We traveled into the future and then back into the past today....

Our Location: 

BLM on US 62 East, near Carlsbad, NM

 

(the pictures with the odd colour of blue or fog like appearance is due to the blue tint on the window of the Dogsled)

 

A cool morning when we woke in Deming, about 49F/9C but we moved right along and didn't bother with the heater. In fact we didn't take long to get ready to roll out, we had chores to do before we hit the road. We left the empty lot, which still had at least a half dozen or 8 rigs still there, and I'm sure over half of the overnights had already left. The lot seemed pretty full when I last looked outside last night, rigs, trucks, cars, MH, 5'ers, etc. I was a bit worried that the Valaro 5R gas bar would have a busy dump station but not a single soul was there when we arrived, nor did I see anyone there while we were in the lot. It took us about a half hour to dump and fill with water before we moved out to the pumps to give the Big Dog a drink. He was getting low, right about the 1/4 mark which is low for me, I'm always looking to fill around a half. However I knew we'd be getting fuel first thing so I didn't worry about it. 

 

Looking out at the view from the rest stop at Las Cruces, NM on I-10 East.

Historic Marker for Las Cruces, NM.

 

We were on the road after all chores were complete around 9:15 am. Pretty good timing I think as we had about the same number of miles to put in today as we did yesterday, about 245 miles/394 km. According to Phoebe (RV GPS) it would take us about 5 hours. She was pretty close to being right on the money although she did get us to make a wrong turn which I had to correct by pulling a U turn at one of the cross overs. More later.

 

He's an ugly looking bird, isn't he?

 

A recycling project to show the world....

 

We pulled into the Las Cruces, NM rest area to see the big Road Runner in all his splendor and I wasn't disappointed. The views of Las Cruces are wonderful and I wish I could have seen them at night but perhaps another time. A wonderful sight even in the day light. After a short 15 minute break we climbed back in to continue on our drive, checking out the time it was 10:30 am when we were taking the on ramp back to I-10 East. It wasn't long before we left Las Cruces, NM in the review mirror or in our case, our out side mirrors and entered the state of Texas. We didn't know but Texas isn't in the same time zone as NM or at least our phones didn't think it was, and moved us an hour ahead AGAIN. 

 

 

The drive through Texas was long and uneventful and we like those uneventful kind. The scenery passed from mundane, dingy, dirty to mountainous, beautiful, breathtaking, rugged, inclines, declines, sharp corners, and flat scrub land that went on for miles out the window. At times we didn't see a single person, living creature or vehicle, just us. The land looked great for cattle but nada, not one for a long time, eventually a couple turned up but it wasn't until we were almost out of Texas. The mountain regions, like I said were stunning with captivating views and picturesque vistas. The mountains ranged from rugged, cold, unyielding stone to softer, greener, layers, and once again to hard edged, angled white shale/limestone like appearance. The colours also varied on the same mountain as stark white lines showed in various places, indicating water ways that were bordered by darker, denser looking areas. Sand, gravel, and shale also seemed to make appearances. The vegetation is now grass, stunted Yucca's, bushes, and other larger leafless trees. The flat lands showed off seas of dark green,almost black vegetation in some places and yellowish grass showed in many places. 

 

I was worried we'd be taking THAT road, but we didn't. Phew.....

A quick jaunt to the top to take some pictures shouldn't take too long huh? Riley wouldn't go for it.

 

We followed this route back into New Mexico where the time once again dropped back ONE hour to what we had been this morning in Deming, so we drove into the future only to drive back into the past. We've been time traveling. 

 

Long straight road, can you see it way off in the blue mountains, that's where we're going.

 

 

Various views today including the city of El Paso Texas as seen from the 375 Loop.

 

The route we followed was 1-10 East to 375 Loop, to US 62 E/US 180. That was it for the roads we travelled today. Our Phoebe's got us royally confused when we left the 375 Loop, I was certain we should go left but she insisted it was right, of course once I was committed in the lane to go right, she changed her mind to 'turn left at the light'. I was tempted to drop her out the window, and do her some serious harm with a number of tires. However, I managed a quick U turn and we were once again going the proper direction. That was our only issue for the day, how nice was that? 

