Weed, NM

This morning, we decided to take a drive down through the Lincoln National Forest to the little village of Weed, NM. We knew we were getting into backwoodsy areas because we went over several cattle guards. Apparently the area is open range for cattle. Weed was about 10 miles down the road but I didn't take any pictures there because it was a bit rundown and I didn't see anything very picturesque. We wondered if the name was a holdover from the 70's, but a little research on the internet showed that the town got its name in the 1880's from a man named William Weed, who built the town's first store and applied for a post office there. A small cafe which doubles as a post office is about the only commercial venture in town.
On the way back, we saw a flock of wild turkeys crossing the road. The markings on their backs were beautiful. As we drove slowly forward, I was able to get a snapshot of a couple of them. Wish I could have gotten a closeup of them.
When we reached the high point of the mountain, we stopped to take some pictures of the spectacular view. Well, it looked much better in person than you see in the photos. In the third photo you can see Highway 130, which we turned off to go toward Weed.
We continued on the very curvy road to Cloudcroft and did a little shopping at the only grocery store in town. I needed corn tortillas because the Hatch tacos I tried to make yesterday didn't work out too well. I think I'm going to make some shredded beef enchiladas, hence the extra corn tortillas. I'm going to try making my own enchilada sauce out of some Hatch green chilis we got last Monday. Hopefully it'll be better than the tacos I tried to make! Maybe someday I'll figure out how Chuy's makes their Hatch tacos.
The weather has been astoundingly beautiful here, and we've had a few light showers. It was 49 degrees outside this morning when we got up, so we used the furnace for a while. We've been able to get by without running the air conditioner during the afternoon now for about a week. (We have to pay for our electric at this park).
Almost forgot...we woke up this morning around 4:30 and heard coyote pups yipping and howling, twice!
Well, that's all for today...will let you know how the enchiladas turn out!

Another Hike

We decided to do our walking again today and I can't resist going up the mountain because it's so pretty. I love to take pictures of birds and wildflowers. I think the first wildflower picture is some kind of anemone, and the second looks like it belongs in the morning glory family. I took the berries so we could try to identify them, and we think they are chokecherries, although I wouldn't test them by tasting! We didn't see any animules but several pickup trucks passed us on the way up the hill. Gary said "Looked like the guys from Deliverance" to him, but we had our trusty little .22 caliber peashooter in his pocket. Might not kill 'em but sure would make 'em mad. Fortunately, nobody bothered us. On the way back down the hill we noticed storm clouds coming in, as you can see in the picture. Now we're hearing thunder and the clouds are getting closer.

Nights are getting cooler now, and it was 51 degrees this morning when we woke up. We ran the furnace a while just to knock the chill out of the air. The cat was very restless last night and couldn't get comfortable, walking all over me all night. Then about 3 am she got down on the floor and started retching. We got up and kept her over the tile and off the carpet as best as we could, then cleaned up the mess. Geesh. Sometimes it's hard to have a cat. After the episode, she jumped off the bed and I couldn't sleep because I was worried that she might get sick again. So I didn't get much sleep last night. Hopefully this will be her only episode for a while.

Today I am (trying to) make Hatch tacos. Got some hot Hatch chilis which had already been roasted, and cleaned off the black and got the seeds out, and wrapped a roast beef in the chilis. Maybe it'll be just like Chuy's!

That's all for today. We plan to go to Weed, NM, tomorrow and take some more pictures.

Bye!

