Santa Rosa, New Mexico

As we travel west, we were able to hook up with some friends, Mike and Marion. We traveled with them on our Alaska trip.

We went to the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, New Mexico.  

This hole in the middle of the desert is a place where scuba divers are able to practice or get certified.

All those bubbles are divers down below.

Then we took a small journey out to Santa Rosa Lake and Dam.  

Now we are off to Gallup, New Mexico.  Should be home by Wednesday.

Cadillac Ranch & the 72 OZ. Steak

We stopped in Amarillo, Texas for the night and stayed at a very nice place called Oasis RV Park.  

Right down the road from this park was the famous Cadillac Ranch along Historic Route 66.

Interesting how they like to bury automobiles and then spray paint the heck out of them.

You know how everything in Texas is bigger?  We went to a restaurant that proves this statement when comes to eating.

This restaurant serves a 72 oz. steak meal that if you are able to eat it all in an hour, it's free!

If you up for the challenge, they have a special table for you to sit at and the timer is right overhead.

Jim said, "No way!"

Texas Country Music Hall of Fame

We left New Orleans to head to Shreveport, Louisiana when we discovered that just a few miles away in Texas is the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.  Spent the night in Carthage, Texas and first thing in the morning went to the Museum.

You notice that this museum also includes Tex Ritter, Uncle Frank's boyhood favorite.  Uncle Frank's other favorite is Hop Along Cassidy but he wasn't here.

Tex Ritter had a famous son, John Ritter.

Whiel you look at the exhibits, you can play country music from a juke box.

There were some cutouts of some famous folks.

We had some favorite exhibits such as Willie Nelson,

Tanya Tucker,

and the museum lady's favorite, Jimmy Reeves.

It was a good but short visit.

Trucking to the End of the Mississippi River

Into our trucks, we took off on Highway 23 to drive to the end of the Mississippi River.    Venice, Louisiana is the last town on the river.  Then you would need a boat to travel about 23 more miles  before the river dumps into the Gulfof Mexico.

We did run into some friendly fishermen that caught their limit of tuna.

Jim caught some blue crab just walking along.

Look at the center of the gas pump.  This is our motto carried over from Alaska as we travel in the motor home.  Everything is an adventure, even the problems.

On our way back to New Orleans, we stopped at Fort Jackson.

This fort had a moat around it.

The green stuff on top of the water is algae and duck weed.  

There was even a draw bridge.

From Jim's advantage point, he is able to see the Mississippi River.

Notice this high school is built on stilts, just in case of flooding.

Plantation Days

The following day we took a plantation tour that lasted almost all day.  The driver gave a very thorough explanation about the history of the people who settled in the New Orleans' area.  The first platation was Oak Alley.

Those oak trees are about 300 years old.

Each bed has mosquito netting.

Brandy was out tour guide.

The second plantation was San Francisco.  Very colorful! This is the backyard view.

Front door

It was really painted this color originally and the ceilings.

Even the chamber pot is fancy.

Very unique plantation home, even the cistern, water collector, was painted bright blue.

That evening we went the French Quarter for dinner. 

 

Our Last Camp Stop on the Great River Road

Saturday, we arrived  to a rainy, humid, very warm New Orleans.  Our first stop in this very busy town was the World War II Museum.  The museum was also very busy since admission was free for that day.  Busy means hard to see exhibits and lines everywhere.  We did see an excellent movie where snow fell from the ceiling and our chairs rumbled as the tank on the screen went over a hill.  But I think we were just worn out!

  

Cajun Swamp

Off we went to Henderson, Louisiana.  Now we are deep into Cajun country and this means a swamp tour.

Alligators!

Alligator babies!

Turtles!

Cypress trees, birds, Spanish moss, and lily pads galore!