Getting Around in Virginia

Our plan to spend a few months in historic places in the Eastern U. S. begins now. We arrived in Fairfax, Virginia, a few days ago and settled into a comfortable spot at the Elks Lodge. The Arlington/Fairfax lodge has electrical hookups and water for $14.00 per day, a real steal for this area of the country. It's convenient for getting around and near the Metro as well. But, unfortunately, as soon as we unhooked the Jeep, we discovered a mechanical problem on the coach. So we took a day to analyze the issue and investigate a repair facility. We made an appointment for next Tuesday. With that plan in place, it wouldn't help to worry. So it was time to start our exploration of the area.

First on the agenda was a little help for our travels. One thing we've been considering to help get around in big cities is a GPS. We found a Best Buy with a good salesman and here's our new friend, “Tillie,” the Garmin GPS. (We thought the name just suited her.) We've had fun on our test runs since she joined us. Tillie told us how to navigate the highways and side streets in Fairfax and D. C., to locate, buildings, restaurants and parks. And she is so patient, “recalculating” any time we miss a turn. We were amazed that it was so easy to catch on to all the functions. Why didn't we have this sooner???

Yesterday we took a short trip, about 20 miles southwest, to the Manassas National Battlefield. This is the site of the first land battle of the Civil War in 1861 - “First Manassas.” Many call it “Bull Run”. About a year later, Union and Confederate soldiers bloodied these hills and woods again in the “Second Manassas.” In all, almost 30,000 soldiers fell to their deaths on this battlefield.

There are a museum, movie and hands-on artifacts in the visitors' center that provide a good deal of information about this sobering piece of history. But the 45-minute tour over the battlefield with the park ranger, Hank, brought us the vivid imagery. He walked us through the circumstances of the First Manassas, describing the types of soldiers involved and bringing to life in our minds the horror of the events played out on the ground where we were standing. The cannons are positioned on the hill and at the edge of the woods just as they were 148 years ago. You stand at the top of Henry Hill and look north to where the boys in blue fought over Bull Run and up the hill to where the boys in gray fiercely defended out of the woods. Around 5,000 men lost their lives on that summer day in 1861. He explained the tactics of the Union and Confederate officers in command, two men who were former classmates at West Point. He emphasized that the majority of the volunteers fighting on both sides were barely trained and very naive about the glory of war. It was also widely believed that this would be a short conflict, perhaps ending after this battle. The soldiers who survived learned that there is no romance in war and that this was only the beginning of many months of sorrow. And, of course, friends and families from Massachusetts to Texas became aware of these realities, too.

Later we took the ride that leads through the countryside , over the grounds of the battle to several key sites of the Second Manassas in 1862. As you drive the tour you can see the denseness of the woods that the men marched through and the hills and valleys where they positioned their cannons and stood to fire their rifles....in the open... point blank. The one year of fighting had seasoned those who hadn't been taken by a bullet or a disease. The Stone House that was a Union field hospital still stands, with initials carved by soldiers recovering and dying there. The troops casualties in this battle numbered 24,000. Some of the dead were buried on the site and a few were carried home by family. God bless them all.

The visit to Manassas was somewhat sad, but also very informative. The park has impressive presentations that are designed for all ages.

It reminded us that there are good reasons to preserve this place in time and discuss these tragic moments in history. We had a good day.

Researching in Brown County, Indiana

Over the past few days we've been in a favorite Indiana spot, Brown County. It's a place that thousands enjoy each year and for good reason. Nature abounds in them thar hills! The scenes in the hills turn bright in the spring with blossoms and warm oranges in the fall. It's also a lot of fun to to experience the shops in Nashville, the county seat that began as an artists' colony. We can now find a myriad of handmade jewelry, leather goods, fudge and furniture, in addition to the art. There's always the popular stop in the Nashville House for some famous fried biscuits or a quaint cafe for fresh selection of coffees or ice cream.

