A retiring couple of days

Since I retired in June of 2006, I've pretty much spent most of my time either volunteering, or moving from one assignment to another. This is the first time I've stayed in the same place for a month and not been working. So, I guess I'm learning how to be retired.

Of course, yesterday I had to do those things that are necessary like laundry and exercising the generator, but other than that I just walked Emma, read a book, and played on the computer. Today, I did go to the local VFW for a fish fry around noon with four other solos from the park. I was expecting cod or perch...something you might find at a fish fry in Minnesota or New York. (unless it's lute fisk at this time of the year in MN) Well, I forgot that I'm down south now...that means catfish. What was I thinking? The VFW did a great job of preparing the fish in a light batter along with fries, Texas toast, and cole slaw. Each person got three fillets of fish. That was way too much for me. I ate a comfortable amount and left the rest. (sorry poor starving children in China)

On the way back to the rigs, we stopped at a flea market. It met my expectations...plenty of junk for sale. I'm not a flea market person, but several of the others found treasures to purchase. That's about the extent of my activities for the last two days. I guess I better find something to tour tomorrow. I don't want to get too sedentary. ;)

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Pancho Villa State Park, NM

This morning, I headed out to visit Pancho Villa State Park and to tour the museum there. It is located in Columbus, NM, just about two miles from the border of Mexico.

The museum was very interesting, and well worth the visit. Columbus was attacked in the early hours of March 9, 1916, by Mexican Revolutionaries under the leadership of General Francisco Pancho Villa. There is a twenty minute documentary that features remembrances from folks that were children when the attack occurred. A number of Americans were killed, and about 90 of the Revolutionaries.

As I walked around the museum, I learned that "Blackjack" Pershing led the US Army on a retaliation campaign into Mexico looking for Pancho Villa. This was the first time airplanes were used by the military and the tactics involved in an extended campaign were learning experiences that would soon be used by the US in World War I. I especially found it interesting since I had visited the childhood home and museum of General Pershing while I was volunteering this summer in Missouri. How many of you know that this was the last time that the continental US has been attacked?

What a gem of a museum this was for me. I also took a drive around the campground. There are many (30) different kinds of cacti planted throughout the campground. There were many sites available with water and electric for a cost of $14/night. If I weren't signed up for the month at LoW-Hi, I'd certainly spend some time here.

It's been a while since I've posted some bird pictures. Every morning, a covey (?) of Gambel's Quails visit two sites down from me.

The males are especially striking in appearance. Notice that top knot.

Both males and females travel together and make a wonderful chattering sound amongst themselves as they scutter around.

Other than laundry, I'm not sure what I'm doing tomorrow. Maybe I can get a shot of the roadrunners that hover around my birdfeeder waiting to pounce upon an unsuspecting house sparrow or house finch. They are meat eaters, after all.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

A decision for December

I've been trying to decide where to go next after I leave LoW-Hi Ranch after Thanksgiving. I had tossed around going to Yuma, AZ, but I need to be near Houston, TX, by the first of the year. I finally decided to move towards Houston, rather than away from it.

I ended up picking out the Enchanted Oaks RV Park in Rockport, TX. I do like Texas in the winter, and Rockport is on the gulf coast a little north of Corpus Christi. I stopped near there a couple of years ago for a couple of days on my way south to the Rio Grande Valley. I briefly visited Aransas National Wildlife Refuge at that time, but was not able to see any whooping cranes. I really would like to see this endangered species, and Rockport is a short distance from Aransas NWR. I'm also looking forward to some of those yummy gulf shrimp. ;)

Since I am a rather planful person, having made this decision puts my mind at ease. I've made reservations for the month of December. I'll see if this was a good decision. I don't often make reservations, but there are a lot of arriving winter Texans at that time of the year.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Rockhound State Park, NM

Rockhound State Park is located about six miles from where I'm camped at the LoW-HI Ranch, so I decided to make a brief visit there today. I had also hoped to see Spring Canyon State Park, but it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. So I'll make a return visit to both parks before I leave Deming.

The views at Rockhound are enjoyable. That's the Florida Mountains in the distance. The park, itself, is located on the western slope of the Little Florida Mountains which are behind me when I took this shot.

I stopped at the Visitor's Center and was duly educated about the wildlife and rocks that can be found in the area. This state park is unique in the country as it allows visitors to take fifteen pounds of rocks/visitor from the park. Folks come here to collect silica, quartz crystals, chalcedony, agate, common opal, jasper, and thundereggs and geodes. I really don't know one rock from another, but the displays in the visitor's center were very pretty.

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Earlier on, when I was leaving Colorado, I had thought of spending a month in different New Mexico State Parks. After driving through the campground, I'm kind of happy I decided to plunk myself down at Low-HI. There really weren't any sites available to camp in with electric (because they were all taken). The views of the mountains from the campsites were spectacular. My suggestion would be to make reservations if you want to enjoy this scenic park, or plan on boondocking without electricity.

