Under Construction

The Wi-Fi will be down here for a few days so I will try and update whenever I can. For the time being we will be hanging around and enjoying the sites.

Dam!

On our second attempt to visit Hoover Dam we finally made it. With the thermometer spiking at 110 we set off to explore this building marvel. The size of this Dam can't be captured on film. It truly is something that has to been seen first hand to appreciate the size.

The road to reach the Dam is like a snake twisting and turning along the barren red rocks until you get your first glimpse of the Dam. The first thing that caught my attention was all the cables running over my head. Some for support and most of them electrical wires surging with electricity.

We decided to take a tour and see the inner workings of this place. Our first stop took us down an elevator ride into the "belly" of the Dam. Here we saw the tubes that carry water to the generators. These tubes were 30' across and came from the water intake towers on the Lake Mead side.

The intake towers supply water to the 17 generators that produce 4 billion kilowatts of power a year. That is enough to supply energy to 1.3 million people. The best part it is green energy. Can't get any cleaner. This photo below shows the generators on the Arizona side of the Dam. There is another identical room on the Nevada side of the river.

The base of the Dam is about 2 football fields end to end and it tapers up to a final width of 45' across. An interesting fact about all the concrete poured into the Dam, it is enough to pave a 5' wide sidewalk around the world. It took 2 years and 24 hours a day 7 days a week to complete pouring all the concrete in this structure. What an amazing sight to walk along the top and look out over a small portion of Lake Mead and then walk back on the other side of the street while looking down 726' to the power plant below.

I pieced together some pictures to try and give you an idea of the size of this Dam. What caught me by surprise about all of this is the fact the Hoover Dam was not built for the electrical generators but in fact was built to control the Colorado River. All the farming that takes place down river and where 1/3 of all our produce comes from in the US, is irrigated from the water of the Colorado River. In years before the Dam, that area was prone to flooding or draughts. With the Dam in place the farmers know that there will be the correct amount of water for their crops every year. The Dam holds back so much water that it took 6 years to fill up completely with water after they completed it.

This is a place that you could spend hours looking at and reading about the history of this Dam. The technology they used for their time is amazing in itself.

With the sun cooking us alive we decided to head back and sit by the pool to cool off.

It is an amazing construction!

Sin City

It seems that both vehicles decided to breakdown at the same time. After my ordeal getting the Pick Up fixed I returned to find that Road Hazard's jacks were leaking bad. It was causing the RV to become un-level. After a quick phone call to the local Camping World they agreed to see us but we only had 45 minutes to get there. We quickly packed everything, put the awing away, and disconnected everything to get there within the time frame. After discovering that a solenoid had gotten loose they checked out the rest of the system and we were back home. Our reward was to sit in the pool and try and cool off in the 90 degree water temperature. The air temperature was 109 so it felt a little better in the water.

In the evening we decided it was time to have a little fun in Las Vegas. We got all dressed up and headed of to explore the night life. The drive in was great to see all the lights and all the people walking around.

Our first stop was the Venetian Casio. It is modeled after Venice, Italy. They even have the canals with the gondolas and the guys singing. It was interesting to compare this to the real thing having been to Italy only a couple of years ago.

We went to the bar and tried our luck at Video Poker. The nice thing is if you sit and play any game you get your drinks for free. After we lost our money and decided to walk around and see the sights.

With all the lights and colors inside and outside competing for your attention it can get a little overwhelming. It is easy to find a comfortable place to sit and just watch all the activity. I'm always amazed at those people that put a pile of chips down on the table. After they lose it all quickly move on like it was nothing. I can't help but think about how many gallons of Diesel I could have bought with it. After months of not wearing dress shoes both Reta and I were ready to take our shoes off. Our feet were killing us. Next time we promised to wear sandals out.

Vegas. You got'a love it!

Mulch Truck

Yesterday we set off to go explore the Hoover Dam but our Pick Up truck had another idea. As we headed off I noticed that the "ABS" light was on. OK, lets look in the manual and see what would cause that light to come on. While looking up the information I noticed that the Speedometer wasn't working! What's going on? Is there anything else?