Our location for these few days was the Brown County State Park. It's a beautiful park with winding scenic views. The winter browns are just starting to disappear. Spring rains are bringing out the buds on the trees and the robins are nesting. This is a park that draws loads of hikers, bikers, campers and picnickers for many weeks of the year. We were early enough that it was pretty quiet during the past week. I took long walks in the evening through our sparsely occupied campground. It was a little wet for me to get out on the trails, but there are sure some super ones here.
We did take note of a certain type of connoisseur appearing this time of year in the woods of Brown County. As we leisurely enjoyed the few miles of road leading us out of the park each day, we would see a few cars parked along the road without occupants. But then quickly we noticed two or three people walking very slowly staring intently at the brown leaves on the ground. This deliberate glare looks a lot different than the usual hiker's pose. Ah, hah, the spring time brings out the Morel mushroom hunters! Later, I had a strong confirmation of the value of this activity when I visited the local IGA -- $29.99 per lb for these treasures. Maybe this hobby is one to consider.

However, no time for that now, our main motivation for this particular trip was one of our favorite passtimes, family research. Jerry's Hurley ancestors were among the early settlers of the area in the 1830s. In fact, one historical account states that the first election in the county was held in the home of Cornelius Hurley. Although many family facts have already been discovered, there are a few pieces to find. What are all the circumstances of Elisha Hurley's family after he was killed in 1847 in the Mexican American War?

Often going directly to the locale to investigate the records proves more successful. So we spent a few of our afternoons searching through the genealogical section of the Brown County Public Library. We did get a few leads to follow.

Our research also took us out and about, to the Mt. Zion Cemetery at the top of a hill on highway 135 between Stone Head and Story, Indiana. Jerry was able to get photos and plot GPS locations of Ephraim, Cornelius and a few other Hurley tombstones for his records. Stone Head was the home of the Hurleys in the 1800s and the resting place of several of them today. Roaming an old cemetery on a sunny day amidst the forests and fields of southern Indiana can be somewhat good for the soul. Who knows! Maybe a few still roam the hills and cornfields.

One thing you can depend on in the spring time in Indiana is that there's no telling what weather there may be. Typically, we had three days of sun and two days of clouds and rain. Soon the greens will be everywhere. It was nice to be here. Now we're moving on east.....looking towards our next destination in the D. C. area.

Making History

Did you ever stop to think what history you are making every day? If your descendants were to research your life, what would they find and what would they think? Celebrating grandson Ben's birthday yesterday, along with some recent family research, made me wonder how our every day lives might play out in their minds. Would our ways of celebrating birthdays be strange? Or our traditions for Easter?

I hope they would find our lives somewhat interesting, and hopefully, worthy of retelling to their own contemporaries. Can you just hear it?? "These people had to use wires to connect their telephones and lights. They even pumped gasoline into their vehicles!!"

Lately history's been popping up as we plan our stops in the eastern part of the country for the next six months or so. We've been choosing sites that we will take some time to explore more in depth than our short vacations in the past have allowed. (Historical item here, at left: My mom's high school basketball team. Click to read.)



But this past weekend current events took center stage. Between Indiana's spring showers we had lots of fun celebrating Easter and our grandson's birthday.


My sister, Marti, has an annual Easter Egg Hunt
that she puts on for the children of family and friends on the Saturday preceding Easter. In addition to assembling a tremendous number of eggs to hide, she cooked some delicious food. We all filled our bellies with meatballs, her fabulous potato salad, great vegetables, and of course, deviled eggs and cupcakes with jelly bean decorations.



Jerry and Krissy and I were appointed to be Easter Bunnies. I'll tell you this, it was a challenge to find enough hiding places for the volume of eggs she had stuffed with candy, money and prize-winning tickets. But the kids were determined to find every one. They enjoyed blowing bubbles and playing with all the gifts that were rewards of their efforts. Thanks, Marti, it was a nice day!



The following day, Easter Sunday, was a day for celebrating grandson Ben's 14th birthday. And we were blessed with another sunny day...... we could enjoy the outdoors. Ben's Uncle Tim once again opened his home to us all. The food was great, the company was great and the story-telling was outstanding.

The youngsters in the group ran Tim's atv's mercilously on the tracks next door. Even Rio, the always-ready-to-play-ball Border Collie had a workout and was exhausted by the end of the afternoon....... Just the usual Hurley gathering.
Celebrating Ben's birthday made me think back (Here goes history again.) to when he visited us on the road at Green River Lakes in Wyoming a few summers ago. It was such a treasure to be able to share that spot with him.



Here's a photo of Jerry and Ben during that visit. As is always said, how can they grow up so fast? Ben is turning into a young man. He has a great personality, brains, an inquisitive nature and a super smile. (No prejudice here!)








