The Wild West Adventure

Our original intention this summer was to stay gone the entire 2 months of June and July but with Jackson breaking his arm that kind of had to change our plans. We were going to explore the Western side of our country. On July 6th Jackson got his final cast off, and we started the great discussion of how to make the most of the final 2 weeks of complete freedom. Should we go where we know we will enjoy or risk going a thousand miles away, looking for cool things, riding-trying to figure out how to get in the water/how to get out, etc. For those of you non-river sports people--that in itself is a huge task! Anyway, we chose to just go. Johnny picked out a few towns to stop in but that was it--we had no places in mind to camp/sleep and had no clue where/what to hike or how in the world to go down any whitewater.  So, here is how it turned out...

As many of you know, Johnny and I are quite the opposite in personality. One of those differences is in the way we organize. To save some paragraph space-the core of it is--I like to organize-he doesn't.  Imagine my amazement when I went outside to drop off some things to go in our trailer and noticed that he had built an organizational system in it!! Whoo hoo--one excited woman!

Our original first stop was going to be in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was on the river, only about a 6 hour drive, and had camping. I even found a cool nature center thing that sounded really cool we were going to visit.  Turns out, when we finally picked out where we were going to camp--the Arkansas River was flooded--therefore, flooding all of their campgrounds. They were all under water-you could see the top of a picnic or grill here/there.  Hmmm...what now? As we were leaving the closed/flooded park, Johnny decided to just pull over at this hole in the wall place where he saw an older gentlemen outside. Imagine the hand painted signs you see people post of things for sale and they are misspelled, etc. This was it-in real life. I wish I had gotten out and and took some pictures of the place. I just didn't want to put anyone on edge, being that there were either real or fake video cameras surveilling our every move at this place. I did manage to take this one through the glass. 

Turns out, this is Carl.  Carl is a really nice guy who is completely misunderstood by his neighbors. They don't like that he wants to turn his field into an RV parking place with little to no upkeep rules. When we pulled up, Carl was picking blueberries from the side of business, "Redneck Bait Shop." Johnny explained to Carl our dilemma and for about 15 minutes Carl let Johnny in on the secrets of the area. Carl suggested we drive on over the border to Oklahoma and stay at Tenkiller State Park. He said it was a beautiful place.  So, we cherished the richness of the visit with Carl and drove on into Oklahoma in search of this Tenkiller place!  Imagine our delight when we got out at our camping spot and the first discovery, right there on our spot, was an anaconda rock! How cool is that? Carl was right, Tenkiller was perfect for us!

 John Gannon was blown away and just had to stop an minute to take it all in...I mean, rock bluffs right where you will be sleeping!

 It didn't take him long to start exploring.

 And of course, water was near. We found a path down to the water and the boys jumped right in!

Later, we spent some time on the playground. Jackson was too excited--he can finally go completely across monkey bars. He did this every time he saw some. I guess those bones have healed well.

 That night, we slept under the stars in our hammocks.

 That night, we joined Ranger Chase around the campfire for smores and some stories about snakes and bats in the park.

 One of John's favorite activities has become climbing. He looked for opportunities everywhere!

 It wasn't long before friendships were made! They were on the hunt for frogs and lizards and

playing anything they could imagine.

 We had to rescue the kids from the Anaconda. Whew, it was a close call.

 Superman had to practice his flying skills.

 Brayden joined us the following morning to a trip to the education center at the park. We saw rattlesnakes, non-venomous snakes, birds, and all kinds of animal skins.

 Ms. Vickie helped us learn and answered any questions we had.

 Sometimes, moms and dads just need a break, right?

We would have stayed here another night or two had we not been in a time crunch. The boys were really sad to be leaving their newly found friends! Tenkiller State Park in Oklahoma was definitely a success!

From there, we stopped at the little community of Webber Falls.  We love small towns and just wanted to see what it was like.

It seemed like a fogotten place. This was the main street and we were the only people there.

We visited the little town's museum. Come to find out, remember back in early 2000 when a barge hit an I-40 bridge and it collapsed?  It was here.  "Webbers Falls" it turns out was accurate. There was a beautiful waterfall on the river but when they decided to use the river for commerce the falls were destroyed by man. Johnny and I talked how different this little town would have been had the natural elements stayed. They have a very rich and interesting history!

 The main street of the town ends at the river--at a park/campground and a really cool abandoned restaurant. Of course, the park was flooded but what a neat set-up for a little town.

As we turned around to walk back to the truck, we see some people out in their yard. Meet Tanya and Bobby Joe. We chatted with them a while about life in Webbers Falls and how long they have lived there, etc. Bobby Joe was cleaning the fish he had just caught out of the flooded river across the street. They were really nice. I got all enthused after meeting them and Carl and told Johnny how cool it would be to just go to places and document all the people we meet. I might have to do that sometime! That actually is a part of travels I never really document.  I will have to correct that!