Oldies but goodies

Since there's not too much going on here, I thought I'd reach back into my older pictures and show you Devil's River. It is located approx. 30 miles north of Del Rio, TX, and then 20 miles west on a dirt road. Devil's River is a Texas state park, but it is so remote that few people ever get to see it. We were fortunate enough to be taken to an open house there by our friend Miguel Zuniga, one of the rangers from Seminole Canyon. The river is accessible by 4-wheel vehicle, with high clearance. We had to drive over the river, which was nerve-wracking to me. But it was worth it. The falls in the second picture are very dangerous, as they have an undertow and people have fell in and drowned because the water continually circulates underneath the falls. Can't remember what that's called! I seriously doubt that the river is flowing as full as it was the year we went there, since there was lots of rain that year and there was a big drought this year. Miguel says it is the only river in Texas where the water is pure enough to drink. Maybe because it's so remote and people have been unable to pollute it.
We are getting anxious to leave, although we love the cool weather and beautiful scenery. We went to Alamogordo on Monday and haven't done much since. Had a very nice church service on Sunday, sitting under a large shade tree. Many people here are packing up and leaving (most all are Texans). We'll have to consider coming back some time next summer for a while. They are all really nice, friendly folk, and we have thoroughly enjoyed our time here.
We're headed for El Paso, TX, on Sunday to get some maintenance work done on the RV on Monday. We're planning on staying at the Ft. Bliss FamCamp for a night, then on the road after we get the RV work is done. We'll stay a night in Marathon, TX (the locals pronounce it MAR-u-thn). We go through the southern part of the Davis Mountains and will go through Marfa and Alpine on our way to Seminole Canyon State Park, where we will be camp hosts.
Marfa, TX, is famous for its "Marfa Lights". We have actually seen them. They show up around sundown on the hills and move around in unpredictable ways. Nobody has ever been able to figure out exactly what they are. Now before you say it must be cars, or someone with a flashlight, they were seen as far back as the 1860's! We took video of them. That was when Jordan was 6 weeks old! She's 10 now. She and her parents were along with us on that trip. Wow, time really flies. Seems like only yesterday...
Well, until next time...take care!

Happy Friday

Happy Friday, everyone. We took our walk this morning and walked further up the mountain than ever before. I had to stop and catch my breath several times. We didn't see any bear or mountain lion; not even a birdie. We did see a calf and its mother in the valley, though.

As you can see, the road is rocky but pretty good.

It's always good to get back and relax after exercising. The sky is now cloudy and threatening rain. That's great because it's cool in here without the sun beating down on the roof, and they do need some rain here.

We are loving the weather and the beauty of this place, but we're getting antsy to leave.

Best wishes to all!

Rainbow

Nothing much new today; it was laundry day and we didn't walk or go anywhere. I DID do something I've never done before...I ironed the sheets! They were a little damp and I didn't want to put them back in the dryer, so I decided to iron them dry. You wouldn't believe how HUGE king sized sheets are!

We have had several episodes of light rain today, and the last one was raining with the sun shining. Gary grabbed the camera and said there must be a rainbow somewhere. Sure enough...looking to the east, just past our motor home, was a rainbow. He takes such good pix.

I wish we could somehow preserve the fragrance of the pines. I have never been able to find a manufactured duplicate. I always take deep breaths and try to hold the memory of the pine fragrance in my mind. That, coupled with the sound of the breeze through the pine trees, is so awesome. We don't have any pines in the park, but we have to wait 'til we go up into the mountains. Hopefully we'll go walking tomorrow.

Later!

Daily Walk (Hike)

Hi, all, we've been doing some walking/hiking down the road and on a side road, up onto the mountain. It was probably about 1/2 mile of climbing. The first picture is a view from the road where we turned back. We scared up a huge doe (compared to central Texas deer!) but weren't able to see if she was a whitetail or mule deer. The second picture is looking down the valley and the little stream you see is the "Rio Penasco". It is shallow at this point but the water is swift. I couldn't resist taking pictures of some wildflowers and unfortunately, these are the only ones that came out. (Gary took them). The final picture is a pool at the RV park with spring water running into it, and there's a patio above it, where I took the picture. It is very restful to sit there and listen to the water flowing into the pool (not for swimming, though). I thought the rose was a pretty color and got a snap of it.

We have made some acquaintances here in the RV park. We got to talking to one lovely, talented lady named Arlene and discovered she has roots in Wynnewood, OK, (where I was born) and Joy, OK, where my mom went to school. I recall hearing the last name of her grandfather and we had lots of "down home" talking to do. It really is a small world. She plays several instruments, including a bowed psaltery and a hammered dulcimer. I will try to get some pictures later of them. I can't begin to describe the sounds made by these instruments. I was fortunate enough to get to play the bowed psaltery and it was SO much fun. Oops, I think I'm getting the bug! Again!

Yesterday, we attended church services here in the RV park, outdoors, under a huge, shady tree, with the roar of the Rio Penasco falls in the background and hummingbirds whirring all around. Arlene played the hammered dulcimer, and another lady (Betty) played the bowed psaltery. It was impressive and just couldn't have been a more picture-perfect setting for a beautiful church service. We are definitely gonna miss this place!