What will his history be down the road?
We made one day of it, his 14th birthday.
May you have many more fabulous ones, Ben!!

Celebrating My 60th - Family and History

How to spend a 60th birthday? Crying? Laughing? Well I guess the best idea is to just enjoy with family and friends. We arrived in Indianapolis a few days ago. So I did just that. We ate and laughed and celebrated. Krissy made a wonderful trifle of white chocolate and lemon mousse with strawberries. It was scrumptious and we all pigged out!!



Just a few days ago, as we were on our way across country, Jerry asked where I'd like to have a "birthday stop." I remembered that an old favorite place of mine recently received a new and exciting face. So we took a few red highways and had a pleasant two day stopover in French Lick, a small community on highway 56 in the rolling hills of southwestern Indiana.

There you will find the renovated French Lick Springs Resort and West Baden Springs Hotel. My personal history in French Lick dates to planning conventions from the 1970s to the 1990s. But the history of the resorts dates to 1901. French Lick Springs Resort and its neighboring West Baden Hotel were world-class hotels that were very popular destinations in the early 1900s for celebrities and wealthy. Al Capone, Joe Louis, Clark Gable,senators, mayors and many others came on the train to drink the legendary mineral water that cured all ailments or to frequent the casinos that were operating in the valley. The story of these unique hotels is interesting in many ways.
Here's a replica of a 1901 postcard that explains the attraction of the Pluto Spring Water at the French Lick Hotel. (Click on the picture if you'd like to read more.) And the next photo gives an example of
the gold leaf and paintings restored in the hotel's lobby.

The West Baden Hotel has a six-story, 3,000 sq. ft, dome atrium that was the largest in the world until the Houston Astrodome was built in the 60s. Suffice it to say, that as happens in many cases, times changed and these grand old ladies both suffered ups and downs. West Baden's resort went through several owners and in the 80s was shut down completely. We have a shot here of the photo in the hotel's lobby in ruins a few years ago. About three years ago a wealthy Indiana family decided to invest in these historic landmarks. After $500,000,000 in sprucing up they are beautiful once again. And a casino was a part of the additions.


The Spas are welcoming guests for massages, soothing baths, pedicures and wraps. The casino games are flashing and clanking. The restaurants, pools and rooms are all sporting upgrades. But, also, the rocking chairs that were always a popular feature are still gracing the front porch at the French Lick Resort. The 3,000 square foot atrium of the West Baden Hotel that was literally crumbling and in danger of collapsing is once again awesome!






We were welcomed by a manager to park our motorhome in the parking lot just next to the golf course. A perfect spot, quiet and nice view.
The grounds of the hotels are about one mile apart and offer great scenery for a walk. The tours of the facilities are an interesting way to spend about 90 minutes. It was nice to see an oldie looking so fresh as I take this step into my next , and even better, phase of my life.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We wanted to send along one of our favorite Irish thoughts for today:

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don't love us,
may God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn't turn their hearts,
may He turn their ankles.
So we'll know them by
their limping.

As we've traveled the byways in the past few days, we've passed through Shamrock, Texas, Murphy, Oklahoma and today into Sullivan, Missouri. So what's more appropriate than we wish all of you the luck of the Irish and many blessings!

You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover

Today was a travel day that took us through quite a variety of changing landscapes and weather in Arizona, from the desert in the south, through the beautiful orange cliffs of the Mogollon Rim, to the pine forests near Flagstaff, where it turned a little nasty. -- from sunny 80s to snowy 40s in a few hours.


Another significance of today was that the despicable crook, Bernie Madoff, had his day in court. We often listen to news broadcasts on Sirius as we travel. And today as we heard stories of the victims of this evil man, I began to compare a recent encounter of ours.

While we were spending a few days in Quartzsite having a new amp meter installed, we were situated at the High Jolly BLM campground just north of town. We were watching people one evening when, out of the distance we both caught sight of a large elderly man with a full beard approaching us wearing only shorts, tennis shoes and a Lonesome Dove cowboy hat. And wait. That's not the whole picture. He was missing teeth and had a swarthy tan except for in the white areas where his skin lapped over. He also was wearing a big smile. Oh yeah.....did I mention he was riding an ancient bicycle much too small for his large frame.