At this point I felt that it wasn't enough to stop us from going out to explore...until the "Check Engine" light came on. OK. There is something going on here and it probably is serious. We turned around and crossed our fingers to make it back to Road Hazard safely.

After limping back I started looking around the Internet to find someone who could fix it. I decided to take it to a Ford Dealer. I know it will probably cost a little more but I know that I am getting certified mechanics to work on it. Being this far from familiar territory I don't want to play around.

So, here I sit in the waiting room waiting. Reta is probably still sleeping or getting ready to go to the pool. Got to work on the tan!

Hopefully I won't be here for too long and will be able to enjoy some of the day outside. I might have to hit the tables tonight to win back some of this money that I'm spending today.

High Roller

I settled into my lazy boy to watch a little TV last night and got to watch the Moon Rise. I'll have to admit that I haven't seen too many of those.

After a good nights rest we packed everything up and started up Road Hazard for our next destination. This would be a long drive today and would cover over 300 miles and take us through California to arrive in Las Vegas, Nevada. Up until this point my favorite state to drive through was New Mexico but after today I am switching to Arizona. You start with desert plains as far as you can see. Then the further west you go the landscape starts to change. Today, I drove Road Hazard up over the mountains getting to 7,000'. On the drive down the western side of the mountain the landscape had changed to tall pine trees and green everywhere. I have to admit going down a 10% grade at 65 mph is not fun. It's a concert of keeping the RPM's in check while you down shift, watching the air for the brakes and trying not to go too fast. I was happy when we left the mountain in the rear view mirror.

After we crossed over the Colorado River we entered into California. The drive through CA was for about 60 miles . Right through the desert. This was a two lane road with nothing but desert on both sides as far as you could see. Reta did a great job driving the bumpy road.

We finally hit the Nevada boarder to more cheers coming from Road Hazard. It's hard to believe that we are this are. As we got closer to Las Vegas it was interesting to see the suburbs. Houses packed so close together that if someone opened their window to spit it would hit their neighbors house. With so much land around here it's interesting that they just pack them in tight.

There it is in the distance. You can make out certain casino's. The Strip. Only a couple of miles from where we are parked. Time to look at the odds for the Redskins to win it all!

I have been told already to not spend our gas money. Who knows, we might hit it big here!

Big BANG!

So why would two "young" adults want to go look at a big hole in the ground? What makes this hole so special? Haven't we seen enough big holes or canyons in the last month?

We decided to go explore this hole because this one was created by something from out of this world. Literally. Lets back up and start at the very beginning of this story.

50,000 years ago this stretch of land before us was no different than the many miles around it. Relatively flat with a few hills to break up the landscape. Deep in outer space a collision occurred that broke off several pieces of an asteroid. One of these huge pieces weighing in around several hundred thousand tons and about 150 feet across came hurtling towards a young planet. It reached a speed of 40,000 mph. At that speed the earths atmosphere could do very little to slow it down. It hit this calm barren landscape with the force of 20 million tons of TNT. The force was so big that pieces of this meteorite vaporized on impact. Small pieces were later found.

What was left behind to tell what happened was a huge hole. It measures a little under a mile across and 500 ft deep. To give you an idea of the size of the hole you could put 20 football fields in the base of the hole and surround the fields with over 2 million fans on the sloping walls. If you were to stand the Washington Monument in the center of the hole you would be at eye level to the top of it by standing on the rim. Today, looking around you can see the evidence of the force created by this impact seeing huge chunks of sandstone rock that have been thrown up onto the rim. Some the size of houses. Looking at the cliff walls you can see the sandstone has turned into a smooth brown rock. Some of the sandstone that received less heat turned into a popcorn texture.

(click on this picture to see the entire crater)

The fascinating point was that not until 1960 did scientist finally declare that this was an impact area. They were still unsure of the possibility of a rock falling from the sky do so much damage. Since then, this area has been used by NASA to train their early astronauts for conditions of the moon when they got there. They were also taught what to look for on the moon by studying the rocks in the creator. Hollywood wasn't too far behind by using this as a backdrop for several movies. The biggest being "Space Man" with Jeff Bridges.



Standing on the rim of the creator it gave you a birds eye view of the surrounding area. In the distance we could see Humphreys Peak at 12,633 ft. and about 60 miles away. It being the highest peak in Arizona.

