June 15 – Full of culture today. Did our laundry, bought groceries and gas, and hooked up to travel to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. A fabulous museum which addressed every pueblo in the area. I loved to see the pottery of Maria the Potter of San Ildefonso in partnership with her husband, son Popovi, grandson Toni and those donated by her daughter-in-law, Anita Da. There is a better representation here than in the Smithsonian. We left Albuquerque and headed up the canyon to the forest and Jemez Falls Campground. The Jemez Cultural Museum called us in. Very helpful young lady gave us lots of advice about the area. We are IN THE FOREST.

We got set up with anticipation for visiting the Valle Caldera Wilderness in the morning. June 16 – It is like real camping now. I fixed us a great breakfast for campers. Our first hike was to Jemez Falls whose trail head is within the campground. It is beautiful and a lovely hike.

From there we drove on to Valle Caldera. We got there and checked in by 11:30. Such an amazing place which goes back to a Spanish Land Grant. For years I have passed this 100,000 acre beauty and wished I could go in. Twice I have seen movies being made in the valley and in front of an old house. The USA has now purchased the property from a trust. It took time to decide if it would be run by the National Park Service or Forest Service.

We drove the roads just to feel the vastness of the valley and check out the possibility of hikes for the next day and snacked on apples and cheese. We had rain, lightening and the roads were muddy. There is supposed to be great fishing in the streams that run through the property. We pulled out around 5 but not before we photographed the tipi used in the Lone Ranger by Johnny Depp.

We had a good supper and rested up for the next day which would start early.

June 13 – McLean, Texas – Traveling on down 66

- Devil’s Rope Museum (barbed wire and everything to do with wire fencing) and the McLean Historical Museum.

These museums have been revamped recently. They are both extraordinary. I have never seen local museums done so well. There was also a section with information on another WWII POW Camp. At the end of WWII, there were 175 Branch Camps serving 511 area camps, containing over 425,000 prisoners of war. Miss Ada Margaret did not tell us about all the camps in our country. On to Amarillo and Tucumcari, NM. I choose not to tell you about the person who is now in charge of the Cactus Motel RV Park. Grrr. June 14 – We fixed breakfast in the Snail, hooked up and pulled the trailer to church. An empty rv park would have charge us extra to leave the trailer for an extra hour while we attended church. We were welcomed so warmly by the members at church. Really nice folks.

June 12 - Fort Reno is an inactive military base with tons of history to share. It has served as a fort then an active Army base in WWI. It was the breeding farm for Army horses and mules. During WWII it was also a POW camp for German and Italian prisoners from South Africa. It is now a USDA Grasslands and Grazing Research Center and recently become the new home of the US Cavalry Museum. The museum was housed at Ft. Riley Kansas but has been removed due to space needed at the active base. It will take a while for all to be displayed since the new home is in old quarters that were abandoned in 1985.

The parade grounds are still used for the Annual National Cavalry Competition. The cemetery has two sections – one for members of the military serving and their families and the other for 70 prisoners who died while living at the camp or at camps in Oklahoma and Texas. A couple prisoners have been disinterred by family members who traveled from Germany and Italy to claim their family. Black Jack, the spirited riderless ceremonial horse used in the funeral processions of Presidents Hoover, Kennedy, and Johnson, and General MacArthur was raised and trained at Ft. Reno. From here we continued down old Route 66 in the pouring rain until we reached a forest campground on Lake McClellan. The lake has been dry as a bone until this spring …. Over the spillway now for the third time. How lovely!

Please enjoy my journey if you wish. I may make mistakes so please overlook them since I am in the forest most of the time and hardly have time to blog. Summer time has arrived so the Snail, Paulette and I are off to the mountains and places WEST. Last minute items crammed into the car and probably too many clothes, we pulled out the evening of June 9 headed to Little House Customs to mount my new utility box to the back of the Snail. After a couple of attempts to find a place to stay half way, we chose the Walmart “campground” in Palestine. Imagine a cool evening in Texas in June. We were up early and in the shop at Larry’s and out before lunch. The Snail now has shocks, the box is cutely attached to the rear and my pocket book is a little lighter. The best thing is that the car is more manageable. Stopping at the East Fork Café was first on the agenda for the famous hamburger. The next destination was to be Decatur in time to attend church with Angela and Mark. In Dennison I spot a “WWII POW Camp” sign to the right. Zipping off the main road I head that way. I see the next sign and head down that road only to discover that the men in the middle of the road are waving for me to back out. “Back out for over a block?” I felt like a prisoner of war. They should have put a barricade in the road!!! I am frustrated, never saw the camp and really need church now. We arrived early for worship and as a true Duncum, Mark got there on time barely but was well prepared with all songs picked out. Gran would have been proud. Beautiful worship service and the song leader was really handsome. We traveled to Sunset for the evening to spend the night. Great shower and no so peaceful night. I had the trailer brakes set to high and with all the stopping and starting in city traffic my brakes made a little squeal. Oh No! Restless night for me just thinking about that.

We arose early and headed for Route 66 in the Oklahoma City area. On the way through Duncan, OK we enjoyed the Chisholm Trail Museum. We loved the docent there. She is a retired teacher that loved to share the stories of the Chisholm Trail and Mr. Chisholm.

Larry had told us about the city or lake campground in El Reno OK. It was not exactly as he remembered it but certainly nice enough and not crowded. The Snail stayed there for the rest of the day while we scoped out the “66” from Arcadia to El Reno. The Round Barn, Pop’s Diner and service station for a snack, the Cross, and on toward the Yukon Flour Mill in Yukon , the Petree Plaza in El Reno where Larry’s family has a plaque, and back to the camp. With a little discussion about the next move, we hooked up in the morning to go to Fort Reno.

Hopefully I can send a few more words your way of the next few days of our trip.