The Watertown Family

Although our visit to Watertown, SD was brief, we did have a chance to check in with all the grandkids and great-grandchildren while in town. 

Brian is Ashley and Jonah's oldest boy.  At almost 6 he is as hungry for knowledge as he was for this apple.

He is a thinker

and really puzzles over everything in life.  I love the questions he comes up with!

At almost three, Lyric still likes to cuddle

and is quick with a smile.

He loves my chocolate chip cookies

especially when they are dunked using the whole hand method!

What fun to have them at our "kitchen" table.

Dad, Jonah, enjoyed reading the Blog Books.  I have recently had published all of the blog entries, by year, since 2007.  It is fun to have a "real book" to look back on - easy scrapbooking!

Friday night, we enjoyed dinner with Ashley's family, Megan and Jake.  The food was good and conversation even better so I didn't even take my camera from the bag.  Sorry, no pics of Megan and Jake. 

On Saturday, Tammy and Brian drove out from St. Peter to enjoy time with the kids.  Who can resist a four generation picture.  That grinning fellow on Mike's lap is Keegan, Jenn's son and AshLynn's  big brother!

 Once Mike got the babe, he wasn't about to give her up, but I could look...

 Keegan has a great personality

 and he and his mom definitely look alike!

 Grandma Tammy couldn't be more proud.

 With these three guys holding her up, I predict a bright future for AshLynn.

 After a long weekend with lots of company, I am sure this family is enjoying some time to themselves. 

Thanks, kids, for the welcome home.

Introducing...

The newest member of the family; our great granddaughter... AshLynn.

Weighing in at 7 1/2 pounds and just nine days old, this little darling has already captured the eye of many.  Her Opa was instantly taken!

She has the most beautiful complexion and the longest fingers and fingernails.  Her mom and I agree that those nails just cry out for polish... maybe not at 9 days... maybe have to wait a few months.

And just look at those toes.  They are so long and she can separate them just like her Aunt Megan... such talent at such an early age. 

I did pry her out of Mike's hands for a few minutes.  You can almost see the red hair in this picture.  I remember Mac when he was a little redhead and hope his daughter follows in his footsteps.

Oh yea, I suppose I should give the parents credit somewhere in this photo essay.  Jen and Mac (Brian and Tammy's son) are the proud parents of AshLynn.  Not only are they a good looking couple

but they are already proving to be very good parents! 

Mike and I had the opportunity to spend several hours with the new family at a great little Italian place here in Watertown, South Dakota.  We are staying at the casino just outside of town; price is right -Free!  All three of Brian and Tammy's children live here now and while we are in the area we will be checking in with all.  We don't see them often, but they are always in our hearts.  More from Watertown later.



The "Old Highway"

Yes, once again I am referring to Route 66, but this time I am talking about a very short piece of the highway that was only used from 1930 to 1937. Mike and I found it when we were out for our "Sunday Drive". The total distance we covered was only about 7 miles and it is located east of Santa Rosa.

When we first took state highway 156 east, we thought it wasn't going to be much of an excursion. Just a 2-lane road, well marked and not well traveled. We were tempted to turn around when we didn't see any evidence of the road signs we had been told about.

An occasional windmill dotted the landscape.

but then we turned off the highway and on to the old road. Our trusty map showed this as an abandoned roadway with a yellow marking so we knew we were on the original Route 66.The road surface was an old style pavement in some places and in others, it had just deteriorated to a gravel surface. Always, it had grass growing in the middle. We tried to determine what the width of the old road may have been and finally decided it probably wasn't much wider than the single lane that remains today.

We passed the ugliest cow I had ever seen and some old rusted parts of something...

And, of course, we saw evidence of what was ... back in the 30's. See the remnants of the old house up on the hill.

This one was closer to the road and in better condition; you can see it was built of the sandstone that inhabits the area.

This is an old petro station. You can see the cement foundations and where the pumps sat out in front. A store or home may have been on the larger cement slab in the back.

And then, of course, there was this... I think it was placed there by the Route 66 Travel Bureau... Mike thinks it was real.

