4/7/2009 Tuesday Cochiti Lake, NM

Wonderful day weather wise, was in the 70's.

We went and dumped tanks and cleaned them. Also got water. Came back to site and I cleaned the motor home. Al checked the oil, broke down the fishing poles and groomed the dogs.. Then we took showers.

Had supper which consisted of oatmeal, cinnamon, raisins, walnuts and soy milk.

I have some recollections that I had forgotten to put in other blogs. We have seen several signs that indicate elk crossing. I wanted to see an elk so bad that I would look into the forest and see dry branches on trees and thought they were antlers.

Another man told me that a few years ago, they introduced some type of deer to this area from Africa. They brought in 50 males and 50 females. They let them multiply so they could open up hunting for them. He said that he was able to bag one and got 250 pounds of meat from one. He said it tasted like beef but I don't know if people here know what good beef tastes like.

We saw road kill of armadillo, wild boar, rattlesnake and burro.

On the news tonight, they had to euthanize over 600 roosters that had been found in a raid where they were using them for fights. They were not suited for food because they had received medication from Mexico.

Gov Richardson just signed a bill to overthrow the death penalty. He said that he really felt the death penalty was proper but in the last few years, there 2 men on death row that had been found to be innocent and he wanted to err on the side of right. Now there are commercials by law enforcement personnel who want the death penalty reinstated because they say it makes it safer for them.

4/6/2009 Monday Cochiti Lake, NM $12.00 for 2 more nights rv site

Well, we went fishing again today but no bites. That is 4th day of fishing without one bite. We used salmon eggs, worms and power bait. Even though our fishing license is good for tomorrow yet, we are going to give it up. Al talked to a man today who said he thinks the pike have eaten the game fish. He said that he used to come here all the time with his Dad and they never caught any fish. As we were leaving, 2 men and a woman came to fish. I didn't see the woman, but one man was Indian with no teeth and long hair. The other man looked like a skinny Gabby Hayes. To hear them from a distance, they sounded like Cheech and Chong. The Indian man asked me if I had any luck fishing and I told him, "No, but you know what they say, a bad day fishing is better than most other days". He said, "I don't know, I would rather make love". Al thought they were smoking peyote. They were carrying around a small canister of something.

By the way, I understand that the elder George Bush said that God did not deduct time spent fishing from a man's life. I don't think that is true but it is a nice way to put the attitude of anyone who likes to fish.

It was a beautiful day here. No wind, very warm. I actually got some sun. The weather is suppose to be good again tomorrow and then the wind comes again. I guess the wind is normal here for Spring. Then after the wind, we are suppose to get bad weather that is entering California now. So I don't know how we will be when we move on Wednesday. I think we are going to higher elevation. It is just south of Taos and they have ski resorts there. They are even forecasting some ligtt snow for the mountains. Tomorrow will be a work day for us. Have to do maintenance sometime and I will work on my drawing if there is any spare time.

4/5/2009 Sunday Cochiti Lake, NM

A good day. No wind, a little cold but OK.

Went fishing for 3 hours and not a bite. Lots of people trying their luck so there must be fish in there but they are not biting.
I checked out the state fishing book last night and it didn't say anything about not using corn for bait and I even tried that.

Came back and Al had his bi-monthly beans, chile and rice and rice and he took a nap.

4/4/2009 Saturday Chochiti Lake, New Mexico

High of 51 here today and very windy. There was wind damage in Albuquerque, but lots of RVs out here. It is so pretty here. One side of park faces the mountains and the other side faces the lake.

We mostly stayed inside today. Fixed beans, green chile and Spanish rice because Al likes that combination fixed for him about twice a month. Started my drawing, but got interrupted. Started my Bible study but got interrupted.

Weather is not good in Sioux City or Denver.

Don't know when we will leave here. Want to go to Olle Verde National Recreation Area next. It is by Taos which is 6900 ft and weather is not very good yet. However the recreation area is in the Rio Grande Valley so I am confused about how the weather will be.

I guess we will know when the time is right.

4/3/2009 Friday Cochiti Lake, NM $24.00 for 4 nights lot

We have been gone for a month now.

The pictures of me getting ready to go fishing. Al likes to take my picture and I don't like to have my picture taken. Then there are 3 pictures of us at the lake. The first picture is of our sky tonight because the storm was going north of us.



I am very disappointed with this state's fishing. When we bought our license, I picked up a brochure about fishing regulations for the state and found that here is a large amount of mercury in most of the fish. Only the rainbow trout seem to be safe, I guess because they are usually in running water. This lake has walleye, but it says that we should only eat 1/2 of one per month to keep from getting too much mercury. I wouldn't have bought the license if I had known that. But since we had the license, we decided to fish and catch and release (if we caught any).
We went down for 3 hours and didn't even have a bite. There were several others that came to fish also but they weren't getting any bites either. It was pretty windy here today. The low and storm is north of us but the jet stream goes over us. We have had lots of wind in New Mexico. It is sometimes a steady wind of 30 to 40 miles per hour and guests up to 50mp and 60mp and a rare 70mph so it is not pleasant to be outside.

