Saturday, October 9, 2010

Texas Panhandle






I thought I would share some of the sights along the TX panhandle on I 40. Some say it is a boring trip but I think it is fascinating. Amarillo has the stockyards and the Cadillac Ranch and just outside Amarillo is Palo Duro Canyon. We sometimes stop in this one Rest Stop that has quite an amazing museum that tells the history and geology of the area. This is an area that can be windy and now we see big windmills. The sunsets and sunrises are amazing here. Now when I go through I also think of the song Carol posted recently about clouds. One can see for miles because it is so flat and there are few large trees. I am posting some pictures we took on our August trip through the area.

84 comments:

jan said...

I forgot to mention rattlesnakes - sorry Coreen.

jan said...

The top picture is the rest stop with a small museum inside. The bottom pic is one of the "story boards" in the rest stop.

Carol said...

Cool pics Jan. I was wondering what kind of danger that sign was posting. Weird, do they have a sign at every tall grass and rock spot or is this a high bite area??

Anonymous said...

Thanks Jan. Nice pictures. I've never been up there. Bet it was plenty hot there in August.

Hope you're enjoying your trip. I'm sure you'll feel greatly relieved after your appointment on Monday morning. My thoughts are with you.

Keep us up on how your reunion goes too!

jan said...

Carol, I suppose that is a high bite area. I have not seen those signs before. I never see signs like that in NM. I know rattlesnakes were plentiful in FT Worth.

jan said...

Chloe, the reunion was this morning. It was only 1 1/2 hrs. It was just the girls - a small group - about 10. It was 4 of these girls that I was pretty close too so even that short time was worth it. John and I spent the evening yesterday with one of them. She was the one I stay in touch with.

Coreen said...

Thanks much Jan...I do enjoy seeing the sights of other places...

Love the sunset...& rest assured if I saw
such a sign (though I had to look twice to see
what you guys were talking about) I would NEVER
be back there again!!...

Interesting seeing the windmills but have to say unfortunately for me they are offensive... on so many levels (I wonder do they make noise as well as looking so ominous)...I am not one who is convinced that in the end 'wind power' is a practical & worthwhile source of energy...but thats a discussion for another day...

It was another '10' day here...& shortly all lights will be on the Bronx & the Stadium...

Carol said...

There are some happy Gamecocks today. South Carolina just beat Alabama 35-21.

Carol said...

Atlanta won their game last night. I tried to stay up for the finish but didn't make it.

jan said...

Hi Coreen,
I hear that these windmills do make noise that people living close find annoying. There are bunches of these across this section of TX and in OK too. The wind is fierce in this area. I should take some pics of the trees in this area - they are permanently leaning in one direction.

jan said...

Carol, I have never seen a rattlesnake and hope I never do. Those signs are posted all around that rest stop with the white structure and TX star. I suppose it must be a high-bite area.

I told you (on here) recently about getting locked in the back yard of a house in FT Worth years ago. I was barefoot. That is rattlesnake country. Fortunately that night I locked myself out of the house I wasn't thinking of that. I get shudders when I think about it now. Rattlesnakes are one of the scariest of snakes.

Carol said...

Jan, when you get home and get some time I'd like you to take some pics and do a post on some of the interesting sights in Albuquerque.

Carol said...

I just watched the most interesting LSU finish to a game. Last week it was a dufus ending. They were 5-0 for the season but they have been playing more like a losing team.

Tonight they were playing the Gators and were 3 points behind. Time was running out. They were on 4th down and going to try for a field goal. As the guy came up to kick the ball the guy holding the ball lateraled it to a guy and he ran for a first down. They were then able to drive for a touch down and win the game. I guess with this week's stunt, Les Miles was able to make up for the dufus finish to last weeks game.

Carol said...

Coreen, looks like your Yanks are going to take them in 3. The LSU game and the BB game were only a channel apart so my remote has had a workout. And I managed to catch most of the good plays for both games. Lucky.

Carol said...

I didn't mention that LSU only had 35 seconds left in the game when they pulled that stunt that won the game. Jan, ask John to check out some of the sports replays. He may get a kick out of it. I'm still laughing about it. I almost missed it because I had just flipped back from the Yanks game.

Carol said...