 From Webber's Falls, we traveled through this county...and yes, we were singing the song, An Okie from Muskogee. If I had data on my phone, I am pretty sure I would have bought the song!

From there, we landed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We found a botanical garden playground. It was the coolest playground I have ever seen!

They had structures and you had to figure out how to play on the equipment. I actually heard children calling to their parents and friends, "Hey, come here, let me show you what I learned."  How cool is that? Sadly, there were children staring at things just asking, "What do I do?" I could go on a rant here-but I'll save that for another post!

After the playground, we walked to the section of town called Bricktown. They allowed an artist to paint the underpass of the bridge leading into that section of town. Why can't they do this to all underpasses? It would make driving much more scenic!

In Bricktown, we took a water taxi tour of the area.

 On the tour, we say the largest bronze sculpture in the U.S. It documents the staking/flagging of land in Oklahoma. Basically, everyone lined up on horses, raced to the spot they wanted, placed a flag on the spot and then paid $15 for the deed. The sculptures were amazing--this was only a very small section.

 After the taxi tour, we wandered around the city a bit more and then headed to find our next destination.

We ended up staying here for the night in Oklahoma.

Again, we all got to sleep under the stars!

 The next morning, the boys explored the bluffs right behind our hammocks!

 After exploring a while, we packed up, had a shower and then made the trek down a hiking trail.

It was really neat. The trail was lined with these reed/cane like things. JG found out you could drink water from them!

 The trail led us to some water and high bluff areas.

 We got off the trail and explored this large red rock bluff area.  It was really impressive. None of my pictures even touch the beauty!

 The boys were excited to see cactus growing naturally for the first time. They had talked about this on the way, saying they hoped to see some. Turns out, it was everywhere the next couple of places we stopped!

 Of course, you know what Jackson finds!

After our fun at Red Rock Canyon, we hit the road and continued the trek across Oklahoma. Guess where we finally arrived? Yep...for some reason, the boys have wanted to go to Texas. This was a mandatory picture!

 We stopped in Amarillo--yes, we sang the song...so much so that JG asked that we please stop.  We stopped at a famous little place. The history of this place is a pretty interesting read.

 Of course, since being in Oklahoma, we were traveling the historic Route 66. There were some small towns that still played on some of the nostalgia of being on Route 66.

 We found this cool park to stay at: Palo Duro Canyon State Park. This canyon is the second largest in North America. Prior to our trip, I had never even heard of it. It was absolutely beautiful!

 The one thing about Texas that we will always remember--IT WAS HOT!!! It didn't take the boys long to get in their groove playing.

 And it didn't take long for them to find some water to pour over their heads either!

 But of course, the heat didn't slow them down a bit.

 We rode bikes. They had biking trails everywhere.

 The boys found two small birds that were partially flying.

 John had to catch a Texas grasshopper, which were everywhere. And the spiders...yep--tarantulas! Texas Brown Tarantulas were in abundance where we were. They were the size of my hand!!! The picture I took of them didn't turn out clear. They were definitely a site to see.

 I bet you can't guess which bike trail Jackson chose to ride?

 After the ride, he found some "quick mud" to play in.  While standing still, you would sink into the mud. John Gannon learned that walking on his knees and laying his legs down on the mud kept you from sinking.

 Back at camp we enjoyed some native drum tunes and slept under the stars in the canyon.

 The next morning, Johnny woke up early and rode some bike trails. He came back insisting that John and I go ride a particular trail.  To be honest, I was a little hesitant. He initially talked about it being an easy ride but the kept adding that we would need to keep pushing through to make it to the end. He said, "Just keep pushing yourself to get there. It will be worth it." To hear him say you would need to push through something--oh my...I wasn't sure I even wanted to attempt. But, here we are--ready to embark on the journey.

 I must say that the ride was beautiful!! I took so many pictures of John Gannon from behind. To watch him gaze out at the beauty or listen as he have me a lecture about some species of animal was absolutely priceless. I am so thankful I got to experience this with him!

 There it is--the "Lighthouse," our destination. Now we just had to climb up. Johnny had told us which path to follow and said that he didn't go completely to the top because he was alone and said it was pretty dangerous.  So, off we went to see where we would end up.

 This is on the other side of the Lighthouse.

 Guess what, we made it. This is as far as Johnny went. If you look at the picture above, you can see there is a ledge on the right side almost at the very top. That is where were.

 After looking for a few minutes, I asked John if he wanted to try to climb on up to the top. It was probably only 15-17 more feet but required you to do a pretty tight gripped climb with no belay.  I told him I thought I could support him. After a little thought he decided he wanted to try. He was able to lay his hand on top but got scared and wouldn't try to pull himself up.  We admired the view for a while and chatted. Before making the trek back down I asked if the wanted to try again. I knew he did--he kept looking at it but I knew his anxiety was defeating him. I offered some encouragement, did a quick little cognitive therapy technique, and he finally decided he would try again.

