The Great Sand Dunes

This place had been on my list for a few years, but even though we'd driven past several times, we'd never been able to get over and see Great Sand Dunes National Park. So this time we reserved a camp site and met Grandpa Jim and Grandma Cindy to check it out. The winds converge at the edge of the Rockies, causing mountains of sand to form in the valley. The tallest sand dune is said to be around 700 feet above the valley floor and is the tallest in North America. It was easy to see where all the sand comes from, as that's pretty much all there was at our campsite.

We took the worst road I've probably ever been on to get to a short hike to Zapata Falls... but unfortunately I was the only one who actually made it back to see the falls, which wasn't really worth the hike. The friendly campground manager told us it never rains there, so of course while we were on the hike, it poured at the campsite and tried to destroy our tent. But after the hurricane winds died down, we were able to make camp on the first night and everything worked out.

The next morning, we got up early and set out to climb the dunes. We quickly discovered that walking in pure sand, especially while walking uphill at 8,000 feet above sea level, is not an easy task. By the time we made it to the top of the dune we set out to climb, Paul was crawling on his hands and knees, I was trying not to die, and Adam was somehow still jogging it. The views were incredible...

The photos don't really show how steep some of these dunes really were. Even Adam had to get down and crawl a little here and there...

Made it to the top! Of this one at least... 

Bandelier National Monument

After Lubbock we took the short drive over to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where surprisingly we had never been. We didn't see much in the city, since it was raining at the time and I hadn't really looked up anything to check out. Our hotel was north of town and not far from Bandelier National Monument, so of course we had to go. I'd never heard of it before I randomly happened to see it on the map (which is how I usually find the off-the-wall places we end up going), and since we had Paul's 4th Grade Free Pass to the National Parks, it seemed like a great idea. Southern Colorado and New Mexico have numerous preserved sites where the ancient peoples of those lands lived, and this is one of them. We drove back in the canyon and took a short hike along the cliffs to see some of the dwellings. I'm not sure what the elevation was, but it wasn't as hot as it could have been, which made for a decent hike. Of course we took photos...

The 4th and a Trip North

It seems anymore like every summer we're on the road. I guess that's what happens when you live at the southern tip of Texas and everyone else in the family lives way up above us on the map. Even if we were just going across this state it would be a long drive. But that's alright, we really don't mind the drive, especially if we can break it up and see something we haven't seen along the way. Of course, that may become more difficult over the years, but for now, there's still a lot to see. This time we stayed in Lubbock the first night and attempted to see the fireworks show for the Fourth of July. Unfortunately, we just ended up getting lost in the hood (but did see some of the locals' street fireworks) and then when we made it to the park, the cops told us to leave because the storm of the century was moving in. So we celebrated Independence Day in the pouring rain at a Fuddruckers in northern Texas. The boys did get to dress the part anyway...

Who needs fireworks when you have three 24-hour noisemakers? As long as they don't blow anything up or burn anything down, we're good.

Man on a Mission

My oldest, and now most distinguished nephew, Wyatt, of the infamous Missouri Millers, came down to San Antonio to finish up training for the Marine Corps. Since it's so close, we figured we'd better get up there and hang out at least for a day. It was hot. And I would imagine especially hot if you're in uniform. But when we went around to the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park and Trader's Village, he was like a celebrity in that uniform, as former Marines and civilians like us were coming up left and right to shake his hand and thank him for his service. It's a pretty incredible thing, and we're hopeful he enjoys his time and makes the most of it. He'll be headed off to the east coast for new adventures (we know how that feels, having done it a few times ourselves), but we're glad to have had a brief moment to hang out.

 

Another school year in the books...

It's hard to believe it, but the school year is over. Summer may not officially be here, but it sure feels like it. Paul wrapped up 4th Grade and Adam finished 1st. It's incredible how fast things go by sometimes, but these kids did a lot of growing and learning this year. Here they are...

Thankfully 2028 and 2025 are still a ways away... 

And then there's Nolan... well, he's still marching to the beat of his own drum. One more year of freedom before he too begins the long road of getting himself educated!

It's Tribe time!!

There are a few advantages to living a short drive away from one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. While I would never want to live in Houston, it's an alright place to visit from time to time. If you can get around the traffic, the crowds, the heat and humidity, and the occasional mass-casualty flood, there are some fun things to do. I've been keeping my eye out for a chance to go see an Astros game, but I'm not going to pay that much money to watch them play just anybody. So when the reigning American League Champion Cleveland Indians came to town a couple of weeks ago, we got our chance. We took the three hour drive up and caught a game at Minute Maid park. I never actually saw them serving orange juice anywhere, but it was a very nice park, especially since it has a roof and air conditioning. We may have been sitting in the nose bleeds, but we got there early enough to catch the Indians batting practice and Nolan even got an official major league baseball hit by one of the Indians!

I couldn't see who it was hitting at the time, but he lined one to left field where we were standing by the wall. When I held Nolan up to show the staff his Indians' shirt, they threw him the ball. Can't beat that.

The shirt says it all... Go Indians!! They beat the Astros 3 to 0... so all this support worked out!

The view from the top...

Twelve years and counting... what better way to celebrate our anniversary!

And before we went to the game we thought we'd pick up some water from what must be the greatest grocery store in Houston. We should have gotten a discount for being family though, maybe we'll ask next time.