Day 10, Rehoboth, New Mexico, April 13th

149 miles today, 2,513.7 miles total

We headed west from Albuquerque in gusty winds 20-30 MPH & stopped by El Malpais National Monument to see the ancient lava flows from multiple volcanoes erupting in the ancient past. You can see one of the black lava fields in our m, b & t picture. We made a picnic lunch at the continental divide…7,275 feet…next to a low-tech covered wagon adjacent to ours!?! We arrived to visit Jonathan & Anna Newman, teachers at Rehoboth Christian School, elevation 6,500 feet, established ~ 1903. There is a tribute there to the Navajo Code Talkers, who literally turned the tide of World War II. The Navajo language remained an undecipherable code of an unwritten language of extreme compexity.  We have had wonderful fellowship with Jonathan & Anna hiking Pyramid Rock and enjoying her homecooked dinner. They were gracious to put us up for the night. m, b & t (aka the NewMillermans)

I have been to the end of the earth, I have been to the end of the waters, I have been to the end of the sky, I have been to the end of the mountains, I have found none that are not my friends.”–Navajo Proverb

“In the American Southwest, I began a lifelong love affair with a pile of rock.” — Edward Abbey

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The Navajo Beauty Way Ceremony

 

In beauty may I walk
All day long may I walk
Through the returning seasons may I walk
Beautifully I will possess again
Beautifully birds
Beautifully joyful birds
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk
With dew about my feet may I walk
With beauty may I walk
With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk
With beauty all around me may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk
It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty

Day 9, Amarillo, TX to Albuquerque, NM, April 12th

306.2 miles today, 2,368.7 miles total

We left Amarillo this morning almost having traded our RV in for the one with Beth in the picture!?! Looks like something the Clampetts would have on the Beverly Hillbillies. We both drove some coming to rest in West Albuquerque at American RV Park in time for the gorgeous sunset and delicious dinner prepared by beth. m, b & t

“On the road again. Just can’t wait to get on the road again;
Goin’ places that I’ve never been;
Seein’ things that I may never see again;
And I can’t wait to get on the road again.” –Willie Nelson

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Day 8, Tulsa, OK to Amarillo, TX April 11th

362.5 miles today, 2,062.5 miles total

We left Tulsa and drove across Oklahoma and Texas to Amarillo. We travelled along Route 66 in Elk City stopping for lunch at the Country Dove Tea Room. We even posed for a picture wth the owners. We drove along parts of the old Chisholm Trail used in the late 19th century to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads.

After checking into Amarillo Ranch RV Park & doing our walk/jog, we took a chauffeured limosine one mile to the world famous Big Texan Steak Ranch, home of the free 72 oz steak (if you can eat it all in less than one hour)!?!? We had a delightful meal & fellowship with Dale & Mary Ann from St. Louis pictured at the restaurant with us. Beth & I split the 18 oz (1/4 of the 72 oz) man vs food steak pictured below. m, b & t

“Come along boys and listen to my tale; I’ll tell you of my troubles on the old Chisholm trial. Come-a ti yi yippy, yippy, yay, yippy yay! Come-a ti yi yippy, yippy, yay! On a ten dollar horse and a forty dollar saddle; Ridin’ and a punchin’ them Texas cattle. I’m up in the morning before daylight; Before I get to sleep the moon’s shining bright. It’s bacon and beans most every day; I’d sooner be a-eaten’ the prairie hay. Got a hole in my hat where the rain runs in; Got a hole in my boot where it runs out again.  Come-a ti yi yippy, yippy, yay, yippy yay! Come-a ti yi yippy, yippy, yay!” –Cowboy Song (1870’s)

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Day 7, Memphis to Tulsa via Arkansas, April 9th-10th

420 miles today, 1,700 miles total

We left Memphis, Tennessee late yesterday morning and travelled the day in high winds across Arkansas to Fort Smith. After hearing of impending severe storms in Oklahoma, we decided to continue on to Tulsa before the storms were to start at midnight and stay with our friends, Victoria & Rick Cameron.  They sheltered us from the OOOOOOOOOOOklahoma winds, rains & tornado warnings in their apartment for a few nights. Yesterday was in the mid-70’s and today’s high was 38 degrees, rainy & windy!?! We relaxed in our cozy setting of fellowship with friends. We visited Oral Roberts University including the largest praying hands, ate dinner at a German Beer House and devoured dessert at an Italian cafe. Our respite can be encapsulated in the following quotes. m, b & t

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”–Tim Cahill

“OOOOOOOOOOOklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, Where the wav-in wheat can sure smell sweet, When the wind comes right behind the rain; Oklahoma ev’ry night my honey lamb and I; Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk, Makin lazy circles in the sky.

