Abilene, TX

 What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had with 53 friends and family. Food was plentiful and fellowship was great. We were able to stay in a home that the brides brother had bought and redid. No furniture but was a three bedroom. Ryla, Nate and Judson had one room, another family  from York, NE the third.

We were able to go to the Abilene Zoo with the Rowedders. Check out the fun we had.

These are just a few of the animals. It was a sunny day and we had fun.

 The wedding was the next big event. Don't the bride and groom look happy??

Check out the grooms cake!

The wedding was a Abilene Christian University Chapel. It was very lovely and a joyous occasion

The couple will be residing near Austin, Texas.

On our way back to Iowa we spent a night with Jerry and Marsha Hager in Enid, OK. What a great time we had with them. Also were able to spend an evening with my neice Christina and her family in Independence MO. That also was fun. Andrew their 4 year old son kept us very entertained.

We are in Ankeny now and will head back to Davenport in a couple of days.

Odessa, TX

When we left Carlsbad this morning we took some two lane roads across to Odessa. We saw acres of "ducks" some of which were pumping oil. If they were working the air smelled of oil. That part of New Mexico must be rich in oil. There also were herds of cattle grazing in this area but we only saw one ranch house as they are so far off the roads.

Upon arrival in Odessa we found out they had a place called Stonehenge. So we went to check it out. What you will see is just a small replica of the real Stonehenge. I think they said about a third the size. It was interesting to walk around it.

Roger is sitting about in the center of the Stonehenge to give you some idea the size. The walkway you see around it had interesting facts to read. There were also stones on the other side of the walk at different intervals.

From here we drove to see where the Odessa Greater Meteor landed. They did quite a bit of research from '39-'41 but then the war stopped the research. I am standing about in the middle of the crater hole to give you some idea. It is not as deep as originally because over the years it has had sand blow in to fill it up. There is also a Museum to learn alot. It is the second largest in the world. Largest being in Austraila. There is a piece of the meteorite in the Museum that was found on this site. Dee is standing somewhere to he right of the sign.

As you can see they have made a walkway around the crater, but they warn you to watch for snakes.

Carlsbad NM

We were able to spend the weekend with Bruce. Best Bed and Breakfast in town. So relaxing. We got to meet many of Bruce's friends and family. The time went so fast. Bruce took us to meet his mom and we had lunch in the Casino where there was a golf course. Look at the setting.

This was a picture from the inside looking out and then from the outdoors. The golf course was along the lake.

After leaving El Paso we went to Carlsbad Caverns for a self-guided tour. It was an amazing cave. We spent several hours there.

Today after doing laundry and catching up on things we went to the Living Desert Zoo here in Carlsbad. We saw not only many animals that are found in this area but also learned about the vegetation and making Cactus Jelly. One of our favorite animals was the bull elk. Look at the rack on this big boy. It was one similar to this that about brought our vacation to an end as he ate along the road and thankfully ran back to the forest instead of across the road and into our car.  It would have been much worse then the deer
 I've hit.

When we finished at the Living Desert, Roger wanted to play 9 holes of golf where I walked along. It was right along the Pecos River. They are getting ready for a big celebration for the holidays here. They do their festival of trees along the river. Here is just a brief look.

Not quite like our trees but it was a nice walk and they decorate all the houses along the river and take a boat ride on the Pecos River to see them all. (Only Nov. 26-27, so we missed it)

One of the beautiful things to see in the desert southwest are the sunsets. Check this one out. Pictures can't capture them as well as real life.

On to Midland, Texas where we will meet up with Ryla, Nate and Judson. One of our friends is sharing a house with us for the weekend. Our Thanksgiving will be spent with them along with many, many friends who are here for the wedding. Looking forward to a great family reunion but will miss the rest of our physical family and friends back home.

Flagstaff to Benson AZ

As we left Flagstaff this morning we came over a small hill and thought we were seeing fog but as it turned out there was a fire in the Kaibab Forrest. Definitely a unique smell.

We don't know if it was a controled burn or not.

We stopped in Phoenix and spent a couple of hours with our friend Jerry Selvage. It was a most blessed visit. God is definitely working in his life and we were blessed by having him share how God is working. I am just sorry we didn't get a picture of Jerry. We hadn't seen Jerry since 1978.

Along the drive to Benson we saw a lot of cactus. Thought you might enjoy seeing some of them.

As you can see they are huge. Roger is 5'9" so that gives you some idea of the height. They also have other varieties.

We also saw some cotton fields that needed to be picked and several bales of cotton to be taken from the fields. So far Arizona has been forest, desert, mountians and one HUGE canyon. Seems to be a little short on water though.  Another wonder of God's creation that we are able to enjoy and share.

Nevada to Arizona

We were able to tour Hoover Dam yesterday. What a major feat during the depression. They worked around the clock for $4.00 a day. They had to create their own city while they worked. There were alot of similarities to the Shasta Dam.

This is one of the original tunnels they made to divert the Colorado River while they built the dam.

This is the new bridge they built looking from the dam.

