Day Six: Walking on Sunshine....

On Day Six we left Vegas and headed to Williams, AZ.  But, somewhere down the road, we decided that we would like to try walking on sunshine.  Therefore, we visited the West Rim of the Grand Canyon and took a Sky Walk with the Hualapai Nation....

Sitting on the edge, thinking of taking a walk.

We were there.  Walking on Sunshine.

The Sky Walk.  

Six inches of glass between me, my children and a whole lot of air.   There isn't anything to compare with walking on Sunshine.  It was an amazing day.  

Day Five: That Dam Tour....

Hoover Dam spans the Colorado River in Black Canyon between Arizona and Nevada, some 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas Nevada. Constructed in the 1930s, the concrete arch-gravity structure was intended to prevent flooding as well as provide much-needed irrigation and hydroelectric power to arid regions of states like California and Arizona. It was originally known as Boulder Dam, but was renamed in 1947 in honor of Herbert Hoover, who as U.S. secretary of commerce and the 31st U.S. president proved instrumental in getting the dam built. At 726 feet high and 1,244 feet long, Hoover Dam was one of the largest man-made structures in the world at the time of its construction, and one of the world's largest producers of hydroelectric power.

Amazing place, and here are the pictures to prove it (It is incredible that this Dam was built 70+ years ago - what an amazing illustration of AMERICAN INGENUITY!  

A wrench used to tighten the bolts on the turbines in Hoover Dam.

The Bypass to Hoover Dam.  My Daddy drove over Hoover Dam in 195x.  I bypassed the Dam and drove over this bridge.  I have been inside of the Dam, but never driven over it....

The bridge and more....

The intake towers.

How big are the turbines?  See the little man on the little car?  Yeah.  The turbines are pretty much huge.

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.  Wow.

The hole to nowhere...  makes me glad that I don't need to climb down that ladder...  government employees are underappreciated....

A vent in the side of Hoover Dam.  Wait for it....

The view from inside out....

The Sky from inside Hoover Dam.  (See above...  Put your camera out the vent and take a picture of UP)

Don't look down - the view from the vent in Hoover Dam....

On the Road Again (The End of Day Two and Days Three and Four)......

After touring the Martinez Hacienda, it was time for us to hop back in the Horseless Carriage and move on down the highway.  Before completely putting Taos in the rearview mirror, however, there was one more sight to see....  

The sign to prove that we were here!  But wait!  Holy-Slash-in-the-Earth, Batman!  Where is here?

The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.  It was amazing!

The Rio Grande Gorge from the Bridge.

The Rio Grande Gorge from the other side (of the Bridge).

A tree looking over the edge of a hill by the Rio Grande Gorge.  The gorge is in the background, but can't be seen until one is right next to it.   I am glad the bridge was built to make it easier to cross the Gorge.

It was starting to get late, and we had a long drive.  So, we climbed into the Horseless Carriage for the drive to Albuquerque.  On Day Three, we rose with the sun (well, not exactly, RandomGal was dificult to get moving - so it was more like 9:00 when we....) drove from Albuquerque to Las Vegas.  We were so tired from all the driving, that we spent the next day resting. 

Are we there, yet? Second half of Day Two...

From the Taos Pueblo, we drove up the street to verify that we were living in the correct century.  A few miles down the road, we visited the Martinez Hacienda, the home of a wealthy Taos merchant from the 1800's.  This visit reaffirmed our belief that 2012 is a much more comfortable era than 1812.  

The Martinez Family sold goods from their home and were as concerned with keeping the shoplifters (bandits) out as they were with Welcoming Shoppers.  

The interior of the front wall of the Hacienda.  I wonder if Mr. Martinez dreamed that this wall would still be standing 208 years after he had it built.  Incredible.

The front doors of the Martinez Hacienda. The back doors were as welcoming. 

The store inside the Hacienda.  Blankets from Walmart are better than animal skins hanging from the ceiling any day!  The family only made a couple of trips each year to purchase goods for the store.  Inventory was hung from the ceilings in the entire home.

