Sunday, November 12, 2017

Sunshine, sunset, and other things...


Our Location: Mid Way RV, Dexter, New Mexico
 
A bit cooler overnight with some gusty winds as well. It woke me up thru the wee hours as the tree beside us kept brushing against us in the wind. Not a squeaking or rubbing, but more like the pitter patter of tiny creature feet on the side or roof, until I was awake enough to realize it was the long soft ends of the branches (willow tree I think) brushing against us in the wind. 
 

Mid Way Rv Park, spot beside us.
 
Morning dawned with a crisp feel to the air, and a cloudy, foggy kind of morning. Three of the campers beside us pulled out this morning even in the fog. It was lifting rapidly as the clock was ticking along. We had a quick breakfast, decided on lunch, a quick clean up, held an executive meeting with Riley and I deciding where we're going tomorrow when we pull out. We're both looking forward to it. We think we will probably stay for a 4-5 days, or if we like it, maybe a few days longer. We'll see how it goes when we arrive.
 
So blue and so green, the earth and sky are so bright in this picture.
 
We climbed into the Dogsled heading back into Roswell for two errands. One to return a 30 pin charge cord that didn't work with Riley's Samsung Tablet. The second to go to Walmart and pick up some more Blue Def fluid. I noticed in Patsy's post yesterday (Chillin' with Patsy) that Bill  (On Our Way)  was getting some for the low price of $7.88 each. Excellent price and we're going to need more as I dumped my last jug in yesterday. So we picked up a couple of jugs today. Thanks for the tip Patsy. 
 
Street Lamps in Roswell, New Mexico
 
After our two errands were complete we decided to have a look around. As we drove along Main Street in Roswell again things started to catch our eye, we finally just pulled over, parked and started walking. 
 
Riley with Pat Garrett
 
Our first stop was behind the Courthouse which also houses the Juvenile Detention Centre. There behind the stately building we found the first of two statues. Pat Garrett who was a famous law man way back in the days of the wild west, and known as the man that killed Billy the Kid. There he was astride his trusty steed, coat tails flapping in the breeze. His trusty six shooter on his hip, his rifle in the boot under his leg. A big bushy mustache and a 10 gallon hat were also easy to see. 
 
Riley on the courthouse steps.
 
I managed to snap a picture of Riley as she's leaving the courthouse after paying her fine when she was caught flashing Mr. Garrett. ~laugh~ No, no, I'm only kidding, she was simply standing on the steps. 
 
Riley with John Chisum and a Texas Goat, no, no...Texas Longhorn.
 
From there we drove across the street to the front of the courthouse, found a public parking area and proceeded to park.(We had intended to go further but noticed some interesting things in the parkette so stopped there instead). Another statue in this public parking area/parkette across from the courthouse. This statue was of John Chisum (of the famed Chisum Trail, and Cattle King of the Pecos) roping a goat. ~laugh~ No, no wait, it's a Texas Longhorn. Once again Riley managed to get up close and almost personal with another famous historic figure. 

Some of the many, many murals in Roswell, NM.

A walk further along Main Street found us among the Alien population of Roswell, along with some charming New Mexican flavour. Since the famed 'UFO' landing here in  July 1947 in a farmer's field, and the government site known as Area 51 (off limits to everyone except government personnel and Aliens) this area has enjoyed it's fame and promoted the Alien theme throughout the town. They even have a UFO Museum and Research Centre. Most business have some form of 'Alien' in the window, on the side walk, in murals, etc or at least the businesses we walked by on Main Street. We even stopped into the Area 51 store where we could dine in an old fashioned diner with some 'regular' Alien customers, and for $3 ea we were able to pose with some Aliens in a couple of photo ops. You can tell by the pics we were extremely impressed. I even found myself a date!! ~laugh~ 

