Have you ever seen a UFO?

 Many years ago I grew up in the desert bordered on the north with the White Sands Missile Range. To the east was another U.S. Army testing range called McGregor Range. My father was stationed at McGregor Range as a U.S. Army Nike/Hercules missile operator. Becky and I recently made a trip to Alamogordo, NM to spend some time with my mother who lives there. While there we decided to do some history tourism. One of our day trips took us to the WSMR missile park museum. It is located on the base just inside the WSMR gate off of highway 70.

Organ Mountains above WSMR

Here is where you can see a real UFO. They say is was used in experiments for Mars rover landings. But I know different. It has been on display in the missile park since I was a kid. That by the way does not date back to the Roswell incident. HA

Real life UFO

The missile park covers all the history of missile testing during the history of the range. That history includes the testing of captured German V2 rockets and the first Atomic Bomb test at Trinity site.

The Nike/Hercules that my father was part of was Nuclear capable. At one point every large city in the United States was protected by Nike/Herc missile batteries. We were able to watch a couple of Nike test when I was a kid. Pretty exciting stuff. From where we lived we could actually see missile test launches. At night it was really spectacular with some of the test shots you could see in the distance.
Here is a picture of what the missile park looks like with the Nike/Herc in the middle.

U.S. Army Nike/Hercules missile at the WSMR missile park

Wider view of the missile park

The museum is also well worth the stop as it has a wealth of information on American rocket and missile history. As you begin the walking tour of the missile park there is a memorial area. Here they have placed bricks in memory of those who put their lives into the work that took place at both ranges. That is where you can find a brick dedicated to Sargent First Class Jerry Harris. The memorial brick also denotes that he was part of the HERC (Nike/Hercules) program.

If you are ever driving between Alamogordo,NM and Las Cruces, NM on highway 70, take a little side trip onto the base for a very interesting walk through history. Take time to remember all those patriots who worked hard at keeping us all safe in the free world.

Nike missile at the rest area going through San Augustin Pass.

Time to Catch Up

Wow it has been so long since I've posted on the Dean and Becky's Hummer Adventure Blog.
I thought I'd try and post a few updates and get us caught up to the present. It isn't that we haven't had any adventures, it's that I lost site of enjoying this blog.
We have done a lot of traveling around Mississippi and one place we love to go off and wander in is "The Delta".
"The Delta begins in Catfish Row in Vicksburg and Ends In Memphis" .
When ever we need a little out of the way time we head for the Delta. The birthplace of the blues.
Becky and I love driving around the delta. Running down forgotten roads. Seeing and learning the history of different places. The Delta is still a very busy and active place with all the plantations being replaced by very large farms. From corn, soybeans, rice, and of course cotton being grown every year. We've seen how time has it's toll on some of the icons in the Delta. Storms rageing through and turning what was into history.

The many churches that dot the landscape bring a witness of the deep spiritual foundation that has been laid throughout the Delta.

A church that was. You can hear the hymns emanating from this church as you walk in.

This past fall this same church fell victim to the delta storms. The beautiful Mt. Helena Plantation home still stands on the Indian mound in the distance.

Here is a small farm workers home in the middle of a corn field. Lightning hit the tree this past winter and sadly burnt the house as well. We know that nothing last forever. But the memories are so very vivid and rich and now tucked away for another time.

Fall in the Smoky Mountains Oct. 2011

It has been such a long time since I've posted an adventure. I have been slacking or working, you take your pick.
Becky has her website up and running with the super assistance of our son Drew who did the design. As all websites, it's a work in progress. Becky and Drew are working at getting it just right. You can visit it here.

http://beckyharrisphotos.com

Last October(2011), Becky and I took a long weekend trip up to Tennessee to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We left on a Thursday Morning and arrived in Gatlinburg late that night.

Friday Oct. 21st
Friday morning was an up and early one at Ohdark30. We decided to see if we could catch a sunrise over the Smokies that morning. So off to the East Foothills Parkway. The sunrise was OK but nothing to write here about but we did find some good shots on our way back to the park. The fog was hanging low that morning, which is how the Smokies got their name. We came across a nice little stream and with the morning light decided to do some shooting. In stopping by a stream we spotted a couple of horses and their beautiful colt in a nearby field.  Here's one of my shots. If we only had an apple or a carrot to give him!

Our next stop was in an area of the park called Greenbrier. This was a special spot off the busy path and a very quiet place. Here we worked on our skills of taking smooth water shots. Some worked, some did not. When I had finished taking the shots I wanted,  I pulled up on a huge fallen tree and pulled out my Navajo flute. I played Indian tunes to the birds and occasional hiker while Becky gave her camera a workout We relaxed with the quite, fall colors and the wonderful sound of the Little Pigeon River in the background. 
By this time it was lunch time so a stop at the Hungry Bear BBQ restaurant was just the ticket. It was located just past the turn out to Greenbrier. It was very good and we would recommend it. 

On down the road we go. It was our goal for the day to make it  through Cades Cove. Next stop was the Sugarlands Visitor Center which is one of the three visitor centers in the park. This leads you along the Little River Road towards Cades Cove. This valley was one of the earliest settlements for the early Americans on the Tennessee side of the Smoky Mountains. It was called Sugarlands due to the abundance of sugar maple trees.
We spent quite a bit of time stopping here and there along the Little River Road.  Pictures of the fall foliage and the placid river running along side can barely reveal the beauty. But we gave it a good try. 


It's through the tunnel and on the road to Cade's Cove. This part of the journey is called the Laurel Creek Road. It is a windy, scenic 7 miles into the Cove. With many pull overs of which I think we hit all of them to get that great shot of course. 