Well, we were both thinking something like.."There's another interesting local character. Wonder who he is and where he's going?" Just about that time he turned his bike straight for our rig and promptly knocked at the door. "Oh no, what's he want." We soon heard the story of how his van was stuck in the gully at the back of the campground and could we help with our winch on the Jeep. Oh well, not much else is going on. So why not help out?
Jerry put his derby on and jumped in the Jeep to go look over the situation. There was a small group of campers that seem to have setup long term housekeeping at the very furthest edge of this two-week BLM camping area. I remember seeing them in past years, too. The neighborhood included two old vans, a tiny rickety trailer, a tent, a couple of overstuffed chairs and a teepee made of tree limbs and blue plastic. Well, that's where he found our new friend.

First there was hand shaking and introductions. Really, I couldn't make this up: This man introduced himself as "Grateful Ted." As usually happens, Jerry's derby brought comments and broke the ice. It was an unusual social gathering but a very congenial group.
It turns out that Ted's 30plus-year-old van was in the gully because he was helping a friend setup a lowboy as a musical stage. The lowboy was also in need of rescue, but Ted just wanted help with his van. As they went about coming up with the best method to winch his van out of the gully, they shared other personal information.

Jerry tells him: "We're fulltime rvers, just passing through. We travel the road in our motorhome and spend time in many different spots." Ted responds, "Oh, I'm a gypsy, too!" He also shared that he is a musical performer. "In fact, I'm recording a song next Wednesday in town. Why don't you come on over?" (We won't be in town, but we'll be listening for him on the radio.) By this time Jerry had pulled the van out and Ted was very "grateful." He offered to pay Jerry for his services, but there was no need. We all went back to our lives.

The next morning when I got in the Jeep I noticed a piece of paper stuck under the wiper. Grateful Ted's message follows:

To Whom It May Concern:
This is a note of gratuity
concerning J. R. Hurley...
Namely, that any assistance he may require,
be it $$ or just an ear to listen,
that he be granted that assistance
as promptly as he assisted me,
namely, G. T., a bone headed red neck
who admires the way he wears his hat.
Gratefully,
GR8FL TD
aka Theodore Alvin Slack
(Then he leaves his address and phone number in Oregon)
Call me sometime, J.R. and thanx again, G.T.

As I was saying earlier, isn't it ironic how we many times judge someone such as Sleezeball Madoff to be worthy of our respect because he wears a pinstriped suit and someone like Grateful Ted is unworthy because he wears no suit. So, maybe Ted has made us pause in the future to think "You can't always judge a book by its cover."

Regrouping and Relaxing

After leaving Las Vegas we turned our eyes toward an old favorite spot where we could relax and regroup. It sounded like the thing to do since we had several options in mind for our next destination and hadn't made a final decision. We made our way south about 200 miles.

Here we are at the Midland Road BLM outside Blythe, California, a sparsely visited parking area. This little town has any of the necessary amenities, such as restaurants, groceries, laundry and even free water and dump. But mostly the reason for our stopping here is the peaceful scenery five miles out of town.

But what could we be doing there???? Well, let's see:
-staring at the mountain scenery and enjoying the desert flowers
-gazing at the sunsets
-soaking up the sun
-surfing the Internet
-catching up on cleaning
-solving amp meter issues
-reading
-watching movies
-trying recipes
-taking walks
-practicing jewelry-making (Nancy, that is)
-discussing our travel plans
-talking more about travel plans
- and, just drinking in the deafening silence of this place.


This was time we needed and enjoyed. We even practiced some of the recipes we gathered from friends during our volunteer episode in New Mexico. I cooked up a pot of Borracio Beans. And Jerry made some scrumptious Pico de Gallo. (Thanks George!! ) It was fantastic on our steaks and also on tacos the next day.


Now, after enough regrouping, we're ready to roll again. For a few days we are in Quartzsite, just 25 miles east. Since our amp meter went defunct, we decided to inquire at a local well-respected rv repair service, Discount Solar, about a new meter. Hopefully, that will be a quick fix here in Q.

As soon as we can after that repair, we'll begin moving eastward. We'll be traveling to Indiana first for some medical checkups. Then we begin what we are calling our "Historical Journey." The rest of 2009 we'll be visiting historical sites in the eastern part of the country. See you along the road.

Visiting in Vegas

What's new?? -- Visiting with family and friends, people watching to the max, eating at the world's best buffet and doing a little gambling too. We've had a great four days in Las Vegas. Our visit with Jenny and Tim (Jerry's handsome and beautiful children!) and their friends was a lot of fun. There was excitement at the slot machines, the craps tables, black jack and playing the horses. And we won't talk about those less successful ventures.



