Day 19: Las Cruces, NM

Church at Old Mesilla

Had to make a Walmart run this morning....all of us needed something.

After that, George, Pat and I went over to Old Mesilla Village which was just a short drive from Hacienda RV Resort where we are staying.  Really nice park but crappy wifi - which is why I was so late in posting yesterday's activities. 

Hacienda RV Resort

 

 

Anyway, lots of shops but pretty much same old Mexican folk art, blankets, trinkets and pottery.  However, I did buy a pair of pretty silver earrings, a bracelet and a wine stopper.  Just a few little mementos.  We stopped for a bite of lunch at Josephina's then off to Hobby Lobby for some yarn for my next cowl.

 

 

Tom picked the restaurant for tonight - Andele!  Authentic Mexican of course - Tom's favorite.  It was very good but, as usual, I ate too much chips and salsa http://www.andelerestaurant.com

Day 18: White Sands National Monument

 

We  left Carlsbad at 8:25 this morning and arrived at the White Sands National Monument around lunchtime.  It is located in a mountain ringed valley known as the Tularosa Basin which is at the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert on Route 70 going north out of Carlsbad.  The great wave-like dunes of "white sand" is actually gypsum and encompasses 275 square miles which is the largest gypsum dune field in the world.  

 

There is a 16 mile road winding through part of the dunes...half of the road is paved and the other half is hard-packed gypsum.  So, we decided to get a closer look.  While George unhooked the car, Pat and I packed a picnic lunch.

 

Tom on the sand dune

Tom was anxious to touch the glistening sand so he kicked off his flip-flops and hiked to the top of a sand dune.  We coaxed him back to the picnic table then, after a fun lunch, George, Pat and I took our turn. It felt just like sand, for a minute, I thought I was in Gulf Shores!   

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We pulled into our campground, Hacienda RV Resort in Las Cruces, NM in the late afternoon.  What a nice place!  We will be here for 2 days - Whoopee!

TOTAL MILES DRIVEN:  2,190

Day 17: Roswell, NM

 

 

Duh duh, duh duh, duh duh, duh duh.....we're in alien country today in hopes of seeing some real aliens.  Roswell, NM was much larger than we expected so the odds of a "close encounter" are good, right?   We began our search at the UFO Museum and Research Center.  I didn't read every single article in there BUT there are a lot of seemingly reliable people, including armed services personnel, senators, bank presidents, etc., who have given testimonies that they witnessed a UFO.  Now, that many people can't be wrong so I believe that they in fact saw "something" but would love to see some of the evidence. 

 

 

 

For those of you that have been living under a rock, a UFO sighting occurred on July 7, 1947 in Roswell, NM and is believed to have been covered up by the US government.  After that, numerous sightings occurred all over the world, including one by President Jimmy Carter.  I think we found our aliens:

 

Alien Karen



Alien Pat

 

 

Day 16: Carlsbad Caverns

Today was our big day to tour Carlsbad Caverns.  The picture on the left is the anphitheatre at the "natural" entrance to the cave.  This is also where people gather in the evening to watch the bats exit the cave.

The natural entrance looks pretty large when approaching it, then, when you begin your descent down a series of "switchbacks", it naturally gets smaller and smaller.  Only then do you realize just how deep you have descended into the cave which is a very eerie feeling.  Even more eerie when you can no longer see daylight.  No turning back now!  This portion of the walk is self-guided and all downhill of course.  You can stop along the way and spend as much time as you want.  There are also places along the way where you can sit and rest a bit.  Once at the bottom, we had walked 1.25 miles and were 750 feet below the surface of the earth.

Natural entrance to Carlsbad Caverns

The view along the switchbacks was, of course, amazing.  Most of the pictures I took on my phone didn't come out too good but George got some incredible photos on his new Canon.  There was a snack bar at the bottom and we had about 45 minutes to eat before our guided tour began.  We were really hungry by this time so we grabed sandwiches and Gatorade to sustain us through the guided tour.

Next was the guided tour through the King's Palace.  This was some of the most unbelieveable beauty of the cave.  The Park Ranger did a great job in her story-telling and history of the cave.  At one point, she turned off the lights and we were in total blackness...another very eerie feeling.  This tour was 1 mile long and another 80 feet below the self-guided tour so we have now walked 2.25 miles and were 830 feet below the surface of the earth, which is the deepest part of the cave.

 

After this tour, we end up back at the 750 feet mark and walked through The Big Room which is a 1.25 mile walk but is relatively flat.  This is literally a very big room featuring the Lion's Tail, Hall of Giants, Bottomless Pitt (which is really 144 feet deep) and Rock of Ages.  We were chased out at 3:30 which is the last elevator out of here and we sure didn't want to miss that!  All in all, a really great day.  I would say that it is moderately strenuous and would recommend this stop to anyone.   We walked a total of 3.25 miles and were 830 feet below ground.   

