On the the way to the campground, we stopped to eat lunch in the camper at a pull-off for an historical marker. Across the highway we could see the village of Laguna, New Mexico. The church sparkles white in the sun and stands on a hill dominating the rest of the area. According to Wikipedia, Laguna is the recent of the New Mexico pueblos; it was founded in 1699!We considered taking in some of the tourist attractions of Albuquerque, but instead decided to head for the campground. We had been on the move for the entire vacation and it would be nice to just do some "down time."
The campground is very nice in every way including the cloudy weather which keeps things cool. For the first time ever, we wound out the van's awning and created a "porch" with the fake grass the camper's previous owner kept folded up in a side storage compartment.
We will stay here all day tomorrow too. The campground is more like those that Kathy and her kids frequented on vacations. Although some of the sites have electricity, the drinking water is at one point for all (no, it's not a pump!). The restrooms are "modern", but there are no showers. Come to think of it, it's much fancier than some of the greatest sites the Mitchum clan stayed in from 1989-1999!
As we travel and see things, Kathy often is reminded of those family vacations and reflects that they were a source of much family fun and joy. Many times I think about how much various family members would like a particular spot or item we see.
We are even checking out possible places to take the grandkids in the future. Kathy's family has a tradition of grandparents taking grandchildren on "special" vacations. Her grandparents, Ed and Evelyn Reid began with their eldest grandchild, Terry Gurss, and began taking one grandchild at a time (by age) on a vacation to various places. They subsequently took Jean, John, and Jim Gurss on their trips.
After Grandpa Reid (Ed) died in 1961 the trips did not end. In the next few years, Grandma (Evelyn) invited another friend and widow, Evelyn Burkdoll, and they took Dave Gurss and finally, Tom Gurss and Kathy Reid (yours truly). Tom and I went with Grandma and Evelyn to Colorado.
Grandma then married John Kipp and they continued the tradition. Doug Gurss and Mike Reid each took separate vacatins with Grandma and John. John died in 1981 when the youngest of the "Reid" grandchildren was 16. Because of time constraints and illnesses, Shannon Reid had never had her vacation. When she was 19, Grandma Kipp invited Shannon to join her on a vacation--to Ireland! (Hmmmm, jealously raises it ugly head for a moment).
My folks, Don and Dee Reid, continued the tradition for the next generation (Uncle Doc and Aunt Phyllis (Reid) Gurss did for their grandkids too!) of Reids. Actually, since there were only the four Mitchum kids, each set of twins ended up taking two trips with Grandma and Grandpa Reid. Ben and Jason went together and Kyle and Megan enjoyed joint vacations.
In the next few years Kathy and Chris hope to continue the tradition into the third generation. We have wanted to wait until our grandchildren were old enough to do a variety of activities (like the horseback riding their mother enjoyed so much!) and to appreciate any museums we visit. Ethan will be eight next summer, so it is certainly getting close to that time! Although there are just two grandkids to take, so far, who knows how many more we may eventually enjoy taking in the future. Grandma Reid Kipp took over 20 years to finish taking her ten grandchildren!
Hope everyone reading this is well and happy.
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