Austin to Houston

It was a pretty full-on drive into Austin, but we got there early enough to relax by the pool once we'd parked up. It was incredibly hot, and cooling down was necessary. We've been staying in 'Carefree RV' resorts so far in Texas - they're really clean, green and full of trees. I think they're aimed at a slightly older crowd, but that works for us - less competition for the pool.

Once we'd sorted ourselves out, we got a taxi into town and wandered up Congress Ave to the Capitol. Austin is really leafy and the Capitol is beautiful - surrounded by trees and sculptures (many commemorating the Civil War and those who died for 'state rights'). There was a big group of kids rolling down the hills and playing in the trees. It was such a beautiful Sunday night, it seemed like the whole city was out to enjoy it.

We met a really nice local couple and their kids, they'd spent quite a bit of time in NZ and were keen for a chat and happy to give us some pointers on what to do. 

Then along Beale Street - Austin's famous party street. Austin is known as a city full of live music, and Sunday nights are no different. We ended up in a cafe/bar listening to "experimental electronica". I think the experimental phase will be quite long. The local beer (Shiner - named for a town just south of San Antonio) was really good. So we had a couple, and watched the very religious couple sitting next to us get through their awkward first date. Off down the road and into the Warehouse District, for a few more beers - listened to a "benefit gig" (in aid of abandoned puppies) at a courtyard bar. It was after midnight and still so hot. 

Next day we headed into Downtown Austin to check out the shops. We got looked at strangely again when we when into a cafe/lunch place and just asked for a coffee... no-one seems to do that in Texas. Downtown Austin seems to be the epicentre of the "keep Austin weird" movement - heaps of incredible eclectic vintage stores selling everything from stuffed coyotes, to old "Vote Ford for President" pins, yearbooks from the 60s, belt buckles, you name it. We could have spent hours in each one. Mark dipped out on his quest to buy the perfect cowboy boots (since we went to the rodeo, he seems to have decided he missed his true calling), as it's next to impossible to get a good pair for less than $300US, but he did pick up a cowboy shirt.

Austin's quite different from the Texas we've seen so far - there's still plenty of cowboy types, but there's also a strong hipster crowd (who wear their cowboy boots in a slightly more ironic fashion). 

Back in Winston we headed the 75 miles to San Antonio and parked not far from the centre of town. First stop - the Alamo. It was not at all what we expected. It's a beautiful green oasis in the middle of town - old stone walls surround what's left of the Chapel and the barracks. The Daughters of Texas have transformed the inner area into a beautiful tree-filled garden. It's no surprise Davy Crockett and his pals failed to overcome the Mexican forces, they were way outnumbered, but their bravery (some may say foolishness - there were about 10 Mexican soldiers for each Texian resistor) inspired the remaining Texians ("Texians" are precursors to Texans - before Texas joined the Union) to "remember the Alamo" and fight harder, and Santa Anna and his troops were defeated within a few months.

We nipped across the road for some ice-cream and then headed for the Riverwalk - where San Antonio pulled out another surprise. We'd heard a lot about this "Riverwalk", and, as Kiwis, we'd expected a DoC-style river-side semi-hike - sensible shoes required. But, as it turns out, the Riverwalk is a beautiful European-style entertainment area on the banks of the river. You have to walk down steps to get into it, so you can't see it from the street. The entire walk is about 10kms, with about 2kms of it being paved by cute little bars and cafes, bright coloured sun-umbrellas and little fountains everywhere. It's very un-Kiwi - no handrails (we like American pragmatism - if you're an idiot, you'll drown and it'll be your own fault). We were really taken with it - you'd never have known on the Riverwalk how hot it was above decks.

There was incredibly heavy rain last night, but Winston held firm... unfortunately the kitchen blind did not and we decided to ring El Monte with a not insignificant list of minor concerns - they booked Winston in for a check up in Houston this afternoon, so we got on the road. Given that there may be nothing more American than McDonalds (the number of golden arches we see almost rivals the number of stars and stripes flags), we gave in to the inevitable and got some McDs in the thriving metropolis of Flatonia, TX. I ordered the "Southern Style" Chicken burger, since there was no McChicken on the menu. It was unbelievably disappointing - literally a burger bun, two slices of gherkin and a chicken patty. Mark was much happier with his Big Mac.