We know we belong to the land, And the land we belong to is grand;
And when we say, Yeow! A-YIP-I-O-EE-AY
Were only say-in “you’re doing fine Oklahoma,
Oklahoma OK”–Oscar Hammerstein (Oklahoma lyrics)

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.” 
― Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button screenplay

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Reproduction of “The Glass of Wine”–Johannes Vermeer c. 1658-1660 courtesy of Tim Stevenson (1997)

Day 6, Memphis, Tennessee, Elvis’ Graceland, April 8th

18.3 miles today, 1,280 miles total

Met Andrew & Meghan Newman last night for dinner at the Soul Fish Cafe, a local joint serving Po’ Boy sandwiches. We’re staying behind the Heartbreak Hotel at Graceland RV Park & Campground for two nights with our site on Jail House Road. We took the Platinum Tour of Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley this morning. Much more impressive than we had anticipated. Took Toby for a 3 and 1/2 mile walk/jog in Overton Park meeting up with Meghan. We had magnificent Memphis BBQ at The Bar-B-Que Shop before getting a tour of downtown compliments of the Newmans. From Graceland,  m, b & t (aka The NewMillermans)

“Thank-you…thank-you very much.” –Elvis Presley

 

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Day 5, MAMMOTH Cave, Kentucky, April 7th

312.7 miles today, 1,261.7 miles total

Incredible morning tour of a 2 mile portion of the 400 mile labyrinth of the largest cave system in the world…MAMMOTH. We went down to a depth of 400 feet to follow in the footsteps of previous men over the last 5,000 years here. Below is a spaghetti-like picture which is a 3-D representation of the caves…amazing stuff! Then driving 300 miles onto Memphis to arrive at Graceland RV Park at Elvis’ homeplace.  m,b & t

Advice from a Cave: “Breathe deep, Find beauty in unexpected places, Search inward, See the hole picture, Good things take time, Look beneath the surface, Hang tight.” –ilan shamir

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Day 4, Horses, Dogs & Rabbits in Kentucky April 6th

Day Three, 182.6 miles today, 949 miles

We visited our horse, George, strutting his stuff in Lousiville! Toby is seen in the saddle, so to speak, playing peek-a-boo in our horseless carriages! And we’re having fun times in the Thumper-mobile high tech wagon with Beth & Toby riding shotgun! It was a gorgeous day in Kentucky! Tomorrow we undertake to go underway undergrowth to undergo undercover underground…understand!?!? The “hollowed out” answer to this riddle tomorrow,  m,b & t

If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.”  –Thumper from “Bambi” 1942)

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Day 3, Kentucky Horses April 5th

Day Three, 164.4 miles today, 766.4 miles total. We are staying at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground in Lexington for 2 nights. Toured the American Saddlebred Museum, International Museum of the Horse, Horse Breeds of the World, & Horse Hall of Champions.  Headed over to Louisville to see our two horses, George & Patrick, who got a workout in the ring.

“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.” Winston Churchill

“All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse, and a good wife.” — Daniel Boone

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Day 2, Traveler’s Rest, Kentucky April 4th

Day Two, 329 miles today, 602 miles total. Today, we passed over the Great Smokey Mountains through Tennessee into Kentucky to visit my great…grandfather’s original Traveler’s Rest homeplace including the original summer kitchen from 1786 and the family cemetery. Isaac Shelby (whom our youngest daughter, Shelby, is named after) was the 1st & 5th Governor of Kentucky & one of the hero’s of the Revolutionary War &  the War of 1812,  receiving the Congressional Gold  Medal of Honor. Counties in nine states and towns in 11 states have been named in his honor. The residence & estate are now in the care of Roseann & David Downey,  Roseann was gracious to give us a personal tour complete with hot tea & cheesecake. After this memorable afternoon, we proceeded to the Kentucky Horse Park Campground in Lexington. m, b & t

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Thumper Day 1, Asheville, NC, April 3rd

The Journey Begins!!! 273 miles today, 273 miles total.
Thumper, our RV,  began hopping down the trail settling in Asheville, North Carolina. Our campsite is along the banks of the French Broad River, the waters in which my father, “Daddy Rock,”  was baptized as a child. You can see the river in the background  of our site behind our 24 foot “Thumper” at  Wilson’s Riverfront RV Campground.  After hooking up electricity, water, & sewer lines, we took a nice 2 & 1/2  mile stroll along the river banks.
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We met my 1st cousin, Kathy, & her husband, David, to go visit our family’s Asheville Coal and Ice Company buildings down by the river. The ice plant is long gone with only the smoke stack still standing and the coal plant has trees growing from the roof!?!?
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After a Sunny Point Cafe meal in west Asheville, we returned for our honeymoon night of the trip. Heading over the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee for the Blue Grass of Kentucky tomorrow. m, b & t
“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.  I travel for travel’s sake.  The great affair is to move.”  -Robert Louis Stevenson