Friday, September 29, 2006

Two more shots





Just outside of Las Cruces, NM. The old stomping grounds, as both Geogal and I have degrees from New Mexico State Cow College.

This is a rest area, with the sweet smell of creosote. I had seen the roadrunner sculpture from far away, but had never really taken a close look.

Sure enough, it was made out of garbage!

Pictures as promised




Pics from a service station in Deming. Yes, a service station, not a gas station. The guy actually gave me the full service (which involves him pumping the gas and washing the windshield--these are actions I have not seen since childhood).

I take that back. I have visited Oregon, where it apparently is the law that a professional has to gas up your vehicle.

Geogal took a look at the pumps and had a similar flashback.

How occupied was I? Busy enough to not notice the Blazer for sale (?) in the second picture. Would have given it a quick look had I known.

For the reader, how long has it been since you saw a "Master Charge" (sted Card) sign?

If it wasn't for the gas prices, one might think we did a Marty McFly back to 1978.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

18 Wheelers, pump jacks, and local color

Dateline--Ozona, TX

Not the greatest wi-fi connection at the Deming hotel, that explains the double posting from this morning. We are staying tonight at a Best Western, which seems to have a far superior wireless signal.

The search for true, unbleached, cracked-from-the-unforgiving-sun Texas has begun. Found some of it at Chuy's Restaurant in Van Horn. Pretty good Mexican food along with sports-related items that canot be called kitsch, because this is a male-dominated eatery. Word has it that John Madden stops and eats there at least once during the football season. The owners of this West Texas restaurant aren't hesitant to mention this, and use Madden's name and likeness in much of their marketing.

The rice is really good. (And the rest of the meal wasn't bad, either. But that side item was definitely the standout.) We knew this was worth a blog mention as Geogal ordered her salad with the dressing on the side (which is her standard procedure, as to avoid salads that are more dressing than greens). The dressing came on the side. The bottle, that is. Not a generic restaurant-grade salad dressing bottle, either. A bottle of HIdden Valley Ranch, label and everything. The same bottle that occupies your grocer's shelf.

You just won't see that in Scottsdale.

The evening meal was sufficient, but not outstanding. I ordered chicken-fried-steak, shared it with Geogal. The crust on the meat was nicely flavored, but the cream gravy had never been introduced to pan drippings. The result? Let's just say paste has more flavor. So, the search continues...

Pictures in the next post. (Wait till the A.M.)

Rock and roll!




Dateline--Deming, NM

A good morning indeed!

Regarding my entry from yesterday, it didn't even take a whole 30 minutes. Just after writing that, I got back to packing and organizing and soon realized I was finished. Finished in the good way!

Geogal got home earlier than expected, and loading took little time. So, in about 10 minutes I felt de-stressed. It's nice to enjoy the drive.

So, on to some pictures. Due to the time we left Chandler, we drove through Texas Canyon just prior to sunset. It was one of those "happy happenstances," in which picture-taking conditions were almost perfect. I am no aspiring photographer, but I am aware that sunrise and sunset are excellent times to get out the camera, due to the angle of the sunlight on God's creation.

So...I asked Geogal to take some shots while we were moving. Geoana had conked out in the back seat, and we didn't feel like stopping at the rest area in the midst of this rock garden. So, enjoy these pics. I promise more tomorrow, as we anticipate totally during daylight hours.

Rock and roll!




Dateline--Deming, NM

A good morning indeed!

Regarding my entry from yesterday, it didn't even take a whole 30 minutes. Just after writing that, I got back to packing and organizing and soon realized I was finished. Finished in the good way!

Geogal got home earlier than expected, and loading took little time. So, in about 10 minutes I felt de-stressed. It's nice to enjoy the drive.

So, on to some pictures. Due to the time we left Chandler, we drove through Texas Canyon just prior to sunset. It was one of those "happy happenstances," in which picture-taking conditions were almost perfect. I am no aspiring photographer, but I am aware that sunrise and sunset are excellent times to get out the camera, due to the angle of the sunlight on God's creation.

So...I asked Geogal to take some shots while we were moving. Geoana had conked out in the back seat, and we didn't feel like stopping at the rest area in the midst of this rock garden. So, enjoy these pics. I promise more tomorrow, as we anticipate totally during daylight hours.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Countdown

Just 30 minutes, that's all it takes.

30 minutes.

No, I'm not talking about a pill, although this does involve some pain relief.

Most of you will agree with me that the hours just prior to leaving on a trip lasting more than a day are the hours that tick by the fastest.

Gotta get this packed. Gotta make sure we have this on hand. Gotta remember to unplug nearly everything at home. And continually remind myself to not forget ANYTHING!

All of this, even though my family and I are on no real time schedule for departure. (Hey, we're not catching a plane or anything!) But still, the stress befalls me even though I have been doing this routine a few times a year for the past 20 years.

However, there is a sure-fire cure for everything aforementioned. Just get on the road. Get on with it.

