Volume 11

Community Service is Part of Our Corporate Culture

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, President and CEO of Private Motor Coach, Inc. Ed Lonsbary fielded numerous phone calls requesting help in the evacuation and restoration of New Orleans.  Calls came from the Bus Bank, Department of Defense, and even a Marine Sergeant seeking a haven for his men.  Ed responded to every call with a “can do” willingness only to learn that seated coaches or star/sleeper coaches were needed not a motor home/bus conversion configuration.  Disappointed but still desiring to help, Ed selected another alternative to help the victims of this natural disaster.  He wrote a corporate check that was matched dollar-for-dollar by the Viscern Foundation to help relief efforts. 

This donation to Katrina relief represents just one aspect of the company’s corporate citizenship.  Private Motor Coach, Inc. participates as a member of the Angel Bus Network making available non-emergency ground transportation to those in need. The company also has adopted Old Tyler Road in Whitehouse as a part of the Keep Whitehouse Beautiful Campaign. And, Vice President and General Manger Patty Lonsbary places “Service Above Self” as a longtime member of Rotary International.

Have You Ever Seen A Falling Star?

Travel can unlock wondrous experiences especially when you have time to slow down with no pressing schedule or obligations to distract you. You might see a shooting star, reconnect with a loving spouse, or even enjoy the luxury of waking up without the harsh sound of an alarm. You just get off treadmill, forget the avalanche of daily email, and relax.

I had this experience this past fall of 2005 when I packed casual clothes only and took off aboard “Patty’s Charm” as a part of my celebration of reaching the BIG 50! During our trip from Texas to New Mexico, Ed and I set a meandering pace for 10 days knowing only that we’d leave home from Whitehouse, Texas on October 7^th and I’d fly from Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 16^th into Houston to pick-up again on my client obligations with Ketchum. 

On Friday, October 7th our first day on the road, Ed drove only as far as Abilene, Texas.  Why stop in Abilene?  Ed had some vague remembrance of a song acclaiming this town to be “the prettiest place, I’ve ever seen.”  We strolled through the town at dusk and happened to wander into a smoke shop where Ed engaged the owner in a conversation.  The fellow confirmed that the song of long ago did make such a claim, but the city serenaded was really in Kansas. Ed felt disappointed with the news.  I simply grinned. 

Patty strolls along a downtown street in Abilene, Texas

According to the AAA Tour Book of Texas, Abilene had been named for that Kansas cattle boomtown and soon became a major shipping point itself for Texas livestock.  This heritage is commemorated in a multi-media exhibit that I visited on Saturday morning October 8^th called Frontier Texas.  Here a century of Texas Frontier history comes alive as hologram characters share the stories of their lives.  I felt like I’d been invited into the prairie home of Elizabeth Clifton who described her survival as a widow after the loss of multiple husbands. And, in the blacksmith shed, Britt Johnson, a slave, told of his joy when he was granted freedom to search for his wife and daughters who had been captured by Indians. I nearly ducked for cover when a gunfight broke out in the Beehive Saloon; and later, I shook from the thunder as the theater effects created the illusion of a buffalo stampede all around me.  Hearing the stories from these men and women who lived and died on the frontier brought the legends and history alive.  This experience made the overnight stop in Abilene worthwhile. 

The second largest known meteor crater in the United States can be found in Odessa, Texas our next stop.  The Odessa Meteor Crater formed in prehistoric time when a great shower of nickel-iron meteorites collided with the earth some 50,000 years ago.  The crater measures approximately 550 feet across and was originally 100 feet deep.  Wind and rain have washed soil into the crater so today it is only about 15 feet deep.  In 1965, the National Park Service designated Odessa Meteor Crater a “National Natural Landmark” as an illustration of the nation’s natural heritage and as a contribution to a better understanding of the environment.

After a short drive west of Odessa, we pulled into Monahans Sandhills State Park to camp for the night.  The park includes over 3,800 acres of active sand dunes.  Ed and I trekked across the dunes for awhile, and then I surprised him by plopping backwards into the sand. I laid on the surface of a dune and dragged my arms in the sand from my sides to over my head to make the perfect sand angel! Other campers enjoyed the sands too. That evening we watched what seemed like an endless supply of small children jump out of the back of a very large van, run up the dunes, and then sand surf to the bottom. 

