We left Loxley, AL this morning & headed home. We had 79 degrees when we left a little after 6:30. We got into Florida at 7:05 AM. it felt good. We saw a high of 101 soon after we left Ocala. We got home at 4:50 PM. What a great trip. God Blessed us with terrific weather the whole trip. The only time we had rain was when we were traveling,& then it wasn't bad. We have now been in every state in the US, except Hawaii. Not in a big hurry to go there. We are so thankful that everyone "could go with us" on our trip. We pray it gave you some insight what is in our country to see. Hope everyone enjoyed it. Now to get back to work at home.
Florida skies & country side.
This was in the rest area at the FL welcome center.
It felt so good to see our little home after 31 days!
We had another real good day. Left this morning, 81 degrees. The high we saw today was 94. Hadd 2 good showers of rain while traveling. South of Dumas, where we stayed last night, we saw acrea & acres of soy bean fields, corn fields & cotton fields. We stopped here in Loxley, Alabama at the Wind Chase Motel. In 2008, when we started our other western trip, This same motel was where we spent our first night on that trip. Tonight, this is our last night spent in a motel on our tip, & it is the same one. Tomorrow, we plan on getting home!!
The Mississippi River as we crossed into Miss.
A place of history. Vicksburg National Military Military Park. vicksburg became the focus of military operations between Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, in Oct. of 1862, who was ordered to clear the Mississippi of Confederate resistance, and Lt.Gen. John C. Pemberton, who, with roughly 50,000 widely scattered Confederate troops, was expected to keep the river open.Vicksburg was under seige 47 days. It's a good history lesson. We spent quite a while there. 
Shirley House-Union troops called it "the white house". It is the only surviving wartime stucture in the park. During the seige it served as headquarters for the 45th Illinois Infantry, members of which built hundreds of bombproof shelters around it to protect it to protect themselves against Confederate artillery fire. It has been restored to it's 1863 appearance. It was closed for construction when we were there, some windows bbroken out.
Some scenes within the park
The surrender sight
As you know by now, I like clouds. These are clouds in Mississippi
Battleship Alabama in Mobile.
An oil well near Oklahoma City. Sorry, not too many pictures today. We traveled all day. When we left this morning from Elk City, OK, it was 77 degrees. Beautiful morning again. We did see an Auto Pawn Store in Oklahoma City. You could actually pawn your auto. there were a lot of cars there. I guess you can pawn about anything anymore. The temperature stayed between 97 & 101 all afternoon. It is 6:20 PM, and it is still 98. We are at Dumas, Arkansas for the night. God blessed us with another nice & safe day.
The Arkansas River in Oklahoma.
When we entered Arkansas at noon, it was 95 degrees.
These pictures were taken at the Loretta Chapel in Santa Fe, NM. This is something we have been wanting to see for quite awhile. When the Chapel was built for the Nuns, they discovered they made a mistake & didn't include plans to get to the choir loft. There wasn't any room for stairs in the traditional sense. They didn't know what to do. One day a carpenter showed up & said he wanted to build the stairs. The only tools he had were a saw, hammer & a square. He went to work. It took about 7 or 8 months to build. He did not use any nails. It is a spiral staircase with no visable means of support. He used pegs instead of nails. It has 33 steps, they think to depict the 33 years of Jesus's life on earth. When he finished, he disappeared. The nuns wanted to pay him, but he wasn't to be found. Local carpenters didn't know where the man got all his materials, & to this day, they aren't sure as to the type of wood that he used. The nuns feel that it may have been St Joseph, but they don't really know. Google The Loretta Chapel & read about it. It is so interesting.
Wide open ranges for miles & miles in NM
We saw some large beef operations in TX, hundreds of beef cattle. A lot of wheat fields that they were working in.
This is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ Ministries in Groom, TX. 19 stories high, 1900 ffoot tall free standing. It was erected in 1995.
Leaning water tower??? Wonder if it is still in use?
98 degrees and very windy when we came into OK this afternoon
Flat lands in OK
We had reservations for the Cog Railroad this mornig at 9:20. Such a beautiful day again. We met 2 ladies that were sisters-in-law. Both of their husbands had passed several years ago. They decide to go traveling once in a while. Such nice ladies. After we left Pikes Peak, we traveled to Las Vegas, New Mexico at a Super 8 for the night. It is good to be off the road for the day.
Going up to the Peak.
Meeting another train.
Looks like we are going to go off into space.
The song, "America the Beautiful" was written by Katherine Lee Bates after a trip to Pikes Peak summit in the late 1800's.
These were all from the top of the Peak. Temp was 42, with a wind chill factor of 35, and yes it was very windy.
Making sure the tracks were clear.
Scenes from the top of Pike's Peak. We had a very clear day today. PTL!!
The train car we were on-The Aspen_sitting on top of Pike's Peak. 
Entered New Mexico at 3:24 this afternoon.
