Heading Home from Arizona - 2007

We left Tucson for home on Friday, April 13, shortly after George and Delores Raeder arrived to stay at our place for a month. It was about eleven o'clock in the morning as we hit I-10 heading east from Tucson. Our initial plans to head north into southern Utah (Zion and Bryce NPs) and through Colorado were changed when a series of winter storm systems were lined up off the California Pacific coast. We decided to avoid the northern route and instead head east toward El Paso Texas. Our new goal for the night was Ruidoso, NM a ski town in a mountainous region of southwestern NM. We encountered rain as we left Las Cruses and at the 6000 foot level the rain turned to snow and we were in a wintery setting. The snow lightly coated the ground in Ruidoso. Ruidoso is a popular ski area and there are many shops along the main drag of the town. We dined at a steak house called the Beef Baron and their salad bar was amazing.

We left Ruidoso NM after breakfast this morning and headed east toward Texas. Since Ruidoso is at the 7500 foot level above sea level the morning sun and blue sky beautifully highlighted the snow-capped mountaintops all around us. But it wasn't long before we distanced ourselves from these mountains and they were a diminishing image in the rear view mirror. We quickly passed through Roswell the home of an alien visit to earth a few years ago. We were now in flat grazing land and the state road was straight as an arrow allowing us to cruise comfortably and safely at 75 MPH plus. Although the road was a two lane highway it was smooth and traffic was almost nonexistent.

Just before noon we passed into the central time zone and since it was around noon we spotted a small restaurant in a sleepy non descript town named appropriately Juicy Burger. I wheeled the car into the parking lot which was crowded with pickup trucks (how Texas). The place had a menu consisting of six hamburgers and one Coney style hot dog, plus a Tex Mex breakfast. That was it, no kidding. No desserts either. Well the special for Saturday was a double cheeseburger with chips for $5.50. With a degree of guilt we agreed to share one special, adding fried onions. We had to ask for catsup, as all they had on the table was tabasco sauce. Needless to say, the results were delicious. As we left, we were glad we stopped at the Juicy Burger. While dining at the Juicy Burger Bonnie answered a call from her daughter Amy and Danielle. When Danielle heard we were in Texas she wanted to know if the people said "Howdy partner"? We assured her that was likely the case.

Well soon we were back on highway 380 shooting straight east at a smooth, but speedy rate of speed. The day remained sunny and cool as the landscape changed from grazing to agriculture. Many farmers were out plowing their fields in which the soil was a rich red color. Some fields were irrigated and some were not. Interspersed in these fields were many oil wells pumping that precious commodity that the entire world thirsts for. Our two-laned highway passed through one out-of-date town after another, every fifteen miles or so.

Eventually we arrived at I-20 some miles west of Abilene. From then on we surged among greater numbers of cars and especially semi trailer trucks. We still had nearly 200 miles to Fort Worth. Our motel was a Comfort Suites on the west side of the city, quite far from the part of the city where Aunt June lived. The night before I had spent an hour or more trying to locate a motel in Fort Worth. One after another was full or had a minimum of a two night stay. Finally in frustration I said to Bonnie, "What is going on in Fort Worth?" Then I wondered out loud if NASCAR was running this weekend in Fort Worth. In October 2006 we had driven past the Texas Speedway which is located on the north side of Fort Worth. A phone call from Jenny confirmed that that was exactly what was going on in Fort Worth, in fact, 206,000 race fans had come to Fort Worth this weekend. And we were naively passing through this crowded city totally innocent of this.

Well, tomorrow we are planning to visit Bonnie's Aunt June, a lifelong Fort Worth resident, and one of four children of Bonnie's grandmother Inga Jakobsen (aka Jacobson). Aunt June is now living in a nursing home, the result of a broken hip and some other health issues in the last year or so. Her son, Gordon, lives about an hour away. Bonnie called him Friday night from Ruidoso to inquire about his mother, June. They had a warm conversation and Bonnie was encouraged to continue with her desire to visit Aunt June. And so we called June earlier this morning from our mobile phone. June was soon on the phone and Bonnie and June enjoyed a long overdue conversation ending with a promise to visit her Sunday morning. And so we look forward in the morning to a visit with Aunt June, Bonnie's only living aunt.


Our morning found us heading for the nursing home in Richland Hills, an older northern suburb of Fort Worth. We first wanted to drive by Aunt June's home of many years. It is in a nice part of the city, albeit showing some signs of wear and age. It is a large ranch style house. Aunt June and her husband had first lived there beginning in the fifties. It doesn't appear that much has changed since Aunt June went to the nursing home late last fall.

