Some scary and fantastic times this month.Christmas in Desert is definitely unique!

Well, our journey continues, to Southern areas so we are able to miss snow which is a goal of this trip. We made a short stop in Austin, Texas to visit a couple we met while in Alaska almost 41 years ago, Anna and Jim. We had a fantastic time visiting and reminiscing. When we went out to dinner, Mark said he would love Italian and they asked if we had ever tried Carino's. Of course, Mark jumped at that chance since it was one of our favorite ND places to eat, but they closed in North Dakota. We used to drive two hours and make a Sam's club run and eat at Carino's. It was a great day and great company.  Being on the road is not for the faint of heart. The drive to get to Austin was quite scary, in Houston, we had two people cut us off and almost cause two accidents. We watched the dash cam  at the end of the day and that made it even more real. Although, we have been through many big cities, it still is not my cup of tea. 

    On the way to Goodfellow, Texas an overnight stop for us, we went through the Pecan capital of the world in San Saba, TX. Shortly after going through this small town, it sounded like it was raining rocks. A truck picked up gravel, and we got three more chips in our huge windshield as well as a big chip on the paint above the windshield. The next day we saw lots of raw cotton on trucks and even got to see it harvested in a couple of places. Now, I am not a farmer, but Mark said it was like a combine with a different attachment. 

    Next stop is Carlsbad, NM for a few days. We stayed at a KOA campground that had a bunch of cool amenities such as giant checkers, giant chess, basketball, sand volleyball, store and rec room. This is definitely one we would probably stay at again. Being this close, we took in the Carlsbad National Park and Caverns, I am not usually a cave dweller, but these were incredible! We took an elevator down 70 stories to the upper cavern. We then took a hike through the cavern which took a couple of hours.  They had to close off the lower cavern because some dropped a Cheeto and it damages the formations. No I am not kidding, it is a real thing that happens and they request nothing, but water gets consumed below ground. There were so many things to see that Mother Nature made so many years ago. There were formations for any imagination to take in: such as the section that looked like a forest, another section where the rocks formed benches and what looked like an altar, trolls, animals. There are sections that are highlighted so maybe it was the power of suggestion. It was easily accessible even for wheelchairs or walkers for most of the path. It was well worth the stop for the views and the experience. We had lunch with Jen and Bedo at an Italian restaurant and caught up with all the happenings of each other's lives. This has been one of the best parts of this trip is catching up with friends and family that we have not seen in a while.

    When we left Carlsbad for a quick stopover before getting to near Ashley's house, we had a frightening episode with the motorhome. We were driving along in NM somewhere and our tire monitoring system started beeping, we were losing tire pressure in one of the tires at a very rapid rate. It took a while to find a safe place to pull off and check out the situation. Mark pulled out his compressor to fill the tire. We got back on the road after I found a tire repair shop and put into the GPS. The directions took us past the shop, and we kept going since there was a Love's truck stop ahead. During the whole process, Mark was worried about having a blow out, so many prayers were said and answered! Thank God, we got to Love's safely. When our new tires were put on in Red Bay, there was a problem with the extension valve. Loves was able to take the extension off and fill the tire properly to get us back on the road. 

    Staying in one place for a while, we are at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona until January 6th. Luke Air Force Base has fighter jets, and it is loud all the time. We are about twenty minutes from Ashley's house. A couple of the advantages to staying in one place is that we can go to the same church weekly, you can find your way around the area and can shop in the same store as needed. 

    When we first got to Phoenix, we went to go to a church that was nearby because the base has limited services. We found one close by and pulled up to this beautiful church that has big signs that say all men must wear suitcoat and tie and all women must wear a dress and a veil. Mark did not have a suitcoat and tie with him, and I did not have a dress or veil.  It did not give me a good feeling, but we went inside. The mass was going to be all in Latin and that made my decision. It was a very uncomfortable feeling, so we found another church. We have done a lot of visiting and sharing meals with Ashley and using her house for laundry since the laundry in the camper is very small and takes super long. Mark has played golf a few times on the base course. I went with him one day and saw my first roadrunner in nature. When I first saw him, he was too far away to get a good picture. When we got closer, he ran much faster than I could get my camera out. These birds are very fast, it was cool to see.

    Some special activities we have done with Ashley are: going to a Medieval Jousting tournament, going to a live show of The Christmas Story, Going to Utopia 2 in a theater, Making cookies with her friend and their family, helping with grout and tile cleaning at her house, going to an Air BNB in Pine Arizona so her dogs won't hear the fireworks for a full week in Phoenix . While in the Air BNB, we have seen a herd of elk almost daily. It is cool to see them so close, just outside the backyard. Other things we have done are getting my haircut and colored and not liking it because it was too blond and she blew out my curls that I like.  I know it is only hair and will grow out. We also got the three chips in the windshield fixed. Mark and I went to Winslow, AZ for an afternoon, so we could stand on the corner like the song. It was a bit bigger than we expected. They had a Christmas tree up that all the ornaments were Route 66 themed with cars, get your kicks and lots of different versions of the road sign Route 66. We have done lots of exploring and visiting to take advantage of every opportunity and live life to the fullest. Look for the next blog around the end of January 2026.