Fedoras afield

[g.durand]

Thanks, guys. We are having a great time.

Mike, my dad worked in the oil drilling industry and spent a lot of time in west Texas. His family was from around Dallas, so we were always visiting, and he took the family to south Texas and the border region once for an extended stay while he was on a job there. I'm familiar with some of the desert flora and fauna. We were in Eagle Pass,TX, and when it rained the tarantulas would come out of their holes and be all over the ground the next day. We had to dodge a few tumbleweeds on the highway yesterday. And there is no way I would go over to Juarez these days.

 

[dh66]

I had a lot of fun on the other side of the border when I lived in Texas 20 some odd years ago. It's a damn shame the situation that area is in these days. Truly sad.

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[Dan Allen]

Michael, my father was stationed at White Sands in the 60's and I have many childhood memories of the place. We lived in El Paso at the time and I remember many strange events and creatures from there, including tumbleweeds rolling down the streets. Those same streets would flood after rains and there would be snakes and lizards floating by. There was a giant insect we called a vinegar roach that was probably actually a scorpion. Horned toads were everywhere. We also crossed the boarder into Juarez for weekend visits, something you probably don't want to do now if your fond of your life.

You didn't perchance live at Victory Park did you?

 

[mikespens]

You didn't perchance live at Victory Park did you?

I was too young to know or care DA. We lived in a cement block duplex at the base of a mountain (would only qualify as a large hill here in Wa). There was an elementary school nearby where I went to kindergarten. My father has passed and my mom wouldn't remember the neighborhood we lived in. Given my fathers occupation as an enlisted man it was probably a low rent neighborhood.

 

[Dan Allen]

I was just wondering. I lived there , probably earlier than you did (59-60) while my dad went threw the electronics school. Victory Park was military housing consisting of small wooden houses that looked a lot like miniature berraks located closer to the base. I don't remember much myself though I do remember that Johnny Cash and Levian lived next door and he and dad played music all night. He left the military and my dad stayed in, of cource we all know where he ended up. Of all my "military brat" years I have never ran into anyone else who lived there even though it was a rather large area.

 

[frussell]

Mikespens - look up "solfugid" online and see if that's your mystery insect. No stinger, but looks like a huge scorpion. Had a house in the SoCal desert that was overrun with them. Nasty buggers. Great shots g.durand, we saw all those same sights every year growing up, traveling from Houston to Palm Springs. We used to buy boots all the time in Juarez, but I wouldn't go there without a rocket launcher now. Safe travels. Frank

 

[mikespens]

DA, we definitely did not live in base housing but were probably there about the same time frame as you. Don't think we there a full year before moving on.

Frank, that wasn't the creature but the search did lead me to the Thelyphonida or whip scorpion, AKA vinegarroon. Used to find them on the side of the house and remember the distinct smell of vinegar. Any sighting caused fear and screaming followed by an unfair attack with the house broom. Mystery solved, thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelyphonida

 

[bowlerman]

Gorgeous desert, G.

 

[Orangegrad]

Vacation in Las Cruces, NM - photo intensive

We got back home yesterday after a week in the Las Cruces, NM area. We loved it. So much so that hopefully within a few years we will move there. We actually found a house my wife and I both agree on, so I'll see if my company is ok with my moving. But the kid still has a year and a half left at Ohio University (undergrad) before going on for her PhD. So not sure if this is the best time to move. But we do like that house..

Anyway, a few photos from the trip.

From the Dreamcatcher inn Bed & Breakfast - sunrise over the Organ Mountains.


At the bead store where we met a fellow whose tall tales would put a blush on the face of any tale-telling Texan.


My daughter Hannah and me at Las Cruces farmers and crafts market.


From the B&B - a wonderful view if you like deserts.


Along the road approaching White Sands National Monument.


Crawling through the dunes of White Sands.


At Corralitos ranch - for the family's first horseback experience into the mountains (think City Slickers, and you have the owner and guide, Billy Prewitt).


I took up the rear end of the posse, my daughter and wife in front.


Taking a break with my horse, Red Neck (the former racehorse)


We dismounted at the base of the mountains and climbed a ways to view caves, rock carvings, petroglyphs, and various fossils.


In a silver mining cave.


Back on the horse, headed back to the ranch - woah horsey, good horsey.


A warning sign at the base of the trails into the Organ Mountains.


Climbing the mountain - so far so good...


The humidity in Las Cruces hovers around 10% - so it's important to keep hydrated.


And those mountains you saw here - if we purchase that home that my wife and I like, my office window would look east - directly into those hills. MA much nicer iew than the basement where I am today.

 

[dh66]

Excellent photos O.G. Looks like a fantastic trip. Thanks for sharing it. You and Mr. G.Durand are making me want to head back out west a.s.a.p.

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[hatsRme]

What a GREAT trip, Andy! Super lids the whole way, too.

The fact that your daughter accompanied you is the frosting on the cake! I hope you find the right home!

 

[Orangegrad]

What a GREAT trip, Andy! Super lids the whole way, too.

The fact that your daughter accompanied you is the frosting on the cake! I hope you find the right home!

It was supposed to be my wife's and my first trip in 20 years without the kid. And then she found out she'd be presenting a paper at an academic conference in Albuquerque. So she joined us for most of the vacation, and is now having her own kind of fun at a luxurious conference center (yesterday she took her first balloon ride to see the sunrise).

And you know, it was nice having the kid along.

 

[Rogera]

Wow Andy, looks like you had a nice trip. I want to head back to that area and go to White Sands again. I haven't been there since I was a kid. I am going to take my wife to Carlsbad Caverns here before long maybe I'll stretch the drive out and go to Alamagordo and White Sands. I remember that there is a cool space museum in Alamagordo and you can watch all kinds of fighter jets flying from Holloman AFB.

 

[Orangegrad]

Wow Andy, looks like you had a nice trip. I want to head back to that area and go to White Sands again. I haven't been there since I was a kid. I am going to take my wife to Carlsbad Caverns here before long maybe I'll stretch the drive out and go to Alamagordo and White Sands. I remember that there is a cool space museum in Alamagordo and you can watch all kinds of fighter jets flying from Holloman AFB.

Roger - the museum is still there. And when you go to White Sands, rent one of the sleds/saucers to go sliding down the dunes. Perhaps my daughter and my favorite photos, but certainly not my wife's. is the sequence of my wife sliding down a dune and doing a complete flip head over heels. Remember to lean back, not forward.

 

[mikespens]

Ride em cowboy! Certainly a braver man than I to mount a horse in the middle of nowhere Andy. Looks like a great vacation.

 

[g.durand]

Andy, it looks like you had a great time. We basically did a drive-by--you were able to immerse yourself in it for awhile. I like the photo of the sign in the Organ Mountains. That's the main thing thing I like about the desert. It is unforgiving.

 

[ManofKent]

Andy - I hope, if the move is what you decide on, that it all goes well. Great photos and I can see the appeal!

 

[Orangegrad]

Andy - I hope, if the move is what you decide on, that it all goes well. Great photos and I can see the appeal!

The house we're considering buying is new construction. Four bedrooms: one for Nancy and me, one as a guest room or when Hannah is home, one for Nancy's jewelry making, and the front bedroom as my office.



This would be the view from my office window

 

[ManofKent]

Not a bad view

 

[Zombie_61]

Wonderful photos Andy! My wife and I keep threatening to take a vacation to New Mexico, and I hope we make good on it one of these days. That "tip" about hydration is important, and definitely something to remember should you and your wife make the move there (at least until your bodies acclimate).