Beautiful hand painted tiles on this tree box

We found a quaint little courtyard with hand painted tiles on tree boxes and benches. It's very peaceful, inviting, crisp, and clean. There were various different tiles that included pictures, postcards, and just 'free hand' tiles as well. On the end wall of this little courtyard was a mural depicting Roswell, New Mexico around the year 1900. A beautiful street in a small quaint, quiet little town. The benches were also made of tiles with each longer tile having some name or words engraved in them, not one tile was empty. The colours were bright, enchanting and eye catching. I didn't see ANY broken, cracked or chipped tiles in this small courtyard. There was no graffiti, garbage or even piles of natural debris such as leaves, or grass. In fact Main Street is pretty clean with only dusty store fronts and a few 'construction' articles along the way. I didn't see any garbage, graffiti, or signs of neglect. I was truly impressed by the overall cleanliness of the short stretch of Main Street we walked, and drove. That isn't to say everything is pristine because it isn't but there were not any heaps of trash, junk cars, excess advertisement, old worn out and faded signs, etc from business that are aged, neglected, closed, or even still operating. The business lots are clear of debris, and garbage. There was no graffiti anywhere that I noticed. 

Each of the longer tiles has words/names engraved in to it. 

The town of Roswell has a large number of hand painted murals that you notice as you drive along. They are in a variety of places including front walls, side walls, and alleys. A few things that did catch my eye were pieces of old machinery in good condition that were displayed along a fence that boasted a wedding venue. Pieces of art (which we didn't get pictures of) such as small bicycles painted bright colours welded one over top of the other to the top of a 8 ft post, these kinds of art we spotted in couple of places. Even the parking lots in Roswell were very clean with no garbage lying about, blowing around, or stuck in corners. 

Another mural, love the bright orange along with the window atop the door. 

We finally made it home about 2 pm this afternoon, considering we left around 9:30 am and had only two errands to run, I think we used our time very well. ~laugh~ 

A few of the bench engravings.

Warm enough to leave the outer door open and enjoy the fresh air. Not warm enough to sit out due to the wind but still a big improvement for us. We're happy with it. 

Me and my date!

Lunch was Honey Pecan Chicken, mashed dill potatoes, and acorn squash, along with a nice green salad. It was very good, we both enjoyed it. I topped my meal off with an apple after we cleaned up.

Don't you just love these things?

A quick walk around the park enabled us to locate the dump station for tomorrow's use before departing. We found a thin leafed yucca plant (or at least I think it is), and we found the laundry room. We discovered a lot of things today all on a ten minute walk around the park. Imagine what we might have found had we gone  looking for something. ~laugh~ 

It was a two holer and I couldn't wait any longer. He didn't seem to mind the company.

Back home we had to fix the day/night shade at the dining table as it seems to pull faster on one side than the other and ends up being crooked. We then have to take it down, fix it and rehang it. It's a pain in the ..... 

Stopped for a drink while ET tended bar. 

The visiting Tabby was back again, he didn't stay as long this visit as HRH Miss Kitty was quick to tell him off with no doubt that she wasn't happy he was in her space. Even if it was outside the Igloo door. ~laugh~ 

Riley hanging out with a new buddy.

Editing today's pictures and writing my blog has taken up the rest of my afternoon and the early part of my evening. I managed to catch our first sunset of any interest tonight as well. 
 
Dinner was yummy!!
 
Chatted with my best friend Linda for a half hour tonight. She's back in chilly Sudbury, Ontario. Always enjoy chatting with Linda, she's a wonderful lady!!

Pretty colours, didn't enhance this photo in any way.

So there you  have it, our last day in Roswell, New Mexico on our journey westward. Nothing earth shattering or news worthy but a good day all the same. We enjoyed some sights, some laughs, and some new experiences. Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to leave a comment.

Beautiful sky over the park here in Dexter, NM.

Until next time...be safe, take care...



4 comments:

  1. Really loved Roswell and the interesting sites to see , glad you enjoyed it.
    A nice drive through the mountains and a new destination is always fun.

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    1. We enjoyed Roswell too. I'm always happy to see around the next corner. The road through the mountains was good after the first piece which was a bit rough, and a wee bit twisty. We enjoyed the views and stopped numerous times along the way. An excellent day!

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  2. You've had a wonderful day in Roswell, even though your pictures don't show smiley faces! ha ha
    Safe travels as you head out today.

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    1. Yes we had a wonderful day. The smiles were there but we didn't seem to have them for the camera. I didn't think my date would be impressed with any smiles as he seemed like a serious sort of fella. ~laugh~ Looking forward to this travel day.

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