Colorado At Last!

Woods and River RV Park, Del Norte, CO – 7-7 to 10, 2016

Leaving Seeping Springs in Ruidoso Downs, NM we passed through Carrizozo, NM once more. We had briefly considered staying ar the Valley of Fire campground, but the heat convinced us that we either needed to find a campground with at least a 30 amp hookup or get to higher altitudes. We had been in the Ruidoso area for 10 days and it was time for a real change of scenery. So we opted for higher elevations and will save the Valley of fire for a cooler time of year.

EJ found us a pull out on Highway 285 just north of Clines Corner, NM. Right after we pull in and put the jacks down a big ole semi pulled in right next to us. With his cab parked right next to our bedroom window he left his diesel engine running. With our luck, it will run all night long. So we raised the stabilizer jacks and and moved as far away from the rumbling engine as possible. Wouldn’t you know it? About an hour later he left.

In the meantime, we set up the chairs and table and proceeded to have our happy hour and watch a gorgeous sunset.

The difference in elevation was quite apparent the next morning when we woke up. EJ packed several gadgets and this morning she got to use one of them. It’s a Puls-Ox which measures your heart rate and how well your body is handling oxygen intake. As you can see, EJ’s O2 absorbtion rate is lower than it should be and as a result her heart is pumping faster than normal. Deep breaths, EJ, deep breaths.

After arriving at Woods and River RV Park in Del Norte, CO we found and tried the local brewery. Great pizza and beer, and it warm cool enough to sit outside in the afternoon.

We weren’t in the campground for 24 hours before we got offered the job of host. The current host was moving on and they were looking for likely suspects to fill his spot. After marching to “the Man’s” tune for 30 some years, having a schedule and a boss just doesn’t sound all that attractive any more. We politely declined the offer.

EJ found a place for us to explore near La Garita, CO. Along the way we admired the view.

It was a rock arch way way back in the wilderness on a dirt road. Several times we wondered if we were headed in the right direction but we finally figured it out.

As we were going up, this lady and her dog were coming down. She had to stop and coax him several times.

Up and up we went towards the arch. We were almost at the top when a group of 20 or so people came blasting by us. Part of the joy of hiking for us is the quiet and solitude. Combat hiking, elbow to elbow, just doesn’t cut it. So we turned around and descended the hill.

After the arch, we moved on to Penitente Canyon, again at the end of many miles of washboard dirt roads. But Sunny, the Explorer handled it well. The canyon hike had a couple of surprises for us.

The first was this drawing on a rock face. It resembles a man in a space suit. Maybe an alien creature?

We stopped to take a break and a bunch of these little guys entertained us.

At the end of the trail, we take another break. Remember we flat landers are still operating under a serious case of oxygen deprevation.

On the way back to the car, we get our second surprise, a couple climbing up a vertical rock. In the canyon, there are warning signs admonishing you to not use new pitots, use the ones already pounded into the rock as there are plenty.

Then we took off in search of the Garden of the Gods. It eluded us, as the were no signs indicating its location. So we found a pull off and a likely pile of rocks and dubbed it thusly.

On our last day, EJ checked the Puls-Ox again and we’re seeing an improvement. Of course, with any strenous activity, the O2 number plummets.

OK, we got the numbers up, let’s go even higher! How about 10,200 feet?

Ruidoso, Continued

Seeping Springs CG, Ruidoso Downs, NM - July 2 through 6, 2016

Picking up where we started on the previous post where we were discussing Seeping Springs CG. It was an older campground, obviously designed for smaller travel trailers. The sites were 16 foot wide which postively roomy until you put an 8 foot wide RV with 2 foot deep slides and 2 sets of compartment doors that need 2 feet on both sides to open. All of a sudden you’re up to 14 feet wide and your neighbor is REAL close.

Fortunately our site was long enough that we could park Sunny in front and set up our shelter and chairs in back.

Which was good, ‘cause there wasn’t any room on the sides. After squeezing in (forgot to mention the stumps) and getting Big Guy situated we had a minor catastrophy happened. We hooked up to the park water system and had no water pressure. I could find nothing wrong with our hoses or valves. It turned out, that even though I had flushed the connections (which includes hoses, valves and filters) before connecting to the RV, the external water filter got clogged by debris from the park water system. I guess next time I’ll flush the park pipes too, before connnecting our stuff.

