Day 117 – Monday, October 21, 2013

We left our site at Lavaland RV Park after our usual coffee and breakfast routine and headed west to El Morro National Monument.

El Morro is a sandstone cliff where, mainly Spaniards, inscribed their names and dates to record their travels in the 1600’s and 1700’s. There are also a few native petroglyphs dating back 700 to 1000 years. It is quite an amazing site and has been very well preserved and the site is well developed for tourists. After viewing the petroglyphs and inscriptions, we continued the 2 mile loop trail to the top of the mesa to view some ruins. It took us close to 2 hours to tour most of the site. Julie notes “Remember how smart we had been getting of late in regards to hiking? Well we set off on this one with no water, no snacks and no sun screen but we did have hats and I had a new box of TicTacs. We would’ve had fresh breath when they found our withered up bodies. The good news is we listened carefully to the instructions on ‘how not get lost’ up on the high mesa top and arrived back at the Visitor Center safely. The hike up left us breathless as did the views from the top. I had to keep remembering to stop and look around, of course not too quickly if you recall our prior lesson on the wearing of progressive lenses on rocky cliffs.”

From El Morro, we headed east to Albuquerque passing through the El Mapais National Monument lava fields. The area around Grants, NM and these sites has about 40 volcanoes. Julie notes “We could prove this all to you but keep reading.”

We stopped for lunch at Badland’s Burgers & Tortas in Grants on our way back through. It was rated #1 on Trip Advisor for Grants. They specialize in all kinds of homemade burgers. We were the only ones there at 2:00 in the afternoon but the burgers were excellent. Julie notes “Too much good food but we ate it all up. The proof was in the pictures. Keep reading.”

We had purchased a new point and shoot camera yesterday and got it all figured out. Julie took many amazing pictures all day long, including more windmills. Julie notes “Simply spectacular in my humble opinion.” However, I inadvertently deleted them all when I was trying to clean up the memory card we had used from our old camera. Sorry ’bout that dear. Julie notes “I’m not sure which was worse, losing all of the pictures or the poor man telling me over and over again how he lost all of the pictures and how sorry he was. There were some money makers on there I’m sure. But I suspect there were mostly shots of the hood of the truck as I was in ‘learning mode’ just like our still to be officially named thermometer man. That is what I am telling myself anyway. Trying not to get my ‘El Morro’ all out of shape over it.”

We booked the RV into the America RV Park in Albuquerque, NM for 4 nights. We are storing it there for the first two nights while we luxuriate at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque in Old Town. We will spend the last two nights, and maybe more, back at the RV Park. After checking into our room, we headed down to the restaurant/bar for some drinks and appetizers. The food here was also very good. Julie notes “You will have to imagine our delicious drinks and food because …well, you know what happened to those pictures. I did have a most delicious Elderberry Margarita and Brad tried some different beers.”

All the pictures today will be from El Morro National Monument because everything else was deleted. Sorry again honey bunch.

Julie notes “Yes they let these people near the National Monuments! Not much of a screening process eh? Just have to obey the signs that say ‘no loaded or unloaded firearms allowed’. If anyone one is wondering, I did wash my red purse thing that has sweated with me across all of these countries and states. It was one of those ‘Holy Crap, is that what colour it used to be?’ Tide commercial moments.”

One of the Spanish inscriptions from 1709. Many were from the 1600’s. Julie notes “They really frown on you leaning over and writing ‘Brad hearts Julie’ in amongst the other inscriptions. Not that we would know about that.”

One of the petroglyphs.

Hiking the trail to the top of the mesa. Julie notes “We decided switch backs were much easier in the dually than on foot. We blamed our panting on the elevation of over 7,000′ plus the gain of 250′ while hiking. Being old and out of shape had nothing to do with it.”

The park staff warn you to stay on the trail and now I understand why. Julie notes “Oh dear. I’ll see you down at the bottom then honey bunch, dearest.”

My tour guide. She reads everything and then explains it to me in simple terms. J Julie notes “Brad says, once we had reached the Visitor Centre again, that I read every sign except the important ones like the restroom signs and which way the door opens, ‘pull or push.’ Which is true. Luckily for the rangers, despite the morning coffee urgency of the situation I did not manage to ‘push or pull’ open what apparently was the staff door and eventually danced my way to the real bathrooms (with Brad’s help).”

The ruins built from 1275 to 1350. There was an estimated population of 1500 people and 875 dwellings. Only a few have been excavated.

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “Ahhhhhh, a nice soak in a real tub. Heaven! I have almost forgotten that someone deleted all of my prizewinning pictures from today. The TV show selection reminded us that we weren’t really missing much in that regard. We have so far refused to ‘buy’ internet here as that seems ridiculous in this day and age but they have made this building out of some impenetrable substance that does not want to allow the flow of cell signal so we shall see.”

Day 116 – Sunday, October 20, 2013

We awoke to cold temperatures again this morning in the Mesa Campground on Lake Roberts in the Gila National Forest. It had dropped to a low of -7C overnight according to “thermometer man”. Winner of the name contest to be announced soon. Thanks for all the great suggestions. It makes it tough to pick just one name. “Julie notes “Keep the ideas coming. That way we will have a choice depending on what kind of weather he is telling us about or perhaps a ‘choice’ name if he is telling us bad news.”

Our campsite in the Mesa Campground.

If you think we have just been driving in circles the last few days, you might be right according to this GPS track. This proves we don’t know where we’re going. Julie notes “I think Blue Rodeo was correct the other day when they sang ‘Ain’t it clear now? We are lost together’.”

Today, we drove south on 35 from the Mesa Campground, west on 180 through Silver City, turned north on 12, and north again on 32, east on 60 for a few kilometers, then north again on 36, turned east onto 117, and finally west on I-40 to Grants, NM. Try and follow that in you map books. Julie notes “It’s not just the heights around here that are making me dizzy! A female artist, who I can’t remember the name of at the moment, was singing, as we were clinging to edges of the roads ‘I save grace, for the roads that I travel on.’ That was pretty accurate as well as there was the occasional praying going on.”

Scenery along some of the many highways.

