On the Road Again - Pt. 1 - New Mexico

It's hard to believe that it has been over a month since I've last written in this blog. I'm going to share my trip and I'm sure that it will take me multiple entries to cover it all. I left here on the 19th of last month after going to a VA appointment in Stockton. In spite of the appointment and the late start I was still able to get to Kingman, Arizona the first night leaving me a short drive to Albuquerque the next day for a visit with Johnny Ramos. I hadn't seen Johnny since around Christmas of 2004 when he came through the Springs on his way to a family members funeral in Longmont. That was a short but fun reunion because he got there in time to watch me coach my swimming team before we went back to the house for pizza and beer. No drinking this visit but a lot of good memories and shared laughs. We went to dinner and then we drove around Old Town Albuquerque and Johnny showed me some of the land marks.

The next morning I ran a 5K in the foothills and thought the altitude was going to be the end of me. It has been almost five years since I lived at altitude and I sure felt it. It didn't help that the first half mile was uphill either. Despite walking the majority of it while my knee is still getting stronger I still managed to win my age group. As I have joked before, the older I get the less people in my age group are showing up to race.

After the race I went back to Johnny's to clean up, say goodbye and load my car for the trip to St. Louis; I was only going as far as Shamrock, Texas that night since I was once again getting a very late start. When I got to Shamrock the first thing that struck me was that it appeared deserted. The place was loaded with motels but the parking lots and the roads were practically empty. It is one of the towns that really promote their location on Route 66.

From the book, Road Trip USA - Route 66 by Jamie Jensen this describes what I saw, "Even more so than in New Mexico or Oklahoma, old Route 66 has been replaced by I-40 most of the way across Texas, though in many of the ghostly towns, like McLean, Shamrock, or Vega, and the sole city, Amarillo, old US-66 survives as the main business strip, lined by the empty remains of roadside businesses. A select few are still open for a cup of coffee and a sharp taste of the living past". I keep finding my way back to the "Mother Road" when ever I travel near it. This won't be the last time I mention Route 66 on this trip.

I left early the next morning to drive to St. Louis to see Stacie, Tom, Chase and Haley. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with them because the time passes so quickly when I'm there, even more so with Tom traveling, Stacie working and both kids in school all day. The great thing is that we make the most of the time that we do have by staying busy and enjoying each other's company even if it's something as simple as watching a Cardinals game together or playing Wii Bowling. I spent Tuesday resting up from the drive while the kids were in school and then stayed busy the rest of my visit.