Shopping Day

Yesterday we went to Alamogordo to shop. I couldn't resist taking more pictures. It's difficult to capture via camera what the naked eye perceives. Being in the mountains, with tall pines and aspens, is so beautiful that I can't resist trying to take that perfect picture.

The first picture is just my favorite...tall trees. Next is a glimpse of the aforementioned White Sands, NM, taken at a pulloff down the hill toward Alamogordo. Cloudcroft and the surrounding areas are part of the Lincoln National Forest.

The final two pictures were taken in Cloudcroft. This is the ski area, and Cloudcroft is one of the southernmost ski resorts in North America.

There's some rain around today, but none headed for us, it would appear. Right now it's about 77 degrees outside. Isn't that rough. It was 55 degrees this morning when we got up.

Nothing else new here. Hope all is well with each of you.

Cloudcroft, Alamogordo

The first picture is taken from Cloudcroft, elev. 8600 ft, looking to the west. The white area you see in the background is White Sands, NM. That trip will be in the future, I hope. If you look at the satellite view of New Mexico, you will see a white spot in the south central part of the state. That large area is White Sands.

The road from Cloudcroft to Alamogordo falls from 8600+ ft. to 4300 feet in 14 miles, so it's pretty steep. There is a tunnel through the mountains, shown in the picture. It's probably 1/4 mile long. When we leave, we will be headed down this highway, but we have an engine brake on the motor home, also Allison automatic transmission, which Gary will downshift, so there may be some white-knuckling but we pray we'll make it down the hill safely. There is a brief area of construction--with a one lane road! and a flagman but we are planning on leaving here on Aug. 30th, which is a Sunday, and there should be no construction that day.

Alamogordo has a toy train museum, which is shown in the lower pictures. Can you imagine what Uncle Richard would say about that museum. He'd love it. There is also a little train outside for the kiddies to ride.

I always look forward to going to Alamogordo to shop, but look forward to heading back up the mountain to the cooler temperatures. Alamo is hot, dry and dusty!

Thanks for viewing our blog.

Lincoln County, NM

On Friday, we decided to drive the "Billy the Kid National Byway" which goes from just outside Ruidoso, NM, over to Capitan, and back through Ruidoso, then to Cloudcroft, completing the circle. Traveling up to Cloudcroft (elevation 8600 ft.), we turned off on 244, which goes through the Mescalero Indian Reservation. The road was curvy, and we lost elevation rapidly, as we traveled through beautiful cool tall pines down to high green meadows, and onto the reservation. We stopped at a place called "Grandma's Kitchen", to have some Indian Frybread. It was delicious and something which we definitely did NOT need (fried in grease) and drizzled with honey. Then on through the crowded town of Ruidoso, with all its tourist-trap shops. We gradually continued to lose elevation and noticed that the pine trees stopped, with juniper and various cacti taking their place.

Now I'm not too interested in a punk outlaw (aka Billy the Kid), but I was interested in the Lincoln county wars. Apparently, during the late 1870's, the Murphys and Dolans ran a store which was the only game in town. They were accused of cheating the Indians, the army, and the townspeople. A man named Tunstall, from England, came to town and joined up with a man named McSween. They opened a store of their own. John Chisum owned the largest cattle ranch in the country, over toward Roswell, and sided with the Murphys and Dolans. After much bravado and threats by the Murphy/Dolans, Mr. Tunstall refused to fight, but hired Billy the Kid (unofficially) to be the "cattle guard". To make a long story short, the sheriff of Lincoln County, William Brady, and his posse, shot Mr. Tunstall in the head. Billy the Kid swore revenge because Mr. Tunstall had treated him kindly. The shooting of Mr. Tunstall ignited the Lincoln County wars. President Rutherford B. Hays once called the road through Lincoln the deadliest stretch of road in the United States.

The story is long, convoluted and gained national notoriety, but finally, things settled down after President Hays replaced the alleged corrupt governor of New Mexico. Billy the Kid was confined in the Lincoln County Courthouse and escaped, killing a deputy. He was tracked to Fort Sumner and killed by Pat Garrett. Nineteen people lost their lives in the Lincoln County wars.

Most of the buildings are still standing, including the court house. It is now a museum. There are bullet holes in the walls where Billy the Kid escaped and killed J. W. Bell just outside the court house.

You will note the round adobe brick building with small turret holes. This was built by Mexican settlers to defend themselves against the Apaches and Commanches in the area, in the years prior to white settlement.

