We walked part of the town this morning and met Jake and Ramona, owners of several businesses. Ramona grew up here when her family moved here in 1973 and bought the grocery store. She makes jewelry and is the county commissioner. She also hunts game with a bow and arrow. An interesting woman.
We are on top of a mountain at about 8,000 ft and have 360 views. Here are some views.
May 15: From Bosque del Apache we drove about 2 hours to Santa Fe. We set up on the grounds of Elks Lodge #460, about 10 min from downtown. We grocery shopped at Smith’s and that was about it. Diesel was $4.49.
Vic was still getting over altitude sickness so we didn’t go into town. Luckily for me I was there several years ago with Geri and Charlotte. I would have enjoyed seeing it again and have to admit I was disappointed but that’s the way it goes.
Antonito, Colorado
Yesterday we came to Canon Bonito RV Park and Fisherman’s Club. What a gem this place is. Huge lots spaced far apart. Green leafed out trees everywhere. It’s popular with fishermen but the season starts after Memorial Day so it’s pretty quiet.
We decided to ride around and see the area. We saw a lot of broken down and abandoned buildings. The town has a post office, a police station, a social services center, 2 restaurants (both Mexican-American food) and 3 marijuana dispensaries. Remember marijuana is legal here. Half the buildings on Main St are boarded up. I don’t know how these people are surviving.
We picked up dinner from one of the restaurants. It was the best quesadillas I ever had. Go figure.
Today we go to Creede, Colorado.
There were too many photos to include them all on the last post. Here are the rest.
We were looking for diesel yesterday afternoon. Vic says this really is a one horse town. There is one gas station and it does not have diesel. We had to drive to the next town Socorro where diesel was $3.99 and regular was $3.59.
This is a chapel in this town, San Antonio, NM.
OK, I know I promised birds. We have lots of birds and some other animals too. Here we go!
The Gambel’s Quail don’t fly well, instead they scurry around so fast they may as well fly.
It’s hard to get close to these creatures but if you’ll forgive the phone video …
This wildlife refuge is only an hour from Valley of Fire so we had an easy drive. An older couple has been here a while (we think they live here), long enough to set out some bird seed blocks next to a little tree providing shade. Vic got very excited when he realized the set up and how many birds were coming in for food. He positioned the truck where he could take pictures without disturbing the birds and sat out there for an hour shooting.
Yesterday (May 13) was World Migratory Bird Day and we are in an ideal place to participate. Thank you Linda Tokarz for the tip!
This post is desert animals and flowers.
While we were in Lackland AFB and met Chuck, we learned about Weboost. It’s an antenna for increased internet and phone signal. It sure came in handy yesterday. We had a thunderstorm, not a very bad one but it knocked out our reception until Vic put the Weboost up.
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.
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