Pine Hollow Campground
Pownal, Vermont
Sunday, May 31, 2009, 6:45 pm

Weather: Sunny, Windy, and Cool
Temperature: 51F
Altitude: 1304 feet

We have landed in a lovely pond-side campsite (see picture) in a very nice private campground in the extreme southwestern corner of Vermont. The setting is stunning; the amenities very good; but the WiFi is slow and weak and cell service is blocked by a nearby hill.

We had a pretty good day today, leaving Medford at about 9 am and heading toward Rosemont. In Trenton, we were advised by large red signs that we were not welcome in the Route 29 Freeway Tunnel next to the State Capitol because we were carrying propane bottles, apparently a known terrorist device. So, we took the "hazardous cargo" detour, as directed, and that was the last sign we saw for the detour! The signs just dumped us off the freeway next to the Trenton Wastewater Plant with no further direction as to what to do next. After cursing the New Jersey Powers-that-Be, as well as a few choice words for the U.S. Department of Homeland Stupidity, we got on some regular streets in the city of Trenton and used our dashboard compass to keep us headed generally in the right direction. This caused us to see parts of Trenton we had never seen before, nor want to see again--what a dump! The state of New Jersey should be ashamed that the State Capital is basically a collection of state-owned marble boxes surrounded by a run-down Latin and black ghetto. Quite a contrast to what other state capitals, like Springfield, Illinois, or Santa Fe, New Mexico, have done with their downtown areas.

But as soon as we cleared downtown Trenton and got back on the river road, we saw the lovely, stately homes of West Trenton, the old stone farmhouses of Washington's Crossing and Lambertville, and finally the artsy little riverside village of Stockton. We stopped at Rosemont Cemetery, just above Stockton, for probably less than half an hour and placed a geranium on Mom's grave. The grave had yet to be finished--the funeral cut flowers (all dead of course) were still lying upon the bare, fresh earth, but someone had planted two fresh geraniums between Mom and Dad's graves and the local veteran's group had positioned a fresh American flag next to Dad's grave (probably on Memorial Day) with the notation that this was a U.S. Veteran.

We then struck out across rural Hunterdon County, one of the prettiest parts of New Jersey, and it was particulary pretty on a Spring Sunday morning, all green and fresh and fragrant. We drove slowly over back roads, smelling the honeysuckle and the new mown hay--until Karen had a pollen-induced sneezing and coughing attack and we had to close up the car and put on the air conditioning!

We had an hour-long lunch in a New York Thruway Rest Area in the Hudson Valley, and took the back roads into extreme northwestern Massachusetts and southwestern Vermont to avoid the congestion around Albany. We finally got to this campground about 5 pm, and what a surprise. We had just pulled the name and directions out of one of our campground directories, but it is a hidden jewel. Shaded, level, grassy campsites with full hook-ups surrounding a lovely pond with swimming beach and large leafy trees everywhere--a fitting end to our cross-country trek through mountains, prairies, deserts, and towns.

Tomorrow, we cross the Green Mountains from Bennington to Brattleboro, then North on the familiar I-91 to Lyndonville. The Good Lord willing--and the creek don't rise (a distinct possibility in Springtime Vermont)--we should be home by early afternoon.

Mt. Laurel, New Jersey
Saturday, May 30, 2009, 9:15 am

It's Traditional Memorial Day.
Weather: Gorgeously cool, sunny, and dry.
Temperatures in the 60's, headed to near 80F this afternoon

Today would have been mother's 90th birthday and the family will be gathering here at my brother's for a memorial and celebration of Nana's life. Tomorrow morning, Karen and I will stop by her grave in Rosemont, New Jersey, plant a geranium (one of her favorites), and begin the final leg of our trip back to Vermont and home.

It's been a long and unique trip, with lots of ups and downs. And unless my back problems improve, not likely, it may also be our last long distance driving trip west of the Mississippi. If we're going to see any more of the West or visit friends out there, we'll need to fly or take the train.

Friendship Village Campground
Bedford, Pennsylvania
Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 5:00 pm Eastern Time

Weather: Overcast and Pleasantly Cool
Temperature: 64F
Altitude: 1102 feet

Here we are in the middle of south-central Pennsylvania, just off the Turnpike. This is a very nice campground (see picture), with lots of trees and green grass, plus a few small ponds.

We're only a short day's drive away from our next major stopping point in New Jersey, and in the old days, we probably would have pressed on to arrive by evening. Today, we're older and smarter, however, so we stopped in time for cocktails and a nice supper, and will do the last run into New Jersey tomorrow.

We had a great visit with Karen and Sandi's cousins, Joann and Don Bundy, and their daughter Joy, at their condo just north of Columbus, Ohio. Lots of old pictures, reminiscences, and family gossip--plus a very nice pork barbeque and cole slaw dinner. Thanks, folks--it was fun. We stayed at a nearby Ohio State Park, in amongst woods, a lake, and empty campsites (all the weekend campers had left!). We left this morning about 8:15 and headed off across the flat, then rolling farmland of eastern Ohio, into a piece of the West Virginia panhandle at Wheeling, and then hilly western Pennsylvania.

After tomorrow, we'll spent some time at my brother's, sort through some of Mom's stuff, and gather for a memorial and celebration for Mom on Saturday. Sunday morning, we'll head north for Vermont and home.

Richmond KOA Campground
Richmond, Indiana
Monday, Memorial Day, May 24, 2009, 7:30 pm Eastern

I was just reminded that we did indeed have a picture from Springfield, Illinois. This shows your faithful correspondent's three traveling companions taking it easy after their strenuous day at the Lincoln Museum. The wine glasses and the shadows indicate it's late afternoon "cocktail hour" time.

Richmond KOA Campground
Richmond, Indiana
Monday, Memorial Day, May 25, 2009, 6:50 pm Eastern Time

Weather: Warm and Partly Sunny
Temperature: 76F
Altitude: 1052 feet

Yes, we are back in the Eastern Time Zone, and we finally have a reliable and reasonably fast Wi-Fi (the two are probably not related!). The past few days have been fairly routine driving days, first from west-central Nebraska to St. Joseph, Missouri, on Friday, and then from St. Joe to Springfield, Illinois, on Saturday. We really liked Springfield and enjoyed the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum on Sunday. Established in 2005, the museum really takes advantage of recent technology to explain and show Lincoln, his times, and the Civil War. One display is a series of halogram-like projections that are nothing short of magic. All in all, worth a detour if you're ever near south-central Illinois. There is also a four-block area in central Springfield surrounding Lincoln's home that has been restored to its appearance in the 1840's and 50's when Lincoln lived there--walking traffic and horse-drawn carts only, shady gravel streets, picket fences, and house tours of the old houses. Very nice.

