Wednesday, November 21, 2018

A truly wonderful day, sunny and fairly warm.....




Our Location: BLM Land, White’s City, NM

A cold night left us with frost on the window of the Dogsled and a bit of a nip in the air until the sun finally stopped playing peek a boo with the clouds this morning. The predicted rain didn’t happen and we ended up with a wonderful day. Lots of sunshine and warmth as well. 


We are parked just in front of the sign on the right.
 
This morning started off slowly as it took me a while to get going for some reason. About 10 AM I headed out for a walk back to our spot from last year. Not as far as I thought it would be but I was surprised to see 2 vehicles with multiple tents back there. A third car left earlier this morning. In fact one of the vehicles is parked right across from our spot from last year. 

Our last year spot on the left and the car/tent across from our old spot. Well beyond the sign.

I walked around for a while, snapping a few pictures and just enjoying the sights of the area. A nice spot and it’s too bad they have put an end to the camping further from the road, it’s much nicer back there. However I’m not complaining. I did see some burnt Yucca type stalks that may have been part of the reasons for closing down the camping. They’ve used some kind of blade, like a grader blade or a bulldozer blade to make a swath in front of most of the deeper campsites to discourage, but not stop one from getting in to them. So many tracks leading off across the flat spaces, when it tells you stay on the road ways. So many people make it bad for the rest of us. 

Flowers and blooms in the desert.

Back home we decided to head into Carlsbad and to the Chevy dealership. I’ve been watching the oil level closely since leaving Cobourg and decided I would have them check it as it well. It was down. Not drastically but enough for me to plan on taking it to a dealership in Arizona to have them look at the oil pan leak again. Still under warranty and I want it fixed. We stopped in a few other locations to check out the camping on our way home but truly I don’t see anywhere that one can camp except a park. So it’s something to keep in mind if you are travelling in this area and planning on staying near White’s City on the BLM. 

Various cacti on my walk today.

We just finished adding ANOTHER jug of Blue Def (added one in Mississippi) before heading out, hood shut and just pulling out of our spot when I spotted a silver truck coming toward us. We stopped at a wide spot in the road and an officer of some sort, asked me about us parking us. Who’s land is it, are you living here, etc. My answers: it was BLM land when I stayed here last year, has it changed hands? We arrived yesterday and plan to spend a couple days in the area. Is that a problem? Would you like us to move? His answer was no and that he was just curious. I asked him about a Chevy dealership in Carlsbad, he answered in the affirmative and we were off. Thought it a bit strange that he didn’t know the land was BLM, he had  something with STATE on his sleeve. I couldn’t see the whole patch though. No markings on the vehicle either. He had just pulled over a big rig as we were adding the Blue Def as it caught my eye to see the truck pulling over. 


Back home we enjoyed some sun, leaving the big door open until it started cooling down around 4 PM. Lunch was a nice loin roast with carrots, potatoes, onions and a few spices. We added a salad and for dessert some grape jello. A tasty little feast it was. 

 
As I write this post there is a new vehicle not far from us, going to spend the night as well. A number of vehicles have come and gone today and they all seem to be like us, surprised that they can’t park here any longer. Except like I said close to the road. Not a lot of room for bigger vehicles except in the spot we are in. More like car camping, tent camping and van camping. Small motor homes maybe but it might be rough getting to a spot. Watch for downed fence posts with barbed wire attached, it seems some one has torn down a lot of it and just left it laying around. Some left strung up across some of the trails should be flagged as it’s very difficult to see and someone could get badly hurt.  Our high temperature reached 60 F/ 15.5 C today with little wind. A very nice day indeed. I also managed to fill the Dogsled’s bowl for $3.09 per gallon today, much better than the $3.15 - $3. 59 we noticed in some places.

So there you have it, our day here at White’s City BLM in NM. We’ll be staying put for the American Thanksgiving tomorrow but will move on Friday morning. Further west is calling us and we are going to answer it. I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Until next time…. take care, be safe,

Deb

10 comments:

  1. If the Rangers see that you are trying to be co-operative they are more relaxed with you.
    You are right it is always the few that spoil it for the many.
    Be Safe and Enjoy Thanksgiving Day.

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not convinced he was a ranger, he may have been a cop or inspector of some kind but regardless, he was a nice fellow and seemed happy with our answers.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

      Delete
  2. Hope you got your trick repaired and the oil leak taken care of.
    Now to travel safe and keep enjoying the southwest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're going to have it looked at in Sierra Vista or Benson. Carlsbad couldn't take us for two weeks. It's not a huge leak but I want to have it fixed before the warranty expires. Thanks George.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

      Delete
  3. It is unfortunate about the BLM parking, the state is so pretty. Why do some people have to ruin a good thing for the rest of us?
    Good luck with the oil leak and travel safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree Patsy. It only takes a few to spoil it for everyone. Thanks, I'm sure it's nothing serious but I want to have it fixed.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

      Delete
  4. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Riley!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Friend Doug. The same to you and Dottie. I hope you had a wonderful day!!!

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

      Delete
  5. Too bad to see the camping is restricted there. Hope you have better luck at the next stop.
    Hopefully the oil leak is minor.
    Travel safe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dave. It is a minor leak but the warranty expires soon so I want to have it fixed before that happens. Restrictions are a fact of life but you'd be surprised how many people ignored the signs.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

      Delete