I guess Ivy is in mourning this morning. I still can't believe that South Carolina beat Alabama. I watched a good bit of that game also. Again, I was not watching that carefully. I would come back to that game and they were behind again. I expected they would put it into gear and roar back again like they did with Arkansas but not this time. I guess their number was up. It's been a weird sport's season this year.

Coreen said...

It's 3 beautiful days in a row...early fall in CT...lots of people were down at Silverman's getting apples & pumpkins...traffic backs up on the weekends in front of the farm with lots of out of town & NY cars going there to get pumpkins & apples...oh well, there are some
people spending $$$, which is a good thing...

Last night's Yankee game did not have much drama...but it got the job done...now we need
to win 8 more games...

Working on baseball withdrawal as the post-
season winds down...no Yankee game until Friday!!....

jan said...

Carol, we have been gone most of the day. Went to eat catfish with my sis and her hubs. Now he is watching Dallas play ball. I will tell him to check out the sports stuff.

I will get out and get pics around Alb when we get back.

Coreen, I remember you cool pics of the farm last year. I would love to see those again. I just posted the I 40 pics b/c we were getting closer to 200.

jan said...

I am intrigued by the star in the west -Rancho Cucamonga.

Carol said...

I've been busy today trying to get some online CEUs. I can't seem to get away to get a large quantity at a time and now our NP meetings have pretty much quit providing them because the Pharm Cos buy the dinner. That leaves me short so I have lots of catching up to do. They provide good stuff online but making myself sit down to do it is difficult.

Carol said...

I didn't spend much time watching any games today. I didn't have a good feeling about the Saints today and I'm glad I didn't invest in watching them lose. I feel the shine is vanishing from their halos. Lots of players out with injuries also.

Carol said...

Jan, I like to look up and read about some of the towns that show up as stars on our map. Many, I've never even heard of. It's been a good geography lesson.

jan said...

Carol, I hate doing on-line CEU's. I usually find something interesting in my area a couple of days a year. We have to have 30 CEU's every 2 years. I expect you have to have more for as an NP. I would rather pay to go to something in person than do it on-line.

jan said...

I don't see the star in Albuq but I do see one in Pagosa Springs. That is a very small area. How interesting.

jan said...

Tomorrow is the day we meet with the atty. Thanks to all of you for the encouragement and advice. I am ready to get home too.

jan said...

My childhood friend, Carolyn took John and I for a tour of Owasso yesterday evening . I asked her if she had a dog because she is out in the country by herself. She said she has a "watch horse" She took us out to meet her (a mare). Carolyn put some horse food (oats I guess) in a pan and banged on a fence and in a minute her horse came running (I suppose the word is galloping) up. She said when she shuts the gate leading up her driveway to her house and if anyone opens the gate other than her, the horse will run out to the gate and chase whoever is there - away.

Anonymous said...

This is a picture of that huge cat fish on the pics this week, which is about 160 lbs. Figure you guys may have already seen it, but when you mentioned going out for cat fish Jan (and Carol talks about her love of fishing) I couldn't help but think of it. Local Thailand fishermen show off the day's catch

Anonymous said...

"She said when she shuts the gate leading up her driveway to her house and if anyone opens the gate other than her, the horse will run out to the gate and chase whoever is there - away."

That's funny Jan. I figure her horse probably scares those people, but I can't imagine it would ever actually cause harm to anyone. They're kind animals, and not aggressive with humans - and are easily spooked. (Thank goodness they're not meat eaters!) Most of the injuries from horses are accidents. They do that back kicking thing, but usually on each other, or maybe because someones been really mean to them in the past, and they feel threatened. I've heard of it, but never seen it.

They're amazing animals.

Of course, it's probably the same with most watch dogs. They scare off a lot more people than they hurt.

Anonymous said...

Hope you come out of that meeting today feeling better, Jan,

Will you be heading home afterward?

Anonymous said...

Chile miners are heroes, but fame can be fleeting

"They're in for the surprise of their lives. From here on out, their lives will have changed," Fisher predicted. "There aren't too many of those guys who get along because of all the attention, the lawsuits, the movie deals. Once money gets involved it gets ugly."
Fame can be fleeting

jan said...

Wow Chloe, that is one giant catfish.

Yes, Carolyn's horse will chase people, but has never hurt anyone.

jan said...

My friend has always had horses. She and her son have a store in a neighboring community that sells saddles, feed and other stuff for horses. Her son and grandson compete in rodeos. I guess she could be called "horse-woman."

jan said...