Julie took 124 pictures today. The majority of them were of distant windmills in various states of repair. These were all taken at 90+ km/hr. Julie notes “There would’ve been more but the camera apparently sets a limit as to how many shots of the same thing I can take and then it gets ornery, pretending it is trying to focus or something, leaving my perfect picture in the dust, or as that much recorded song and the title of this post infers, leaving them as ‘the windmills of my mind’.”

The first one compares my nose to the windmill to see which is bigger. Julie notes “It’s good to have something to use for scale. So, big nose or small windmill? I will let you decide.”

A few samples of the money shots.

More highway scenery.

I know you’ve all be missing the laundry shots. Here’s your fix. Julie notes “Couldn’t stop myself even though they were just beige sheets, etc. I still have a touch of the clothes line fever.”

We stopped near Reserve, NM at the Adobe Café & Bakery for a late lunch. They serve huge plates of homemade food. I had the brisket sandwich special and Julie ordered the beef rib plate special. It was very good but a lot of food. It was served with homemade coleslaw, buns, and beans. We were not hungry for the rest of the day and just had a small supper of leftovers when we arrived at our campsite in Grant. Julie notes “Burp! I want this coleslaw recipe. No need tonight for the propane furnace as we both had beans and cabbage and fried onions. Watch the news for an incident of spontaneous combustion in Grant, New Mexico.”

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “Today would be my Grandma Jean’s 109^th birthday. She has been gone about a year and a half now but we feel her presence often. I know she would’ve been saying ‘Goodness Gracious!’ today as we wound our way through some more amazing country on this beautiful fall day. Krista’s recording of ‘Wind beneath my wings’ started off Grandma’s birthday perfectly because she was that to us all.”

“Quiz time ‘There is only one place in the US where 4 states intersect. Where would that be? And do you think we’ll go there?” Alternate question for the non-geography buffs ‘What is the correct rice to salt ratio while travelling in hot and humid climates. This may be a trick question because we never did figure it out and now we are in very arid country where the salt runs freely and face and hand cream are once again required and applied generously. However this leads to Lesson #116 ‘Cardboard salt shakers will not withstand 85% plus humidity. You can dump a whole Uncle Ben’s box of rice in there and it just keeps soaking up the moisture. Get good sealing glass or plastic shakers or get used to spreading your salt solution with a knife.’ Now I need to put on more hand, foot and ear cream.”

Day 115 – Saturday, October 19, 2013

Our little unnamed thermometer man said it had dropped to -4C overnight. That explains why I needed to get up in the night and turn on the furnace. Julie notes “Well that explains ‘one’ of the times you got up.” That kept it toasty in our little nest. It was a bright clear cold morning when the sun did rise above the mountains. Two mule deer spooked when I opened the door to head over to the shower house. Julie notes “Can’t say that I blame them. Being downwind of a guy heading for a much needed shower.” We spent a leisurely morning with coffee and our egg, ham, cheese (for me), bagels from our “Back to Basics” all in one toaster/poacher. They turn out really well every time and are delicious.

We headed over to the store to get some free WiFi and upload a few late blog posts. The old guy that runs the place is pretty grumpy. His wife is much nicer and should be the only one to deal with customers but unfortunately that is not the way it goes. A large group of older motorcycle tourists had the same impression, so it wasn’t just us. Julie notes “I think he would even be ejected from Brad’s Grumpy Old Man club and is way too miserable to dine at Cranky Franks. I was tempted to take back what we had purchased the day before but as you’ll see below I would have had to commit a felony and break into a US mailbox to do that. Although the prisons in the US may be a little nicer than in the other countries we’ve visited I decided not to risk it.”

It was then on to the Gila Cliff Dwellings after a stop at the visitor centre. It is another amazing site and we are so glad the National Parks and Monuments are open again. Julie notes “There was a museum and gift shop here but I rushed ahead and read some of the museum exhibits while Brad waited to talk to the park attendant. That way hopefully we wouldn’t be remembering the Alamo hullabaloo. But don’t get me wrong, we still remember the Alamo. My plan worked. A tension free museum visit accomplished. There was also a short video which was very informative and we now know the correct pronunciation of Gila (Heela) as in Gila Monster. That will not likely stop us from mispronouncing it in the future though. I wish I’d bought my postcards and such from the park gift shop instead of the grumpy store. The old fellow working the park office was very nice and helpful.” The trail is about a mile long and takes you into an area where you can view the 7 different cliff dwellings that housed 40 to 60 people. It was abandoned around 1300. We met a great couple who gave us some ideas of what else we could see and do in New Mexico. They had retired from Ohio to a suburb of Albuquerque. We keep meeting some great folks on our travels. Julie notes “It’s amazing what people get talking about as we’re all teetering on our tiptoes trying not tumble off the cliff peering into the inaccessible cave hoping to glimpse the wall painting that the guide insists is there. We bonded over the discovery.”

We headed out about 3:00 PM to find a new campsite. We stopped in at a little motel, restaurant, cabins, pub place. I needed to stock up on some more beer. They only sold a small batch locally brewed beer in a jug. I picked up a jug of their amber ale to try. We then headed off on a different highway (Hwy 35) back towards Silver City, NM. We found the Mesa Forestry Service Campground and pulled in for the night. Julie notes “This was a nice surprise as our maps show this campground on the other highway. Too bad for all the suckers driving the other route. This is a very nice campground. Maybe if I complain to the map book people about that one misplaced tent symbol we’ll get our money back?”

After another walk down to Lake Roberts, which turned into another 2 mile hike, Julie notes “Okay maybe there wasn’t a short cut trail, just around that next corner, back to the campground. My bad. But we were really hungry for supper by the time my ‘short cut’ wound its way back to the camper. Plus on a positive note I didn’t lead him onto another trail called Purgatory Chasm. Yikes! He’d wised up by then and locked in to his GPS brain bank.” We grilled up some angus burgers, with sautéed mushrooms and onions, for supper along with a salad. Delicious!

Julie had some more postcards to mail from the Grumpy guy’s place (the post office box was pretty cool though). Julie notes “Taken before I realized the extent of his grumpiness or I would’ve shoved them up his other mail slot.”

