Pioneer Spirit

Yesterday was Pioneer Day, the day on which our church celebrates our pioneer heritage. Having spent so many hours traveling cross country recently, I've been thinking a lot about the amazing faith and courage of those pioneers, who often left behind everyone and everything they loved to venture into unknown dangers.
On our way to Texas yesterday, I asked Dylan how many miles he thought the pioneers could travel per hour in their covered wagons or pushing their handcarts. He thought a minute and guessed, "Ten miles?" I told him it was closer to 3 or 4 miles per hour. They could travel all day and only go about 50 miles. Dylan was amazed.
*
I pointed out that we were driving almost 80 miles per hour. The pioneers would probably have thought that's impossible. We decided to see how long it took to drive one mile. We were both shocked. It took just 48 seconds to travel one whole mile!
Our family is SO ready to be done with traveling. It took us 5 hours just to get out of Texas this afternoon, and we wanted nothing more than to get out of that cramped car!
*
Yet how blessed the pioneers would have felt to travel on smooth, paved roads and bridges across the toughest terrain. To get where they were going in days rather than months. To travel in an air conditioned vehicle and stop for food and bathrooms all along the way. To spend the night in a clean, air conditioned room with a swimming pool and a breakfast prepared for the family--for free! To be able to call those relatives they left behind any time they wanted, and hop on a plane to visit sometimes.
*
We really do have it pretty good.
We enjoyed our stay at Holiday Inn so much, we didn't check out until 11:30. The breakfast was great. Along with the traditional pastries, juices, and cereals of a continental breakfast, they served scrambled eggs, sausage, and biscuits and gravy.
*
By noon we were on the endless highway through Texas. Hours of unchanging flat scenery and small towns.
*
On a sudden whim, I turned back to a Dollar General we'd just passed in the tiny Texas town of Clarendon. I wanted to get water bottles and chips to have with our lunch sandwiches. When I told the lady at the register we were heading home to Arizona, she replied, "I used to live in Arizona, but I lived in the White Mountains, a town called Pinetop."
*
What are the odds? She lived there from 1989 to 1997; I've lived in the Lakeside half of Pinetop-Lakeside since 1990. She was a waitress at Branding Iron and Paint Pony, both places I've eaten at many times (although I had to tell her the Paint Pony is now a Licanos restaurant). It seems almost miraculous that of all the little stores in Texas, we stopped at the one a formerly unknown neighbor now works at!
We reached Amarillo and turned westward, crossing the border into New Mexico at 4:45. Then we moved the time back on our clocks and watches to 3:45, because we crossed a time zone and gained back an hour.
*
We don't see trains too often anymore, but the rails along Interstate 40 in New Mexico and Arizona are still busy with trains pulling 100+ cars. We passed this train on our way to Albuquerque.
We had clear skies for today's journey, but far ahead we could see the stormy skies over home. This is Arizona's monsoon season, and they've had rain at home almost every day since we left.
*
Those storms created some glorious sky-scapes, though.
By the time we got to Santa Rosa at 5:30, we simply had to get out of the car for a while. We found a Carl's Jr. (my favorite fast food restaurant) on top of a bluff and had dinner there after lingering over the souvenir selection in the shop next door. We didn't buy anything, but it gave us a badly needed 30-minute break.
*
I told the kids they'd better enjoy their "famous star" burgers, because we won't be eating out again for a very long time after this trip!
We arrived at the Sandia Courtyard Hotel in Albuquerque at 7:30, New Mexico time. We're enjoying the same amenities: 2 beds, a large pool, free wireless Internet, and a complimentary hot breakfast (courtesy of JB's next door).
*
The hotel is quite old and not nearly as nice as last night's Holiday Inn, but it has been carefully maintained and, more importantly, smells clean. The vintage furniture and fixtures are straight out of the late '50s, well worn but lovingly cared for. I can imagine a young starlet staying here 50 years ago, when it all seemed so sleek and high tech. Notice the turquoise, short shag carpet?
*
$42 on Priceline.
Here are Jacob and Dylan on our little balcony, and our car parked below.
When we walked down to the pool, the extremely long hall kind of freaked me out. It was like the hall in a horror movie, like The Shining or Poltergeist, the one that seems to get longer and longer as the heroine desperately tries to reach the end. I snapped this shot when we were more than halfway down the hall, so it doesn't really capture the full sensation.

The kids swam for about an hour, then returned to the room for some TV and then bedtime.

*

Check-out is 11am tomorrow. We'll gain another hour back when we cross into Arizona, so we should be home by 3pm, our time. We can't wait!