 Yep, he did it! I can't tell you how proud he was! He did something that his dad was a little fearful to try. He was definitely on an adrenaline high!

 Here was his view from the top.

 With a feeling of confidence and accomplishment, we made the trek back down.

 After being on the trail about 2 miles (one mile to go) we started hearing people whistle. We initially ignored it, but it turned out to be two mountain men making a trek down a mountain they had just climbed.  We decided to wait on them to meet us. Jackson told his dad he wanted to climb a mountain so they walked a mile down the trail and climbed a large mountain.

 Here was Jackson's assessment of his climb.

 The last thermometer we saw on the last mile in the direct sun showed 108 degrees. This picture was at the end in the shade. I must say that overall, the trail was a challenge for us but we were so glad we "pushed through."

 How do I express how good it felt to get to the end? Trust me, it felt good!

 We then made the trek up to the top of the canyon to depart to our next destination.

 We visited the visitor center which had lots of educational exhibits and cool things.

We all kind of hated to leave the canyon, but more adventure was awaiting! 

We made a quick stop in town, armed ourselves with about $15 worth of spray paint and headed here...

 Yep--the Cadillac Ranch! We discussed the story behind the ranch on the way. Of course, you know John's main concern--"Are you sure this is legal?"

 It didn't take him but a second to get a groove. I am sure watching all the others helped convince him. There were probably 50 other people at least there with us.

 Afterwards, we used some leftover water from camping the previous night to wash our feet and legs before we headed back out on the road.

We traveled on across the state of Texas into New Mexico. We saw several little small towns like this one along the way. We would have stopped and explored them had we had more time.

 Deer and antelope were in abundance. This was at a downtown park--a very common site.

 Our ultimate destination was going to be Red River, New Mexico. The drive in was absolutely gorgeous. I hated that the sun went!

 This was one of the most scenic places--if you are ever in the area it is definitely worth a view.

 We had a difficult time trying to find a place to stay in Red River due to our late arrival (around 10:30 or so). We finally found a campground about 2 miles from town that had an open spot. Johnny and John slept in hammocks and Jack and I slept in the back part of the truck in the bed Johnny had built in there. Guess what--it was 47 degrees that night! The next morning, we explored the campground a while.

 And then went in town (Red River) and explored it. It was a neat looking little town but basically a tourist town. They had some neat community events. We played at the playground and had a picnic out on the lawn. We originally thought this was going to be the place we would spend several days, but after several hours we quickly realized this town wasn't a good fit for us. If you like paying to go on jeep/atv tours, eating at neat local restaurants and doing traditional vacationy type things it would be a good fit. Definitely not our cup of tea.

Red River is located in what they call the Enchanted Circle. It includes Red River, Taos, and Angel Fire. We decided that we would go and check out Taos. It was a town full of local culture. All of the buildings and houses kept with a traditional adobe look.  As a matter of fact, we were so intrigued with them we decided to stay in a local inn.

 The boys enjoyed the pool.

 "This is SPARTA!!"

 And before we left, the boys had to have a baja.

From there, we continued exploring things that caught our eye.  We stumbled across a pretty spectacular find--the Rio Grande.

At the bridge, several local vendors are set up along the highway.

 The river is almost 700 feet down!

The coolest part--we found a recreational area on the Rio Grande! So guess what? The next two nights that is where we camped--all under the stars of course!

This was the scene about 50ft in front of where we slept.

We are making the trek down 700 feet to the river. You had to walk 1 mile to go down 700 feet.  The trip down wasn't so bad.

It is moments like this that I just stand in awe of when I look up and see them!

We made it to the bottom.

A little education about the water.

Now the trip up...rest stops were cherished!

By the time we made it up...we were all HUNGRY!!!!

That evening, Johnny and I sat at the top of the gorge talking, singing praying until after sunset.

 I wish that I could walk around every moment with the peace and rush of tranquility I had at the moment.

 It is freedom. No chains of guilt or feelings of worthlessness--only freedom and hope. Johnny and I so needed this time to have our spirits and minds refreshed.

 The next morning, we did our thing. Johnny rode lots of trails and when he returned, guess who headed out? JG and I did a 6 mile loop together.

 Again, I couldn't stop taking pictures of him from behind.

 After the trek down and UP to the river, we wondered how in the world people got their boats and equipment down there if they wanted to paddle.  It wasn't long before we found out. Some people pulled up and packed 3 mules with rafts and all their equipment. They walked the mules down and then one person hitched them all together and rode them out. We also saw that others use lamas!

 Later in the afternoon, the guys all headed out for a ride.