We will be leaving for home after our meeting today. Look for a star in Weatherford tonight.

jan said...

I sure hope the miners are all rescued safely soon.

Carol said...

Hope your day and travels went well today Jan and you get to settle in for some relaxing DWTS tonight.

I think years of too little sleep and too much stress seemed to catch up with me and I had a bad case of overwhelming fatigue today. I was planning to go fishing and I didn't have the energy to hold a fishing pole. I just napped most of the day.

Carol said...

Judges are tough tonight.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear you're not feeling well today Carol. I've had that same feeling you describe at times, so I know what you're going through.

Hopefully the sleep today will help out, and tomorrow will be a better day.

Anonymous said...

Jan, Hope things are OK with you. I bet you'll be plenty happy to get home.

jan said...

Carol & Chloe, thanks for the good wishes. We are in Weatherford tonight. It has been a tough day. We are glad to be heading home.

Carol, hope you are getting some rest.

jan said...

Hi folks, we are HAPPY to be home - "be it ever so humble."

jan said...

They are getting ready to bring up the chilean miners. We are saying prayers for their safe rescue.

Carol said...

Welcome home Jan. Hope your trip was successful.

Yes, I'm praying and pulling for those miners. It's a miracle that they have survived this long.

Carol said...

Does anyone have a prediction for who gets the boot on DWTS. Anyone ready to give up the Situation yet? He got the lowest judges scores. Bristol beat him by 4 points.

Carol said...

To Recap:

The Judges Scores and Percentages
Place Celebrity Score Percentage
1. Jennifer 56 15.64
2. Brandy 48 13.41
3. Audrina 46 12.85
4. Kyle 40 11.17
5. Rick 39 10.89
6. Florence 35 9.78
7. Kurt 34 9.5
8. Bristol 32 8.94
9. The Sitch 28 7.82

http://www.puredwts.com/

Carol said...

I found this link on C2C last night. I was listening to an interview with Hal Herzog who recently wrote a book about animals titled, "Some We Love, Some We Hate and Some We Eat."

Did dogs teach us to love?

"In his new "The Dog Who Couldn't Stop Loving," Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson considers how a "mutual evolution" not only impacted dogs, but us as well, and our own capacity to love and feel empathy for other creatures."

Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard to Think Straight About Animals

Coreen said...

Are you back on your feet Carol...

Don't know who will go, but pretty sure I know
who won't...interesting that consistently the
top 3 are the women celebs...& yes, Jennifer's
routine last night was superb...

Any of those outside the top 3 could go...who has the least fan base I guess goes...

Coreen said...

Jan, hope you had some positive results from your meetings...

Coreen said...

Carol, the more you think about animals, the
more difficult it becomes to eat them...be careful if you enjoy meat meals, since you may
grow to not be able to eat them...

Coreen said...

Still in baseball withdrawal & just changed channels & saw all the cable live feeds from
where the miner rescue is occuring...truth be
told I really have very little interest, well really no interest in watching it unfold...

Carol said...

Oh Coreen, can you guess one of those animals we hate??? It starts with an S.

Carol said...

And who are you hoping your Yanks will have to play in the next round of playoffs? I have a feeling it will be Texas.

Carol said...

I really don't eat that much meat anymore and you are right, the more you think about it, the less you want to eat meat.

Carol said...

I flipping between dancing, BB, and the miners.

Carol said...

First miner headed up! Whoppee!

Carol said...

Jerry Brown once again showed that there is far more tolerance for sexism than racism. Sad for him and for all women.

Evidently he was having a debate with Whitman and Tom Brocaw asked him about someone in his campaign using the term "whore" in reference to Whitman and comparing it to using the "N" word. He said it isn't the same thing like it wasn't as bad. Personally, I think that both are awful terms but calling someone a whore is worse because not only is it a bad word but it indicates that the woman being referred to is a bad person.

These political campaigns have become hate fests. And these are people we have to choose from as our leaders.

Carol said...

Oh, and I do think the Situation was the proper choice for the next to go on DWTS. I think, unless there is a miracle, Bristol will be next.

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone. Hope you're all doing well.

I enjoyed reading this article from The Guardian (that I'm about to link), because it was so blunt - and at times made a very serious subject almost humorous, because of that bluntness.

