On the Road Again

On the Road Again, Headed For:

(El Paso, TX)

(Deming NM)

(Benson AZ)

(Patagonia AZ)

While at the Kirtland AFB Military Family Campground (FamCamp) Dan installed a new complete hydraulic leveling jack pump assembly in our Bluebird Coach, and Dan and our son Shaun installed a new power window motor in Shaun's SUV.  We also had the 60,000 mile service done on our Subaru WRX, and replaced a front axle that had a torn CV boot, that slung all the grease out and was damaged.

Madrid

Before we left Albuqueruqe we made a scenic drive on the Turquoise Trail to Santa Fe. This is a road we often took on our motorcycle trips when we lived here. An excellent trip if you like taking rides on back country roads.

We did our traditional lunch stop at the Mine Shaft Tavern for lunch in Madrid – pronounced Mad Rid. We stopped there for the atmosphere as well as for the food. 

Howdy!

Beautiful Bells on display

The town was once a coal mining ghost town turned into a very colorful and lively artistic place to visit with galleries and shops.   There is always a lot of artwork - very enticing artwork - sitting in the front yards.  Don't these places look inviting?

Love the colors!

Excellent! Double doors with screens and red!

Madrid was the location for Maggie’s Diner in the movie “Wild Hogs” being filmed there. Funny, that was not there before the movie. 

Maggie's Diner

Funny movie, but I don't think it caught the wonderful essence of Madrid.

We said Good-bye to our son, Shaun. We had a wonderful visit with him. It was so good to hear how he was doing - which is great and he looks great. 

Dan & Shaun

On Tuesday 1 November we arrived in El Paso TX at the Ft Bliss Army Famcamp.  Our purpose in El Paso was to have the Coach serviced for oil, oil filter, fuel filter, check differentials, and lube the chassis at Speedco.  Speedco is the equivalent of Jiffy Lube, only for over the road semi trucks and diesel motor homes. Our coach used 22 quarts of new oil, 2 filters, lube for the chassis, and everything else looked good.

 Ft Bliss had an amazing Post Exchange complete with a outdoor mall complex, including a 10 screen theater, Wild Wings, Irish Pub, multiple stores, huge food court and more.  We also stocked up at the base commissary.

Today, November 5th, we moved 102 miles to Deming NM to an Escapees RV park.  Winds were pretty heavy, but should let up tomorrow.  If the winds do subside we will move on to Benson AZ (near Tucson) to an Escapees co-op RV park in the morning.

We plan on one week or less in Benson, then we will move to Patagonia AZ where we have accepted  winter volunteer positions.

We will be volunteering in Southern AZ on a private wild life preserve of 312 acres, and be the only 'campers' on the grounds.  It is approximately 60 miles south of Tucson/Benson, 20 miles north of Nogales AZ, and at 4,000' altitude.

Previous volunteers Frank and Josee Kee wrote the following:

The name of the preserve is Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve (PSCP) and is located adjacent to the town of Patagonia Arizona (AZ). It is privately owned by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and preserve valuable habitat and waterways for the preservation of bio-diversity. In Arizona TNC has 1.5+ million acres in their care and 12 major preserves. Only 4 are open to the general public. PSCP was acquired in 1966 and is the first preserve acquired by TNC in Arizona.

It is a very valuable piece of land because it is an endangered riparian habitat that has year around water flow in the creek. Riparian habitats support the majority of biodiversity in a desert landscape. It is host to numerous fauna, mammals, reptiles, endangered fish, and insects.

The access to water attracts this diverse collection. The most common question is “what animals can we see”…In which we reply Deer, squirrels, cotimundi, skunk, bear, coyote, cougar and javelina and …yes rattlesnake can be seen once in a blue moon.

Frank and Josee  who volunteered there 2.5 years  wrote more details here:  http://www.keesmail.com/public_html/TNCVol/

Frank and Josee's pictures: http://www.keesphotos.com/Nature/Patagonia-Sonoita-Creek/8000576_Bk92cV#1530582350_HQjWhPC

We committed to a minimum of 3 months, with a possible option to extend longer. We will start not later than 21 November, likely earlier as we have accelerated our schedule.

Dan and Sandy

Old Town Albuquerque

San Felipe de Neri Church rebuilt in 1793

We spent a beautiful afternoon wandering around historic Old Town Albuquerque - an old Spanish settlement founded in 1706.  There are several sites with information about the historic Old Town area.

Sandy took a few photos and she will get them into our Webshots later.  So here are a few interesting shots to give you a quick tour of our walk...just to give you a taste of the old southwest....

We walked around the Plaza surrounded by traditional adobe style buildings doing a little window shopping, wandering down little alley ways, smelling delicious spicy aromas, and viewing a variety of artwork.

Ristra

Come along with us as we walk....

...through shady alleys, nooks and crannies......

.... where we discovered many shops and restaurants....

..and artists selling their artwork...

 ...and inviting places to sit and rest awhile.

 Did you enjoy your walk?

