Advertisement
Published: September 24th 2013
Edit Blog Post
Wildflowers at the Canyon
Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo, TX October 9--Left Colorado and headed for Texas today. Time to get back there and see my other family. I wish I could move Pueblo and Dallas closer, clone myself or use the space relocater from Star Trek. (Beam me to Dallas, Scotty) It sure would be easier, not to mention faster!
October 10—Spent a day and night in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. This is supposed to be Texas' answer to the Grand Canyon, but for once, Texas size isn't the largest! At 120 miles long it is considered the second largest canyon in the US. (Grand is 277 miles) In places it is 20 miles wide, which seems more like a valley than a canyon at a look. The canyon was formed by the Red River which flows on down to become the boundary line between Texas and Oklahoma. I took several pictures of different formations and rock colors as I drove through. The most famous landmark of the park is The Lighthouse, a solitary stack of rock. The name Palo Duro means hard wood for the juniper, mesquite and other trees in the canyon.
October 12—I arrived at Danette's in the evening, having driven through a lot
Reflections
Palo Duro Canyon of traffic in Dallas. Turns out it is the week-end of the Texas-Oklahoma football game and just about everybody in Oklahoma, especially from OU, arrived at the same time I did! These two teams have a long-standing rivalry. As an OU fan, I often say I don't care how they do in the season as long as they beat Texas! Not quite true, of course, but almost! (By the way, Oklahoma did win: 63 to 21! Sorry, Texas fans.)
November 2—The fabulous four, i.e., Joy, Tarena, Danette and I, visited the Dallas Arboretum to see the Chuhuly collection of glass sculptures. This was the first time I visited the Arboretum, which I had wanted to see for a long time. We picked a great time to go due to the exhibits of Chuhuly and the annual pumpkin patch.
I first heart of Chuhuly myself when I saw the ultra modern Christmas Tree which the Clintons had at the White House and is now a part of the exhibit at the Clinton Library. (Photo of that tree is in chapter 12 of my 2011 travels.) Everyone else knew about him long before I did. How does one describe his
The Lighthouse
One of the landmark formations at Palo Duro Canyon. work? If I had to describe it in one word, I would say colorful. Some pieces are huge designs of tangled tubes of glass in brilliant colors. When the pieces are shipped for a showing, they are dismantled tube by tube, packed, then reassembled on arrival. I think it took several weeks to get all the pieces together for the show at the Arboretum. I took lots of photos, naturally, so will let you readers decide for yourself if you like his work.
The Pumpkin Patch is a long-standing tradition at the park and the kids love it. Among other things, it features Cinderella's coach and horses, in a fairy land of orange.
October 3-25—During these days we got ready for Thanksgiving as well as Christmas. After the big dinner, Christmas shopping and decorating began. The fab four also went to see the movie Lincoln. (A tradition we have is to see at least one movie together during the holiday season.) That was a great movie!
On the 25
th we went to see the Rockettes Christmas Show. They often have a troop of the Rockettes in Dallas for the holidays. They were everything I had heard about.
What perfect symmetry—even in the way they lined up by height. Great dancers and all good looking, of course. Too bad I couldn't take pictures.
Another time we saw Jackie Evancho and heard that beautiful, adult voice sing. For those who may not know, Jackie first attracted world-wide attention on YouTube. At the age of 10 she took second place in the 2010 America's Got Talent show. (Does anyone remember now, who the first place person was?) This year at the age of 12, she still has that lovely coloratura soprano voice that sounds like an opera singer. Quite a phenomenon.
November 26-29—I worked with NOMADS on a disaster relief project in Bastrop, TX. Many homes there were lost in the most destructive fire in Texas history last fall. Our team worked on rebuilding one man's home. I got a lot of experience mudding and taping on freshly hung walls. Hope I can remember how to do this at my next project!! It really feels satisfying to help someone in this way.
December—Back in Dallas, I continued the usual holiday customs in our family; baking cookies, making fudge, etc. On the 15
th I went to see the
Red, Green and Gold
Colors at Palo Duro Canyon. Met's HD broadcast of Aida at a nearby theater. As usual, I had to go by myself, since I am the only member of the family who likes opera. They don't know what they are missing! The costumes were gorgeous, as was the music. I loved it!
Bootsie--I like Christmas! There are always neat things to play with, like Christmas trees, ornaments off the trees, sacks, ribbons and paper. Then I get goodies too, like snacks and new toys. This year I also got a very soft blanket! I like to nose through it and get wrapped up in it or sit on top and knead it. It is a cool blanket! On the 16th, we went to the ballet to see Twas the Night Before Christmas—a sort of take off of the Nutcracker. It was a local production, all amateur except for the main roles. A nice evening with some good performances. Dallas certainly has a lot of good talent and many things to offer, especially around Christmas.
One of the many beautiful sights in the Dallas area are the variety of Christmas lights, ranging from a few houses, to a neighborhood to a town.
I was there!
Palo Duro Canyon. A house near Danette's fills the whole yard and that of a few neighbors with deer, sleighs, stars, carrousels, you name it. All have lights and they are coordinated to go off and on with music on a local radio station. Quite the operation, and it gets bigger every year.
This year, the town of Addison, another suburb of Dallas, did what they called “Vitruvian Lights”. They put lights on every tree around a lake and in a park and flooded the area with beauty at night. Truly magnificent.
With all this, we don't forget what the holiday is really about—presents!!! No, seriously, we remember the Christ child, God's gift to the world of His Son so that all might be saved. I have learned through my years as well as in my travels, no one can out give God. He is truly awesome. I have been blessed a thousand times and more this past year. I am grateful to all those who read this blog and also to those who leave comments. May everyone reading this come to know Him better and have a blessed new year.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.144s; Tpl: 0.022s; cc: 12; qc: 33; dbt: 0.0808s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Vesta
non-member comment
Christmas
The lights are beautiful! Right now it is early fall here in New Hampshire. The leaves are turning and it won\'t be long before they peak. I am looking forward this year (2013) to the Keene Pumpkin Festival. The Keene Area Branch of AAUW is running one of the seven Welcome Centers. (The woman in charge of the whole Pumpkin Festival--the woman who keeps it going--is a member of our group.) You should plan to be here some year in the fall for some great pics!