Such beauty and confidence!

You know that sparkle in her eyes,
That something special that always glowed.
You heard that musical laughter
You could recognize across the room.

You know that love she held in her heart,
The one she held for you?
An unpretentious special part of her soul
That loved every living thing…warts and all.

It’s that warrior princess who would kill;
The fearless amazon ever ready to defend.
She kicked like a mule and as stubborn one as well.
Loyal and honest to a fault and oh so proud.

It’s getting close to being one year.
It’s another day for you without fear.
It’s my love that comes with the tear.
It’s your smell and hug I hold so dear.

I love you forever.

Belly dancing magic in 2002. She looks like she has wings. Maybe, now she does.

I’ve never explored this are of Florida before this week but I must say I woulda’ shoulda’ coulda. I guarantee that I will explore it while I’m in the region. I usually stick close to the coast as most of us do but this inland region ain’t so bad.

Drive into the park

Path toward the falls

Where you can swim in the spring waters!

Waterfalls

Stream leading to the lake

Big falls

Where’s Montana? In Rainbow Springs!

Black water bird on limb just waiting for dinner!

Couldn’t stop watching this bird. It totally blended in with its surroundings.

Can you see the bird? Hint: look left!

Please come along with me as I explore more of this wonderful area of our country! I must keep moving to find some peace before returning home. It’s critical to my mental health. I miss Ava so terribly that this is the only way I know to keep sane.

Happy Trails!

The main reason we stayed over in Albuquerque was to see the Turquoise Museum and Old Town not to mention all the tornadoes, etc. east of here!

The Turquoise Museum was quite lovely. Apparently the guide’s great-grandfather collected over two million pounds of turquoise from all over the world and someone saw the marketing opportunities of charging $10.00 to see 1/10th of it. There’s history, geology, fakes and rarest of them all. It was ninety minutes of the youngest of the male family member’s quips and knowledge. He was seventeen and had obviously been involved with this obsession his whole life.

The surprise? over 95% of the turquoise sold is not the gemstone but some altered state of a less desirable white turquoise, which is so soft that it’s like chalk. Do a little magic with oil, plastic and heat and badda-bing, you have turquoise! I’m just sayin’!

The second part of the day was to visit Old Town. It’s small and quaint compared to the much more upscale Santa Fe. I loved walking around the square with Montana and Patty.

Montana didn’t want to sit down on the wall because the shrubs were too scratchy so here was her solution!

Finally, I understood her concern and showed her where to sit. She had, by this point, collected her usual audience.

Pat stooped down to hug Montana for the picture (something she had NEVER done before) and it surprised Montana so much that she immediately rolled over on her back! LOL

Then, they both cooperate and we get the money shot!

Tomorrow? Down and dirty roadin’…Albuquerque to Oklahoma City.

Happy Trails!

Not wanting to go back to Santa Fe because Ava and I had been there the summer of 2011, we chose to stay last night somewhere we’d never been before…Los Alamos. We knew the name was “familiar” but sure didn’t remember it was the hub of activity during the 1940’s known for developing the atomic bombs (a/k/a Manhattan Project), attributed to ending World War II.

I simply chose it because it wasn’t Santa Fe. I kept picturing going back into Santa Fe where Ava fell in love with New Mexico and wanted to live and, the more I tried to see me there, the more I saw all that was going to happen was to make me lose myself in my pain. That wouldn’t be fair to Patty nor to me. After all, we were taking this road trip because I needed a break from all the stress of getting Ava’s Corner ready and kicked off. I wanted views and that’s why I chose Los Alamos.

As we drove at dusk up SR 4 toward Los Alamos, I was reminded of the fifteen-foot wide road through Zion National Park! I was driving on the very precipice of a hundred-foot drop to nowhere and I was scared. I have very debilitating vertigo, which Patty didn’t know until this moment.

I kept telling Patty, “I can’t do this! Really, I can’t do this!” My stomach had a constant roller-coaster-ride-like drops as my white knuckles clung to the steering wheel as if holding the wheel tighter would stop a three thousand pound truck from going over a cliff! Somehow, it did! LOL

Patty, on the other hand, kept singing, “She’ll be comin’ ’round the mountain when she comes” while I’m suffering. I don’t even remember her singing! Finally, we got to the top and stayed in the worst Motel 6 I’ve ever stayed in. The town is cute and we even enjoyed their Christmas parade as we walked Montana, but their Motel 6 needs to be razed!

This morning, we realized we had to drive back down the way we came up. I explained to Patty that going down next to the wall is totally different from driving up next to the cliff. We pulled over for a few view shots and, before we knew it, we were safely at the bottom! We both were amazed at the time-lapse difference! It felt like a thirty-minute drive up and a ten minute drive down!

The drive down SR 4 leaving this morning

Magnificent views

Did I mention snow was coming in?

After getting to Albuquerque, we settled into our new Motel 6 and headed for the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. I try to go into at least one every trip and this was a must.

Tomorrow, we go to the Turquoise Museum and Old Town!

We decided to stay over an extra night to rest up for the haul back to Tennessee. I’m glad Patty talked me into doing that.

Happy Trails!

I can’t resist driving through southwestern Colorado. I even considered moving there during my journey with Ava through this part of our country in 2011. We both fell in love with it but Ava wanted to move to Santa Fe and I wanted to move to SW Colorado. It would be right in the middle for me…between her and Mandy, my God Daughter, in Boulder. So, when I had a chance to go back through here  and share it with my BFF, Pat (now and forever Patty since she made the mistake of telling me of her childhood nickname), I took her the scenic route up Hwy.160 & Hwy. 84 (a real back road) and down into New Mexico on another beautiful back road Hwy. 64.

Southwestern Colorado

Pasture, Mountains, Sky..oh my!

Blues and purples of New Mexico

No words…climbing up Hwy. 64 in New Mexico

Just had to pull off for this shot! No 80 MPH pix on this road! LOL

After all this majestic beauty, we found ourselves in the middle of something I’d never seen before. People by the hundreds (or maybe thousands) parked FOR MILES up and down the main road of Espanola, NM (Hwy. 84) in RV’s, trucks, vans, cars, popup campers, fifth wheels excitedly awaiting something…but what?

This was toward the end of the route where the smaller vehicles were parked.

As we drove, the signs put up by the police indicated an “event” and to “seek an alternative route” for which there was none for us. I just pushed through the insanity and buzz of excitement with the ferocity of a madwoman driving through Atlanta rush hour traffic. My truck is big and bad, Montana’s head out the window barking at bicycles (whose nickname is now “Killer”) and Patty’s head spinning at wonderment as we joked, laughed and couldn’t wait to find out what the big deal was.

Lo and behold, I guessed it.

They were waiting for the CHRISTMAS PARADE! What a surprise! This big hoopla over a Christmas parade. I LOVE IT! I wanted to stay but there was no place to park! Every single person living in Espanola (10,000 population) came for this!

Got safely outta’ there and back to the surreal beauty of the setting sun.

How’s this for dusk in New Mexico?

Sun setting New Mexico

And….sunset!

What an amazing day! Tomorrow, Albuquerque! Can’t wait.

Happy Trails!