Tag: fun

Cool Finds in New Mexico

Not wanting to spend any more time than we had to at the RV park, I mapped out a long, circular day trip route. I’ve always wanted to go to Truth or Consequences, NM. Why? Well…it’s name is Truth or Consequences! Or as the locals call it T or C.

Up until March 31, 1950, the town was called Hot Springs, New Mexico. (Not to be confused with the 11 other states with towns named Hot Springs.) The change in the town’s name started out as a joke when Ralph Edwards, host of a radio quiz show on NBC Radio offered to broadcast his show from the first town to rename itself after his show – Truth or Consequences. The original intent of the citizens was to change the name back, but here we are 74 years later and it is still called T or C.

As we headed northwest out of town, I was looking for additional things to see or do along our route. I discovered something else that is also visible from space, like White Sands NP. Valley of Fires recreation area is located next to the Malpais Lava Flow. Approximately 5,000 years ago, Little Black Peak erupted and flowed 44 miles into the Tularosa Basin. The lava flow is four to six miles wide, 160 feet thick and covers 125 square miles. The lava flow is considered to be one of the youngest lava flows in the continental United States. From space, there is a stark contrast between the white of White Sand NP and the black of the lava field.

If I had read up on it earlier, I would have planned an entire day there. As it was, we made a brief stop to see a bit of the lava field…

Scientists believe Little Black Peak erupted from a small vent as a continuous lava flow for 20 to 30 years. I imagine this offered a better chance of survival than a mass ejection of molten lava. Either way, I’m glad I wasn’t around then!

As I was reading names of towns we would be driving through aloud to Steve, he decided we just had to go to Elephant Butte. (Of course, to be funny, he kept pronouncing it “butt”.)

We stopped at Elephant Butte Lake State Park. The ranger at the gate was kind enough to let us drive through without having to pay the entrance fee. We explained we just want to look around quickly. He did tell us however, if we decided to kayak, we’d have to come back and pay. Much like many of the other reservoirs we have seen, Elephant Butte Lake was very low…

But, they did have a very cool sand sculpture…

We left the beach area and drove over to the dam. I’d love to see what it looks like when the lake is full, but this was the view in early April…

I entered the address of the visitors center in T or C as our next destination. I was hoping they would have a sticker with the town’s name on it for my collection. In case you didn’t know, I put stickers on the side of the slide of cool places we visit. On the other end of the slide, I put stickers of all our national parks, forests, seashores etc…just like I do on the Jeep. They didn’t have any stickers, but suggested I take a picture of the sign on the way into town…

5 gift shops later, I did finally find a sticker! Another reason for visiting T or C, other than the cool name, is T or C Brewing Company!

The afternoon was flying by and we were still only half way through the route I planned, so we enjoyed a quick beer and headed to our next destination, Las Cruces. I’m sure you won’t be surprised, but there is a brewery in Las Cruces! And, you guessed it, that is where we went for dinner. We went to their North Main Street location and had a delicious pizza, spinach/ artichoke flatbread and some great Ice Box Brewing beers.

After dinner, it was time to head back to Alamogordo. By the time we got back to Waldo, we had driven 322 miles, visited 2 breweries, discovered Valley of Fires and laughed about butte versus butt. All in all, it was a fun, but long day. In the morning, we would be heading back into Texas, but more about that next week!

Coming Up…

“Hey Texas – We’re Baaaack!”

Welcome Back to New Mexico

With the FMCA Rally over, it was time to move. We had come as far west as we were going to for this part of our travels and it was time to head east, once again. Our entire spring travel was built around 2 required destinations. The first was the FMCA Rally and the second was Waco, TX to meet up with friends for the solar eclipse on April 8th.

I planned on 4 nights in Alamogordo, NM to visit White Sands National Park, Pistachioland and Truth or Consequences, NM. It was going to be a lot to pack into 4 days, especially when I discovered SO many other things to do in the area.

We knew we were getting close to Alamogordo when we saw a roadside monument for the White Sands Missile Range…

What we didn’t know at the time is that when they are actively firing missiles, the road we came in on would be closed for hours at a time. White Sands NP has a page of their website with scheduled closures. Luckily, we didn’t run into that situation, but were told it happens quite frequently. I guess we really dodged a missile. Lame joke, I know, but it was funny at the time.