One good thing about this lake, is that boaters are not allowed to make waves, they have to run the motors at idle. It is pretty and I can't get down to where I really want to fish because there is construction going on here. But it is where the Rio Grande goes into the lake.

I began to want info about this mercury so I called my son, Bob, who usually knows a little bit about everything. He said that we needed to stay away from any mercury, especially with Al already having liver problems. He said that he suspected it came from mining operations. I checked it out tonight on the internet and it says the biggest cause of mercury in the lakes is from power plants. Even Colorado has started putting out fishing advisories for some of it's waters. Also Wyoming. May have to give up fishing.

Also, just appalled that Iowa has allowed same sex marriage. It was on national news tonite that a state in the "heartland" has ok'd same sex marriage. It just amazes me that judges can make such a decision without the people having a vote. I am with Steve King that we better make our residency requirements more strict or all the homosexuals will move to Iowa so they can be married here.

4/2/2009 Thursday Datil to Cochiti Lake,N of Albuquerque,NM $13 propane, $26 gas, $20 dennys, $9 batteries, $114 walmart

Survived the 17 degree night very well. Al knows how to make a warm bed. Blanket on bottom and 2 blankets on top, tucked around on all sides. Pillow against outside wall to keep out cold. I wore a long sleeve thermal undershirt, a sweatshirt, sweatpants and tube construction socks over anklets.

Woke up to a light covering of snow. We wish we had taken a picture of the many pinion trees with snow just on the tips of each branch.

I have decided that I need to take up trying to draw scenery. I have been inspired by the all the scenery that I have seen. These mountains are usually dark with a haze over them which I guess is where the state gets its name "Land of Enchantment".

We drove 60 miles to Socorro. Al bought diesel for $2.17, previously we had paid $2.11 but are not back in territory where the diesel is $1.99. He fills up the tank when it gets down to 3/4 full because he is afraid we will get out in the "toolies" so much that we can't find diesel. There was a Smith grocery store next to gas station and I had heard that they had good, reasonable produce. I find Walmarts to be high. Well this store was high also. Then we went to Denny's and had breakfast (at noon). Then we went to Dollar General and bought batteries for my radio and his metal detector.

We drove another 50 miles to Albuquerque, NM. Our intentions was to have a certified Suburban furnace center to check out our furnace because it is less than 2 years old and still under warranty. Well, this was Camping World, and after much ado of finding the place even with the GPS, we found they wanted $80.00 to do "diagnostics" and then if they had to pull the furnace to get to the circuit board, it was another $100.00. Warranty, if the problem was covered by warranty, would only pay a part of all this labor and Al said, "No, thank you".

We then went to Walmart to get supplies. Seems like we do that allot but we don't have allot of storage and like fresh produce so we do go often. By the way, our refrigerator is wonderful, much better than the one we had in our Fleetwood. The 2 drawbacks to our motorhome for me is that I don't have a table and I love to sit at a table. Gave up my table so Al could have his recliner for his comfort with his arthritis. I would rather sit at a table than in a living room. Then our bed only has a small space to enter and leave but it has to be that way to have a small motorhome. We are getting a method to deal with this and do pretty good.

We also bought our fishing license. Out of state license was $34.00 for 5 days for each of us. While buying a license, I noticed that one could also buy a license for bear or cougar hunting.

Then we drove another 40 miles to Cochiti Lake north of Albuquerque. It is a Corp of Engineers campground because the Rio Grande goes into this lake and it is dammed up. Fees for here was $12.00 per night but with our wonderful Golden Age Passport it is only $6.00. I think I have this card figured out. Since it is a federal thing, any Bureau of Land Management area or Corp of Engineers or National forest, we get 1/2 price. Without elec, it is usually free. However, the places are usually called National Recreation Areas, sometimes with a description in the name also such Valley of the Fires, Datil Wells and our next place will be Olle Verda near Taos.

We went through allot of Indian Reservations in this drive and each reservation has a casino. I guess they have free parking also but I am not particularly interested in them.

When entering this area, there is a sign about rattlesnakes in the area. It tells us that this is their land also and we need to just ignore them and they will leave us alone.

4/1/2009 Wednesday Datil Wells National Recreation Area

It has been a cloudy, cold, windy day here.

Al and I started on a 2 mile hike this AM. We were dressed very warm. It didn't last very long as we were winded by the altitude. It is about 7500 feet here. My hands got cold fast. We gave it up.

So now I didn't find the springs at Aguirre Springs, didn't buy my southwestern jewelery at Silver City or see the wells at Datil Wells.
Oh well, I guess some things are not meant to be. I am grateful for all the things that I do get to do.

I worked on paying bills because it is the first of the month and wrote out some postcards, got a list of to do things when we reach Albuquerque tomorrow or the next day. Also lined up the prescriptions that I have to order and have them delivered to Debbie's house so they will be there when we get there. Al took a nap and did some odds and ends.

Then around supper time, I saw snow. We have a dusting of snow and it suppose to be 17 degrees here tonite. Our furnace doesn't work and we are low on propane. But Al starts the generator and puts on the electric space heater. Cooking supper also warmed up the motor home. We wear allot of thermals to bed and have lots of warm blankets.