Patty tries making a perfect sand angel. Up North you all do this in the snow!

At nightfall, we experienced an unexpected treat.  A local astronomy club assembled at the park for stargazing and all campers were invited to join them. First, we watched a Carl Sagan-type video about stars and the universe.  Afterwards, we could look through the assortment of telescopes to see Venus, satellites, and the contours of the craters on the moon.  With no city lights to diffuse the light from the stars or clouds to obstruct the view, we enjoyed a perfect night for gazing at the heavens.  We even saw a falling star – a first for both Ed and I!

I had not planned to visit Abilene, Odessa or the Sandhills but the one destination I did not want to miss was the Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico.  We arrived too late on Sunday, October 9^th to enter the caves so we found a place to boon dock in just outside the national park. We sacrificed our first choice of a boon dock site when a local fellow warned us that the lot would have delivery trucks surrounding us in the morning.  He suggested the lot behind the town fire station and volunteered, “If anyone asks say Mike said it was okay to stay there.”  We spent a peaceful night behind the fire station with a view of the desert to one side and the station water holding tank to the other.  But sure enough in the morning, came the Sheriff’s knock and Ed said, “Mike said this was okay.” Mike must be mayor or someone special because the Sheriff left just shaking his head.

Caves fascinate me, but they don’t intrigue Ed. So he spent the day tinkering on the coach while I wandered in the underworld of the Carlsbad Caverns.  I joined the Kings Palace Guided Tour at 10 AM on October 10^th.  This 1½ hour ranger-guided tour took me through four scenic chambers descending to the deepest portion of the cavern some 830 feet beneath the desert surface.  I marveled at the cave formations of helictites, draperies, columns and soda straws.  At one point, the ranger invited us to sit on low benches and he turned off all the artificial lights to produce a blackout effect.  The inky blackness of the natural cave environment enveloped our group for that short moment. 

After the tour a grabbed a hamburger in the underground rest area then rode the elevator to the surface to begin my own exploration along the Natural Entrance Route.  This is a self-guided tour following the original explorer’s route.  I entered the cave through the natural entrance and descended more than 750 feet walking along a steep, narrow passage. For several hours, I wandered around the circular route stopping to enjoy the Bottomless Pit, the Giant Dome, Mirror Lake and other underground phenomenon.  At times through my meanderings, I simply sat and marveled at the expanse of the Big Room some 14 acres in size.  When I finally surfaced, I found Ed waiting for me in the bus parking area ready to roll.  That evening we found a lakeside parking lot completely deserted for our campsite and boon docked without interruption.

The view goes on for miles from this scenic outlook of the Sacramento Mountains.

By noon on October 11^th we arrived in Cloudscroft, New Mexico, a resort community and recreation center at the base of the Sacramento Mountains.  As we drove through the community we caught glimpses of the area surrounding the White Sands Missile Range, a world-class military testing facility.  And from the bus windows, we enjoyed watching air show-like displays of military jets soaring overhead with amazing precision and skill.  What a treat!

Late in the day, we decided to visit the White Sands National Monument, which lies west of Cloudscroft on US 70/82.  We pick-up some literature at the Visitor’s Center, toured the exhibit and watched the park service video. We learned that rare gypsum sands form the snow-white dunes that rise as high as 60 feet above the Tularosa Basin.

According to the video, water from rain and melting snow move the gypsum from the mountains into Lake Lucero in the southwest portion of the White Sands National Monument.  Dry winds evaporate the playa, causing gypsum crystals to form. The crystals break down into sand-sized particles, which the winds blow and pile into dunes.  Not wanting to rush through the dunes, Ed and I decided to find a campsite and return the next day to explore.

Patty’s Charm and Patty pause among the dunes of the White Sands National Monument.

