Borrowed from YouTube.com and delightedeye

Ya I live out in farm country and got lost in Amarillo, Texas recently with my two eldest teen sons.

My first real job was at Taco Bueno when I was 15........um which was like 20 years ago :-O.  I freakin loved their food!  I did!   I loved working there; I loved eating there every day.  Growning up in a southern state after first living in the North gives a sense of appreciation for a different flavor. 

At any rate so 20 years later I have the chance to finally buy my boys a Taco Bueno dinner.  I had obtained directions too!  I was determined to find it though and so were the boys........um they were getting hungrier by the minute.  It was night, it was BIG...........and it was confusing.  We even stopped at another gas station for directions.  Finally we find it!  We sat and ate like we had never eaten before.  We took it back to the hotel...........ate some more :-)  The boys?................they friggin loved it too! 

O and what a great event with my boys to remember........feeling lost together, feeling hungry together, feeling scared together..............laughing with eachother :-)

Wow

We've been having some shabby weather, but yesterday it was beautiful!  So CMU's Earth day event went smoothley.  I handed out alot of Zaadz postcards and picked up alot of helpful information for myself.  I also made some really good contacts!  Woot Woot!

(All pictures on this post either photographed by Heidi Driver or Amanda Bebee, the video however is compliments of Youtube.com)

Funny while driving into New Mexico my sister and I joked about those dark skies.  We had been checking the weather frequently, but thus far had only heard of possible thunderstorms.  We would pass through a particular bad area and I would nudge her and say, "Hey look its a tornado!"  She didn't think it was very funny.



While in New Mexico we had the awesome chance to get to go to the Carlsbad Caverns.  I couldn't have been any less excited than those kids in Charley's Chocolate Factory.  I couldn't help but think of that movie on the 750 foot trip on the elevator, down into the earth.

The closer we got to the Carlsbad the darker it became, soon we could tell that one of those storm systems we had been hearing about was directly over the mountain.  When we got there however it was beautiful, sunny and about 90 degree's.  I wasn't aware that to get to the entrance of the caverns you had to wind up a long road up the mountain.  It was absolutely beautiful! 




Well as we got closer and closer to the top, I noticed a white substance covering the ground.  It was strange to see this mixed in with Yucca and Cactus.  At first I thought, "Huh, For goodness sakes I was trying to get away from the snow!"  But then we realized that it was hail.......golf ball size hail! 




The night we were to head back out of New Mexico we decided to stay one more evening so that my car could get looked over in the morning, just to be safe for the long road trip home.  Woke up that night to golf ball size hail pounding the window.  Woke up that morning to tiny dents all over my car.

It seemed to take us forever to get back on the road.  We were getting close to the Texas and New Mexico border where you have to go through a few very small towns.  So it was highway, small town, highway, small town, etc.  Which meant to me "go fast yaye, slow down oh no".

We got to this little town named Clovis in New Mexico.  I remembered the whole five minutes passing it coming into NM.  On the way out was a whole different story.  It was hot, hot, hot!  I certainly was not used to this weather; when I left Michigan it was 30 degrees and we had just had an ice storm.  Something was going on in that town.  From the long line of cars, the train moving like a snail and the police officers and national guard we could not tell what was causing the almost hour it took for us to get out of Clovis.  As I sat in traffic, just really ready to get back home I could feel my anxiety rising.  I began to complain, wondering what the heck was going on.  I let anger consume me and then as we finally got out of there..........relief!

We decided to take a break and get a room in Amarillo, Texas.  I had lived in Texas a good portion of my life, but had never been to Amarillo.  I just think that I wanted to get some good Texas southern hospitality while I was there.  The kids swam and I relaxed!

That morning I woke up early, got some coffee and decided to read some local Amarillo News in the QUIET ;-)

I was in shock as I read the following front page article in the Amarillo Globe-News:

"The storm's wrath destroyed or damaged more than 100 businesses and residences and critically injured two people, said Lt. James Schoeffel of the Clovis Police Department."

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/032507/new_7149747.shtml

To say the least I was kind of in shock and ashamed at the same time!  I suddenly realized that if we would have left that Friday night as originally planned we would have probably run right into that storm system and then secondly :  Shame on me for complaining about it taking so long to get through the town!  "I'm sorry Clovis!"

And I also have to say this!  I wasn't scared!  Storm chasers here I come!

 

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary and can't believe that it is almost 14 years old!

Although I am still on the "An Inconvenient Truth" train; I want to get information from all angles.

This documentary (with no politics added), was saying 14 years ago what we are listening to now from other sources.  It went over a few of the earths natural disasters, but ended with the impact that humans are having on the earth.  I loved the ending where it emphasized that "all of us" live here from all continents.

http://www.blockbuster.com/catalog/movieDetails/3832

(Above Photo:  Originally photographed by Heidi Driver, 4/11/07 named "Pigs & Cans")

LOL........  I couldn't resist!

Heidi

(Above photo:  Originally photographed by Amanda Bebee 03/24/07, Carlsbad Caverns, NM)


Continued from Part 3.............

I grew up in the forests in pure wonderment and excitement.  Grandma and Grandpa would take me out to hunt for mushrooms and berries of all sorts.  There is nothing better than strolling along a river and smelling the flowers.  My clothes and face tainted with blackberry stains and seeds,  my face and hands slightly scratched from tree branches and thorns.

I still play in the parks, but try not to disturb them too much.  I did find an awesome blueberry patch on state land a few years back though.  An awesome camping trip ended up with wild blueberry pancakes in the morning.  I had woken up early before everyone else and went tiptoeing out into the fields.  I was in pure delight when I realized I was suddenly in a wild blueberry patch.

Enough of memory lane though; I could go on with my childlike love of the earth, but I think it needs no further explaining. I've always loved nature, the earth I realize now.....it was created in one way or the other.  I walk on it daily.

If I do so love what has been given to me; perhaps I should do my part to protect it.

(Final thoughts of the original post on 04/10/07)  Heidi Driver

(Above Photo:  Originally photographed by Amanda Bebee 3/24/07, Inside Carlsbad Caverns)

Continued from Part 2..........

O yes and lest I not forget, I am but a child learning myself!


To be continued........  This pic needs few words!

(Above Photo: Originally photographed by Heidi Driver 03/24/07, Carlsbad, NM state flower "Yucca") 


Continued from Part 1........

The metal cans of food were hard at first.  I often wondered, "Didn't the rinsing of the can waist water?" I had been on the look out for not falling into the trap of  "waisting while trying not to waist".  Like driving to the recycling plant 20 minutes away from your home to drop off one bag of recyclables.

With metal recyclables, I wonder "How much energy does it take to melt it, turn it into another object? How much of the earths crust is dug up to find these metals?

Now I often go to a family members or friends and am tempted to say, "Hey can I take these bottles and cans to get recycled?"  I don't dare go all self-righteous on those sweet souls who are just not on that path yet.  I would rather live by example, yet I don't want to become all preachy either.

To be continued..........  (I have to share these great nature pics with the story ;-)