Reading about us from an English point of view is always a little different, because they're looking at us from a distance. We're just too close to 'get it' sometimes. Regardless, a lot of people in our media who do get it, won't (can't?) say it.

America's new poor: the end of the middle-class dream
The ideology that drove millions of people into expensive lifestyles on low pay and easy credit is bust. But who will tell them?
"This sudden collapse in lifestyle will have economic and psychological impacts long after the crisis is over. Since the 1980s US growth has been driven by the spending power of the salaried workforce. In turn the consumer has been the dynamo of global growth.

n the midterm elections politicians have promised to "do something" for the middle class. The kindest thing they could do is tell the truth: Americans have been living a middle-class lifestyle on working-class wages – and bridging the gap with credit. And it's over."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/oct/12/end-of-the-middle-class-american-dream

Carol said...

Amen Chloe. I constantly worried about how these young people, and some not so young people, who couldn't afford it, were buying large houses and filling them with the nicest, newest things. Credit cards were being sent out to infants, children and pets. People were using them to stack up the debt and didn't seem one bit concerned about it. I was shaking in my boots just thinking about it.

I worked and saved for years and didn't have half what they had. It didn't seem right and I knew it couldn't last. Unfortunately when that house of cards came tumbling down it took many of the rest of us down with it.

Those who spent recklessly came tumbling down, many of us who weren't reckless came tumbling down as a side effect but the people who coaxed them into this reckless behavior, and found a way to make a fortune doing it for years got bailed out when it was time for them to come tumbling down also. And the biggest part of the bill for the bailout is being paid by the innocent in the middle.

Carol said...

And I want to add a PS to what I wrote this morning by saying I don't like Meg Whitman and I do like Brown. The issue was the use of the term whore.

Carol said...

I wonder if the world is pondering, with this mine disaster, what we could all achieve if we would all work together instead of against one another.

Coreen said...

As to the 'death of the middle class'...not sure what defines middle class...seems that
most people think they are middle class...& have no idea whether the dream is truly vanished forever, or how it can be rebuilt...

Unfortunately for many years (I don't remember
how long) consumer spending has been 2/3
of the U.S. economy (right or wrong, that is
what kept the economy growing)...the utter
collapse that was created by the mortgage fiasco only now being acknowledged as to the
true extent of it, remains to be determined
whether in fact the 'middle class' will recover...there are estimates that it will take
20+ years to return to what most have come to
expect....

Trust me, those who have seen their entire lifestyle collapse are painfully aware that
their future is uncertain at best...

There is simply not one answer to this massive
problem...from banks/lenders who were all to
willing to extend 'credit' to those happily
willing to accept it & spend (& yes live the
'middle class' lifestyle) to utter lack of
oversight by any governmental authority...it
all looked sooo good to all & many took advantage....the stories are all different, yet similar....

where it goes, clearly no one seems to know what should/would/could be done to solve the
ongoing crisis...but it is clear that none of
the politicians that claim to be 'working' for
the good of the people...have a clue...make no mistake they are all the same, in it for their
personal benefit...the rest of us are just an
afterthought (only want that vote, then well
you are on your own)....

Carol said...

This would be the year that if they had none of the above as a choice on the ballot, none would win.

Carol said...

After seeing some of the recent snippets from these campaign debates, they don't need the Daily Show or SNL to make them look any more ridiculous. The comedians don't even have to have writers anymore, they just have to show clips from the debates to get laughs.

Carol said...

And the pundits, who usually support one side or the other, are having to make excuses for some of the ridiculous things the candidates they support say and that make them look stupid also. Politics has gotten to be a effin joke.

Solar said...

Last miner up now.!!

Two things that i noticed....they kept it simple...no complicated machinery on site...not much expensive ones that is......

The next thing......there are no bald Chileans.......what do they eat...they must be studied....will talk to you a little tomorrow......

Solar said...

ps,

I hate that they also have shit politicians....can't stand their president, that is hogging all of the cameras.!! He should be there...but not every frigging min......they are all the same no?.

Carol said...

Solar, I heard it was some company from the US that helped drill that hole to get the miners out but quietly bowed out so as not to get in the way of any of the credit to the Chilian government who also worked hard on this mission. That was pretty cool.

Solar said...

Dang, Now the president of Chile is making his long as speech......on his coat there is a logo...guess what it says? "
the President of Chile.......putz.!!

Im totally surprised at how similar their language is to the Mexican language ....