This morning we left Springfield in a light rain and drove through small southern Illinois farm towns to the Interstate at Effingham. From there, it was I-70 East, with heavy truck traffic (despite the holiday), and intermittent light rain. We ate lunch at an Interstate Rest Area and by the time we got to eastern Indiana, the rain had stopped and we were tired. Tomorrow afternoon and evening, we will visit Karen and Sandi's cousins just north of Columbus, Ohio, and then hit the road again on Wednesday.

We're tired, and tired of traveling, and really just want to get home at this point.

Gothenburg KOA Campground
Gothenburg, Nebraska
Thursday, May 21, 2009, 4:40 pm Central Time

It's an overcast, chilly, and breezy day here on the high plains of west-central Nebraska. Temperatures have been a few degrees either side of 60F, with occasional sprinkles.

This was a good day to rest and we've enjoyed it. We slept late, made a big, hot breakfast, then went into town to see the "sights." It's actually a prosperous and well-kept Midwestern town, complete with grain elevators, Union Pacific freights going through almost constantly, and more Lutheran churches than any other denomination, although the Methodists seem to have the money based on the size and heft of their building. Neat, tidy, well-ordered--even the local high school sports teams are called the "Swedes." We visited a Pony Express Relay Station (moved from the nearby prairie to the central park in town) and a local pioneer museum, complete with sod house and of course, a gift shop. After some grocery shopping for fresh fruit and veggies, we returned to do a little laundry, napping and reading, and a Charley walk. All in all, a nice day of relaxation after four straight days of highway travel. Tomorrow we'll hit the road again.

We are now getting ready to go out to a local steakhouse ("best eats in the county") for some local Nebraska beef.

Gothenburg KOA Campground
Gothenburg, Nebraska
Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 9:25 pm Central Time

Getting dark and still warm (76F), although a brisk breeze makes it nice.

The picture was taken yesterday crossing the Great Divide high desert in south-central Wyoming. It's pretty forlorn country, mostly some gas and oil pumping and some mining and mineral processing. Lots of dust and constant wind.

As we got nearer Laramie yesterday afternoon, the snow-topped Medicine Bow Mountains to the southeast and the range land at their feet changed the character of the country. There was less sagebrush, more cattle grazing in green fields, more hay being grown, and more water flowing from the mountain snowmelt in small streams. Actually quite pretty. And it continued that way this morning in the countryside between Laramie and Cheyenne. After cresting an 8600-foot pass between the two cities, we generally descended to the flat or rolling range and farm lands of western Nebraska. But the most important thing for us Easterners, we started seeing more deciduous trees! Except for the pinions and junipers of the higher elevations, southern Wyoming is devoid of trees, and it's a depressing landscape.

So, after four days of straight driving, all on Interstates, capped by our adventure today with the blown tire, we've decided we needed a break. We found a very nice, shady campground next to the Platte River and decided to stay two nights. Tomorrow we will sleep in, see some local sights (a Pony Express station, a Sod House Museum), and have a Nebraska beef dinner at a local steakhouse. To do this, we will eliminate the planned stop at the Herbert Hoover Museum in Iowa and head straight to the Lincoln Center in Springfield, Illinois. That'll take two days, instead of three, allowing a "down day" here on the prairie.

If this WiFi holds, we'll report in tomorrow evening.

Gothenburg KOA Campground

Gothenburg, Nebraska

Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 7:40 pm Central Time

Weather:  Sunny and Warm, with a Touch of Humidity

Altitude:  2655 feet

The picture is of one of four new tires we had installed today in Sidney, Nebraska.  Here's the story:

We left Laramie this morning heading east on I-80.  After a gas stop east of Cheyenne, we crossed into Nebraska and almost immediately felt a slight vibration in our rig. I first thought it was the change in pavement as we crossed the state line, but within a minute it got worse.  I looked at gauges, then checked my mirrors and saw a piece of dark material fly off the trailer.  I pulled over quickly to find our right rear trailer tire had totally shredded!  I never heard a blow-out, but there must have been a rapid deflation of the tire.  Sandi and Karen were in Kenzie's truck (Karen driving) and pulled in behind me, while I changed the tire.  What a mess.  The tire was a maze of torn and shredded rubber and tiny broken steel fibers sharp as razors.  The trailer was jacked up on a bottle jack on the shoulder of I-80 Eastbound, a very busy truck route, and every time a truck went by, the whole rig would shudder from air turbulence.  Fortunately, it stayed on the jack!

After we got the tire changed and we cleaned up a bit, we drove on toward the next big town, Sidney.  We had planned to stop there for lunch at the Cabela's headquarters store, so we did that anyway.  We all had buffalo burgers (pretty good), but we were all also preoccupied with the idea of "what do we do about the tire."  So we also inquired about where we could buy a new tire.  After lunch, we drove into town to "Nebraska Tire." To make a long story a bit shorter, when we looked at all the tires, we decided to replace them all.  They all had acceptable tread, but they all showed definite deterioration.  One had a long lump where a steel belt had broken, another had a gash between the sidewall and the tread--all were five years old and obviously ready for the recycler. Fortunately, Nebraska Tire had the right quantity and size tires, and they were not too busy.  We had four new tires installed and were on our way in less than an hour!  We consider ourselves very lucky, although a bit poorer.

Phillips RV Campground

Evanston, Wyoming

Monday, May 18, 2009, 7:20 pm Mountain Time

Well, this one took about 15 minutes to upload, so we'll make this our last for now.

Here's Karen and her faithful companion next to that same reservoir east of Salt Lake City.   Charley is about to lift his leg and leave an offering to the State of Utah.

More tomorrow (we hope) from Laramie.