Day 15: Cooked a pot of chili...

OK...had to make another run to Albertson as I am hosting dinner tonight for Tom & Pat.  Fixed a pot of chili in the crock pot and had hot dogs and fixin's with it...nothing fancy.  Also made a batch of brownies in the convection oven.  We have a "buddy site" which means both our front doors open facing each other with a big picnic table in between.  They arrived around 2:30 so we talked all afternoon then had our dinner outside on the picnic table.  It was lots of fun catching up with their kids and grandkids and everything else going on in their lives. 

 

Tom recently returned from crewing on a yacht from L.A. through the Panama Canal with a final destination of Key West.  Pat has been busy with her quilting projects.  We visited with each other right up until bedtime and all of us were exhausted.

Day 14: R&R

House cleaning day!  Well, that didn't take long (tee hee).  It's cloudy and windy today so, while the kittens are sleeping, I'm working on my latest knitting project - a cowl.  Nice to just kick back and relax.

 

 

 

Day 13: Travel Day

We had some very heavy winds last night.  How heavy were they?  There was a pop-up camper a few spaces away and their roof blew off sending their pillows and bedding throughout the park.  Their roof is a vinyl cover that is sorta velcrowed on and the wind hit it just right and blew it off.  All this happened at bedtime of course.  They ended up carrying their mattress into the laundry room and sleeping in there.  They left very early in the morning so we didn't get to see them before they pulled out but they were from Brooksville, FL and taking a very similar route that we took 2 years ago.  Anyway, we wish them well and safe travels.

 

Very uneventful drive.....put on a new book-on-tape, Mangrove Coast, by Randy Wayne White.  We got settled into camp at an early hour and checked out downtown Carlsbad, the local golf course and an Albertson grocery store.

TOTAL MILES DRIVEN:  1,942

 

 

 

 



 

KOA Carlsbad

 

Day 12: Isa and Anna's big day

Today was Isa and Anna's big day at the vet in Las Cruces, NM.  Our daughter-in-law is Chief of Staff at Banfield Vet Hospital in NJ which is affiliated with Pet Smart.  She told us about their kitten care + program which is great for the traveler...you can take them to a Pet Smart/Banfield for care anywhere in the U.S.  So far, it's working out great. 

The staff had a fit over how cute they were and they, of course, they showed off a bit.  They got their second booster and annual rabies shot.  Isa got sick before we got home but then back to normal after a little while.  They have both been very lethargic all evening and taking a much needed rest.  We are also taking a much needed rest from chasing them all over the motorhome except for doing some laundry that is.

All tuckered out

Loving Sisters



Day 11: El Paso...a whole lot of nothing going on

Found a cool looking yarn shop on the internet and stopped by there this morning.  There was a sign on the door saying "Be back at 10:00".  Looked at my watch and it was 11:10.  Ok....decided to come back later so I went to the local mall and walked around only to confirm that I hate malls.  Left there and stopped at Talbot's....I used to really like Talbot's but their idea of fashion has changed over the years but, what the heck, I'll stop in.  Looked around and nothing caught my eye so I stopped in the restroom before leaving.  While sitting on the commode, my phone rang.  Wouldn't normally answer it under these circumstances (and wouldn't normally share this little story but it is kinda funny) saw that it was my dentist - dang it....I gotta take this call.  To bring you up to speed, two days before we left on this trip, I had a root canal.  All went well until last Thursday when my jaw began to hurt and I can't open my mouth all the way.  Some would call this a blessing (a George-ism no doubt).  He said it was fairly normal in that my jaw muscle was traumatized (as were the ladies in the store listening in on my call) and to take advil and call back only if it swells.  Whew...was out of there in a dash.

Hello? 

People drive in El Paso similar to the way they drive in Atlanta.  Three people cut me off (and one was behind me!) without so much as a howdy-do.  One cowboy cut in front of me as I was trying to turn left and, I couldn't help myself - I honked.  Uh Oh.  He looked at me, smiled and waved as if I were giving him permission to cut me off at the pass.  Guessing this would not be a good place to have a fit of road rage, I smiled back and gave him the queen's wave (not exactly the jesture I wanted to give him).  Conversely, the speed limit in the park where we are staying is 7 mph.  Ever try to go 7 mph?  It is not possible.

 

Next stop - Walmart.  This girl just can't seem to pass up a Walmart.  Picked up my advil and a few other things then decided to stop back at the cute yarn shop.  Same sign still on the door. 

Mayaluna Yarns

George-ism of the day:  That sign has been there for a year!

 

What I'm knitting:  Ladies, I'm taking orders for Cowls.  Go to PAGES/Knitting Projects for further details.

 

What's for dinner:  Got this great cookbook, "6 Ingredients or Less" for crockpot cooking by Carlean Johnson.    We're having Golden Chicken and Mushrooms tonight (this is an actual picture of my crockpot!).  You can get the recipe on PAGES/Recipes.