This is us walking across the bridge with the dam in the background. From this height the Hoove Dam looks very small. It really was an interesting day and challenging day.


Today we spent the day at the Grand Canyon. This was our first view. We took so many pictures but none of them can begin to capture the unbelieveable magnatude of this canyon.

When you get to the visitors center there are three different tours you can take. The red, blue or green route on a bus similar to city busses. They don't allow you to drive your care except on the blue route. We were able to do all three. They drop you off at any number of sights and you just catch the next bus so there was no pressure. Just a very relaxed, enjoyable day.

Roger tried to catch a view looking down but again you can't capture the depth. If you look close you will see a square a little left of center in the picture and that was a mining sight.

Roger would have enjoyed a more adventurous partner. We did hike some of the trails but they went to near the edge for me and I was not as supportive as I should have been. You can hike clear to the bottom of the canyon in some areas. I thought maybe this would be the last time I saw him with his adventurous spirit.

This is the last place we stopped on the south ridge, as far east as we could. What was amazing about this is that way off in the distance (where is it white), it looked just like a cross.Not a man made cross but one formed from natural sources. Our camera was not strong enough to pick it up but wanted to share it with you as best we could. Once again you have to be humbled at the awesomeness of God when you see the overwhelming canyon.

Las Vagas

From Paris

To Italy

To New York

You can see it all here in Las Vagas but the best thing we saw were the dancing fountains. Hope you can enjoy this brief video look at them.

This has been quite the adventure. Walked the strip from one end to the other. It is very different at night then during the day but I truly understand why it is called "Sin City".

One of the interesting things is the entertainment along the streets. People either in costume to get your pictures with or painted and standing as still as a statue but then do movements to get the crowds attention.

This is for Will and Colton

This guy was really good. Can't imagine standing so still for so long.

See Elvis is not dead!! Atleast not in Las Vagas.

Barstow CA to Las Vegas NV

After a slower start to our morning we went to church in Barstow. We went to a building but the parking lot was empty but there was a phone number on their sign so we called and it seems they are in a merger with another congregation and were meeting at the other building. One of the members met us and showed us the way to where they were meeting. This is a black congregation merging with a white congregation. It was an evangelistic service and very encouraging. We even stayed for potluck and had some great food.

After we left Barstow we drove through the Mojave Desert. Most of it is just tumble weeds but when we got to Mojave National Preserve there were cactus in that area. We had to go through a pass again that was over 4000 feet in elevation and when going down we could smell the brakes of the 18 wheelers. It was a 6% decline and they have run away truck ramps going off the road at certain places. We understood why.

We are staying across from the MGM Grand Hotel and the view from our window is quite lit up.

Sure we will see much more as we check out "The Strip"

Calico Ghost Town

 We decided to make a stop on our way to LasVagas and check out this Ghost Town. It is called Calico because of all the different colors in the mountains. I tried to get a picture but it didn't capture the beauty.

This town was first started because of silver was discovered there

. There are several mines. But the homes that they built in the 1800 are like none we had seen before. Here are a few examples:

 

The first one is built out from a hole in the rocks. The back of the house is all rock. The second one is all rock but again it is built into the rocks on the hillside. The next was very interesting because it was mud that surrounded glass bottles that make up the walls. The name at the top is made from darker bottles. The inside had the neck of the bottles sticking out into the room. This house was built in 1950 to show how some of the houses in this area were built using different kinds of material.  Wood was scarce in the desert so they used what they had. Most miners were either single or didn't have their familes here. So didn't need very fancy housing.

We were able to walk a short distance through one of the silver mines. They also mined borax from this area too.

We spent at least four hours around this ghost town and saw more then we shared but in the "end "Roger had had enough as you will see.

This may have been from the part of town that had little shops that we checked out. Maggie Mine is what the area is called because of a widow lady and her sons that moved to Calico.

This has been a brief look at our day. What a history lesson we received.

LA to Pasadena, CA

We were able to tour Warner Brothers Studios today. It was interesting. We were on the sets of Mentalist and Ellen but they did not allow camera's. We did get a couple of shots of things of the past.

Do you recogonize these set pieces? We are sitting on the couch used in the filming of Friends. Everything in this stage is from the episodes. Next.....

This is the resturant setting for Casablanca. Have to picture the tables, etc.

We also got to the car museum. Do you recognize either of these?

While on the tour we sat with this lady from Findland who created her own show, games, toys, etc.because she wanted something wholesome for her daughters to watch. She gave us her card with the website and email so we can follow her progress. Very nice lady. She will be famous in our country to someday.

After Warner Brothers we went to Pepperdine University and visited with Terry Kite. He showed us the campus. They have over 840 acres to develop. Very lovely campus.We tried to see Lincoln Hanks too but never caught up with him so only left a note. Here is the view from the Administration Building.

This is our last view of the Pacific Ocean. We drove along the Pacific Coast Highway to get to Pepperdine but took the Malibu Canyon Road back to the Interstate. Both were interesting drives. We are now in Pasadena and were able to see Rose Bowl seating and part of the parade route. Will be interesting to remember when we watch the parade.