We were talking on our drive back to Road Hazard that on this trip we have learned so much. It has given us a first hand look at how nature really shapes this ball we call home. From the water creating giant holes in the ground and forming beautiful formations hundreds of feet below the surface. To the earths crust pushing together and falling apart to create canyons. To objects from millions of miles away falling into our gravitational pull and creating a huge hole in the ground and with it sending up tons of debris and dust into the air.

I have to say that it was pretty cool to look at a big hole in the ground.

On our way back we stopped at a local grocery store to pick up a few things. We have often wondered what people in such a small town think about living in isolated communities. It was answered when the young clerk asked us what we were doing here, so far from Maryland. After we told him of the places around here that we went to, his only response was, "Welcome to Nothing"! What a great phrase. I see maybe making T-shirts and selling it to all the tourists that come here. A big hole in the shirt with the words "Welcome to Nothing" splayed across it.

What do you think?

Brush Strokes

Our second day in Holbrook took us to another National Park nearby. Our ride out to the park was spectacular with the views along the way. It was like someone had shot the bright blue sky with white paint balls. The sky was peppered with these while puffy clouds and it just made the entire site incredible. Imagine looking all around you and seeing these flat fields accompanied with these clouds. It's amazing when you don't have any buildings or trees around and you look out and it seems that you can see forever.

We arrived at the Painted Desert to find views that took our breath away. The colors of the cliffs were so intense. While we were admiring the canyon below a Raven didn't appreciate the fact that we chose his spot to stop and look. This raven was flying overhead and would swoop down to try and persuade us to leave. I managed to catch him in flight and it made for one of my favorite pictures.

Back in 1906 when this park was first opened they built an Inn for people to come stay in the park. This Inn is no longer operating but you can still walk around inside and admire the building. This structure was built all by hand. All the logs were cut and shaped by hand. All the planks of wood for the floors were cut by hand. They didn't have the means to get the necessary tools up here so they made due with what they had. In the slide show you will see more pictures of the Inn. One of the famous people that stayed here, Albert Einstein, with his crazy hair and all.

The Painted Desert isn't too far from the Petrified Forest. You can see some similarities in the soil. There are no petrified trees in this area but they have found several dinosaur bones buried within the layers. Over time these hills are being washed away and reveling more hidden treasures below. Also, the cliffs themselves are slowly disappearing with the erosion. The colors in the soil are from different types of minerals that saturated this area. Iron, Silicon Dioxide, Manganese to name a few.

When this park first opened one of the ways people could visit it was to arrive by train, via the Santa Fe Railroad, or by car, via Route 66. As I have said before, much of 66 is buried and forgotten.

Here is the road that once was the main artery from Chicago to California. Today all that remains here is telephone poles. The road has been reclaimed by nature. You can still see the bump in the landscape from the road and in the background is Route 40 that has claimed much it.

We couldn't help but wonder after looking at the Painted Desert what will the Grand Canyon be like. These views are incredible already and we just can't imagine more. Enjoy the Painted Desert.

Got Wood?

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever walked into something thinking you knew what to expect but only to realize when you get there that it is nothing like you imagined but only better? That is the way I felt when we arrived at the Petrified Forest today.

I expected to find some petrified trees. What I didn't expect was to find the place littered with trees. As far as you could see around you were huge logs that were 30' long down to little pieces that has been broken down over time. It was if someone had collected all these trees and just thrown them in one big pile. This pile extends for miles though.

The colors were so bright. Red, black, brown and white's. It almost looked like someone had polished some of these pieces.

We spent the day hiking different trails to only find more of these petrified trees. The way they all ended up here is quite interesting. They believe that over 250 million years ago this whole area was a thick forest. With a huge volcanic eruption it uprooted these trees and sent them down this river which eventually became log jammed with so many trees. Over the millions of years the sediment from the volcano and dirt covered up these logs. Slowly the minerals started to be soaked into this wood and it created crystals. Fast forward many many years and the area dries up and becomes this desert. With rains it slowly starts to wash these layers off these trees until they become exposed.

