<– Day 5 – Mar. 24th: Talking Jeeps w/ Worn Rusty Hubbs | OVERVIEW | Day 7 – Mar. 26th: Darth Vader and Tractor Bob –>

We started off the morning at the New Mexico National Guard Bataan Memorial Museum, which includes a special exhibit about the embattled soldiers of Bataan and Corriegor. That episode of WWII was particularly important to New Mexico as they had a detachment of National Guard troops in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked. The entry hall is lined with stories of soldiers who perished at different times during the war, some along the Bataan Death March, some in POW camps, and some in the ‘Hell Ships‘.

Given the use of ‘Bataan’ is used prominently in the Museum’s name, I expected to find a more in-depth look at the loss of Philippines, the type of treatment endured by POWs, the concern over the POWs lives if Japan lost the war (all prisoners were supposed to be executed) and more. However, instead of finding that, the museum focuses more on telling the story of the New Mexico National Guard, from their fights in the civil war to present-day, which is understandable.

Ann pointed out one spot where the wiring isn’t up to standards on this gun.

This tribute to the Bataan March includes several items that survived the war.

This was the jeep used in a WWII display. oops.

An overview of part of the museum.

So, it’s a fine little museum with free entry, but Ann and I both agreed that they have a unique opportunity to tell an important story that doesn’t fully educate the visitor about that event. Fortunately, there are some sources that do explain why the Philippines were lost and the treatment endured by the POWs (books that are sitting on my book shelf at home and whose names I can’t recall at the moment).

On the bright side, they do have a pretty accurate M-38 in good shape.

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<– Day 4 – Mar. 23rd: Hurray for Ouray | OVERVIEW | Day 6 – Mar. 25th: TinkerTown and the Turquoise Trail –>

Rusty and me with his FC-170. This seemed like an appropriate photo to start the post since the FC Roundup is only a few days away.

We woke up a little lazily on Monday morning. We knew we had a long drive ahead of us from Durango to Santa Fe, but we wanted to peruse a little of Durango before we left, so we hunted down some breakfast using an iPhone App called Ness (that won’t be around much longer), which calculates the time of day to suggest nearby restaurants (for mornings it will find breakfast places for example) and provide ratings. That’s how we found the Durango Diner in downtown Durango.

The Durango Diner had a wide selection of breakfast items that looked good, including two eggs & a chile relleno, which was my choice. I expected to just get the eggs and the relleno, but instead there was a heap of hash browns with green chile sauce (love that New Mexican Green Chile sauce, even in Colorado). It was a lot of food and if there’s one thing I’ve learned on these trips, eating light saves money and bathroom stops. So, I ate a good portion then pushed it away, reluctantly.

I liked the sauce enough to get a “to-go bottle” of it.

We left Durango and quickly found ourselves wandering through northern Idaho, or what looked like northern Idaho to us. Southern Colorado felt remote and looked beautiful as we drove through endless forested valleys with the occasional ranch.

Today’s trip from Durango to Santa Fe

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<– Day 3 – Mar. 22nd: Old Bones and Old Jeeps | OVERVIEW | Day 5 – Mar. 24th: Talking Jeeps w/ Worn Rusty Hubbs –>

Here’s our selfie at an overlook just south of Ouray, Colorado. Ann is putting on a brave face for the camera, but she’s very scared in that photo. This overlook hangs over the edge of a steep cliff.

With beautiful blue skies overhead, we started the day in Grand Junction with our sights set on the mysterious Colorado National Monument. Having done no research on it, and trusting Dean’s advice from yesterday, we started at the western entrance of the park near Fruita.

Today we drove from Fruita to Durango.

After the ranger station, the road climbs quickly, switching back and forth, tunneling through rock, and teasing the driver (who should really keep his eyes on the road according to Ann) with beautiful views of the Grand Junction Valley. Those travelers familiar with Southern Utah will instantly recognize the red sandstone walls, the juniper trees, and narrow canyons.

After four miles of driving, we arrived at the visitors center, a complex perched near a canyon wall with a view toward some of the amazing pinnacles that dot the landscape. Inside the visitors center we learned about John Otto, the man that made the Monument happen. His early vision included an amazing road full of switchbacks that would allow cars to traverse the park from one end to the other. Hi dream might not have become a reality had the Depression not happened, for it provided all the cheap labor ($1/day/per person) he need to carve a twenty-three mile road through the park.

After driving the road, it’s my opinion that it is one of the truly unique features of the park. There aren’t many places along the drive that don’t feature beautiful views. It is one continuous bit of eye candy from start to finish.

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<– Day 1 – March 20th: Dinner and Salt | OVERVIEW | Day 3 – Mar. 22nd: Old Bones and Old Jeeps –>

The Easter-o-saurus greeted us at Vernal, Utah.

After our long drive on Thursday, we intentionally had an easy day drive of a few hours, a quick trip from Salt Lake City to Vernal, Utah.

Day 2 of our trip.

We started off the day with some bagels at the Einsteins on 13th East with Karson. After we were done eating, we posed for a photo together, which further demonstrates that either he is growing or I am shrinking. Must be the water in Salt Lake or something . . .

It kind of looks like the guy on the horse in the photo is measure just how tall Karson is!

We were just about to leave Salt Lake when Ann and I spotted Caputos, a well known deli that now has a small store next to Einsteins. They know their stuff at Caputos and know a couple suckers when they see them. We walked out a little poorer, but with some really good goat cheese and some locally made chocolate.

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<– OVERVIEW | Day 2 – March 21st: From Salt Lake City To Vernal –>

We left Pasco, Washington, at 5amish yesterday, which means we’d planned to leave at 5am, but due to last minute scrambling, our departure didn’t actually occur until 5:30am. After nine hours of driving, we arrived in Salt Lake City in time to celebrate with the kids.

Today we drove from Pasco, Washington, to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Karson, Kasia and Colter joined us at the Old Spaghetti Factory for some pasta. It was Kasia’s choice, due both to her upcoming 18th birthday and because we found out yesterday she’s been accepted to the University of Utah. However, she won’t be attending the U this fall, but will postpone it until the fall of 2015 so she can spend the next school year participating in a mentorship program in Los Angeles.

Colter has another two years at East High School. I think he hopes that without his brother and sister at school, he will no longer be known as Kasia or Karson’s little brother. Instead, people will actually know him by his own name.

You may remember our trip from last summer when we ran into Karson twice during his participation in the Americorps/FEMA program. In November he successfully ‘graduated’ from the program with lots of experiences, stories and scholarship money. So, he decided to go to Westminster University starting this winter. He seems to be enjoying it immensely.

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