Happy Solstice!!

Good morning! Could not finish last night...way too tired! Not sure where I stopped...so repeats are possible. Eureka Springs is the most wonderful place. We had a hard time leaving. We visited the Quigley Castle. Not a castle that you have in mind. A house that this lady built out of rocks in the area. The house has 28 huge windows...maybe 5'x15' . Built entirely of lumber on the land too. She wanted to bring nature indoors so 4' of bare earth was left between the living space and the walls. Mrs Quigley planted flowering, tropical plants that grow up to the 2nd floor! What a brilliant idea!! The plants are over 55 years old now. The gardens are a dream. Her rock gathering cemented in the most wonderful designs. She collected fossils, crystals, arrowheads and petrified wood and shaped them into her designs. We also visited the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Rescue. Albert was there! Big cats, bears, monkeys....then on Saturday we attended an honest to god Pow Wow. I have been to Pow Wows before, but not like this. The drumming touched your soul. The regalia I have only seen in pictures. 2 of them with POW-MIA dressing. The dancing brought tears. Because we were so close to Indian Territory many tribes were represented. What a wonderful experience. We had dinner that night at Gaskins, a former bear hunters cabin. Had a splendid time there! Reminiscent of my days at the Blue Heron. We saw lots of lightning bugs! The flowers were beautiful. Hung out with the owner who is very cool..of course! Sammy did realllll good finding that place! There is an "historical" loop you can drive thru Eureka Springs. The "oldest" part. How those people built there and lived there is beyond me. On the top is the Crescent Hotel. They say it is seriously haunted! How come, since I kinda believe, I never get to see the ghosts? The grounds of the hotel are glorious...lots of weddings held there. I took pictures of some of the houses..all I can say is WOW. I have never seen homes like these. Sadly, it was time to leave. No wonder we have been on the road 2 weeks and are only a little over half way to Nevada! We have such fun traveling. We both love to stop at the drop of a hat. On to Oklahoma and Route 66! Well...it took us a while to get out of Oklahoma too. Route 66 is a really beautiful drive thru the country. It parallels the freeway somewhat and is pretty easy to follow. Saw lots of interesting places. Must say we didn't get very far. I think we did 100 miles in one day. We visited the Route 66 national museum in Elk City. Not that was fun! Got up yesterday morning and decided we needed to get our asses in gear! Did our first freeway stretch! Thought the van needed to blow it out, that's our story and we're sticking to it! It was a good choice. The scenery was wide open! We stopped in Amarillo to see the buried Cadillacs! What a trip! Of course they are now spray painted in an array of colors and designs. Many coats of paint. I suppose the paint is preserving the Caddies, they have been there at least 40 years! Buried in an open field that you can see for miles in all directions! We blew thru Texas, crossed another time zone so we gained an hour - Yay! - and arrived in Tucumcari! The road in is spectacular. You can see for miles and miles and miles. Lots of mesas/buttes...you can really see that this area was once swampy and full of water. Sure 'nuf...this was a dinosaur area! have quite a museum here. We are at 4,000 elevation. Had a very relaxing and necessary stay at the Best Western. We are heading to sightsee and Santa Fe to see Shelley and my cousin Karen! Will post more later. peace & love, the aging hippie travelers!

Addendum byEl E.: Great "Buffalo Burgers," 3 huge wind farms actually supplying power to the grid, more wonderful people and beauty abounds. Travelling in an old van will beat you up.It's not the VW,it's the heat & the wind. Solution:Start early,stop often & stop early. May take a while but it's better for your overall condition. We still truckin!!!