Gila Cliff Dwellings. Julie notes “Prime real-estate. These guys knew what they were doing. Great vistas, southern exposure, water front, condo community style living, pet friendly, but now a handyman’s dream.”

After touring the major cliff dwelling site, we headed to a nearby petroglyph site and a small cliff dwelling. Julie notes “You kids out there, this does not give you permission to scribble on your walls. Us humans have enjoyed graffiti for a long, long time though.”

Julie notes “Welcome to my humble dwelling. Watch your head. May I offer you some prickly pear tea and squash soup? (Sorry Susan, but that’s what they grew around here. You can see little squash ripening here and there in the ditches. Should I bring you some home?)”

My jug of Little Toad Creek amber ale brew. Julie notes “‘We thought you was a toad’ is what he will be saying after he drinks all of that! And if you look closely there is a green toad on the bottom of picture, on the staircase.”

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Day 114 – Friday, October 18, 2013

We found out yesterday that the National Park Service in the US was back in business. Our travel plans were based on whether on not they would re-open the National Parks by the deadline. Thankfully, there is at least a short term resolution and the parks will re-open. Based on this information, we packed up and headed for Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. Julie notes “Whoop! Whoop!”

First, however, I needed to turn on the furnace this morning so that the princess could get up in warmth and comfort. That’s just the kinda guy I am. Plus, I really needed some laundry done today. Julie notes “Now it all makes sense. And since I know he was beginning the ‘turn em inside out’ trick for his undies I was happy to oblige.” We picked an RV Park destination near Gila Cliff Dwellings that had hookups and laundry facilities; Gila Hot Springs RV Park and Vacation Center.

We stopped for fuel and a few more WalMart supplies in Silver City. Julie notes “As always WalMart is entertaining. First I picked the dejected cart, you know the one and soon realized why it was rejected as everyone could hear me coming across the whole store but they cleared the aisles for me. Then I chose the ‘less than 20 items’ line as I was legally under the limit and figured it would be faster than the other longish line-ups. Just as I plunk my last item down the little old gal running the till tells me she’ll be right back. I could see that she could no longer move at the speed that she thought she was going so I settled in to read all the magazines that are at the till. I am now up to date on who has had bad plastic surgery and which couples are on the verge of breakup. Brad will want to know all of those details. He lives for celebrity gossip. The sweet little clerk eventually wanders back with a new roll of cash register tape and we then got to know each other very well. She was in no rush so the speedy check-out line was a misnomer. She paused between scanning each item to tell me a new story. On her ticker tape mission she had run into some people she knew from the hospital where she had worked and had had a little chat and maybe I remembered her from the hospital and so on and so forth. A little reminder to slow down isn’t a bad thing and I thanked her and leisurely walked the mile and a half to the RV parked at the far side of the parking lot. Turned out to be not as peaceful as I planned as I was still driving the loud wonky wheel cart, made even louder by gravel on pavement. But again people stayed out of my way.”

The drive here from Silver City on Highway 15, known as Trail of the Mountain Spirits, is another spectacular mountain highway. No trailers over 20′ are permitted and I can see why. There are hairpin corners, switchbacks, and steep grades on a narrow highway with sheer drop offs and no guardrails. This would not be a drive my sister would enjoy! The drive is only 40 miles from Silver City but takes about 2 hours. There is an alternate route for larger RV’s. Julie notes “Beautiful place and the mountain spirits (and Brad’s careful driving) kept us on the road. This is the land of the Apache wars and Geronimo. Interesting and sad history. Also notice how we are not fighting about who chose this route? It’s obvious right?”

We found the RV Park and booked a site and then found the laundry facilities across the road at the associated store. We got the laundry started and then had a late lunch in the RV. We checked out the store and gift shop while the laundry was churning away. Julie finished up the laundry just in time for their 4:30 PM closing time and we headed back across the road to the RV Park. Julie notes “Nice, clean little laundry room. 2 washers and dryers but no chair for loitering about so I was forced to go and buy some more post cards, etc. in the little store. The store/laundry owners are clever! And Brad is now ready for another 2 weeks on the road in his Tide-y whities. I should note that while Brad thought I was slaving away over laundry, I caught him entertaining the local women who just wanted a peek at ‘his unit’ with the slide out. He had some ‘splainin’ to do.” We relaxed a bit, took a walk, and finished up some leftovers for supper with a nice bottle of wine. The weather was around 22C most of the day with clear blue skies and sunshine. Julie notes “The website promised wi-fi here but the camp host doesn’t know how to access it and the store, the hub of the campground we are finding out, closed at 4:30. City of Rocks had no cell or wi-fi service so we’re feeling a bit out of touch. Brad downloaded and searched and uploaded blogs as he was sitting in the WalMart parking lot and then we left the land of the connected once again. Hopefully we’ll get some at the store tomorrow.”

Blooming cactus at City of Rocks. Julie notes “This is called an Ocotillo. Ya I am that smart. Smart because I bought a postcard with the pictures and names of some of the plants we keep seeing. There are too many spiky and thorny things to just point and say ‘hey look at that spiky, thorny thing’. I am thinking it is named after the desert octopus that used to live in these parts prior to when they realized there was no water here so packed up their 8 suitcases and moved to the ocean. Someone might want to Wikipedia that though.”

One of many windmill shots Julie took today. These windmills are plentiful here in New Mexico and many are still working. Julie notes “It was an excellent windmill day. No double windmills though dude.”

Some highway scenes along the Trail of the Mountain Spirits.

A view from out campsite at Gila Hot Springs RV Park.

Numerous free range horses wander the area.

We have the site at the end of the road in the RV Park.

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “This one is for you Mr. Hambrook. Thinking of you as we traveled the Trail of the Mountain Spirits. Safe journey and soft landing Harry.”