Phillips RV Campground

Evanston, Wyoming

Monday, May 18, 2009, 7:00 pm Mountain Time

Here's Sandi getting out of MacKenzie's truck at a rest stop east of Salt Lake City.  The water is a reservoir, probably holding water for the city and surrounding towns.

Sandi is driving part of the day by herself and part with Karen.  I get to drive all day with Charley.  She's sticking to the camper like glue, but Karen rides with me and navigates when going through cities (like Salt Lake) or at the end of the day when trying to find the campground we've picked out of the directory.

Phillips RV Campground

Evanston, Wyoming

Monday, May 18, 2009, 6:55 pm Mountain Time

Weather:  Sunny and dry, 78F

Altitude:  6825 feet

Here's a sample of the country in northeastern Nevada as we skirted the Ruby Mountains, still holding on to some of their winter snow.  Most of the land is range land for cattle with the occasional irrigated alfalfa or hay field.

Today's run was uneventful.  We planned our fuel stops and a nice long lunch stop overlooking the Great Salt Desert, just west of Salt Lake City, and reached our goal of southwestern Wyoming.  We lost an hour due to the time change at the Nevada-Utah border, so we quit for the day at about 4:15 pm Mountain Time (3:15 Pacific).

Tomorrow we plan to do another 300 or so miles and end up in the Laramie area.

Ironhorse RV Park
Elko, Nevada
Sunday, May 17, 2009, 4:50 pm PDT

Here's another picture of us with Beth Davidson on the beach at Incline Village, Nevada, taken Thursday afternoon. Note the presence of fleece and a sweater--chilly air and warm sun.

This will be the last picture for now. We'll try again tomorrow from Wyoming (we hope). We've laid out our return across the country so that we are doing about 300 miles a day. Given Ed's need to exercise his back several times a day and the trailer's need to keep it around 60 mph, that makes for about 6 hours of driving each day. When we stopped today and got into the camper for a one-hour lunch and stretch break, Sandi remarked at how nice it was to have a sandwich and some iced tea in comfort, rather then trying to juggle food at 75 mph hurtling down the freeway. We call it civilized and have even been known to catch a "power nap" in the camper after lunch!

Ironhorse RV Park
Elko, Nevada
Sunday, May 17, 2009, 4:45 pm PDT

Here we are with Shelly in the middle and our old friends, Jon and Beth Davidson. We had a wonderful evening with them on Thursday and invited them to the Saturday afternoon celebration.

Ironhorse RV Park
Elko, Nevada
Sunday, May 17,2009, 4:40 pm PDT

MacKenzie Elizabeth Fenske opening graduation gifts on the deck overlooking Lake Tahoe.

Ironhorse RV Park
Elko, Nevada
Sunday, May 17, 2009, 4:30 pm PDT

Here's your faithful correspondent with the happy graduate, on the campus just before the ceremonies.

Ironhorse RV Park
Elko, Nevada
Sunday, May 17, 2009, 4:15 pm PDT

Weather: Sunny and Hot, about 90F
Altitude: 5117 feet

We're on the road again, leaving Truckee this morning about 8:30. The drive across northern Nevada was simple and easy, and largely traffic-free. Sandi has joined us, and is driving granddaugher MacKenzie's truck back to New Jersey. So we are a 2-vehicle convoy!

The picture is, of course, Grand Aunt Karen and the graduate herself, on the campus of Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada. It was a beautiful day, cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon, and the festivities came off without a hitch. The speaker was Joel Kurtzman, business and economics author, former New York Times business columnist, and Sierra Nevada College trustee. It was a carpe diem speech, but well done.

More pictures coming (we hope). . . .

Coachland RV Park
Truckee, California
Friday, May 15, 2009, 2:15 pm PDT

Daughter Shelly arrived a little over an hour ago to join in the graduation festivities tomorrow--and she arrived in style! Can you say "free upgrade."

As a new member of the Hertz Gold Club, the rental car agent at Reno airport asked her if she wanted to upgrade to a new Mustang: the only question was, red or silver? (She chose the silver, fearing a red convertible would be begging for a speeding ticket.) The car had 4 miles showing on its odometer and the garage attendant had to peal the protective plastic off the convertible top.

We'll be heading over to the lake house within the hour. I guess I get to drive with Charley in the old frumpy Explorer, while Shelly and Karen play "California Girls" in their new (rented) Mustang. I need to find a Beach Boys CD for them to play.

Coachland RV Park
Truckee, California
Friday, May 15, 2009, 9:55 am

This is a view of the living room-dining room at the rented house on Lake Tahoe. Charley is posing; the other tiny ball of fur is Chris and Wendy's dog, Oke.

The house has four bedrooms, a large living-dining room with a fieldstone gas-fired fireplace, a wrap-around deck with a gorgeous view of the lake and the mountains beyond, a well-equipped SubZero/Wolf kitchen, a TV-game room, and a hot tub. Very nice!

We had a terrific evening last night with the Davidson's, our old friends from the early days in Columbia, at their place in Incline Village. We started at the village beach park on the lake, then moved a block or two to their condo. It was a rolling, free association conversation and catching-up session. A little bit of food and a lot of talk. We loved it.

Coachland RV Park
Truckee, California
Friday, May 15, 2009, 9:45 am

Here's a view of beautiful Lake Tahoe, taken from the deck of the house that Karen's family rented for the graduation celebration. There's still some snow on the ridges, but much of it has melted. We have a dirty pile of snow at the end of a parking area here at the campground that Charley has already targeted it. Now it's yellowing.

Shelly just called. She's in San Francisco, waiting for her connecting flight to Reno. All is well and on schedule.

Coachland RV Park
Truckee, California
Friday, May 15, 2009, 9:30 am PDT

Another beautiful day in the Sierras: warm sun, cool air, clear skies. Doesn't this get boring after a while?

Temperature: 37F at 6 am; 44 at 7:30; 53 at 9:30.

Here's a typical view of the Sierra Nevada taken through the windshield traveling north on US395. There was a fair amount of snow on the mountains around Mammoth Lakes and the pass into Yosemite was still closed. But 395 was high, wide, and handsome the whole way to Reno.