I worry about a lady here in campground. She is living in a van. She was originally from Dubuque, Iowa. Then lived for some time in this area. She said that a couple of years ago, she felt like moving so she purchased 2 acres in Arkansas with a house. She said the humidity was so bad in that area, then there were tornadoes, then hurricane remnants from the Gulf, then last January there was an ice storm which gave her 2 acres of broken trees. She said she couldn't stand it any more and just left Arkansas and listed her house with a realtor and it hasn't sold. She is living in van in this area until her property sells. She has all gray hair and I think she said she was 70 years old. Al and I also question whether there is some mental illness with her.

It is amazing the people who live in these RVs and are not retired. It is their way of life, I guess because it is cheaper and they do not have the responsibilities of a home. I could see it if their job moves them around allot like construction or something but I would not have wanted to do it before retirement.

3/31/2009 Tuesday Silver City,NM to Datil,NM $12.00 groceries. $5.00 campground

We left parking lot of Walmart in Silver City today without eating breakfast because we wanted driving time before the winds came up.

Ended up driving 160 miles to Datil, NM with no wind and stopped once for lunch. It was a very scenic drive on a good highway through canyons and the Sacramento Mountains.

I thought Datil was a town but it appears that it is just 1 store with gas station and cafe and not much else. We have 1/2 tank of propane and wanted to buy some but even that is not available.

We then drive a very short distance to a BLM land that is the Datil Well Campground. I understand Datil Wells were a series of wells used to water cattle on cattle drives many years ago. We will search them out tomorrow. I hope I find them. I never found the springs in Aguirre Springs Recreations Center. The cost is $5.00 per night but with Golden age passport, it is 1/2 price so we paid $5.00 for 2 nights. No hookups. The elevation is about 7500 ft and there is sign in Datil that. Wolves-Keep your children and pets close.

There MANY pinion trees and Al got excited because he wanted to pick pinion nuts and it is legal to pick up to 25 pounds of them but he got discouraged very early because it is tedious to stand and pick these small nuts off the trees. Then they have to be soaked and washed. I didn't know it but they are the same as pine nuts that are available in stores as health food.

Maybe cold tonite because of elevation and our furnace still doesn't work but we have managed to keep warm.

3/30/2009 Monday Gila National Forest to Silver City, NM $83.00 Walmart

We drove the highway from Lower Scorpion Campground in Gila National Forest to Silver City for a total of 68 miles. 43 of these miles are mountain highways with no shoulder and there is a sign that one is to expect to take 2 hours to drive the 43 miles because of the 15 and 25mph curves. It is VERY windy, so we stop about noon at the Walmart lot in Silver City. Al has made a list of things to do in motor home and needs some supplies so we purchase at Walmart and spend the night there. Watching forecast about winds for next day and checking NOAA website. It seems to us that in the next AM, the winds will be minimal but may increase in afternoon. So we plan to drive a little further tomorrow and quit again if winds are bad. Today they were 30 to 35mph with gusts of 50 and 60mph.

3/29/2009 Sunday Gila Cliff Dwellings $50.00 souvenoirs, $6.00 entry to Gila Cliff Dwellings

We left campground and finally found "Doc's". He tells us that the new fishing license season starts 4/1 so he can sell us a 1 day license for $22.00 or a 5 day license for $35.00 but the license will only be good for 3 days from the 29th to the 31st. While we were shopping around for souveniors, he left and the lady helping us said the fishing wasn't any good now anyway. Maybe only catfish and they would be good because the water was so clean this time of year but we decided fishing was out for now.

We continued on up this road and finally arrived at Gila Cliff Dwellings. We have crossed the Continental Divide at 6500 ft and stopped at scenic overlook at 7400 ft. Beautiful mountains.

When we get to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, we find that we have to follow a trail that is 1 mile in length and parts of it are pretty steep. The volunteer said that we could 1/4 mile to photo op place and decide if we wanted to continue as it got steep after that.

We did OK until the photo op place. Then the concrete steps were so high that I could get my feet on them but didn't have enough strength in my legs to lift myself up. So I fell twice going UP the mountain. I can't understand how it is possible to fall going up the mountain.
There were benches along the way to rest. Al may have arthritis in his joints and have pain but his legs are certainly stronger than mine. He tells me that I would do better if I lost weight but he weighs the same as me and is about the same height. When we got down, he said, "My honey isn't exactly clumsy but she sure has trouble with some things." I told him that I am very clumsy.

We also saw a sign that said that wolves had been introduced to this area.

We were glad we made the trip up to the dwellings but would not do it again.

We drove just a few miles down to Lower Scorpion campground in the Gila National Forest and spent a very peaceful night.

No cost, no hook-ups.

March 28, 2009 Saturday $30.00 Walmart, $25.00 gas, $5.00 ice cream cone, $5.00 worms, $5,00 campground

We left Pancho Villa State Park and headed to Deming. Saw a road runner bird when leaving the park.
Stopped at Walmart for supplies and started for Gila Cliff Dwellings.