Day 113 – Thursday, October 17, 2013

We awoke to a chilly 8C but the low had dipped to an even chillier 4C overnight. What did we do without our indoor/outdoor thermometer? Julie notes “Yes thank goodness for our thermometer man and his good sense to put on a sweater and a hat so I knew it was wise to stay under the covers until Brad had the coffee ready.” Good thing we have our 5 lb Canadian sleeping bags. Julie notes “Yes thank goodness as well for the sleeping bags that we cursed just a week or so ago because we were so hot. I am beginning to understand the shock in people’s faces when they discover we are purposely heading north at this time of year. But on to more important things. We need a name for our thermometer man. Suggestions please. If you need a visual you can go to the website www.AcuRite.com and check out model 00837W2. He is still in ‘learning mode’ as far as weather prediction goes. It takes him 14 days to get his weather man vibe working. And we keep moving so he may blow up by the time 14 days is up. Right now under clear skies he is predicting heavy rain. I think he still has some larnin’ to do.”

We decided to stay another day at City of Rocks State Park and do another hike. After some coffee and breakfast, we packed a lunch and headed to an overlook. I think we hiked about 3.5 miles return and then did a smaller 1.5 mile hike later in the afternoon through the rocks. Julie notes “Yes it does appear that we are getting wiser. Nice temperature, nice lunch and nice easy hike. But our memories are short. It wasn’t all fun in the sun though as my one rogue toenail, that no matter how short I cut it, starting aggravating his neighbour toe. I bore through the pain though with hardly a complaint despite the fact that someone refused to piggy back me the rest of the way.”

The rest of the day, I had no idea where Julie was so I just contemplated life, the beautiful scenery, and took a few pictures. Julie notes “Oh I was just enjoying a little ‘me’ time as well, thinking about the events over the past few months.”

Some of the scenes from our hikes through and around the rocks.

Looking back at the City of Rocks from the overlook. We had another great picnic lunch at the top. Chicken salad sandwiches, cheese, and some BBQ chips. We met an amateur astronomer from Lindsay, ON at the lookout. He retired from CIL in Toronto and moved to Lindsay. Julie and I lived in Lindsay when we were first married just prior to moving to Grande Prairie. Our sister-in-law Kelly now works in Lindsay. Small world. There is an observatory in the park and it is a great place for astronomers because of the lack of artificial light and the clear air at this elevation. He was off to a convention somewhere else in New Mexico. Julie notes “May be a small world but according to all the astronomy based information here in the park it is a big universe. The camp sites are all named for planets, constellations, stars, etc. There is a Pluto but no Goofy. I guess they messed up there. And no Man in the Moon site. Well actually I am staying at the Mooning Man site, not by choice.”

Julie trying to pick up rocks to throw at me, I think. Julie notes “Oh come on now. You know I’m not a very good aim. I was just going to try and fit in that hole to the left, honest.”

Thankfully, this site seemed empty most of the time. What are we? 5 years old? Julie notes “Come on, give us credit Brad. I think this elevates us to somewhere between an eight to eleven year old boy’s sense of humour level.”

Julie notes “This was the campsite we were at for the first 2 nights. Brad didn’t think it suited him so we moved. Unfortunately there aren’t any constellations (therefore no campsites) called Grumpy Old Farts.”

Here I am moving the truck camper to the aptly named site number 24. Julie notes “I hate when he decides to just up and move us using his Herculean strength. Just makes a mess inside the camper and I end up feeling like a minotaur’s ass.”

Our new camp spot. A little more protected from the wind and it gets the early morning sun. We had a beautiful evening; a harrier hunting low over the desert, BBQ’d ribeye’s for supper, and a full moon. Julie notes “The harrier made me think of the Hambrook family who will be laying Harry to rest tomorrow. We hope it is a day of great remembrances.”

Julie notes “As mentioned above, I am treated to a full moon pretty much every day. This one lit up the sky though. Hmmm no further comment.”

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Day 112 – Wednesday, October 16, 2013

We spent the day camped at the City of Rocks State Park. It is a very unique place in the middle of the desert prairie surrounded by distant mountain ranges. After breakfast and some blogging we packed a lunch (this time) and headed out for a hike. The first stop was the visitors centre to get a trail map. We chose a trail that looped around the park. It was about 3.5 miles with very little elevation change and well maintained. It was a much easier hike than the Dog Canyon hike a few days ago. Julie notes “Three smart things in a row. Lunch, directions and easy route. Is it possible we are getting smarter?”

We enjoyed our picnic lunch of chicken salad sandwiches, cheese, and pickles overlooking the City of Rocks. The temperature was about 21C with a light wind and clear blue skies. Perfect day for a nice hike.

I grilled up a marinated pork loin roast on the BBQ for supper. We had a fresh salad and leftover pasta to go with it along with a glass of wine. Oh yeah, and a few cold Texas Lone Stars while I was BBQ’ing.

Below is a selection of shots we took as we hiked the City of Rocks State Park loop.

Julie’s windmill shot. Julie notes “Hard not to love them right?”

The Aermotor from Chicago still pumping water. Julie notes “Classic.”

The sissy’s in the electrified part of the State Park on the east side. We are camped in a non-serviced site on the west side. Julie notes “Much nicer where we are camped and they know it too. And I have Brad to run the hamster wheel when I need to power up my hair straightener, waffle iron, margarita mixer, sewing machine, etc. Actually one couple we met, who have a smaller sized Citation camper than ours, actually were running a sewing machine off the solar panel. We tried to keep the shocked WTF (Why The Fabric) looks off of our faces. But Brad is sure glad my Mom hadn’t heard about that or he would’ve had to get her machine wired up on sun juice, so she could be sewing as we drove down the highways.”

Aunt Doreen, avert your eyes but this is nature. These crazy, very large grasshoppers are everywhere. I now understand why. Julie notes “Yes there were many of these ‘couples’ on our hike and nothing short of stepping on them was distracting them from the task at hand or whatever body parts they are using. However the place was just a hoppin’ with other kinds of grasshoppers as well. I didn’t know there so many kinds, different sizes and bright colours. Along with an assortment or butterflies with every step we would send flying an array of tiny lime green hoppers with yellow or white wings, bigger bright orange or bright red winged ones and even larger pretty turquoise winged hoppers. Very entertaining especially when one tries to fly right between my hat and my ear. Pretty noisy between my jumping surprise and the grasshopper’s complaints. I just hope I didn’t hop on any of the giant mating couples as I was a little distracted and so are they.”

