New Mexico

I think I saw my new homeland when I saw New Mexico. I have always felt a strong connection to Georgia O’Keeffe, and saw why she spent the rest of her life there after traveling to New Mexico.

New Mexico also marked my first attempt at traveling with a walker.

We flew into Albuquerque and rented a car. We drove north to Santa Fe for a night. We stayed in a lovely hotel, Hotel St. Francis near the plaza and shopping downtown. Unfortunately, the hotel wasn’t very accessible. It was built in 1880. There was a half-flight of stairs from the lobby to the elevator. Other than that, the rooms were decorated in themes, nicely appointed. Ours was a garden theme. The room appears to be one on their website. The hotel restaurant was good. The area was loaded with shopping without a lot of walking distance. There was a Georgia O’Keeffe museum just a few blocks away. Great gift shop.

After a leisurely morning in Santa Fe, we headed north to our friend’s house. She lives outside Cebolla, NM. The scenery along the way made us stop for photo ops a lot! Unbelievably beautiful rocks. It was September, but there had been rains, so we saw flowers aplenty.

We were only in New Mexico for 4 days, but it was so memorable and packed with new adventures.

We spent one day driving west to ruins at Aztec. There were numerous sites within driving range for us. I research online trying to find the one I thought was most accessible. This was the winner.

Another day, we went east to Taos. We drove it as a loop, heading south first on 84, 68, then back on 64. The entire route was beautiful. Along 64, we saw a large collection of earth-bermed homes that were unique.

We also went south to the Ghost Ranch, which was where Georgia O’Keeffe lived. They had a small museum dedicated to dinosaurs of the area and her artwork. We also paused at Abiquiu, an artist type colony. Apparently celebrities have discovered it so the prices are outrageous. But fun to look at.

When I went to Albuquerque a few years ago, I noticed they don’t seem to have the espresso stands you see EVERYWHERE in the Pacific Northwest. It got me thinking about starting a drive through down there. Then when we returned on this trip 5 years later, all they seem to have are a few Starbucks in city centers. That’s my big secret- -move to New Mexico and start selling espresso!

We plan to return to visit again, there is so much to do that we have tons of new ideas to keep us busy. The walker made many things possible and gave me hope for more traveling.

One of my favorite things was going to places Georgia O'Keeffe may have gone to paint. I took photos and they compare to the paintings amazingly well. Here is a sample:

North to Alaska, Go North, the Rush is On!

Royal Caribbean cruise line, Seattle, 7 days to Alaska, and back to Seattle.

We reserved a room a full year before the sailing date, with our travel agent, and still, all the handicapped access rooms were booked. The earliest out is about 16 months. Alaska is currently very popular, so it is best to plan ahead. We chose a ship that went round trip out of Seattle, so no planes as we were trying to bring my scooter and walker and a plane would have been harder to manage.

Cruise companies have toll free numbers for disabilities, so I got that from my agent and called several times. I needed a fridge for my meds and a sharps container. They happily provided both. We told them we had a walker and scooter and they made sure there was space. They even upgraded us to a larger room for this need. We crammed 2 adults, 2 big kids, luggage, fridge, and the equipment in the room! My parents both went with us and were impressed with how large our room was (they had previous cruise experience). I couldn’t believe that was ‘large’ until I saw theirs. Ship cabins are tiny!

We paid extra for an ocean view room, but it was a waste of money. We spent all day out and about. There are sofas and chairs all over for reading, game room, library, computer room, etc. on the ships. The window wasn’t very clean for photos and at night, it didn’t matter much. Inside rooms are just as big and cost a lot less. I loved to sit out on deck and watch the ocean or land pass by. How else will you see whales if you don’t go outside? (side note: it is soooo hard to photograph whales. They start to breach, you click, and they are almost gone. No giant jumps like on TV. When they are in their daily lives, much less exciting. So I have pix of little hump shapes in the water. But in my mind's eye, they are there!)

The best thing for me about Alaska was that the weather was no warmer than 70 or so. I have MS and can’t be in the heat or I get sick. Wearing a jacket on deck was sufficient. Rain can be an issue in Alaska, so be prepared for that. We didn’t see rain on our entire trip.

There are elevators for up and down on the ships, but nothing for end to end travel. I had to plan out or I got too tired roaming the ship. Learn the ship layout!

While waiting for the cruise to come, we shopped the excursions. They tend to be very expensive, so we tried to shop wisely. Some people at cruise critic.com said you could book excursions at the dock from other providers. We didn’t see any in some ports and they don’t carry guarantees of on-time returns. The ship will NOT wait for you. Be cautious; they make all the excursions sound authentic and adventurous. We were cattle, over 2000 per ship. Which isn't to say it's not fun. Just know what to expect. Authentic Alaska is hard to find from a cruise. Book early as some do fill up. We did pretty well in the end:
Juneau: free excursion to Hubbard Glacier. Shopping downtown was easy to get to from the ship. I used my scooter for the glacier and downtown. Glacier was federal, so all ADA compliant. Downtown was level. Stores were tight, however. I had to leave the scooter outside the doors and walk in. Short distances like that were okay for me. Wheelchairs would be hard indoors.
Skagway: This was most everyone’s favorite stop. We liked the aura of the town. Much less congested than Juneau, even with 3 ships in port together. Lots of excursions available. We took train ride up into the mountains and bus ride back, stopping at fake mining camp and gold panning. My parents did only the train round trip for $50 less a person or so. My kids really enjoyed the camp, so for them it was very good. I like the photo ops available from the bus on the way back. Unbelievable views. The tour guide told us lots of interesting things as well. $150 a person?
Hoonah/ Icy Strait Point: This was the most authentic stop. We didn’t do an excursion, just wandered around the port and shops. I wish now we had bought the bear watching excursion. Other people saw many bears on theirs.
Victoria: Scooter was invaluable here. Waterfront was awesome. No excursions. There are many choices down by the Empress for free or nearly so. British Columbia museum is awesome and cheap. Butterfly garden a block away.

