We set out on Thursday morning from Roanoke in the Toaureg at about 8:00 AM. We found out pretty quickly that our gas mileage was nowhere near what we thought it was when we took our maiden voyage to Ashville with our new camper (the Casita we bought from the amazing 93 year old Frank Cash from Floyd in the fall of 2011). We’re getting close to 13 mpg which amounts to about 320 miles to a 24 gallon tank. So now we’re considering selling the Toaureg. We have to see what the 4 Runner gets.
We did make it to Little Rock arriving at 8:15 in the evening in the dark at a little RV park called Burns where we had a salad and sandwiches at the picnic table, all piled in the camper, and promptly fell asleep, Aidan stubbornly taking the floor. We got up at 6:00 AM, showered, and drove into the river district in Little Rock for breakfast at the Ottenheimer River Market. Ushi had a BLT w/egg that was really delicious.
We hit the road again by 8:00 to face another long 800 mile day. Driving, driving, driving through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, where we stopped at a rest stop overlooking the prairie, read ever so briefly some plaques describing the dust bowl, and insulted a family whose son would be going to college at liberty by Ushi saying “That’s nice. See ya,” in our rush to get into New Mexico. An earnest "Was I rude?" was met with "Mom, I can't believe you did that!
We finally watched a glorious swirly purple-red sunset with an almost full moon behind us as we closed in on Santa Fe at 9:00 in the dark listening to Neon by Chris Young and Ooh Lala covered by the Counting Crows. The kids slept in the back of the Toaureg and we collapsed in the trailer at about 11:00.
The next day started early and we made it into town around 10:00 where we shopped and looked in galleries and ended up buying some bracelets from the native American artists in the square. Devi had to take hers back because it made the skin on her wrist break out. There is so much great art here. We met a very interesting African from an area north of Ghana who travels back and forth to sell his canvas art (mostly landscapes of migrations and the (sky making love to the earth). We almost bought a small one for Devin's room but we ended up not.
I came close to buying a retouched photograph of some western settlers. The old black and white really came alive with just a few added spots of color (an ax in a log, a wash pan, some patches of leaves in some aspens, the guy on the horse given a red beard). There's so much good stuff it's hard to control the urge to buy, Ushi found a lamp that she must “have before we leave” at a gallery called Sequioa. We had a fabulous lunch at Tia Sophia’s (really tasty sopapillis and everything else Mexican cooked just right). The waiter was very friendly and a little bit too full of energy.
We made it back to the campsite after stopping at Trader Joes for some groceries at about 4:00 and the girls went out to make a run for some supplies at Target. Then we set up my 25 year old pup tent for the kids and had a nice dinner of ravioli and salad (always salad, but we love it), and sat looking on the internet for trails in Bandelier.
Now I’m getting ready for bed typing this, just like I did four years ago, with the full moon shining brilliantly down on the campground and our tacky, multi-colored lights gently adding a soft glow to our tiny little awning-covered patch of it, a very happy ending to the day after summer solstice.
Two, thirteen hour days of straight driving. We are truly nuts, but the climate is so nice. The air is dry, the sun is strong, the nights are chill and the air is clean. Now, it’s time for brushing teeth and going to bed. Tomorrow should be a good hiking day. I’ll try to post some pics in the morning.
We did make it to Little Rock arriving at 8:15 in the evening in the dark at a little RV park called Burns where we had a salad and sandwiches at the picnic table, all piled in the camper, and promptly fell asleep, Aidan stubbornly taking the floor. We got up at 6:00 AM, showered, and drove into the river district in Little Rock for breakfast at the Ottenheimer River Market. Ushi had a BLT w/egg that was really delicious.
We hit the road again by 8:00 to face another long 800 mile day. Driving, driving, driving through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, where we stopped at a rest stop overlooking the prairie, read ever so briefly some plaques describing the dust bowl, and insulted a family whose son would be going to college at liberty by Ushi saying “That’s nice. See ya,” in our rush to get into New Mexico. An earnest "Was I rude?" was met with "Mom, I can't believe you did that!
We finally watched a glorious swirly purple-red sunset with an almost full moon behind us as we closed in on Santa Fe at 9:00 in the dark listening to Neon by Chris Young and Ooh Lala covered by the Counting Crows. The kids slept in the back of the Toaureg and we collapsed in the trailer at about 11:00.
The next day started early and we made it into town around 10:00 where we shopped and looked in galleries and ended up buying some bracelets from the native American artists in the square. Devi had to take hers back because it made the skin on her wrist break out. There is so much great art here. We met a very interesting African from an area north of Ghana who travels back and forth to sell his canvas art (mostly landscapes of migrations and the (sky making love to the earth). We almost bought a small one for Devin's room but we ended up not.
I came close to buying a retouched photograph of some western settlers. The old black and white really came alive with just a few added spots of color (an ax in a log, a wash pan, some patches of leaves in some aspens, the guy on the horse given a red beard). There's so much good stuff it's hard to control the urge to buy, Ushi found a lamp that she must “have before we leave” at a gallery called Sequioa. We had a fabulous lunch at Tia Sophia’s (really tasty sopapillis and everything else Mexican cooked just right). The waiter was very friendly and a little bit too full of energy.
We made it back to the campsite after stopping at Trader Joes for some groceries at about 4:00 and the girls went out to make a run for some supplies at Target. Then we set up my 25 year old pup tent for the kids and had a nice dinner of ravioli and salad (always salad, but we love it), and sat looking on the internet for trails in Bandelier.
Now I’m getting ready for bed typing this, just like I did four years ago, with the full moon shining brilliantly down on the campground and our tacky, multi-colored lights gently adding a soft glow to our tiny little awning-covered patch of it, a very happy ending to the day after summer solstice.
Two, thirteen hour days of straight driving. We are truly nuts, but the climate is so nice. The air is dry, the sun is strong, the nights are chill and the air is clean. Now, it’s time for brushing teeth and going to bed. Tomorrow should be a good hiking day. I’ll try to post some pics in the morning.
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