Just a few blocks away we found her nursing home. As we checked in at the nursing station we notice a smartly dressed lady in a wheelchair heading towards us from down the hall. It was Aunt June waving a warm greeting. She looked great, just as she had in October a year and a half ago, minus a few pounds. Her white hair was nicely coiffed and jewelry was colorfully in place, even earrings that she called, "shoulder scrappers". We followed her to her room and and sat down. She shared a room with another lady and there was one chair and her bed to sit on. Soon Aunt June decided that we must meet her best friend and she hustled out the door and down the hall, soon to return with an older looking lady, sweet rather reserved. Our conversation then moved to reflect on the story of our finding Aunt June two years earlier and a retelling of Aunt June's Fort Worth history, including her Corvettes and her life as a judge at Billy Bob's, a famous Fort Worth country dance club. She also told us she was happy to be in this nursing home, "except for the food". She assured us that she has friends and neighbors who continue to look after her, even taking her to Kareoke nights at an area establishment.

It wasn't long before ninety minutes had sped by and we needed to prepare to leave for our next stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We programmed our Lizzy (short for Garmin Street Pilot) for the home of Carol and Jim Vaughn in Tulsa. Carol is a Wundrow cousin (3rd) who with her husband (both Marshfield H.S. graduates) have become good friends in recent years. In fact, Jim and Carol visited us in Tucson in late March this year. Unfortunately, Lizzy routed right past the Texas Speedway and into a mass of race goers heading the NASCAR race. After what seemed like an hour we were finally out of this traffic and back to freeway speeds toward Oklahoma City and then Tulsa.

We arrived at the Vaughn's home just about four o'clock and soon were in their car taking a tour of Tulsa. We first when to the area of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 in which a major portion of Tulsa was burned and many were killed. There is now a memorial and a concert hall on the site, a stark reminder of how a minor incident can turn quickly into a major racial conflict, especially when hostile prejudice is involved. We ended up at a newly built riverfront (Arkansas River) complex complete with restaurants and river walks. We dined at a Japanese place, one Jim and Carol like, and it was a fun and satisfying experience. Jim is adept at using chopsticks, but we opted for western utensils. We enjoyed our food choices, appetizers, a salad and an entre of noodles and vegetables....very, very good and tasty. But we learned quickly that Japanese food can be quite spicy and hot.

After breadfast then next morning we packed the car and said our goodbyes to Carol and Jim and left Tulsa for Springfield, Illinois. We continued to have great driving weather as we sailed northeast from Tulsa, through Missori and into Illinois at St. Louis. We were passing through St. Louis and debated whether to bypass the city to the south or head straight through the city past the arch and the Cardinals ballpark. Since it was just early afternoon we opted for the direct downtown route, and in no time we were in Illinois. Not long after, we were in our motel and thinking about visiting some of the Lincoln attractions available to tourists.

We dined at an Olive Garden (one we had visited last year) and then we decided to checkout the Lincoln tomb on the north side of the city. It was just the same as I recalled seeing it as a teenager years earlier. We drove through the city center and located the national park where the Lincoln’s first and only house stands and the newly constructed Presidential Library and Museum. We would visit these places in the morning before departing for home around noon.

After breakfast we went to find the Lincoln Home National Park. It is located just a few blocks south of Springfield city center. The park consists of four city blocks that have been returned to their 1860’s condition to reflect how they looked when Lincoln would have seen them. Any houses that were built after the 1860’s have been removed. The entire area is open to pedestrian traffic only. Park rangers are numerous as they take groups of people on guided tours. Some of the homes are used as offices for various park operations and one is the office of an Illinois U.S. senator.

From the park we went over to Presidential Museum and Library, not many blocks to the north. A block sized parking ramp is across the street as is a restored railroad station., a beautiful structure and now a tourist information site. The Museum is a totally new structure and it is truly awesome. One part traces Lincoln’s life from his humble beginnings in Kentucky and Indiana to his law practice in Springfield. Another part features his White House years and another the Civil War. All are done using the latest technology. We were very pleased and this was time well spent.

Around noon we prepared to leave the city of Lincoln – Springfield. We were happy to have taken the time to see each of these special reminders of Lincoln. We thought about the places we didn’t visit, like the state park at Galesburg a few miles to the west of Springfield. Sometime we will again pause in Springfield and renew our relationship with this famous man, the man who became our sixteenth president and who made such a difference to our United States of America.

The next 250 miles went by quickly, especially the 100 plus miles when Bonnie was behind the wheel. And soon we were in the Milwaukee area and in sight of SteepleView. And before long we were unpacking our car and transitioning to our other life… in Wisconsin., the life we left January 3 and now resume again.