On the ship tips:
Gambling was a loser proposition for everyone we saw and everyone in our party. See the nightly shows. They are fun and FREE. The fine dining dinners are free and exceptional. We didn’t do the formal nights, you know, kids and fancy clothes don’t all go together. The buffet in our ship was amazing, however. We discovered all the game show type things in bars around the ship, all day long. They were fun even just to watch and laugh.

Access and accommodation on the ship was excellent. They know how to help and are amazing. This was my first trip since my recent setbacks. I was so scared about venturing into new places, but they were awesome. Ships have tons of experience with disabled and elderly. Cruising is now my favorite kind of travel because I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything. That has been the worst part for me, feeling like I am on the sidelines watching everyone DO things. I didn’t feel that way after this trip. We have saved our money and gone on 2 more (much cheaper) cruises and I had the best time. I will tell you about those trips later. Alaska was my ‘Trip of a Lifetime’.

Yellowstone-Devil's Tower-Mt. Rushmore loop

This trip is still one of my favorites. You can do it in any order depending on from where you start. We started in the west.

Day 1: drive to Bozeman, MT. Spent the night in the Fairfield Inn because it had free breakfast. Fairly good one, at that.
Accessibility: Fine, first floor room.

Day 2: drive to Yellowstone through the north entrance. We stopped at Mammoth. Take the side road loop there, it is awesome! There were also people with passports to the National Parks. We didn’t understand at the time, but they take those to all national parks and stamp it (free I think). My kids would have liked that. We drove on to Canyon Village. We rented a cabin. Be warned, a cabin is a mobile home in the woods. Very pricey for the quality, but the location was great. You don’t have a lot of choice, no competition in the park. We chose that site because of its central location. Short drive to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and amazing falls. Most photographed site in Yellowstone.
Accessibility: Yellowstone is very compliant with ADA. I wish I had a scooter then, because the distances to trek tired me out. Some paths not very accessible, but most are.

Day 3: drive W on the Grand Loop road. Stop at all the sites along the way. Don’t miss the Firepot Loop, near the mud pots. And, where ever you see a cluster of stopped cars, stop and see why. Wildlife everywhere. We continue to Old Faithful. Then continue around the loop, heading back to Canyon Village. You will pass through a big valley with the Yellowstone river. Many buffalo here. Don’t be stupid, they are wild animals!

Day 4: drive south on the loop, heading to Grand Teton Park. We spent the day exploring that direction. Jenny Lake was gorgeous.
Accessibility: Good, as with Yellowstone.

Day 5: we pack up and head for the east entrance to leave the park. This highway is unbelievably photogenic and sort of scary. There is a mustang wild horse refuge near Gillette. We sidetracked there on our way. We spend the night in Gillette, Wyoming. Any hotel will do, it’s just a place to spend the night.

Day 6: we head to Devil’s Tower. Don’t miss the prairie dog town on the road at the base. They are marked with signage. Then on to the Black Hills of S.D. We stayed at a motel (with breakfast, again) only 5 miles from Mt. Rushmore in Keystone.
Accessibility: I didn’t attempt to walk around the base of the tower, so I don’t know.

Day 7 and 8: All close to the motel: Mt. Rushmore, Bear Country, Needles Highway (don’t miss it. You’ll never see another road like it), train ride to Hill City, caves (one was a national monument, I think). Hill City dinosaur museum, (in a store front. Amazing specimens. Packed wall-to-wall. A must see. They are planning a museum, but when we went it was downtown in an old store.) There was more to do than we could fit in.
Accessibility: Also very ADA compliant at the monument. A few stairs at the dino museum. Train was old steam, a few steps, but may have had a lift. I didn’t personally do the cave (fear of the tight places!)

Day 9: We head back through Montana, on highway I 90, and stop at Little Big Horn. It is close to I 90. The site has changed much since I first saw it as a child. Now it presents the Native American point of view in addition to the whites. A very moving experience. We continue on to Bozeman, MT. Back to the Fairfield Inn.
Accessibility: ADA compliant. Some of the grave markers are a bit to access.

Day 10: We go to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman. Great dinosaur displays and more. We rest and do laundry.
Accessibility: Fine.

Day 11: drive home! BTW, Missoula has the only Cracker Barrel for hundreds of miles. I am a sucker for the gift shop. It is right on I 90.