Coachland RV Park
Truckee, California
Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 3:30 pm PDT

Sunny and Cool, with an Occasional Light Breeze
Temperature: 61F
Altitude: 5982 feet

We have arrived just north and downhill of Lake Tahoe, and will be here until Sunday morning. This is a very nice park set amongst tall pines, with good WiFi and cellphone service.

Our drive from Lee Vining was uneventful, but very pretty. The views of the Sierra, some still in snow, were very pretty, and the area around Bridgeport was especially nice, since it was well watered and green from snowmelt. The cattle in the fields were munching happily.

We'll have more later, probably with the pictures, as the week and festivities here move along. The graduation is set for Saturday morning and the weather forecast is calling for perfect weather--sunny, dry, and 72 degrees.

Mono Vista Campground

Lee Vining, California

Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 9:20 am PDT

A beautiful, cool morning in the Sierras.  The sun is warm, the air is cool, the sky clear. It was 38F degrees at 5 am; with the sun, it's now 55F and rising.

We are getting organized slowly this morning.  We took a bit of a sleep-in and cooked a hot breakfast.  Karen has taken Charley for his morning constitutional and we should be leaving well within the hour.  Truckee is about 3 hours away, maybe four with a lunch stop and pulling the trailer over a couple of passes.  We will be going straight to Reno on US395 to pick up I80 West, rather than dragging the trailer up Spooner Summit to the Lake and then down again to Truckee.  The longer way will be easier on the equipment.

  

Mono Vista Campground
Lee Vining, California
Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 4:30 pm PDT

Weather: Sunny and Warm; Intermittent Breezes
Temperature: 67F
Altitude: 6875 feet

The picture was taken this morning at our previous campsite in Lone Pine. That's Mt. Whitney in the distance, the highest mountain in the lower 48 states.

We played tourist this morning and drove here to the Mono Lake area this afternoon over two high passes and some stunning scenery. This morning, however, ranged from the trivial to the traumatic.

We started out driving around the hills west of Lone Pine where many of the old western movies were made. The campground had a guidebook telling us where to go to see the major location shoots. Since I used to watch Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger, etc., as a kid, the countryside looked very familiar. We then went to the Lone Pine Movie Museum, filled with memorabilia of movies made in the area. They had the car Bogie drove wildly down a mountain road just west of here in "High Sierra," as well as stage coaches, costumes, movie posters, etc. Very well done, and the introductory 20-minute film was terrific--ending with "Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott?" by the Statler Brothers!

Then we drove to Manzanar National Historic Site, the remnants of a Japanese-American internment camp a few miles north of Lone Pine. There is a typically well done National Park Service Visitor Center, with a film and exhibits, and a video clip of President Reagan signing the apology and reparation payment legislation in 1988--years after many of the victims had died. He said, quite correctly, "it was just an awful mistake." The more I read and looked at those pictures, the more I wanted to scream. FDR is a hero of mine, but this was one major disaster of a decision he made. Putting a human face on the whole experience brought it all into perspective:
a. These people were forced at gunpoint from their homes, many on 24-hour's notice--2/3 of them American citizens, the rest legal residents!
b. Many of the young men volunteered for the Army, but were turned down until 2 years into the war. The exhibit also told the story of a U.S. Army soldier who won the Medal of Honor (posthumously) in Italy, while his mother was forcibly detained behind barbed wire in the California desert.
c. Not one person detained (imprisoned?) in one of these camps was every convicted of espionage, sabotage, or conspiracy against the United States. Not one!

Then I started mentally reviewing our history. Do we really always believe in our Constitution or just during the good times? It seems whenever we're really stressed as a society, the Constitution takes a major hit--French threats (1798) result in the Alien and Sedition Acts; Indian threats and we "remove" the Cherokee (1832), Creeks (1834), Navajo (1868), Nez Perce (1877) etc.; Bolshevik Revolution and aftermath (1919-20), the Palmer Raids looking for communists and anarchists; Pearl Harbor (1941), Manzanar and 12 other internment camps; the 1950's Soviet threat, McCarthyism and communists under everyone's bed; al-Qaeda (2001 and after), imprisonment without charge, torture, abrogation of treaties. What's going on here? Can't our Constitution take the heat? Appropriately at the Manzanar exhibit, there is a prominently displayed quote from Benjamin Franklin, something like, "Those who would give up an essential liberty for some temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." He's talking about us, folks! Think a minute: do we really think those guys in Philadelphia in 1776 and 1787 would discard any of the fundamental rights of citizens because somebody attacked or threatened them. I think they were made of sterner stuff and believed in what they were doing. Do we?

Sorry about that--I do get wound up. But I do believe this torture business is far from over and that Obama is playing it very coyly, waiting for a groundswell as more and more of the details come out. And every time Cheney talks on the subject, he digs himself a deeper hole.

Lone Pine, California
Monday, May 11, 2009, 5:15 pm PDT

Just to let everyone know we weren't crazy, this is our indoor-outdoor thermometer inside our camper, as it appeared when we were setting up at that paved paradise in Boulder City, Nevada.

The time is two time zones off, but the "82.5" is the inside temperature of our white-topped, rather well insulated trailer (before we turned on the air conditioner). The "109.2" is from the sensor under the back of the trailer, in the shade, but about 18 inches above the hot concrete pad we had to park on. Ugh.

That's all for now. We are starting to think about what we'll do for dinner. Tomorrow, it's off to the movie museum, the auto tour of the movie locations, Manzanar Historic site, and probably ending up around the Lee Vining-Mono Lake area north of here. From there, it's an easy hop to Truckee on Wednesday, a day early!

Lone Pine, California
Monday, May 11, 2009, 5:00 pm PDT

Taken through the windshield as we crossed Hoover Dam yesterday. This is a new bridge under construction just south of the dam, that will alleviate a traffic bottleneck (note line of cars) and also ease various security measures. And it will have a spectacular view of the dam. We (and everyone else) were stopped about 10 miles before crossing the dam by federal officers for a security check. Most cars were given a quick visual and let through, but campers and private trucks (no commercial vehicles allowed) are actually opened and searched for bombs. We had our camper checked out by a retired deputy sheriff from Cape May, New Jersey, who came to Arizona to retire, then got a second job working for Homeland Security.

Lone Pine, California
Monday, May 11, 2009, 4:45 pm PDT

A Navajo farmstead deep in Canyon de Chelly last Saturday morning.

