So here we are in South Padre Island (SPI) and paradise. I had read about SPI for months and all they say is true. The island is 113 miles long and the longest sand island in the US...maybe the world. We are out in the Gulf of Mexico just west of Brownsville. You have to go across a 3 mile bridge to get from the mainland of S. TX to SPI. Our motel. for 15 days, is right in the middle (east to west) of the small city of SPI which is on the very southern tip of the island of SPI. From our motel, we can walk 5 minutes west and be at the Gulf and 5 minutes east and be at the Laguna Madre. The water is beautiful and warm. The weather is great. ... read more

We have finally entered into the part of our trip that is new to us. Leaving Carlsbad, NM, we headed south into TX staying the night (Nov 28)in Fort Stockton. The next day we drove to Alpine, then straight south to the very small community of Terlingua. Since BBNP has but one place for lodgeing, we stayed right out of the park in this very interesting little settlement. To live down here one has to have a certain kinship with loneliness, nature, the lack of many accepted necessities of life, the convenience of most stores, and the knowledge that your closest neighbor may enjoy these qualities of life and not care too much about being your buddy. It is very beautiful in a very natural, quiet sort of way. Stop the car, step out-side, and you ... read more

Just SW of Alamogordo is White Sands National Monument. This is at the SW corner of what was at one time a large lake. This lake today is part of the White Sands bombing range and way up north on this lake is where the first nuclear bomb was detonated (see photo of replica of bomb in Nuclear museum blog). But today people come to enjoy the beautiful pure white sand. Many bring their snow platters and use the dunes to go "scooting" down. This another "must see", if you are traveling this highway.... read more

This year our Thanksgiving will be celebrated in Albuquerque. This will be our last day here and we have enjoyed our visit very much. Alb. is a busy growing city with much to offer. We started our day with a drive through a deserted (remember..Thanksgiving) downtown to Old Town. Many of the downtown buildings have murals painted on them representing some important aspect of the area. Old Town was fun to walk around because most tourists were gone to "grandma's house" and that made for an uncrowded walk-around. We then went out and found a place we could walk across and along the Rio Grande River. By then we were ready for our TG meal at the Golden Corral (with the rest of Albuquerque!).....lots and lots of food...TOO MUCH FOOD.... read more

After spending the night at Gallup, NM, we traveled on to Albuquerque for a 3 day Thanksgiving rest. Upon arrival and moving in to our motel, I left for an afternoon visiting the National Nuclear Museum located there. The museum is only a very few years old and is divided into 3 different sections: nuclear energy as a science, peaceful ways to use nuclear energy, and the history of nuclear energy, including wartime use. It was a very informative and educational afternoon and I would highly recommend anybody with a history or science interest to visit it.... read more