The Vamper

Way overdue but since I am borrowing the 'vamper' I took a picture of the 'sleeping sofa'

Hello Everyone

Well, here it is 5 weeks after our embarkment, and we are back in Lexington.

Our trip was as nice as we ever could have imagined and more. We visited 10 states and a day trip to Mexico, a couple we had not been to before and learned a little more about the ones we had. We went thru all kinds of weather, snow in Natchez, Miss, first in 10 years, to dry, dry desert in Tex. and Az. with no rain for 10 mos. We spent 3 days in Colo. Spgs. with Scott and went almost to the top of Pike's Peak on the cog railway where there were deep snow banks on each side of the tracks, and it snowed the whole trip up. We came back thru Ok.,Mo.,Ark., Ill. and Ky. where farmlands were flooded from so much recent rain.

Larry completed 5 high points to add to his list, and that was just a small part of the trip. We
followed the auto route of the Trail of Tears, and found most of it good 2 lane roads. Of course, we came home with more collectibles than anyone would ever need, but we will probably never see this part of this part of the country again, so why not?

We both agree that while the scenery was beautiful and the travel interesting, it's really all about all the great people we met along the way. We traveled a total of 6,500 miles, and the "Vamper" performed outstandingly. We started out camping 2 nights and hoteling it the 3rd night. As time went on we reversed the order, 1 nigh camping and 2 (or 3) nigh in hotels. When we found a National or State Park with good facilities and pretty scenery, we usually took advantage of saving a little money. We never really knew where we might end up at days end.

This was truly a wonderful trip, and we are so glad we did it. It's good to be home, and as we unpack all the "stuff", we will think about of all the special places and people we encountered.

Hope you are all well and we would recommend this kind of traveling to anyone who has the desire. By the way, the highest gas price we paid was
$3.62 in Big Bend National Park, Texas, of all places!

Love to you all,

Barbara and Larry

APRIL 4TH

Hi all,

Here I sit in Kenton, Oklahoma in the Kenton Mercantile in the middle of nowhere writing this email. Larry is climbing Black Mesa, the high point in OK. He is a member of the High Pointers Club in case you didn't know. He has done 25 or so. On this trip he did Guadalupe Peak in Texas, but couldn't do N.M. or Arizona, too much snow. I was excited to find out this little store not only has good cheeseburgers and French fries, but Wi-Fi! So I'm sitting here talking with Keith and Shirley Hunter and emailing you guys. We have met some of the most incredible people that we will never forget.

We are having the time of our life, being spontaneous and ending up in some of the most unusual and fantastic places every few days. This morning we left Colorado Spgs after 3 days of being with Scott and drove cross country, on some dirt roads to end up in OK. When Larry finishes his trek to the top of Black Mesa(4-5 hours), we will probably head for Amarillo, Tx. or who knows where. This is really a trip of a lifetime.

Love to you all. We are on our way back East now and will go thru OK., Kansas, Missouri and back to Ky.

Barbara and Larry

Cowboys & Indians

On Sunday, March 30 we found ourselves on Canyon Rd. in Santa Fe, NM, which is lined with art galleries galore! Barbara was glad to get out of the car and walk around a bit.

Over the past week we have been in AZ and then NM. We visited Cosanti in Scottsdale and found the famous Soleri balls from Italy, by the artist Paolo Soleri. We of course, had to get one for our collection and have said that its another anniversary present for us. We've been celebrating our anniversary a lot lately.

Soleri was a student of Frank LLoyd Wright and we stayed in the Arco Santi overnight, which was a project of Soleri's. With only 11 rooms, it was very cozy and interesting. It is a 3 story building made completely out of concrete and started out as a planned community. We had breakfast there the next day and then went on to Flagstaff for lunch at a historical hotel. Humphry's Peak, the highest point in AZ was closed due to 4 ft of snow at only 9,600 ft., so Larry couldn't add it to his list of accomplishments.

We then crossed into NM and have since been staying in hotels, because believe it or not, Larry is tired of camping! In Gallup, NM, which we absolutely loved, we found the visitor's center and happened upon a very new-agey women who worked there. She said Barbara had a wonderful aura and was a very giving person. We then went to the Indian Culture Center and bought a beautiful Catchina Doll directly from the artist, named Dayvan.

After another full day, we drove to Albuquerque and went to Old Town. It was hard to find, but we did and we had dinner with a country band playing that night. We went on to Santa Fe and will drive to Taos tonight. Stay tuned...

Go West!

Went into the wild, wild West when we arrived in Arizona. Weather has been quite hot, but we are enjoying the surroundings. We stayed in a motel in Phoenix because no campgrounds were listed on the map...and if they're not on the map, so says Larry, they don't exist!

In Phoenix, we visited the Heard museum which is all about the Native American Indians. Fascinating artifacts and history. We then drove to Tuscon and on our way, we happened upon the Owl Bead Shop. This had been suggested to us by a woman from CA that we met at Guadeloupe Peak and as we were driving, it just appeared along our route.
We stayed in Tuscon for 3 days and on Easter Sunday, had brunch at the Desert Museum. They had a beautiful hummingbird area where hundreds of little hummingbirds were all around.

We then went on to Scottsdale, where we are now. Spent a weird evening in the parking lot of West World, an equestrian center. The bright lights and noises all around us should have kept us awake, but we had dinner at the Salty Senorita and the margaritas helped us sleep well. Today we are going to Frank Lloyd Wright's winter training school, Taliesen West. He moved his entire headquarters out here for the winter months. Stay tuned...

Larry adds to his Peak performance

Now in El Paso and stayed in a hotel after 4 days in the vamper. Needed a shower desperately to wash the road off us. Couldn't get Larry in, but now can't get him out! He particularly likes the Cucumber Melon body scrub.

Visited Ft. Bliss where Larry was stationed as a young 2nd Lt. in the Army, 50 years ago!!!

But don't let that number fool you, he still scaled the peak of Guadeloupe, the highest point in Texas. At an astounding 9,000 feet, its only about 9 miles, but mostly straight up! He did it and now claims another victory over nature and time!

Next stop is Juarez, Mexico with a population of 1.8 million, one of the largest cities in Mexico. Then heading to Silver City, New Mexico.

Stay tuned for the next adventure...

Yahoo! We're in Texas

We arrived in San Antonio last week and took a walk down memory lane on the Riverwalk.
We visited the same restaurant from 24 years ago where we had fajitas and margaritas. We may be a little older and wiser, but the feelings are all the same and its a magical place.

Next stop is Del Rio, where Scott was stationed in the Air Force more than 20 years ago. Then, on to El Paso.