A couple of things we learned:

1. Those silvery-green leafed trees on the right are Russian olives planted by the Bureau of Reclamation in the 1930's to control erosion along the stream. They have since spread like a weed, crowded out the native cottonwoods, and failed to halt the erosion. So now, the Park Service and the Navajos are pulling them out root and branch, burning the remnants, and planting native cottonwoods.
2. The Navajo never call themselves "Navajo," except maybe when talking to the Government or tourists. They call themselves "Dineh" (pronounced, dee-NEH), which means "people." "Navajo" is a name given to them by the Hopis, and means "thief." No wonder they don't like it. (I didn't ask if it were true!) I noticed that our Navajo guide always referred to the farmers and orchardists in the canyon as "people" or "the people" and not "farmers" etc. The Dineh are related to the Dene people of northern Canada, according to linguistic anthropologists.
3. The Navajo are the second largest native American group recognized by the Government (after the Cherokee), and unlike the Cherokee, most live on the reservation. There are somewhere around 300,000 Navajo on and off the reservation, and their reservation is the largest and occupies parts of three states. They support themselves mostly by herding sheep, cattle, and goats; small farming and orcharding; weaving woolen rugs and clothing; and fashioning turquoise and silver jewelry. There is also a large contingent of Navajo police (in new looking SUVs) and tribal bureaucrats, probably paid for by Uncle Sam. U.S. Government-built infrastructure on the reservation seems new and substantial, with schools, community centers, hospitals, and even an aquatic center much in evidence. Methinks maybe the white man is trying to compensate for past sins?

Lone Pine, California
Monday, May 11, 2009, 4:35 pm PDT

Here we are fording the stream down in Canyon de Chelly last Saturday morning. (Full disclosure: we had already crossed this spot, when Karen jumped out to take the picture, while Ed then backed the Explorer into the water for the picture. Truth in Blogging!)

We went into the canyon around 8 am when things were cool and uncrowded. The sun was still low in the sky and the temperatures were in the 50's and 60's. Later that day, they would hit 90F.

Later that morning as we were coming back, Navajo locals in their pick-up trucks--loaded down with kids, dogs, farming equipment, and the occasional grandmother--were coming into the canyon to tend their fields.

Lone Pine, California
Monday, May 11, 2009, 4:25 pm PDT

Here's a shot of an ancient Pueblo building. These were nearly always built into the north wall for maximum sun exposure in winter. Corn and bean fields lined the sides of the stream that cut the canyon. Everything had to be carried up ladders or stairs carved into the rock. It's difficult to see, but there are black soot marks on the rock from fires.

These dwellings, storehouses, and kivas (ceremonial meeting rooms) were contemporaneous with late Chaco Culture (1100-1350 AD). No one knows why these sites were abandoned.

Lone Pine, California
Monday, May 11, 2009, 4:20 pm

This picture was taken down in Canyon de Chelly (see an earlier post for how we got there). These are ancient petroglyphs dating back hundreds of years. The canyon contains numerous pictographs (painted images) and petroglyphs (scratched or etched images), some made by the Anasazi (ancient ones) may be 1,000 years old, while others were made by their descendents, the Hopi, Zuni, and other Pueblo people much later. Only a few were made by the Navajo (a non-Pueblo people), who arrived in this area only in the 1600 and 1700's, after the Pueblo people had abandoned the canyon. This picture shows two hunters on horses chasing a deer to exhaustion; the depiction of horses dates this to post-Spanish arrival (1540's or later).

Lone Pine, California
Monday, May 11, 2009, 4:15 pm PDT

Here's our first view of Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, taken from the south rim last Friday. You can see a Navajo farm in early Spring. The Navajo plant vegetables, especially corn, squash, and beans, and they have a number of peach, cherry, and apple orchards. Our guide the next day told us that few people live here year round--they just farm these plots in summer and have a house back on the plateau for winter (the canyon gets very little light in winter and thus is a lot colder).

Boulder Creek Campground
Lone Pine, California

Monday, May 11, 2009, 4:00 pm PDT
Weather: Hot, Dry, and Sunny with a Light Breeze
Temperature: 92F
Altitude: 3757 feet

What a day! We left Boulder City, Nevada, at 7:10 this morning--we just couldn't wait to get up and out of that place--and drove around Las Vegas and then northwest on US95. We stopped in Indian Springs for gas, a stretch, and a Charley walk and then drove on to Beatty, Nevada.

From Beatty, we turned west into Death Valley National Park (picture) and descended into a hellish landscape. I can't image what the first wagon train pioneers thought in 1849 when they saw this place. Heat-shimmering salt flats surrounded by gray-brown mountains devoid of vegetation. The only refreshing point was the occasional glimpe of snow-capped Mt. Whitney in the distance.

We watched the outside temperature gauge go to 102F (remember, this is Spring, not Summer!) and we drove a narrow, twisting road into the valley. We reached our low point of -70 feet and started our climb back up. If you have a map, you'll see we only drove across the northern portion of the valley, but that was enough! From below sea level we climbed one ridgeline to near 5,000 feet, then down the other side into the Panamint Valley and up the other side to over 4,000 feet. The poor Explorer was breathing heavy after we finished that run, but the temperature gauge only rose a little, even though I could hear the transmission cooler laboring. I started thinking Death Valley meant death to tow vehicle transmissions. We pulled over about halfway up the second climb to have a bit of lunch and let everything cool down a bit.

We eventually intersected with US395, the main link between Lake Tahoe and Los Angeles, and quickly settled into a very nice campground just south of Lone Pine. The area around here holds multiple movie locations for those Saturday matinee black and white films of the 1930' and 40's. The campground has movie posters of Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Tim Holt, John Wayne, and others, all of whom made pictures here. The movie "Gunga Din" with Cary Grant, Victor McLaglin, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., was also made here ( I often wondered why the Khyber Pass looked so much like California!). Of course there is a movie museum in town and an auto tour through the hills outside of town where these and other movies were made. Gotta do it tomorrow. We will also stop at the Manzanar "Relocation" Camp, where Japanese-Americans were interned during World War II. It's now a National Historic Site.

For now, as promised, if this pretty good internet connection holds, I'll try to post some pictures from our previous days in Canyon de Chelly, etc.