The missile we didn’t dodge was the Zia Skies RV park. I knew we were in trouble when we turned onto Lemin Street…

Their website mentioned a locked gate, but this wasn’t the neighborhood I was expecting! What would have been really nice is if they had sent us the gate code, since there was no office at the park. And if there hadn’t already been someone in OUR site. It is the only RV park I have ever left a review for with the heading “DO NOT STAY AT THIS PARK!”

The weather was chilly and the wind just would not quit. That explains my hairstyle when we went to the 575 Brewing Company out first night in town…

Another selfie taking server

Our first full day in Alamogordo was spent at White Sands National Park. From 1933 until 2019, it was known as White Sands National Monument. The NPS still hasn’t found the funds to update the signage…

The dunes at the park make up the world’s largest gypsum dunefield and are visible from space. A 16 mile (round trip) road leads you into the heart of the dunefield. I had no inclination to hike the dunes nor to sled on them, but it was fun to watch from the Interdune Boardwalk trail…

As we walked along the boardwalk, I marveled at the windswept patterns in the sand…

I was surprised so many people were sledding these particular dunes with all the scrub growing up when they could have driven a bit further to get to taller dunes with much less scrub. I was also surprised to see motorhomes with toads in the boardwalk parking lot…

As we drove further into the dunes, the views changed rapidly. We went from dunes with lots of scrub to acres and acres of tall dunes…

The most perplexing thing I saw was a sign where the road turns from pavement to packed sand…

Look closely at rule #3. Apparently, from Feb. 1-May 31, alcohol is prohibited, but it is allowed from June 1-Jan. 31. My guess would be Feb-May are the months of peak visitors. Extreme heat in the summer and snowy conditions in the winter would make visiting less appealing from June to the end of Jan. It was March when we visited, so no picnic with beer for us at the dunes.

I did see a really cool Utility RV in one of the parking lots. Given the shape of the license plate, it definitely came from another country, but I love the mural on the back…

As we were leaving the park, we stopped to take a picture of a dunes climber and his dog taking a break…

The weather took a quick turn for the worst when we got back to Waldo! I was happy we weren’t still driving around the dunes when it started to snow/sleet…

With another National Park off the bucket list, the next day we opted to knock an Atlas Obscura item off the list – Pistachioland! I love pistachios and almost always have a bag of them in Waldo for travel days, but eating pistachio ice cream in front of the world’s largest pistachio will only happen once in my lifetime!

The United States has the largest share of pistachio farming in the world, producing almost 40% of the crop worldwide. The trees at McGinn’s farm were still in the dormant stage. It would be neat to see them loaded with one of my favorite nuts!

Thank you for coming along. Have you been to White Sands NP or Pistachioland? Let me know in the comments below!

Coming up…

An unexpected surprise just outside Alamogordo!

Sky Island Scenic Byway

Liz and I parted company at Javelina Rocks and made tentative plans for the following day to take a drive on the Sky Island Scenic Byway. Once she checked her schedule, it turned out we just couldn’t make it work, but I was determined to go anyhow. I’m SO glad I did!

I could have titled this post “From Saguaros To Snow in 25 Miles” because it would be a perfect description of this drive in late March.

Starting just outside of Tucson, the Sky Island Scenic Byway winds its way up Mount Lemmon, ending in the beautiful town of Summer Haven.

Looking out over the suburbs of Tucson, I could imagine Steve hard at work, but I soon left those thoughts behind as I started up Mount Lemmon. The drive begins with a vast saguaro forest…

As I entered the first scenic outlook, I was marveling at the wildflowers and cacti framing the views…

As I gained altitude, the cacti began lessening, but the wildflowers painted the hillsides in beautiful shades of orange and yellow…

At another scenic overlook, I found a trail leading to a small creek. I shouldn’t have been too surprised since the snow melt would need somewhere to go.

The thing that surprised me the most was the amount of bicycle traffic climbing the mountain. There were several groups of cyclists and quite a few individuals as well. I can tell you with certainty that I will stick to climbing the mountain in the Jeep!!!