Rockin’ it old school. Julie notes “We are actually lost and are trying to signal for help. Where oh where is that big pile of rocks where we parked our camper? Can anyone spot it?”

Our site on the west side of the park. Julie notes “Oh there it is but we can’t get there from here. Had a little bit of map confusion and thought we had missed our turn. But all’s well that ends well.”

Sandals with socks? I guess Karen P. was right after all? It is 17C with a wind and we are cold. What will we do when we get home? Julie notes “He added a toque to this ensemble and eventually so did the thermometer man. But I did not see the thermometer man wearing socks and sandals at any time.”

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Day 111 – Tuesday, October 15, 2013

We left Elephant Butte State Park and headed in to Truth or Consequences to run some errands and look around a bit more. We found the ubiquitous WalMart and did some grocery shopping and also replaced our indoor/outdoor thermometer guy. After we stocked up the RV, we were off to find a US Post Office. The first one was closed for lunch, but we found the main branch and Julie was happy. One, because they were open, and two, she could mail her items she has been carrying around for a few days. Julie notes “The first one was a great old looking building right downtown and was actually closed for the day at noon. Everything including the US Post Office looks quaint with the name ‘Truth or Consequences’ on a sign above it. Again I heard the clerks chatting through the mail slots but just quietly slid my already stamped items through the mail slot. Off we went to the other branch. Seriously this teeny town has 2 working post offices. (Well 1.5 as the other closes every day at noon.) My quest for stamps was met with a bit of a delay though. The first woman smiled and said they were out of my special international stamps but they were on order and smiled at me some more. But the other woman thought the stamps were in the back just not yet inventoried. The one woman smiled at me some more until the other woman spoke again and said ‘Maybe you could check if they could get those ready now.’ My woman continued to smile at the both of us now. The other woman explained to her ‘You just have to walk back there and ask Florence (made up name).’ ‘Oh’ said smiley woman. I think maybe she thought I was going to go and check with Florence. It was a hubbub of activity there in a small town kind of way and I heard more gossip as I waited for the stamps to make their way from ‘the back’ to ‘the front’. And Florence (made up name) when she arrived with the stamps, could possibly be seen as a bit intimidating with her red hair and long nails and very efficient manner so I could understand my smiley woman’s hesitation. Things got mailed though and I do really enjoy Post Offices as there is always something going on. Laundry mats are still my favourite though.”

After driving around checking out the town and some restaurants, we picked a restaurant for lunch, but as luck would have it, they are closed on Tuesdays. Julie notes “We knew yesterday that this place was closed today. We even knew that yesterday was Monday which isn’t always the case as days meld together as we travel. But sometime between yesterday and today that information flowed out of our brains. I blame it on the fact that we are without our working thermometer boy plus we think we may have changed time zones again so we can’t really be expected to keep track of days of the week, hours of the day or remember stuff, can we?” We decided to just head out to our next destination and have lunch somewhere along the way. Julie notes “Empty promises and empty stomachs. There was no real place to stop along the way as we soon found out.”

We planned to travel Highway 152, the Geronimo Trail National Scenic Byway, from the little town of Oasis on I-25, over the Emroy Pass, to San Lorenzo, and then south on Highway 61 to the City of Rocks State Park. This route would take us through Kingston, NM. Kingston, ON is where it all began 36ish years ago for Julie and me at St. Lawrence College. I am glad I had the idea to travel this route. It quite rightly earned the name “Scenic Byway”. Julie notes “Oh ya. Here we go! Everyone knows I’m the one in control of the big map with the little green dots on it telling us the most scenic routes.”

A classic trailer, including laundry in the sun shelter, at Elephant Butte State Park. Julie notes “2-4-1 shot. My clothes line fix and Brad’s fondness for old stuff that needs work. Yes I know I am setting up a joke about myself. But honestly how much more work can I get done? I think I’m looking almost as good as this classic if I wore something sparkly.”

Our WalMart grocery stop. Julie notes “I’m surprised we weren’t overwhelmed with the urge to camp here. But despite our WalMart aversion, it was a very nicely stocked, large, modern store. Brad sent me out like a wide receiver fetching things like liquid hand soap and paper plates, etc. from the furthest corners of the store while he leisurely strolled through the grocery aisles. I did get to see lots of the locals milling around. My favourite was a little old grandma carrying around a new hunting rifle, as long as she was tall, in its camouflage case, while she was shopping in the kitchen section. Just looking ahead to how she was going to cook that venison perhaps. Having left Brad alone in the grocery though, I had to do a quick pat down of his person to ensure he wasn’t trying to buy yet another container of cream cheese. We are carrying 3 with us presently, all purchased in different countries. His excuse is always “But I bought bagels!?”

And the happy girl because we have a new working thermometer. I am really lucky it doesn’t take much to make her happy. I keep the bar pretty low for the rest of you guys. You’re welcome. Julie notes “Yes I think everyone knows how lucky you are! And yes I am happy with the new thermometer ‘man’. The little fellow on the screen looks a bit like Brad. Same impish grin and hair tousled in the wind and right now he is wearing one of Brad’s sweaters. I had to operate on thermometer ‘boy’ in the middle of the night the other night. I was finished reading for the night, turned off the music and getting ready to enjoy Brad’s soothing snores as I fell blissfully to dreamland when I heard this little ‘chirp’ followed by another ‘chirp’ and so on. First I thought our little toad was still around or that we had a very consistent cricket. No way to ignore it and fall asleep so after some ‘in the dark’ investigation, so as not to disturb my sleeping giant, I found the culprit under a pile of Brad’s clothes and miscellaneous camera and lap top bags practically under Brad’s leg, chirping sadly. It was the last heartbeats of the now blanked screen dying thermometer. I surgically removed its batteries so we could all be at peace. We actually will miss him.”