 

Looks like cattle would do well here if you added a water tank.

These things look like Joshua Trees but I think are Yucca's of some sort, but they've grown oddly and look very similar to an immature Joshua Tree.

 

I found this campsite on a free site, actually I found two of them but this one came first so we tried it first. After crossing back into New Mexico on US 62 go to Mile Marker(MM) 10, and immediately turn right (coming from the direction we did) it is BLM land, you cross a cattle guard and the road isn't great but not nearly as bad as some we've taken. It's a bit rough so slow down and take your time. About a mile back from the roadway you begin to see some boon docking sites. Some are bigger than others, some are more geared to bigger rigs (although the tenters seem to like these ones best), some are back in, some are probably pull thru. We parked just off the roadway and continued on foot for about a mile. Found a great spot and walked back to the Dogsled, climbed in and headed to what we figured would make an excellent place for us to spend the next number of days. We arrived to find someone from further back off the road had come forward to claim our spot before we could get to it. Next time Riley will stay until I come back with the Dogsled to ensure that doesn't happen again. 

 

White sand like dust, wonder if this is alkaline dust?

I love this majestic mountain, it almost looks alive and ready to tell stories...

 

We continued further on and came to a big spot at the fork in the road. We decided this would be the place to call home for a while. It's a big spot, wasn't hard to get level and although it's pretty windy here I don't know if it would have made a difference in the other spot or not. There are no trees, only low growing shrubs, yucca's and some grass. We have a fire ring that was still smoldering from the folks that had left here and pulled into the spot we wanted. That's how quickly they had left here. There are plenty of people around, and I'm sure it will prove to be interesting as the week continues. 

 

Breathtaking!!!

 

Taken through the windshield so the blue is abit off due to the tint on the glass.

 

We were completely set up and Riley had started some lunch ( I was outside doing a few things) by 4 pm MDST. I called my dad to let him know we'd arrived, we chatted for about 25 minutes, about the freezing mark at his house, snowy and blustery but not really accumulating on the ground. 

 

Imagine being a cowboy on a horse crossing this land...

Sand dunes, this is what I expected the desert to look like....

 

Lunch was a chicken stir fry, Riley did a fantastic job. Thanks Riley. You've been cooking quite a bit lately, and I appreciate it very much. 

 

Hard to beat this kind of view....

 

 

 

Can you see the heart on top of the mountain? Looks like it has veins too... (again taken thru the tint on the window)

 

After that we both settled down, me to edit pictures and Riley to play her game. Don't ask me what game but she plays it a fair amount, I know this because she talks to it and I'm pretty certain like a child it doesn't listen very well. She continues to talk and of course, it continues to ignore her. So I'm not sure why she enjoys it but she seems to. 

 

Some view isn't it? We drove that road in the middle of the picture just a few minutes before this was taken.

It's hard to describe these kinds of views, don't you think?

 

So there you have it, our last travel day for a few days. A few fun facts for those that care, and for me to remember some day. The highest elevation we reached was just under 6000 feet, we passed through the Gaudalope Mountain Range today, the temps on our drive ranged from 50F/10C to 65F/18C today. We are currently sitting at about 3200 feet and are approx 10 miles/16 km from the Texas state line, and approx the same distance from the Carlsbad Caverns National Park near Whites City. We are approx 40 miles southwest of Carlsbad, NM. NOTE TO SELF ABOUT ROADS: The roads today were poor to good to very good. Some of the interstate needs some attention, while I didn't find any holes I did find lots of worn pavement that has worn down to the previous pavement. Other places were good, but you can tell where the construction has been as they didn't fill the rumble strips very well and it makes you wonder about the tires for the first little while. The mountain incline roads were pretty steep for the most part, the declines were also pretty steep in places and more gradual in other places. Again picnic and scenic views were part way up and one would have to start uphill from a full stop. Overall, a road I would take again, a route I would take again. 

