Sandia Mountains Hike - New Mexico

 While camping at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico, we completed several day hikes in the Sandia Mountain Range. These hikes were to strengthen our hiking skills for our upcoming 8-day Colorado Rafting Trip.  Our first hike was the Whitewash Trail. 

The trail begins over the bridge and goes directly ahead to the base of the mountain.

Here is Kathy before we start our climb to the top. 

As you can see, we traverse some formidable rocks on our way to the top.  

The trail was well identified throughout our hike.  

 

On weekends the trails are well packed by local residents and their dogs. 

During our hike we noticed several climbers getting ready to repel down the rock face. Unfortunately, we never got to see any of them actually repel.   

Three Stops - Florida to Barksdale AFB, LA

 

Site 55 at Barksdale AFB near Shreveport, LA.  Ready for a little break by the third day, so we stayed here 3 nights.  Unloaded the trike and took short rides on two days.  Caught up on our household chores and ready to hit the road again.  Heading to Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque, NM.  Will take 2 -3 days to get there depending upon weather forecast.  

Site 33 at Camp Shelby on Lake Walker near Hattiesburg, MS

Site 8 at the Hitchin Post Corral Campground near Cottondale, FL  Passport America Park

On the Road Again!

We have been posting more of our travels on Facebook for the last couple years.  This year we will return to posting on this blog.  Looking forward to doing a full Canyon raft trip starting Memorial Day weekend to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary.  From there we plan to head further west and doing more trike riding.  Watch here for more posts later this year.

 

Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center - Orlando November 2018

After attending the 2018 ICE show, we decided to take Mom for a tour of the Gaylord Palms Resort. 

Gaylord Palms is built around a 4.6-acre glass-covered atrium, divided into four areas, each with their own activities and guest rooms.

The hotel was decorated for the Christmas season.  You can see the beautiful holly tree to the right of Mom. 

She was looking at the carp swimming in the water. 

Here is a great photo of Mom and Kathy. 

The Atrium is divided into four separate sections.  We visited only two of the sections during our tour. 

St. Augustine has an old-world colonial Spanish theme based on North America's oldest existing permanent settlement

Key West is inspired by Mallory Square, the central area of the major Florida Keys port city.

You can see many decorative Christmas displays throughout the hotel.

Waterfalls are plentiful. I can't imagine the staff that it takes to attend to all the plants, trees and wildlife.  

Mom was amazed at all the waterways and lush gardens. We did see a couple of banana trees and others showcasing the landscape of the Everglades.

Here is a pool of Turtles and Gators.  I thought the alligators were fake until I asked one of the keepers who explained that they are just chilling out under the heat lamps.  He said they do not keep Gators more than three feet in length.  

Another beautiful waterfall on the other side of the hotel. The hotel also has Christmas musicals each evening during the holidays.  All in all, a great place to visit!