The sun was just starting to rise, but the rest of the Cawley clan was fast asleep. So I sneaked out into the quiet morning for a few moments alone, and I snapped some pictures. There was a peaceful calm, that took my breath away. And nothing was moving…except me and the sun and a [...]
So do temperatures over 110 degrees (yes, even with no humidity). So by the time we had crossed the awesome loneliness of the local landscape into Monument Valley, we were greatly diminished as a group. So much so, that we feared Goulding’s Lodge, which sat as an oasis in endless miles of red sand and [...]
We were ready for a four-hour ride when we packed our stinky clothes and our stinkier selves into the minivan and bid good-bye to the cool yurt (and the cool temperatures) in Mancos State Park. We were headed west…toward Monument Valley, Utah, with a planned pitstop for a photo op at Four Corners Monument–the one [...]
Mancos State Park campground with its 30-some campsites, cool mountain air and comfortable, well-equipped yurts (including futon beds, a fridge and a microwave) lacked only one luxury amenity—a shower. Not to worry, though, we fancied the lack of bathing to be part of the true pioneer experience, complete with the echoes of howling coyotes at [...]
We hope you live a hundred years. We hope you see a hundred steers. Happy Birthday, dear Emmett! Happy Birthday to you! Ya know what Emmett got for his 13th Birthday? A nine-hour car ride. Yippee!!!! The day would have started out a bit better if the folks at Elkins Ranch, in Palo Duro Canyon [...]
Texas and steaks…with a huge helping of cheese. When we last left you, we were leaving Oklahoma City. After a free breakfast (and free WiFi), we updated the website, loaded up the car and set out for the west…but not before we stopped off to see a few more Oklahoma Cowboys. This time we saw [...]
Memphis “Monday is a Blues Day, Y’all.” – Big Jerry on Beale Street. We set out today on the path of Kings. We saw Graceland, of course, and we also spent a couple hours at the National Civil Rights Museum, which is located in the Lorraine Motel, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was [...]
We left Meeman-Shelby State Park at 7 a.m., and took a breakfast break in North Little Rock, Arkansas, where we wandered around whimsical Old Mill Park for an hour or so. Built in 1933, the entire park is a piece of art. The Old Mill and the gates and the bridges and benches that seem [...]
After a 7 a.m. departure from Aunt Cheryl’s house in Asheville, NC, we began our journey out of the Appalachian Mountains and westward. The in-flight movie was Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock” which we all pretty much agree probably deserved to be passed over for that year’s Academy Award. It was, however, a good warm-up for our [...]
668 miles down…alot more to go. 41 hours logged in. So far, things have gone according to plan, except of course the 4:00 departure. BLTN (Better Late Than Never) is a firmly held family tradition. In fact, we believe it appears prominantly on the Cawley/Lafferty Crest. Besides that bit of expected deviation, it’s pretty much [...]
