Author: livingthedreamwithsallyandvic

Also called Valley of Fires. We are in high desert country. 19 sites, all pull off with a picnic table and grill and lots of room between sites. There are bath houses or restrooms sprinkled here and there. The nights are cold and the days are high 70’s. This is a boondocker’s paradise. We stayed home today partly to adjust to the altitude and partly to catch up on camper chores.

Vic went out and got some landscape shots.

I took Zoe on a walk/hike.

Then she took another walk with Vic while the vacuum was running. They both hate the noise.

Tomorrow we are going to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. The birding is supposed to be great. Somebody posted that they had seen 70 species two days ago. We’ll see…

We got here at 11 am, it’s only 75-80 miles from Holloman AFB. Cooler temperatures with gusty winds. A welcome difference from the desert! We have site #1, no hookup and the view is amazing. This area is also called Valley of Fire because if the lava rocks. It’s a gorgeous place.

Phone pictures are so inadequate, sigh.

We are going to Bosque del Apache tomorrow. It’s an hour from here. From postings on the internet there is water this year and lots of birds.

We stayed overnight in Stonewall, TX at a winery called Blumont. There were many vineyards, one after another, in that area. So many you can take a bus tour and stop for a tasting at each one.

We didn’t go there to do that lol. We visited my dear friends Margo and Davey, married 40 years and lived in their house for 22. Margo and I go west back to 1975, we worked together and had babies in 1976. We had the perfect day with them, enjoying a chance to reconnect, feasting on first Margo’s banana bread (😋) and later on a Mexican spread. Their daughter Stephanie and two of her handsome sons came by and we got to meet and be charmed by Lily, their daughter’s child that they have adopted and are raising. The tragedy of addiction touches so many families in this country. Lily’s mom overdosed a few years ago, after trying to get sober time and again but sadly she could not stay sober.

I brought some quilts and gifted several of them.

Lily and Stephanie with their quilts

Margo and Davey have a beautiful home but the upkeep is starting to be a burden. They would like to downsize and move to St. Augustine, FL. Vic and I can’t wait for that to happen! We would love to spend more time with everyone, we love the whole family.

We left Stonewall TX this morning about 8 am and now have set up in an RV park ($25/night) with a nice dog park, just for one night (Fort Stockton, TX). Tomorrow we go to Alamogordo, NM.

This is my least favorite military base. It’s depressing looking the way they have abandoned buildings and just left them to rot in the weeds. Check in was a mess. The check in area has moved but the signs for the previous location are still up. When we did find it, it’s tucked away inside the tire and oil change building. So you are trying to have a conversation with the clerk while drills and compressors are making noise.

Regular street signs on base are either not there or so old, dirty and faded you can barely read them. Our pull through site was really a back in. We drove over huge ruts and holes in order to pull in.

The commissary was poorly stocked, I could not find a couple of things I wanted. The dog park is all right. However the grass everywhere has viciously sharp burrs so I am constantly removing them from Zoe.

It’s all part of the adventure but I’m sure glad we are moving on soon. we’ll stay one more day and try some more birding then on to Austin to see my friend Margo that I have known almost 50 years. Good grief that’s a long time!

Last post should have been titled Houston.

Now we are in Lackland AFB, Texas.

From Houston (which is now dead to me) we had a miserable day on the road. A 2-1/2 hr trip was almost 6. Traffic was awful. After crawling along for at least an hour we got detoured off the highway onto a terrible road with lots of potholes. We were very glad we had beefed up the suspension in the truck and the camper both. Finally we got here and that same night severe thunderstorms rolled through. Fortunately we were in between two of them and although it looked very scary both storms missed us. Whew!!!

We met Chuck, 65 yo and single. He’s retired army, flew choppers. He showed us the inside, it is very cleverly organized. He’s got hot water on demand, roomy sleeping area plus a tent on top. Things fold out and up and down like a Swiss Army knife. We love this guy, great conversationalist. From him we found out about a Wee Boost, an antenna that brings in a cell signal when you are out in the middle of nowhere. Vic called the guy he used and set up installation tomorrow.

On Tuesday we are going to Corpus Christi. My friend Margo told us the birding there is amazing. We want to see Riverwalk but the logistics are problematic so we’ll see if that happens.

Somehow these photos got overlooked. Vic took these at Rutherford Beach in LA.

We were told, and it was true, the sand was so hard packed campers could park on it. Lots of birds. Many campers. We did not camp on it. I have no interest in doing that. Can you imagine sand everywhere inside? Yuck.

Back at White Oak campground in LA I got this Pileated Woodpecker.

This place is a gravel one way road in a big loop. We nicknamed it Gators and Gallinules because we saw so much of each. Purple Gallinules everywhere! We were the only ones there!! One car came up behind us, it was an employee late to work. We went around several times. I rode in the back of the truck sitting on the toolbox. Just an awesome place. Thats where we got this stunner. I know I posted this one previously, it’s worth a second look. Hope you see this on a big screen. This is one of my best shots ever.

This is a wooded area with walking trails. No pets allowed but Zoe went anyways. Hardly anyone there. We took turns holding the leash and using the camera. It’s a migratory bird route. You could hear the ocean waves crashing just beyond sand dunes and some houses. An open field bordered another side.

We rode the Creole Trail in Cameron Parish in SW Louisiana. We visited Peveto Woods Sanctuary, Holly Beach, Rutherford Beach, and Pintail Wildlife Drive. We even took a ferry! We had so much fun! Vic did all the driving 10 hours worth. We left at 7 this morning and got back at 5. Zoe was exhausted until she found out there was a dog named Scruffy near us and they played together chasing each other around.

I have to say again what an awesome campground this is. As you know we don’t stay in campgrounds. At our last stop Vic talked to someone who had just been here and who was also a birder so it was just luck we knew to come here. The place is spotless, the grass is kept mowed and the camp host comes around in his golf cart every afternoon to check if everything is all right. Besides all the amenities I mentioned yesterday there is a playground, also pristine. And a gazebo with a wooden glider. We can’t get over the $12/night price. We wish we could show this place to Sid haha.

We have soooo many pictures to share. This one made us both gasp. More to follow!

St Charles, LA

This is a hidden gem. Spaces are generous (there are only 12), with a fire pit, a grill, a picnic table, and a trash can. A generous grassy area on either side of the parking pad. Oh, and all sites are pull through! What!! Also there’s a boat launch. Guess how much? $12/night. We don’t need/want a hookup but the price is unbelievable. We plan to drive through Creole Trail tomorrow and then move to Rutherford Beach LA and staying there a few days. The beach is hard packed and supposedly we can camp on it and the birding in that area is amazing.