"Front yard" of the Hacienda.  Actually, it is the courtyard.  All life was within these walls.

Living/ sleeping area. 

Furnace in one room of the Martinez Hacienda.  Modern Life is incredible.

Pantry at the Martinez Hacienda.  Yeah.  Give me 2012 any day.

Kitchen of the Hacienda.  There is a fireplace in the corner.  Coals were pulled out along the lower shelf and baking was done there.  In the winter, the upper shelf was used for sleeping.  Yep.  Gotta say that electricity is wonderful.  I really appreciate the under-used oven in my kitchen and my very much used furnace.

A sink in the Martinez Hacienda.  There was a well in one of the two courtyards where all water was obtained for the Hacienda.  Indoor plumbing, anyone?

Pre-sewing machine.  LOL.  A loom.

Vacation. All I ever wanted....

Okay.   Lots of exciting places to visit with us as we see the USA in our Chevrolet.  (Ooops.  Nope - it's a Toyota...).  Stay tuned.  This is only day one:

First, we woke up dark and early (we pulled out of our driveway at 4:30 am).  I truly did not think it was possible for RandomGal to be vertical that early in the morning, but the Gal was a real trooper and we were only 1/2 hour later than scheduled - working on a new record for the Gal.  We drove for 12 (count them - twelve) hours to deliver two goats to Goatie Paradise.  120 acres of brush, goat munchies, and three adorable children to spoil two well-traveled goats.  Then, we drove into Taos.  

After a well-deserved night's sleep, we visited:

A door into a home at the Taos Pueblo.  Notice that it was shut and there was "No admittance".  Well, that isn't entirely true.  We were admitted and had a very nice day.  We also toured:

The church in Taos Pueblo.

The Church in Taos Pueblo.

The church.  Taos Pueblo.

An oven at a home in Taos Pueblo, Taos, NM.   And, no, we didn't tour the oven - but we were shown many similar ovens and told how there is no electricity at the Pueblo.   Makes me appreciate my electric oven that never gets used!!!

Make new friends but keep the old...

...one is silver, but the other is (rarer than) gold...

Tomorrow Taela heads to NM in her new chariot - courtesy of my very dear friend .  Sleep has been lost over the last three weeks on how to transport this girl and her buddy.  One call to the most wonderful, giving, goat person alive and my problems were solved.  God bless you, my friend!

This is very high on the "I want one" list.  It is the Amazing Goat Chariot!  The perfect size to carry several goats comfortably and it can be pulled by a mini-van!!  Woot!  On the road again!!  Look out Goat Expo 2013!  Huge thanks to my wonderful friend and her daughter for letting us borrow this!

Also, I must  praise the man who enables my goat addiction, my incredible husband.  He  spent the entire day making sure that my van was equipped to tow the "chariot" and that the "chariot" was safe to tow.  He tells me often that I am "independent".. . It is because I know that I can depend on him.  Without him I am less than myself.  I am so blessed!

State Fair is over.... I just can't wait to get on the road again...

We went to the Kansas State fair last week. It was fun. The kiddos did pretty well. No purples but lots of blues and reds on the ribbons.  A couple of whites ("Mom, do I really have to make those cookies now?  Okay- well.  Fine.  See if I care how I do...")

For those who are unaware of how 4-H does  ribbons, I will elucidate:

Purple:  Mary Poppins- Practically Perfect in Every Way
Blue:  Superman- superior in most aspects, but  appears normal in other areas - good luck figuring out what is "normal" for Superman, but he has to have some weakness, maybe Lois Lane?... 
Red:  Clark Kent.  Meets all standards for normal.
White:  Superman on Kryptonite.  Lots of room for improvement and does not meet standard.  (see cookie example above).

We have been home from the fair  an entire six days and, since the life I love is making music with my kids,  I just can't wait to get on the road again...

In a couple of days, we are delivering a sweet milking doe  to another state and taking the opportunity to visit the ....  Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.  Hot diggety dog!  Pics coming soon because RandomGal and I decided that we need to share our adventures on the road!  Crossroads on Vacation.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

Blessings,

Moi