A Post Finally

 Well hello, 

After months of no blogs, I thought I would do a small catch up post. Small?? How do I put in one blog 5 months of life. I will start I think with leaving on May 21st. On our way to Parker Arizona, The temps went from 66 degrees to 105 in a hour, from a bright sun shiny day to a cloud burst where we couldn't see out the windows.  

That is the Colorado River. Pretty place but oh so hot. We have had such a wonderful cool year this year that we were not prepared for the heat yet. 

We got to Tucson the next day and then spent a lovely week with our grand children. Seeing them only once a year, they are really growing up so fast. It was a lovely time and we learned so much about our travel trailer and living in 25 feet together. We left on May 28th and drove to Holbrook Arizona. 

We visited the Petrified forest and the Painted Desert. Its just such a huge place filled with destruction. 

The ground is really been through so much activity. I always wonder because as the crow flies, you really aren't that far from the Meteor Crater but that is never even brought up that maybe when that meteor hit the ground maybe it caused a bit of destruction. At one point the sign just says, " We have no idea how it happened. 

But the whole reason we went was for News Paper Rock.

Its really ancient and it was torn down, I imagine it once was a cliff face filled with hieroglyphs. I really would like to know what it means. It does have the sign on the rock of a portal. It has signs of long necked things that were taller than the people who lived there, two headed goats and thunder-birds. So many things are there. I stared and stared, but I understand people would want to touch it, but you have to stand way up on a hill and look at it through a telescope. 

We went to visit a gift shop so we could buy petrified wood. As you leave the park there is a sign that says, "prepare to be searched." You aren't searched but still its there. So we bought petrified wood. It sure makes me want to steal rocks though. :) This is at the gift shop where you buy petrified wood. It seems really fishy to me.

 

We walked out back where all of the rough stones are and all of the stuff that isn't polished and that hill is nothing but Geodes. I couldn't believe it. So many of them. I thought they were rare to find, but apparently not.

After a day there we drove on to Tucumcari, New Mexico. My Mom's family all lived there when I was a kid. I always look for my Grandpa's house and it always make me a little sad. But we had a huge thunder and lighting and rain show. It was lovely. At this point in the trip, I am excited about storms. On the way back, we are racing to get away from them. We get up the next morning and drove three states, we woke up in New Mexico, made it through the panhandle of Texas and made it to Oklahoma City. 

Funny Story- We put a tire cover on the back of the trailer that says Big Foot Research team. Not realizing people thought we were some important research team. So the first time we were stopped in road work and a big rig guy motioned for me to roll down my window and told us his big foot story. While filling up with gas in Oklahoma City, a man from Tennessee, (on his way to California.) stopped by and told us all of about his super scary stories about his encounters with Bigfoot. We were so happy that people would take the time to talk to us. 

Then we made it to Arkansas. We were going to stay there and go dig quartz at a mine. The Ron Coleman mine. Its a beautiful place.

We were on this winding road that climbs and climbs and then there was this view. That is Nimrod lake. 

We made it to the campground and even in the campground everywhere is quartz.

You take your bucket and your tools and you go dig rocks in the tailing of the mine. I only did it for three hours and then I decided, I would rather be doing laundry and taking a shower and not playing in the dirt anymore. So we went down for lunch and I did laundry, which I found out, not having anyplace to do laundry, was the hardest thing about the trip. 

I think I will stop here so I don't completely overwhelm you with photos. Yes, we did manage to make it to North Carolina.

We got back and we spent a week, cleaning and getting everything back to normal, of course, my garden was going crazy so I have been canning and making salsa and  enjoying having my own washing machine. I never expected to take a break this long. 

No rug hooking has been going on to speak of. I hope all of you are well. 

I have missed you,

~Kim~

"How you feel about home after a vacation says a lot about home." Joyce Rachellle.