CA to VA with Andrew, 2015
In the summer of 2015
Ron flew back to California to travel cross country with his son Andrew to join
his wife and child and start a new life in Virginia.
Kingman AZ. Santa Fe
locomotive 3759. Built in 1928. Donated
to the City of Kingman in 1957. Andrew visited this train when he was 7
going to the Grand Canyon.
Williams, AX. A bench
made from a cow catcher at the Grand Canyon RR depot.
Andrew
and Ron on the Grand Canyon Railroad.
Grand
Canyon. Arizona
Room (restaurant). View out their window.
Grand
Canyon. While having lunch,
Andrew and Ron watched three condors circle the village. They looked small
until one of their 6 ft. (+) shadows passed by.
Grand
Canyon. Art shot of a tree
on the rim. (A photo merge.)
Grand
Canyon. Hard
to take a bad picture.
Meteor
Crater. (East
of Flagstaff.) One mile across. Formed about 50,000 years ago by meteor about 50 meters (160 feet)
across.
Meteor
Crater. While there Andrew
and Ron got to watch a helicopter practice a rescue from the bottom of the
crater. (See a video of this at https://www.facebook.com/ron.buckles/videos/10203138170655040/?l=5818365042813208570 .)
Mesa
Verde National Park. A butte at the entrance.
Mesa
Verde National Park.
Spruce Tree House. The third-largest village is located near the museum.
Pre-Pueblo people occupied this site between 1200 and 1300 AD. ( 37.1837, -108.4872 )
Four
Corners. Andrew and Ron with a foot in each state.
Aztec
Ruins National Monument, Aztec NM. Mistaken, the Spanish explorers name the site Aztec. Now is
known as another pre-Pueblo site. The ruins to the left date
to the 11th to 13th centuries. (A photo merge.)
Aztec
Ruins National Monument. One of the unique T-shaped doors.
Aztec
Ruins National Monument. Andrew in the dark. Not unusual, but ceiling above him is
900 years old.
Santa Fe, NM. The
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in old town. Ron and Andrew
attended Saturday evening service thanking God for a safe trip.
Fort Smith, AK. Fort Smith National Historic Site. The
federal court house that was given the name “Hell on the Border” due to its
harsh conditions. Judge Isaac C. Parker was the scourge of evil-doers
when he presided in this court. From 1875 to 1896 he handed death sentences to
172 lawbreakers; 88 of them were actually hanged.
Fort Smith, AK. Fort Smith National Historic Site. The actual gallows used
so often.
Memphis, TN. Blues
City Café. Some of the best Memphis dry-rub BBQ there is.
(Motto is ‘Put Some
South in Your Mouth.’)
Memphis, TN. Ron
finally finds a cat fish big enough to keep.
Johnson City, TN.
Andrew makes friends with Eve Ginning’s new cat, Lily Pad.
Elizabethton, TN.
Andrew selfie in front of the 1882 covered bridge. Ron lived right next to the
bridge for a short time as a youth.