Around With Grandpa

Trinity River Audubon Center

Satelite view of the Trinity River Aububon Center

Footbridge crossing the Trinity River

Long heavy duty footbridge

River bank upgrade downstream from the bridge

Natural riverbank near the bridge

Interesting rest area at end of bridge

Trinity river bend

Conquering the Rockies - Day Two

Breakfast at this Best Western in Raton was outstanding! Look at this! A glass glass for juice, a real plate for food, real silverware and a cloth napkin, real bacon, eggs, sausage and potatoes. I could eat here every morning!

The girls are ready to get on the bus at our motel in Raton. Kathrine our history instructor is in the middle.

Welcome to Colorado!

Continental Divide. We were at the headwaters of the Rio Grande which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Just a few feet west water flows west through the Grand Canyon toward the Pacific Ocean.

The mountains are getting closer!

We stopped for a break by a small mountain stream. The water was cold and inviting. This is Brittny and B.J.

Kathleen has started her rock collection.

One of our first historical stops was at Fort Garland. Kit Carson was in charge here for 18 months.

Ray, our driver. We told him to stay off that wall!

Parade ground and flagpole.

Flower at the fort.

Brittny in Teepee at Fort Garland.

From Fort Garland we drove higher into the mountains (elevation 9242) very near the continental divide to visit the old gold mining community of Pitkin. This is their city hall.

Pitkin church.

I noticed this house with a homemade elevator.

Main street - Pitkin, CO - We wandered around town for a half hour or more and I only saw one resident and three hunters that came through on their ATV's.

Pitkin post office. I took this photo in memory of Grandma.

This wood stove was in the Pitkin museum and souvenir center.

This little exhibit was outside the "Road Kill Cafe". The narrow guage railroad (Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad) came through here on its way to the Alpine Tunnel just a few miles to the east. This tunnel was the highest (over 2 miles high) and longest (1772 feet) narrow guage tunnel in North America. It was completed in 1882 and abandoned in 1910. Now landslides have covered both ends of the tunnel.

Here at a sign telling about the tunnel and railroad John Verslouis (on the left) gave a lecture about those times.

Back down the mountain this stop was welcome.

Of course I ordered enchiladas!

After a long day this room is a welcome sight.

Conquering the Rockies - Day One

Loading the bus - 6:30am at the Hillsboro campus. The girls are ready to board the bus. This field trip was a part of the summer I semester history course.

Entering New Mexico. After riding the bus all day someone remembered the poem, "The sun has riz, The sun has set, And here we is, InTexas yet!" After the long tiring ride we decided to stretch our legs for a few minutes at the border.

Capulin Volcano is an extinct cinder-cone volcano in northeastern New Mexico. It was getting late in the day but we called ahead and the ranger kept the gate open until we got there. We drove to the top and enjoyed the view from the 8,000 foot elevation. Capulin has been extinct for about 60,000 years. The crater is about 400 feet deep. Paul was the only one the went all the way to the bottom. Several of the others hiked part way around the rim trail which is about 1 mile around.

Grandma and I visited here several years ago while returning from one of our mission trips. At that time I hiked the full distance of the crater rim trail.

The view from the top. We were beginning to get excited about "Exploring the Rockies" as we got our first view of the distant mountains from the top of Capulin.

After leaving Capulin we ate at supper at the Sands Restaurant in Raton, NM and then checked into our Best Western. The Best Western in Raton is a very nice facility and the wi-fi was the best I have ever had in any motel.

Thanks to Paul for the restaurant photo.

I noticed this rose blooming outside the restaurant!

This Week's Dining

Today I grilled a Portabella mushroom to go with my corn and green beans. I think I had a little too much vinegar in the marinade for the mushroom but the green beans were good. Today I tried a beef bullion cube in the green beans and it added a very good flavor.

Earlier this week I made a chicken and broccoli casserole. It needed more seasoning. I poured some Pace Picante sauce over it which helped some.

.

Sauteed Garlic Asparagus

I tried this recipe today. It was really good.

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
* 1 bunch fresh asparagus
* 3 cloves garlic, chopped

Directions

1. Melt the butter or margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and asparagus spears; cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until asparagus is tender. If you like your asparagus well done, reduce heat and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Cold and Windy Tuesday

We enjoyed lunch at the historic Chaf-In cafe in Cleburne.

The wind was so cold today that I wanted to stay in the car. We drove west past Cleburne State Park then south into the Goatneck area of Johnson County. I tried to find something that I could remember from our camping days along the Brazos river in the late 40's and early 50's but the roads have changed and the only landmark I could see was Bee mountain. We camped along the river bank just across from the base of Bee mountain.

Heading back toward Rio Visa we stopped for a drive-thru at Johnson County's only park. This was Hamm Creek park and campground. It connects with the upper end of Lake Whitney but today the lake is so low that the only water to be seen was that of the Brazos river.

A Favorite Spot

Yes, anytime we go to Meridian State Park this is a required stop. The sign at the parking area points the way.

As we approach from above we are standing atop the overhanding ledge that once provided shelter for honeybees and probably for many native american Indians also.