I thought about how I would try and describe what we saw today but the words seem difficult to put together. I hope the pictures that we took will help and give you an idea of the quantity and size of these trees. What an incredible day. I spoke to one person that had just come from the Grand Canyon. He said that this place is just as Grand but on a completely different scale.

Continental Divide

Road Hazard has made us proud because we have just logged a little over 100 hours driving. It covers 5,236 miles of road through 13 states and 32 stops. The last city for us to settle in is Holbrook Arizona. We are here because this is the closest city to the Petrified Forest National Park.

Let me back up a little and just say that the two states that I have enjoyed driving through so far has been Florida (the Keys) and New Mexico. Florida is obvious because of the clear blue water on both sides of the road. New Mexico because of the beautiful mountains that are stripped with red and white colors. In the evening before the sun sets the mountains take on a different color like nothing I have ever seen before. Albuquerque turned a pink hue with the city lights at the base.

The drive into Arizona has also been exciting. The mountains seem to be getting taller as we move west. At one point I looked down at the computer and we were 7,000 above sea level. No wonder I am getting so winded. I thought it was because I'm out of shape! Now I have a better reason.

Along the side of the highway we kept noticing what looked like lava fields. This whole section between New Mexico and Arizona looks like was once a huge lava flow. These black jagged rocks were everywhere.

As we approached Arizona another big marker for Road Hazard to cross was the Continental Divide. This is the point in the US where water will either run to the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean. This mountain range determines where the water will shed. We crossed this line with the horns blaring and fists pumping in the air. We are almost to the Pacific Ocean!

Finally we crossed into Arizona. Another exciting moment for us. Anytime we cross into another state we both get excited. This is new territory for both of us.

We are excited about exploring the Petrified Forest. At the KOA Campground that we are in there are pieces of petrified wood laying around like scrapes. I would load up the RV but these things weigh a ton. You tap on them and they sound like rock. Amazing. We are planning on hitting the National Park tomorrow.

Let me be the first to say to all the Dad's, HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Dad, hope you have a great day and don't eat too much.

Nothing but Hot Air.

Waking up at the crack of dawn really hasn't fit into our schedule since we started on this journey. So when the alarm went off this morning it brought with it a rush of bad memories of having to get up early to get ready for work. Once we realized the reason for the annoying buzzing sound next to our head we slowly crawled out of bed. I looked at the clock as the bright red lights seemed to burn my eyes, 4:30 a.m. Oh, this better be good or there will be two people tired and quite upset. After getting a shower to wake up and getting some food in us we headed out the door. One last glance at the clock that now seemed to be mocking us - 5:15 a.m.

We arrived at the launch site at 5:45 to find a big empty dirt lot. First to arrive. Slowly more cars pulled in and finally a van pulling a trailer stirred up the dust as he slowed to a stop. Three men jumped out and like a well oiled machine each started to set off and accomplish his own task.

Large tarps were laid out along side of the basket. The envelope that holds the hot air was unrolled and stretched out as the spaghetti of lines were untangled and attached to its proper clasp.

Finally with two large fans blowing cold air into the balloon this huge ball of fabric started to take shape. Once the balloon looked full the three large burners were ignited and with a loud crack, flames licked the inside of the balloon. Within minutes this colorful ball started to right itself. At last, we had ourselves what looked like a giant pinata. This beautiful colorful ball standing tall with a basket hanging from the bottom.

At the pilots command we quickly climbed into this woven basket and after a few vital instructions we were ready for takeoff. With the sun breaking the horizon and sending with it its warm rays of light we slowly lifted off.

What an incredible sensation to slowly be lifted off the ground as to defy gravity. With only the sound of the burners burning every so often the flight was quite with the sounds of distant life down below.

Eric, our pilot, took us over trees with only inches to spare below our feet. Soon we were over top of the Rio Grande river and slowly started to descend until we were hovering above the rushing water. It felt like we were puppets just hanging there with strings attached above us.