Funky Town; Truth or Consequences, NM Julie notes “The pictures below are of a t-shirt store where we had stopped as there was a particular one we had seen that this store sells. Well our timing as usual did not line up to the hours of operation of the store. Despite the 2 neon flashing ‘open’ signs that beckoned us from the car, the list of hours of operation had a caveat written under it saying ‘most of the time… sorry I missed you…come again’. Well who do you think I saw at the post office? Not hard to recognize as he looks exactly like someone who runs a tie dye and sign business, plus his car was tie dyed with the store name on it. Also not available was the tarot card reader as Brad was looking for some idea as to what direction we should travel today. Luckily, as I said before, I had the big map book and showed him the way.”

I love this sign. It is a very appropriate name for the Municipal Court, don’t you think?

South on I-25

West on 152 – the Geronimo Trail National Scenic Byway.

Julie notes “Do you see it? A beauty isn’t it?”

Passing through the town of Kingston, NM. They even have a Spit and Whittle Club. Who knew?

Our GPS track from the Emroy Pass. Our altimeter indicated and elevation of 8,207′ above sea level. Julie notes “Despite the fact that I decided we should go this route, even I was surprised by the beauty at every twist and turn. Mother Nature is busy at work repairing some of the fire damage we saw along the way. An incredible way to spend an afternoon.”

Entering City of Rocks State Park, NM. Julie notes “I had just said ‘I think we took a wrong turn. We’re heading away from the mountains’, then SPROING! There it is!”

It was a great travel road and a good day. I’m really glad I picked this route. Julie notes “Did Truth or Consequences not teach you anything?” We found a nice site, one of the few left, with a view to the north-west across the prairie. We had an easy supper of salad, pasta, and a WalMart roast chicken followed by a fire of the Yellowstone pine. Really sorry to see it go but it was nice and dry after 2+ months in the back of the truck. Julie notes “Yes if that wood could…we’d probably sell it to the circus. They would not let us return it at the WalMart. They needed the manager for that and he was at the post office. And Brad was giddy to have a campfire. It turned out to be a very nice evening. Perfect temperature and only enough wind to send the smoke away from us. The fire lit up the giant rocks behind us and we watched the stars and planes and possibly satellites pass over and talked about how much Mom and Dad would’ve loved this site. Mom and Dad if you are listening, we still have no idea what the bathrooms are like here.”

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Day 110 – Monday, October 14, 2013

We debated staying at the Oliver Lee Memorial State Park for one more day to let our legs recover from yesterday’s hike but the flies wouldn’t let us. They were thick and have even adapted to constant desert wind. We were swatting and swiping while we tried to have breakfast. That made our decision to move on an easy one. Julie notes “Ain’t no flies on us…well at least not anymore.”

We packed up and headed for the City of Rocks State Park but while I was filling up the truck in Las Cruces, Julie got out her big US map book and had us headed on a scenic side road. Before we got to the side road, we realized that Truth or Consequences, NM was just a few miles further so that is where we headed instead. Our Aunt Lynne had pointed out to us just how close we were and it might deserve a visit just to say we had been here. Julie notes “It is a very colourful artsy little town and must have the most hot spring spas per capita for the whole US of A. That is just an educated guess from someone who is very sore and was hoping for a hot spring pool to soak in. There were lots of hot springs advertised but they were all part of a hotel/spa ranging in degrees of interesting looking to kind of fancy.”

We drove through the funky little town and picked the White Coyote Café for lunch in downtown Truth or Consequences. It was a vegetarian restaurant labeled as a “healthy” restaurant on Trip Advisor. We both had the homemade lentil soup and the Santa Fe wrap. Very good but the service was quite slow. You don’t want to be in a hurry if you eat here and luckily we were not. Julie notes “It did give us a lot of time to hear a ‘healthy’ dose of local gossip from one patron in particular. She seemed to know everyone and everything and enjoyed ‘sharing her knowledge’ (a term Jordan’s grade 1 teacher used that we found meant he talked too much). The food was very good though. That is the first time I have had fresh jicama in a sandwich (Mexican yam or turnip). It was very tasty but possibly the delay in getting our food was because they needed to pop from New Mexico to Old Mexico to get some.”

A view of last night’s sunset that really doesn’t do it justice. Julie notes “This was the dying embers of the show. Pretty nice finale. The camera was in download mode for most of the sunset otherwise we’d have a hundred shots to share.”

Julie’s double windmill shot. I’m not the only windmill traveler on this trip. Julie notes “Double windmills is close to double rainbows in my books. Maybe I should do a Youtube video on it eh Jordan?”

The White Sands National Monument in the distance which is also the same area as the White Sands Missile Range. Julie notes “I remained ducked down with my head covered holding my breath for the 30 or so miles we drove through the missile range. Partly because of the possibility of a stray military missile and mostly because of the after effects of the smokies with onions from yesterday were having on Brad. Mother nature’s tear gas.”

Scenery along Highway 25 from Las Cruces to Truth or Consequences, NM. Julie notes “Nice drive. Thanks for the suggestion Aunt Lynne, even though I was leery about going to a place where it seemed obvious with my tendency of fibbing that I was going to have suffer some consequences.”

Julie notes “Those of us from timber country will recognize the tipi burner down there. Not sure where the trees are that go with that? Pretty barren, low scrub land. Maybe it’s another fancy forno oven?”

The White Coyote Café.

Our site at Elephant Butte State Park 6 miles outside Truth or Consequences, NM. Here is Julie sitting on her Elephant Butte enjoying some sun. Julie notes “Okay I was waiting for some reference to the name. Touché my friend, but don’t be trying to touché my elephant butte for some time to come!”

My artistic side showing my foot prints in the sand. Notice only one set of tracks? Julie was too sore to take a walk. Julie notes “My elephant butte muscles are awfully sore today. Legs and everything else seemed to be okay, surprisingly enough.”

The nearby reservoir which seems very low to me but all the lakes and reservoirs here seem low. I guess maybe that is normal for this time of year? Julie notes “Contemplated parking on the beach and then figured this would be the night they let the dams loose. And you know I don’t like getting my feet wet.”

