Signs of Our Times

I am sure none of us has ever lived in a time like we are in now.  Social distancing, wash your hands, stay at home, no gatherings, no funerals, limited travel.  I feel like everything I touch might be infected.  Today we went for a walk.  I didn't touch anything.  But as I straightened my glasses, my first thought was--now I have to disinfect my glasses!  Really?  Probably not, but I feel everything is a threat.

These signs around our resort help build this fear.

Even the grill is closed.  No carry-out available here.

We went to the post office the other day.  Look at the plastic hanging from the ceiling to protect the clerks.  And notice the empty mail crates stacked in front of each window to keep is 6 feet away.

This is an encouraging sign we saw yesterday in someone's window here in our resort.  In case you can't read it, it says, "Social Distance Hugs to all!"

There are signs from God throughout the park that brighten our days.  The cactus plants are in full bloom.

Follow the guidelines and stay healthy, everyone.  Hopefully, all this will be over in the not-too-distant future.

Scenery Along I-10

Texas is HUGE, as anyone knows who has driven across the state. I don't think we are even half way across but the environment has changed several times.

This is what the countryside looked like around El Paso.

When we looked west across the Rio Grande River toward Mexico we saw this horrible pollution.  It was very cold and many people in Mexico use wood fires for heat.

Gradually the amount of vegetation increased.

It got thicker.

We saw this sign announcing that the town of Fort Stockton was ahead.

Then we saw the statue that is depicted in the sign.

Texas is rich in energy resources.  Of course there are lots of oil wells.  An oil field has recently been developed near Fort Stockton.

West Texas is also windy.  And the state is harnessing that resource as well.

It is fall in Texas, not winter like up north.  The oak trees on the hills are turning subtle colors of red and yellow.

The first two years we volunteered, we came to Texas and fell in love with the state. We are enjoying our month here.

An Historic Plaza

We have driven through--or maybe it is past--Las Vegas, New Mexico, numerous times as we traveled to and from Arizona or Texas. This was our first time to stop. We wanted to avoid crowded RV parks in the Albuquerque area because this week is the annual Balloon Festival. We enjoyed looking around the historic plaza. It surrounds a great green area with large shade trees.

There are several statues of recent vintage, possibly a part of the plaza revival. The first honors farm workers.

This is Our Lady of Sorrows, patroness of the city's Roman Catholic Church.

Titled "Cry of the Ages," this one depicts a Native American. A man resting in the plaza told us there was originally a long spear in his hand but it has since been stolen.

Las Vegas was established in 1835 under a Mexican land grant. It flourished as a stop on the Santa Fe Trail. In 1846 during the Mexican-American War, General Stephen Kearney delivered an address in the plaza, proclaiming New Mexico was now a part of the United States. This monument includes part of his address. It says, in part, that in America all people, rich and poor, are treated equally under the law and all people, protestant or catholic, are welcome to practice their religion in this country. Hopefully, you can click on the photo to enlarge it and read some of what he said.

Some of the old buildings on the plaza are beautifully restored, at least on the outside. We only went in one store, which had really quality gifts and clothing for sale.

Historic Route 66 passed through this area, as we could see by this sign.

This was once the main fire department. We enjoyed the old fire truck outside, as well.

The town was an interesting diversion as we travel south.

Downtown Williams

Before leaving Williams, we walked around that city's downtown. It has a very different feel than Flagstaff, evoking Route 66 of the 1920's through the 1950's, instead of the early railroad days.

I posed with Elvis as we walked around.

A number of the downtown restaurants have outdoor seating and live music, like this one.

Doesn't these signs make you think of the mid-20th century?

Whoever owns this truck obviously parks it under a tree for shade and doesn't worry about the deposits left by birds.

Buffalo All Over

Right now, we are in Buffalo, Wyoming. We haven't seen any buffalo statues. We are both alumni of the University of Colorado--the Buffalos. Last week, we saw lots of buffalo in Custer State Park. And we also saw painted buffalo statues in downtown Custer, South Dakota. Let me share some of those with you.

Here you see both sides of one buffalo.

Two different kinds of presidential images. Below, two of the pictures have a blue cast.  I have no idea why.

Memphis

We've been exploring some pretty serious stuff recently, so Sunday we went to downtown Memphis to just relax and see the sights. We enjoyed the time. As we walked down main street, we saw lots of pretty and interesting things, like this alley or courtyard.



Many signs were interesting or colorful, like this one for a New Orleans restaurant.



How about this sign on a store that sold exercise balls?



How do you write with this pencil?



We walked to Court Square, a little oasis in the middle of downtown that reminded us a little to Savannah, Georgia.



There was a nice fountain in the center.



We saw a number of city dwellers taking their daily run on downtown sidewalks and one man was laying on the lawn in the square, doing his exercises.

The Main Street Trolley ran on tracks in the middle of the street. There were many different kinds and colors of trollies. You can click on the collage to see them better.



On the way from Main Street to Beale Street, we saw The King, Elvis himself--or at least a good statue of him.



Memphis calls itself the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock and roll. Beale street is where much of that music was developed. It is quite an experience, even late Sunday morning. There are lots neon signs and memorabilia of the 1950s and 1960s.













How about a toilet seat with a pink Cadillac  on the cover?



Or a Chevy Bel Air pink and white convertible?



Memphis barbeque is all about pork. The Pig is a Beale Street restaurant and they have won lots of BBQ contests.





We walked a couple of blocks along Beale to the Mississippi River, where John got ready to beat his feet in the Mississippi mud.



We even went bird watching in Memphis---indoors! We went to see the Peabody ducks.



And we weren't the only people watching.



The ducks spend their day in the beautiful lobby of the grand old Peabody Hotel.



To learn more about the ducks, click on Peabody Ducks.