Ah into Cades Cove at last. At it's peak it was home to some 700 settlers. Then in the 1930's it was left to be reclaimed by the forest and turned into the park as it is today. You could spend a whole day in the Cove by itself. I'll let my pictures tell the story of the high lights of  the drive along the Cove loop. The loop is only 11 miles but I think it took us 5 hours to finish.
Here are just a couple of shots of Cades Cove. We could fill up a book with all the shots we took. Now there's a thought. We should put together a book from both Becky and my pictures.  I think I took the most pictures I've ever taken during this trip. I know Becky was well over 3000 shots for the trip. 
This is one of the many old, rustic cabins that are left in the park. Also a playful bear cub running by the side of the road. We also saw quite a few deer and these bucks were doing some practice jousting in preparation for the rutting season.  We arrived back in Gatlinburg late for a great steak dinner and the end of a great day in the Smokies....

This poor bear cub was in retreat from the infamous bear siting traffic jam.

Hey!  You lookin at me???

Saturday Oct. 22nd 2011

The second day in the park was up early once again. Today the plan was to get some breakfast and do the Cherokee Orchard Road and the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. Gatlinburg is so packed with folks this time of year it was very time consuming just trying to drive through town.

We did a lot of practicing on our water shots. The leaves and colored foliage were just beautiful.

This would be where I would live. A quite cabin with a small path to it far in the woods.

The abundance of streams, creeks and rivers made for some breathtaking places to just be quite and take pictures.

A shot of the inside of one of the old cabins left standing in the park. Folks back then lived pretty simple lives. Sometimes it makes you long for a simpler time.

But then I'd have to chop wood...HA

Below is a water trough taking water to a small Grist mill. 

If it were my trough it would be for sluicing gold.  ;-)

More beautiful stream shots along the way.

Then the day had to end and we were set to drive that evening over to Chattanooga, TN to spend the night. We were going to go to Woodland Park Baptist Church there for Sunday services. Our dear friends and mentors Wayne and Diana Barber had moved there to be  the senior pastor at that church. It was a sweet time to hear him deliver a great sermon from the word and to get the perpetual Wayne bear hug when he saw us come in. On the menu for lunch was a delicious steak(He probably shot it himself and didn't tell us ;-). We also got to spend time with our friends Rick and Linda Gail Shepherd from Florida who happened to be in town at the same time as us. Parting was sweet sorrow but they are not too far down the road for another adventure soon. On our way out of Chattanooga we stopped and took a tour of LookOut Mountain. Then it was hit the highway home.
So just remember that when Dean and Becky are out on their adventures they may show up to your door to visit. 
Happy trails to all of you.

Wayne and Diana Barber, Rick and Linda Gail Shepherd, my sweet Becky and me behind the 

camera for a change.

A quick trip to the Land of Enchantment- New Mexico (Aug2011)

Thought I'd post a little here about our recent trip back to New Mexico. It was a short and fast trip as you will see. We drove to Alamogordo, New Mexico where we spent the weekend with my Mom. We were blessed with a couple of afternoon showers. It was so wonderful to smell the fragrance that the desert gives off after a summer shower. If you've never smelt that smell then you've missed a truly good experience. It takes me back to when I would wonder around the desert with my 22 rifle out looking for jack rabbits. It was mostly to just be out wondering verse the hunting of jack rabbits. You could stand in one place and get poured on then walk 20 feet and be perfectly dry. There is a beauty about the desert that unless you've lived and experienced it,  it is hard to describe.

Here are a couple of my shots of the dunes.

My Mom's house is about a 15 minute drive from the entrance to White Sands National Park. So while there we had the chance to spend two evenings enjoying the cool breezes sitting on top of the white sand dunes watching the sun set over the Organ mountains. While Mom and I were relaxing Becky was busy snapping away on the camera.

White Sands is like no place on earth. As the gypsum sand blows up from the heart of the Tularosa Basin. It  is truly one of the world's great natural wonders. The  white sands of New Mexico. It spreads out over  275 square miles of desert creating the world's largest gypsum dune field. I was able to sit and listen to a geologist explain where the white sand comes from. He had been hired by the Army through White Sands Missile Range to survey the entire Tularoa basin. In his report he showed that just south of  the Maiapis lava beds on the north end of the basin is where the gypsum sand comes from. The wind blows the top soil off of a bed of pure gypsum. Then the gypsum is blown south and over time created the wonderful dunes we have today.


We also were able to go over to Ruidoso.

Then a short stop Albuquerque to visit with our son Chad who is finishing up his masters in Architecture at the University of New Mexico. We were also blessed to be able to spend a few hours with some close friends over Blue Corn Enciladas with Green Chile. We had to stop by and get some freshly roasted Green Chile shipped back to us in Mississippi and boy is it good.

Then off to Denver to spend some time with our son Shane and daughter in law Lauren. They were blessed to be able to purchase a new house last December and this would be our first time to see it.

While we were there we got a chance to enjoy the Denver Butterfly Pavilion. Boy did we take some pictures there. Here are a few. Hope you enjoy the beauty.

We also were able to take in a Rockies game. They were playing the Dodgers but couldn't pull it out and lost the game. But a fun night with wonderful cool Denver rocky mountain temperatures.

The fun couldn't last forever so we saddled up and rode home spending the night in Tulsa with Becky's sister Susan's family. Then setting out for the final stretch home. Over 3000 miles on the car, a thousand photos in the tin and a ton of priceless memories. I'd say that was a really fun trip.