The higher I climbed, the more boulder formations I began to see and the views became panoramic…

One rock formation in particular caught my attention. I imagined what the view would be like if I could climb it…

There is an app you can download and listen to as you ascend, but I didn’t find out about it until I stopped at the ranger station about half way up. It would have been interesting to listen to it explain the geography, flora and fauna.

At one of the overlooks, someone was kind enough to take my picture…

And I couldn’t help but taking pictures of the groups of people who had climbed some of the rocks to take selfies…

As I neared Summer Haven, I began to see patches of snow. After seeing cacti and wildflowers, to me, the snow seemed out of place…

Summer Haven is a cute town with a general store, resort lodges and, of course, restaurants. When I reached the end of the Sky Island Scenic Byway, it was time to reverse my course and head back down Mount Lemmon.

I stopped at the Inspiration Rock Picnic Area and found all kinds of cool/funky colored rocks. Many of them glistened in the sunshine. I tried to take pictures but they just didn’t do it justice.

I was cruising along at the posted speed limit of 35 mph when this bicycle passed me like I was parked…

I’m still going to go with “No thanks” on biking the mountain!

There are many area to pull off the road for pictures…

But sometimes there just isn’t and room and you have to be content with a “thru the windshield shot”

This is a one way record of my travels. As you can see, it only took me an hour on the way back down. I wish I had thought to record the entire trip since I was gone most of the day.

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When I got back to Waldo, I texted Liz and thanked her again for the suggestion of driving the byway. With only another day or two in Tucson, we decided to meetup for lunch. She suggested her family’s favorite little Mexican restaurant with the promise of great food and a prickly pear margarita. I enjoyed meeting her daughter and seeing her and Lenny again!

Notice the matching prickly pear margaritas!

And her suggestion to try the “Tucson Dog” was spot on!

With hugs all around, we parted ways with the hope of seeing each other down the road somewhere.

The rally had come to an end and it was time to start our way back east. The entire journey so far had been about reaching Tucson on March 18th, but now it became about meeting friends in Waco for the total eclipse on April 8th!

I hope you enjoyed reading about our time in Tucson and, maybe found something to add to your next trip though Arizona!

Coming Up…

Another National Park checked off the hit list!

Adventuring Solo

Ever since leaving Florida, we have been making our way westward with the goal of reaching Tucson on March 18th. Steve would be working for Briter Products, a lithium ion battery company at an FMCA Rally. Since what I know about installing batteries, inverters and such is zilch, I would have several days on my own.

My first priority was to head to the post office to get those “special bolts” I’d been waiting for. When Steve ordered them, I looked up the closest post office to the Pima County Fairgrounds, where the rally was being held and told him to use that address. Silly me!! A little about Tucson Post Offices: there are 5 of them, one of them is within the Davis Mountain Air Force Base, completely inaccessible to non-military personnel, and only one of them accepts general delivery I was told. Guess which post office is closest to the fairgrounds, yep, the one on the base. Guess where my bolts were, on base! Long story short, I re-ordered the bolts, under my name because I couldn’t pick up mail addressed to my husband, and had them sent to the only post office accepting general delivery. Sheesh! Who knew this would be such a PIA!?!?!?!?

Interesting side note about Davis Mountain Air Force base, it has the world’s largest military aircraft cemetery.

Partial view from GoogleEarth

Anyhow, we already established I couldn’t get on base, so I only got to drive by it. Miles and miles of planes!

In 2022, Steve and I visited Saguaro National Park, I didn’t tell you about it since I was slacking on writing blog posts. I really love the desert southwest, so I decided to revisit. Since we were there in March of 2022 and I would be there, also in March, I’m including some of the pictures from both visits.

I drove the loop trail again and stopped at many of the same locations. March is a great time to visit since it isn’t too hot and the wildflowers are blooming…

Fairy Duster
The Asian beetle blends in almost perfectly on this Brittlebush flower

But cacti were what I went to see!

One of the largest saguaros I saw

Or, how about cacti AND wildflowers…

The barrel cacti had already bloomed, but the fruits were still forming…

You definitely do not want to fall into one of them!