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends back in Canada! We miss you all. Pretty low key but delicious supper of huevos rancheros with all the fixings in a tortilla made by my resident turkey. (I know Aunt Doreen, You can take the muleskinners out of Mexico but you can’t take the Mexico out of the muleskinners.) We gobble gobbled it all up and toasted with water and wine to all the many things we were thankful for. (The first and foremost was that we weren’t spending this day with a certain guide. Just kidding. We really don’t think of him much anymore. Now if the nightmares would just go away.) Seriously though we have been very blessed and have had the recent opportunity to compare on many levels what we are fortunate enough to have. And not just the material things. Companionship, trust, love, security and acceptance of family and friends and the ability to get up in the morning and look at ourselves in the mirror knowing we were reasonably decent people. Okay, and I didn’t even have any wine. Where did that soap box come from? Thank you to all of you for being who you are as well. Over and out. The elephant butte has left the building.”

Day 109 – Sunday, October 13, 2013

Fuzzy Balls and Prickly Bushes. We are talking desert. Julie notes “But I bet we have your attention now.” Today we hiked from our campground site in Oliver Lee Memorial State Park into the Lincoln National Forest. The trail climbs more than 1,500′ and is 2.9 miles long to reach an old line cabin in the Dog Canyon. Beyond the old stone line cabin the trail becomes quite technical, and steep, with boulder jumping required. That is where we turned around. Julie notes “Nothing to do with the fact that I couldn’t lift my legs or feel my feet by this point. We just decided we’d seen enough beautiful scenery for one day and would leave the boulder jumping to others. Plus I hadn’t replenished the Band-Aids after the javelina incident yesterday. And I’m pretty sure we would be using them if I tried boulder jumping.” It was a hike of about 10 kilometres, round trip, of steep, rocky terrain. A good workout for these 2 old curmudgeons. We were both tired and sore by the time we got back to the camper and Advil, beer, and wine were our friends. We were also starving. We had water with us and a pack but no food. The hike took us about 5 hours round trip. Julie notes “I know! What are we a couple of greenhorns on our first hike? I was hoping Brad had remembered from yesterday’s Living Desert tour, which parts of all these fuzzy balls and prickly bushes were edible.” We grilled up some smokies. Julie made a delicious salad and we stuffed our faces. We then headed to the showers where we both had a nice long hot shower. Ahhh. A good feeling for sore aching muscles. Julie notes “The campground being in the foot hills of these mountains means that even the shower building is up hill on the way there ‘oh my aching tired muscles’ and downhill on the way back ‘oh my miserable sore joints and feet’ but the bathrooms are beautiful and clean. We both danced around in our respective washrooms though trying to figure out the motion sensor light fixtures. And both ended up showering by sky light only. The light sensors are a mystery to solve another day.”

Fuzzy balls.

Prickly bushes.

Our camper is in the lower centre of the picture, near the blue trailer on the left side of the campground.

We are looking pretty spry at this point in the hike. Not so later on. Julie notes “Yes just when he thought I couldn’t get any sexier I found my ski socks, hiking boots and one of my Kayaking Goddess hats. Oh Ya! You can tell by the placement of his hand and his expression how much he liked my latest look.”

Leaving the State Park and entering the Lincoln National Forest. Julie notes “Yikes we forgot a snack AND breadcrumbs as well to leave a trail with. Someone had spilled a clump of Goldfish Cheese crackers though. We barely glanced at them on the way up but they were looking pretty tempting on our way back down. We could actually see the tiny speck of our camper at that point so left the crackers there for some other hungry man or beast.”

The muleskinner showing his best side. Julie notes “Well it is better than the back end of an old motorhome!”

We spotted tarantulas in 2 different locations and one unidentified snake on the trail. We named the snake Norm.

The sidekick pointing out the tarantula with her hiking pole. Julie notes “He mentions that so you could tell which hairy legs belonged to whom. No tarantulas were harmed in the making of this blog.”

Dog Canyon Trail Number 106. All the roads and trails here are numbered and mapped which makes it really easy to find out where you are and where you are going. Julie notes “It doesn’t make the trails any easier to climb though. They should be numbered easiest to hardest. Maybe some kind of blister and sweat scale could be included too. Just an idea. This is a National Forest and as you know the governing parties who run these are closed otherwise I would send in this suggestion.”

If you look closely, you can see the trail winding its way up the canyon. Julie notes “Looking at this view you’d probably be tempted to high five and chest bump and say ‘Hey we must almost be there! Right on man! That is totally righteous dude!’ But if you look at the trail marker at this point you will be actually saying ‘WTF? (What’s That Friend?) We’re only half way there? You are freaking kidding me!’ The best part of the day though was passing people heading up the trail all red faced and sweaty as we were heading down. Brad would give them encouragement and tell them what to expect up the way. I would stagger past them and ask ‘What day is it anyway? Is Bush still president?'”

Mile 2.5 of a 2.9 mile trail. Julie notes “This is where a fitter person whose lungs and feet weren’t on fire would jump with glee. I bent over and tried to catch my breath and wished Brad’s backpack contained gel insoles.”

Where did that boulder come from? Julie notes “Don’t look at me. I didn’t put it there. If you look closely there is a prickly pear cactus clinging on to the top right edge. Crazy how green everything seemed despite the rock and desert clime.”

A view back down to the valley from the high point of the trail. Julie notes “Any chance on getting a piggy back ride back down? I understand now why they call it Dog Canyon because your dogs are barking by the time you’re done hiking it.”

We made it! Julie notes “And Brad made it back into the frame, first attempt, after hitting the timer. He only had one dash left in him after that hike.”

Julie thought there was supposed to be a B&B here? Well, it probably was a B&B 100 years ago. Julie notes “Well there is a rusted bed frame already there. Just have to add a few feminine touches and maybe a roof and an easier way to get here and we’d be in business. We could call it the B&J-B&B. If you can believe it, they drove cattle from canyon and ridge top spring and summer grazing areas through here, down to the ranch below, which the campground is located on. This is the remains of the Fairchild Line Cabin used during the drives.”

