Hola, Arizona!

I know some people might not fully believe me when I say that I had a great time visiting my friends in Sahuarita (near Tucson) because I helped them move, but I really did enjoy myself.  I had no idea they were moving until I got up Thursday morning and saw the boxes and such.  I know most people (ah-hem, a certain brother of Dave's- haha) would have turned, got back in the car, and moved right along to Phoenix but I feel that I have such a great number of friendsand family who help me move on an annual basis, best to pay it forward. 



 



My room! :)



Dave and Alex were wonderful by putting me up during the crazy scramble to get their things together: gave me a bed, hot showers, fed me... and it was not a huge hassle to move them- a good number of people helped. 

 

They just bought a gigantic previously-owned house over the summer (one that housed 7 DOGS!) and, with a lot of help from their family, rehabbed it into a gorgeous home. 

After all of the physical work on Saturday, we went out to consume an insane amount of pizza with Dave's parents, and then on Sunday Alex and Dave took me down into Nogales, Sonora in Mexico.  Parked the car at a lot near the border and walked over to do some shopping and lunch.  Many of the shops were difficult to get to due to the streets being under construction.  Walking along the plazas, you have so many shop owners waving you in to buy buy buy.

 

 

We wandered passed all of the burros in sombreros, waiting for you to sit on them for a photo, and into the city for lunch: carnitas! Yum, yum.  Sides of guacamole, salsa, lime, cucumbers, and Mexican Fanta to drink.  Best part: hand-made tortillas!  Super cheap too (most places take American dollars, but some won't have change for you).

 It was great to experience part of the city that wasn't lined with gift shops, and just absorb the lifestyle on a regular Sunday for the people who live there. 

After some impulse purchases on my part along the walk back towards the border, we rode back to the house where I gathered up my stuff from the guest room that I would have had to start renting from Alex and Dave if I stayed any longer :)

and headed north.  

Indiana's got Nothin' on This!

Indiana Dunes are ok, don't get me wrong: they are something different to see.  But White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo, New Mexico, are absolutely amazing: 275 square miles of white sand that has created the largest gypsum dune field in the world!

There is a nature trail there that walks you through an area with some vegetation and where most of the wildlife live- nothing was out because I walked through it during the hot time of day.  I did see some tracks though: fox, lizard, snake, jack rabbit, darkling beetle.  The mounds of sand surrounding you are unbelievable, and really difficult to climb.  I had to periodically dump a pound of sand from my shoes (changed to sandals later), my pockets, and dust it off of my skin before entering the car!

Drove into the heart of the dunes and used the sled that I rented from the visitors center to take a few rides down several dunes.  It was way fun, but you have to rub wax on the bottom of the sled.  I didn't for my first run and got a mouthful of sand!  After that, I had a blast gliding down the sand mountains- only a for a little bit though.  That sun was beating down hard and it blinds you as it reflects off of the sparkling sand.  There are only so many times that one can make the hike up one of these things under the blaring sun when all 4 bottles of her water are empty.

 

My pictures just don't do the dunes justice- I really don't know how to photograph white on white while getting the depth that you see in real life.  The vast sky stretches all the way back with the sun illuminating some of the dunes in the distance a stark white and the closer ones softer. 

 

If you walk a little ways out and just look in every direction at the never ending landscape, wow.  You feel so incredibly small.  

I spent the entire day exploring the dunes and wanted to get some sunset shots.  I did what I could at dusk and then got a couple as the sun was setting, but a bad storm was heading in and everyone had to leave the park.  

 

The dunes look so different in the evening, as most nature does.  They looked like they had more dimension from the sun's rays shining out through the clouds.

These were just some spectacular views and an incredible experience.  

Drove towards Tucson (with about a beach's worth of sand in my car), avoiding the tornado south of me that was headed in my direction, to stay with some friends for the next couple days.  Time to re-coop.

 

   

(Oh, and for anyone who read the Austin post, I replaced the bat picture with a lighten up version... hope that helped!)