 

Isn't it amazing how such very different rock forms can be found so close together? 

 

Wonder how old some of these are, and what stories they have to tell.

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit and I appreciate the time you spent with us today. Feel free to leave a line if you feel so inclined. I will answer each one. I hope you've had a good day doing whatever it is that kept you busy. 

 

Imagine looking for cattle in those thickets...

 

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

 

 

Goodnight from A long and lonesome highway.....

 

Deb 

 

 

 

 

Cleaner windows, lazy afternoon, and an almost univited visitor.......

Our Location: Elephant Butte State Park, Elephant Butte, NM

A nice night for sleeping things were a wee bit cool this morning inside the Igloo but it warmed up quickly as we opened the night shades allowing the sun shine to heat us thru the windows. With vents open last night we had a nice occasional breeze, as the night turned into morning the breeze felt more chilly than warm. ~laugh~ A shirt over our t-shirts and we were good to go.

Mr. Road Runner was hoping for an invitation to come inside.

This morning right after breakfast I headed outside to remove the BlueBoy from the ladder and to remove the step ladder as well. Have you guessed it yet? Yes I managed to clean the outside of the windows this morning. Of course it didn’t take long, after all how long can it take to clean 9 windows the size of a postage stamp? 

Next he checked out what I was cooking on the BBQ.

I then brought the big step ladder inside so I could clean the ceiling vents, the A/C filter and the ceiling lights. I will admit I didn’t clean the two vents in my end of the Igloo, my bedroom and bathroom vents will be left for another time but at least it’s a start. I will also clean the inside of the windows another day. By the time I had replaced the step ladder and BlueBoy to the Igloo’s ladder I was feeling as if I had accomplished enough for one day. The morning was passing quickly it was already pushing 11 am. Riley vacuumed our humble little Igloo and washed the kitchen floor, straightened up a bit and we both figured that was enough for one day. Don’t do everything today ‘cause then we’ll have nothing left for tomorrow. ~laugh~ 

The afternoon sun casts different shadows on the mountains in the east.

I’m keeping well hydrated but still felt a bit off this morning even before I was outside cleaning the windows. My sugar was fine and so I wonder if it has something to do with the increase in medication. I’ll have to keep an eye on that.  

See the various shadows? 

After reading for about an hour I headed inside to start prepping lunch. Again we have our green salad but today we added a squirt of orange zest/juice to it, just a bit. Gave it a wonderful hint of something tantalizing sweet. Of course our salads vary from day to day with ingredients. We enjoy trying new things in our salads as it keeps them from being boring. We’ve changed from green onions to sweet white onions and that also gives it a nice change of flavour. 

My Weber and the wind block.

Once again we had mixed veggies on the side. Mushrooms, green beans, spaghetti squash, carrots, celery, asparagus, red and yellow peppers, along with a hint of orange. We enjoy these mixed veggies and often times change them up as well. Adding different spices and different vegetables too. We toss the packet on the Weber on low for about 25 minutes or until it’s soft (depends on the type of veggie you put in there) and then just enjoy!!

My green salad.  I added home made Thousand Island's dressing on top of this.

Today we also added some turkey dogs to the menu. We don’t use regular bread buns, we use wraps instead. I find there is too much ‘bun’ for me to enjoy. Of course I like to load up my wrap from time with tomatoes, cheese, onions, relish, etc. However today was a plain jane type day so it was a simple almost naked turkey dog, a little cheese, relish, and mustard. ~laugh~ I made two but couldn’t eat the second one, however Riley enjoyed it. ~laugh~ 

Could only eat one of those turkey dogs. 