Saw Black Canyon Reservoir and went in to check out possibly fishing. We stopped and asked someone about what fish were in there and what bait to use. He was very informative. Al said, "OK, we are going to get a fishing license and be back." He said, "When you get back, come and have a beer with us." We went to Mimbres to get a license but she didn't have any licenses to sell. So we headed on up.

Al had 2nd thoughts about fishing here because, one could park along the shore all night and there were some other RVs there. It seemed that every place we stopped, they were carrying out beer. He thought that since this was the week-end, there might be a big party there and he was curious of why these young guys wanted us to come back and have a beer with them.

Then we saw Lake Roberts and the desire to fish got stronger but we had no license. Stopped at another place to get a license and they didn't have one either. But they did tell us about fishing in the Gila River. He told us to go to the fork in the river and fishing was good there. He said the state had just stocked some Gila trout and they were big. He said that they were natural trout to this area and had been on the endangered species list. He said they are bronze with dark spots. They told us to drive farther up to "Doc's" and that he had licenses. So we continue on.

We are on mountain road where the speed limit is mostly 15 and 25mph because of the curves. It is paved but no shoulder.

We are now Gila National Forest. In just a short time, we have gone from the desert to the forest. We decide to stay in one of the campgrounds there. We see a man cleaning fish and another man carrying some fish. But the trout aren't very big. It is a Saturday so there are many families out here and cooking out. This campground was $5.00 with Golden Age Passport, no hook-ups.

There was a huge 40ft diesel motor home that came into campground. I could see the look in Al's eye. I said, "Why do you like those so much?" He said, "Oh, you know if we had lots of money or won the lottery, I would like one and then you could drive it." I said, "That is why you have what you have is because I drove the big one so much that I knew what I wanted in this one."

3/27/2009 Friday Pancho Villa State Park

Added pictures of Pancho Villa State Park. The plane was in museum because it was first plane used in military recon in 1916. The cactus aren't as pretty as usual because they have been through their "winter". I understand that they bloom in the Spring.

Took a walk today to the museum and shop here at the state park.

Watched a video about how this park came to be. The video was made in 1982 so some of the people in the video giving recollections of what happened had first hand knowledge.

From 1910 to 1920, Pancho Villa, not his actual name but a name he adopted after a priest, I think. Francisco Villa. Pancho's family had suffered severely under the present dictator of Mexico. Pancho was a born leader and ended up leading a revolution against this dictator for 10 years.

3/9/1916 Pancho Villa raided Columbus, NM. The reasons for this have never been defined. Some say the drugstore owner had been paid money to supply Villa's revolutionary forces guns and didn't deliver the guns. Some say the Germans instigated it to keep the US busy here instead of getting involved in WW1. Over a 100 Mexicans were killed. The drug store was burned down and other stores damaged. The bodies of the Mexicans were taken out of town and burned. There several prisoners taken. 3 were hanged and several were held in prison and then returned to Mexico. After this raid, President Woodrow Wilson ordered troops to Columbus and to cross into Mexico and kill Villa.

So US Cavalry, which became motorized for the first time in this conflict, came into Columbus by train car loads. They built a fort here and organized to go into Mexico. They chased Villa for 6 months and 500 miles into Mexico but never caught him. They were led by Gen "Black Jack" Pershing and a young George Patton. Both then went to fight in WW1. It was said that Villa could move faster than our Army with all their gear and protocol.

In this park, there are some old buildings left from the fort and a rock rack to drive a vehicle on to change the oil. Fuel for the new motorized cavalry was brought in by pack animal There is a 4wd vehicle and a touring car used by General Pershing and were made by Dodge. There is a replica of an airplane that also used for surveillance, the first in the history of warfare by the US, This was also the last battle fought on US soil.

Pancho Villa's 1st ?? wife lived until 1981 in Chihuahua, Mexico.

It became windy again this afternoon and suppose to get down to 35 tonight. We have a new electric space heater that we use in the evening and morning and lots of blankets at night. Our furnace still isn't working but I learned by reading the papers on it that it is guaranteed for 2 years so now I am going to find a service center for it. Hope there is one in Deming.

March 26, 2009 Thursday Las Cruces, NM to Pancho Villa State Parkk in Columbus, NM $18.00 Walmart, $17.00 gas $28.00 2 nights at state park $40.00 cig

We left Las Cruces, not as early as we expected to because I went back into Walmart to get a prescription filled. The staff there was not very efficient=45 minutes for a prescription. I tried to do it the day before but I was 5th in line and didn't want to wait.

We drove 17 miles e of Las Cruces because there was a state park there along a dam on the Rio Grande River. I now find that the state parks and recreation centers are also on my on my GPS. Even though Al still thinks he knows more than the lady talking to us on the GPS and other times, he says that it was well worth the money because she even tells us what lane to get into. If we make a wrong turn, she just says "recalculating" and gets us back on course. When we go to this state park, for some reason, Al didn't like the looks of it and wanted to go towards Demin,NM which is where we intended to go. Then we were going north into the mountains to the cliff dwellings. However, the forecast the night before and still is that the "cold front" is coming through after the winds. The high in Las Cruces for Friday will be 58 and that is their "cold front". So I put Deming,NM in the GPS and we drove back to Las Cruces. Along the way, we saw orchards of pecan trees. They haven't budded yet. Some of the orchards were flooded for irrigation. We saw a sign of 10 avacadoes for $2.00 They grow allot of green chile here also.

