OK first of all I have not had internet service for the last few days, but I have been writing all this stuff down. Sorry to disappoint my millions of fans with a delay, but hey I'm too cheap to buy an air card. They want $60.00 a month for service. Not gonna do it. So without further delay, here is day 3 as written at the end.
So now that I have left the hotel in Texline, can I tell you that was a pain in the butt? OK so I was tired as hell and decided to stay there instead of driving to Clayton, NM which was only 10 miles further. This hotel only had one car in the parking lot (I should have taken that as a sign) so I figured I would have no problem getting a room. This is one of those places where the owners live in the office. That in itself is not an issue, I've stayed in many like that before. So Mr. owner, I'll call him "Juan" asks for my drivers license and proceeds to take almost 10 minutes to copy my name and address onto a card. I was nearly at the point of walking out with or without my license. I didn't care at that point. So THEN, he peeks around the wall behind him and asks his wife "you want to come do this for me?" I'm thinking, "do what?" I hear a voice from behind the wall say "well, yeah if you will get in here and help me". So then Juan disappears behind the wall. Since my credit card was on the counter behind the bullet-proof glass (gee I wonder why they have that), I was stuck at that point. Now, what I am about to say is in no way, shape, or form meant to talk bad about someone in a wheelchair. It was not her fault, but it had become painfully apparent that only she could run the credit card. So the way the place is set up, she cannot turn left into the office from the direction she was coming from. She had to go past the doorway into another room. You know, kinda like if you realize you should have made a left turn and you can make three right turns to get back where you wanted to go? Well that's how it was. So then, the doorway must not have had an inch to spare. He took another five minutes trying to get her in the office. I'm thinking at this point, if a bus load of Jehova Witnesses or something pulls in after I'm gone they won't get checked in until 10:00 the next morning. So that was 20 minutes of my life that I'll never get back. And I won't stay there with Mr. Juan anymore. Oh Mr. Juan in case you read this blog, my name is not Charles Isbell... it's Jay Thompson.
The day started out with a very cold wind and the temperature in the truck read 20 degrees. I took off just before sunrise hoping that Mr. Juan didn't need any more information from me before I left. I could just see him chasing me down in his 1984 Grand Marquis yelling "I forgot to write down how tall you were...please come back". I passed Clayton, NM and thought "I should have kept to my plan and slept here last night". Oh well, no sense in crying over spilled milk. I broke off the familiar route and took a portion of the Dry Cimarron Scenic Byway. Route 72 takes me on top of Johnson Mesa. This place looks like it could be a desert in west Texas, but it is on top of a butte way above the valley floor. The temperature has now dropped to 11 degrees, and the entire place is covered in snow. I read that people once lived here, but because of the harsh winters no one stays here permanently any more. There are some old barns and an old church still standing, but not a soul around. So I'm stopping to take pictures and the girls want to go play in the snow. I try to talk them out of it because it is so cold outside and I worry about them, but no they must have their way. Have you every tried to argue with 5 females. So I give in and...disaster. The frame broke in two! It was not my fault! I didn't do it! OK so maybe it was my fault. If you are familiar with snow, often times the top layer will start to melt in the middle of the day, then freeze over when the temperature drops making for a hard icy layer on top of the soft stuff. I put the frame in the snow to take a picture and...oh well. Sorry for undoing what you did Pam. Or should I call you Whammy? Can you every forgive me? I'll fix it before the next victim gets it. Oops, did I say that out loud?
So after that fantastic drive I hit Colorado. Awesome! I stop in Trinidad to get some more ice and that is when I find the next disaster. My roast beef, ham, turkey, and bread have all been infiltrated with water. So much for those Glad containers that are supposed to be sealed. Now, I might have been able to save the meat, but it developed some type of slime or some coating on it that didn't sit well with me. Dammit! That was Armond's roast beef too. Only second to Bear's roast beef. So I bow my head, say a few words, then dump it all in the garbage can. Looks like we are eating out girls because I am not going to Wal-Mart again.
