Santa Fe, New Mexico

April 29-May 4

With my help and Mona’s we got Poppie and Lynn to Santa Fe and to our campground. We quickly unhooked the trailers and we were off to the Santa Fe Plaza to see two very old buildings. The first was San Miguel Church. This is the oldest church in the U.S.A. It was built in 1610.

The other was Loretto Chapel. It was built in the 1870’s. It is special for its circular staircase to the choir loft. It has 33 steps in two full 360-degree turns. It is very mysterious in its construction. It has no center support, nor is it held from its sides. The builder disappeared after the staircase was finished and was never seen again.

We went to another church, Santuaio De Chimayo, that is also very special. People come here for its Holy Dirt. The Holy Dirt brings about spiritual, emotional, and physical healing. Gram told me she saw rows and rows of crutches left by people that were healed. Each year over 50,000 people make the pilgrimage to the church on Good Friday, a truly Holy Church for all Believers.

That night Gram got the beauty treatment from Maxine by candle light.

The next day I showed the group Bandelier where Ancestral Pueblo People once lived. The Pueblo came to this site over 10,000 years ago. They farmed and hunted. They even raised turkeys to use for food and clothing.

All at once I saw a bear during our walk. I hid down deep in the backpack Poppie was carrying me in. I felt safe with Poppie carrying me. That bear wasn't going have me for dinner.

It was now time to show Gram and Maxine some outstanding galleries in Santa Fe. Did you know Santa Fe is second only to New York City as far as the number of artist and galleries they have in their cities? That’s what someone told me anyway.

I had shown Gram the great bronze sculptures they have in Santa Fe. Here’s my favorite. I could have lounged all day by this sculpture. I had trouble keeping up with Gram and Maxine as they went from shop after shop. Poppie and Lynn were still looking for that outstanding ice cream shop.

We had our last dinner with Lynn and Maxine before they left to go back to Surprise, AZ. What a fun night we had and also a great time camping and exploring the southwest together.

Gram told me she wanted another day of shopping. So I took her to some special places. There were Native Americans selling their jewelry in their assigned stalls.

A special exhibition was going on, “Oil Painters of America”. See the outstanding tractor, Jackson! And this is Gram’s favorite painting. Oh, I do hope Gram starts painting again.

Hey, Denny! There was even an REI - and surprise there was a sale going on. Well Gram and Poppie couldn’t pass this up.


Jackson this is for you. We saw a train station and they had a diesel engine with doors wide open. These are the engines that make the train go really fast, Jackson. With these last pictures we leave Santa Fe and on to more adventures with Gram and Poppie.


Good-bye for now, Olivia

Taos, New Mexico

April 25-29

We were pleasantly surprised in Taos to see all the galleries and Native American Shops, especially in the Taos Plaza. Gram and Maxine were busy shopping and Poppie and Lynn were looking for that special ice cream shop and some shade.

We went north of Taos to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. As you can see Lynn and Maxine almost got blown off the bridge.

I took Gram and Poppie to a very special church in Taos. This is the most painted and photographed church in the U.S.A. It is called San Francisco de Asis Church.

At the end of the day I visit with Jackson and tell him about all the places we saw in and around Taos and begin to plan our next adventure to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Good Bye for now, Olivia

The mighty Grand Canyon

April 21-24

We are on our way to the "Gram" Canyon to meet up with Uncle Lynn and Aunt Maxine. I was really surprised when we arrived, they had brought their dog, Elli along. She was really checking me out. I enjoyed sitting with Maxine and listening to her tell about their trip from Surprise, Arizona.

The next day we were out to see this huge Canyon. Did you know Jackson at some points it's over 10 miles wide that's like driving from your house to Poppie's and Gram's house and it can be a mile deep. Now that is a hole, Jackson! Lynn and Maxine were really enjoying the view of the Grand Canyon. The Canyon just continues and continues, Jackson. It seems never to stop and did you know that it just keeps growing bigger and bigger day by day. I looked straight down (Oh! That was so scary) and I saw a small trail going down into the Canyon. Good thing we didn't follow that down. And then below us I saw the river that created this super huge Canyon-the Colorado River. Oh, what a wonderful two days we had at the Grand Canyon!

Please forgive my late postings on this Blog. Sometimes we don't have Wi-Fi connections, sometimes they don't work, and sometimes I'm just too tired after helping Poppie find the right locations. Oh, he is hard to give directions to.

Good-bye for now, Olivia

Onto Zion and Bryce Canyon Parks

April 16-20

After leaving early in the morning from Vegas we were on our way to two beautiful national Parks. We are headed to Glendale, Utah where we will camp between Zion and Bryce Canyon Parks. While Poppie was setting up the trailer Gram took a picture of how the weather was changing. The sky turned to almost completely black. Shortly after the picture was taken it began first to hail and then snow. Snow was coming down quickly and soon covered the ground. When we woke up the next morning the ground was white and our water hose was frozen. This did not stop us from going to Zion National Park. By the time we were on the road the sun came out and quickly melted the snow. We drove through a tunnel that was 1.2 miles long. It was really dark and scary Jackson, but it was fun. After the long tunnel we saw the beautiful sites of Zion. We looked up at all the different colors in the rocks. Just like your drawings Jackson. We decided to go on a hike. I'm in Gram's back pack keeping warm. We followed a river through a canyon. We went under a water fall and finally came to the end of the canyon. After the hike I rested with Poppie on the shuttle bus. This was the best part, our ride back to the visitors' center.

On our way back to the trailer I saw some large animals out in a field. Poppie told me they were buffalo, this was my first time seeing buffalo. They were really big Jackson.

The next day found us on our way to Bryce Canyon National Park. Even before we got to Bryce we saw great sites. We stopped at a bakery shop. Poppie and Gram needed something to fill their tummies. Poppie just can't pass up a bakery. I was left in the truck, my tummy was full. When Poppie and Gram came back to the truck they told me they met a man and his wife who had own the store-bakery for 50 years. The man, Al, had flown dive bombers off five different aircraft carriers during World War II when he was only 17. Besides wonderful pastries Al had exciting stories to tell about WW II. Jackson have your dad show you some the planes from WW II. We drove to the end of the road and started to enjoy the scenery of Bryce Canyon. We started driving back down the road stopping at all the turnouts that I was showing Poppie-notice the snow. We drove lower and began to run out of snow.

On the way back home Poppie and Gram spotted a motor home for sale and considered turning the truck and trailer in for the motor home. I would be so embarrassed if I had to ride in that old dumpy thing. Poppie looked under the hood and there was no engine. Well that solved that problem!

Good-bye for now-Olivia