Golden Chicken and Mushrooms

 

Day 10: Travel Day

Today we travelled 270 miles to Anthony, TX which is at Exit 0 on the northside of El Paso.  We are also 25 miles south of Las Cruces, NM.  Listened to a new book-on-tape (see "Books On Tape" on the right hand column).  Saw an Air Force Radar Blimp along the way, otherwise, a very uneventful ride.  Had a gift card from the in-laws to Red Lobster so guess where we ate?  Just going to kick back and watch some TV tonight.

TOTAL MILES DRIVEN:  1,739

Air Force Radar Blimp

Day 9: Big Bend National Park

This morning we ate at Shirley's Burnt Biscuits, a local breakfast place famous for their biscuits and fried pies.  Being from the South, I'm a pretty good judge of biscuits and fried pies.  Shirley's biscuits are more like rolls and a tad "burnt" on top...not like the light and flaky biscuits I'm used to so I'm giving her a 3.  However, her fried pies are to-die-for...flaky crust and lots of good stuff inside.  My favorite is apricot and hers were excellent so I'm going back in the morning for more and I'm giving her a 9.5.  The only person who gets a 10 on fried pies is my mom.....I can still taste them and hers are still the best ever!

 

Shirley's Burnt Biscuits

Big Bend Nat'l Park
 

On to Big Bend National Park.  We started at Panther Junction driving 20 miles south to Boquillas Canyon Overlook then Rio Grande Village.  This area is suffering from severe drought and the Rio Grande, which is not so grand, is so low you can walk across it in places...very sad.  I do believe I could hit a driver over the Rio Grande into Mexico - and I'm certain Muriel could!

 

Rio Grande River

Mexican Trinkets

We could see wild horses across the river and the Federali's were standing guard with rifles on the Mexican side.  The Mexicans left trinkets on the US side with a message to leave money in the container by the rock.  Problem is, if they are caught crossing the river to get the money, they are arrested and, if you are caught making an illegal purchase, you are arrested. 

So...20 miles back to Panther Junction then 13 miles to Castolon/Santa Elena Junction and 22 miles down the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and scenic it was.  Up to now, the scenery was somewhat boring, brown and dusty but this area was pretty interesting.  8 more miles took us to Santa Elana Canyon where the paved road ended and we travelled 13 miles on a gravel road to civilization.  This is a huge park, not my favorite, but miles of desert, mountain terrain, dried up creeks with lots of cacti and drought tolerant plants.

 

 

 

George-ism of the day:  Me:  So far, we haven't seen any wildlife in the park.  George:  Honey, I''m sitting right here.  HA! 

 

Wildlife in Big Bend:  1 Roadrunner, 1 lizard and George!

Day 8: Exploring SW Texas

U.S. 90 in SW Texas follows alongside the railroad tracks.  The RV park here in Marathon is on the northside of 90 and the railroad tracks are on the southside of 90.  I had a bet with George that the train would not wake me up.  I am a very sound sleeper and George wakes up at the least little sound so I figured this was a sure bet....I lost.  The train woke me up twice (12:21 and 3:15) and did not wake him up at all...what gives.  Still don't get why the train has to sound its horn in the middle of town.

 

We were thinking of playing golf this afternoon at the Alpine Country Club but, after a drive up there, discovered that it was only 9 holes, no grass on the fairways and pretty much looked like what some refer to as a "dog track".  Oh well....on to Fort Davis.  This fort is one of the best surviving examples of an Indian Wars' frontier military post in the Southwest. From 1854 to 1891, Fort Davis was strategically located to protect emigrants, mail coaches, and freight wagons on the Trans-Pecos portion of the San Antonio-El Paso Road and on the Chihuahua Trail.  We walked around the entire compound and saw the newly restored Commanding Officer's Quarters...quite luxurious for that era.
 

 

Sul Ross State University is a beautiful campus in Alpine.  Founded in 1917 by Lawrence Sullivan Ross, the Governor of Texas from 1887 - 1897, houses 2,000 students which comprise two-thirds of the town of Alpine. 

 

 

We then drove up to the town of Marfa which, we heard, was a cute little artsy-fartsy town but were disappointed.  So, we had an ice cream and headed home.

Day 7: Marathon, TX

Armisted Nat Rec Area



Bridge in SW TX



We travelled further West on US 90 today  into the hinterlands of Texas passing an old Railroad Bridge and Rock Quarry.  Then were stopped at the Immigration Check-Point and were asked if we were both US citizens.  Answering "yes" got us through without any further questions or inspection...fo figure - we could have had a load of Mexicans in the back of the RV and they would have never known any difference. George looked left and announced that we could now see Mexico - still kinda creeped me out.  Passed Seminole Canyon State Park, Amisted National Recreation Area on the Pecus River and, interestingly, the Judge Roy Barnes Saloon and Museum.  Didn't stop but pressed forward trough the Oshman Canyon, Lozier Canyon, Palma Canyon and Sanderson Canyon.  And through all of that passed a Fed Ex truck.....they really do go everywhere!