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Dogs are allowed on the trails here, so Emma and I will return together to enjoy them. I'm also hoping to see the Persian Ibex that inhabit Spring Canyon SP.

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

Ah...Choooooo

Dang! Ever since I've been in New Mexico, I've been sneezing up a storm. This morning when I woke up, I sat up in bed and the sneezing began. I really don't have any allergies that I know of, so this is a real challenge for me. It doesn't matter if I'm outside or inside, the tickle in my nose just doesn't want to go away. Hmmmm....

Here's a little more on the saga of the new outside thermometer. After suctioning it to the window, I noticed that the temperature never changed even though the sun set and it was obviously much cooler outside. Yesterday, I took it back to the hardware store where I bought it and asked to try out a different one. I put the new one in the direct sun....nothing. Then I asked them to put it in the frig at the store. The young girl put it in the freezer on top of the ice cubes....nothing, no change on the thermometer. Okey Dokey...give me a refund.

Today, I went to Walmart and bought a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer. The wrapper said I would need a couple of AAA batteries, so I bought some. When I got back to the rig, and started to set this thermometer up, it turned out I also needed three AA batteries to get it started. Of course, I only had two AA batteries. Grrrrrr... I ended up taking a battery out of a flashlight and using that so eventually I got everything working. Sometimes I get a little tired of these minor bumps along the road. ;)

I also calculated today, that I'm using between $2.00-$3.00/day in electricity. I can live with that. I remember an Escapees park I stopped in a few years back that had metered electricity and it cost me $16 for two days. That was the last time I've had metered electric, and it really had me worried about the cost of staying here. I'm relieved that I'll be able to afford to keep as warm as I like.

We had a potluck dinner tonight in the park. There was plenty of food and about 30 people in attendance. Potlucks are scheduled every Monday night, and I'm sure I'll participate in all of them. Cooking for one every day gets boring, so I welcome attending potlucks, and enjoy the variety of foods and the conversation. It sure beats talking to the television. :)

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

The Sunday Blast from the Past

It was May, 2008, when I stopped in Page, AZ, for a few days. One of the things that I wanted to do in Page was take a boat tour of Lake Powell. So after I got settled in at the only campground in Page, I headed to the office to sign up for the boat tour.

The next morning, everyone hopped into the back of pickup trucks and off we went.

Much to my surprise, we didn't go anywhere near the lake, but headed for miles down the sand. Then we were told to climb off the truck and head for what looked to be a crack in the rocks. It turned out, I had somehow signed up for the Antelope Canyon tour, not the Lake Powell tour. But what a wonderful mistake it was!

Antelope Canyon is on Navajo Tribal grounds, and the only way to see it is to go on a tour led by Navajo guides.
Once inside that "crack" in the mountain, the formations in the sandstone formed by wind and rain are unbelievably gorgeous.


I would have liked to take my time visiting this wonder, but the guides pretty much hustle you through to stay on their time table. If you are ever in Page, you shouldn't miss this tour. If I ever return, I think I'll take the longer photographic tour of the canyon. This had been about the best "mistake" I'd ever made!

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After about 40 minutes inside the canyon, we were hustled back onto the open air trucks and had a hair raising 60 mph drive back through the sand. I really needed to hang on tight.
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Stay tuned next week for the real tour of Lake Powell. ;)

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Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy

A busy day

Since I'll be at this park for a month, I had a number of chores to keep me busy all day today. I had several errands to run in town (Deming), including stops at Walmart, Pepper's Grocery Store, and a hardware store. It had been almost two weeks since I'd bought any groceries, and I wanted to get another thermometer to put on an outside window so I know how cold I am. ;) The last one I had blew off the window when I neglected to take it inside before departing down the road....my bad. I'm experiencing a problem with the new thermometer as it doesn't seem to be adjusting to the falling temps this evening. I'll see what it shows in the morning.

After I got back to the rig, I decided to start washing the windows on the outside so I could put up the thermometer and put up the sun shades on the front of the RV. I don't like to put those shades up until I get most of the bugs from travel off of the windshield. I asked Jack, my neighbor, to help me put up the shades by holding onto and stabilizing my ladder as I attached the shades. He was horrified to find out that I have to put the foot stool on top of the ladder to reach the top snaps. After I finished cleaning the windows, he got out his much taller ladder and installed the shades for me. What a relief! Now I have the extra insulation of the shades for cold temperatures, and since the rig faces south, it will help with the direct rays of the late fall sun.

The temps this coming week are supposed to be in the mid seventies, and with the direct sun on the rig, inside temps can easily rise into the eighties. I don't want to have to turn on the AC since my electric is monitored for the month, so the shades will help a lot. The shades and outside rug also make the rig look more like home. So I've finished setting up for an extended stay, and will finish cleaning the rest of the windows tomorrow. It feels good to be settled for a few weeks.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later, Judy