Travel98 - This page last updated September 06, 1999

Welcome ...

This picture is me at my great great uncle's house in Moundridge, Kansas. His name was Thornton Cole and he is buried near my great great grandfather Robert Cole in the Moundridge cemetery about 1 mile west of here. The house was built around 1873. -->

Hello! from the Summer of 1998

In the summer of 1998 we traveled back to Arizona for the wedding of my sister Laura on July 4th. We traveled from Wichita, Kansas to Tucson, Arizona through the back roads, never passing through any place larger than 40,000 people (that was Roswell, New Mexico). It was quite a shock to arrive in a big city again when we arrived in Tucson. We spent a leisurely 3 days on the way. The first day we took a short trip west to Dodge City, Kansas. It is a nice little town, but your nose will remind you the stockyards are just a bit too close. After a fairly boring drive through prairie and cattle country, Tucumcari, New Mexico was our next stop. It was really dry and they were praying for rain. There was a good lightning storm off to the west that night. Our next day took us through "Billy the Kid" country, down to Roswell, then west to Alamagordo. The road we used was a 2-lane backcountry road that was really unused. We saw a herd of antelope and took some pictures (but they were far off and too small to see in the picture). Roswell was really touristy with all kinds of Alien paraphernalia. The local K-mart has a huge green alien looking at you from the outside.


In the summer this place can be quite hot !!
White Sands

The next day we toured White Sands National Monument. It was an unusual summer day - cloudy and sprinkling and there were not too many people. The rain was an omen - it rained on us every single day for the rest of our trip. We were buzzed by a couple of jets and a Stealth fighter. We rolled down the dunes and hiked along the marked paths and got sand in EVERYTHING. I still have sand in my wallet.

In Tucson

It rained on us in Las Cruces and we cruised into Tucson at sunset. We dropped off a package at the Philippine Store and visited with the proprietors who are acquaintances of Jacque. Next, we went looking for a place to stay and I was amazed to discover that I'd actually forgotten some of the street names in the 3 years we've been away. We stayed at the Country Inn Suites near Oracle and Ina Roads. The next day we went up Mt. Lemmon (now they charge a fee for entry!) and had a picnic and a short hike in the woods. The following day we went to the Arizona Sonora Desert museum and toured the cave and the new exhibits. We liked the new butterfly area and Mimi almost caught a lizard. The next day was sister Laura's wedding. I gave her away (take my sister PLEASE!) and visited with my siblings, their significant others and all the kids. It was pretty hot, but it was fun to see the clan again. There were good fireworks shows all around the town that night. We lunched at Mom's house the next day and then drove to Flagstaff.


Northern Arizona

In the morning we headed out to Meteor Crater and then to the Petrified Forest National Park, but I'd forgotten the distance and it took all day. Meteor Crater has a pretty nice museum and a really good shop for buying Western trinkets and postcards. The rim is raised up above the desert floor and you have really nice views. Be careful that you don't pick up any petrified wood off the ground at the Park because they're getting serious about checking for it. It was a bit hot that day so we were glad to be heading back to our temporary home in Flagstaff. As usual, it rained on us again on the drive back.


Canyon Country

Then we're off to the Grand Canyon. The IMAX theatre is really good. It's in a very large theater and the sounds were terrific (a wooden boat ride down the Colorado river). The next day found us in Page, Arizona and the Glen Canyon Dam. We toured the Dam for the first time and it was well worth it. The self-guided tour takes you deep, deep into the dam through passages and elevators and down to the humming electric turbine powerhouse itself. It felt like the movie Forbidden Planet. An added bonus is that Lake Powell cools the dam and it was nice to escape from the heat for a little while.

Colorado

At last it was on to Four Corners for some pictures and from there onward to Durango, Colorado and real mountains. We traveled the backroads from Durango to Gunnison, seeing lots of wildlife (even an elk) and enjoyed a couple of nice picnics in the forest.

Mail comments/questions or suggestions to: dave.c.cole@att.net     www.azdavecole.com