Día De Los Muertos ~ Day of the Dead

Old Town is getting ready to celebrate the Day of the Dead and All Souls Day.  The Mexicans have celebrated the Day of the Dead for centuries.  

Later, the Spaniards moved the celebration date to combine their All Souls Day with the Day of the Dead to keep the ritual more Christian.   

Day of the Dead is a time to celebrate life and to remember love ones. 

If you want to read more about the history, please click on the following links:

Dayof the Dead History and Day of the Dead in Mexico 

We will stay in Albuquerque another week to 10 days weather permitting, then head south.

The Ranch Co-op Lakewood NM

The below blog is from Oct 16, 2011 when we visited The Ranch Escapees Co-op in Lakewood NM, but we did not get it published until November

Oct 16, 2011:
We spent the last couple of days at the second Escapees’park named “The Ranch” that we are considering for our future. This park is between Carlsbad and Roswell…….or you can say it is between the Bats and the Aliens. Eh! either way, it is a nice park and people are not only friendly, they consider each other family.

The park’s closest town is Artesia. What I would consider a very well kept NM secret. We saw evidence of a lot of community pride everywhere. A small town with a big heart. The downtown area is well kept, clean, and has a lot of statues throughout.

We did not do the walking tour since we needed to do our grocery shopping and it was getting late. I did look at it on the Artesia’s website. This online Walking Tour shows quite a few of the statues around town.

We started by going to the Art in the Park after hearing one of the Escapees would have a booth there. The vendors can only sell handmade items. Nothing else was allowed and the vendor’s booth would get cancelled if their items were not handmade.

We stopped by to see Nancy’s unique handmade jewelry. Here’s her website: KrisJen Creations if you would like to see her beautiful jewelry.

We were also told that the event was moved from the park because too many people were ruining the park’s grass. The event was now held in the football field. How busy could it be that they had to move it? Oh! It was very busy! We were truly surprised at the turnout. I enjoyed checking out all the different booths but it was too busy to take photos.

I have been watching a group of Scaled Quails run around the park. They are so funny to watch as they run from one hiding place to the next. They came for a visit to our site and I got some good photos of one brave fellow. He did not seem to mind me taking his photo. I can see where they got their name.

You put your left foot in...

.....and you shake it all about

....and that's how you do the Quail's Hokey-Pokey!!

Here a few of the little houses that I liked. Many of the houses/sheds have the same building design, but each one had its owner's creative expression.

Nice and solid

His and Hers?

My favorite!

Monday, we head for Albuquerque. It'll be a long travel day for us if we go the whole way. Depends on how we feel. Yea, it's a rough life.

Hondo TX Lone Star Coral SKP Co-op

We left Fredericksburg and headed west to Hondo, TX.  We are starting to look at different Escapees' co-op parks that allow members to lease a site (and co own the park).  Hondo is our first stop.  The park is nice and well kept.  We met another Bluebird couple Jack and Liz, and their cat Oreo.  We spent some time visiting with them and learning a little more about this Escapees' park.  We also spent a little time looking around the local area.

The cats explored on their harness and leashes as well.  Dusty had no dirt to roll in.  Aww, I was really disappointed. No dirt! Darn!  Squirrel could not find anything green to munch.  Hitch had no trees to climb and wanted to snoop all the neighbor's yards.  Max was too nervous to explore and make a decision, but he made it unanimous once he heard their comments.

Granted, we can add a dirt rolling area for Dusty. Plant a tree for Hitch.  Hmm, can he wait a few years to climb it?  And have potted Wheat Grass and Catnip for all, but we don't think this will be the semi-permanent location for us.  It is a little too rural for our taste.

Above is the shed on the lot we are renting for the next couple of nights.  The owner/leasee is traveling at the moment and while they are gone, they can allow other traveling members to rent their site.  While they are gone, they don't have to worry about their site with the park employees and neighbors keeping a watchful eye on it.


 Just a Shed, ma'am!









We like the idea of the shed/house for extra storage space or just a place to get out of the motorhome.  We saw the inside of one and it wasn't bad.  The larger room had a double closet and enough room to put a couch with chairs or a desk and sewing table.  There was a smaller room that they were using as a workshop and storing tools.

Below are some photos of the shed/houses.  Each one might be small, but they are individually styled to the owners' taste.  Of course, there are rules and changes have to be pre-approved which is by the co-op board.

The lots are big enough to give us a little elbow space.

 play on words...

So, why are we considering doing this?  Well, as we get older, we are sure our travels will slow down to a couple of times a year.  You know - winter in the south, summer in the north.  This would give us a guaranteed site each winter.  Plus, Sandy has several items sitting in our daughter's garage. We are sure she would like to have that space back someday.

Most of these parks have a long waiting list from 3 years to 8 years.  That's why we are looking now.  It isn't because we are getting tired of traveling.  We are just planning for our future.

Well, onward to Del Rio TX Laughlin AFB on the Mexico border for a night, followed by Pecos TX Escapees park for a night, then to the Escapees Co-op in Lakewood NM for a few days.