin' shoes restless
TakesALickin' -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 9:46 a.m.
Great tour!
Micha -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 7:29 a.m.
This reads like Bill Bryson
Ed Brandwein -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 7:08 a.m.
Great photos - Glad to see this kind of family interaction still exists!!
aahwatches -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 6:37 a.m.
Great family and photos. That part of the country is.. >>
acecafe -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 6:18 a.m.
In Response To: Checkin' in from the road-day 12-17.. >> (Ricky Lee McBroom)
beautiful but dry. It can hit 113 degrees and 3% humidity. Awesome motorcycle riding country. I spent a lot of time in El Paso, Fort Bliss and White Sands Missile Range during my working years. The whole area is a nice place to retire. Ride Safe!
You're killing me...motorcycling across country and Las Cruces
TMK -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 4:42 a.m.
Sorry!
Ricky Lee McBroom -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 4:58 a.m.
In Response To: You're killing me...motorcycling across country and Las Cruces ENVY! (TMK)
FWIW, Las Cruces strikes me as great little town. Wouldn't mind retiring there myself, actually.
Rathburn, Ireland is my first choice, mind. But it's kinda iffy if I can afford that. :-(
Las Cruces definitely has the better climate.. we'll see. :-)
-Ricky
That's the current plan
TMK -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 11:51 a.m.
I'm a little partial to all those places... >>
bisquick -- Wednesday, 6 July 2005, at 5:13 a.m.
In Response To: Sorry! >> (Ricky Lee McBroom)
I grew up on the West side of El Paso (on the New Mexico side) (from 1980 to 1999).
You HAVE to wear long pants and a shirts in the summer there, you just don't have the right skin to be walking around in that kind of intense sun.
If you can, you should make it down to White Sands National Monument during full moon. Its awsome and beautiful, but it IS cold.
And if you get a chance make it to old Mesilla NM, awsome old town area with really good mexican food (i went to college at NMSU!).
And just as a reminder, don't drink beer, you will dehydrate yourself VERY fast and get sick. Drink lots and lots and (*sigh*) lots of water....
Anyways take it easy and have a great trip!
-bix