 

Pecos River



SW Texas Terrain

We arrived in Marathon in the late afternoon and, after getting the RV set up, went exploring.  Marathon comprises a total of 5.2 square miles with a population of 430.  There are 4 restaurants in town, 2 are breakfast and lunch only and the other two lunch, dinner and bar menus.  We first drove 30 miles up the road to Alpine, population 5,905 just to check it out.  Back in Marathon, we went to the local saloon and had a few drinks (best Prickly Pear I've had).  Bartender, Chris was very friendly but ready to close up when we walked in.  We heard they had good pizza but the cook was sick so the restaurant was closed.  Then a regular, Steve from Wyoming, showed up and we all talked for a while.  Gage, a high-end motel/restaurant/bar next door was open so George and I went there for dinner outside in the courtyard.  After Chris closed the saloon, he joined us and we had a great evening.  At the end of the day, we felt as if we knew half the town.

George-ism of the day....after having driven over 1,400 miles in the RV, he commented that driving the car felt like driving a tinker toy!

 

TOTAL MILES DRIVEN:  1,469

Karen at The Saloon

 

 



 

 

Day 6: Off to Del Rio

Did a load of laundry this morning before heading out to Del Rio.  I'm giving this laundry room a 5.  It was pretty nice and clean except for the floor which was very dirty and you know something is bound to fall out of the washer or dryer onto the floor.

Del Rio is just an overnight stop in our quest to get to Big Bend National Park by the weekend.  This park runs alongside the Rio Grande River and literally just across the border from Mexico.  The park we are staying in tonight is within 5 miles of the border and I am a bit nervous about being this close to Mexico after the episode the US had last year with the Mexicans.  If you don't hear from us within a day or two, call 911.

 

The drive here was typical scrub Texas landscape...i.e. nothing for miles on end.

TOTAL MILES DRIVEN:  1,301

 

Day 5: Austin City Limits

 

Gauge Knit

Took off up to Austin today, just a mere 45 minutes north of San Antonio.  Visited GAUGE KNIT which is a very quaint little knit shop just full of life and favorite gathering place for ladies to knit.  The owner introduced me to Ravelry, the website everyone is using these days to get free patterns and ideas for your next project...cool!  She also gave me a tip on where to go for lunch.....

 

Hula Hut

Need a bigger boat...

 HULA HUT is a Polynesian/Mexican restaurant on Lake Austin and has the best shrimp tacos in Texas.  Most of the seating is outside on their very large Pier and Patio where this very big plastic fish is sticking out of the water in all his glory.  Speaking of tacos...only in SW Texas can you get a taco just about anywhere - fill up your tank...get a taco; get your truck washed...get a taco; buy a new pair of shoes...get a taco (I made up that last one but the first two are TRUE!).  Call me a taco snob but "I ain't buying no taco from a gas station"!

Crenshaw Cliffside

Fazio Foothills

Next stop - Barton Creek.  A 4* Golf & Spa Resort in SW Austin and home to PGA Pro Ben Crenshaw.  In 1985, the developers of Barton Creek Resort & Spa looked out across some 4,000 acres of raw land and envisioned a world-class residential development comprising multi-million-dollar estates, a private country club and a resort complete with European-style spa and fitness center. And it was all  designed to harmonize with nature and preserve the splendor of the Texas Hill Country.  There are 2 Fazio courses, a Crenshaw course and a Palmer course.  Would love to play golf here some day....I can dream can't I.

Barton Creek Residence

Once back home, George's 92-year old Uncle Bus and Aunt Barbara, who lives a few miles away in Cibola, came over to visit for a spell. 






 

Day 4 - The Riverwalk

George worked today so I took off late morning to The Yarn Barn in downtown San Antonio. I like to visit local yarn shops to see what's new and what they are working on.  This is a very cute shop situated in an old historic home in the downtown  area and, being Monday morning, it was slow so  they had lots of time to spend with me. One of the owners has a Ragdoll kitten - what are the odds!  I showed her pictures of Isa & Anna and she showed me a picture of her orange and white, 22-pounder....lots of laughs.

 

Stopped at Walmart, had a prescription filled, picked up a loaf of bread then went back to the RV to get George.  He worked until 3PM then we went down to The River Walk which is just an amazing place in the heart of the city.  We took a riverboat ride past the restaurants, hotels, bed & breakfast hotels and cute shops.  After that, we walked to Rita's on the River and shared a late lunch and pitcher of Margarita's.  Afterward, we walked over to The Alamo for a "photo op" with George's new camera.