I’m glad I was able to make a wind breaker for the Weber. It works great the few times we’ve used it. I used all recycled material for it, except the paint. ~laugh~ The rack from a big bbq, a small piece of sheet metal, and a couple pieces of wood for the feet. Add a string of fine wire to hold the metal to the rack and there you have it. The feet come off, the metal comes off and I have three flat pieces of things to store.  Dad laughed at my invention but it works and that’s all I care about. ~laugh~ The wind has picked up steadily from this morning and the gusts are now big enough to rock the Igloo a bit but due to the angle it doesn’t seem to be bothering the toppers on the slides. 

A different set of shadows on the mountain now.

We opted to stay home this afternoon instead of taking our walk. We both think perhaps a day of rest is a good thing.

The beginning of our sunset tonight.

We had a visitor again today. Mr. Road Runner was at the bottom of the step waiting for someone to open the door and invite him in. ~laugh~ He was just waiting there as I was at the picnic table bbq’ing lunch. He seemed put out that I dared to take his picture. He hopped up on the wall near the BBQ and gave me the ‘eye’ before he strolled off into the bushes. He’s a brave little guy!!

Then things turned almost a rust colour.

Enjoyed my book for a while this afternoon, put some tent pegs into the ground to hold the outer edges of the carpet in this wind, even managed to do a little tidy up in the outside cubbie. 

And then they started showing some yellow again.

I wrote a bit this afternoon, edited some pictures and basically just goofed off until it was time to catch the sunset. Not much of a show today but it was still pretty to see first hand. The pictures just don't pick up the intensity of the colours. 

At the end it was dark reds that took over.

The campground loop is full tonight, only the two handicapped spots are empty. It's an amazing collection of 'campers', a small red car, a truck camper, a couple of vans,  numerous motorhomes, travel trailers and 5th wheels of all different sizes, shapes and vintages. A huge diesel pusher pulled in a few hours ago to take up what I think is the last spot. 

One more glimpse of the different shadows.

We're enjoying the weather here, it reached 81F/27.2 C this afternoon. It was hot in the sun but nice in the shade. So I alternated from one to the other occasionally. 

A somewhat productive morning, a bit of a lazy afternoon but that's how we like it. Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to leave a comment.

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

A litlte productive, a quick visitor, and feeling welcome....

Our Location: Elephant Butte State Park, Elephant Butte, NM

This morning dawned wonderfully warm, since we had closed all the vents and left a couple of windows open just a bit. The amazing blue skies and fabulous sunshine certainly are the best way to start any day. 

Dryers, whole wall of 'em.

Sorry for the fuzzy pic, washers at the T or C laundry.

We had big plans for today, lots of things we wanted to get accomplished. We made an excellent start at least. ~laugh~ 

Not sure what these are but they are very abundant heading toward the lake.

The list went something like this: change of linens as we knew we were going to do laundry for certain. My list also included a good sprucing  up of the inside of the Igloo and the windows are looking more like films of dust than panes of glass. The beetles and flies have been hard on them as well, they definitely need attention. We also wanted to go to the bank in T or C to get some cash. On top of that was of course regular things such as cooking lunch, and getting a walk in as well. 

Walking down to the water of the Rio Grande.

So you see we had good intentions, good plans, and a long list. We did get the linen's changed and the laundry sorted. The Dogsled was eager to get going this morning and so off we went to T or C with me holding him back to keep him from getting us into trouble. Guess what? We managed to get the laundry washed, dried and sorted in just a bit over 2 hours. The nice little laundromat is connected to the U-Haul building, very clean, very reasonably priced and lots of front load washers and plenty of dryers. The big machines are $6.50 for a cold water wash. The medium size machines are $3.50 a load, and the smaller washers are $3.00 per load. Dryer costs are 7 minutes for $0.25, or if like us you use the bigger dryers, it's 40 minutes for $2.00. More than enough time to dry the entire load with no damp corners at all. 

A closer look at the Rio Grande.

From there we headed to the Walmart for a couple of little things that we needed, having forgotten them yesterday. We found the few things we wanted, paid and left the building. We headed home. Of course the bank is in T or C not at home. Hmm...oh well, we'll catch it another time. 