Before we got to Deming, I found another state park, 11 miles se of Deming so I put that in the GPS. It is called Rockhound State Park and suppose to be able to find agates, quartz and opal rocks there. But when we got there, it was full because some motor home club was meeting there. They had 1 dry camp space. But the camp host told us about another state park about 30 miles away and gave me the phone number. I called it and there were lots of spaces with elec and water for $14.00 a night. It is however on the border, Columbus, NM and Palomas, Mexico. I asked the host if it was safe and he said that he goes there all the time for dental work.

So we drove to Columbus,NM and got here about 2:30PM. The winds were starting to get bad. 40 and 50mph. This is a wonderful place. It is called Pancho Villa State Park. It is a historic park. I will find out more later but I guess Pancho Villa raided this area in March of 1916, 2 months before Al's mother was born. People lost their lives in the fight and there is a memorial here for them. There is a botanical garden and musuem and gift shop, playground, bath houses with showers. Lots of snowbirds here. One can only stay here for 14 days but we saw a RV park when coming into Columbus that charges $130.00 per month so we may journey down here next winter. It is a very small town. I don't think there is a Walmart here, but I will find out tomorrow. I know why the town in Mexico is called Palomas. There are doves everywhere.

We cleaned the motor home. The park had a power outage for several hours. The managers suspected the winds had done some damage. Again they don't move very fast here, hence the long outage.

March 25, 2009 Wednesday Aguirre Springs National Rec Center to Las Cruces $17.00 wash clothes, $25.00 haircut, $31.00 Walmart

What an exciting day!!

Al decided to "break camp" and continue on our journey. We drove the 17 miles from Aguirre Springs National Recreation Center to Las Cruces New Mexico.

We needed to find a laundromat to do our laundry. We found one on the right side of the street in a strip mall. However, there were signs on the door that I thought indicated that they were closed. We were along a 4 lane highway Hwy 70. Al and I had a heated debate on who was going to check out the signs on the door. I got mad and said, "I will do it." I opened the the motor home door to leave and Cisco darted out the door and anyone who knows when Cisco runs, it is impossible to retrieve him. He went up the strip mall about 1/2 block and then came back and darted across the 4 lane highway with cars in all 4 lanes, going 2 directions. I screamed because I knew that he would get hit by a car, but he didn't. He went into a parking lot for a fast food place. Some young girl came out with tidbits of bacon to try to help Al catch him. Then he crossed a 2 lane street that ran perpendicular with the highway. He circled and came back across the 2 lane street with Al and the young girl calling him and trying to get him to come to them. He paused for a time to eat some of the bacon from the girl but not close enough for them to get a hold of him. Within 5 minutes of this chase, there were 2 police cars and someone from animal control on the scene. The police actually stopped traffic on the 2 lane street so he wouldn't get hit. Now he comes back across the 4 lane highway dodging cars and they are slowing down so they don't hit him. He is again in the strip mall by the motor home. He again is eating the bacon tidbits and by this time, he is panting and his tongue is hanging out but he still won't come to any of us. Al then went and opened the motor home door and he jumped inside. I hugged the girl with the bacon and thanked her. The 2 police cars were there. Al told them that this was Cisco's first big city. One of the policeman said, "It was almost his last". Needless to say, we now put him on a leash inside the motor home when we are stopping and getting out of the motor home.

The laundromat was in fact closed. So we journeyed a little farther and found another one. I put clothes in washer and then in dryer. While they were drying, I went 2 doors down and got my hair cut. By the time I was done, the clothes were dry, but when I went to get in motor home, Al had placed the laundry bag full of clean clothes on the steps of motor home and I couldn't get in. While I had the door open, Keesha jumped out of motor home. Poor thing, she is so old and in serious heart failure and we question how good her sight and hearing are. Well she traveled along the curb of the 4 lane highway about 1/2 a block and then came back into the strip mall. She did come to Al when he called her. I think she was scared.

Then I got my Walmart atlas to find the address of Walmart and put the address in my GPS and we drove there and spent the night. I, of course, had to go shopping. Al made the bed with the clean bedding. We spent the night there. We watched the weather and found that the winds were suppose to be severe after 1PM the next day so we set the alarm for 8AM to get an early start for some place. We were not going to the Gila cliff dwellings as planned because they were expecting light snow there sometime in the next couple of days but we could drive to Deming, a distance of about 50 miles and stay someplace until the winds stopped and it gets a little warmer in the mountains.

3/24/2009 Tuesday Aguirre Springs National Rec Area,NM

Another one of those days of "feeling rough", lots of leg pain from my fall 2 weeks ago. But the weather was typical mountain air. Sun was shining and warm but breeze was cool. I spent quite allot of the day outside just soaking up the atmosphere. It is so quiet here that one can hear the quiet. Al wants to stay here until Friday and I guess we can. The batteries and propane and water are holding good. I am having Walmart withdrawals and don't like it that we don't have phone service. However, my internet works so I am keeping up with the rest of the world. Even watched O'Rielly and Rove commenting on Obama's speech tonight.