Oh, and I cannot fail to mention the wonderful day at the Caesar's Spa, compliments of Tim. My muscles and my toes are still thanking him. That place defines luxury. There are flavors of saunas and steam rooms and arctic rooms that I've never heard of. The Swedish massage was unbelievable. And then we topped it off with a pedicure, complete with champagne cocktails. Ooohlala!

For our rver friends, there are two Elks Lodges in the vicinity that we would recommend. The lodge in Henderson on E. Lake Mead Blvd and the lodge in Las Vegas on West Charleston Drive were both friendly and safe.

We were comfortable at the Charleston Drive location, about 15 minutes from “The Strip,” during the time that we met people at various spots around town. But a funny thing happened last Saturday morning. We awoke around 8:00 a.m to that low rumble of Harleys. How nice, we thought, some bikers are out on this sunny morning. Then we hear more and more motorcycles in the parking lot with us. Well, we think..... maybe a few folks are meeting here. But then the sounds increase all around us. We soon are surrounded by about 900 motorcycles. Our quiet parking spot has become the staging area for the Annual Bordelo Run, a fund raiser for athletes who have lost limbs. The group visits three bordelos on their way over to Pahrump, Nevada. They chose the Las Vegas Elks Lodge as their starting point and we happened to be parked smack dab in the center of it.

So we just sat back with a cup of coffee for the next two or three hours and enjoyed watching the parade of every type of rider and bike.

What could add to this scene? How about a pickup truck full of Girl Scout cookies and the scouts combing the lot for customers with a sweet tooth. Well this troop must have topped the sales for that day. Quite a few saddle bags were carrying Thin Mints when they pulled out for their run.


We said goodbye to everyone on Sunday morning. They flew back to jobs and cold temps. And it's our job to soak up the sun out here while we plot our next course.

Moving Along

In mid February the migratory birds begin their trip north from their winter home at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. It is our time to move along as well. These last few months have been jam-packed with beautiful nature, great people, learning experiences, lots of laughter and camaraderie. In fact, it's been so filled that I haven't had the time and energy to write about it all on the blog. Over the next few weeks I hope to touch on a few more of those episodes. They might involve Jerry's wildlife sitings while he mowed the channels, my taking part in the Biology department's duck banding sessions or any number of social events.


For instance, we enjoyed our own personal performance at the refuge by our favorite blues band from the Buckhorn Tavern in San Antonio, NM. We can attest from numerous sessions, that these local musicians rival any band from Rush Street or wherever.
Bobbie, on the left, plays the meanest harmonica you can imagine. He owns the Buckhorn.


The other guys are employed in various day jobs, from geologist to auto service dept. manager. But ohhhhh, can they get down! This winter gig has really been okay!

In the past week or two we've experienced farewell lunches, tours, potlucks, cocktails and our last morning's going away French toast breakfast. As we rolled out of our spot number 14 in the volunteer rv park toward Highway 1, we noticed something along the path that didn't belong there. Our friends, Dorothy and Barry, had posted this goodbye wish for us. It just summed up what a great group of folks we've had to live with this winter.
Soon the migrating Sandhill Cranes and snow geese begin their spiraling, searching for those warm wind currents to ride north. The summer residents will appear, both the winged ones and their volunteer buddies who occupy the visitor center and help prepare the habitat for next season. The staff will regroup, train the new ones and make new plans for the coming cycle of refuge management.
The two of us have enjoyed learning a little more about the workings of a wildlife refuge, the community and the people. We're ready to move along but will carry a little of the Bosque with us. We'll see you down the road.

Our Latest on Life's Events

Happy 2009! Our greeting is just a little late, but hope it's going great for everyone. Elvis is here to start off your year on a good note! (Actually, this ceramic set happens to be one of the most coveted and creative gifts from the Bosque Christmas exchange! And I managed to snag it.)


It's been a month since I last posted and much has taken place for us. There were some events that seemed pretty serious at the time but we came through them fine. No need to dwell on Ferd's electrical system problems, the water leak, the pack rats, our struggles with the flu or my root canal. Oh yeah, that was a lot of fun! As we all know..... life goes on.


