March 31, 2009. DAY 11.

Boy's day out at the ballpark...Julie and Sarah were off at a spa. They had had enough baseball for one trip... Cubs win! Cubs win!!

March 30, 2009. DAY 10.

In front (or back??) of Rustler's Rooste, just a couple of minutes away from the Redman's place in Phoenix. This joint is like 1/2 steakhouse and 1/2 Disneyland rolled into one... we all had a good time.

It was so much fun seeing cousin Julie and her family in Phoenix...we coordinated the Spring Training games months ago back in Indiana...and great how it all worked out!

Manny Ramirez about to do what he does best...which isn't fielding: sometime during his 3 or 4 innings of play, Manny dropped an easy flyball in leftfield and then proceeded to fall down. Priceless...

3rd baseman Casey Blake and, of course, old number 99: Manny Ramirez.

Joe Torre.

Julie, Peter, Sarah, Andrew and Brad Redman. I drove up from Tucson, after going through the Saguaro National Park, and met them at the ballpark. We had a great time! The ballpark was only half-full which surprised me...

"...baking potato baking in the sun..."

I saw a pack of javelinas and tried to stop and take a picture but they are skittish beasts...

Images from Saguaro National Park, outside Tucson, AZ.

March 29, 2009. DAY 9.

I camped here...at the Cochise Stronghold campsite...which was an absolute motherfucker to find because it was so poorly marked. Got the last campsite, too... Ran into another camper who just assumed I was in the area to look at the wildflowers because he just went on and on about where to go and what's in bloom and what's not...I just kind of stared at him and let him ramble on. I mean, seriously....do I really look like a dude here for the flowers?!

Images from around where I camped south of Tucson, Arizona...

White Sands National Monument is definitely one of my favorite places I've ever been. Fantastic. Too bad I couldn't have camped out here overnight. I've done that before...during a full-moon...spectacular. Sunrise and sunset in White Sands is amazing...

Monument dedicated to all those astronauts who have lost their lives.

March 28, 2009. DAY 8.

Images from my campsite in Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, just south of Alamogordo in New Mexico.

Images from the road north of Marfa and heading into southern New Mexico....

I was quickly hustled away from where I was taking this picture. The Air Force could tell from my moustache alone that I was up to no good...

The only thing that remained of the Stardust Motel, on the road north headed out of Marfa, was the neat old sign.

This is the vehicle I wish I could have had all along on my roadtrip...

An artist installation on the road north out of Marfa, Texas. There is a ledge that runs around the sides and the back of the building and people left business cards held down by rocks. I chose to do the same...

Images from in and around Marfa, Texas.

The famous "Marfa Lights". There is a whole viewing stand constructed just to watch the Lights at night. The last time I was down here, we went and saw the show...it was pretty neat...and yet, UNEXPLAINABLE!!!

Headed towards Marfa, Texas.

I was desperate to see something so I stopped at Fort Davis National Historical Site. Not a whole lot going on but they did play an audio program over loudspeakers that simulated music and marching and general army noise that echoed against the surrounding mountains in a cool way...