I was thinking today about Ft Stanton that we were at last Saturday. The brochure said that fort was still active. That was true. There was a prison there and and a drug rehab center and so most of it was closed to the public. But what I was thinking about was the cemetery that we saw there. There was a sign on it that said "Merchant Marine and Military Cemetery All visitors welcome. No metal detectors allowed." It looked like a very old cemetery with lots of white crosses. I wondered why Merchant Marine and aren't Merchant Marines considered military. If the cemetery was for military killed from the fort, how did the Merchant Marines get involved. Sooo I went back to the brochure and want to copy what the brochure states.

The 24,000 acre area is within the original historic Fort Stanton Military Reservation. The military reserve was carved out of the Mescalero Apache homelands in the 1850s. During these tumultuous times, the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 35th Infantry Buffalo Soldiers were sent to the New Mexico Territory to protect the settlers in the area. Historic Fort Stanton is one of the few intact frontier forts in the west. Many of the original fort buildings still stand. From 1855 through 1896, the Fort played host to some of the most colorful military units and personalities of the west, including the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry Buffalo Soldiers, Billy the Kid, Kit Carson and General "Black Jack" Pershing. The post was also a Merchant Marine hospital and tuberculosis sanatorium and a World War II prisoner of war camp.

I found this interesting and thought you would also.

3/23/2009 Monday Aguirre Springs National Rec Area

Such a windy day today. We just took a short walk. Wind would quiet down and then blow so hard that it would rock the motor home. Still haven't found the springs. Only good thing that I can say about today was that we ate good. Pork chop and eggs for breakfast and chicken stir fry (frozen) tonite.

3/22/2009 Sunday Alamogordo,NM to Aguirre Springs,NM

We left Alamogordo Walmart about 9:30 AM. Took hwy 70 towards Las Cruces,NM heading for Aguirre Springs National Recreation Area which is 13 miles east of Las Cruces. Going south on hwy 70 there is no turn off to left to get into this area so we went to Organ,NM. The town has this name because of a mountain near it called Organ which resembles the pipes to a pipe organ. Using the GPS, I found that it lists parks and it gave us direction to turn around in Organ and head north for 4 miles and then exit into this area. It was quite a trip from the highway to this recreation area. Books say that no rig longer than 22' should attempt to get here. It was thankfully a paved road no more than 10 feet wide and had 90 degree corners, speed limit was 15mph. On these corners, there is a rock wall on one side and a drop off on the other so I can see why only small rigs should come here. We ran over a snake on the road. Signs here state that rattlesnakes are a common hazzard while hiking. The signs advise no one should hike alone. There are no hook-ups and most sites are short in length with trees overhanging on some of them. It is usually $3.00 a night to camp with a 14 day limit but of course, with Golden Age Passport, it is free for us. It is quite a site for hiking because we have found a 4 hour hiking trail and a 6 hour hiking trail. We got here about noon. I fixed lunch and became very tired for some reason so I took a nap most of the afternoon. We have Verizon service but it cuts in and out. Internet service is very slow. Tomorrow I will get out and scout around. I want to find the springs. We also have TV here but some of it is snowy. It is about 6500 feet and sets at base of mountain range but high enough so that we can look over valley and White Sands Missle Range. The scenery coming in was tremendous. Al said, "It wakes everything up in you that you thought was dead". I guess that means excitement.

3/21,2009 Valley of Fire,NM to Alamagordo,NM $51.00 Groc $41.00 Gas $12.00 Misc

Drove from Valley of Fires back to Carrizozo,NM

Looked for a grocery story, none there

Drove to Capitan,NM. Found a wonderful country market with fresh cheap produce.

Drove on Ft Stanton, suppose to be free primitive camping by a fort that was used in late 1900's for Cavalry that was sent to protect settlers from the Indians. We found the Fort but it is now used for a prison and drug rehab. Museum was closed. The campground was so far in the boondocks on a gravel road that we gave it up.

Drove back to Capitan and Carrizozo and headed south toward Alamagordo.

There was a 3 Rivers Petroglyphic campground that we were interested in. Again it was 12 miles into the back country and Al became nervous that there would be wild animals and our gas tank was getting too low so we drove out and drove to Alamagordo.

Found diesel again for $1.99 and used GPS to find a Walmart from address in my Walmart atlas.

It was 78 degrees when we go to Alamagordo at 5PM.

3/ 20, 2009 Friday Valley of Fire,NM

Had a very good day

Took a walk with Cisco on clothesline rope.

Trimmed Al's hair

Trimmed Zeena's toenails

Al groomed Keesha

Spent time outside at picnic table under shelter reading Bible

Dyed my hair

Sprinkled this afternoon

No money spent today

Plan to leave tomorrow and go into Carrizozo and buy groceries and gas and go to Fort Stanton

No money spent today

3/19, 2009 Thursday Valley of Fire,NM $18.00 RV space

Our home in Hereford TX for 5 days

I am so happy, happy that I have learned how to transfer pictures from my digital camera card to pc.