In our previous post we also mentioned that this RV park was trying to attract Escapees and offered them a 50% discount. Being a typical American, we love a bargain and for 50% off the regular price, we can overlook a lot of shortcomings.

One of the first orders of business was to find some local brews. Well, it actually wasn’t a local brew, being from the Sierra Blanca Brewery in Albuquerque. But we found it at the Rio Grande Grill and Tap Room.

We drove up to Monjeau lookout, a fire lookout tower constructed of stone, where EJ enjoyed the cool breezes and views. The elevation at the tower is 9,500 feet. A welcome break from the heat down below.

I though it was pretty cool too.

We also drove the artist studio loop over a period of two days and really enjoyed the diverse types of creativity. And EJ even picked up an item that will fit nicely in Big Guy.

We took a day and drove over to Cloudcroft to go hiking.

We got intrigued with this little fellow.We think it is a pocket gopher. He would quickly dart out of his hole, grab a blade of grass, and rapidly back rear first into the hole.

After our hike on the Pineland trail, we wondered through downtown Cloudcroft, where EJ found another small item to complement Big Guys interior. We also went on an open house tour to see what $132,000 would get us. Always on the lookout for that “perfect” spot you know. We decided we didn’t need another project even though the area is beautiful.

The days get away from us and before we knew it, it was time to celebrate the 4th of July. We asked around town and at the RV park where the local fireworks display was going to be. But as it turns out, Lincoln County, where Ruidoso is located, had a county wide ban on fireworks because it is so dry. Then we saw a flyer for the Mountain of The Gods Casino on the Mescalero Indian Reservation. And they were advertising, among other things, a giant fireworks display. And you know me, crowds are not my favorite thing, so we started asking around if there was another place to view those fireworks. One of the folks in our campground suggested a viewpoint up on a mountain and described how to get there. Great, we thought. Our own private viewing area. Away from the crowds, just EJ and me. Perfect!!

This is what greeted us. Cars and people everywhere. I guess everyone else wanted their own private viewing area as well.

We get settled in and meet a coouple, complete with 2 kids, from Tallahassee, FL. You can see the FSU symbol photobombing our picture.

Even though we had to watch the fireworks through the trees,it was still awwesome.

EJ had been planning a road day to go exploring. We  were looking at 100 plus miles, something we would have been reluctant to try in the old Honda Element. The comfort of the, new to us, Ford Explorer makes long drives a pleasure now.

In Tularosa, NM we stopped for lunch at the 49 Grille. Surprisingly good food and they even had a decent stout. After lunch, we take a walk around the area, but the 100 plus degree heat cuts that short.

We are on our way to Valley of Fire Rec Area, but we get sidetracked by a sign pointing towards some Petroglyphs at Three Rivers Rec Area. The temperatures are even hotter now, but we brave a short half mile walk to see the ancient art.

As a bonus, it turns out that there are 2 long pull sites with 50 amp electric and water here at the Petroglyph visitor center. It’s not advertised, but we checked the hook ups and they work. Something to consider when it’s not so hot.

We finally make it to the Valley of Fire outside of Carrizozo, NM. Naturally we arrived just after the visitor center closed, so we couldn’t get any good information about the park and campground. But we did walk a portion of the main loop trail. But again, the high temps tempered our desire for any long hikes.

The lava formations look interesting. Maybe we’ll be back in the fall.

And finally, my favorite story of Ruidoso. Towards the end of our stay here at Seeping Springs, an Earth Roamer pulls in next to us. This is a maxed out truck camper that retails for over $500,000. That’s right, count ‘em, a 5 followd by 5 zeros. We got to talking with them, and found out they were a youngish, 50’s couple and they had just purchased their Earth Roamer. It’s their first RV and they don’t have a clue about how to use it, or what it’s capable of. In fact, they were headed to a boondocking rendezvous to learn how operate it.

What was funny was their half millon dollar RV was brought to it’s knees by 6 “AA” batteries. Or rather 6 dead “AA” batteries. Its water system would not work without those six little batteries. Apparently it was a touch type system that relied on a small electric current to make it work. We think there is such a thing as too fancy, expeciallyh in a rough and tough offroad vehicle like an Earth Roamer XRV. They had no spares, so we gave them some from the extra batteries we carry with us.

We wish them well and hope they quickly learn about the systems on their rig.

Ok, enough of the heat, time to head for Colorado and the mountains.