Boulder Oaks Condominium RV Resort
Boulder City, Nevada
Sunday, May 10, 2009, 4:00 pm PDT

Weather: Very Hot, Sunny, No Breeze
Temperature: Around 100F
Altitude: 2,431 feet

We're in the desert at a top-rated AAA RV park and it's awful! The WiFi is uselessly slow (so again, no pictures of Canyon de Chelly) and the park is antiseptically barren. The place is laid out like a suburban development, with curbs, paved streets, and paved parking pads for the campers (which are mostly expensive motor homes or humongous fifth wheels). I can see why AAA likes it--it's spotless, but incredibly artificial. In between the paved sites, there are raked landscaping pebbles with a very small parched-looking tree throwing a very small patch of shade, and there is a page of rules (nothing can be left outside "the unit" except two lawn chairs--all grills, coolers, tables, etc., must be stowed in "the unit!") And all this pavement means the outside temperature is over 100F and of course the hum of air conditioners is the ambient noise. On the positive side, we have cellphone service and a very good cable TV system, so we will be able to watch the Red Sox on ESPN in a little while.

We will be moving on tomorrow into the lower Owens Valley of California. We'll see what tomorrw brings.

Meteor Crater Campground
Meteor Crater, Arizona
Saturday, May 9, 2009, 5:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time

Weather: Hot (90's), Dry, and Very Windy
Altitude: 5403 feet

We had a great time at Canyon de Chelly and have lots of pictures to post, but the WiFi here is excruciatingly slow, so I won't even attempt to upload pictures until we get a faster connection.

We got to Canyon de Chelly National Monument on the Navajo Reservation around midday yesterday (Friday), took a little reconnaissance ride along the rims, bought some Navajo jewelry, then went out for a very informal dinner at the Thunderbird Inn cafeteria. Not bad. Early this morning we put Charley with a dog-sitter at the Inn and reported to the Park Service Visitor Center to arrange a guide to take us into the canyon (no dogs allowed).

Because Navajo still live in the canyon and this is Navajo Nation land, outsiders can only enter the canyon with a Navajo guide. Ours was named Perry and he was very knowledgeable about the flora, fauna, history, and archeology of the canyon. And since we had a high ground clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicle, we elected to drive to save the money of hiring Perry's Jeep (besides, I thought it would be fun to go 4-wheeling!). That probably was not smart, but it was a lot of fun fording the stream (repeatedly) and nearly getting stuck in the sand (4-low got us out). Then my "check engine" light came on, and we worried about that in addition to getting stuck in the sand or sinking into the stream. Anyway, we have lots of pictures of the petroglyphs, pictographs, and ancient Pueblo-culture ruins that we'll post later.

When we came out of the canyon after a couple of hours, Perry told us of a repair shop in town, so we collected Charley, left him and Karen at the camper, and I went to see what the "check engine" light meant (I had to hurry since it was Saturday and they close at noon). After getting the Explorer's computer scanned, the mechanic determined that the throttle sensor had malfunctioned, but when he reset the computer and ran the car for a while, nothing came up. Seeing the mud all over the car, he said, "you've been in the canyon and probably got water on the sensor." I won't say how much that 20 minutes's work cost me, but it made our little 2-hour excursion into the canyon a fairly expensive morning.

Driving back to the campground, I spotted a group of middle school kids washing cars to raise money for a school trip, so I pulled in and had them thoroughly remove all the red mud and water stains from our dark blue Explorer. Maybe that will let me forget the expense of our adventure.

We got off by noon and drove south to the Painted Desert, where we had lunch, and then set off across the desert on I-40. By the time we got to Winslow, we were tired (we had gotten up at 6:30 to deal with Charley's dogsitter and arrange for the guide). So we pulled into the nearest full-service campground and set up for the night. We hope to make it to the area around Hoover Dam/Lake Mead tomorrow and get a faster WiFi connection so I can upload pictures.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

The "Great Kiva" at Pueblo Bonito, capable of holding several hundred people for meetings, ceremonies, or maybe bingo night.

Tomorrow, we're off to Canyon de Chelly in Arizona, one of the outlying communities associated with Chaco, but after 1250AD taken over, and to this day, occupied by Navajo farmers and herders, a non-Pueblo people.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

Scientists have determined that the Chaco culture used three different types of masonry over the 300 years of active construction. The three types are differentiated by the way they combined large flat stones, smaller "filler" stones, and adobe (clay mud, straw, and water) mortar. As they became more confident and advanced in their building techniques, the walls became more slender and elegant and less ponderous. Wood was at a premium in this desert environment, so it was used sparingly--as rough ceilings and over doors and windows.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

The round structures are "kivas," often described as a "church" by present day Pueblo people. They were really more, but did provide a space for religious rituals as well as social gatherings. All these structures had wooden beams and slats set across them for ceilings, with dirt and adobe masonry over the wood. Of course over the years the wood rotted and collapsed the ceilings. What we see today was excavated by archeologists from the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian in the 1920's and 1930's.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

These buildings were erected between 850 and 1250 AD by ancestors of today's Pueblo people (Hopis, Zunis, etc.), who still live in the Four Corners area. Chaco is believed to be the market and religious center of a series of clans and tribes that would visit regularly. Despite the large size of the structures, some experts estimate that no more than 2,000 people lived here permanently. These buildings were used for social and religious gatherings, temporary accommodations, and food and water storage. Roads were designed and built that fanned out from Chaco to other communities, such as Canyon de Chelly, throughout the area.

Desert Rose RV Resort
Bloomfield, New Mexico
Thursday, May 7, 2009, 4:35 pm MDT

Hot and Dry; 87F

We're having a bit of trouble with the WiFi, so I hope it holds while I post this entry.

Today was our day for Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a fascinating collection of pre-Columbian ruins in northwestern New Mexico. The picture is Karen in her necessary sun bonnet and coverings to protect from the sun. Chaco is about 60 miles south of our campground in Bloomfield.

Knowing it was to be another hot day, we got up early (6:05 am) and reached the park soon after its 8 am opening when the temperatures were still in the 60's. And "getting there" wasn't exactly a run down the freeway. The access road includes about 16 miles of dirt road across high desert rangeland (with the occasional livestock on the road), most of it indented with enough washboard surface to rattle your dental fillings. We could only make about 20-25 mph for most of the way, but on our way out, a county road scraper was smoothing out some of the ripples.

