Bill will be on a break over the next few weeks. I will be posting random pictures and posts until he returns. If anyone would like an opportunity to share a blog or photo, leave a comment and I will send you and email-Onisha
For today, I am sharing this inspirational photo from Crosscards.com. They have wonderful cards.
On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
Day 9, September 15, 2017
We enjoyed our road trip to Denver, but this morning we were excited to begin the next segment of our journey, a week’s stay at a condo in Pagosa Springs! This trip began back in the spring during a conversation with our friend, Pam.She has a timeshare and occasionally she has points and no plan on where she would like to travel and it just so happened that we had a slight windfall of cash and wanted to take a road trip. I told her that if she had timeshare points to use, we had funds! After looking at several locations, Pagosa Springs was a good fit for both of us. She and our daughter could fly to Denver and hubby and I, not a fan of flying would drive our truck.
Hurricane Irma update: Before we left the hotel, our daughter checked to see if the power was back on in her home. It wasn’t, but there was hope that maybe by the end of the day.
We decided to avoid the interstate and once we were clear of Denver, began our journey south on US 285. The ride was pleasant and as the scenery was new to us, the time flew. Pam’s daughter who mountain climbs with her husband had advised us to look for an outfitter store to purchase Acli-Mate for our daughter’s altitude sickness. Since she was still feeling queasy, we were on the look out for one. I really wish I could remember the name of the small town where we stopped. It had a tiny outfitter’s store but it was filled with supplies. I think the name of the shop had the words Eagle Claw in them so if anyone is familiar with the area, I would love to know the name. We were in luck! The store had individual packets of Acli-Mate upfront at the register. While Rebekah paid for them, I decided a bathroom break was a good idea. I was a little hesitant, though, wondering how clean the bathroom might be. To my surprise it was not only very clean but had the best reading material! One whole wall was shelved and held a magazine for any type of outdoor sport one could think of, all neatly laid out. I wish I had taken a picture, but it just seemed wrong.
Once we were back on the road, we began looking for a place to have our picnic lunch. We found a park with picnic tables, but were irritated to read a sign requiring a daily use fee. After grumbling, we decided to ignore the fee as we weren’t going to be using any other portion of the park. It was windy with a chill in the air so we chose a table in the sun.
Landscape
Our drive south took us through the Pike and San Isobel Forest, then the Rio Grande National Forest and they were beautiful.
By robert thigpen from diboll, texas (Stony Pass roadUploaded by PDTillman) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
Finally, we made it to our home for the week! Wyndham, Pagosa Springs.
Our Unit
Once we had unloaded the truck, the ladies headed out to Wal-Mart to pick up some grocery items for breakfast. By the time we returned it was dark and an unexpected visitor had surprised my husband as he glanced out the sliding glass door. I’m glad he was able to capture this picture.
Just checking out the new neighbors!
We made it an early night as we had big plans for the next day, here is a hint.
On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
Day 8 September 14, 2017
We got up early, excited to pick up our daughter and family friend, Pam at the airport and begin this portion of our trip. Our daughter’s home was still without electricity in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma so Rebekah had made arrangements for her cat, Mia, to stay with Pam’ daughter until the power came back on. She had managed to shift the food in her freezer to another friend’s home that had electricity and room for the food.
Arriving flights at the Denver airport was frustrating as they would not let us stop the car long enough for our party to get their luggage and walk to our meet us. I feel like they were going to arrest me for asking for an extra minute! However, we finally connected and headed off to find some breakfast and coffee for the travelers who had to be at the Orlando airport at 3 am.
Once we were caffeinated we set our GPS for Rocky Mountain National Park and began our Colorado adventure .The drive to Estes Park situated at the entrance to the park would take somewhere between one and one half to two hours.
A cute town, but enjoying nature was our goal today. Attribution: Frans-Banja Mulder
From the National Park website:
Rocky Mountain National Park’s 415 square miles encompass and protect spectacular mountain environments. Enjoy Trail Ridge Road – which crests at over 12,000 feet including many overlooks to experience the subalpine and alpine worlds – along with over 300 miles of hiking trails, wildflowers, wildlife, starry nights, and fun times. In a world of superlatives, Rocky is on top!
At one stop we saw this gorgeous bird in a tree. Rebekah took a few shots of it. Does anyone know what type of bird it is? It looks like a type of Jay to me.