Down in Ruidoso

Seeping Springs CG, Ruidoso Downs, NM – June 28 to July 1, 2016

EJ’s research turned up this campground that gave a 50% discount to Escapees because there were trying to attract the older, longer stay crowd. But more about that in the next post.

Mocha had been a little “off” for the last day or two. Initially we weren’t worried too much because she has a “down” day every couple of weeks or so. When this happens she won’t eat much and goes into hiding. But then the next day she’s back to her normal self, demanding food and attention.

When her “off” day turned into two days we began to get concerned. for the last several years she’s had problems with her kidneys but with liberal applications of veterinary care she managed to recover each time the problem flared up. Then about 6 months ago she was diagnosed with thyroid problems. Medication seemed to keep that under control, although with the occasional “off” day.

During her second non-normal day, EJ began researching local veterinary clinics. and found one that was “cat friendly”. But they couldn’t get us in for a day. So we called a couple of other vets and didn’t like what we heard. When Mocha didn’t get any as the morning went on, we called the first vet back convinced them to let us come in right now.

The vet did a sub-coetaneous fluid injection with a saline solution which in the past has worked wonders. We took her back to the RV with instructions to come back in the morning for blood tests. Overnight saw no improvement.

The next morning after the blood test results were in, the vet explained to us our options. Mocha’s outlook was not good, and even with extraordinary measures she would probably only last a couple more weeks. Her kidneys were failing and her red blood cell count was too low. Rather than have her suffer any more, we had to make the hard decision to let her go to kitty heaven.

This is the second time in two years we have had to do this. Taz was with us for 17 years and Mocha for 19 years and 3 months. Going through it was hard and writing about it is hard all over again. After coming back from the vet, we went into a frenzy and cleaned and put away everything cat related. It was as though if we hid all of Mocha’s stuff, we wouldn’t be constantly reminded of her.

It wasn’t successful, we still expect her to cry for breakfast at 6:30 am, or to come out from behind the loveseat when she hears us. Only time will make the sadness go away.

Goodbye little buddy….

More about small Texas towns

Coleman RV Park, Brownfield, TX June 27, 2016

Rowena, Eola, Brownfield…the list goes on. Small Texas towns that on the surface seem tired and worn out, but digging deeper you find they each have their own unique charm.

For instance, Bonnie Parker of “Bonnie and Clyde” fame was born in Rowena. It’s also home to the Horny Toad Brewery that we mentioned in our last blog.

And in Eola, Mark Cannon moved from Seattle, WA to this little town in the early 2000’s and purchased the abandoned school building. He began an ambitous endeavor that included restoring the buildings, opening a restaurant, operating a hostel and creating a brewery. And he did all this by himself. EJ and I sampled the beer and the Farm House Ale was excellent.

We forgot to mention that our departure from Dad’s yesterday was delayed due to rain. While we waited for it to stop and the roads to dry a little, Dad called to let us know the replacement motor we had ordered for his bed had arrived. This worked out well because we were worried how anyone was going to get down on the floor under his bed to replace the part. So I got to take care of it and tested it to make sure everything still worked after the new motor was installed.

After leaving Dad’s, our first order of business was to find a place to refill and dump as the only facility we’ve had for the past 2 weeks is an electric connection. We stop at San Angelo State Park to use their sani-dump for $10. Finally we are on the way to Brownfield, TX.

We had forgotten that we had visited here in the past until we arrived at the free campground, Coleman Park. That’s another thing we really like about small Texas towns. Compared to the other 45 states we’ve visited, Texas towns have more free, or donation oriented, city/county campgrounds. Here is the Brownfield brochure.

Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a city employee who welcomed us and pointed out the only 50 amp connection in the campground. He came by the next day to make sure our stay was pleasant.

The other thing that is amazing is that these little campgrounds are rarely used. There were 12 sites and only 3 occupants the night we were there.

Breakfast the next day was another experience however. Google Maps told us there was an interesting sounding restaurant about a half mile away. Great, we can walk and get some exercise and some food. We walked to where Google said the restaurant was and found nothing but an empty lot and some houses. We called the number listed for the business and there was no answer. Well darn!

We decided to settle for McDonalds which was about a quarter mile from where we were standing. After walking over there, we find the dining room is closed for renovations. Dang! We end up walking ever further away from Big Guy to a Burger King. Oh well, at least it was eggs and sausage.

The walk back was getting warm and it was time to head to our next stop, Ruidoso Downs, NM.