To El Paso and Back

Oh, my beautiful mountain home!! I didn't realize how much I love the mountains until this past week when I returned from the desert for five days. The above picture is of one of the stone formations in the middle of the desert in New Mexico. I intended to take more pictures but after this one photo, my battery ran out and I could get no more. I really wanted pictures of the red rocks outside of Moab, Utah but thats what I get for not checking my battery before leaving.
This past week was my fall break from school (used to be called Spud Harvest) so I packed up my little car/pickup with as much of Jessica's stuff I could get in with the electric piano being top priority. I took off Sunday afternoon and got as far as Provo where I spent the night. The next morning I was up and off early and had the most beautiful drive all the way to Moab, Utah, that I had the whole trip. Leaving Provo, I traveled through Price and through a lot of canyons and the trees were changing colors and it was gorgeous. I then went from the trees to the red rocks of the desert in Utah and the interesting rock formations. Once leaving Moab, I entered the real desert and the beginning of Indian reservations. The big problem with the reservation was there wasn't any rest stops or Maverik stores along the way. I have to say, I had some interesting pit stops and was a little nervous about the contents of my pickup while relieving myself. But, luckily, no problemo.
I got to Abluquerque the next day and spent the second night there. This was the first time I got lost but luckily didn't get too lost and found my way to the hotel with the help of the clerks there. I was beat from all the traveling but forced myself to ride the exercise bike for an hour to try to offset all the snacks I had eaten trying to stay awake through the desert.
Next morning, off to El Paso!! Arrived in El Paso about 3:30 and found my way to Jess's office. I hung around about an hour or so while she tried to wrap things up then we went off to her cute little home. Up the hills of El Paso we went and close to the top she and Tommy have a very cute but elegant condo. What a great place and oh, so Jessica. She has it decorated with all her beautiful pictures and nice, very homey furniture. My nights there were interesting (that is a word we use in my family when we don't know what else to say). In my haste to leave home, I quickly grabbed my four air mattresses not knowing which ones actually held air and which ones didn't. Jess warned me to charge the compressors, but I didn't take the time and I paid the price. We could only get one mattress blown up (due to dead air compressors - gee) but it looked good so we took it down to my room. That night, I only had to blow it back up three times in the middle of the night, but made it through. The next night, we blew up Jessica's comfy air mattress, which hasn't been used since we used it as a trampoline for the granchildren a couple of Christmases ago. We left the compressor hooked up just in case but this time, every two hours I had lost all the air. After a couple of blowing-ups, the compressor lost it's power again so I packed up and moved upstairs to the couch. What I can say about my nights there is that they were memorable.
Jess and I spent my one day there driving around and her talking on the phone. Much to her consternation, I insisted on driving because I am not real comfortable with her talking on the phone and weaving in and out of traffic of the freeway. Besides, we were in my car and if anything happened to it, I wanted it to be my fault. Much to her surprise, we didn't get in an accident and I managed the traffic in El Paso like a pro (I hated it though and wished I were back in my valley with only one traffic light). I didn't mind her working though, as the whole intent for my trip down there was to deliver her piano and see her condo which by now I had accomplished.
On Thursday, I headed back out into the desert and back to the mountains. Taking the Crossley advice, I took a different route home than I did on my way down. But, I really went a different way to see where my son Kelly had spent his mission. I spent the night in Farmington, New Mexico and it got pretty cold due to the fact we were at about 6700 feet above sea level. Because I was in a cheap motel, I left early the next day because I couldn't sleep because I was cold. I don't know which is worse, being warm but sleeping on a hard floor or sleeping in a bed and being cold. It got me out of there early though and I got on my way about 7:30 a.m. It was fun travelling through Kelly's mission area.
I fully intended to only get to Provo, but by the time I got there, all I wanted to do was get home and sleep in my own bed so I just kept on driving. About 11:30 p.m., I drove back into Teton Valley and decided life was really beautiful. We had snow on the mountains, but not on the ground much to my surprise. Even in the dark, it was the most gorgeous place I have seen.
I have no regrets going because the trip was fun and Jess now has her piano which Tommy plays all the time. He is an amazing pianist. On the way down, I listened to three entertaining books which made me laugh all the way. On the way home, I listened to the book about Pat Tillman who was the NFL player that joined the army and was killed in Afghanastan. It was so informative and interesting. A lot of things in common with our family. First off, he had the same agent as Spencer - Frank Bauer. He was an Airborne Ranger and stationed at Ft. Lewis, Wa. as was the kid's dad Nick. In fact, three of my children were born while we were stationed at Ft. Lewis. The book shed a whole new light on the war in the Mid East and tells how Bin Lauden rose to power.
All in all, it was a great trip and a fun way to spend my fall break. I did want to come home with a Navajo rug but I didn't realize how expensive they are. They run about a thousand dollars and above, so I passed on the rug. All I came home with was a lot of memories and about 3,000 more miles on my wonderful little car. No regrets!! I need to close now as tomorrow school starts again and it's back to work for this school teacher.
I just want my family to know I love them dearly. I know I didn't tell you enough while you were growing up, but I hope you felt the love I had and still have for you. You are my life.
In closing, I need to say "Happy Birthday" to Rebecca - Kelly's wife. I think she hits the big "30" tomorrow.
Sorry this is so long but it is as close to a journal that I have. Later!!