[2010 Out West Road Trip. Travels with Carol.]
In March 2010, my mother, Carol, and I took a road trip from Missouri to New Mexico, in search of sun and warmth. Here is Day 4 of our road trip.
Saturday, 6 march 10
MZURI'S REPORT
Spent the day in Palo Duro Canyon, a really pretty area (2nd largest canyon in the U.S.). Not gobsmacking spectacular like the Grand Canyon, but very pretty. I walked a modest trail, the Rojo Grande, enjoying the red bluffs and red trail, while Carol read a book in the car, sipping on coffee. Carol and I had packed our lunches, and later we ate same at a shady picnic table where a cool breeze wafted through our space, and we each drank in a view from our respective sides of the table. We examined every campground, rendering our judgments on the best.
We also looked at the Cow Camp cabins (built by CCC men during the Depression), which we fell in love with. These stone cabins really do seem to melt into the surroundings. They have heat and a/c but no toilet. Ouch. That requires a fair trek down the slope and across the road to a nearby campground's shower house. These go for $60/night. Rim cabins (literally on the canyon rim) go for $110-125. They have bathrooms. We took a leisurely drive on the scenic road, then headed back to the town of Canyon. As we left the park, there was a long, long line of cars waiting to get in.
Our new destination was the local Walmart. Someone with influence must really loathe Walmart because it required serious detective skills to figure out how to get from the no-exit roadway to the Walmart. And it wasn't any easier getting out of Walmart. Anyway, while there, I saw an opportunity for an overdue beauty treatment at the house salon and availed myself. This had the unfortunate consequence of leaving Carol over-long in the car after our original meet-at-the-car time, but the window was cracked, so I figured she'd be OK.
CAROL'S REPORT
After eating our individual breakfasts in our room and dallying a bit we started out for the canyons at 10 AM. As Mzuri described we thoroughly checked it out...the cabins by the way are little huts built entirely of stone with flat roofs. Each of the few are surrounded by native cacti, palmettos, thorny bushes and skeletal leafless trees, stones, and dry sandy soil - very appealing. I hope some of you some day will stay there perhaps for a couple of days to experience what must be an astounding view of moon and stars. Today the sun was warm and the breezes cool. As usual we ended our busy days back in our room around 4 PM with books, computer and occasionally exercising our thumb flipping thru the miracle of television. I got the subtlety of Mzuri's comment about "leaving me in the car with the window cracked"...had I been a dog she would have been reported to the police and charged with cruelty to animals. Not being a dumb animal I was able to use my own key to turn the AC on and eat one of the yogurts I bought at Walmart, read and dozed. I was in full agreement for her indulging herself in what she referred to as "overdue beauty treatment".
READER RESPONSES:
FROM LABARQUE:
I love you guys. You're better than T.V.
FROM SHILO GIRL:
Oh. Mzuri. LOL. "Overdue beauty treatment" when you said it, it sounded like a pampering indulgence.... when mom said it, it sounded like, oh thank gawd, she finally took care of herself! ;-)
FROM SHILO GIRL:
I AGREE. they are very entertaining.
FROM CATBIRD:
I was thinking the same thing. I thought to myself that wow she must have been looking pretty bad.
FROM SHILO GIRL:
LOL. yea. maybe looking a little "Margot Kidder" caught in the bushes.
FROM HOLSTEIN GUY:
Happy Birthday to LaBarque.
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