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “Here’s hoping I can walk tomorrow after all the exertion. The tarantulas and snake were exciting to see but the most dangerous beasts we saw on the trail were a young couple each with a holstered weapon. His a glock and her’s a revolver of some sort. Really? Were they worried about being robbed by hill bandits, or maybe would have to shoot a snake scurrying off the path, or perhaps hunt their supper? I’m just glad I didn’t trip and fall or they may have just put me down. Oh well, different mindset than me for sure. On a different note we watched the most incredible sunset tonight. The colours in the New Mexico brochures, postcards, etc. are not exaggerating the beauty of these in the least. Kept us enthralled for about an hour. Ok feet, one more task today, take me to bed and you can have the rest of the night off.”

Day 108 – Saturday, October 12, 2013

Firstly, Happy Birthday to our little (6’3″) boy, Jordan Robert Emond who turns 28 years old today. We are so proud of our kids and what they have accomplished. Jordan is in his 3^rd year of Engineering at the University of Alberta. His wife, Alison, is on a sabbatical from teaching and is also in Edmonton taking a Languages program. They purchased a condo in Edmonton, and can all be together this year looking after our granddaughter, Melodie. Julie notes “Happy birthday Jordan. Two of your wedding songs played yesterday on the iTunes, a day early. However 28 years ago you were not a day early but rather about a week late. The beginning of your stubborn streak but you were worth the wait.”

It really got quite cool last night. We were at about 3,600′ above sea level and the temperature dropped to 10C or lower at our Brantley Lake State Park campsite. Julie notes “We have sad news. We think after several attempts with fresh batteries to revive our little thermometer boy, he is officially in a coma. He has been stuck on 832 hours and temperatures of 32 C for several days now. Brad and I are at a loss as to whether we are cold or hot or sweaty from humidity without the thermometer boy indicating the temperature and the proper attire for the weather. We knew for sure this morning that it was definitely not bathing suit weather despite what thermometer boy was wearing. Time to retire him to the weather gauges in the sky and search out a new one. Maybe one that can actually control the weather. I hear the Russians are working on something like that.”

After some coffee and homemade bagels, ham, poached eggs with cheese, we backtracked to Carlsbad to visit the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. It was well worth the $5.00 admission fee.

Then it was off to lunch at the #1 Trip Advisor rated restaurant in Carlsbad, NM; the Trinity Hotel Restaurant. My “the kid” bacon mushroom burger with tomato basil soup was excellent. Julie went with the ½ grilled cheese and tomato sandwich and chicken tortilla soup. Soup was excellent but the sandwich needed work. Julie notes “I think they maybe have never had anyone order the ‘half and half’, advertised on the menu as a cup of soup and one half of my choice of the gourmet sandwich section. I was promptly told that not ‘those’ gourmet sandwiches, only ‘these’ gourmet sandwiches were eligible. Okay so I settle on the item called the ‘gourmet’ cheese and tomato sandwich. Well perhaps for this cook gourmet means ‘skimpy’ as my one slice of regular cheese didn’t cover the half slice of bread, nor did the one slice of tomato. It was grilled nicely though. Lots of butter and that makes up for most short comings and Brad handed over his tomato and onion so then it was gourmet. We left contented. I bet there is a lesson in there somewhere but not sure what? Any suggestions?”

After confirming that the Carlsbad Caverns were closed due to the federal government shutdown, we headed off towards Alamogordo, NM. We picked a state park nearby Alamogordo as a destination; the Oliver Lee State Park. Julie notes “We really picked this direction because we figured this was another place named after our friend Gordo who had just been to see the Alamo day before yesterday. The fellow at the visitor centre didn’t seem to think there was any connection but I did notice there was a street named Debbie. Coincidence? Well maybe.” We left the flat desolate landscape of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico and climbed to over 8,600′ above sea level at Cloudcroft. From Cloudcroft you descend a few thousand feet to the valley floor. The temperature went from 17C to 28C. Julie notes “I almost feinted when I saw a sign that said ‘watch for snowplows’ right before we came to the Cloudcroft ski hill. Yikes! But no flakes falling at 17 C.”

Our little guy a few years back. Julie notes “Your dad and grandpa Albert had to beat up Willie deWitt to get that hat. At least I think that is how the legend goes.”

Our Brantley Lake State Park campsite. Julie notes “There was water in this manmade lake. A nice change from the last couple we’ve seen.”

A Javelina in the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens. Julie notes “Turns out the sign was correct, they don’t like to be petted and they do have tusks like sharp little javelins. Lesson #108 ‘Always carry Band-Aids, in case you decide to pet a javelina.'”

Living Desert Zoo & Gardens. Julie notes “Lesson #108a ‘Always carry a margarita glass with you as the delicious prickly pear margarita is made from the purple fruit of this cactus.’ You’ll notice the fruit is gone, some thirsty person got here before me. Drat!”

Julie notes “Lesson #108b “Don’t attempt a stare down with a tortoise unless you have a lot of time on your hands.”

A rose between two thorny cacti? Julie notes “Lesson 108c ‘Always carry tweezers and a mirror in case you accidentally back into a cactus.'”

An interesting specimen? Julie notes “Any comment here will get me into trouble so I will just go with the saying ‘Don’t sweat the petty stuff, don’t pet the sweaty stuff and don’t pluck the prickly stuff’.”

Crazy Canucks on the trail. Julie notes “Refer back to Lesson #108c and remain on good terms with your partner and you may not need the mirror. Kind of a twist on ‘I’ll scratch your back if you pluck mine.’ And yes we are wearing sweaters despite thermometer boy being only clad in his bathing suit again today.”

Our lunch spot; The Trinity Hotel.

A sample of life in Eastern New Mexico; Oil, trains, trucks, industry, and IHOP all in one.

NM real estate.

…and highways.

Changing landscape heading west on Highway 82.

A view from our campsite in the Oliver Lee State Park near Alamogordo, NM.

Julie notes “He caught me just winding up for my daily cartwheel practice. I’ve been thinking of going professional but don’t want to chance being disqualified if cartwheeling becomes an Olympic sport. The same goes for the sidestroke in swimming.”

…over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick