Rattlesnake!

We had dinner in New Mexico on Tuesday when we were driving from Arizona to Colorado. We returned to New Mexico on Wednesday night as we spent a night in Albuquerque. We had a very nice hot breakfast Thursday morning. Our first stop was to hike the Rinconada Trail which is 2.2 miles round trip. Paul and the kids saw hundreds of petroglyphs and as an added bonus they also saw a rattlesnake who rattled at them! They turned in their Junior Ranger booklets at the Petroglyph National Monument. The two states we've been in so far on this trip that have reinstated a mask mandate are Illinois and New Mexico. It didn't bother me much in Chicago because I was walking on two legs. Let me say that hopping on one leg while wearing a mask is a very challenging combination for me. I feel like I can't breathe. I'm hoping we don't encounter any more mask mandates through the last nine days of our trip. 

Our second stop was Explora, which is a science museum. The kids had a blast there and wished we could have stayed longer. We got in for free with our ASTC membership. The Natural History Museum of New Mexico was right next to Explora, and we could have also gotten into that museum for free, but the kids aren't big fans of natural history museums although it looked like a nice one as it included a planetarium. Prior to our third stop, Paul took a detour to drive past one of the places he worked and one of his apartments from when he lived there 25 years ago. Our third stop was The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. There was a wheelchair for me to use at that museum which was greatly appreciated. Obviously there were other places it would have been nice to see in New Mexico. Paul would have liked to have gone to the science museum in Los Alamos. I would have liked for the kids to have been able to tour Carlsbad Caverns, but they were too far out of the way, and our trip is already very long. My maternal grandparents lived in New Mexico for several years so I have been to this state multiple times. After having an early dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (probably the only time we'll go there as a family as wow we had to use a lot of gift card money to cover that meal), we drove to Amarillo, Texas. We drove a total of 312 miles (which happened to be the exact number of miles we also drove the previous day!). For the second night in a row our hotel room had an office chair with wheels. We lost an hour when we crossed the border into Texas.

Yesterday morning the Days Inn in Amarillo only offered honey buns and coffee for breakfast. I had oatmeal instead. We didn't leave our hotel until 9:30 as we were literally one mile away from our first stop, which was a science museum. The kids spent some time inside the museum and also outside on the playground. Oliver is obsessed with playgrounds and hates driving by them and not getting to spend time playing on them. Although we are counting Texas as one of the states the kids have now done something in, we do hope to return to Texas in the future (Houston and San Antonio to be specific) on the trip they will also visit Louisiana for the first time. 

After we made it across the panhandle, we entered Oklahoma. Our second stop was at the Washita Battlefield, where the kids each earned a Junior Ranger Badge. We were able to watch the movie in the Visitor Center and the kids could touch things. They were definitely more relaxed about COVID at that National Park site than any others we've visited over the last 18 months. The third stop was the Stafford Air and Space Museum. We couldn't get into that one for free, but it was very inexpensive. I sat in the lobby, but it cost about $8 for Paul and the kids to visit the museum because we arrived in the last hour they were open (half off). That museum was the highlight of Paul's day. Nadia and Ian enjoyed using the flight simulators. 

As we drove toward Oklahoma City, we stopped at a Domino's for pizza. We also stopped at an Auntie Anne's near our hotel for pretzels. I sat in the swimming pool area so the kids could use the indoor pool while Paul went to Walmart to buy a few things including laundry detergent. He planned to do the laundry last night, but given what time it was when he got back from Walmart, he's now planning to do

the laundry tonight. We've stayed at time share resorts for two decades, and they always provide you with some detergent so I didn't think to pack any. Hopefully I'll remember in the future! For the third day in a row the hotel room had a chair with wheels! Yahoo! We'll be spending the day in Oklahoma City today and then driving to Arkansas.

An item of praise would be that Margie has received great news from her CT scan, bone scan, and lymph node biopsy - the cancer hadn't spread anywhere! Also, Milo continues to do well even though he misses us, and we miss him too! Just one more week, Milo! A prayer request would be for my ankle. The swelling has finally almost totally gone away, but it's still painful, and I'm still concerned about my ability to walk and drive once we're back at home.