We ended up that night at the Oliver Lee Memorial State Park and I think we were largest vehicle in the 44-site campground.  Ed had to maneuver around a stationary concrete picnic table to position “Patty’s Charm” off the camp road.  I perched on top the table so he could have a reference point in his vision. No dings in the bus this time and the table and I are still intact.  After challenge of fitting into the campsite, Ed announced that we were parked for the night and that’s where we stayed until morning.  I spent my evening perched on that picnic table with a cold beer reading the novel If My Father Loved Me until the sun faded.  Then, I turned my attention to Ed and the lovely the sunset that lit the terrain of the Chihuahuan Desert and Sacramento Mountains.

We were among just a small number of the visitors at the White Sands National Monument Park on the morning of October 12^th. Ed and I spent a quiet morning walking among the dunes disturbing an occasional lizard out in the morning sun.  Later, we parked the bus against the backdrop of the dunes to get some new photos for our web site.

It’s easy to keep the sand out of your shoes walking long this boardwalk in the dunes.

Nearly as spectacular as the dunes and cause for equal wonderment, City of Rocks State Park was a place we simply happened upon because I needed access to a phone. The reliability of my cell phone had been sporadic since we left Texas so I wanted to have access to a landline for a 6 PM work-related conference call.  This park had the pay phone I needed next to humming Coke machine and more!    

Volcanic rock columns, some rising as high as 40 feet, jut out of the desert floor like statues in this park located near Deming, New Mexico.  The park ranger told us that the formations were formed 34.9 million years ago and millions of years of erosion brought the volcanic rocks to their present stature.  These impressive rock sculptures lured Ed and me to wander through their maze and explore this square mile of monolithic formations. This was truly one of the most unique state parks I had ever visited.

That night we looked as a map to chart our route up Route 35 to Route 15for the next day. The map did not disclose what lay ahead.  I had not expected our drive to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument to be along a narrow road climbing more that 7,000 feet up with switchback turns and cliffs on either side.  Had the scenery not been so beautiful, I’d have kept my eyes closed during the entire ride. Call me “chicken” but I knew that Ed’s careful monitoring of the temperature gauges meant that pulling up the mountain could overheat the engine.  We stopped at one pullover on the route to enjoy the view and check the coach before continuing our climb.  When we reached the Gila Visitor’s Center after this scary 2-hour drive, Ed asked the ranger for an alternative route out of the park and learned that there is one way in and the same way out.  I put that scared feeling aside and signed us up for the 4 PM interpretive tour.

The Mongollon people lived in caves above a canyon floor.

Now, we climbed the one-mile trail on foot 180 feet above the canyon floor to reach the dwellings of the Mongollon people who lived there from 1280’s to the early 1300’s.  Seven natural caves occur in the southeast-facing cliff, and five of the caves contain the ruins of dwellings – about 40 rooms. Our guide speculated about the use of each room. He allowed us to linger in the rooms to let our imaginations run and wonder ourselves about the lives of this native people.

Patty explored the rooms built by the Mongollon people at the Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument.

Our haven – the bus – is a remarkable comparison to the home of the cliff dwelling people.  I felt cozy and warm yet could not help but wonder more about these remarkable people and how they lived.  We camped near the ancient dwellings not wanting to travel the switchbacks at night.  At morning light, we made the return trip down the mountains without any misfortune.

Only two days remained before I had to catch a flight from Albuquerque, New Mexico back to Texas.  So Ed asked me to find a route.  I advocated for the interstate route as opposed to another scenic Route 152 with elevations of 8,000 - 10,000 feet.  The driver ultimately chooses and Ed said, “We’re taking the scenic route.”  Yes, more switchbacks and narrow climbs lay on the road ahead but again the scenery of the Cross Black Range Mimbres Mountains made the drive worthwhile.

By now, I’d seen as much as I wanted to see so the rain in Albuquerque gave me cause to curl up with Dr. Henry Cloud’s book 9 Things You Simply MUST Do to Succeed in Love and Life. I read it cover to cover taking a break only to visit the China Buffet with Ed.  My fortune cookie that night read, “A journey of a thousand steps begins with a single step.” 

This journey through Texas and New Mexico had begun with that single step and had come to its end, but more travel lies ahead in the not too far away future.  I know because I wished on a falling star.

Our motto is... "Anywhere - Anytime"