Photo Updates

Despite the fact that I carry a camera with me almost religously and take regularly take photos for a number of publications, I have not been nearly as good about posting images to this site as I should be! I will try to be better about that and, accordingly, have just posted three photos to my piece on "Driving the Devil's Backbone" (http://varhola.blogspot.com/2010/03/driving-devils-backbone.html).

And here is a picture I took this week, of the some of the native Hill Country cactuses in bloom.

Best Western/Swiss Chalet Inn & Suites (Pecos, Texas)

PECOS, TEXAS -- Suffice it to say, my wife and I were surprised to discover such a big, beautiful hotel just off of I-20 in this dusty little city on the west Texas plains and, when we asked if it was a conference hotel, were told by the clerk that it was not but that many people asked the same question. Our room was big and comfortable and included a number of nice features, including sinks in and outside of the bathroom, a microwave, and a refrigerator.

By the time we woke up Monday morning and started getting ready to leave, we were very pleased and I almost posted a 5-star review here and on Yahoo Local (my inclination being to ignore the first of the annoyances listed below). We did experience a couple of odd things at the the Best Western/Swiss Chalet Inn & Suites, however, which made our stay their less than perfect.

* We were pleased to discover the place had a government rate of $80. That seemed a little steep for Pecos but fine for this hotel so we accepted it. The desk clerk went on to tell us, however, that she had to charge us an additional $10 because my wife was going to have someone else in the room with her (i.e., her husband -- me -- who also has a government ID card). Pretty bizarre and something I have never experienced elsewhere.

* Breakfast looked very promising and the hotel has a large area set up for these purposes and a nice selection of food. When we went to eat, however, we were greeted with NO coffee, NO forks, and NO napkins. We had to specifically ask the slow-moving attendant to make more coffee. We then watched as she shambled out of the kitchen every few minutes to deposit a couple of mugs or stir the food in the serving dishes, oblivious to the fact that we and other guests were eating our bacon with spoons and had no napkins. A manager eventually showed up, but she didn't notice any of these deficiencies either -- and counseled the attendant only about some other things that seemed to be affecting her own breakfast!

Overall, the Best Western/Swiss Chalet Inn & Suites has a lot of promise, and maybe its staff and management will get their act together and make the place a success, but they are not there yet. As always, keep your eye on this space for updates (which, as always, may include direct feedback from the reviewed establishment, which I not just allow but encourage).

International UFO Museum and Research Center (Roswell, N.M.)

ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO -- A special treat for Diane and I during our roadtrip home from Las Vegas was the opportunity to stop at the UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico.


Alright, so the exhibits are a little melodramatic and at times a bit redundant, but the place really is a labor of love and its organizers have done a great job with it. And the attached research library is a bona fide public service to anyone interested in any sort of in-depth study of the subject.

This latter feature was all the more useful to me, of course, in that I actually did do some research while at the center, for my upcoming book "Texas Confidential: Sex, Scandal, Murder, and Mayhem in the Lone Star State."


Yes, the 1947 UFO incident in Roswell did, in fact have a Texas connection! In short, the remains of the craft -- whether it was an alien spacecraft or merely a wrecked weather balloon -- were transported to Carswell Army Air Field in Fort Worth. And the opportunity to event peripherally include this famous incident in my own book is too much for me to resist.


The staff at the center were friendly and very helpful and I am looking forward to working with them as I move ahead with Texas Confidential and other projects.

On the Road Home from Las Vegas

It does not take much to remind me why driving cross-country is the best way to travel whenever possible, and the drive from Las Vegas across Nevada, briefly down into California, and on into Arizona, New Mexico, and finally Texas has some especially beautiful stretches. Highpoints include the Alpine stretch around Flagstaff, Arizona, and the painted desert in the far eastern edge of the state; the mountainous valley in which Albuquerque sits; and the austere, nearly empty deep desert north of Roswell, with massive Mount Capitane sitting off to the west for a very long time during the drive south down NM-285.

Teabagged in Searchlight, Nevada

SEARCHLIGHT, NEVADA -- My wife and I had the unpleasant experience of being stuck in a traffic jam deep in the desert east of Las Vegas, Nevada, as a result of a Tea Party rally taking place just outside of the little town of Searchlight. During our slow drive past thousands of cars parked alongside both sides of the road, we had the opportunity to get a good look at the Teabaggers.

Restaurant Advisory: Wendy's (Lake Havasu, Arizona)

LAKE HAVASU, ARIZONA -- Avoid the Wendy's at the exit for Lake Havasu off of I-40 in Arizona! While the employees are in no way unpleasant, they are almost completely indifferent to doing their jobs properly. Suffice it to say, a fast-food establishment that can't bother to get their fries hot has nothing going for it -- and one that tells customers that the fries are hot and fresh and then gives them cold ones instead, as the people at this Wendy's did to me, should simply be avoided. Also, we had to struggle for cup lids that fit and specifically talk to FOUR separate employees before we could get what we needed.

There are plenty of other places to eat at this intersection. Choose one of them.

Staples (North Las Vegas, Nevada)

NORTH LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Had a perfect experience at this Staples in North Las Vegas, which both completed three jobs for me in just 45 minutes and mailed me my flash drive when it accidentally got left behind.