Met a Navajo Code Talker and State Senator

Carol's nephew is dating Lisa, whose grandfather is a State Senator in New Mexico. He is, at age 91, one of a handful of Navajo code talkers who are still alive. Tuesday was a lovely ceremony in the New Mexico Senate at which the Senators all had to officially sign in as present at the upcoming legislative session. They called it an inauguration, but the ceremony consisted mostly of them walking up to a podium at the front of the chamber and officially signing in as present. Then they introduced the guests who were there supporting them - who were sitting on folding chairs behind them at their desks. It was a lovely ceremony and Carol and I both came away feeling that we know the members of the New Mexico Senate much better than we would have with an ordinary inauguration ceremony.

And Senator John Pinto is amazing. At 91 he is still an imposing man whose colleagues (and their children) all want to be photographed with him. You have a sense that you have come in contact with living history.

Lisa brought us up to his office where we also met his wife JoAnn and his daughter Flora. His wife taught us how to say "hello" in Navajo (Yá’át’ééh, which I think is pronounced Yah-tay), and gave us a history of her equally illustrious family. There were portraits on his wall of both his and his wife's famous ancestors. I asked his grand-daughter Lisa if it would be disrespectful to him to ask if we could have a photo with him. She said he just loves to be in photos with the people who come to visit him.



Jordan and Lisa then took us for a tour of their state capitol building, called the Round House, to see the amazing artwork they have on the walls and the art gallery in the Governor's office, which is situated on the floor above the legislative chambers and offices.



We went down to the Senate chambers thru a phalanx of state police and a lot of legislators and lobbyists, all of whom seemed to know Lisa very well. We (Mrs. Pinto, Flora, Lisa, Jordan, Carol and I) were seated in folding chairs behind Sen. Pinto. The Lieutenant Governor presides over the Senate most of the time, including today. There was a lot of waiting around - which I certainly recognized as a former legislative staffer. When they finally got going, first there was a prayer by the Archbishop, followed by a lot of ritual of the Senate. The Senate appointed three Senators to travel over to the Senate to announce to them in person that the Senate was now organized. The House in turn sent three Representatives over to the Senate to announce in person at a microphone that the House was now organized.



The Senators came up to the podium to sign their names on the roll of the Senate. The woman standing behind Sen. Pinto is the Chief Clerk of the Senate. One of the Chief Clerk's staff told Carol that Pinto had the best penmanship of any of the Senators in the body.

Pampered Travelers

Today Carol's nephew Jordan and his girlfriend Lisa took us to the Ojo Caliente spa between Santa Fe and Taos. There are six different hot mineral spring soaking pools there: (1) Iron, (2) Soda, (3) three Cliffside pools (which included one Lithium pool), (4) Mud, (5) Arsenic, and (6) the Large Pool. We soaked in all of them except the arsenic one. It is hard to describe how lovely it was to be soaking in a hot mineral pool while the temperature outside was in the 40s with a view of the mountains all around us (including one peak that was right above us in the pools). Ojo Caliente also offered both a dry sauna and a steam room. Pat tried both; Carol opted for the dry sauna.

They had luxurious dressing rooms there where the lockers came stocked with bathrobes and towels. Every single thing there was just lovely. Because the spa is a sacred place and a place for meditation, we were asked to only speak in whispers while there. Staff members walked around with large, round signs saying "Whisper." That made the space very peaceful and relaxing.

After 4 hours of soaking and sauna-ing, we were hungry since we had all skipped lunch. We got dressed and went out to eat at Paragua in Espanola, New Mexico - which was on our way back to Santa Fe. Jordan said it was his absolute #1 favorite "new" Mexican cuisine restaurant. And they did not disappoint! I had their enchilada suprema and a black berry margarita. Both were right up there at the top of my list of favorite Mexican dishes I have ever eaten. To top it off, their sopapillas were big, puffy pastry pillows that tasted fabulous. I practically licked my plate.

Arrived in Santa Fe in the Land of Enchantment

Carol and I drove Highway 40 across the Texas panhandle and into New Mexico. We stopped on the side of the road to take a photo of us with the “Welcome to New Mexico – Land of Enchantment” sign. The temps there were in the 50s.

We also took a little detour in Tucumcari to drive along a 4 mile stretch of old Route 66 – and of course take some photos. There are some remnants of the old Route 66 businesses still there. They are lonely and a little derelict, but you can see that the town elders have taken some effort to keep them looking like they are frozen in the 1950s. This mostly consists of stationing 1950s era cars in the front and painting a big “66” or “Route 66” on the building. Other than that, the whole stretch has mostly been demolished and is now scrub trees and tumbleweed. Most of Highway 40 there lies right next to Route 66, which is preserved as a frontage road.