I hit Walsenburg then head out west on Highway 160 to Durango. Along the way, I pass the San Juan valley. I've read that this is the #1 hotspot for UFO's in America, and seen the TV shows that have the cows with the insides ripped out and stuff. That is happening here. So I tell the girls to be on the lookout, but I know that if I really did see one I would be changing my underwear much sooner than planned. So no excitement there, just beautiful scenery and one strange fellow hitchhiking. Could he be an alien? I ain't taking no chances. With all the freaky stuff going on with the cows, I decide to eat a chicken sandwhich from Wendy's. I don't want a radioactive hamburger. All kidding aside, this is a gorgeous area and I'll have pictures posted soon. Blanca peak dominates the skyline at over 14,000 feet.
The drive to Durango is absolutely gorgeous. There are a few mountain passes that give you awesome views all around. If you ever head that way, I highly recommend it.
I noticed something in Monte Vista and it is something I wish I'd see more often. There was an ambulance coming down the main street in the middle of town. Not only did everyone on BOTH sides the street pull over, they all stopped. Of course I did the same. I've seen this, along with the same respect for funerals in other places but not so much back home. I think ambulances should have a front-end loader to push people out that way that won't move. How many times have you seen an ambulance with sirens blaring trying to get through traffic? Probably way too often as I have.
So I arrive in Durango. My GPS (thanks Lynn!!) takes me right to the front door of the hotel, which is a block away from the train station. I make it in time to join the "night shoot" at the roundhouse. They pulled two old steam engines out for photographers to take pictures of. This was great. I also walked around inside the shop and took pics. Unknown to me, however, was that I was NOT supposed to be in there. I got busted, but the guy was nice and I had taken all the shots I wanted anyway. I ate at some hole-in-the wall pizza place. Y'all know me. I love my pizza, but this stuff should have been ground up and used for crab bait.
So I'm back at the hotel room anticipating the ride tomorrow. That is the whole reason I came on this trip anyway. The girls are all tucked in and each has been given a kiss goodnight, although I was leary about Margarita because I didn't want her to take it the wrong way. I explained that Lynn is the love of my life. I believe she took it well. Then I went to sleep, wondering why on earth I'm talking to a picture frame. I've been on the road too long already. Stay tuned for day 4.
So now that I have left the hotel in Texline, can I tell you that was a pain in the butt? OK so I was tired as hell and decided to stay there instead of driving to Clayton, NM which was only 10 miles further. This hotel only had one car in the parking lot (I should have taken that as a sign) so I figured I would have no problem getting a room. This is one of those places where the owners live in the office. That in itself is not an issue, I've stayed in many like that before. So Mr. owner, I'll call him "Juan" asks for my drivers license and proceeds to take almost 10 minutes to copy my name and address onto a card. I was nearly at the point of walking out with or without my license. I didn't care at that point. So THEN, he peeks around the wall behind him and asks his wife "you want to come do this for me?" I'm thinking, "do what?" I hear a voice from behind the wall say "well, yeah if you will get in here and help me". So then Juan disappears behind the wall. Since my credit card was on the counter behind the bullet-proof glass (gee I wonder why they have that), I was stuck at that point. Now, what I am about to say is in no way, shape, or form meant to talk bad about someone in a wheelchair. It was not her fault, but it had become painfully apparent that only she could run the credit card. So the way the place is set up, she cannot turn left into the office from the direction she was coming from. She had to go past the doorway into another room. You know, kinda like if you realize you should have made a left turn and you can make three right turns to get back where you wanted to go? Well that's how it was. So then, the doorway must not have had an inch to spare. He took another five minutes trying to get her in the office. I'm thinking at this point, if a bus load of Jehova Witnesses or something pulls in after I'm gone they won't get checked in until 10:00 the next morning. So that was 20 minutes of my life that I'll never get back. And I won't stay there with Mr. Juan anymore. Oh Mr. Juan in case you read this blog, my name is not Charles Isbell... it's Jay Thompson.