Solar said...

Now he is speaking English...just wanted to see these people .....they don't have very much Indian blood in them...i don't think.......but the pres...is too much...i want to B. slap him...he is not the story....they are....and there were no miracles....just the right circumstances.........im dyiiiiiing over here.......d e y ing im telling you....over and out.......

Solar said...

Oooops sorry if that was sexist, or something....but I have known a few.....One of them....Sue comes to mind.....

Carol said...

I don't know anything about the Chilian president Solar but I have been impressed that he's been there, at least 24 hours, to greet every miner coming out of that hole. Well, I assume he saw the last one, I missed the last ones who were rescued. I was watching Modern Family.

Solar said...

Carol, He has been there since all of this started....he must be in trouble politically, or else he would not have been there so often.....yes he does need to be there from time to time...but who is running the store??. Out the door...

Solar said...

Just remembered and article about him....he took a lot of Corporation money Nafta, and has become a billionaire....he forces the natives to leave their homes....so he can cut down the forest trees....and more.....he was bribed....

Carol said...

OK, so he has a dark side. What's new in politics?? I'm having a hard time finding any light side in our politicians here. Some don't even pretend to have one. They almost announce they are going to screw us all and just assume that many of us are stupid enough to vote for them because we want some new crook in office. Duh.

Carol said...

Coreen, could you explain this??? I don't get it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/13/meet-banks-robosigners-fo_n_761698.html

jan said...

Hooray! The miners and rescuers are all out of the mine.

Carol said...

Coreen, looks like you are going to have some cold, wet and windy weather coming your way. Good thing the Yanks are playing in the south where it will be very comfortable.

Coreen said...

Just testing...I tried 3 times earlier to post a response Carol, while at the office it kept asking for
a password, rejected the one I used & deleted
my post...

Coreen said...

Not sure what in the article you were refering to Carol, but here's some foreclosure 101...

In CT (& many other states, but not all)for
a bank to foreclose on a property which is the
collateral/security for a loan, the bank must
go to Court...file a lawsuit alleging that
it has the right to foreclose, owns the loan...

at some time during the process, before it can
get a judgment of foreclosure, it files an
'affidavit of debt' (other states may call it
something similar) which affidavit is a sworn
statement of the underlying facts to support
the claim that the debt is in default (not being paid), the amount of the debt owed, & the
person who signs the affidavit states that
he/she has personal knowledge of the truth of
the factual statements stated in the affidavit...

what the depositions by attorneys representing debtors show is that the banks/lenders have
been submitting fraudulent affidavits to the Court to support their claims...those swearing to the veracity of the affidavit don't have a clue what is really going on with the debt...
they appear to have not reviewed any documents to determine that the facts are as stated...

In recent years as a result of the way loans
have been given out, then sold, resold, etc,
there is a problem for the foreclosing party
in producing the 'original' loan documents (the
note & mortgage deed) which were signed by the
borrowers...establishing that the foreclosing party has the right to enforce the
terms of the loan/mtge...that it owns or represents the owner of the loan

will be interesting to see how this plays out...in the end I suspect that it will only
buy more time for borrowers who are not paying their mortgage, but in the end, if they can not
pay, they will lose the house...

Coreen said...

About the bad weather just about here... today was a really lovely day, went to New Haven for bkpt hearings, walked through the green, may have some pics (have to load them & see if there are any ok ones...Yale Univ. is all around downtown New Haven...

by late this p.m. all clouds, windy, dark & the
rain has started...its a noreaster, but we usually think of a noreaster bringing snow, & it is not cold enough for snow, so it will be
a cold rain tonight & part of tommorrow...&
it may take the leaves out...when they are just
starting to reach peak color...

Carol said...

Thanks for the info Coreen. It's all so complicated.

I heard that the weather may screw up the leaf changes up your way. Wind may blow them off before they can be appreciated. And we have been waiting. Rats. Hope your pic today came out.

Coreen said...

I already got a few leaf pics, will see if
I get more after the rainstorm...

Am reviewing the New Haven pics & think I have
some that will give you an idea of the architecture....something we take for granted...I pass
the Yale campus whenever I go to New Haven, it is part of the downton of New Haven...which is about once a month because the bkpt
hearings are all held there....parking is a
pain, as with any big city...

Carol said...

They sound cool to me.

Coreen said...

I put up the New Haven Green Post...