2700 Miles: Arizona to Virginia

 Do you know what is interesting about driving across the country?  It's how the land changes.  We began in the Basin and Range area in Arizona.  These pictures make you  understand when I say, "I've had it with the desert.  I'm so tired of brown."  Technically, this isn't the Mojave Desert; but it's a good imitation.

Arizona heading toward New Mexico

 A true desert wouldn't have this much 'greenery'.  The red rocks mean iron.

This is petrified sand - literally sand turned to stone.

I tried for more than ten years to find the beauty in this landscape.  At one point it dawned on me that Sun City, founded in 1965, was filled with mature cacti, so I did a study.  I rode my bicycle all over the place and took pictures of different cactus, and identified each one.  One of the things I did learn to appreciate was how difficult this climate, with so little rainfall, was for plants, much less trees.  The desert will grow almost anything given enough water.  Post 1965, as Phoenix/Tucson exploded with people, they brought both plants and trees from other parts of the country increasing the humidity and making places like Sun City unique in its desert landscape.  Having lived in the heat with all the modern conveniences, I really admire the Apache for their ability to stay alive and thrive in the desert.

Agave

Organ Pipe

Barrel Cactus 

Prickly Pear

Teddy Bear Cholla

Pincushion

Senilis

Saguaro

Cacti and other native plants are actually protected under Arizona law.  You must have permission of the land owner AND a permit from the Dept. of Agriculture to remove a cactus.  There are fines up to $150K and/or five years in prison for a first offense.  If you buy a cactus from a nursery for your yard, it is suggested you file the tag/receipt in your files.  Large Saguaros are particularly protected since they are quite delicate and have very shallow roots.  With large saguaros, their Sun City owners would have them staked down, so they couldn't fall over in a strong wind or be stolen.  A ten foot saguaro is about 40 years old, and it's worth $110 a foot, including the arms.  

As usual, I got off theme.  Slowly, the landscape changed as we drove farther east.  It was very gradual, so there was no 'line' between the Basin and Ranges and the Trans Pecos.  El Paso is the entry to the Trans Pecos.  The high plains of the Texas Panhandle give way to the Great Plains.  In layperson's language, we call all of this "West Texas".  It's a land of high skies and flat land.  The first time I saw it, 1969, I was amazed town lights would appear at night 50 or more miles before you arrived at the town site.  This was the territory of the Comanche (250,000 square miles), and what the Spanish explorers called the Llano Estacado (Staked Plain).  [The Spaniards quickly realized they could become hopelessly lost since the geography didn't include handy unchangeable landmarks.  Thus, they drove a large stake in the ground, then moved on until when they could just see the last driven stake in the distance; they drove another stake.  This is how they explored these plains.]

Electric lines - poles imported - are often the only 
manmade items you see as you traverse West Texas.

Trees indicate a ranch house.  They've been
carefully planted and watered to
provide wind breaks.  Wind here
blows constantly.

Windmills provide water for cattle

High sky and highway - this is Interstate 10

Once you leave the plains by dropping off the Edwards Plateau, you arrive in the heart of Texas, the Texas Hill Country.  What's happening here reminds me of the old song which laments if you call someplace paradise pretty soon it isn't.  

The Texas Hill Country is being bought up and covered with 
housing developments

These friends have owned a 100 acre ranch in the Texas Hill Country outside of New Braunfels for a long time.  Initially, they couldn't see or hear any neighbors.  Now, the sprawling New Braunfels is just over the hill.  Frank, at age 89, is less about cattle these days and more about chickens.  He has fostered a wild turkey flock on his land.  This flock is so important the Texas Game commissioners want to know when he leaves the property, so the flock can be relocated.  Before Frank took them under his protective wing, they had been hunted almost to extinction.