My little Subaru did well climbing up to Santa Fe level during the drive on Highway 40. There were times when she dropped down to 40 mph, but not many. We took Highway 25 into Santa Fe and, besides being an absolutely gorgeous stretch of road, there was not much of an ascent at all on that road. We did start seeing snow for the first time since we left Iowa. Temps in the mid-40s.

We arrived about 4 pm and went to Carol’s nephew Jordan’s house. We are storing the camper there at his apartment complex for the next 5 days. We chatted, got a tour of his apartment and especially his artwork, and took a photo. Jordan drove us over to the art gallery where he works and gave us a tour. He also gave me a hunting knife to give to Brent when I get to Louisiana. Then Carol, me, Jordan, his girlfriend Lisa, and Carol’s friend Gail all went out to dinner at Atrisco Cafe, that proffers a cuisine they call “new Mexican.” They are all a lot of fun and the dinner conversation was lively!

Mission Nearly Impossible - Drive from Kansas City to Amarillo in One Day

Today - Day 2 - was a day of total concentration on driving - and shifting the Subaru. Total driving distance was 594 miles. We made it in 11 hours. The important thing is that we made it, and we didn't have to click our heels. Carol did most of the driving today, while Pat napped.

And we took a photo with Dorothy and her little dog Toto at a travel plaza on the Kansas Turnpike. Thanks to Sherry Munyon for the Lucy and Ethel photo!



We didn't even stop to eat. We had breakfast at our hotel in the morning, and a yoghurt and fruit parfait at the Turnpike travel plaza, but mostly ate snacks that Carol had brought and left-overs from yesterday. We had to stop at a gas station in Enid, Kansas to add oil to the car when the oil light came on.

We're On Our Way; We Won't Look Back; and If We Stay, We Won''t Come Back

We're going and we're gonna have a happy time. Anyone else remember the Muppet Movie?

This morning Carol and I loaded up the Subaru, hooked up the camper, and hit the open road. Carol's husband Tom took about 84 photos of us before we left. We drove from Saint Paul to Lexena, Kanasas - 441 miles. We ran into blowing and drifting snow in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. But the road cleared up by Des Moines and we had clear and slightly warmer weather the rest of the trip. We stopped in Albert Lea to see Violet Kalis. Pat used to work for Violet's husband Henry Kalis. We had a great time and Violet was a charming hostess, as always.

We stopped only to gas up and restock with water between Albert Lea and Bethany, Missouri. We stopped at the Toot Toot restaurant in Bethany for hot sandwiches - pork tenderloin for Pat and cod fish sandwich for Carol and fried cauliflower.

Packed Up and Ready to Go

Last night (Tuesday), some very good friends had a Great National Retirement Tour launch party. We ate some fantastic food, and had some really fun conversation. And of course, in keeping with my new theme, I wore a black hat and drank wine with my friends.
Today (Wednesday) I drove out to Kerkhoven to pick up my camper from the storage unit. I also had to pack some more stuff in it. Boy, was that tent material on the top frozen and brittle. I sure hope I didn't crack any of it putting the top up. Got some coats, shoes (including rain boots), a lantern, binoculars, dress jacket, camera tripod, and an extra towel stuffed in the cabinets. Another 12 pounds in the camper. Didn't seem to hurt it at all - may have made it less jumpy. Made it back to Saint Paul with only minor problems - a major accident on I-94 near Penn Avenue that had traffic backed up and going less than 10 miles an hour all the way back to Ridgedale.

Tomorrow (Thursday) last minute details - like packing my suitcase, and then we are off on Friday morning. Look out South - here we Minnesota girls come!

First Week of Retirement

I have now been retired for a full week. So far, it has involved a lot of manual labor. Kelly and I moved two beds and a dresser out of the basement and into the storage unit in New London. Then I bought some concrete blocks and stuck them under the mattresses in case the garage leaks in the Spring. Not sure this is a better deal. But then I was able to spend two days in rural New London with my sister, cousin and aunt. That was fun! I kept slipping under the table though during the photo shoot.

I have made reservations for the trip all the way up to the Great Smoky Mountains the end of March. I spent some time perusing the national park website yesterday, but the park is too big and there are too many camping site choices. I need some advice. Have any of you ever camped in the Smoky Mountains National Park? Does the Appalachian Trail go thru the park? Which campground is closest to the trail?

The camper is ready. I have brought all the boxes I want to the storage unit in New London. The old room-mate has moved out. The new room-mate has keys and can move in whenever she wants. Hopefully it will be soon. Am in the process of writing out mailing labels for post cards. Let me know if you want to receive post cards (also let me know your address). Now I just need to pack up. That will be hard. I am going to try to take just one carry-on bag for the whole 4 month trip. Let's see if I can manage that. The hard part is the coat I will need to get out of Minnesota is probably going to be excess baggage for the rest of the trip. I am thinking layers.

Friday is launch day. My friends are having a launch party dinner for me before I leave. I am both very excited and a little scared about the unknown that lies before me.