Joe Goes on the Trail to Santa Fe......

Tuesday Jan 17th Dublin Airport ...,ESTA worked marvellously ,no need to show my passport or papers , even for the stopover for 'change of equipment ' in Atlanta.So ...almost the very first person I saw on arrival in the USA at Dallas/Fort Worth airport was my beautiful three-year-old grandaughter .Yes , before I even collected my luggage , there she was.... dancing in her red ballet-shoes , entertaining the travel-weary passengers as they waited at the luggage roundabout......
What a welcome to Texas.....?
With my son , his 'dancing queen', my daughter-in-law , and the sleeping 8 month -old baby girl the old Honda Accord had us in Denton in about 40 minutes.
Denton ....a large town roughly in a 30 mile triangle between Dallas and Fort Worth , Texas . Spacious and flat with no high rise buildings except the 'twin towers' of the of the accomodation apartments of the local university , formerly known as the Womens University of Texas .
These buildings can be used as a landmark for anyone unused to the area .
Shortly after arriving at my son's home I was informed that we were all travelling to Santa Fe in New Mexico which was about 600 miles from Denton as he and his wife had planned a short skiing holiday in the area .
We travelled by night in the old Honda Accord which was still going strong although tending to cough , from time to time .( they had originally planned to have their new car for the trip but this had not worked out .)
The Texas landscape slipped by in the dark , signposts for familiar town-names appeared in the headlights , Fort Worth , Abeline , Waco , Amarillo ....we made very good time , our two little ones sleeping peacefully in their car seats .....until we passed near the town ( ?) of Memphis (Tx) and encountered a speed-trap , apparently a 45mph zone followed by a brief 40mph zone and then back to a 45mph zone . We were stopped by a very surly agressive policeman (cop) who seemed to me to be ready for trouble .....a young family ; two babies asleep in the back , a young couple , and an old 'fart' nodding off in the front seat ,in an old family car ......no quarter given by this hero , a full speeding (44 mph in a 40 mph zone ) plus an additional charge because the address on the licence had not been changed to their new address).
We stayed overnight at a motel , I think it was on the outskirts of Amarillo and (very..early next morning ) my two grand daughters paid me a visit ...no alarm clocks required...we had great fun watching early morning TV and crawling around the floor....
As we drove on through the Texas landscape , absolutely flat, I have often wondered why this state is often described as having a BIG SKY ,I used to think ..a sky is a sky ...how can it be big or small ?But now I see , having such a distant skyline the sky is like a huge umbrella , no trees , no vegetation , not even cactus , occasional armardillo road-kill...wind- farms were the only items of interest .The long-long freight trains with up to a hundred rail-cars ,that could take as long as 15 minutes to pass a given spot ( we stopped for one and the driver gave the children a blast of the train-horn as a salute....
In the distance we began to see mountain ranges ....the Rockies.....New Mexico....Santa Fe ( Fe meaning Faith ?)
The town (city?) is the capital of New Mexico , is 7000 feet above sea level , and local building restrictions do not allow high rise buildings and most structures , domestic and commercial have to be built in the fashion of the original ADOBE houses , used by the native Indians .
It was amazing to see all these shops , offices , motels , churches built in the style and with the materials of the past and modern inside...
As we drove around I wondered why the countryside seemed so familiar to me until I realised that I had seen sooo many westerns in the cinema that I felt that I had been there before...., tumbleweed , arid landscape , rough vegetation ( chaparral ? )
We drove high up into the mountains , through beautiful scenery , to an ear-popping 10,000 feet .
My son and my daughter-in-law went skiing , my three-year-old grandaughter went to her mini-ski childcare and I hung out with my 8 month old grandaughter . We had great fun in a cafe overlooking the slopes , she proved to be a real 'babe-magnet' , making eye-contact and smiling at everyone and people found her irresisable....ok, ok some of the 'babes' were in their seventies like me and yes some of the 'babes' were even MEN....
We visited the market square where the native Indians displayed their wares in pottery , painting , leather , jewellery and fabric....
On our journey back to Denton we travelled through Alberqueque , a seemingly never- ending
town ....we travelled the whole 600 miles in one day....I tip my hat to the two drivers for their patience and concentration on a wonderful trip and a very special tribute to two marvellous little ones who did not complain on the long , long , journey home ,about 10 hours....
Aother surprise a few days later ,the Fort Worth Rodeo , ridin',ropin' wrestlin'bulls what fun , there must have been many broken bones ,but the bulls and the broncos seemed to enjoy it ....
I mustn't forget the dear old Honda......two days after we got home ....they changed her for a brand new Volkswagen Passat......now there's gratitude !!!!!
Arrived back in Ireland safely , love you and miss you all
THANKS.