Today, we climbed a 1/4 mile peak at a 45 degree angle on a worn path. This is Al with 2 ankle braces and 1 knee brace and me with a bum leg with a pulled muscle from a fall 1 week ago.

Paid $18.00 for 2 more nights stay here.

Took a nap.

Al got a new golden age passport card. His old one was over 11 years old and was made of poster board and was worn and then we laminated.
The new card is plastic like a credit card.

I braided my hair today.

3/8, 2009 Wednesday Valley of Fires NM $2.00 Misc

A wonderful day in the neighborhood

This 69 year old and 72 year old took a 2/3 mile walk through the lava formations on their 36th wedding anniversary

When we got back, we found that the motor home was locked and we had no keys

Al got on a lawn chair, and loosened the screen (thank God the window was open) and then he called a man to boost him through the window and onto the recliners. Lesson learned, Ruth always carries a set of keys

Still don't know why this is called Valley of the Fires except that 5000 years ago, the lava just erupted up through the earth for a length of 125 miles. I guess that would seem like a valley of fires.

We went to the visitor center and looked around. Nothing exciting.

On our walk, I was trying to teach Cisco to heel but I think he taught me to jerk the leash and keep saying "heel".

Money spent today $2.00 for postcards

3/17, 2009 Tuesday Clovis,NM to Carrizoz,NM $14.00 Gas Propane $10.00 $3.00 misc $18.00 RV space

Left Walmart in Clovis at 11AM

Bought diesel gas $1.99 a gal 7.2 gal $14.33 110 miles 14mpg

Went to Bison RV center again to get propane $10.00 plus part for sewer drain $3.00

Dumped at Bison RV center's dump

Left Clovis at noon

Found water spigot at lot where a former credit union building was for sale and put water in our tank

I drove 59 miles to Ft Sumner where official grave of Billy the Kid. He lived from 1898 to 1921

I drove 57 more miles to Vaughn,NM. It was a steady gradual climb. Drove 52mph through desert. Saw nothing but prairie, a few ranches and black angus and whiteface black angus. For 57 miles, we saw a total of 30 cars and only 3 going west, the same direction as me

(You know, we are known as "shunpikers" (people who shun turnpikes or stay off the main road)

Ate lunch in Vaughn, NM

Al drove 75 miles to Valley of Fires, a BLM recreation area 4 miles from Carrizozo,NM

With Golden Age Pass, it is 1/2 price at $9.00 per night with elec

Water and dump are available, we just happened to park in a space right by a water spigot.

Don't know why it is called Valley of the Fires yet but will know tomorrow. There is a visitor center here. 2 employees came by on their Kawaski vehicles to check if we needed anything. They are not fooling me, they are just checking us out or they want a good report on a survey that they ask us to fill out later.

There is allot of lava rock formations that go through an arroyo (I learned what that word means today) Iowans would call it a gully. Also, there is 360 degree view of the sky. Just beautiful. But no trees or water, like creek, river or lake so no fishing. There is however, about a mile long man made walk throught these lava formations that I plan to go on everyday. We may stay here throught the week-end if food and weather holds out.

It is about 6300 ft altitude and very warm in day but cool at night. Such clean mountain air.

3/16, 2009 Monday Hereford,TX to Clovis,NM $73.00 Misc

Left Hereford, TX at 10:15 AM

Gained an hour by entering Mountain Daylight Savings Time at New Mexico border at Texico, New Mexico

Got Bison RV center in Clovis, NM at 10:30 for 57 miles.

My book Free Camping in US Western Edition is coming in by freight, I have to wait for delivery

Went to Goodwill $3.00
Went to Dollar General $4.00
Went to Walmart $43.00

Book came in at 3PM $22.00

Back to Walmart for the night

Al learned from his mother that she had the fire department out today because she put a paper plate over a frozen dinner and it caught fire in microwave.

3/15, 2009 Sunday Hereford, TX

A down day, did not feel up to par, I guess one of those days that the doctor says is due to aging.

Took a walk, cooked green chili and rice.

Nice day.

3/10, 2009 Tuesday Meade,KS to Dumas,TX $15.39 Gas $28.00 misc

22 degrees last night
Left 10:15 for Dumas, TX which is 153 miles
Dana is going there also.
Cloudy and cold
Bought diesel for 1.90 in Oklahoma 133.3 miles on 8.063 gal for 16.5mpg $15.39
Bobby Crespin called and gave us an update on their life.
Went to Walmart and had lunch and brought groceries $28.00

3/9, 2009 Monday Preston,KS to Meade,KS $40.00 Gas

Left Preston, Ks at 10:45
Had a good nights rest.
Drove through Greensburg, KS that was completely devastated by tornado about a year ago.
Bought 20.3 gal of gas for $40.00, had gone 274.5 miles on that amt of gas for 13.6mpg
Drove 73 miles in heavy wind.
Stopped at Meade,KS at city park
Started talking to a lone woman who is a full-timer. She gave us great info and suggested that we spend the night here because of wind.
We did so and filled water tanks and got anti-freeze out of system.
Dana brought me two books about Arizona and New Mexico with county maps of blm lands and county roads.

