A Trip to the Mound(s)

In the summers of 1970 and 1971 my church youth group took a trip to Colorado. Our destination was north of Denver, near Rocky Mountain National Park. We stayed in Our ministers cabin which was at the foot of Mt. Meeker. We did the sight-seeing stuff at Estes Park and Denver but made several climbs over the two summers; Meadow Mountain, Twin Sisters, Bear Lake and Ozul Falls to name a few.
On our trips from Lebanon we would always anticipate the Kansas/Colorado border. It was then we would begin to scan the horizon for our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains. After miles and miles of the prairie it was a thrilling sight indeed.
Over the past 34 years LaDonna and I have made several trips to New Mexico. As we travel through Kansas, parts of Oklahoma and Texas, we look forward to the first sight of mountains. Rabbit Ears, near Clayton, New Mexico, are the first two mountains (?) we see as we approach the border. It's almost as if saying, you're almost to the mountains. It is even more thrilling as we head west out of Raton toward the Cimmaron Valley and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Our trip to New Mexico this summer took us to the Albuquerque area of the state. This was an area we had not been to before. We did drive to the top of Sandia Crest which overlooks the city. A pretty sight indeed. For another of our day trips it was recommended to us, by the Hotel breakfast hostess, to see the Jemez (Hamas) valley. We headed northwest out of Bernalillo on highway 550 to San Ysidro. There we headed north on highway 4. We travelled through the Jemez Pueblo. From the road we saw their fields of crops and gardens.Farther northe were the Red Rocks, Gilman Tunnels, Soda Dam and Battleship Rock. As we travelled farther north the elevation rose as well. The scenery changed from the red rocks and scrub brush to mountains and Ponderosa Pine. Enjoy the pictures. LaDonna and I both agreed we prefer the mountains to the valley. A trip through the Jemez Valley was a good "TRIP TO THE MOUND(TAINS). -30-

Bottom of the 2nd: Farm League

Grandkids can have a lot of fun on the farm and there were always cousins to play with. Doug, Eugenia, Galen, Burt and Mary Jo Bumgarner(Aunt Wilma's kids) lived just up the road from the farm and were always available to play with even if no one else showed up. Most of the time we played out in the fields exploring, building forts, hide and seek, etc. When my brothers and I were big into baseball we took along our bats, gloves and baseballs. There was plenty of space to play a game. You just had to find an area where there were not a lot of cowchips. Most of the time we played in a field that was in front of the farmhouse. It was slightly downhill with home plate at the high end closest to the house. Not many cowchips but it was a little rocky. By the way, baseballs are white, correct? In major league games if a ball hits the dirt they get a new ball. Not us. The baseballs we played with were usually brown, scuffed up and played with until the cover came off.
While we played ball adults would be sitting in the front yard under the trees engaged in adult conversation. I remember Dad telling me that Grandpa would talk about swapping knives at Hokinsons general store in Strafford. I do remember once when we were playing baseball Grandpa stood up and said something like,"Let me try and see if I can do that". We were all taken by surprise. Grandpa Campbell was going to try and hit the ball? Had he ever played baseball before? Could he do it? Anticipation set in as Grandpa took the bat and stepped up to the plate/rock/cowpile (take your choice) I think it may have been Gregg or Scott who was pitching. I was out in the field quietly rooting for Grandpa to hit the ball. Yes! He hit the ball!Having done that he handed the bat back and walked back to the front yard. -30-