America The Beautiful

The terrible accident we survived happened five months ago today, May 27th.

About 10 days ago I got to feeling well enough to finally stop wearing my elastic chest bandage, taking ibuprofen and icing my chest twice daily. My right rib cage remains slightly swollen and somewhat tender to the touch. I need to maintain a constant  awareness not to physically over exert myself. I remain with a constant mild burning sensation in my right rib cage area. I’m wondering when, if ever, it will finally leave me.

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical issues. Some believed to be related to after effects of the accident.

If you missed the Blog entry about the accident, here’s the link. If you want to understand the full scope of the accident you’ll need to read the Blog entries for the following several days…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4Eh

In the meantime, I’m in my second day here at Sumner Lake State Park in New Mexico.

We have a brief cold front moving though the area. Yesterday’s high temperature was only 48 degrees so I stayed inside most of the day playing with the computer and came up with this 1:58 minute video. It was 30 degrees at 5:00 AM this morning.

The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

Enjoying our beautiful country is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Santa Rosa Lake State Park – Day 4

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical issues.

The motorhome is currently parked at Santa Rosa Lake State Park, about 125 miles east of Albuquerque.

==========================================

2011-2013 – 6th Circumnavigation Of The USA…Update #4

This Blog posting…which I will post from time-to-time…will be used to present my/our travels on this almost two-year circumnavigation of the United States…my 6th…Mary’s 2nd. During these circumnavigations, I try to travel on roads I’ve not seen before…I’m about 90% successful in that regard.

The only things I know about our potential destinations during this upcoming adventure is that I/we plan to spend a good portion of 2012 exploring the State of New Mexico. In 2013 we’re planning to attend my oldest grand-daughter’s high school graduation in June in southeastern Connecticut. Other than that…we’ll just have to find out one-day-at-a-time where our fates will send us.

The trip began from Murphys, California on November 29, 2011 with 35,956.5 miles on the motorhome odometer. In addition to showing the route taken, I intend to also document where I/we parked during this journey. My guess is that within the about next 700+ days we will park in about 250+ different places.

Here’s the map so far which you may click on to see in a larger view…

#        Date          Location

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

001 – 11/29/11 – Bakersfield, CA – Loyal Order Of Moose – Lodge #2178

002 – 11/30/11 – Riverside, CA – Fraternal Order Of Eagles – Airee #997

003 – 12/01/11 – Thousand Palms, CA – Thousand Trails RV Resort

004 – 12/17/11 – Slab City, CA

005 – 12/18/11 – Winterhaven, CA – Paradise Casino

006 – 12/20/11 – Yuma, Arizona – About 12 miles north on BLM land

007 – 01/03/12 – Winterhaven, CA – Paradise Casino

008 – 01/09/12 – Slab City, CA

009 – 01/16/12 – El Centro, CA – Loyal Order Of Moose – Lodge #1033

010 – 01/17/12 – Winterhaven, CA – About 8 miles west on BLM land.

011 – 01/18/12 – Winterhaven, CA – Pilot Knob RV Park

012 – 01/22/12 – Winterhaven, CA – Quechen Indian Casino

013 – 01/23/12 – Yuma, AZ – American Legion Post #19

014 – 01/24/12 – Wellton, AZ – VFW Post #6790

015 – 01/25/12 – Painted Rocks Historic Park, AZ

016 – 01/27/12 – Ajo, AZ – VFW Post #3570

017 – 01/28/12 – Organ pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ

018 – 02/02/12 – Apache Junction, AZ – Loyal Order Of Moose #2039

019 – 02/03/12 – Apache Junction, AZ – Golden Sun RV Resort

020 – 02/13/12 – Tucson, AZ – About 20 miles north at Mary’s friend’s home.

020 – 02/17/12 – Tucson, AZ – Loyal Order Of Moose #1964

021 – 02/24/12 – Nogales, AZ – VFW Post #2066

022 – 02/27/12 – Lake Patagonia, AZ – Arizona State Park

023 – 02/29/12 – Sierra Vista, AZ – VFW Post #9972

024 – 03/03/12 – Douglas, AZ – Belle Starr’s Silverado Ranch

025 – 03/06/12 – Columbus, NM – Pancho Villa State Park

026 – 03/11/12 – Deming, New Mexico – Rockhound State Park

027 – 03/21/12 – Faywood, NM – City of Rocks State Park

027 – 03/22/12 – Silver City, NM – Loyal Order Of Moose #1718

028 – 04/03/12 – Caballo, NM – Lake Caballo State Park

029 – 04/05/12 – Truth or Consequences, NM – Loyal Order Of Moose #2050

030 – 04/16/12 – Elephant Butte, NM – Elephant Butte State Park

031 – 04/17/12 – Elephant Butte, NM South Monticello Campground

032 – 04/18/12 – San Antonio, NM Owl Bar and Cafe parking lot

033 – 04/19/12 – Socorro, New Mexico Fraternal Order Of Eagles Airee #4017

034 – 04/21/12 – Belen, NM – Loyal Order Of Moose #1680

035 – 04/22/12 – Albuquerque, NM – Loyal Order Of Moose #2241

036 – 04/23/12 – Albuquerque, NM – VFW Post #401

037 – 05/12/12 – Casa Blanca, NM – Dancing Eagle Casino RV Park

o38 – 05/14/12 – Grants, NM – VFW Post #3221

039 – 05/16/12 – Prewitt, NM – Bluewater State Park

040 – 05/20/12 – Gallup, NM – Red Rock Park Campground

041 – 05/22/12 – Window Rock, AZ – Navajo Nation Museum

042 – 05/24/12 – Chinle, AZ – Canyon de Chelly Cottonwood Campground

043 – 06/05/12 – Cortez, CO – American Legion Post #75

044 – 06/08/12 – Mesa Verde National Park, CO

045 – 06/11/12 – Durango, CO – American Legion Post #28

046 – 06/14/12 – Navajo Dam, NM – Navajo Lake State Park Cottonwood Campground

047 – 06/18/12 – Farmington, NM -Dwontown Parking Lot

048 – 06/19/12 – Los Ojos, NM – Heron Lake State Park Woodland Creek Campground

049 – 07/17/12 – Los Ojos, NM – Heron Lake State Park Island View Campground

050 – 08/17/12 – Los Ojos, NM – El Vado State Park

051 – 08/23/12 – Los Ojos, NM – Heron Lake State Park Island View Campground

052 – 09/14/12 – Taos, NM =  Fraternal Order Of Eagles Airee #3489

052 – 09.25/12 – Los Alamos, NM – VFW Post #8872

053 – 10/03/12 – Espanola, NM – Fraternal Order Of Eagles Airee #3695

054 – 10/08/12 – Santa Fe, NM – Fraternal Order Of Eagles Airee #2811

055 – 10/13/12 – Albuquerque – NM- Sandia Casino

056 – 10/16/12 – Albuquerque, – NM – Wal-Mart parking lot

057 – 10/17/12 – Albuquerque, NM – Pisano Street across from Advantage Automotive

058 – 10/18/12 – Santa Rosa, NM – Santa Rose Lake State Park

In other news…

When I depart Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico, I will turn in a southeasterly direction in the general direction of deep south Texas where I plan to avoid the cold Winter weather as much as possible.

Enjoying beautiful places is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Gallup, New Mexico – Day 2

On our last full day of exploring Gallup, New Mexico, we visited four museums where we learned about the Navajo Code Talkers, a couple of Indian jewelery stores and the famous El Rancho Motel…Home to the Movie Stars.

If you missed Day 1 and desire to read that Blog entry, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4xn

If you are not aware of who the Navajo Code Talkers were, this official website link will cure that malady…
http://www.navajocodetalkers.org/

If you are unaware of the history of the El Rancho Hotel, this website link will cure that malady…
http://elranchohotel.com/about_hotel.cfm

Because we covered so many things yesterday, the photos in this Blog entry will be a mish-mash of paintings, photographs from the past, Indian Jewelery, blankets, pottery, etc… and some of the El Rancho Hotel.

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

To see the other 100 photos that I took, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/GallupNewMexicoDay2

In other news…

Now that we have completed our visit to Gallup, New Mexico…today we’ll move on to a new destination within the Navajo Nation. It’s the largest Indian Nation within the United States consisting of 27,000 square miles within New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.. Here’s the map…

In the next couple of weeks we may end up in locations where this is no Internet signal. Not to worry. As soon as we have one there will be another Blog entry.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

An Unusual Place Requires Lots Of Photographs…

Yesterday Mary and I visited an unusual place. Sitting atop a 367 foot mesa at approaching 7,000 feet in elevation about 65 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, this unique place is an Acoma Indian Pueblo known as Sky City. Even today they do not have electricity, running water or sewer facilities.

Photography was not allowed in the museum, cemetery of church.

The Acoma people have continuously occupied the area for over 800 years, making it the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States.

Here’s the official website link…
http://sccc.acomaskycity.org/

and a Wikipedeia link that will give you a very complete history of this unique place…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoma_Pueblo

An unusual place like this requires lots of photographs. Here are some that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

Our destination sits atop this 367 foot mesa…

Through the magic of Google Earth, here are two views that will give you a better feel for where we are going…

and as we walked around on the top…

To see the other 85 photos that I took you will need to click the below link. Once there click on slide show…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/AcomaIndianPuebloSkyCityNewMexico

Another joy of the full-time RVing lifestyle is visiting unusual places!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

The Great Adventure Dinette Window Photos…So Far…

Back on November 29, 2011, I began what is my 6th circumnavigation of the United States. It will be Mary’s 2nd.

I’m calling it The Great Adventure, because it’s different from my other five circumnavigations…in which the routes were kinda-sorta preplanned. This time…with the exceptions of attending my oldest grand-daughter’s high school graduation in June 2013 in southeastern Connecticut…I don’t know where were will be going or when we will be there! Hence…The Great Adventure.

The only plan is to live a day-to-day lifestyle and let the wind blow us where it may!

Another thing different about this circumnavigation…in addition to our daily Blog entries documenting our experiences…is in every overnight parking spot I’ve decided to take a photo out of our dinette window.

For instance here’s the view out of our dinette window at our current parking location of Dancing Eagle Casino RV Park, Casa Blanca, New Mexico…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

During the course of this two-year circumnavigation I’m expecting that we will park overnight in somewhere between 250 and 500 locations. In addition you need to know that when I park the motorhome…I do not say to myself…where’s the best view? It is strictly by chance what view ends up outside of our window.

You need also to remember that we overnight a lot at free locations such as Eagles and Moose Clubs, the American Legion and VFW. Free is good but the views are not always spectacular…but usually somewhat interesting.

Finally I started taking these photos once we departed Yuma, Arizona. Prior to that time all the previous overnight parking locations are repeats from previous times since I travel those routes somewhat regularly.

With that said, I’ve got 25 out-of-the-dinette-windows collected so far. You can see them all by clicking the below link. Once there, click the slide show button…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/GreatAdventureDinetteWindowPhotos#

After viewing the 25 photos I think you’ll agree that the full-time RVing lifestyle exemplifies the saying of “Variety Is The Spice Of Life”! The constant changing of scenery, people, local foods and music is most stimulating. I never tire of it!

I intend to post this Blog entry periodically as The Great Adventure rolls along..

It will be fun to look at the 250 to 500 photos that will finally end up in this collection when the circumnavigation has been completed!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

2011-2013 – 6th Circumnavigation Of The USA…Update #3

This Blog posting…which I will post from time-to-time…will be used to present my/our travels on this almost two-year circumnavigation of the United States…my 6th…Mary’s 2nd. During these circumnavigations, I try to travel on roads I’ve not seen before…I’m about 90% successful in that regard.

The only things I know about our potential destinations during this upcoming adventure is that I/we plan to spend a good portion of 2012 exploring the State of New Mexico. In 2013 we’re planning to attend my oldest grand-daughter’s high school graduation in June in southeastern Connecticut. Other than that…we’ll just have to find out one-day-at-a-time where our fates will send us.

The trip began from Murphys, California on November 29, 2011 with 35,956.5 miles on the motorhome odometer. In addition to showing the route taken, I intend to also document where I/we parked during this journey. My guess is that within the about next 700+ days we will park in about 250+ different places. Here’s the map so far which you may click on to see in a larger view…

#        Date          Location

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

001 – 11/29/11 – Bakersfield, CA – Loyal Order Of Moose – Lodge #2178

002 – 11/30/11 – Riverside, CA – Fraternal Order Of Eagles – Airee #997

003 – 12/01/11 – Thousand Palms, CA – Thousand Trails RV Resort

004 – 12/17/11 – Slab City, CA

005 – 12/18/11 – Winterhaven, CA – Paradise Casino

006 – 12/20/11 – Yuma, Arizona – About 12 miles north on BLM land

007 – 01/03/12 – Winterhaven, CA – Paradise Casino

008 – 01/09/12 – Slab City, CA

009 – 01/16/12 – El Centro, CA – Loyal Order Of Moose – Lodge #1033

010 – 01/17/12 – Winterhaven, CA – About 8 miles west on BLM land.

011 – 01/18/12 – Winterhaven, CA – Pilot Knob RV Park

012 – 01/22/12 – Winterhaven, CA – Quechen Indian Casino

013 – 01/23/12 – Yuma, AZ – American Legion Post #19

014 – 01/24/12 – Wellton, AZ – VFW Post #6790

015 – 01/25/12 – Painted Rocks Historic Park, AZ

016 – 01/27/12 – Ajo, AZ – VFW Post #3570

017 – 01/28/12 – Organ pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ

018 – 02/02/12 – Apache Junction, AZ – Loyal Order Of Moose #2039

019 – 02/03/12 – Apache Junction, AZ – Golden Sun RV Resort

020 – 02/13/12 – Tucson, AZ – About 20 miles north at Mary’s friend’s home.

020 – 02/17/12 – Tucson, AZ – Loyal Order Of Moose #1964

021 – 02/24/12 – Nogales, AZ – VFW Post #2066

022 – 02/27/12 – Lake Patagonia, AZ – Arizona State Park

023 – 02/29/12 – Sierra Vista, AZ – VFW Post #9972

024 – 03/03/12 – Douglas, AZ – Belle Starr’s Silverado Ranch

025 – 03/06/12 – Columbus, NM – Pancho Villa State Park

026 – 03/11/12 – Deming, New Mexico – Rockhound State Park

027 – 03/21/12 – Faywood, NM – City of Rocks State Park

027 – 03/22/12 – Silver City, NM – Loyal Order Of Moose #1718

028 – 04/03/12 – Caballo, NM – Lake Caballo State Park

029 – 04/05/12 – Truth or Consequences, NM – Loyal Order Of Moose #2050

030 – 04/16/12 – Elephant Butte, NM – Elephant Butte State Park

031 – 04/17/12 – Elephant Butte, NM South Monticello Campground

032 – 04/18/12 – San Antonio, NM Owl Bar and Cafe parking lot

033 – 04/19/12 – Socorro, New Mexico Fraternal Order Of Eagles Airee #4017

034 – 04/21/12 – Belen, NM – Loyal Order Of Moose #1680

035 – 04/22/12 – Albuquerque, NM – Loyal Order Of Moose #2241

036 – 04/23/12 – Albuquerque, NM – VFW Post #401

In other news…

After an almost three-week stay in Albuquerque…today we’ll start moving again. The plan is to move a bit in a westerly direction towards Gallup, New Mexico. The Interstate Highway 40 has paved over portions of the old Route 66. However there are still remaining portions of old Route 66 which we will travel upon whenever we can find them. You’ll be seeing these Blog entries in the very near future.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Dougles, Arizona (five Blogs for the price of one!)

Our motorhome home is still parked at Belle Starr’s Silverado Ranch…13 miles west of Douglas, Arizona.

Yesterday was a busy  day for us. So today you get five Blog entries for the price of one!

Blog #1 – John Slaughter Ranch

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a cattle baron in Arizona in the late 1800′s? We did…so we went to find out.

To  read all about the Slaughter Ranch, click this link…
http://www.slaughterranch.com

First we drove the 13 miles to Douglas, Arizona. Then we continued on this dirt road for another 16 miles. Since we were so close to the Mexico Border…we saw a  Border Patrol vehicle about every one mile along the way…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

Here’s a Google Earth image of the ranch house area where we visited.The Mexican Border is only 600 feet away…

Here are five other photos. Whenever you can see a brown-poled fence…that’s the Mexico Border…

To see the other 43 photos that I took, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/JohnSlaughterRanch

We spent a very enjoyable 2.5 hours wandering the grounds.

Then we once again drove the 16 dusty miles back to Douglas, Arizona for…

Blog #2 – The Gadsden Hotel

To read about the Gadsden Hotel, click this link…
http://hotelgadsden.com/

Here are some photos that I took….

To see the other 22 photos that I took, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/TheGadsdenHotelDouglasArizona

We spent an enjoyable hour wandering the hotel and eating lunch in their fancy dining room.

Then a few blocks away to

Blog #3 – It’s The Only Place In The World That You Will See this!

At least according to the visitors brochure for Douglas, Arizona. Church Square is the only block in the World that has a church on each corner! Here’s a Google Earth view…

E is for Episcopalian……

B is for Baptist…

M is for Methodist…

P is for Presbyterian…

It’s always fun to see a one in the world thing!

Then a few blocks to…

Blog #4 – The Big Disappointment…

In 2004, at the end on my 16,000+ mile RV trip through Mexico and Central America…we re-entered the United States at Douglas, Arizona. We went to the local Safeway to shop for groceries and quite by accident parked under the Safeway sign which we took as a blessing that we had managed such a long journey without any major mishaps and returned safely to the United States. We asked a passing woman to take our photo…

Since we plan to depart Douglas tomorrow morning…I thought it would be fun to park our current motorhome under the Safeway sign and take a similar photo. But surprise…the sign and Safeway are gone! Something that was not there in 2004, across the street,  A WalMart SuperCemter, has apparently run them out of business. So much for nostalgia!.

Here’s an interesting aside. The way the crow flies…presumably in a straight line…it’s a little more than 2,500 miles to Portebello, Panama…the furthest southern point reached during our journey. By road the most direct route…add about another 1,000 miles. Here’s a Google Earth image to give you some perspective…

Then just five blocks away to…

Blog #5 – Agua Prienta, Sonora, Mexico...

Mary wanted to add to her list of border crossings into Mexico. So we walked across the border and down a few blocks of the main drag and we were back in the United States in 25 minutes. Not much going on a Sunday afternoon in this rather lackluster border town. Here are some photos that I took…

Another full and fun day in the RVing lifestyle!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Dos Nogales

Dos in Spanish means two.

Yesterday Mary and I drove the Bronco about one mile from our parking spot at the VFW Post #2066 in Nogales, Arizona to the border with Mexico. In old town Nogales, Arizona we visited the old court house, an Arizona Ranger archive room and a museum. We then walked across the border into Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. There we went to the fanciest hotel in the city and had a great inexpensive meal. Afterwards we wandered around the curio shops that cater to the tourists. We were in that Nogales about two hours before crossing back into the United States.

Nogales, Arizona has a population of about 22,000. Nogales, Sonora, Mexico has a population of about 220,000. Nogales in Spanish means “walnuts”. This area was so named because of the many black walnut trees that were in this area many years ago.

To read all about Nogales, Arizona, click this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogales,_Arizona

To read all about Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, click this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogales,_Sonora

Here are some photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

The old court house lobby in Nogales, Arizona…

Inside of the old court house, the Arizona Rangers maintain a small archive. One of the Rangers as seen in the below photo grew up in Lynnfield, Massachusetts…just a few miles from where I lived in Revere from ages 10 to 18…

The Primera Alta Historical Society Museum had the two old city jail cells…

Preparing to cross into Mexico we could see a portion of the fence that separates the United States and Mexico which is on the right in the below photo. To read about this highly controversial fence, click this link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_%E2%80%93_United_States_barrier

Here’s where you enter Mexico…

which deposits you on this pleasant plaza…

We ate lunch at the Fray Marcos de Niza Hotel because it was highly recommended by the Arizona Ranger. This is the hotel lobby…

This was our view during lunch…

After lunch we wandered around the local curio shops…

To see the other 48 photos that I took, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/DosNogalesTwoNogales

It was another enjoyable day. The visit into Mexico was somewhat disappointing for me as it is such a large city. Nothing like my past experiences during my Mexico and Central America trip in 2004. No old world flavor is left in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico….at least near the border

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Titan Missile Museum, Sahuarita, Arizona

Yesterday Mary and I took the Bronco about 10 miles south of our current Moose Club RV parking location. We went to the Titan Missile Museum which is located about 20 miles south of Tucson, Arizona. The site is an actual former ICBM launch site. It is the only one that has survived to become a museum. After the Cold War ended all the other 53 silos were destroyed per the SALT Treaty.

Here’s The official museum website link…
http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/

and here’s a Wikipedia informational link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_Missile_Museum

Here are a couple of Google Earth images. First a general site view…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

And then a closer view of the missile silo half-opened…

Under terrible photography conditions…harsh sunlight on a bright white light-colored structures and dimly lit interiors…we nonetheless ventured forth. Here are some of the photos that I took…

In the above photo all three underground components of the site can be seen. The middle is the access portal. On the left is the control center and crews quarters. On the right is the missile silo. The highest state of alert ever reached was on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. On that day the launch keys were taken out of the safe and set on the control console desktop. They were not inserted into the control panel. This complex was built for a one-time only launch. None were ever launched.

We spent two hours here…one hour of which was a guided tour. Another enjoyable day of full-time RVing.

In other news…

More than 12 hours late with today’s entry. A 2.5 hour Verizon Internet signal outage early this morning…then another full day out exploring…then an evening meal at Moose Lodge #1964…the friendliest Moose Club in the United States where we are currently parked…and finally a little time to post today’s Blog entry this evening.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

San Xavier Del Bac Mission, Tucson, Arizona…

Yesterday Mary and I visited this mission located about 9 miles from our current parking location and also about 9 miles from downtown Tucson, Arizona. It is also known as the White Dove of the Desert.

From their brochure…

Some 200,000 visitors come each year from all over the world to view what is widely considered to be the finest example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States.The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church’s interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. It is a place where visitors can truly step back in time and enter an authentic 18th Century space. The church retains its original purpose of ministering to the religious needs of its parishioners.

To read about the mission, you may click this link…

http://PatronatoSanXavier.org

Under terrible photography conditions…harsh sunlight on a bright white structure and dimly lit interiors…we nonetheless ventured forth. Here are some of the photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

To see the other 71 photos that I took, click this link…

https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/SanXavierDelBacMission

I’ve been in many missions in Mexico and the United States. This mission is likely in the best conditions I’ve seen. That’s because of the major restoration starting in 1989 and finishing in 1997. During our 2.5 hour visit we watched a 25 minute video describing this painstaking renovation process. The mission is the first historic building of its kind to be entirely cared for and preserved by its parishioners. It was indeed a most pleasant visit during which time a number of local families where having their newborn babies baptized.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust