SouthEastern New Mexico

So here we are in the Valley of Fires. This first shot shows Cholula Red from the paved walkway that winds through a small part of the lava flow.

As always, remember that you can click on any photo for a larger sized view of the pictures. Most of them look considerably better at a larger size.


Yesterday, we decided to take a morning walk, and what a delight it was. While I always think of lava as hard and unforgiving, here in the desert, it provides an almost perfect place for plants to thrive.


The way it works is, over time, dirt is deposited in the crevices of the lava. Eventually, the soil builds up so that when a seed is deposited (either from bird droppings or wind) it takes hold. During the day, the lava heats up and retains the heat on into the night, providing a perfect medium to supports plant life.

Consequently, the lava is flooded with life and it is a beautiful sight to behold.

Pretty cool, huh?


While we see yuccas all through the desert, they just seem to take on a whole other appearance when they are showcased against the black lava here at the Valley of Fires.


There are several kinds of flows in these beds since the magma came up from vents in the ground rather that spewing from a peak. This vent flow causes a variety of lava formations including pressure ridges, lava tubes and bubbles, both intact and collapsed. This shot is the mouth of a cave where they say there are bat colonies at certain times of the year.


There are also many junipers on the flow, including one that is said to be more than four hundred years old. I liked this shot because it shows the flatness of the region.


This last shot shows some of the large blocks that are scattered throughout the flow. After the lava cools, other magma would come along and push the already cooled blocks to the surface.


After our walk, we decided to take a drive.

Carrizozo is just five miles down the road from our campground. Situated in the Lincoln County area where the Lincoln County Wars disrupted life in the late 1800s, it's rich with history.

As we were looking around downtown Carrizozo, we spied this display. For years, I've collected bowling balls, using them for various yard decorations, so needless to say, this yard was right up my alley (pun intended).


After driving around Carrizozo, we took a drive up to White Oaks. It's a small town located higher up in the hills, with quite a history. When gold was discovered in the 1870s, the town thrived, but like so many towns here in the west, when the mines played out, it became a shell of its' former self.

While it still retains many of its former structures, it is by no means a metropolis, but is certainly worth a visit.

They still have a beautiful old schoolhouse, built in 1895. It contains four school rooms and is a lovely old structure with many intricate details. I really liked the stonework, with components such as this.


This home, known as the Gumm House is of particular historical interest. The story goes that Pat Garrett was in this very home, arranging to purchase lumber for a scaffolding to hang Billy the Kid when the famous outlaw made his escape from the Lincoln County Jail.


After White Oaks we went over to Capitan to see the Smokey Bear Park.

Now, I've aways been a Smokey fan, ever since I was a child. I loved the story of the small cub clinging to a tree top in the midst of a raging forest fire, who wouldn't?

So can you imagine my surprise when I learned that Smokey was originally a product of the WWII propaganda machine? He was thought up during the war as an icon to remind folks to be careful with fire as our forests were crucial to the war effort. Now I'm not complaining about that, it's just that I was pretty disillusioned with the real story.

I related my disappointment to my friend Joanne who told me "I don't know how to break this to you Kate, but there's no Easter Bunny either".

Oh well, such is life.

I was impressed with this little harness which was worn by MY Smokey when he was first discovered. Look what a tiny thing he was!


And this shot shows where my Smokey is buried.


As we left Smokey Bear Park I was amused to see this sign at the restaurant right across the street. Apparently they haven't gotten Smokey's message.



After all our adventures yesterday, today we chose to stay around the rig and do chores we've been postponing.

I fixed my broken wind chime so it will be available for use for another year or two. I also cleaned up the wiring in my entertainment center (which took quite a while, believe me, but how nice it feels to have it done).

And finally, I discovered that Garmin has FINALLY come out with Mac software to update the Firmware and Points of Interest database in our GPS. This is a big deal, since we've been carrying a Windows laptop just for this purpose.

We use the GPS so frequently we can hardly remember what we did before we had one.

I find lazy days such as this so wonderful, I just love being retired.

Our life is good.

A New Home

Today we left Rock Hound.

It's kind of sad, we've been in this area for a couple of months and it is one of our favorites. Also, this means parting from our good friends Beth and Andy. Beth is going west and Andy is staying at Rock Hound, but we really want to see the Trinity site, so move we must.

We always think that we'll never find a place we like as well as the place we're leaving, but once we get on the road, a sense of excitement creeps in as we see new sights. The trip today was different from most in that a lot of the area we passed through is familiar to us. We left Deming, went through Las Cruces (a town we will explore further at a future date) then on to Alamogordo, then north.

It wasn't till we left Alamogordo that we were in new territory. And once again, that eagerness took hold. The desert is truly alive right now, with flowers everywhere. It's a subtle kind of beauty but one I appreciate more every day.

We are heading towards the Valley of Fire, a BLM park just outside of Carrizozo, New Mexico. This is still part of the Tularosa Basin, which also contains White Sands, but what a different landscape! We spent some time slowly rising in elevation and the greenery increased. Then we saw why this place is called the Valley of Fire.

We're camping on a lava flow that covers some 125 square miles and is 160 feet deep at the center. Rather than coming from an eruption, this lava originated from vents in the valley floor. It's a beautiful spot where we're camped. We're on a rise and off to the east is a lovely valley which is mostly grassy plains.


Off in another direction we can see Sierra Blanca a 12,000 foot peak which is a dominant feature for this whole area of New Mexico. There are also mountains in virtually every direction.


As we had noticed so many flowers, I was somewhat surprised to see that so much of he desert floor is parched and cracking. This is truly a remarkable environment.


When we arrived, we were excited to see that there is a very long paved walkway that winds across the lava beds to the west. We will take the hike in the next couple of days and hopefully, take some pictures for the blog.

Before we had a chance to explore further, once again the sun was setting, and as readers know, I can't resist a good sunset.


When we were at Rock Hound, I despaired of ever finding a spot with such sublime sunsets. After this evening, I think we're safe in that respect, at least a s long as we stay here.


As usual, I shoot too many pictures, but I have such a hard time choosing. Maybe I should call the blog New Mexico Sunsets . . .


This shot was taken out the front door of Cholula Red.


And here's a shot of the rig and the Tracker. I get the feeling we're going to like it here.



Life is good.

Spring Again

The weather has been so beautiful and the flowers so lovely, I'm afraid I've neglected the blog. I am enraptured with the beauty of this place. The colors seem so much richer against the browns of the desert. These purple beauties are everywhere we look.


These yellow and red flowers are low to the ground, but they just seem to jump out at you. Remember that these photos can be enlarged by clicking on them, they look much better at full size.

I also love this grass, we see it all throughout i the desert. It has an unusual grayish yellow color that I've never seen before.


The area we are in (Rock Hound State Park) is at the base of the Little Florida Mountains. The park is located in an area called the saddle, and it is our favorite place in Deming. Also located in the saddle are a number of smaller homes. We went to a yard sale in this area and found a lovely house (needs work, but it's solid) located on 1.5 acres. Previously it was owned by a couple who have passed away. The fellow was a true rock hound and had done a lot of lovely work in the yard. There was also an RV pad and a great workshop. With the previous owners passed on, the family was selling the place, and I loved it.

For the first time I seriously wished we had already sold our house, I would buy this land in a second. And did I mention it was $65,000? We're certainly not in California any longer!

Yesterday, we took another trip up to Spring Canyon, a companion park to Rock Hound. It sits at a higher elevation and we wanted to watch the sunset.

While this isn't a perfect picture, I liked the backlighting on the bushes and the sun shining through the tree. We went about an hour before sunset so we had lots of different angles.

This next shot was taken at the top of the mountain with the sun setting off to the west. I liked the contrast and the jet trail.

From the top of Spring Canyon, you have a magnificent view in three directions, it's hard to describe how it feels to experience this place. This shot shows the valley and off in the far distance is Las Cruces, about sixty miles away. As the sun sets, you can watch the shadows of the jagged peaks march across the valley. It's a humbling sight.

This shot shows the road going into Spring Canyon and off in the distance is Rock Hound State Park, and beyond that, Deming.

This shot was taken immediately after the sun had set in the vee if these mountains. I know I include a lot of these shots, but I love them so.

And finally, I took this tonight, our last night at Rock Hound. The sunsets here are so wonderful, I have to wonder if we will find any to rival them at other locations, however it is time to travel on.

Tomorrow, we will leave and go back to Oliver Lee State Park for a couple of days, then on to the Valley of Fire, so we can visit the Trinity Site this Saturday.

Life is indeed very good.

Lightening Up in Cholula Red

One of the things I love about living in the motor home is the lessons I learn.

All my life I have been a pack rat. I've never questioned it, I just accepted that I like having a lot of stuff. Then about ten years ago we discovered eBay. I've always had the ability to find wonderful things at great prices, so when eBay came along, I decided to try my hand at selling. With my ability to "pick" special items, I had no trouble finding an unending supply of merchandise and for years, we did quite well at this endeavor.

In fact, we did too well and before I knew it the house was overflowing with merchandise. As a lifelong pack rat, the clutter didn't bother me till it got REALLY out of hand.

When we decided to start traveling in the motor home, one of the things we discussed was, would I be able to live in such a small space? I'm happy to say that this has proven to be no problem at all.

In fact, I find living in a small space to be liberating, in a way I never expected.

As any Lazy Daze owner knows, the 30 foot model has the least CCC (cargo carrying capacity) of any model. We knew this going in and decided that one way or another we would learn to live within our approximately 1,200 pound limit. This number assumes that Terry and I are the only passengers, and that we travel with one third tank of water, empty black and gray tanks and a full gas tank (which changes constantly).

So this leaves us 1,200 pounds for food, clothing, tools, bedding and every other little thing we want to carry in the rig.

And how do we do? Actually we do pretty well. Our first eye opener was at the Lazy Daze Golden Caravan last summer, when we got weighed and discovered we were several hundred pounds overweight. Using this as a touchstone, we decided to tighten our belts and see if we could do better.

We started with a free table at the Caravan, getting rid of lots of extras that we carried totalling about seventy five pounds. Then we took a good hard look at our food. Even though we tow the Tracker, I find it hard to remember that we can go to the grocery store at any time. I call this the Costco mindset, the idea that we have to buy in bulk. This is something I have been working hard to learn. In addition to teaching myself not to buy more than we need for a week, we have started carrying some of our heavier foodstuffs in a plastic container in the Tracker, more weight gone from the rig.

We also have set up two small boxes for our books and one for our magazines. We also have one box for maps and travel guides. When these get full, it's time to cull, and we've become very good at this. I have learned that I don't have to keep these items, there are always more where they came from. I find I enjoy passing these items along instead of carting them all over the country in our rig.

For the last couple of days, I've been continuing this ongoing process. I've taken a bag of clothes we no longer wear to the Goodwill, taken excess books to the used bookstore, gone through my cupboards and discarded outdated food and several pieces of kitchen equipment we really aren't using.

So what does this have to do with lessons?

I have been learning that I like living in a small space. I'm learning that I like living with less, when for the first fifty five years of my life, I thought I wanted more. I'm learning that I like being in control of my immediate environment. And I've learned the pleasure of small things.

Today, I cleaned the refrigerator and defrosted the freezer, not a big deal. But when I was done, I was able to look at my kitchen and know that it was in order. And that made me happy.

And while this may not seem like a big deal, for a lifelong pack rat such as myself, it's a true epiphany. While I've always heard the phrase, simple pleasures are the best, now I understand in a way I never guessed.

Appreciating small things is good, and my life is good.

What a Wonderful Day We've Had!

For starters, everything I'm referring to happened on Saturday, March 24, and because I'm getting so lazy, I didn't get around to posting it till Sunday night!

Regular readers might remember that we attended the Grand Ole Opry Show at the Deming Performing Arts Center last month. After the show, we noticed that there was going to be a bluegrass show, and yesterday was the day.

And what a day it was!

This show featured the Bost Family, and what a family they are!

There are the parents, Jeff and Pam. Jeff sings and plays banjo and Pam plays the stand up bass (with baby Will, aged two) strapped to her back, what a site.

Then there are the children. Brooklyn, aged 17 plays guitar and sings backup. This is her on the right in this photo.

Micah is next in line. At 15, he plays an amazing mandolin and sings harmony and some solos. He will be getting his learner's permit in the next few weeks and was the object of much good natured ribbing by the rest of the family.

These two girls are next, and are they ever pistols!

Both have incredible voices. On the left is Faith, who is just 13 and as been playing the violin for a scant three years, but you'd never know it to hear her play. Liberty (in the center right) is just 11 but, boy howdy, what a set of pipes.

These two have wonderful harmony and are pretty amazing. In speaking with them, they said they hope to continue with music, and I believe they have what it takes to make it.

Next are Felicity (age 7, on the left) Charity (age 4, on the right). When not performing, they sit quite contentedly at the back of the stage.

When we went to this show, we knew it was a crap shoot. This is, after all a very small town and we try to keep our expectations low, so as not to be disappointed, but this group is as tight and professional as any I have ever seen.

They have a wonderful unity on stage, working so well together, it adds so much to the show. And they are all excellent musicians, not a slacker in the bunch.

And the fact that they are a family adds so much t the show. They work together, sing together, play together and the result is truly inspiring.
Once again, my pictures don't really do the show justice. I just can't seem to get the speed I need when people are moving across a less than ideally lit stage. That said, these pictures serve to remind me of a wonderful afternoon, so I'm including them here.

I loved this shot of Pam, with baby Will on her back looking out at the audience. Several of us women commented that this woman must be a saint. After all, she has SEVEN children. And did I mention that all nine of them travel in a bus conversion, and the children are all home schooled?

I loved this shot of the two little ones.

I also thought this was a lovely shot of Faith. She is just at that enchanting age between child and woman, and I liked the way this shot captures that.
This show was really great and I can't recommend this family enough. Not only are they musically accomplished, but the family love and unity that they present, both on stage and off is inspiring.

Both before and after the show, they mingle with the audience and they are all as delightful off stage and individually as you could hope. I spoke with Jeff, the Father and he said that they had been touring for two years. I asked about how the kids became so musical, and he said they started each of them on instruments at around age 3 and just continued with their musical education.

He also spoke from the stage about the importance of family and all I can say is that these folks are doing something right.

If you get the chance, I strongly suggest you see their show. Their swing and bluegrass is flawless and you will have a terrific time, I guarantee it.

After the show, we came back to a yet another incredible sunset here at Rockhound. I took several pictures and couldn't decide which one to post, so I'm just including them all.

Remember, you can click on any photo to see an enlarged version.

These colors are true, this is really what this sunset looked like. I was fascinated, as always.





New Mexico is honestly the Land of Enchantment and our Life is Good!

Palomas

We woke up to a gorgeous morning, kind of surprising after yesterday.

Spring is really starting to happen here, unfortunately, our twenty one days is up next Friday, I sure hope spring happens before we have to leave. Here's a shot I took of the meadow (well, desert with some flowers . . .) in the back of our rig. This shot looks much better if you view it full screen.


We decided to go down to Palomas today so I could get a new pair of glasses. It's just thirty miles to the border and we thought this would be a good day for a drive. On the way down, it started to cloud up. I love the huge horizons here in New Mexico, you can see the weather for miles.


We got down there and discovered that we had both left our checkbooks in the rig, so we ordered my glasses and headed back home, planning on coming back next week.

On the drive back, the weather was definitely taking a turn for the worse, but it always seemed to be ahead of us. I was happy Terry was driving as as I could just sit and watch, fascinated by the clouds. I swear they looked like some kind of special effect from a Hollywood film. Here's a shot of the clouds, just kissing the top of the mountains.


When we got home, everyone told us we had missed quite the downpour and even a hailstorm! In a way, I wish we had been here for the storm. We have such a beautiful view of the valley, I'm sure it was something to see. Oh well, there's always tomorrow!

Thursday . . .

An interesting morning, we woke up to dark skies and the threat of rain. It made us really happy to be in a motorhome instead of a tent! The weather pretty much dictated the tone of the morning, a good one to stay indoors.

Then John and Priscilla pulled into Rockhound in their thirty foot twin bed Lazy Daze (2004). We first met them at a get together in California and again at the Golden Caravan. We see so few other twin beds, it's nice to see the changes others have made.

After they set up camp, the sun broke through and we all decided to go into town and do a bit of grocery shopping. Tomorrow will be Johns' 65th birthday and he wants to prepare a feast for everyone, so who are we to argue?

By the time we got back, the weather had once again turned dark and was rapidly getting colder. The birds seem to be multiplying daily and today we saw our first cardinal.


A closer shot of the fellow above, I thought he was really beautiful.


And one more, closer still. This little guy seemed quite happy to pose for me for quite a while!


As we took our afternoon walk, I was struck by the dark clouds. While kind of ominous (there was even lightening in the distance) I love the clouds.


And here's a shot of my Hunny Bunny Terry, waving from the front of our campsite.


Life is Good.

the Princess and the King

Every time I look at this picture it makes me smile.

I took this photo at TinkerTown, a WONDERFUL spot outside of Albuquerque. I have tons of photos to share from this unique spot, but for noew, I'll just whet your appetite with this one.