Back on the road and into Houston - traffic was fiendish, but Mark did unbelievably well, as usual. We located the RV doctor, and Winston was seen to immediately. A really lovely couple, Nancy and Marv ,were there (with their wee poodle Amy) getting their (much bigger) RV attended to. They retired about 7 years ago, and are "full-time" RV-ers. It sounds like they've seen the whole of North America (bar Alaska - which is next on their list). Apart from a few months of the year with their kids in San Antonio, they go where the wind takes them. Mark and I are quite envious of their elastic timetable, but picked up some great tips off the pros and really enjoyed hearing some American points of view, other than those we hear on talk-back (other than Spanish language stations - which Mark really loves - we only seem to be able to get Glenn Beck).

Now we're parked up at "SpacePark RV Houston" - the closest RV Park to the Houston Space Museum, all ready for an early start!

San Antonio river walk

Enjoying a beer in the shade of the SA river walk. It's scorching hot
here. The beer is working

Deep in the heart of Texas

We returned to Texas yesterday morning. Arriving in Dallas during rush-hour was quite difficult driving, especially with no idea where we were going to park. We settled on a suburban transport station and caught a bus into the centre of down.

The afternoon was spent at the sixth floor museum - an information centre for everything JFK related, and of course, the room from where he was assassinated. The exhibition is incredibly moving. It follows JFK's life leading up to presidency, his term in office, second-by-second recollection of the assassination, the aftermath, and his legacy. Standing in that room looking down on the white 'X' in the middle of the road was a very surreal experience.

We caught the train back to Winston and drove the short distance to Fort Worth. The cities are basically joined together and are referred to as 'the Metroplex.' We're staying a couple of nights at Treetops RV Resort, which is a really relaxing place between the cities.

Today, we've been in Cowtown - the historic Fort Worth Stockyards district. There is loads of tourist junk now of course, but you can really feel what the place would have been like in its glory years. A herd of Texas Longhorns are driven down the main street twice a day, and cowboys on horseback patrol the streets. We ventured into a couple of antique stores which were stocked to overflowing with all sorts of western (and non-western) memorabilia. One had a polar bear head, two grizzlys, a mountain lion and a real lion, a couple of armadillos, and a huge number of deer heads on the walls. The bar we stopped for a drink at featured a similar deceased menagerie and the barstools were saddles. Chandeliers made from antlers are the norm round here.

Tonight was date night. I bought Charlotte a drink (from Winston's fridge) and took her out for a good western meal (buffalo wings, deep fried ocra, corn and cheese, and strangely, given the distance from the ocean, prawns). Then, to the Rodeo!

We thought it might have been tarted up for tourists, but it was the genuine article. It started with a young lady on horseback galloping around the arena with the American flag, the national anthem butchered by another, and a prayer! Then straight into the action with bull riding, calf roping, bronco riding, barrel racing, and more bull riding. In a couple of intermissions, children (first aged 8-14, then 7 and under) were called into the arena. Just as we were joking (secretly hoping) that they'd release a wild bull, or at very least a pack of coyotes a calf (for the 8-14 year olds) and an aging ewe (for the younger lot) were set into the arena and the kids chased them around, presumably in the hope that they would catch them.

The cowboys were very impressive and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Charlotte enjoyed it too, though has some ethical concerns pertaining to animal welfare. (Note from Charlotte: In one of the first bull-riding events the bull panicked when it had the lasso around its neck and ran headfirst into the steel bars and put a horn through the placard. I didn't like the little calves getting chased around and hog-tied much at first, but they seemed OK afterwards and it was really impressive. Definitely the worst bit was the look on the wee calf's face when it was being chased by 50 little kids - pure terror. On the whole though, it was heaps of fun and the horses seemed to enjoy it).

Photos of all this will be up sometime in the next few days, when we've got a real connection (rather than stealing some cafe network)

Healthy eating

At last! Massive, green salad. Charlotte's sandwich came with chips
though.

We're in Dallas, near to where JFK was shot.

OKC!

Today we headed into Oklahoma - we hadn't originally planned on coming here at all, but it's been a real highlight. Oklahomans may have to take the prize off the New Mexicans for friendliest locals.

We crossed the border from Texas at about 9:30am and straight away came upon a tourist centre, which we really only went into to use the rest room. About 45 minutes later, we came out having heard phrases we never thought we'd hear anybody say - "He used to have a cotton gin down in Texas" etc.

We also met some very honest locals who were extremely frank with us about the historical treatment of Native Americans in Oklahoma - the Trail of Tears in the late 1830s forced the Cherokee out of Florida and up to Oklahoma to live. It was an extremely cold winter and thousands of Cherokee died on the way. When they got there they weren't really prepared for the different surroundings or the other tribes they encountered. Then the land they were promised was taken off them too.