We stopped at the Park Service Visitor Center, talked with a very knowledgeable ranger, watched a short video, bought some items in the shop, and then set off on the Park's 9-mile Loop Road around Chaco Canyon. There are ruins and petroglyphs spaced along the route and we stopped several times for a walkabout and a closer look. Charley was not allowed on these paths or anywhere near the ruins, so he stayed in the car. Fortunately, conditions allowed us to leave him with partially open windows and sunroof, a stiff breeze, and 70-degree temperatures. The sun was still intense and we tried not to leave him for more than half an hour or so, and in-between, we'd set the Explorer's air conditioner to "meat locker" so all interior surfaces were chilled (including the occupants). What we do for our 4-legged traveling companion. We'll post more pictures of the ruins later if the WiFi holds out, but aerial photos really give the best appreciation of the scale and complexity of these structures--and we didn't take any plane rides!

Desert Rose RV Resort
Bloomfield, New Mexico
Thursday, May 7, 2009, 2:45 pm MDT

Taken the other day north of Santa Fe. Pretty fancy bridge abutment for a freeway!

Desert Rose RV Resort
Bloomfield, New Mexico
Thursday, May 7, 2009, 2:45 pm MDT

Weather: Brilliant Sun, Cloudless Skies, but Record Heat (89F) for this Time of Year
Altitude: 5549 feet

We just got back from Chaco Culture National Historical Park, about 60 miles south of here (more later). This being our last day in New Mexico, we thought we'd end with a little local color. New Mexico paints its major freeway bridges mostly a pinkish beige, to match the landscape, I guess. In some areas around Santa Fe and on Indian reservations, local artists have apparently been given free rein. Note the motif of this bridge. Another picture coming up. . . .

Desert Rose RV Resort
Bloomfield, New Mexico
Wednesday, May 6, 2009, 6:40 pm MDT

Not a Cloud in the Sky; Breezy
Temperature: 78F at 6:30 pm; earlier 84F (near record highs according to local media)
Altitude: 5549 feet

This morning at 6 am in Santa Fe, it was 48F and by the time we got underway at 8:25, it was 73F! The sun is unbelievably strong at these altitudes and as soon as it rises, things change quickly. We drove north toward Abiquiu in country like the picture. From Abiquiu and north, it's Georgia O'Keeffe Country. This is where she lived and painted and the country becomes more varied. We wondered what exactly she saw as we looked at the country immediately around Santa Fe, but what we discovered north of Abiquiu was a more varied landscape--multi-colored rocky canyons and ridges; green or muddy tan streams; cottonwooods, pinons, and junipers--a variety of colors and textures that any artist would find uniquely interesting, and as always, the sun changing everything as it courses across brilliant blue skies. (Photographs cannot capture it, at least our pix can't!) At a distance, we drove past the Pedernal, the flat-topped mountain she repeatedly painted (she said, "if I paint it enough, maybe God will give it to me.").

And we climbed, and as we did, the country became greener and more wooded, until we reached the area around Tierra Amarilla and Chama. This country, between 7500 and 8500 feet high, is beautifully watered by snow still melting in the surrounding high peaks and mostly in pasture, with cattle and horses grazing and more and more evidence of large, probably second, homes scattered about.

West of Chama, we crossed the Continental Divide and entered the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. The land is mostly pasture, with timber and a sawmill or two at the higher elevations, and more horses than cattle grazing the land. We stopped for lunch by Dulce Lake, an impounded mountain stream, and as with most Indian reservations we've encountered, the roadside was littered with broken beer bottles and fast food wrappers-- and the decaying corpse of a coyote. Farther on, the pastures were dotted with more horses as well as oil and gas wells, and as we descended from the 7500-foot elevation, more and more gas wells and compressor and pumping stations appeared. We left Apache Country and continued our descent into Bloomfield, in its day a rowdy, wild west cowtown, but now the area center of the oil and gas business. And we watched the outside temperature gauge go from the low 70's to the mid-80's, we checked into Desert Rose campground in mid-afternoon and set up in 84-degree heat (and 9% humidity!).

Tomorrow we plan to drive an hour south to the Chaco Culture National Historical Park to see the ruins of the Anasazi, the ancestors of today's Pueblo people. Since it's supposed to be at least as hot tomorrow, we hope to leave early and visit the area in the morning before it gets too hot.

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The oldest house in America (that's a very young--at heart--Karen standing in front of it). Portions of this building have been dated to the 1200's and others were added on and "modernized" by the Spanish in the early 1600's.

This will be the last of the pix from Santa Fe. Our shortened visit must end tomorrow as we head West to explore Chaco and Canyon de Chelly National Monuments. We saw a lot of Santa Fe and environs in two and a half days, but we get the feeling we only scratched the surface. I thing we shall return someday.

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The San Miguel Mission Church, the oldest religious building in the United States (1609).

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The New Mexico State Capitol. Strikingly unique, and evocative of its environment. No dome, no marble columns, no copy of the federal capitol in Washington (itself a copy of St. Paul's in London). New Mexico has had a number of capitols since becoming a territory in 1850 and a state in 1912--the Palace of the Governors, inherited from the Spanish and Mexican periods and a couple of others, one of which burned down. This one was built in 1966 and updated in 1991-92. The inside is stunning, but I really couldn't get any pictures that do it justice.

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The Pink Adobe, claimed to be the oldest restaurant in Santa Fe. We walked into the very inviting alley/patio, rather than the "front door" (hidden to the right). The food was great, the patio was shady and breezy, and they played a funky mix of blues, folk, and jazz on their music system.

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The La Fonda Hotel located diagonally across from the Central Plaza. We had a terrific lunch there yesterday and even though there is a major renovation project going on in its main dining room, everything else was open and obviously of superior quality. They even have an underground garage where we could park so that Charley was in a cool shady spot while we walked in the sun.

