Dangerous Hilarity: The Great Adventures of the Jackson Twins, Their Family and the Dogs in Their Lives, A Novel for Teens and Young Adults and All Those Who are Young at Heart. Sioux Dallas
“Irene answered. “I told you it wasn’t what you see in the movies. They had to build a wall around it to protect it from souvenir seekers. The building is smaller than we expected.” She read from a pamphlet. “Established in 1718 by Father Antonio Olivares, this was originally a Spanish outpost called Mission San Antonio de Parras. When the Mexicans took charge, it became known as Pueblo Alamo. In 1835 Mexican General Santa Anna came to the Alamo with the intention of destroying it. Texas General Sam Houston ordered Colonel James Bowie to destroy it and get his men out of the area to safety. Instead Bowie, determined to fight for Texas independence, stood his ground. In February, 1836 Col. William Travis and David Crockett joined Bowie with only a little less than six hundred men to fight Gen. Santa Anna’s four thousand plus. The patriots fought valiantly but the battle was soon over. One hundred eighty-nine Texans lay dead. The Alamo remains a symbol of Texas’ pride and independent spirit.”
After the tour, they all agreed that it was worth it to see the Alamo and learn more about the history of Texas. They now had a better understanding of what the early people went through to gain independence. It was past time for lunch, so they went to a restaurant. The twins learned there was to be a rodeo in Lubbock. They begged to attend because they’d never been to a rodeo. Irene agreed and they went back to the motel to get Galena and drive on up to Lubbock. They were lucky to find a motel room with the crowds coming to attend the rodeo.
The rodeo opened with riders carrying flags, trick riders, singers, chuck wagon demonstrations and draft horses pulling weights to show their great strength. The twins were almost in tears thinking the animals might be treated so badly. A man seated beside them explained what was going on and the Jackson family began to enjoy what they were seeing. They admired the spirit and determination of the animals to fight for the freedom from restraint. The bucking horses and the bucking bulls were awesome. Near midnight, they were tired and ready to crawl into bed. First they called Herb to tell him of their day.
Anna was driving through northern Texas on the way into New Mexico when Irene decided they could stop in Amarillo.
“Holy cow, Mom! Look! Are those real cowboys? There’s horses, too,” Tim yelped. “Did you see that cowboy get on his horse with one jump from the ground?”
Anna smiled. “Guys, you’ve been watching too much television. Sure those are real cowboys, but nothing like you see in movies. Most of these men have college degrees and live in beautiful, modern homes. They probably carry walkie talkies for places where a cell phone won’t get a signal. They’re as modern as you are.”
“Aw, don’t spoil it for us, Anna,” Tom answered
They stared at horses tied on a side street while traffic and modern buildings were all around. Anna pulled to the curb and stopped. The twins quickly opened both back doors to get out, but Galena beat them. She ran around the corner toward the horses making funny whimpering noises.
“Get Galena,” Irene yelled. “She’s never seen a horse and probably thinks they’re big dogs.” These were well-trained working horses that were accustomed to ranch dogs and all sorts of animals, but Anna was not aware of that. Irene ran after Galena and burst out laughing as she came around the corner. “Tom,” she called, “bring the camera -- hurry.”
Tom ran back to the car as Tim slid to a stop beside his mother. He, too, burst out laughing. Galena was running to each horse giving doggy kisses on each nose. The horses were nosing her and being friendly.
“What’s so funny?” Tom panted as he ran back with the camera.
Irene focused the camera and took pictures. “Something to remember about our trip to show daddy. Galena’s first introduction to horses.”
Gathering her troop back into the car, Irene drove to the edge of town to a motel. “Like us, Galena is bored and tired. Walk her and then we’ll eat dinner. All three of you go and stay together. I don’t want anyone getting lost or distracted by something.”
The next morning the twins walked Galena while Anna filled her food bowl and put down fresh water. Galena was left in the room while her family went for breakfast at the same restaurant they had dinner the night before. The twins were ecstatic to find cowboys eating breakfast. The men were glad to talk to them and answer questions. After eating, some of the men went outside to stand by the children for Irene to take pictures. They thanked the men and reluctantly prepared to travel on.
Irene drove on to the west. In less than an hour they were crossing into New Mexico. Galena was sitting happily in the front seat looking out the window while Anna massaged her neck and ears. Tom and Tim eagerly opened the AAA book of New Mexico.
Reading to himself, Tom blurted. “Hey, I didn’t know this.”
“What? Why brother mine, I thought you knew everything,” Tim teased.
“Laugh, you fool, and show your ignorance, but listen to this.” Tom read aloud. “New Mexico is the site of the oldest white settlement in the western U.S. In 1609, two years after the funding of Jamestown, Virginia, Spanish colonists established the city of Santa Fe. For more than two hundred years the Spanish ruled all of the southwestern part of our country.”
“Wow. Are you sure?” Tim questioned. “I thought whites settled in the east and moved to the west. I know Indians and Spanish were here together, but I’ve never heard of the white settlement.”
“Actually,” Irene told them, “I read somewhere that the Norsemen were here long before that. We’ll probably never know how many and who landed in our country before written records. I do know that Jesuit priests came down from Canada to work with the Indians during the early 1400s. The priests left meticulous, beautifully hand-written notes.”
Tim continued with the reading. “Ancient pueblo ruins and cliff dwellings show that the area was inhabited long before the discovery of America. Acoma, the sky city, is a village built on a sheer cliff that rises 357 feet above the plains. One can still visit by climbing a ladder and going into the three-story adobe houses dug into the cliffs and reinforced with mud carried on human backs in hand-made baskets. Lots of Indians return today for ceremonies and festivals on the spot.”
They discussed the difficult life of these early people and then read on. “A part of the Pueblos, the Zuni, live on a reservation west of these ruins. A smaller group, the Navajos, are on a reservation in the northwest of the state. A third is the warlike Apache who caused people to build high in the sides of the cliff where they could climb up and then draw the ladder up after them to be safe from attacks.”
“Mom, can we visit one of these reservations?” Tom asked.
“Sorry, we can’t stop. You’ve been to the Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina.”
“Aw, well, we’d better stop and give Galena a potty break. She’s acting antsy.” While Galena took a potty break, they got out and stretched a few minutes. Back in the car Anna took the wheel to drive.
“Aw, gee,” Tim mourned, “if we were farther south we could see Fort Selden, the remains of a frontier military post built to protect travelers and those settling in Mesilla Valley from Indian raids. Later railroads were built and travelers used Fort Selden to rest and make connections to other types of travel. From 1884 to 1886 young Douglas MacArthur lived on Fort Selden with his father who was the fort commanding officer. Today Rangers, in costumes, show people over the museum and give talks.”
Irene was enjoying her sons reading about the history of the country. “I’m glad your dad got us the tour books. You’ve learned a lot of interesting facts and they’ve given you something to do on the trip.”
All three children voiced their opinions and agreed that they appreciated the books. Later in the afternoon, they crossed the border into Arizona. Irene thought they were doing well and suggested they stop early. Galena jumped out of the station wagon and began to run in circles.
“Poor old girl. She’s tied in knots. I bet her muscles are stiff,” Anna observed. “She’s not used to being in an enclosed space as long as she has on this trip, even though she’s been a good traveler.”
“Let