Our new friends were also the exception (according to them, anyway) in these parts, in that they wanted to see more openness towards the Mexican communities. As they put it, "If you were trying to bring up your babies down there, you'd scoop'em up too and try everything you could to bring'em up here". They said they didn't really share their thoughts with a lot of their friends, because it didn't go down so well - in fact, whenever anyone walked past, their voices were lowered and they were very careful not to be overheard!

So, on to Clinton, and the Route 66 Museum. It was really well put together - the music of the various eras, mixed with personal accounts and Americana from the time. Mark loved the cars - a beautiful Ford Custom, amongst various other makes. There was a replica old service station and a '50s diner - all really well done. After all that, we stopped into Braum's - a chain ice-cream parlour and burger bar. We were just planning on having a coffee, but we ended up getting a rocky road chocolate fudge sundae (at 11am). Bruce had recommended their ice-creams yesterday....  they really are superb. Which is just as well because the coffee tasted just like all American coffee does.

Back on the road and into Oklahoma City - first stop: Stockyard City. The world's biggest cattle-yards. Unfortunately, it wasn't a sale day so the pens weren't full, but it was just as well because the extreme heat mixed with the smell of thousands of cows would have probably made the day fairly unenjoyable. As it was, it took a while for the smell to evacuate our nostrils.

Back into the historic stockyards town and to the famous "Cattlemen's Cafe" for lunch. Cattlemen's has been around for 100 years, and is pretty famous in these parts - it once changed hands after the former owner placed a bet in a game of dice that his opponent wouldn't throw double 3s. He did - and you can still see double 3s on prominent display. Mark ordered the famous chicken fry steak (it's beef fried like KFC). As usual, portions were massive and we're not having dinner tonight!

We were just going to stick our heads into the Western clothing store, but ended up passing some time with the staff. They caught us sneakily trying to take photos of the massive cowboy boot-filled room (for Jenny) and offered to take the photo for us. And then, in what seems to be usual Oklahoman style, we got into a conversation. About everything - they were very impressed with Charlotte's USA history reading (although she kind of put her foot in it when she said she was "a big fan of Lincoln"... wrong part of the States to say that in, "We're more into Robert E. Lee down here") and offered some tips on what to do in OKC. For the second time today we heard that the National Cowboy and Western museum was a must-do - so we jumped into Winston and headed across town.

We got there at 4:30 - it closed at 5 and the till was shut. So they let us in by just making a wee donation in the donations box and the security guard told us the highlights which we could fit in in 30 minutes. The museum entrance houses a beautiful - and massive (after all, this is the mid-West) - sculpture called "The End of the Trail". It's a Native American on horseback - he looks tired. Then we flew on through a mock Western town circa 1900 - it was fantastic. Saloon, school, attorney's offices, church, saddlery, general store and photography studio. Quite beautiful and authentic looking. Then a host of exhibits that our Dads would love - cowboy history and clothing, rodeo museum and even a barbed-wire fence gallery (apparently the various and at times artful barbed wire styles are highly collectable and there are a number of conventions for people who collect them).

We would have liked another hour or so, but we got the highlights in before closing time. Bee-lining across OKC, we visited the State Capitol, set in a green squirrel-filled field in the middle of town. It was a welcome relief to wander in the shade because the sun was blistering. Although that didn't last long - on the way out of town and south towards Texas the sky opened up and it rained. Just as you'd expect, the rain in the mid-West is bigger too - I don't think we've ever experienced anything like it before (and hopefully we won't again!).

Now we're parked up in an RV park in Ardmore, OK - it has a beautiful swan-filled pond and a lit-up pier (not to mention a really nice looking pool).

[See photo gallery #4 for more pictures]

Farming in the Texas panhandle

We left Tucumcari this morning and headed north east on the 54. Winston had an under-inflated ego (tyre) so we called into a truck mechanic who got the whole team to work on the wheels - for free. I guess if we'd paid, they might have put the hub caps back on firmly and Winston would still be intact. Somewhere between there and here is a shiny silver plastic "alloy" rim. Never mind.

The 54 is an unusual trail for holiday makers to take, as it heads across into Texas, first stop Dalhart, which is not a tourist destination by any stretch of the imagination. Look it up on Google Maps (make sure to look at it in satellite view) and marvel at the strange landscape from above. All farming (growing plants, not animals - that would be ranching) is done in circles for irrigation and although the circles may look small on the map, believe us - they are huge.

After a quick root beer in town, we met up with Mark's family friend Bruce, who is working as a driver for a contracting company. The locals at the diner had taken great interest in us, to the point they whipped around the room asking if anyone knew Bruce (response: "probably"). We met at the feed lot which Bruce was delivering silage to. A feed lot is a term for a very highly concentrated ranch - over 70,000 cattle live in at the one we were at! Cattle are raised in pens and feed on silage, delivered to troughs next to the pens by truck. We went out for a ride in Bruce's rig, collecting silage from a nearby farm and delivering back to the silage pit. A very interesting experience - it's a massive, and very slick, operation.