For me, about 30 minutes on the road and I become a new man. More relaxed, very euthymic. All of the pre-trip stress is over.

So I just keep reminding myself: "30 minutes, 30 minutes. That's all it takes."

Monday, September 25, 2006

Cue the James Bond Theme, with steel guitar, please

The Big Trip is getting closer.

By a stroke of luck (actually, it was more Geogal's foresight to ask), we are borrowing a minivan for this particular sojourn. A nice one. A very late-model Chrysler Town and Country with some nice features (such as a built-in DVD player).

The in-laws brought it over yesterday to explain how some of the features worked. I had to resist all my urges to clown around with the gadgets on board while speaking in a British accent. (In my mind's ear, the male owner of this vehicle was sounding like Q, with numerous interjections to "pay attention, 007" while he explained how this latest miracle of spy-must-have technology was achieved by years of painstaking work from all members of Q Branch. Of course, that meant I would return it from the field severely damaged, if I even returned it at all. Maybe I'd just better stay in the real world.)

For numerous reasons, I am looking ahead to this journey with great anticipation. A wonderful vehicle, satellite radio from both providers, on-board DVD player with wireless headphones, plus our normal collection of ease the trip luxuries such as iPods, the portable DVD player, and the challenge I issued to myself to photoblog the entire spectacle.

But the excitement about what is ahead is more than the above. I am returning to an area of Texas I have not visited for years and am hopeful that I can share some recollections of my childhood years with my wife and daughter, neither of whom have much Texas visit time logged onto their brains. Driving through the verdant Hill Country; following the Colorado River from Austin to Columbus, eating at small-town establishments where chicken-fried-steak is the house specialty; seeing how many BBQ joints we can point out; huge oak trees; and sharing with them what has changed in these many years, and what has stayed the same.

That, and I promise Geogal and Geoana that I will not listen to too much country music along the way.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

the best laid plans....

Further adventures with the new toy.

First, decided to get the Apple Airport Express to create a wireless network in the house. It worked perfectly, save for the fact it is not a router. Which meant we still could have only one computer on the Internet at a time. (For those of you who are scratching their heads, we have a Wintel PC and the new MacBook. Therefore the PC is not wireless, unless I wanted to splurge for a wireless card which isn't going to happen...)

Easy enough solution, right? Pack up the Express, return to the Apple Store, get a refund and buy an Airport Extreme, which IS a router.

Except they were sold out of the Extreme and would not have more in stock until October.

The MacBook is still without a wireless connection, unless I want to be a dishonest, law-breaking Bad Person and use one of the neighbor's wireless network that they left unsecured. Nope, won't be doing that.

I'll just wait, as I, and the rest of the Geo family, will be on the road in a few days.

But I'll bring the MacBook, and an Ethernet cable to boot, to take advantage of the hotel's Internet options. And one of my projects today will involve seeing how well my digital camera will talk to the MacBook.

Maybe I will do some blogging (with pictures!) while on the road.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Monday thoughts and celebration

Why the celebration? I got a new toy!

A MacBook, to be precise. This is my first notebook computer in 10 years, and to say I'm thrilled with it would be a vast understatement.

Of course, the Mac OS X Tiger is a more sophisticated operating system then the ones used on the Macs during my college years (I was a fixture at NMSU's Mac lab during 1989 and 1990). The learning curve is a bit more steep than what I expected, but overall, it's areally awesome machine. Nice screen, too.

Just got it hooked up to the Internet this morning, and I'll have to scrape up about 70 dollars to get the Geohouse a wireless router for the cable modem. That's OK, I can wait a bit.

I will end this post now, as I'm still unsure about the current wireless connection.

Monday thoughts and celebration

Why the celebration? I got a new toy!

A MacBook, to be precise. This is my first notebook computer in 10 years, and to say I'm thrilled with it would be a vast understatement.

Of course, the Mac OS X Tiger is a more sophisticated operating system then the ones used on the Macs during my college years (I was a fixture at NMSU's Mac lab during 1989 and 1990). The learning curve is a bit more steep than what I expected, but overall, it's areally awesome machine. Nice screen, too.

Just got it hooked up to the Internet this morning, and I'll have to scrape up about 70 dollars to get the Geohouse a wireless router for the cable modem. That's OK, I can wait a bit.

I will end this post now, as I'm still unsure about the current wireless connection.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Bring it on!

Enjoyed most of the football I saw over the weekend. This, despite many of the games being the big school playing the smaller, weaker, sometimes Division II institution. For many squads, the REAL games begin this coming weekend. Ohio State visiting Texas will be interesting.

Speaking of the Longhorns, regardless of how they play this season, you must give them credit for having a starting quarterback with the name of Colt McCoy. I don't think central casting could have created a better name for a Texas QB.

Go Aggies (the NMSU variety), Cowboys, Cardinals, Longhorns, and anyone playing USC!