Helen never meets an animal that she doesn't instantly love.  She has rescued countless dogs which have been dumped at the gates of the ranch.  She also has had horses; goats; rabbits; cats, and unfortunately rattlesnakes.  She was bitten by a tiny one while feeding animals - she stepped on it.  Turns out her Choctaw Indian heritage kept the venom from rising throughout her system.  Rattlesnake venom antidote costs $20 - 30 THOUSAND dollars per dose.  Since it's processed from rattlesnake venom, the only source is Australia.  There was a reason for the Sweetwater rattlesnake roundup.  It took her six months to totally recover from the bite.

Helen is also a talented self-

taught interior decorator.  She took the falling down original ranch house and completely

redid it.  Her pink peacock bedroom is my favorite.

Whether it's eggs or beef, local

friends and restaurant owners

from as far away as San

Antonio arrive to buy.

On a personal note, they also

have the coolest rocks since

there are underground caverns all over the hill country.

A new calf was born when we were
visiting the Ranch

Helen and I also visited the roots of the early white settlement of the New Braunfels area.  There is the most wonderful museum of 19th century cabinetry which I made a point to see (again).  I'd seen it 50 years ago when it was just a jumble of furniture.  Today, it's part of a Heritage Center for the area, and it's a real museum housed in an original settler's house and managed by a professional museum director.  There are great pictures of the couple in the house.

  When we arrived to visit, the sign said 'closed' although the website said they were open.  We went up to the office, and managed to score the Director of the Museum as our tour leader.  He took the two of us all around the furniture, and it was so great.  Here's a sample of the furniture circa 1860.

Upon leaving the Hill Country we drove up to Granbury which is in the Palo Pinto - rolling hills and small trees - perfect for Comanche ambushes.  We stayed with friends who live on the shore of Lake Granbury.  

Selfie taken by old people; not too bad.

 

Granbury, county seat of Hood County, Texas

Onto North Texas which used to be the center of agriculture, but now is one of the three concrete capitals of Texas.  The geographic features have been obliterated by the population of Dallas and Fort Worth.  

Rusk in East Texas is very much still part of the languid South with its Piney Woods and high humidity.  We love visiting another friend who lives here.  We went to see an amateur theatrical production which was impressive considering Rusk has about 5,000 people.  We met two interesting people:  John and Penny Hawkins.  The local newspaper, The Cherokeean Herald was on the verge of closing when they decided to step up, buy it and run it.  This is the oldest weekly newspaper in Texas - founded in 1850.  It comes out mid-week, and it also has an on-line edition.  

Penny & John Hawkins at the performance of
Anne of Green Gables

Our friend who taught with me at Accelerated High School, home of the 'bad kids', moved to Rusk and has immersed herself into the life of the town.  She is a prime financial supporter of this theatrical troop as well as the public library.  

Mississippi River

The East Texas Piney Woods continue to define the land through the northern part of Mississippi and Alabama.  The biggest geographical landmark in this part of the country is the Mississippi River.  It is massive and runs almost the north/south length of the country.

Mississippi River Bridge

Burrowing deep into the South, we finally ran into Spring.  Just the very beginning....

We started seeing the occasional red bud tree sprinkled in the forest at the side of the road.

The state tree of Mississippi is the magnolia, and as soon as we crossed the border between Louisiana and Mississippi, boom a forest of magnolias.  Some were of an epic size.

Magnolias

Spring suddenly found us.  The forests on the side of the interstate were studded with blooming pear trees.  When they were clumped together, they were breathtaking even speeding by at 75 mph.

My photos aren't up to par since I'm taking these as we speed by.

When we came into Georgia, I found something hilarious on the side of the road.  This speaks for itself.  No explanation.  Just reminding us that Georgia is 'the peach state'.

It has been interesting that the geography hasn't changed awhit since we entered the South.  We angled up through North Carolina.  I felt a bit nostalgic since we came very close to choosing Asheville as our landing spot.  The availability to NYC was the final decider plus the tight housing market.