The land is incredibly flat (not a hill in sight) and is about 4000ft above sea level. Water for irrigation is pumped from an underground lake some 600ft beneath the ground. It's very different to farming in NZ - more of a meat factory than a farm.

We had been looking forward to Amarillo for some time - talking about the delicious BBQ feast that we'd find. Mouths watering we pulled into Henk's Bar-B-Que and ordered meat. I asked Henk what was good - "chopped beef" apparently. The recommendation was clearly based on availability rather than taste, as it came straight off the chopping board behind him. Served up with 2 ribs, a scoop of potato, one of coleslaw and a bowl of dirty looking beans, it was hands down the most disgusting thing I've seen on a plate. Of course we ate it (Charlotte only managed a rib, and a bit of potato and 'slaw), I'm not proud. Sven, if you're reading, I say this with you in mind.

We continued on to Shamrock, not far from the Oklahoma state line, and pulled into the RV park around 8. The owner here has been on the land "forever" - with 4 generations on the farm. He's been right friendly, giving us a taste of local buttermilk and telling us about the Oklahoma state bird, the Scissortailed Flycatcher.

Probably better than actual Mexico

We miscalculated the time zones again, and thought we woke up at 8 (actually 7). It didn't matter because we'd already decided we would have a quiet day and not push it too much. So after a nice dip in the campground pool we headed the three miles to Old Santa Fe town.

After leaving Winston in the stewardship of a nice local parking attendant (we've decided New Mexico gets the prize for friendliest state so far) we wandered into the Plaza. New Mexico has been ruled by the Spanish, the Mexicans and now the Americans. The Palace of the Governors (a large low-lying adobe in the middle of town) has housed them all and is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the US (Santa Fe has lots of these very qualified "mosts" - "probably the oldest stone public building in New Mexico", "probably the oldest church structure in the US"). We brunched on the Plaza - Mark went Mexican and had an enchillada while reading the New Mexican. It's primary day (for Governor, Lt Governor, Sheriff, Assessor, etc) in NM today - and the paper recommended who everyone should vote for!

While Mark was reading the paper, I'd gone through the local guides and established a walking tour of Santa Fe that would get us to the main sites before our parking money ran out. So we set off - around the Plaza, past the Governors' Palace, the local Courthouse, City Hall, the Georgia O'Keeffe museum (visits by appointment only, so didn't get to go in). It was so pretty all the way - and we had a chat with a curious Mississipian who wanted to know where we were from (Americans seem really straight-up to us - if they want to know something, they just ask. We're yet to meet an American who is anything other than personable). He was pleased to know we were heading to his state and told us that his home town is just about to get overtaken by the oil spill. Then to the Sanctuario de Guadalupe (there's a new statute of "Our Lady" there...we didn't really like it) and to the railyards, which Mark loved.

Past the Capitol and to San Miguel's mission (the aforementioned "oldest church structure in the US... probably") where we were allowed to ring the bell inside. The oldest house in the US (probably) is next door.

Back on the road - we'd decided to go to Santa Rosa, about 90 miles from Santa Fe, but it didn't seem like that much of a drive, so we continued on to Tucumcari, NM to make tomorrow easier. Tucumcari is on Route 66, so Mark improvised a turn-off to have a better look and we got a bit lost, but it did mean a lovely diversion at Ken's ice cream bar for ice-cream sundaes. A lot of the old Route 66 towns are pretty ghostly looking and ramshackle - their glory days are clearly over. Tucumcari (or the part of it on old 66, anyway) is no exception. A huge array of motels with big neon arrows pointing at empty parking lots or half collapsed buildings, and a similar set of diners across the street.

Finally got to our campground at 5:30pm - our earliest arrival and it's been great. We set up and had a swim in the pool (we're sunburnt - it probably got into the 30s today), and now we're enjoying a beer while we blog. Too full for real dinner.

Mesa Verde to Santa Fe (with a few stops along the way)

Really big day.

We woke up in Mesa Verde Colorado, just across from the Mesa Verde National Park. Or so we thought. We were actually just across from the gates to the park, and it took about 45 minutes on bumpy roads undergoing roadworks to get into the Park proper. Luckily it was worth it.

On our first voyage into a National Park (in Yosemite) we spent $80 on an annual Parks pass. Since the bigger parks charge about $25 per vehicle, our pass is now paying for itself.