Since my last post was without photos, I decided to tell the story of the last month with a series of snapshots:



The Bosque Christmas : It is interesting to see how 30 volunteers living on a wildlife refuge for a winter celebrate together -- sharing family traditions, life's stories, favorite recipes and just having a joyous time. For example, the ladies here with me, Bonnie, Evelyn and Linda, were part of the decorating crew that did a fabulous job with our tree and other decor.

On Christmas Eve most of the group of 26 gathered with appetizers to sample -- There were so many scrumptious ones I can't remember -- stuffed mushrooms, pepperoni pizza dip, chocolate peanut butter balls and on and on...... The gift exchange (some call it a Yankee gift exchange) was both appropriately vicious and hilarious. But, as I said, Elvis now is in the Hurley household!!

Christmas Day was sunny and so was the atmosphere. We feasted on the array of usual delicious contributions and slowly settled back into our own little homes to watch movies or just fall asleep while it all digested.


Not only we volunteers, but the refuge manager and
his family and the deputy manager live at the Bosque,
in homes that were built by the CCC in the 1930s. We all celebrate together. Here's Tom (refuge manager) and his daughter, Jenna, on Christmas Day. By the way, Jenna got a bike and a parakeet, among other great gifts.







Krissy's visit:
The day after Christmas, Krissy (my daughter) arrived. It was so nice to have her around for a few days. She came with her annual box of wonderful homemade goodies. Loved the rosemary shortbread, as usual, and the new candies and pickled carrots.




Jerry was so surprised when he opened a gift Krissy brought for him -- the lovely string of "The Christmas Story" leg lamp lights. We hung them immediately and Ferd looked great with them adorning the front window. Surely you all are familiar with this image from the movie! It's a scream.






Of course, a visit at the Bosque isn't complete without time spent out with the wildlife. As we traveled the refuge with Krissy we watched the bald eagles soaring over the snow geese, Red-tailed and Harrier hawks floating along looking for lunch and families of Sandhill Cranes chortling away.



We even watched a prowling coyote lingering along our path, hoping for a less-alert duck or goose to become his snack.












Jerry continues his daily slope-mowing adventures out in the channels and ditches of the refuge. He hangs out with the eagles, coyotes, turtles, deer and cranes as he manicures the slopes. Here he is hanging out with one of us two-legged creatures.














Krissy and I took a trip to Three Rivers Petroglyphs. It was a gorgeous day for the ride across Highway 380, filled with panoramic scenes of the desert and mountains. As you approach Carrizozo the land turns black, rolling mounds and crevices of lava cover the scape.
Known also as the Carrizozo Malpais (badlands), it was formed between 1500 and 2000 years ago when Little Black Peak erupted pouring molten lava for forty-four miles southwest through the valley. The plant life growing in the lava is a pleasant surprise.


About 60 miles southeast of this scene is the Three Rivers Petroglyphs. It's 50 acres of the Chihuahuan Desert with more than 21,000 glyphs of birds, humans, animals, fish, etc. They are said to date between 900 and 1400 AD.





These people must have had a lot to say. One can imagine all types of meanings for the petroglyphs as you wander among them. What were they? Messages to other tribes? religious symbols? Maybe this was their time capsule meant for us.








What do you think this one is? Is it a touchdown? Maybe the earliest Superbowl ad.
















New Year's Day:
Another day of friendly people and fantastic food. As a bonus, two good friends stopped by, Jan and Chuck Moore. We were able to talk them into staying over nite and we had great times catching up since seeing them last year in Yuma.

New Year's Day was another beautifully sunny one.
So the four of us took a ride out on the refuge and timed our stop at one of the viewing decks just perfectly for the Fly-In.






We craned our necks as one swarm after another of geese and cranes glided into their nightime roosts in the pond, safe from predators. After a night's rest, they lift off again at sunrise in search of food. And so it goes each day.























Art Work for a Water Truck:
One of our fellow volunteers here at the Bosque is recording some of the wildlife through her artwork. She is preparing to paint cranes, a bobcat, and various other creatures as a mural on the refuge water truck. It will be used in parades in New Mexico as well as watering the dusty roads. Just a few days ago Carron finished her latest piece, these beautiful eagles.
She gets approval from the refuge manager for each painting on canvas. Then she will transfer the artwork to the water truck. What a tremendous undertaking. But Carron smiles about it all the time!


Well, there's more happening but I'll pause here until another time.