Travels of Nannie & Bubba

July 3-4, 2015 Amarillo, TX

After several days drive from home, we settled in the cowboy town of Amarillo, Texas for the July 4 weekend. (not a good idea to be seeking vacancies in campgrounds during a holiday weekend) It was a nice campground right up the road from a famous steakhouse: The Big Texan Steak Ranch. We went over there the day we arrived (Thursday); the place was packed and several brave folks ordered the 72 oz. (4.5 POUNDS) steak but nobody ate it in one hour.

The next day we went to see the "Grand Canyon of Texas": Palo Duro Canyon. What a fascinating place, created by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. We were late arriving to the park and the afternoon was HOT; thus we did almost no hiking. Drove the length of the state park, though, and managed to clamber up to a cave on the side of the road..... Note: when we got to the park and tried to pay our entrance fee, the ranger told us it was our lucky day, somebody up ahead had prepaid it. What a blessing!

They grow BIG thistles here....

Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River.

Unnamed cave visible from the park road.

View from the mouth of the cave: can you see the blue Silverado out there in the distance?

View from the visitor center; those two red formations are called the Spanish skirts....

On Saturday, July 4, we found our way to old Route 66 in old downtown Amarillo. Most of it is modern, with storefronts turned into antique shops or restaurants.....

If you can, enlarge this and read it; the following pictures is of the inside.

The lady in charge told me that yes, underneath that floor was an empty swimming pool, partially filled in.

June 30, 2015 Summer Trip

Here we go, folks, and not a moment too soon! We have set up our camper in the little town of Greenwood, just west of Shreveport, Louisiana, and the temperature outside is 95 - in the shade! The whole country seems to be in the oven again this summer, so we are going to head UP, either geographically or by elevation, until we find some cooler temps. Who knows where we'll end up? Stay tuned.....

September 8, 2014 Graceland, Memphis, TN

Today we finally did it: visited Graceland, the home of the late Elvis Presley. He died in 1977 and his home and the grounds were preserved at that time. The mansion tour covers everything but the second floor. Our tour included the mansion, Elvis' auto collection and a couple of museums. The mansion tour was by small busloads. Each of us was handed an iPad and headphones, with the tour being narrated by John Stamos. Very effective, much more information than docents could have provided, and we moved at our own pace. We both enjoyed our day at Graceland, but we were a little sad that such a talent was gone too soon.

The gates and fences are covered with writings....

Quite imposing for the 1950's....

Formal living room and music room. It wouldn't all fit in the picture,
but the custom-made sofa on the right is 18 feet long.

Priscilla remembers many happy meals at this dining table.

Heart of the home: kitchen!

The media room. Note the three TV sets.... Elvis heard that the president had 3 TV's going all the time,
so he decided he would do it too.

The pool room - ceiling and walls covered in pleated fabric.
Took several people days and days to do it.

The "jungle room". Carpeted on floor - and ceiling, too. Lots of unusual
artifacts and an inside waterfall.

We saw lots and lots of his jumpsuits everywhere we went -
apparently he had plenty of 'em.

At the racquetball court/exercise area. He played this piano
the night before he died.

The hall of trophies. This is just a small view of it.

More awards.

The gravesite of Elvis, his parents, his grandmother, and his twin brother.

Mama's Car.

Some of his motorized toys.

For my motorcycle friends.....

Bubba is saying "I gotta wear these old t-shirts, how come I don't have a sparkly jumpsuit?"
The end.

September 1, 2014 Nykvist Time

We stopped in the Boston area one more time for a quick visit with my family (a Nyk-visit with the Nykvists). Here they are. In attendance were brother Rus and wife Anne, nephew Jon and wife Lauren and son Will, and niece Kristen and husband Rob and son Kyle and daughter Anna. Always a a good time with this bunch!

Rus and Kyle

Anna

Jon, Will, and Rob

Me, Anne, and photobomber Anna

Rob, Kristen, Kyle and Anna

Rus, Will, Anne

Lauren and Jon
our wonderful Labor Day cookout hosts!

Menfolk!
Jon, Bubba, Rus, Kyle, and Rob

August 29, 2014 North Bubble hike, Acadia National Park

Today we hiked to the top of the North Bubble. The Bubbles are two rounded hills between Jordan Pond and Eagle Lake. This too was a trip down memory lane, as we hiked this same trail 38 years ago. (of course, this time we moved a bit slower....)

Up we go!

A new addition: cairns to point the way.
(in addition to the blue paint pointers)

"On top of North BUH-ble..."

A nice young couple kindly took our photo.

Eagle Lake.

Eagle Lake. Can you see Bubba?

August 28, 2014 Acadia National Park, Mt. Desert Isle, Main

On our way back down the east coast, we opted for a couple days at Acadia National Park. We came here back in 1976 on our honeymoon and fell in love with it. This is our third time here, and we really got lucky: Hurricane Christobal was far out in the Atlantic Ocean pushing water toward shore and making the coastline waves very dramatic. We have seen Thunder Hole twice before and were not impressed, but wow! This time we GET it! We could not only hear the "whomp" with each wave, we could feel it with our feet. We must have spent an hour here, just watching the surf. It was such a pleasure to drive the Park Loop road and see the old familiar places from 38 years ago....

This is the Town Motel in Bar Harbor, where we stayed 38 years ago.....

From the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the island.

Bar Harbor, from the top of Cadillac Mountain.

Sand Beach, which was VERY popular this day....

There were some fairly big waves coming ashore...

And here is my reaction to the 50-degree water! Ai-yi-yi!
Just wading in the surf caused intense pain in my feet/ankles, followed by numbness.
(I think I this counts as my ice-bucket challenge.....)