White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

The area around Las Cruces boasts a number of natural attractions. On Monday night, we decided to drive out to see White Sands National Monument.

On our way to White Sands we entered White Sands Missile Range. This missile testing site surrounds the White Sands dunes and also contains the Trinity Site, where the first atomic bomb was exploded. Most of the small missiles (SAMs, weather test missiles, tank-destroyers, etc.) now in use were tested on this Missile Range. The Missile Range has its own museum, which we may get to sometime. They also run the twice-yearly "open house" tours to Trinity Site, but we probably won't be here for the next of these. Numerous signs warn that both highway 70 and the dunes can be closed for a missile test on any given day.

A bit of orientation: Las Cruces is not shown on this map, but it lies an hour's drive southwest of White Sands National Monument, along the Rio Grande and less than an hours drive north of El Paso, where the Rio Grande turns westward, forming the Texas-Mexico border.Heading into the missile range, desert scrub extends for as far as the eye can see.
Then, one begins to see surreal glimpses of white in the distance, which, as we get closer, transition to rolling white dunes with occasional light scrub. Here, we follow a trail across the dune scape.
Eventually most everything turned to sand (gypsum powder, to be correct) -- even the road.
Even on this Monday evening, we saw several families out sledding down sand dunes as though they were wintertime snow banks.
The gypsum sand was somewhat packed, making for easy walking across the surface. White Sands is the largest gypsum sand desert in the world, covering 275 square miles.
Despite the immensity and apparent sterility of these sprawling dunes, we did have to watch where we stepped -- an intrepid desert beetle attempted to crawl on Jolene's foot as she stood admiring the landscape & sky. Apparently, she scared him as much as he surprised her. He assumed "the position", preparing (as we learned from an educational signboard) to ward her off with a jet of his kerosene scented spray!
One of us...
two of us!
The New Mexico "skyscape" has proved to be an unexpected source of beauty and interest. (California doesn't have this many and varied clouds. Nor this clear & clean air.)
Case has taken an aviators interest in certain cloud forms, and pointed out the characteristic anvil at the top of this thunderhead.
In comparison to the broad expanse of the desert the clouds felt close enough we might be able to reach up and touch them. And the silence... As they say, "You could hear it!".
The light begins to fade,

in the vast open landscape,
and we head "home" to Las Cruces.

Off to Las Cruces

Jolene's temp job has wound down, giving Case the perfect excuse to kidnap her back to Las Cruces until something else develops that might keep her at home in Fullerton. So today, we packed the necessities (that's one bag for Jolene and six for Jack), said goodbye to our Fullerton house, loaded up the airplane, and headed back to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where Case continues his temp job.

Case has his pilot "Instrument Rating" now, so clouds don't deter him. However, thunderstorms are a concern for any pilot, so we made an early start to get through before they built up too much. Actually, the cotton-ball clouds added visual interest to an otherwise lengthy drone over the desert Southwest.Case's new instrument panel means he can dial in our route at the outset and never touch the yoke again -- save perhaps to deviate around the storms that pop up on the satellite weather receiver. Jolene isn't sure why, with all his interest in flying, Case bought instruments that do the flying for him. But she does understand that boys will be boys. For his part, Case is glad Jolene grew up with a brother.

While Case is playing with his panel of dials and gadgets, Jolene gets to play personal flight attendant to Jack. Then, if Jack isn't too demanding, there's time to gaze out the window, read, or doze off in the back seat.

Luckily for us, Jack is quite the traveler -- which is to say that, so long as we pack and portage his litter box, food, automatic feeder, scratching post, brush, nail clippers, carrier, and other paraphernalia, he is perfectly content to go anywhere we do. (Jack is the only one who gets a potty in the plane; that's his litter box in the back window.)
Jack seems to enjoy gazing out at the clouds, too. We haven't found a headset or earplugs that he's willing to wear, but the noise doesn't seem to bother him. (I suppose he might be going deaf, except that there's no difference between that and how he usually ignores my commands.)
We arrived safely, chauffeured Jack to his (our) apartment, and went for a walk before retiring. Watching the thunderstorms continuing to build over the Organ Mountains backing the town, we decided that, at this time of day, we preferred walking to flying.

DONE!

One thing I (Jolene) picked up while we were on the road was doing puzzles. I started this one back last fall while we were in Redding, CA, but once arriving home to Fullerton it had sat unfinished on our dining room table waiting to be completed, while I was getting back to work and occupied with other things.I finally sat down and started working on it again and then Case joined me on his weekends home. We finally finished it (all 1500 pieces!)a number of weeks ago, each taking a piece and placing it in as the last ceremonial piece. Now it proudly sits on our dining room table and I am gaining the courage to take it apart and put it away, but first I bought another puzzle to start the process all over again!

A Relaxing 4th of July 2008

We decided to brave the crowds at Downtown Disney (Anaheim, CA) and joined the line for...
Home of extra large exotic creatures...
jungle flora hanging from the ceiling,
fish tanks large enough to swim in,
and a bit of something to sip and eat!
We followed up dinner with, people watching, as salty characters spontaneously danced to live music,
and a bit of wandering through stores.
We grew tired of the growing Disney crowds packing in for the firework show....
and opted for our hometown fireworks at Fullerton High School
with lots of space to lay out a blanket and look at the stars before the show began.
A simply enjoyable day!

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Well, it's been quite awhile since I've posted on our blog.... but my time has been spent in an enjoyable life routine of home, work--as a dental hygienist in Fullerton-- and meeting people in the area. I've been enjoying commuting to work via scooter just a mile from home. With gas prices what they are, it helps the budget, too! Case's commute has been considerable less fuel-efficient. He spent the winter months temping in South Dakota, and now he's posted to the high desert of Las Cruces, New Mexico. (Talk about weather extremes.)

In between these jobs -- actually, while waiting for his Las Cruces practice privileges to come through -- he spent time completing his "IFR training" so he can fly his plane on instruments (in the clouds). He says it's all about being a safer pilot (he knows how to sell to me), but I bet it's also about having more excuses to fly. In any case, he's putting the new rating to work as he commutes home on weekends, and we have the comfort of knowing that, if we do get days of marine layer overcast here at home, he's now "legal" to "file IFR" and come home through the clouds.

I had the week off recently, so we (Case, Jack, & I) flew out on Sunday for his 2nd week of work in Las Cruces. I was pleasantly surprised by the attractions of the area. This photo looks east across the Rio Grande River Valley to Las Cruces, backed by the Organ Mountains. The New Mexico sky was constantly changing from a vast clear blue expanse to ranks of towering thunderheads, and everything in between. In the evenings, the rays of the setting sun painted the rain drops an electrifying pink as they fell from the thunderheads, then evaporated in the dry air, leaving the desert floor dry and thirsty.

While Case worked, I settled us into the small apartment his work rented for him. I decorated with table cloths, place mats, curtains and candles, from the local Marshalls. Case appreciated my presence in the apartment, saying, it made it feel a little more homey "and a little less like camping!"
I was quite proud of my loot from Marshalls to spice up the patio. A twenty dollar table cloth, dollar each place mats, seven dollar center piece and an hour-plus of sweeping and cleaning transformed the patio into a haven for outdoor relaxation in the cooler parts of the day.
While I was making the apartment a home away from home, Case worked just a few miles down the road (pictured below) . In the evenings we took walks around the neighborhood, admiring the desert landscape, Southwest architecture, and dramatic sunsets. (Sorry, no photos. We've largely lost the shutterbug infection since returning from Europe.)
Below is a photo of Case, "minding the store", as he calls it. Some days can be a bit slow, but things tend to get busier as he settles in. He usually finished in the four o'clock hour...leaving the evenings to us. Adjacent to Las Cruces is the "Old Mexico" town of Mesilla, which we visited one evening. The 1850s Spanish-American feel is preserved in its town square, adobe buildings, and excellent Mexican food!
I am looking forward to another 3 week visit in mid-July and am thankful for wonderfully flexible working situations that allow us both to travel and split the difference of being apart!

I'll post more pictures on my next visit!

South Dakota

I (Case) am in South Dakota, working (for a change) while my dear wife keeps the home fires burning and our bathroom remodel from getting too bogged down. This weekend -- one of a very few I've spent apart from the wife -- I tried to distract myself by taking a trip from Mitchell, where I'm working, to see the Black Hills.

My trusty steed for the trip...

After arriving in Rapid City, my first stop was Mt Rushmore:

View from the road on the way in

Closer...

And closer...

And finally, a view from the visitors plaza (about as close as one is allowed to get)

This profile view of Washington is seen on the drive out

I also stopped by Crazy Horse Mountain:
This is a more ambitious project than Mt. Rushmore, and it's being done entirely on private funds (donations & whatnot). The silhouette in the foreground is the model towards which the mountain in the background is being shaped.

The sculpture is said to catch Crazy Horse as he answers a scornful question put to him by a white man after his defeat: "Where are your lands now, Indian?" Pointing to the Black Hills so sacred to the Indians, Crazy Horse answers, "There, where my people lie buried."

In the late 1940s, an Indian chief & some warriors who had fought at Little Big Horn ("Custer's Las Stand") came together to ask a Korczak Ziolkowski, a sculptor of Polish descent, to create this project for the Indians "to show the White Man that the Indians also have heroes". The scale is immense -- Mt Rushmore's four presidential busts would fit easily into Crazy Horse's head and flowing hair.


On to Custer State Park:

Oh, give me a home...

... where the buffalo roam,

Where the deer ...

... and the antelope play

And then on to Deadwood:
For what it's worth, I didn't hear a discouraging word here. But what would you expect? After all, this place was a ghost town (or nearly so) until the casinos revived, repaired, and refurbished it. Every building on this street now houses a casino &/or a bar (save for a couple of kitchy souvenir shops). Discouraging words are probably bad for business.

Then again, Wild Bill Hickock was shot in the back while playing cards in this particular bar. I suppose he'd have found that pretty discouraging if he hadn't died of the wound.

Next day, I drove home in a blizzard (Hey, I'm from California. If I see snowfall and feel a breeze, it's a blizzard!) via the town of Wall

(famous for Wall Drug Store)

... and Badlands National Park,

... where I made the acquaintance of these big-horn sheep,

... and attempted an art-photo of this tree.
(I've been using the camera in my mobile phone, so I can blame
the poorer quality on that this time!)