At the end of the stretch of road, someone had painted the sign. Our feet are proof, we were there.

Las Vegas, New Mexico

is the ORIGINAL Las Vegas as the Visitor's Bureau is only too willing to tell you. Since neither of us had ever been to this one, we decided to make it a day trip - heck, we are only 60 miles away.

Leaving Santa Rosa, you went west on I 40 for about 15 miles and then headed north on 84 which follows the path of the first Route 66. Along the way, there is evidence of "ghost towns" but we didn't stop this time.

My online research about Las Vegas told me that in the 1900 census, Las Vegas was the largest city in New Mexico and that it had some very unique architecture. The railroad came in the late 1880's and people with different ideas and materials made there way to town. The first and most famous hotel is The Plaza. In the days of silent films, it was used as a set and one of the early silent film producers, Romaine Fielding, called the Plaza home for many years. A fellow we met in one of the shops told us that when the renovations were being done, they found 7 tunnels between this hoteland this nondescript bar across the town square.

Seems that in the old days, Las Vegas was a hang out place for outlaws and gangs regularly passed through. Billy the Kid liked the area and spent time there. I suppose the escape route was rather handy on more than one occasion.

He also told us that when he was growing up, this building manufactured parachutes for the military.

It is fun to bump into locals willing to share stories and facts with us tourists.

In addition to the unique architecture, Las Vegas has an interesting lay out. One side of town was developed by people coming from Mexico so it has a town square and buildings all around the plaza. The streets go out like spokes on a wheel from the town center. Then there is a bridge and the other side of town is laid out in a grid pattern as it was settled by Europeans coming from "back East".

The Nuestro Senora de los Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows) Church was built in 1869 of red sandstone that was quarried 25 miles away and transported by wagon. Each block was hand made and placed in a random pattern.

The altar ceiling looked like stars and the altar itself was decorated with Easter Baskets tied with ribbons.

The church houses one of the most beautiful statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph that I have ever seen. The facial features and detailing of this life size statue is magnificent. I regret not being able to find any history for the piece.

We stopped for a midday snack at the corner drugstore on the square and discovered that a pharmacy has existed on this corner since 1879. The building in which we "shared a shake" was built in 1919.

Many of the display cases, the floor and woodwork was original. Coke memorabilia and cigar store Indians created an interesting setting.

That is the doorway to the pharmacy that the Indians are guarding.

We drove around the town abit and found what the guidebook called "shotgun" houses; they didn't look like much - maybe military barracks - and were so named because they went up quickly to accommodate all the newcomers the railroad brought to town.

Then we headed a few miles northwest to "Montezuma Castle" and the hot springs that the fellow in town had told us about. Years ago, we visited Montezuma Castle in Arizona, by Cottonwood, and it was a cliff dwelling so we really did not have the foggiest notion of what this one might be. It turned out to be The United World College of the American West in the tiny town of Montezuma. According to their website, they have only 200 boarding students hand selected from all over the world and the purpose is to promote peaceful resolution to differences. The students are between 16 and 19 and after attending this school most go on to an Ivy League School. The building was originally built as a spa, was a Jewish Synagogue and a Jesuit training school and set vacant for many years before this college was established in 1982 by philanthropist Armand Hammer. Very interesting place I never even knew existed.

A young couple was enjoying the benefits of the hot springs, so we didn't stick around very long but I did put my foot in and discover this pool was very hot!

I wonder how many young International Students from The World College have hung their clothing on this wooden fence in the last 30 years...

It was still early so we decided to drive up into the mountains. Spring streams were flowing, but not with much intensity; it has been a dry few years in this area.

I love the "dolphin" cloud over the mountains.


Before we left Las Vegas we spotted an unusual church and stopped to check out one of the original Carnegie Libraries that still serve as a library.Las Vegas, New Mexico is a town in which I could live; it is a good blend of the old and new. Only problem is, it is at an elevation of 6,400 feet - that means snow and cold so we won't be looking for houses any time soon.