Virginia advertises itself as the LOVE state.  Initially baffled about that, but they set up a dandy photo for me.  I think they just needed a word with V in the middle.  If they'd ask me I would have said MARVEL.  It turns out that the original slogan was VIRGINIA IS FOR HISTORY LOVERS.  It didn't take too long before somebody said, "That's too many letters; let's just whittle it down to LOVE.  It costs less in 3 dimensional signs.  

Of course at that point in the trip, all we wanted to see was Richmond.  We've come about 2700 miles, and visited five sets of people for varying number of days, then hoteled it into Richmond.

I almost got this one...close - remember driving past & around a curve - 50mph.

That's the tallest building in downtown Richmond

Now, we've seen pear trees all over since Alabama, but we didn't see cherry trees until we arrived in Richmond.  I've jumped out of the car to take pictures of cherry trees; there is even one two houses over in our new cul de sac.  

Another cherry tree on a public walkway.

This is a close up of the cherry blossom.

This was my first Cherry tree.  I was taken aback at the possibility of having a cherry tree in the yard.

 

Pear trees all over - this one at Home Depot

We decided to go to the Lewis Ginther Botanical Garden in Richmond.  All the early Spring flowering bulbs and trees were out in profusion.  I even learned something new.

Drake in front of the Conservatory - home of the orchids

This is the interior of the Conservatory which includes cacti!

A tulip tree?

Not a tulip tree - a deciduous magnolia

Interior of the botanical garden Conservatory which
includes cacti!

 
Spring has definitely sprung in Virginia.  You can even see wild wisteria dangling from the trees beside Interstate 95.

In addition to tulips, daffodils, and redbuds, there are newly budded spring green leaves on the non-flowering trees.  There are also new flower arrivals:  Dogwoods, azaleas, and irises.

Dogwood blossoms - from the above tree across the street 
from our airbnb in Richmond.

Azaleas in Richmond neighborhood

We've finally arrived in Fredericksburg where we bought a house within three days of our arrival in the area.  We closed on the house on a Friday and started the remodel on Monday.  In the old days, we would have been painting and doing other parts of the remodel ourselves.  These days we just supervise the workers.  However, I floored the construction crew when, on the first day, I picked up a scraper and proceeded to scrape off wallpaper for the entire day.  I will own up to be extremely tired at the end of that day.  It paid off because the 'crew' listens when I talk about what I want.

Spring has even sprung in my 'yard' - it's a flowerbed.  Drake is thrilled someone else is cutting the grass, edging, cleaning up leaves, and cleaning out the gutters in the new house.  I'm hoping to take advantage of the seasonal swimming pool and get back to swimming leisurely laps.  

.

Here's what we discovered a few days ago in our yard:

I'm sure everyone recognizes this two-toned iris.

If you are interested in the flower pictures, click on the link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zvWs3pspYHu2CnsA9

If you are interested in the Museum of Texas Handmade Furniture, click on the link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hkaH9sBZArN3sVet7

If you are interested in pictures of cacti, click on the link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7ye2d7zg5nTwjvB78

We are really excited about living in Virginia.  There's such a welcome and distinct contrast between Phoenix and Virginia. The green, green trees everywhere in Virginia are truly wonderful after twelve years in the desert.  It was interesting to traverse the United States - mostly on Interstate 10.  It was pretty easy to see the impact of the geography and climate on the residents of the various ecosystems.  

 We've landed in a house in Fredericksburg, Virginia for what we hope is the next 10+ years.  It's 50 miles from Washington D.C.  Our plan is to enjoy the Smithsonian and Kennedy Center.  Plus, we can take a plane, a train or a bus to get to Brooklyn to enjoy our children and grandchildren.  It's also a relief to be in the same time zone as they are.  Our new house is set up to entertain - part of the remodel.   We are also eager for company.  We have a bigger house with two guest bedrooms.  There's a zillion new things to do and see here, and I haven't done them all.....yet.
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