 This particular place we were staying didn't have shower facilities.  No worries--Johnny always figures out a way for us to do everything.  Yep--even our very own shower stall!

 The next evening, we repeated the previous evening's events.

The smiles of innocence--I sometimes wish time could freeze.

 Another beautiful evening.

 The next morning, we packed up and continued our journey. We started going North instead of West. Guess where we landed?

 Our first stop in Colorado was a necessary one. It was our boys first experience.

 So we decided to give them the richest experience possible--Johnny took them over a block or two to the 7-11 and bought them slurpees and extra large burritos that they had to warm up in the microwave at the store.

 We met a really awesome guy name Larry at the Landromatt. Larry was a retired rancher and offered us free access to camp on his land. We also talked at length to the repairman who came in and another guy named Sam. Thanks to them, we got to visit this little gem...Bishop's Castle. It for sure had a very unique story. Read about it online if you are interested.

 The tallest tower of the castle is 130 feet. You are allowed to climb all in it! It has a drawbridge at the gate and the starting of a moat underneath.

Meet George...we chatted with him for a few minutes. The builder of the castle, Jim, and George were hanging out watching all the activity of the day.

Our next stop--Pueblo, Colorado. We stopped in at the bike store to buy us some new grips.

 Meet Vance--he was super helpful at giving us information about good places to bike and camp. I bet he talked to us for 20-30 minutes. I forgot the the other guys name--he was the paddler of the group and told Johnny about all the river spots.

 Guess what Pueblo has right in the middle of the city? Yep--a whitewater park. Naturally, we had to check that out first!

 We set up camp at Lake Pueblo State Park. We stayed there for 2 nights.

 The boys and I went for a paddle down the Arkansas river. We were able to put in at the park and float all the way down to the whitewater park downtown!

 Guess who led the way?

 And guess who is getting so comfortable on the paddle board he is starting to trick it?

 And of course, you can't let your brother trick you out, right?

 It will wear a little guy out you know.

 When the boys and I are alone, they take such good care of me. They wanted to stop and play in the water a bit. They immediately paddle to the shore first, get out of their boats and make sure they push me onto the shore like their daddy would do. John did it the first time we stopped. Jackson was determined he was doing it this time!

 We took a pit stop at the Nature Center and met up with Johnny. We originally thought this is where we would get out, but it turns out, we could go all the way to the whitewater park! Another successful monkey bar trip for Jack!

 We had to port around a dangerous dam. I told you he could figure out a way to anything!!

 And we were off again!

 We made it to our destination!

 We ate and watched Johnny play!

 After leaving Pueblo, we continued our trek up through Colorado.

 The above pictures were taken at this park--we were just driving through to see if they had any open camping. They were all full.

 And thank goodness--because we found this gem of a city, Golden Colorado. We stayed here 3 nights! We fell in love with this city and decided we could definitely live there.  It was absolutely perfect! We were able to camp downtown--the river/whitewater park was across the sidewalk from our camping spot and we could bike everywhere we went!

 Here the boys are, awaiting their maiden voyage down the whitewater park.

 They stopped to get some information from a local.

 And they were off! This section of the river is like the Nantahala River. I was super impressed JG was willing to go down on his board!

 We rode bikes!

 I went down with the boys.

 Jack didn't want to go down anymore. John and I went down it 3 more times. (It was a 1 mile stretch of the river.) Johnny would load the boat and gear up evertyime and bring us back to the put in!) Bless him, I know he had to be worn out!

 More bike riding. John even treated Jack and I to frozen yogurt one day!

 John bought Jackson a little creature in one of the stores. He carried it EVERYWHERE!

 We visited the local waterpark. We stayed through the rain and ended up sharing the park with 3 other families! It cleared up and was beautiful. The water was heated. The temps were only in the 70's.

 Did I say Johnny should be worn out?

 Meet Connie and Bill! They play the Ukulele. They invited me to come over one evening. They gave me some great playing tips. They are retired and travel around. They were pretty awesome people!

 We were all sad to be leaving this great place.  We then headed Southeast. We stayed the night in Dodge City, Kansas.

 This hotel was pretty neat. It is rich in history. The boys thought it was cool because it was set up like an old western town inside...and it didn't hurt that it had 2 slides on the indoor pool, and indoor basketball, volleyball, and ping pong! And we had our first REAL hot breakfast in a long time! (All for $69!!)

 We checked out Dodge City for a bit and all shared a real Sarsaparillo.

 From here, the drive/ride was quite long--Kansas is really a flat state...We stopped and took this picture just to remember our trek through Kansas.

Our last stop was at Van Buren, Arkansas--just to sleep and shower.  We are now at home--all the clothes and camping gear are almost all cleaned and put away. The grass is mowed. And the routine of everyday life returns. We anxiously await our next adventure. Live a Meaningful Life!