Santa Fe Skies RV Park
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 6:15 pm MDT

Weather: Same, same, same

Another day exploring this fascinating little city--and we are exhausted (we blame it on the altitude). Here is your faithful correspondent at lunch today, and it was another winner. We stumbled onto this patio in an alley without seeing that the main entrance was a door on the street.
Oh well, they greeted us warmly, escorted us to a shady table under an umbrella, and brought us ice water and beer. And we had a marvelous lunch. If you're ever in Santa Fe, order the New Mexican Green Chile Stew at the Pink Adobe--the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Santa Fe (so they say). It's also right across the street (that is, the Old Santa Fe Trail) from the oldest church in America (1609) and the oldest house in America (portions dating to the 1200's). This was obviously history day: we toured the Palace of the Governors (1609), the Canyon Road art district, and even the State Capitol, probably the most distinctive capitol building in the country. More pictures to follow. . . .

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Monday, May 4, 2009, 6:25 pm MDT

Just to illustrate the lengths Santa Fe goes to preserve its character, the picture at right is not of a large adobe building, but rather a "faux-dobe" parking garage!

More tomorrow. . . .

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Monday, May 4, 2009, 6:10 pm MDT

The Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi from Cathedral Park in downtown Santa Fe, earlier today. The scaffolding supports an exterior renovation project. This building was put up in the 1880's on the site of earlier churches dating back to 1610.

The first European settlers came north from Mexico in 1597 and established colonies and missions just north of Santa Fe. The city of Santa Fe was chartered and laid out in 1610. Some residents of this area prefer to be called "Spanish Americans" rather than "Mexican Americans," since their families and landholdings can be traced to the Spanish charters 200 years before there was a "Mexico."

For my grandson and history student, Nate: ask your teacher why we don't learn as much about the Spanish colonies in the Southwest as we do about the English settlements along the Atlantic Seaboard, most of which came later. This should be a particularly interesting question in Virginia, where America is believed to have started in 1607 Jamestown!

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Monday, May 4, 2009, 6:07 pm MDT

Karen checking out the wares for sale at a courtyard shop between the streets near the Central Plaza.

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Monday, May 4, 2009, 6:05 pm MDT

An alley off the Central Plaza in the oldest section of Santa Fe.

Santa Fe Skies RV Park
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Monday, May 4, 2009, 5:55pm MDT

A Beautiful Day: Sunny, Warm, and Breezy
Temperature: 76F
Altitude: 6900 feet

We've had a great day being tourists in a very interesting small city. We've walked the downtown area, done a little shopping, lingered at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, and had a wonderful New Mexican lunch at La Fonda, an old and classically Southwest-style hotel just off the central plaza.

We've been all over North America and Europe, but Santa Fe is no doubt the most distinctive city we've visited. It's a mixture of very old and very new, small narrow streets and alleys in its center, with wider boulevards and low density and scattered residential areas. And the ancient adobe style of architecture is everywhere, to the point that new construction in this style is called "faux-dobe." Its central plaza (picture) is typical of Spanish colonial style, with government buildings on one side and a cathedral at the other end a block away. The plaza is filled with indigenous sellers of their own artwork--turquoise, copper, silver, and beaded jewelry and woolen woven goods, and if you buy directly from the artists there's no state sales tax!

Tomorrow, we'll tackle some of the museums on "Museum Hill" (Spanish colonial art, Indian art, and folk art), try tours of the Palace of the Governors and the Cathedral, and no doubt do a little more shopping.

More pictures to follow. . . .

Santa Fe, New Mexico
Sunday, May 3, 2009, 5:55 pm MDT

Before Ed left for the East, we went into Albuquerque to look around and have lunch. This a picture of a clock tower marking the route of the old U.S. 66 through the city. The "Mother Road," as they call it ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, but is famous as the road the Okies of the "Grapes of Wrath" took from their devastated Dust Bowl farms of Oklahoma to the supposed better life in southern California. We had lunch at a sidewalk pub and contemplated how far we have come.

Albuquerque proved to be a welcome stop on our way West as well, although we were in somewhat better shape than the Okies of the 1930's. The city is easy to get around in, and it has all the conveniences a traveler would need, including a Ford garage near our campground to service our Explorer tow vehicle and a wide variety of shopping and dining venues. It also has an efficient, modern airport with reasonable connections back East. Despite all that, we're not sure we could live here. It's all so dry and beige--really lacking in greenery and variety (written by someone who now lives in a state when in Spring there are more shades of green than you can count).

A final note on Albuquerque: this is where we learned the difference between Mexican and New Mexican cuisine. We had dinner last Tuesday night at Sadie's of Albuquerque, a local favorite and highly recommended. Sadies's features a New Mexican menu, influenced by the local indigenous people. They use more potatoes and other tubers than rice, only a few varieties of chili (although quite powerfully spicy), and their breads are more likely wheat-based than corn-based. They also used honey a lot as a sweetner and do not use chocolate at all. Interesting, and very good--and we still could enjoy a wonderful Margarita!

Santa Fe Skies RV Park
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Sunday, May 3, 2009, 5:30 pm MDT

Sunny and breezy, with large white puffy clouds
Temperature: 68F
Altitude: 6900 feet

We have resumed our travels and moved to the outskirts of Santa Fe. The picture is our current campsite on a hill (I guess here called a mesa, overlooking the city of Santa Fe and the still snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance).

Ed returned yesterday afternoon after a flying trip to New Jersey for his mother's funeral--and a surprise funeral for his uncle. A few hours after his mother died, her 91-year old brother died of heart failure (he did not know his sister had died). So on Thursday, Ed buried his mother and on Friday he went to his uncle's funeral as well. All in all, a stressful and emotional two days. But both lived long and good lives and both believed in a life everlasting. We really should celebrate the life of 90-year old people and recognize their accomplishments, and only grieve because we the living will miss them.

Karen stayed in Albuquerque and kept herself busy to keep from getting too down in the dumps. She did all the laundry, thoroughly cleaned the camper, shopped for a few items we needed, as well as a major load of groceries, plus she got her hair done and bought a few things for herself, and she got Charley bathed and trimmed. So both my traveling companions have new hairdos! She did alright.

Until now we have indeed been a bit preoccupied with the sad news from New Jersey. But we are resolved to begin anew and enjoy not only the trip, but the graduation of our grandniece from college and the attendant family celebration. As Ed's Mom would have wanted, we now begin again.