Road runners are one of my favorite birds, but hard to get a good picture. I did see one, resting atop a dead saguaro…

As I was driving along, I thought I saw a saguaro in bloom. Knowing it was pretty early in the year for blooms, I almost didn’t stop to investigate, but I’m sure glad I did! As I was walking back to take a picture, I met a lady, Liz, who also seemed interested in the wildflowers, so I told her what I thought I had seen. Together, we walked a bit further and, sure enough, it was just starting to bloom.

On our walk back to the parking area, I told her all about our nomadic life and adventures. She gave me lots of suggestions of things to see and places to visit while we were in Tucson. She told me about her family and suggested maybe one day while I was there we could adventure together. We swapped phone numbers then she followed me on FB and IG. We said our goodbyes and I headed out.

I took the side road, which goes to a picnic area, and saw my first cristate or crested saguaro…

Zoomed in, I though it looked like an alien. Scientist still aren’t sure what causes this mutation, but I though it was pretty cool. If I had read more on the NPS website, I would have been able to find others in the park.

I was about 3/4 of the way around the Cactus Forest Auto Loop when I received a message from Liz. She and her son were at Javelina Rocks and was wondering if I’d be along soon. I let her know, I was only a few minutes out. When I arrived, it wasn’t hard to spot Liz and her son…

Liz was kind enough to come down to show me the easiest path to climb the formation. Once she pointed it out, she offered to stay below and take a picture of me…

Then she rejoined us and we admired the outstanding view…

It had been a great day. A visit to one of my favorite landscapes and a new friend!

Liz

Coming Up…

The Sky Island Scenic Byway

Into Arizona

On the way to Tucson, we visited Rope Lake Sate Park, just outside of Safford, AZ. I hadn’t really planned any day trips, it was just a place on the way. Had I done ANY research, I would have known, there is plenty to do!

The drive from New Mexico took us less time than we thought, so we arrived before check-in. A $10 day pass was our penalty. Luckily, on an overcast Friday in March, there was plenty of room for Waldo in the day use parking area. We disconnected the Jeep for a drive around the park while we waited for a call from the ranger’s station. In the loop we would be camping in, I saw some Gambel Quails, they always make me smile…

Mt. Graham was still wearing a thin blanket of snow…

Once we were settled into our site, we spent a relaxing afternoon playing Yahtzee (one of our favorite pastimes).

The sun came out the following morning.

Looking at the map, I found several places of interest. The first was the Black Hills Rockhound Area, renowned for its deposits of fire agate.

Not one to miss a chance at picking up pretty rocks, we headed out. I spent our drive time reading about how to find and identify fire agate. I found a great post by The Rolling Rockhound which gave me, at least, a clue as to what we might find. I showed Steve what to look for and we set off it opposite directions. Every so often, I’d look up to make sure I could still see the Jeep…

In the end, we found lots of pieces of chalcedony and 2 containing fire agates. Without the proper tools and skills to reveal the agate, they will remain just pretty rocks in my collection.

Another area which drew my attention was the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area. I confess, I had to look up what “riparian” meant. For any of you who don’t know either, it means “relating to or situated on the banks of a river.”

There are lots of off-road trails, but since we still don’t have 4 wheel drive, we stuck to the easy trails.

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Our first stop was the information kiosk and scenic overlook…

As with several other of the places we’ve visited lately, the spring wildflowers were dazzling…

With so much scenery to take in, it’s hard to see everything, but we did our best!

The Gila River
The road NOT taken!

We realized how a campground, chosen strictly as a place en route to Steve’s upcoming job, really could be a destination for adventures! Until next week…

Coming up…

While Steve goes to work, Laura goes to play!

Striking It Rich In New Mexico

With only one day left in Deming, we ere determined to make the most of it. After studying Google Maps for a bit, I was able to determine a round trip route which would include ghost towns, mines and, of course, a brewery.

Our first stop was the Lake Valley Historic Townsite. After silver was discovered in 1878, the town swelled to a population of over 4000 people. It wasn’t long before the mine played out and the people scattered in search of new opportunities.