After climbing to 1,500 feet and watching the objects on the ground become smaller and smaller we drifted over the city of Albuquerque. Soon we were drifting over downtown with the Historic district passing by. The zoo, that we had visited just a couple of days before, came into view. Not long after we spotted the airport getting closer. The planes landing seemed so close but were really a couple of miles away from us. After about an hour of drifting and letting the currents take us where it pleased the pilot started to communicate with his chase crew on the ground. The next 45 minutes were filled with 4 failed attempts at landing because as soon as we would find a big empty field to land the winds decided to push us into another direction. Imagine being a couple hundred feet in the air and looking at a city filled up buildings, powerlines, trees and sky scrapers below. Looking for a big enough space to land. We tried a field behind a school first. Once the children inside realized what was about to happen they swarmed out of the building to wave and watch. Not to be as we were soon pushed off course. Next a parking lot behind a warehouse. The forklifts were busy loading trucks as we descended. Not to be. The manager on duty would not allow it. Two more failed attempts and we finally drifted over the highway with only 50 ft separating us and the rush hour traffic below, we touched down on this empty dirt field. After a hard bounce we had landed.

After arriving back at the launch site the tables were put together as the champagne bottles were opened. With a toast to celebrate our safe flight we downed the cold bubbly liquid. Enjoy the slide show as it has many more pictures of our adventure today.

Up Up and Away!

Most likely when you read this we will be just lifting off the ground. Today we are scheduled to rise 2,100 above the landscape and experience what early flight was like.

Since we have to be at the site by 5:45 am I am writing this on Wednesday night. Once we arrive at the site we are going to help them assemble the balloon and inflate it as well. We will be flying for about an hour to an hour and a half. It all depends on the weather. Once we land, safely we hope, the fun task of rolling up this ball of hot air to fit back into the chase vehicles. It will be followed by a champagne breakfast to celebrate our safe journey.

I hope to have tons of pictures and some good stories to share.

Downtown Albuquerque

While we were having breakfast in the lobby of the campground I was able to enjoy reading the newspaper. They had someone making fresh waffles and pancakes. They also had cold cereals, bagels, sweet pastry's and juices. In the metro section I found that the Albuquerque Zoo was going to have a special twilight tour this evening. What a better way to see the zoo than to have a guide and run around at night to see the animals. Before that, we had plenty of time to check out the historic part of Albuquerque.

We started our trip into town following the Historic Route 66. There are only small sections of the original route today. Most of it has been destroyed or covered up by big highways such as I-40 that dissects the lower part of the country.

Historic downtown consisted of 4 city blocks in both directions, centered with a tree shaded plaza. Old buildings leaning in one direction as to show that it is old and just needs to rest a little by leaning on something. The style is of the Pueblo buildings. Flat roofs with the red mud sides. It pretty much is a tourist trap with all the souvenir shops lining both sides of the streets.

There is one church along the main plaza. San Felipe de Neri Church. It has been here since 1793.

The inside is very simple but has some interesting paintings that show Jesus and the cross along the entire journey he made with it up until his Resurrection.

We enjoyed a great lunch at a Mexican style restaurant. I could eat this type of food everyday it is so good. With still a few hours to go before our excursion this evening I decided to get the oil changed in the pickup and get that task out of the way.

Finally, the hour had approached and we headed off to watch these animals come alive at night.

We were divided up into small groups of 10 people and headed off to explore. Each group going off in a different direction so that you felt like you had the entire zoo to yourself. As soon as we entered the zoo we were greeted by these beautiful Peacocks. Their cries almost sounded like a cat but much louder.

They were running around loose and every once in awhile one would come swooping down over you. They are not known for their flying. I think because of too many feathers.

Our first stop was to see the Lions but they were inside of their den and didn't show their face. Instead, directly across from them was the Imus's and they were very curious and wanted to see what was happening.

The Kangaroo's didn't want any part of the activity happening at night. They just wanted to go back to sleep and showed us that by stretching out and covering their faces.

Good life!

With the light fading fast it was getting more difficult to take pictures. I managed to take several more and I have added the remainder of the pictures in the slide show. Be sure to click on the box to see the rest of the animals that came out to see us. It's a small zoo but very well taken care of and with a nice layout to get around. Now its my turn to stretch out and relax a little.

Can you spell it?

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico.

Have you ever seen so many "qu" in one word? I don't think I could live in this city just for the fact that I would have to spell it every time I fill out my address. They really should think about an abbreviation of the word. Here is a little trivia that I found about this word.