Pretty isn't it?

Unloaded the Dogsled, brought our groceries and laundry inside, put them all away and started to make lunch. Now as you know the kitchens in these rigs aren't very big so it's usually a one person job, while the other person sits around and watches. ~laugh~ Today I was head prep chef and Riley got to laze around.

Our green salad

A nice green salad, orange zest mixed veggies (mushroom, sweet white onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery, peppers, green beans, asparagus, and spaghetti squash), garlic dill potatoes, and turkey burgers on English muffins. I'm still full. 

My potatoes always come from the bottom of the packet, and they almost always need to be pulled off the foil.

We enjoyed our salads while the rest of lunch was cooking. Sitting in the shade reading our books was an excellent way to pass the time. We were eating lunch just before 3 pm inside with a nice breeze coming in the window.  Time to clean up after lunch and one would think now would be the perfect time to get those other chores accomplished, right? Wrong. As of the writing of this post they still aren't even started. Instead we took a very long walk down to the water of the Rio Grande and made a circle by taking the other road back home. Very nice walk, not too hard walking as most of the way was packed well with just a little bit of loose sand closer to the beach. 

Rock art on the walking path

We didn't know you could dry camp down at the beach. I wouldn't do that because I'd worry about getting stuck in all that sand, but it would be an amazing spot to park. We noticed at least one tent, two vans, and one travel trailer  in various locations on the beach. No hook ups of course but some johnny's were evident for their use. 

A tree along the walking path

So after our walk I was too tired to work and decided it was time to start my blog. Now I know some of you would get to work when you finished writing and get those chores accomplished but I'm lazy. ~laugh~ I'm going outside in a few minutes to catch the sunset and then I'll work some more on this post. I will not be doing chores tonight, I assure you!!!

Taken tonight while watching the sun set off to the right of this tree.

So we've pushed our 'to do' list back a bit, but not to worry, we'll get them finished tomorrow. Really, we will. I see you aren't convinced but you will be. ~laugh~ And if we don't get them finished tomorrow, well there is always Saturday, right? ~laugh~ 

The temps reached about 80F /26.6C today. A nice cooling breeze kept things perfect. I'm telling ya folks, I could get used to this weather. ~laugh~ It wouldn't be hard at all. I'm already thinking...when I come back next year....~laugh~ 

We did talk to a fella (we were both looking at the RV goodies in Walmart) today that has a house in Albuquerque, and another here in Elephant Butte, only two hours between the two of them. He also has a motorhome, that he said they were taking to Tuscon tomorrow for some party with some friends. He gave us a few ideas of things to see, complimented us on our 'gutsy nerve' in doing this kind of adventure by ourselves, and told us to come back often! You just have to love folks, always helpful and interesting to talk to as well. 

  The sunset was less than spectacular but still nice. In a different part of the sky tonight as well. I can tell you I will never tire of the sunsets out here. 

Back inside I returned a call to my best friend Linda. We chatted for a half hour or so and then said our good byes. Always enjoy chatting with her, she's truly a gem!! I'm fortunate to have such a wonderful woman to call my best friend. 

Now it's time to finish this post and get to bed early tonight. I'm tired. Not sure why but I'm truly weary. The time zones are playing havoc with me and waking up at 4 am MST is fine, except I don't go to bed until 10:30 MST either, which means I'm not getting enough time with the sand man. I may have to resort to an afternoon nap one of these days. ~laugh~ 

A quick note to add. Today we had a visitor, Mr. Road Runner walked casually past the tree in our front yard, up our little driveway and was heading for the open front cubbie door when Riley drew my attention to him. He didn't seem one bit concerned that we were sitting less than 10 feet away. When I moved my feet he sauntered slowly off while still strutting his stuff. This guy was bold. ~laugh~ I've always had the impression they were kind of elusive and hard to catch for photo's. This guy must be a model or something. ~laugh~ He seems to love his picture being taken. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you've had an excellent day where ever you may be. Feel free to leave a comment. 

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