Santa Fe, New Mexico Day 2 (GA260)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,500+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 23rd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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

The motorhome is parked at American Legion Post #19 in Yuma, Arizona. I expect to be here for a while.

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

 

 

In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

 

 

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

This entry was posted October 10, 2012…

 

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical issues.

 

 

The motorhome is parked at Fraternal Order of Eagles #2811. I expect to be here a couple of more days.

 

 

Santa Fe has a population of about 68,000 and is at about 7,000 feet of elevation. You can read all about this city by clicking this Wikipedia informational link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe,_New_Mexico

 

 

Yesterday I drove the Bronco the less than two miles to old town Santa Fe. Being such an old city the streets are narrow and parking is a chore. Among the things I saw were:

*The oldest house in the United States, circa 1646…

 

 

 

 

 

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 oldest church, circa 1610…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Miguel_Mission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* The Loretto Chapel with its mysterious circular staircase…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretto_Chapel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*The old central plaza area…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_Plaza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

including 109 East Palace Avenue. Recently while in Los Alamos, I wrote about the Manhattan Project and the development of the atomic bomb. You can read about the role this portal (now a shop entrance) played in the fifth paragraph of this link…
http://www.losalamoshistory.org/manhattan.htm

 

 

 

 

 

and finally St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral Basilica…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_Basilica_of_St._Francis_of_Assisi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A most enjoyable day. I’ll continue exploring the city today.

 

 

Enjoying historical places is another joy 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/

 

 

 

 

 TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NO

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/healing-dirt/

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

Forecast for today is sunny and 65 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Arizona. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken at Rogue River, Oregon, October, 2017…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. 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, Washington 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

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

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

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2018

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA

We arrived in Clarksburg, W. Virginia, a busy city with lots of hilly areas and one way streets- no streets made for a wide bodied motor home. We had two other options, The Elks and the Eagles. We never did find them but the VFW appeared to have a huge parking area. When Jim pulled between the narrow yellow stanchions to enter their lot, I held my breath. The Commander happened to be sitting on the porch. He told me later he was sure he wouldn’t be able to get that rig in.  The VFW parking lot is miniscule.  But, it was Saturday and you can see us parked in a bank’s lot that runs right next to the VFW building. The commander assured us we would be okay for the weekend.

This old cannon has an interesting history, as does the post. Here they accept “Guest Members”, the first time we’d heard the term.  We had lunch at the VFW, a gulllinos  sandwich for me. I always like to try a local specialty and it was stir fried hot peppers and onion with melted cheese, and a beef patty onTexas toast, which turned out to be the first sour dough bread I’ve had since I left California. I asked her to substitute a chicken breast for the beef patty and she did. I don’t know where they got the name, but the sandwich was excellent.

The forecast was rain. While it was still overcast, we took a walk around a four block area and just took some pictures. This lovely church with the bells, we heard play music at 5:00 while we were reading.

Other lovely churches with stained glass windows. No longer open like the refuges of the 1950’s where you could walk into any church. They were always open 24 hours a day.

Would have liked to have a look inside.

Built in 1863. The plaque says, The Lord Is In His Temple.

You can get a sense of the beautiful glass.

And old town;  there was a cemetery that looked interesting as we came into town.  Stopping with the rig is not always an option.

.

 

An old empty theater, a broken window,  looking sadly uncared for.

A beauty of a building that looks worth saving. A woman I spoke to on the street, when I asked her what there is to do in Clarksburg replied, “Walmart went in a few miles down the road and sucked the life out of this city. So many local shops closed, it is not a place you want to live anymore.” I was stunned to hear that condemnation for a city of this size.  The population is 16,798 from the 2010 census.

There are some signs of degradation, closed up buildings, for rent signs on storefronts.

Graffiti.

This is not the kind of beauty shop I would choose.

You don’t hear or see much about the International Order of Odd Fellows. The historic sign has been retained. The building now houses a couple of shops on the ground level.

Fire escapes up the side of an old building, a rare sight for westerners along with the narrow streets and alleys.

We made it back to the motor home just before the rain started. It cooled off and we spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing.

The City has beautiful buildings, and cities have been known to reinvent themselves. I’m sure Clarksburg will survive to see another economic upturn. I wish we could have spent another day here to look it over, but it was nice to have a day of relaxation, too.

 

CHEHALIS WASHINGTON

Chehalis, the town, has a very historic feel to it, yet prosperous and friendly.

Triangle buildings. The St. Helen’ s Hotel. Now refurbished as apartments. The cross walks  have garden meridians and marble insets right in town. The town was founded in 1873.

Jim and I wondered if this building was up to code?

I like old buildings and there were many of them here. I stopped a woman on the street and asked her:  What is your favorite place in Chehalis?
She hemmed a bit. Sue’s Inspirations, a restaurant came to mind. “Good food, good people, and they have a bathroom now,” she added.

Old wood, brick. Charming.

Another thing about the commercial buildings on the highway through town is their depth. Buildings here suggest a former thriving city.

“The Bakery,” the best, she said.

It smelled great when we walked by.

“Oh, no, my very favorite place is the old mercantile. They’ve turned it into this fabulous gift shop. I’m in there looking every time I come to town. She explained to me that she was born and raised in Chehalis and went off to college and came back because she loved it here, even though there aren’t many high paying jobs. “Amend that to NO high paying jobs,” she laughed.  She explained that it has a small town feel. Everyone knows everyone. The business people are friendly and helpful. It’s a great place to live and raise children.

An independent book store, with a whole line of art supplies  that’s been open for at least 30 years. I value independent book stores over the chains.

I spotted a Pub And Grill and thought maybe they made home-brew. It was just a sports bar and grill. It wasn’t open, but M & K next door was. His barrel suggests he has 101 different kinds of wine. He said, “Oh, that was last year, I have more now. I just haven’t changed the sign.”

He carries a good selection of craft beers.
He sells mint products made in Chehalis. Candy, snacks and drinks, some alcoholic.

I didn’t much care for the gift shop, but the town as a whole looks cared for and happy.

This building was once a car dealership. Hard to imagine.

On the next street over “downtown” continued with more modern buildings if you call that old Zenith sign Modern. Nice town. Several beauty shops, a couple computer repair places, a huge hardware store, everything you need. It sits halfway between Olympia and Portland and me thinks they get plenty of “tourists”.