Deer Hunting 2012

We left the coach parked in Houston and drove the car "Up North." The girls were excited to have us back and made a special Welcome Home banner for us.

 We got here in time to celebrate Halloween. Addy and Macy helped Big Grampa decorate the pumpkins.

It was a beautiful night for Minnesota and we all went Trick or Treating.

Once we get "Up North" we celebrate the three birthdays--Mitch, Mark, and Carol--all born on November 6.

Mitch's "Deer hunting"!

Barb's "Dear hunting"!

Around Houston

Blue Bell ice cream is a favorite of ours and we toured the creamery while we were in Texas. It was a good tour, but the best part was the BIG scoop of ice cream (any one of 32 flavors on hand) we got at the end of the tour.

If you have a chance try their Gingerbread House or their Pumpkin Pie for a holiday treat!

We had been traveling with Jan and Marshal since the middle of August and have had a great time. We ended our stay together at friends Connie and Joe's place outside of Houston on Galveston Bay. We were then joined by three more coaches and we had a mini-campground! What a good time we all had.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM

No, this is not a wedding cake starting to melt, but one of the truly fantastic formations at Carlsbad Caverns.

Roswell, NM

We stopped to visit some "special" friends in Roswell!

Balloon Fiesta 2012, Albuquerque

Dawn Patrol:  Our day started on the field at 5:45 am when the first five balloons of the day fire up and check out the skies. It was awesome to be right there in the middle of it all!

Up close and personal!!!!

Up, up, and away!!! 550 balloons take to the sky.

What goes up must come down--right in the middle of the parking lot! We watched seven balloons sail just over the coaches and down behind us. Anyone close grabbed the gondola and pulled it to a safe place to deflate. What an experience!

Santa Fe, NM

We've had a great time in Santa Fe visiting historic Santa Fe with its Plaza, touring the old Cathedrals, and admiring the many amazing galleries. We also did some driving through the golden aspens to Taos and visited the Taos Pueblo. Today it was Bandelier National Monument to see the remnants of the ancient ruins of the early people of New Mexico.

On the Move

Fill 'em up!! A good start to the day for Valero.

 We spent two days in Oklahoma City and had the opportunity to visit the Oklahoma City Memorial for the 1995 bomb site that killed 168 babies, children, and adults.  The museum held so much information and was emotionally taxing.

It is a remarkable tribute to the lost lives and the devastation of a major part of the city.

On to Amarillo, Texas where we ate at the "famous" Big Texan Steak House--you know, eat a 72 ounce steak plus the fixings and eat for free. We didn't try it, but we did watch a young man not be able to accomplish the feat. The food wasn't too bad.