Mesa Verde is a really fascinating place and it's very different from the parks we've been to up to this point. While the scenery is pretty, this place is about the people. The Anasazi (referred to now as the Ancient Puebloans) got to MV about 1100AD. They had been nomadic up til then, but started setting up wee communities, first in rudimentary 'pit houses' and eventually building much more elaborate and hardy stone cliff dwellings in the ledges of canyons. Some of these were four stories high. Then between 1200AD and 1300AD, they packed up and left completely. No-one knows why, but it seems there'd been a massive drought, and the people probably thought they'd angered the gods and scarpered. They headed out into the wider area and merged with other groups to create the tribes now known as the Hopi, the Zumi and others in the Rio Grande area. The area was uncovered again in the 1800s and 1900s, and the buildings are in really amazing condition (refer photo gallery 3).

Charlotte drove us to Durango, CO - hitting a new high speed of 65mph. We saw two dead deer - Colorado's version of roadkill. There are signs everywhere warning of elk and deer on the roads - it was horrible to see some people hadn't been paying attention. Durango itself was really lovely - a gorgeous little ski-town, with an old narrow gauge railway and a thoroughly charming main street. Coffee wasn't bad either.

Back on the road and crossed into New Mexico. The park card came in handy again - this time at the Aztec ruins. A bit disappointing that they're actually misrepresented, because they're not really Aztec ruins - which dashed Charlotte's hopes. They're also Ancient Puebloan, and you can wander through the ancient buildings and into a reconstructed kiva (ceremonial house). These guys vanished about the same time as Mesa Verde's population. We had a chat with Landis the ranger - it was really informative. We rate the National Park Service very highly, the sites are really well looked after and the rangers are very helpful.

We decided to make a push for Santa Fe - a big drive but it was enjoyable and meant we could take it easy the next day. We've been tuning into local radio stations, and picked up Mountain FM which was celebrating Memorial Weekend with the 500 best rock songs of all time (of course Stairway to Heaven won). But it was excellent road trip music as we blitzed central New Mexico to the sound of AC/DC and Led Zeppelin.

Warmth

It's quite nice here, by the way. Currently in Durango, CO. Will be in
Santa Fe tonight, after we've seen some Aztec ruins.

Spectacular scenery

Yesterday morning we left our gun-toting motellier in Kingman, Arizona, and headed for the Grand Canyon. Most of the way we were on the I-40 (big interstate highway) which runs over the top of what used to be Route 66. A lot of the towns along the way have been bypassed by the I-40, but they all maintain slices of their heritage as service stops for travellers on the USA's old "main street." Most cafes have references to 66 and there are plenty of museums and information stops, which looks set to continue as we head further East. Seligman and Williams were both quaint little towns overflowing with 66 memorobilia and American flags. Williams alone had about 40 flags (2000 stars, 520 stripes) in a town around the size of Greytown. There were few 'genuine' American flags in the Indian reservation (most have a picture of an Indian added, or are replaced entirely with Navajo Nation flags).

The Grand Canyon was stunning and it's probably a waste of time trying to put it into words here. It's up to 18 miles across and up to 1.83 km deep. It's 277 miles long. It's huge, it's impressive, look at the photos. Even when you're standing there it still looks kind of 2D because of the distance. We had a great walk along the South Rim and got back into Tusayan (where Winston had been hanging out) around 5pm.

Some helpful advice from a ranger led us to pass through Tuba City and Kayenta situated in the Navajo reservation heading for Utah. Travelling in the evening was great, we saw the sunset on the desert, and drove in moonlight into Utah. We got to the start of Monument Valley quite late and the huge rock formations looked amazing against the blue/black sky. Our campground was just across the border and we swung in there just past 9, or so we thought. Apparently some parts of this area adhere to daylight savings time and others don't. Luckily, we managed to get in, park up and settle in (just after 10) at Gouldings RV park.

After a well deserved sleep in (sorry to those at work, we are thinking of you) we checked out and went into the Monument Valley park proper. The park is run by the Navajo and has some great information about the tribe, including an exhibit on how the 'Navajo Code' was used for secret communication in WWII. The rock formations are huge and like Grand Canyon are best seen in person. It's great driving through this area and Charlotte managed to get Winston up to 60mph.

We crossed into Colorado this afternoon. There are quite stark differences in scenery between the various states we've been to and this is no exception. Arizona was desert with small bushes, Utah had big rocks and red/pink sand, Colorado is much greener. Off in the distance are snow-capped mountains. We're staying at an RV park just across the road from Mesa Verde National Park, which we'll head into tomorrow.