The day started out with a very cold wind and the temperature in the truck read 20 degrees. I took off just before sunrise hoping that Mr. Juan didn't need any more information from me before I left. I could just see him chasing me down in his 1984 Grand Marquis yelling "I forgot to write down how tall you were...please come back". I passed Clayton, NM and thought "I should have kept to my plan and slept here last night". Oh well, no sense in crying over spilled milk. I broke off the familiar route and took a portion of the Dry Cimarron Scenic Byway. Route 72 takes me on top of Johnson Mesa. This place looks like it could be a desert in west Texas, but it is on top of a butte way above the valley floor. The temperature has now dropped to 11 degrees, and the entire place is covered in snow. I read that people once lived here, but because of the harsh winters no one stays here permanently any more. There are some old barns and an old church still standing, but not a soul around. So I'm stopping to take pictures and the girls want to go play in the snow. I try to talk them out of it because it is so cold outside and I worry about them, but no they must have their way. Have you every tried to argue with 5 females. So I give in and...disaster. The frame broke in two! It was not my fault! I didn't do it! OK so maybe it was my fault. If you are familiar with snow, often times the top layer will start to melt in the middle of the day, then freeze over when the temperature drops making for a hard icy layer on top of the soft stuff. I put the frame in the snow to take a picture and...oh well. Sorry for undoing what you did Pam. Or should I call you Whammy? Can you every forgive me? I'll fix it before the next victim gets it. Oops, did I say that out loud?
So after that fantastic drive I hit Colorado. Awesome! I stop in Trinidad to get some more ice and that is when I find the next disaster. My roast beef, ham, turkey, and bread have all been infiltrated with water. So much for those Glad containers that are supposed to be sealed. Now, I might have been able to save the meat, but it developed some type of slime or some coating on it that didn't sit well with me. Dammit! That was Armond's roast beef too. Only second to Bear's roast beef. So I bow my head, say a few words, then dump it all in the garbage can. Looks like we are eating out girls because I am not going to Wal-Mart again.
I hit Walsenburg then head out west on Highway 160 to Durango. Along the way, I pass the San Juan valley. I've read that this is the #1 hotspot for UFO's in America, and seen the TV shows that have the cows with the insides ripped out and stuff. That is happening here. So I tell the girls to be on the lookout, but I know that if I really did see one I would be changing my underwear much sooner than planned. So no excitement there, just beautiful scenery and one strange fellow hitchhiking. Could he be an alien? I ain't taking no chances. With all the freaky stuff going on with the cows, I decide to eat a chicken sandwhich from Wendy's. I don't want a radioactive hamburger. All kidding aside, this is a gorgeous area and I'll have pictures posted soon. Blanca peak dominates the skyline at over 14,000 feet.
The drive to Durango is absolutely gorgeous. There are a few mountain passes that give you awesome views all around. If you ever head that way, I highly recommend it.
I noticed something in Monte Vista and it is something I wish I'd see more often. There was an ambulance coming down the main street in the middle of town. Not only did everyone on BOTH sides the street pull over, they all stopped. Of course I did the same. I've seen this, along with the same respect for funerals in other places but not so much back home. I think ambulances should have a front-end loader to push people out that way that won't move. How many times have you seen an ambulance with sirens blaring trying to get through traffic? Probably way too often as I have.
So I arrive in Durango. My GPS (thanks Lynn!!) takes me right to the front door of the hotel, which is a block away from the train station. I make it in time to join the "night shoot" at the roundhouse. They pulled two old steam engines out for photographers to take pictures of. This was great. I also walked around inside the shop and took pics. Unknown to me, however, was that I was NOT supposed to be in there. I got busted, but the guy was nice and I had taken all the shots I wanted anyway. I ate at some hole-in-the wall pizza place. Y'all know me. I love my pizza, but this stuff should have been ground up and used for crab bait.
So I'm back at the hotel room anticipating the ride tomorrow. That is the whole reason I came on this trip anyway. The girls are all tucked in and each has been given a kiss goodnight, although I was leary about Margarita because I didn't want her to take it the wrong way. I explained that Lynn is the love of my life. I believe she took it well. Then I went to sleep, wondering why on earth I'm talking to a picture frame. I've been on the road too long already. Stay tuned for day 4.
Random thought for Saturday, February 21st: I found out about the Dry Cimarron Byway and did a lot of research on Route 66 at www.legendsofamerica.com. They have a great site on the old west, scenic byways, and Route 66 from end to end. I go check it out often. You should too. After you check out my site.
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I can't believe the beautiful frame is broken (again). I guess I didn't do a good enough job fixing it up! Oh well. The only problem is that now none of us girls can stand up. It's too bad you'll have us all lying on our back for the rest of the trip! I'll bet you're terribly sad about that!
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