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Published: July 13th 2008
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Durango, Colorado !
We stayed in this unique little town call Durango ! Another beautiful morning in a Wal-Mart parking lot !! I had to fight my inner shopping demons, but I won, I was thiiiiiis close to a Wal-Mart but I didn't go in ! I decided to sit at the dinette table and finish up some last minute post cards while Tim showered and prepared us for take-off. We hopped on Highway 550 and drove south about 45 miles where we crossed over into New Mexico and landed in Aztec. We went straight to the welcome center just as we had in many cities before. We gathered brochures and got some good advice from the kind people behind the counter on what we should see while we were in Aztec. They suggested the Aztec Ruins National Monument, so we stopped off at the local A & W for some lunch and then headed right over to the monument. Tim had the loaded coney dog while I enjoyed the chicken strip basket with white gravy. I have to confess that we both had milkshakes as well and boy were they good. It was already 99 degrees and it was only 11:00 in the morning ! We are both still experiencing heat and elevation
"General Palmer Hotel"
This is a famous hotel in Durango, Colorado where a lot of the old famous western guys used to stay. sickness some, but not near as bad as before. We're taking the advice of the "Park Rangers" and drinking lots and lots of water ! I love being so blessed as to be able to see all this incredible stuff, but I can't wait to get somewhere that's below 4000 feet and below 100 degrees ! Once we arrived at the Aztec Ruins National Monument, we didn't waste any time hitting the self guided trails. Tim had the little book and so we began exploring the dwellings right away, under his direction of course. He really gets into all this kind of stuff and he loves explaining everything in very explicit detail ! We soon finished our tour at Aztec and then hit the road heading South towards Gallup, New Mexico. Well, this is where Tim's Big Boo-Boo comes into play. About 75 miles into the 150 mile trip, Tim decides to stop at a Pennzoil Service Center to get the oil changed in the motor home. He realized that we had been well over the recommended 5000 miles and we needed to get this done before we got too far into the Painted Desert. He maneuvered the Coachmen into
Aztec Ruins National Monument
The dwellings here have over 400 rooms and they were built between A.D. 1100 and 1300 by the ancestors of the Pueblo people. the bay, with no problems at all, and the really nice service guys got started right away. Tim was sitting there thinking, as they were changing the oil, that he should probably change the oil in the generator too. He got out the owner's manual and between him and the three Pennzoil guys they figured it all out. After an hour or so, we were finally ready to get back on the road. As Tim was pulling out of the service bay, he cut the wheel too far to the left and that's when he wrecked the top backend of the motor home into the Pennzoil building causing damage to the building and the motor home. He jumped out to check out the damage and as I watched the steam come out of his ears, I thought to myself "I think I'll take a little nap and let him cool off !" He was so mad at himself, but I told him not to worry because that's what insurance is for and I was proud of him for making it 34 days with no accidents ! As I was heading to the bedroom, my telephone rang and it was Amber.
Tim With His Trusty Guide Book !
This man goes no where without a map or book ! In all the excitement of the accident, I totally forgot she had her job interview this morning. Well, she didn't sound too happy on the other end of the phone, but thankfully she was just "pulling my leg" and she eventually told me that she did get the job and she starts next Tuesday. YAY !!! She, Tim and I all celebrated together on the phone for a few minutes and then I headed off for my nap. Just as soon as I started dozing off, my brother Anthony called to tell me that my Mom and Dad had to take our Great Aunt Betty to the hospital at 3:00 in the morning. She has a broken ankle and some rectal bleeding but they seem to have her stabilized and she should be okay. Please keep her in your prayers this week, she'll be 90 on August 16th !! I never did get my nap, but we were in Gallup before I knew it and so we made a little pit stop for gas and then continued on to our final destination, The Painted Desert and The Petrified Forest. We only had about two more hours to get there and
Hey There From New Mexico !
I have to admit this monument was pretty interesting ! Tim was driving the best he could to get us there before the sunset. He did a great job as usual because we arrived at the entrance about an hour before the sun was going to set. We made our way through the Painted Desert stopping at a couple of the exhibit areas. The pictures we took came out okay, but they do no justice to the layers of colors in the hills and land you see as you're standing in front of them. We continued on through the desert until we came to the Old Route 66 which separates the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. We stopped off for a few pictures and then proceeded on into the Petrified Forest. We found a great place to stop and check out the petrified logs. We took several pictures, but again, you can't even imagine how awesome these things are unless you are there to see them up close. These trees were buried under volcanic ash and mud over 225 million years ago and then the groundwater replaced the original wood tissues with silica deposits which eventually crystallized into quartz and preserved the logs as petrified wood. Now that you
The Pueblo's Church
This is where they worshipped ! have your History lesson for the day, I will finish up ! We were able to watch the sunset in the Petrified Forest which was gorgeous and then we headed on into Holbrook, Arizona and checked into the local KOA for the night. We will begin our journey tomorrow over to Roswell, New Mexico where Tim is SURE he will spot a UFO !!
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