The Jeff and Lori Bucket List Tour of America continues this sunny crisp Sunday in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Last month we began a journey across America that will take us to places I've traveled to before and wanted to spend more time seeing, or national parks I've always wanted to visit but never had the chance.
We've been here since October 1 and may stay until spring. We are living in a comfortable motel, paying by the week and getting an extra week free if we pay for three in a row. There are many cultural and historical attractions within a 50 mile radius of where Las Cruces and we have plans to see most of the unusual ones.
I want to take a walk at the White Sands National Monument Park at night and look at the stars without being visually hampered by city lights. I want to see the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum. It's right here in Las Cruces and the entry fee is dirt cheap.
As a birder and pantheist, I love all of nature and within 10 minutes of here is New Mexico's newest state park - Mesilla State Park. Lori saw her first road runner there last week. Every morning, we wake up to the songs of birds we have never seen before. The state has about 35 state parks and a good number of them aren't far from here. I want to see Rock Hound State Park and Elephant Butte.
The best thing about the bucket list tour is this - although my physical and mental activities have picked up, my Parkinson's disease symptoms have gotten better. I really didn't give any thought to the possibility my PD would prevent me from doing this, so the realization that my symptoms are improving took a while to set in.
The biggest improvement is in the area of pain. My back pain went from a daily maximum of 9 to less than 4 in intensity. My shoulder pain still is pretty exquisite many times a day, but not as many as before we started this trip. Tremors haven't abated but they aren't bad. I have had some balance problems that I attribute to wantesing to do more than I should and getting a little tired during prolonged walks.
Well, that's the latest from The Jeff and Lori Bucket List Tour of America. More next Sunday.