That smile won’t last long on this trip!
One of our first stops was to explore a boardwalk. As Rebekah, Pam and I strolled down the walk, Rebekah began to feel queasy. It seems the combination of altitude change from sea level to over 10.000 feet was not settling well. It is possible the day and nights of Florida heat with no air conditioning weakened her body’s ability to adjust.
Looking a little pale
I thought maybe lunch would perk her up so we began to look for a picnic area. Every time we found one, it was full. Finally we turned down a side road that lead to a horse camp. It was closed for the season and we had the whole area to ourselves!
As we drove higher in the mountains, we reached a tundra like area. Pretty even in its bareness. The views from there were lovely.
Rebekah was too nauseous to leave the car and spent the rest of the drive with her head down, resting her forehead on the back of the front seat. She gave me her camera and asked me to video the scenery she was missing. Pam was a trooper. It can’t have been fun to ride next to someone who was being sick.
Colorado fall is famous for its Aspen trees. We assumed we were too early for the color but there were several patches scattered across the mountains.
It had been a long day for our Florida folks, so we decided to skip one of the other drives in the park. We made it back to our hotel in Denver in time to have supper at the welcome buffet. Rebekah retired to her room with tea and crackers.
On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
We went to EPCOT at Walt Disney World Sunday night for the Candlelight Processional. Judy wrote about her visit there a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to share my thoughts while they were fresh in my mind.
The Disney Parks blog description of the Candlelight Processional:
The Candlelight Processional is one of the most anticipated holiday offerings that many Walt Disney World Resort guests look forward to – and return for again and again – each year. The show takes place at the America Gardens Theatre at Epcot and features a celebrity narrator retelling the traditional Christmas story, as well as live music from a 50-piece orchestra and mass choir. Each year the list of celebrity narrators varies and is usually announced during summer, with more narrators added as the season gets close. The live music in the show is delightful, with the show featuring both recognizable Christmas carols and a handful of international holiday songs. The show is included in Epcot admission and takes place three times nightly, usually running from late November to late December (this year’s dates are November 25 – December 30, 2016).
We have attended this many times over the past twenty years but for some reason, this year’s performance kept me on the verge of tears. Maybe it was because our seats were very close to the stage so that we could see the performers so well. There are three groups that sing: A small group of professional singers, The Voices of Liberty, a cast choir and a large choir dressed in yellow robes who are high school students.
There is so much activity, with the live orchestra, the conductor and the narrator that I am usually trying to take it all in. Tonight was different.
Once the high school choirs found their places on the risers, two men in wheelchairs were wheeled onto the stage. There have been adults in wheelchairs each show I have attended but I haven’t been close enough to see them well. Tonight, I could see them, as well as their escorts and they were singing and enjoying being a part of the performance. As I looked at the faces of students singing words of joy for the birth of Jesus, I claimed the promise that God’s words would not return void (Isaiah 55:11). Wherever their lives will lead them, I prayed the seeds planted would flourish in their lives someday.
The music that accompanies the Christmas story is filled with such joy and there is always someone on stage interpreting the story and songs with sign language. The woman signing tonight literally captured words, lyrics and sound in her hands and her whole being. I had to stop watching her as I feared I might begin sobbing at the sheer beauty. I wanted to shoot video to share with you but decided to refrain out of respect for her and the people around me. Our daughter did take a still shot. It is blurred but I think it captures the moment.
I always look forward to the triumphant call of the herald trumpets. The orchestra has six of them and uses three on each side of the stage during the performance. A tweak to my enjoyment of tonight’s performance is that we sat directly underneath them. I wanted to give them a thumbs up, but decided I might embarrass my family.
These two herald the beginning of the processional.
The show always ends with the The Hallelujah chorus and the voices and instruments soared to almost heavenly heights. Although Disney overuses the word, tonight was magical.
“Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace and goodwill to all men.”
PS… I almost forgot to mention that the celebrity narrator was someone named Trace Adkins. People seemed excited about him. I guess he is some kind of singer.
On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
September 13, 2017 Day 7
Our seventh day on the road. We are moving at a turtle pace, but we are savoring the journey. Tomorrow we pick up our daughter and family friend at the Denver airport and they will spend the week with us. We checked in with Rebekah before hitting the road. She is still without electricity but good news, a friend from church who does odd jobs will be over to repair her roof. I know she will be relieved to have it fixed before joining us in Denver.
