Carl Henning

Continuing our trip west, I resolved to drive through Tucumcari on old Route 66. If nothing else, there was a Route 66 sign to take a picture of. Two and half hours later we continued our journey. Who knew there was so much to do here?

Less well-know and less visited than the famous Cadillac Ranch, Slug Bug Ranch takes the same approach. That is, cars buried nose first in the ground with visitor-applied spray paint.

The Saint Petersburgh Museum of History featured a traveling exhibit of autographed baseballs, called Schrader’s Little Cooperstown. I t features over 5,000 autographed baseballs in random order. ARGH!

No Tiffany at this Selby Gardens, but there was a bit of history. Oh, yeah, and some flowers which I did not photograph. 

Flowers and stained glass. In downtown Sarasota, Florida, spared from development at the former home of Marie Selby, is a botanical garden, Selby Gardens. On our visit it was paired with Tiffany stained glass.

I am fascinated by the Spanish missions of the West. A ranger-led tour at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park added to my knowledge of the mission system. These four missions are only a couple miles apart; the Alamo is just slightly further away. There were two reasons for the closeness of these missions: 1. Defense. The Apache and Comanches raided the local tribes before the missions were built and after. 2. They shared a common ranch where thousand of cattle and sheep were pastured. Each week animals from the ranch were delivered to the missions.

San Antonio, Texas is famous for The Alamo and its River Walk. The Alamo we remember. It was a mission that was the site of a battle for the independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico. Lots of Americans joined the fight, including Davy Crocket. The vastly outnumbered Texans lost the battle but won the war. Along the River Walk is The Briscoe Western Art Museum. It features Western art and artifacts and a little about the Alamo.

Officially this place is called Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens. The arboretum portion is kind of lame although it has some trails. But the garden is wonderful. Admission is free.

In addition to the flowers there are often pretty latinas in fancy dresses having their photos taken. I don’t know what the occasion is but this is a frequent sight.

Traveling down the west side of Nevada, we stopped in Tonopah at the Tonopah Historic Mining Park. It’s located on the site of the original strike which refreshed interest in Nevada as a state.

Lassen Volcanic National Park. In May of 1914 Lassen Peak produced the most recent eruption in the mainland United States (until Mount St. Helens.in 1980). A local photographer was nearby and captured pictures of the eruption. This is a rare area where all four types of volcanos exist in close proximity.