'member the Alamo

After spending the first day in San Antonio at Six Flags Fiesta Texas- I had to... couldn't miss Fright Fest, and I had to find somewhere to scream after driving 8 hours straight through the night- I went downtown to see the Alamo and visit the Riverwalk.  **Ok, so as a side story, I stopped in Rivercenter Mall for some caffeine and wanted a pumpkin spice cappuccino.  They do vanilla, why not pumpkin spice?  Well, the flavor wasn't the issue.  The guy asked me if I knew what a cappuccino was. Huh??  I actually had to look at the front door to make sure  walked into the Starbucks and not another store by mistake.  I ended up getting what I ordered, but not without a very confused looked on my face, I'm sure.**

Anyways, everything's bigger in Texas? Not the Alamo.  It is so much smaller than I expected.  No wonder there are so many signs so people can find it, hiding in the city.  It was still cool to see-- no pics inside, but I got a few outside.

A lot of the buildings were of limestone or sand color, so it made the city look old in a nice way.  In a Texan way :)

The Riverwalk is really pretty.  I didn't stop in any of the shops or bars and restaurants because I had a date with a million bats in Austin and had to be there by sundown, but I walked a little bit of it and it was much prettier than I had imagined.  Very relaxing to walk along; great atmosphere.  Plenty of arched bridges to walk under and boats floating along side of you.

Ok, so I thought I was going to miss these bats I wanted so badly to see, but (little to my knowledge) I could have been 30 minutes late and still have been able to catch sight of 'em. 

Austin holds the largest bat colony in North America and they come out from under the Congress Street Bridge every evening at sundown between April and October.  Sure enough, shortly after the sun set, 1.5 million sparrow-sized Mexican free tailed bats began flying from under the bridge in a constant, steady stream.  It looked just like a fluttery cloud overhead, and couple low-fliers would get pretty close to you.  I tried to lighten the picture up some so you could see the bats a little bit... it was just so dark.  Out of 11 pics, I was hoping to get at least one!

 









But just to be standing under such a sight... it was amazing.  These bats continued to flow out over the river for about 40 minutes straight!  Totally worth the drive. 

 

Next drive... way long.  West towards New Mexico.   A lot of mountains, a lot of sun.  I think I got sunburn on just my left side from the trip.  Stopped in El Paso, TX, but it's only good for a stop- plenty of stores, and it was the first civilization I had been in for almost 600 miles, but I didn't do anything here.  Too much construction and traffic.   

Dancin' Down the Streets of New Orleans

 

New Orleans is a very lively city- by day and by night.  The buildings are so old and so colorful and have such ornate wrought ironwork that one can't help but want to photograph everything. 

I got there early, found a parking meter, and started walking to see some of the architectural highlights: St. Louis Cathedral, Old Ursalines Convent, Preservation Hall, Cornstalk Hotel, the Girod House, Supreme Court building, etc.  I walked through Jefferson Square, where artists had their work displayed for sale, tarot card readers, and food carts.  It sits right in front of the cathedral.  Wandered up and down the streets, enjoyed every turn to see more interesting buildings, people break dancing, and more street musicians.
I also took a visit to St. Louis Cemetery No.1 and saw all of the above-ground burials from hundreds of years ago.  Many were run down from weather and vandals, and that made it creepy!  I did find the burial of Marie Laveau, voodoo practitioner or "voodoo queen", with all of the XXX's marked on the sides.  People believed that she would grant your wish once having marked her stone.

 

   

Yes, I tried Cafe du Monde, and am pleased to say that I was able to contain myself and stop after only one order (3 beignets) and one cafe au lait ;)  Probably because I already looked like I dug my way out of a powdered sugar snow storm by the time I had finished.  I couldn't believe how busy it was: line for take-out, lines for a table.  I went in the evening, while everyone was on Bourbon Street.

 

 Bourbon Street is quite a sight... I walked down there while it was the afternoon, and again after dark.  I thought it was hopping for a Saturday afternoon until I saw the street at night.  Open-air bars lining the street on either side with gift shops, strip clubs, and frozen drink bars in between.  All types of music with a beat flowing out of different bars and bouncers waving you in.  The street is blocked off from car traffic that allows party-goers' to gather, drink, and stumble.  Lights, flags, music, and the aroma of beer and rum... I can't even begin to imagine how the streets are during Mardi Gras! 



and, no, that sign didn't really
have the star over the A



I didn't want to stay too late and end up getting lost in the mob so I after a couple hours of absorbing the excitement (and getting some nighttime  photos outside of Bourbon St), I joined in on the cupid shuffle in the middle of the street out front of the French Opera House site before heading out to where my car was waiting to begin the drive towards Texas.