RV Adventure – December 2018

DEC 4, 2018 – Montgomery, AL

On the advice of our campground host, as the street and neighborhood we’d be in, we did not walk the mile to the bus stop but called Uber to go downtown. We’d been told the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice nearby were not to be missed. So true. Here in the heart of Montgomery is an “11,000-square-foot museum built on the site of a former warehouse where enslaved black people were imprisoned, and is located midway between an historic slave market and the main river dock and train station where tens of thousands of enslaved people were trafficked during the height of the domestic slave trade. Montgomery’s proximity to the fertile Black Belt region, where slave-owners amassed large enslaved populations to work the rich soil, elevated Montgomery’s prominence in domestic trafficking, and by 1860, Montgomery was the capital of the domestic slave trade in Alabama, one of the two largest slave-owning states in America.” https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/museum It was somewhat surprising to see such a record of how horrific Montgomery’s role in the domestic slave trade was, located in the heart of the downtown of this small city. When the slave trade was “abolished” is 1808, the domestic slave trade ramped up and the thousands of slaves then in the US were transported/bought/sold/separated and made part of the south’s economic engine. After the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, though ownership may have diminished, persecution and prosecution continued as inhumanely as during the height of the domestic slave trade itself. Jim Crow laws and the climate of white supremacy continued, even in the courts, as blacks were considered guilty of whatever crime a white could rightly or wrongly pin on a black. The Memorial is a starkly moving tribute to the era of widespread lynching that continued in some states even into the 1940s. Also in the museum was great videography and storytelling of the birth of the civil rights movement in Montgomery. Rosa Parks and the near year long bus boycott, where thousands of Montgomery black citizens walked thousands of mile rather than take the bus that relegated them to the back, or even to give up a seat should a white not find an empty one. Interviews taken at the time brought to life the story I knew only bits and pieces about. The role a young new pastor in Montgomery, Martin Luther King, Jr., played was made clearer and brought more meaning than I had before. If you ever get the chance, or make the effort, visiting both the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, will be one the more memorable museum visits you will ever make.

DEC 13, 2018 – San Antonio, TX

Short visit to San Antonio, Texas. Spent several hours at the Alamo and then walked along the well known RiverWalk. Very nice! Small yet vibrant city with some areas thriving and some not so much. Very well appointed RV park 3 miles south of the city, on the very convenient bus line!!! Off tomorrow, headed west still. Hoping if the wind calms down from 40mph gusts, we can get to Sonora TX where there’s a rest area for boondocking. Then to Marfa – hoping to see the Marfa Lights!!! and we’ll walk the mile into the town to see what a tiny small Texas town is like.

DEC 15-16, 2018 – Marfa, TX

We are in Marfa, Tx; We are watching the Dec 14 PBS News Hour and seems they are showcasing Marfa!!! wow! We will explore some tomorrow but hope to be able to see the Marfa Lights tonight though it’s very hazy on the horizon. Not sure we’ll see them. It’s the whole reason we came… But the art part that is on the News Hour is something we saw a little bit of today. How cool is that!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHH3jfJcHIk   Unfortunately it was too overcast to see the lights. Maybe we’ll have to make the trek back someday. While leaving Marfa, we visited the Chinati foundation. A very interesting art installation at an old army base. We took a reduced tour and visited several of the exhibits. Fascinating!!! cubes, light,   very rugged outdoor presence.

DEC 17, 2018 – Very Large Array, NM

Today was a longish drive as we decided to detour from the main road to see the Very Large Array. OMG. This is a tremendous sight – it’s a radio telescope comprised of 27 large dish receivers – 85′ wide and 90′ tall. We saw a quick film and then walked the short walking tour for the photos. If you saw the movie Contact, this is featured at the start. Jodie Foster narrated the movie at the visitor center. If you are ever in this area, this is a must see. There’s so much about VLA that is absolutely fascinating. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Large_Array

DEC 23, 2019 – Albuquerque, NM

Petroglyph National Monument

We’ve had a quiet relaxing time in Albuquerque NM and had Katie with us for Christmas. Made it very special given that the two of us are often on different sides of the planet. On the 23nd we walked along the trail at the Petroglyph National Monument. We had full access but the visitor center was closed and the road had the “not open due to lapse in federal appropriations” notice. On the way to the petroglyphs we saw an enormous earthen embankment and a surprisingly small lake behind it. It too had a closed gate we had to walk around. This was Army Corps of Engineers property, but the dam was a sight!!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroglyph_National_Monument

DEC 23, 2019 – Albuquerque, NM

 Sandia Peak Tramway

Every day we look to the east and see the Sandia Mountains to the east of Albuquerque. In the early morning the hot air balloons float between here and there and some go over and beyond. On the 24th we took the aerial tram to the top. Longest tram in the US!!!! Katie hiked up from the base where the tram started. She hiked 9 miles up to the peak from 6,559″ to 10,378′. My highest peak attained by other means…. It was very cold at the top – winds 21mph, temp 28Fdeg, and snow/ice surrounding the station such that we couldn’t go exploring beyond the walkways and viewing platforms built into the mountain top. Views to both sides were amazing. We could see mountains more than 100 miles away. In the evening the high feldspar content of the granite, with occasional limestone outcroppings, turns the mountains pink in the evening with the sun setting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandia_Peak_Tramway

DEC 2018 – Albuquerque, NM

We saw hot air balloons on many mornings in ABQ. And then while out doing errands we’d see them launching nearby. And there was always the backdrop of the beautiful Sandia Mountains.