I am particularly excited about this leg of our trip as we have tickets to ride the Royal Gorge Train near Cañon City, Colorado, I first learned of this train while reading Go West by DiVoran Lites but never dreamed I would have the opportunity to ride it. To add to the fun, my husband would enjoy the up close view of scenery straight out of a cowboy movie!
Our seating was in a club car and we began the journey sharing a table with a lovely newly wed couple. Once the train pulled out of the station, we moved to an empty table so we could stretch out.
Food and drinks were available but we brought a picnic lunch and ate before boarding the train.
As we pulled out of the station, we passed the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility. The prisoners here ran the first water flues through the gorge to bring fresh water to the town. I wondered if this was the prison where DiVoran’s father once worked.
As we entered the gorge, we decided to check out the view from the open bed car. We were fortunate that one adjoined our club car.
My hair was a mess
The front of the train heading into the narrow opening.
The opening through the mountains is so narrow, the first tracks laid were a “slim gauge,” 36″ between rails;
A bridge was constructed 1,000 feet above the gorge but as cars became larger, it was downgraded to walk across only. As our train passed under the bridge we saw a brave soul riding a zip line across the gorge, over 1,000 high. For the less brave, there is a gondola. We decided we were content to leave the adrenaline pumping to the more adventurous. We didn’t get a picture but we also saw several groups of people in rafts taking on the whitewater of the Arkansas river.
Zip line was almost too fast to capture the shot
The bridge is 1,000 high and they are higher!
The railroad provided a guide on the open car to point out interesting sights as well as share tidbits of history. When we came alongside these miniature power poles, he explained them to us. They were not power poles at all. The short lines extending down from the cross tie were in fact, used as a rock slide alert. If a rock touched the line and broke the connection, the train station was instantly notified there were rocks on the track and pinpointed the location. Clever, yes?
My husband was fascinated by this tree as we waited to board the train. At the end of the trip, he asked what type it was. Being from Florida, he had never seen a cottonwood tree and was pleased to finally be able to touch the bark. He enjoys carving and had read that cottonwood was excellent for carving. I wonder where we would find the bark for sale in Florida.
After all the fresh air and sunshine, we were both craving some ice cream before heading to Interstate 25 to complete our trip to Denver. We went to McDonald’s for a hot fudge sundae, but their ice cream machine was broken. Has anyone else noticed that McDonald’s has a high rate of ice cream machine failure? Not to be deterred from our ice cream craving, we pulled into a Sonic Drive In . Their ice cream machine worked fine and our cones were decadently delicious.
Our hotel for the night provided a free welcome buffet so we ate our supper there, then made it an early night. We were both looking forward to picking up Rebekah and Pam the next day and beginning a new adventure.
On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
September 12, 2017 Day 6
Our daughter asked on Face Book if any of her friends knew someone who could come over and take a look at her roof. One of her high school friends volunteered her dad and they set up a time to check it out. Electricity still out in most of the neighbors and long lines at restaurants that were open. I sent up prayers for her day to go smoothly before we began our sixth day on the road.
Judy Wills has mentioned Sandia Peak several times in her blogs and I was anxious to see it. Plus, I had listened to Stealthy Steps by Vikki Kestell and it was set underneath Sandia Crest and that increased my interest. I was disappointed that we would not be able to take a tram to the peak as it was not running on that day but we were able to drive to the crest, so I was happy.
The cafe at Sandia Crest
One of the aspects of the Albuquerque area that fascinated me is the diversity of rocks in the different layers. At the crest, this section of rock looked to me like the earth had thrown up mud piles.
The elevation where we were standing was around 10.000 feet and we were looking down on these mountains.
To our left we spotted this couple. It really was as dangerous as it appears. Some people are crazy.
I was surprised and pleased to find these colorful wild flowers after driving through miles of arid landscape.
It is usually chilly on the crest but it was a beautiful day. My husband snuck this picture of me while I was taking a picture. As you can see, Albuquerque sprawls across the landscape below. The city is way too big for this small town girl.