1)"Albuquerque" is the last song (track 12) of "Weird Al" Yankovic's Running With Scissors album. It is not only the longest song in the album, clocking in at 11 minutes and 25 seconds, but also the longest song Yankovic has ever released on any of his official studio albums.

2) If you were to translate the word to Korean it would look like this:

알부쾌크, 미국 뉴멕시코에 있는 도시

Not any better in Korean either, huh?

3) Albuquerque was named for Spain's 10th Duke of Alburquerque. (The first "r" was dropped, by one account, because a station master had trouble with the spelling.) HELLO, is anyone listening?

4) It was the city from which the "runaway bride," Jennifer Wilbanks, called police and ended a search that titillated the nation in 2005. She couldn't spell the city she was in so the search ended.

As many people rushed off to start their new work week, Monday morning, we packed up Road Hazard and headed south for an hour. Our next destination took us to the city that I can't spell.

The views were very similar to Santa Fe only we are 2,000' lower. The city of Albuquerque is surrounded by huge mountains. The homes don't have that "pueblo" look to them, with the red walls and flat roofs, but the more conventional style. Pitched roofs and regular siding. Still, the good homes are perched on the cliffs.

We will be here for the next few days and will take some time to chill out. Believe it or not it takes a toll on you when you are always on the go and consistently moving around. We decided to take a day off to do nothing. Please, keep your sympathy emails to yourself.

The campground we are staying serves breakfast every morning so we will check it out and sit down afterwards to figure out everything we want to see and do while in Albuquerque. I have already scheduled a balloon ride for Thursday morning and am really excited about the thought of soaring 2,000' above the ground, floating with the wind currents. Enjoy your day!

Indiana Cerda

As we drove north past Santa Fe, past the Indian casino's and past the last small town of White Rock we entered into a canyon that holds the spirits of the past. I dusted off my Indiana Jones hat and substituted my camera for the whip to capture moments in time. We are headed off to explore the past.

As you drive over a couple of mountain ranges to arrive at Bandelier National Park you start to see the past speaking to you.

Back before anyone roamed this area there was a huge volcanic eruption that was 600 times bigger than Mt. St. Helen in 1980. The volcano discharged so much volcanic pumice that in certain parts of this area the ash was over 1000' deep. Over time, the ash became compressed and formed these tall cliffs that are made up of this porous rock that today is called "Tuff".

As we began our hike one of the oldest questions in time was answered right before our eyes. At one point you may have heard the expression or even used it yourself "Does a bear sh*# in the woods?" Today we were witness to "If a Dear sh*#'s in the woods, will someone hear it?". The answer, yes, because we not only heard it but saw it.

After taking a moment to discuss what we just witnessed we continued down the path to explore the past. The Indians that would migrate in and out of this area to follow the movements of big game animals. Over time they began to build more permanent shelter. The soft rock, tuff, was easy to carve holes into and could be used as shelter. Slowly the Indians made this area more permanent and built homes against the cliffs. Today, we can visit these old dwellings. To touch the past, one has to climb several ladders to reach these dwellings perched high above the canyon floor.

I remember growing up in DC and being dragged to the Smithsonian Museum to learn about American History. I would have my nose pressed against the glass to look at the displays of the American Indians that created there home in the cliffs.

These dwellings have been dated back to 10,000 years and today we find ourselves walking in the same places and touching the same walls that have been witness to so much change.

This soft rock has become almost like a huge block of swiss cheese from the erosion caused by wind and rain.

This National Park is littered with cliff dwellings and stories of the past. Evidence can be seen all around you.

The footprint of their homes are still visible today.

The markings that they left behind still tell a story of a people that had to work hard just to survive. Walking around we found pieces of pottery that they would been used to carry water or used in cooking. We also found volcanic rock, that looks like glass and is very sharpe, that they would have used to make spears for hunting game.

Bandelier National Park is a time capsule of the past. It allows any visitor who enters to be transported back to the past. History is all around you. Here the rocks speak to you through symbols carved by someone hundreds of years ago or by the footprint of buildings. The cliffs and canyon floor are still filled with historic litter of the past.

This is a place that one looks back in order to look forward.