Sunday, June 29, 2008

Flight 93....

They had bench's all facing the crash site with the passengers and crews names on.
This book was of great interest to me and I have read quite a few CVR's in my career, but none as moving as this one.
This fenced off area is due to erosion around the site. It is a temporary memorial and to learn more about the permanent memorial, check out www.nps.gov/flni. To donate to the fund go to www.honorflight93.org.
Norm and I both felt a special reverence here. They also have interpretive (interp's to all our friends from DETO) talks now. The talk fills in the story and has insights into some of the hero's involved. If you know the story of sheep and sheep dogs, than you know that this flight had all sheep dogs aboard.

Flight 93....






Flight 93 National Memorial...






Road Trip to Pennsylvania...

I asked Norm to take a photo of the Arch in St. Louis and she put her foot in it.
We, not because we planned it, found our selves on the Flight 93 memorial highway and thought that was cool. After coming across this sign, we knew we had to take the time to visit.
Highway 219 to highway 30, also called the Lincoln Highway, turn right when you see this sign in Buckstown.
This the view of the temporary memorial from our parking spot along the road. To the left of this area is another parking lot with port-a-potties, but it was full of motorcycles.
Hard to see, but an American flag is in the upper center, and to the left of the flag and close to the tree line is the site of the actual crash.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Another Job...

We have left our RV and have been living the home life staying in our kids home and taking care of a number of animals. It is just like having grand kids or petting another persons dog. You have some fun and than you give them back. We have a history of dog and house sitting, but the difference is this time we are taking care of three animals and two houses at once! Quite a bit of work for a couple that have no pets and a fifth wheel. This is Sammie, a puggle ( is this a word?) part pug and part beagle. Check out that smile!
This is Barron. He is caught here doing one his two favorite activities. His other is screaming and making all sorts of chatter. He does say "Hi Barron" about a hundred times a day.
Here are the three trouble makers caught in the act.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

The End....

This is another shot of the Salt river.
A long view of the area.
This the view to the north.
In New Mexico we departed highway 60 and took highway 36 north to 117. Our friend Todd wrote about this area on his blog and it is well worth the effort to find. Highway 117 skirts the eastern edge of the El Malpais National Monument.
This is a natural arch bridge, really pretty drive the entire length. No charge to drive through either, which I thought was strange.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Salt River Canyon

These shots are all from the Salt River Canyon, east of Mesa Arizona on highway 60. The canyon is located at the far north western part of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation.
This the bottom of the canyon with Native Americans selling their wares. Behind us as we took this photo, a tractor-trailer with his brakes smoking passed by.

We took this from the other side, if you look real close you can see the road we just came down.
We have gone this way in years past, but it is just a great drive, I think an RV with careful driving would have no problems.

Friday, June 13, 2008

ROAD TRIP PT. 2

This guy was in our yard right by my feet as I was getting directions from Norm about cutting branches off our tree. The only reason I knew he was there, I heard him crawling around. I could have stepped on him! We think this is a bull snake about six feet long. From the colors, it looks like two different snakes.
A large area of the desert is gone to developers. This used to be pristine desert and now it is all built up with dirt for houses and a golf course.
Norm in top form blasting through the Hassayampa river.
One of the largest lizards we have seen out in the desert.
We had a lot of reptile encounters on our visit. Not sure what type he is, but he stayed long enough for me to get the photo.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

ROAD TRIP...

We took a road trip to Congress Arizona and than on to Mesa to bask in the sun and heat (plenty of both). It was a great time as we always look for different ways to go so we can see more of our country. This is Oak Creek Canyon on our way to Congress by way of Sedona. It was a fun drive in a car as you can see by the road. Really tough for anything other than a small RV.
They had a nice walk way with good views. There were also lots of Native Americans selling some cool handmade (I think) stuff.
Norm enjoyed the scenery and the mild weather. Just a little on the cool side for me, perfect for her.
I think the road is down there somewhere. Maybe?
A lot of rock formations, too many to shoot them all. They were mostly outside of Sedona, where we found some fine BBQ for lunch.