On the drive up to the crest, I spotted a picnic area and we decided to stop there for lunch before we continued on our drive to our stop for the night in Pueblo, Colorado. We were the only people in the picnic area and we enjoyed the quiet beauty. There is nothing better than the scent of the woods undisturbed by city fumes. I was glad to see that the picnic area included “facilities” as it was a longish drive back to civilization.
As we left the Sandia area the mountain vegetation changed. From a distance the mountains appeared to be carefully landscaped with squat round bushes.
To our surprise we came upon the town of Madrid, New Mexico. According to their website: Madrid is nestled in a narrow canyon in the Ortiz Mountains. Once a historic coal mining town and ghost town, Madrid is now a creative community with over 40 shops and galleries, several restaurants, a spa and museum.
The town is definitely colorful. One of the things I love about road trips are the unexpected jewels, like this town.
While we were enjoying our day, our daughter had met with her friend’s father who inspected her roof. It seems that Hurricane Irma’s wind had blown up under the roof flashing and it would be a simple and inexpensive fix. She was still without electricity so it would be another restless night for her.
On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
A year ago, this month, wild fires ravaged western North Carolina and Tennessee. Today we took a drive up to Wayah Bald, an area that sustained major fire damage. Although it saddened us to view how many trees were cut down after the fire, still it was encouraging to see signs of new growth on some of the remaining fire blackened trees. The top of the fire tower on Wayah was destroyed and replacing it has been a slow process. We were pleased to see the framework for a new roof in place with an American flag fluttering in the breeze.
This Thanksgiving, I am thankful that I serve a God of restoration. Out of the flames of heartbreak, rejection and shame, He takes the our brokenness and makes me new again.
Before the fire
Before the fire, the tower wasn’t visible from the parking lot.
On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
September 11, 2017 Day 5
I awoke early, tired from a restless night and anxious to hear from our daughter who had decided to ride out Hurricane Irma alone. She sent a video text of her back yard around 7:30 am and I was relieved that she was safe and her property as well. It was with a thankful heart that we began the next leg of our trip.
You can read her story of Hurricane Irma on her blog, Rebekah Lyn’s Kitchen
Leaving Amarillo we passed fields with beautiful yellow flowers. Unfortunately, the flowers were not the scent we were smelling. Amarillo is home to of a number of Cattle and Livestock companies. If you would like to know more about livestock auctions, I found an auction house online.
I hadn’t noticed when I was in the planning stages of this trip, how close Amarillo is to New Mexico. In no time we were crossing the border!
Judy Wills, a blogger here on Old Things R New wrote an extensive series about her life in New Mexico and I was anxious to visit some of the places she wrote of. You may enjoy reading her posts, Memories of New Mexico .
Once we entered New Mexico, the cattle ranches fell away replaced by arid landscapes. One of the most fascinating features of New Mexico was the variety or rocks in their mountains. More about that next week.
We arrived at our hotel in Albuquerque around 3pm and after carting up our ridiculous amount of luggage, we set off to explore. I had asked Judy which restaurants in the Old Town she would recommend. I wanted to experience real Mexican flavor. We decided on El Pinto. What a beautiful restaurant. It has extensive garden seating with more fountains than I could count and the landscaping was lush. Our server was a delightful young man. He asked where we were from and he was surprised to learn with both grew up in Orlando! Even more coincidental, he lived in a subdivision our where our daughter once lived and his grandparents were still there. Small world! We asked how they fared during Hurricane Irma and were happy to know they were safe. I asked him why he decided to move to New Mexico and he said school and the weather. He hated Florida’s humidity. We could certainly agree with his feelings!
After supper we decided to visit Old Town to walk off some of the delicious meal. There was a lot of road construction in the area, so it took a couple of tries before we made it into the entrance. It is a beautiful and quaint area and we enjoyed exploring it.
San Felipe de Neri Church, the oldest building in the city, which was built in 1793.
We managed to get turned around leaving Old Town. We went down a couple of alleys that seemed a bit dodgy but eventually found an on ramp to the interstate.
Only one more day of driving was left until we would reach Denver where our daughter and a friend were flying into the international airport to meet us. Rebekah had spent the day assessing a leak in her kitchen due to the storm and trying to find someone to go up on the roof to find the source.
On the Porch
Onisha Ellis
I’m reading a memoir by a 91 year old author that I met at a community sale on Friday. From it, I gleaned this valuable tip on living a good life.
Old Things R New 