We took pictures of several structures, including the court house, the Tunstall store, and the Murphy store, and Dr. Wood's house, which has been preserved just as it was when Dr. Wood passed on. We saw old pictures of the houses and they looked just about the same today as they did back then.

Leaving Lincoln, we then headed to Capitan, to Smokey Bear's burial site. There was a nice museum there and much information about forest fires. We left Capitan and were able to get a good shot of Sierra Blanca, elevation 12,003 feet, which is a famous ski resort area just outside Ruidoso.

By the time we got home to Mayhill and our comfy RV, our feet were killing us and we were glad to sit back and relax. As a matter of fact, I got so relaxed that I didn't get these pictures downloaded and blogged until Sunday afternoon!

Falls on Rio Penasco

This evening, we walked down to the edge of the Rio Penasco River. By the time we were within 100 feet of the river, I could hear the rushing water. There were several waterfalls within the boundaries of the RV park. The river is no more than a creek, by most standards, but here in arid New Mexico, it's considered much more than that. The road which leads down the mountain toward Artesia follows the river, for the most part. I have enclosed some movies because I'm a sucker for waterfalls and the sounds they make!
We went up to the next campground to visit our friends, and I took the banjo. We had a great time playing, my friend plays guitar and another friend of his plays mandolin, beautifully, I might add. We had fun playing and singing, although I am still all thumbs. They were very patient, though.
Turn on your speakers!

Cooler weather!

We left Georgetown, TX, on Thursday and arrived here at Mayhill, NM, yesterday about 1:30 pm. Although it had been blistering hot in central Texas, we were blessed with cloudy weather almost the whole trip. We enjoyed traveling through the beautiful hill country of Texas where the rain has been more plentiful. The gently rolling hills gave way to flat "crop country" toward San Angelo, with miles and miles of cotton, corn, milo, and sudan. We noticed many oil wells along the way. We spent the night at an RV park off I-20 in Big Spring, TX, and enjoyed having 50 amp hookups where we could run both air conditioners and anything else without worry of popping the breakers.

We woke up bright and early the next morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to get on the road again. Texas roads are FRIENDLY. They are smooth and straight, for the most part. I even drove the motor home for the first time, about 20 miles. I found the MH much easier to drive than our one-ton Dodge Ram truck. Of course, I didn't have to make any turns.

The diversity in the landscapes of Texas is fascinating. We would go through areas of crops, punctuated with pumping oil wells, and suddenly the landscape would change to scrub mesquite and cacti, with no discernible crops, and then back to the miles and miles of crops. Everything was green, however. Texas counties have county seats with ornate courthouses. I am attaching a picture of the courthouse in Brady, TX. Also, the two dogs in the back of the pickup truck is a common sight in Texas. Out in west Texas, there are many of the wind turbines which take advantage of the usually constant winds. I snapped a picture of one of them, but there are many clustered together. We have seen the wind propellers being shipped on trucks, and they are unbelievably HUGE.

Throughout the trip, we were gradually climbing. Our GPS revealed the feet above sea level. We were able to tell by our onboard mileage calculator that something was different...our mpg had fallen from the usual 8.3 mpg to 7+ mpg. Well, remember, we weigh 32,000 lbs and are towing a small car!

After we got to New Mexico, we began to travel through the foothills of the Rockies. Our cell phone service became "iffy", and there were more hills and curves, which became more and more pronounced. The hills became higher and the road continued to be curvy. I tried to snap pictures out the front window, but soon gave up so I could simply enjoy what I was seeing. We could feel the changes in temperature as we climbed higher. I think I am a mountain person!

We arrived at the campground (pictures attached) about 1:30 pm, as I said, and when we got everything set up, went up to the next campground to see our friends, Larry and June.

We couldn't talk fast enough to get caught up on the last three years that we've missed together, and after a delicious hamburger at a tiny cafe in the little "village", if you will, more like a crossroads, went back to their RV park where I enjoyed TRYING to play the banjo in a jam session...my first! I soon learned that I should just try to chord and stay up with the guys who were playing.

We came back to our RV with opened windows, NO air conditioning needed, and fell into bed. In the morning when we awakened, the temperature was 54 degrees! A far cry from 80 degrees in Georgetown in the mornings, I might say.

OK, I admit it... I can't find out how to place the pictures in my blog! I hope you can make sense of the pictures I have posted. The first pictures are the most recent.

More later!