3/8, 2009 Sunday Olathe,KS to Preston,KS $20.00 misc

Gave Deb $20.00 for items purchased from her rummage and a little for electricity used
Time changed last night to DST.
Left Rick's at 11:15AM
Turned off I35s at Emporia
Went out of way by accident
Stayed in Preston,Ks at city park
Quit driving @5:30
75degrees, nice evening

$200.00 spent the 1st week

3/7, 2009 Saturday Olathe $32.00 Groceries

Groceries $32.00

Rick's son Cory and wife Krista with daughters, Riley, Madison, Jennifer.

Rick fixed beer can chicken with apple, cherry and oak wood on smoker. We had a good time. Cory and family seem to be doing good.

Had a very strong thunder storm most of the night

3/14, 2009 Saturday Hereford,TX $12.00 laundry $15.00 K-Bobs Steakhouse

Did laundry $12.00

Ate salad bar at K-Bob's steakhouse $15.00

My sons would be so ashamed of me being in the beef capital of the world, Hereford, TX, and eating at a steak house and ordering the salad bar.

Got a call from Maria that she had received her work permit.

3/13. 2009 Friday Hereford,TX $166.00 misc (bed mattress)

Dana came to tell me good-bye. Hope she chooses to contact me later.

Had Walmart withdrawals so we went and spent $166.00. Bought another foam topper for mattress, groceries and dog supplies.

Saw a sign on a Baptist Church that said "Walmart is not the only saving place."

Started snowing about 2:30. So funny that local TV stations in Amarillo have all kinds of winter storm warnings and adviseries with less than 2 " of snow and no wind. It will be 50 degrees tomorrow.

Made chicken soup for supper.

3/12, 2009 Thursday Hereford,TX

After all the hoopla on the local weather, a dusting of snow.
Got up to 52 degrees today
Forecasting rain and snow tomorrow
Had a bad night and couldn't sleep
Was able to study Bible for 1 1/2 hours today
Took a shower
Went for a walk with Cisco
Leg is very sore, used a cane
Found out why I slipped in mud yesterday, the sprinkler system had been on before we got here
Al made a smoothie tonite
No money spent today

3/11, 2009 Wednesday Dumas,TX to Hereford,TX $21.00 Gas

Left Dumas, Tx at 12:20
Had a bad night with leg cramps
Called Alice and gave her update on Robbie Crespin
Sunny but chilly
Headed for Hereford, Tx
Still have 3/4 tank of propane since filling in Sioux City on 3/2
County roads in Texas are called farm roads and each has a number
Saw an old farm windmill standing among wind turbines "the old with the new"
Don't Mess with Texas signs particularly about littering
Texans think that everything in their state is the biggest and best but they are very friendly
Going 40mph on county road and Al says, "if we go any slower, we might as well get out and push"
Another time, he said, "This is a moving baby" when motorhome holds its speed on cruise control while going uphill without
bogging down. That is the turbo part which allows more air for power or something like that.
Another time, he said, "You got the right rig for what you want to do in it"
Have seen an armadillo and wild boar and a fawn
Cloudy days are more comfortable to travel on the eyes but sunny days are prettier
Bought gas for $1.999
166.2 miles 10.63 gal 13.8 mpg Money spent today $21.00
Have had hills, a load on motorhome and warmed engine each time before starting
Arrived in Hereford, Tx at 3:40
Staying at aquatic center park, a city park
Can stay for 36 hours with elec and water for free.
Very pretty park with a pond
I was walking Cisco and watching him play and looking at pond and slipped and fell in the mud.
Now my other leg has a pulled muscle and I have allot of muddy clothes.
Suppose to snow tonite 1-2 inches but get warm right away

3/5, 2009 Thursday Olathe $3.00 misc

Money spent today:

$3.00 Walmart

3/4, 2009 Wednesday Olathe $20.00 misc

Money spent today:

$9.00 Walmart
$11.00 Aldis

3/3, 2009 Tuesday Olathe $50.00 gift $13.00 food

Money spent today:

$50.00 to Colin for graduation present
$10.00 for Chinese food
$3.00 for bottled water

3/2, 2009 Monday SC to Olathe-Propane $16.00 Gas $46.00

Left home at 11:10 AM
Stopped to get propane $16.00
Saw a hawk
Icicles falling from cabover onto the windshield
Chicken salad sandwich in rest area south of Omaha
I missed Kansas City exit in Omaha
Oatmeal spilled out of cupboard
Forgot dog dishes and steps to motorhome
Called Rick
Jessica called at 2PM
Noticed Stetson Factory Outlet billboard in St Joseph, MO. Reminded me of when as a child, my dad took some livestock to stockyards in St Joseph. Mom got a new sewing machine, I got a new winter coat and Dad bought a Stetson.
Tree trimmer had been at our house for Lindenwood tree in backyard
Arrived at Rick's home in Olathe, KS at 6PM
Bought gas before going to his house $46.00
300 miles (estimate) 13MPG