On the Road Again with Mr. Becker
By Brandon Velivis and Sam Hopkins

SATURDAY and SUNDAY, April 29 and 30 --- We only had to pray three tijmes. It all started at the car rental lot in Albuquerque. The confusion that took place in packing the vehicles foreshadowed the chaos which was to take place on the road in New Mexico.

The 11 people traveling had three bags apiece, for a total of 33. On top of that, there were two computers, two cameras, a CB radio and enough audio equipment to keep all the males happy.

And that was before we stopped at the Wal-Mart in Grants, N,M., where we bought $264 in groceries and provisions for our stay at Chaco Canyon, where the nearest store is well over an hour away. This left not a single cubic inch of space in either van for the comfort of the passengers. There was so little room that the bags had to packed on top of us. For example, Brandon Velivis had a 20-pound bag on his lap for 2 ½ hours, 20 miles of that on a bumpy dirt road.

The first time we prayed was during the final approach to the Albuquerque airport. It allmost never rains in Albuquerque, but we managed to beat the odds. The plane rocked side to side and up and down. All of us grasped our seats in anticipation of landing. When our plane touched down, it came to a screeching halt. We marveled at the skid marks. As we exited the plane, we congratulated the pilot on his first successful landing. Just kidding!

The second time we prayed was when we pulled into the Southwest Motel parking lot. The neon sign and the phrase "Free Cable" gave the essence of a sleazy Las Vegas motel. However, the owner was nice and gave us an extra room at no extra cost. Upon entering our rooms, we did not discover a sleazy motel but a high-class hostelry worthy of at least three stars, even if the amenities included exactly one motel-sized bar of soap apiece.

The last time we prayed was on entering the unofficial, virtually abandoned access road to Chaco Culture National Historic Park. The ominous sky was an omen of what was to come. The rutted dirt road gave a most bumpy ride . Bouncing up and down, we soon learned the lesson of teamwork as we looked out for wildlife. Mr. Becker flushed a couple of jackrabbits and almost took us offroading after swerving for one long-eared creature. After further driving, we came upon two steers that were less than two feet from our van. They stood there as if they were gatekeeperes to the nowhere we were about to enter. However, we successfully traversed the road to arrive at our lodging.

Before our final prayer, we enjoyed a sunset second to none. The sunset had the backdrop of miles of sagebrush prairie and desert with huge, red sandstone mesas at the horizon. Pencil-shaped ice crystals in the sky caused the reddened setting sun to have an added vertical pillar emanating from the horizon against the dark background of clouds. Mr. Becker said the whole effect -- the red sky, the dark clouds, and the surrealistic pillar -- brought an unexpectedly serene ending to a hectic day.

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