March 28 – “Heart rates … elevated”

We started our morning by cruising along historic Route 66 in downtown Amarillo, Texas.  They have a stretch of Strand-like shops and antique stores there.  Unfortunately, everything was closed on Sundays.  Even the visitor’s center.  So sadly, no new critters there.

 

We then headed north to try to find the Lake Meredith National Recreation Area and the Alibates National Park.  On the way we listened to the worship service of Seaside on FaceBook Live.  Well, that is until we completely lost cell service.  Sorry, Jordan.  Didn’t get to hear the bulk of your message.  But it was good while it lasted. 

 

Our first shot at finding Lake Meredith ended in abject failure.  We ended up on a gravel road that led into the Twilight Zone.  Fortunately, Chris was able to turn around and head us onward toward Alibates Park.  I hated to miss seeing water, but when we did get cell service, we found out the visitor’s center would have been closed anyway.  So, we moved on over to the next stop.  The two areas are right next to each other, so we got to Alibates with ease.  And the visitor’s center?  Closed.  Be back at 12:10 (in an hour or so).  How are you liking our lucky streak with visitor’s centers?  We sat in the parking lot and had a picnic lunch of cheese or peanut butter crackers and Pringles.  We drove around the park on our own made-up tour.  We did a little mini-hike they had set up around the center.  That one was really easy, but it made me feel like a goat.  Very narrow dirt trail along the side of a hill.  Baaa.  We did find out from some of the free map stuff that the park was named for an original owner of what used to be a ranch there, Allie Bates.  Now it is Alibates Park.  Cute, huh?  The center finally did open at exactly 12:10.  Chris got stamps for both parks.  That was a bonus.  And we adopted a very cute, blue-eyed gray wolf named Willie.

 

Once out of the park we were looking to begin our westward journey.  And that meant a real-live shortcut.  We were rewarded with more than just saving time.  Come to find out we were on the actual dam road.  Yep.  We got to drive over the dam that was creating the lake.  Finally … water.  I have been missing it.

 

We stopped briefly in Dalhart for a Blizzard and an ice cream cone at … where else?  Dairy Queen.  Due to staffing shortages in the area, their dining room was closed, though, so we had to do the drive-through.  It’s been a long time since our days of youth groups and Dairy Queens.  Thanks, by the way, to those of you who gave us DQ gift certificates.  We broke those out for the trip.  Without them we may have missed out on all this smaltzy nostalgia. 

 

As we crossed into New Mexico we began to see remnants of … snow.  It was piled on the side of the road all the way across New Mexico to our next destination.  I wanted to stop and build a snowman, but Chris thought it prudent that we continue.  We did see one very large herd of deer and or antelope playing in a field.  Hmm.  That would make a good line to a song, wouldn’t it?  Somebody ought to do that.

 

For our next stop, we decided to climb down into a volcano.  Mount Capulin is another national park there in northern New Mexico.  It is all plugged up right now, but still considered an active volcano.  Way back when we lived in Colorado we took the boys there and hiked around the rim.  This time we decided to descend into the depths of the core.  The hike down was really easy.  Oh, and I was able to fashion a tiny snowman from residual snow left aside the trail.  He must have been at least six inches tall.  Left him there on the wall to help warn hikers if a rattlesnake was approaching.  Wouldn’t that be a treat?  Tiny Frosty Snowman yelling out in his Tiny Frosty voice, “Run away!”  The hike back up was … tough.  Even Chris complained that her months of cardiac rehab didn’t prepare her for hiking straight uphill in the mountains.  We only had to stop and rest once.  Suffice it to say that our heart rates were … elevated.  Chris checked her exercise stats, and we were given credit for climbing nine flights of stairs.  Hmm.  At least.  I guess now I can take volcano off of my Hawaii bucket list and replace it with luau.

 

We finally made it to our stopping place for the night in Trinidad, Colorado.  Just in time for supper.  Guess where we ended up?  WalMart!  Yup.  Chicken salad sandwiches from their deli.  They were really good, too.  That might just remain an option for future stops. 

 

Well, today we head further west … into the real mountains.  42 degrees this morning.  Weather forecast says we might run into some snow …

 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

 

Father, thank you for walking with us into that volcano.  We sure did need your encouragement on the return trip to the top.  Thank you for always being with us.  Amen.