The Bureau of Land Management has restored the chapel and the school house. There is a self guided tour and an interpretive walk but, unfortunately the site is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Our search for another ghost town, not far from Lake Valley, found only beautiful scenery…

Steve had done some research as well and thought we could throw a winery in as well. The “almost” ghost town of Kingston boasts of having the oldest continuously operating social club in the American west, The Spit & Whittle Club. With a little research, I learned Spit & Whittle clubs are a gathering of people to retell tales of the past. And Kingston certainly has a storied past, at one time, it was the largest town in New Mexico with nearly 7000 residents frequenting its 23 saloons.

As we searched for the winery, we talked about what life had to have been like in the 1880’s. The boom and bust saga is nearly the same for every mining town we have ever visited. But roughly 132 residents of Kingston, refused to give up, even after the post office closed in 1957. We never did find the Black Range Vineyards and contented ourselves with a drive along Percha Creek before heading out.

Our travels took us through Gila National Forest, established in 1899. The Gila Wilderness Area, an area within the National Forest, was established in 1924. The wilderness area was the first of it’s kind in the world. It only took 40 more years for the Wilderness Act was passed.

The winding road up and down through the Black Range with lots of scenic overlooks to stop at, provided us many photo ops…

We were hoping to have a beverage in Pinos Altos at the Buckhorn Saloon, but it wasn’t going to be open for several more hours…

The Pinos Altos mine was originally known as “The El Dorado of New Mexico” and produced more than $8,000,000 in gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc before mining ended.

What we didn’t know when we left Pinos Altos was we would find the Santa Rita cooper mine a few miles down the road, one of the oldest operating mines in the US.

I have always loved the huge mining rock trucks. I mean, just look at the size of the tires!

Look how small the service truck is compared to the rock truck…

Our final stop of the day was Silver City…

BTW, the clock was wrong!

Unlike the ghost or near ghost towns we visited, Silver City has not only not busted, but has tried to revitalize itself. At last we would find a beer and a burger…

After our late lunch at Little Toad Creek Brewery and Distillery, we checked out some of the buildings…

With the long drive back to Deming, we decided to call it a day.

I hope you enjoyed our search for ghost towns and will come along on our next adventure!

Coming Up…

Into Arizona

The Florida Mountains

We knew we were going to be in Tucson in less than a week, so we had the “special bolts” shipped general delivery to a post office there. 4 wheeling would have to wait. We heard about a dirt road around the Florida Mountains and thought, well, if it gets too bad, we can always turn around!

After a quick stop at the Spring Canyon Recreation Area, a separate unit of Rockhound SP, we went in search of Gap Road SE. The ladies we met at Luna Rossa winery had told us a family member had recently purchased a large ranch on the backside of the Florida range. She assured us the land wasn’t posted so when we came to the impressive entrance to the ranch, we knew we had found the right road.

The spring wildflowers were putting on quite a display as we got closer to the mountains…

At first, the road was a simple unmaintained dirt road, easy enough to travel…

I use an app called onX Offroad to find trails and to navigate when Google maps thinks we are clearly lost.

You can download maps before you set off on an adventure in case you find yourself without service in the backcountry. The problem we ran into was because it is part working ranch and part BLM land, there are so many unmarked trails, it can be difficult to know if you are actually on the trail you want to be. A couple times we had to backtrack, but doing so gave me plenty of photo ops…

The first closed gate we came to had me wondering it we would have to turn around, but upon a closer look, I could tell it was easily opened. It is meant to deter cattle not vehicles…

We did run across a 2 wheel drive pickup truck coming from the opposite direction. The driver told us he had accessed the road from Hwy 11 which was our endpoint. I was glad to have confirmation it could be done!

One of the things I really like about OnX is it can track us, even without cell service. I can then save the map of our adventures…

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When we made it back to a paved road, I stopped tracking us and looked at the stats for trail…

Steve decided the perfect way to end the day would be to stop at the other award winning winery in Deming, Lescombes Winery…

Our bartender, Chrissy, certainly ranks right up there for a sense of style when it comes to taking a selfie…

After an adventure filled day, we headed back to Waldo. We only had a couple more days at Rockhound and were determined to see and do everything we could pack into our stay!

Coming Up…

The places you find when you are looking for ghost towns!

New Mexico – Land of Enchantment

Booking our travels months in advance can be a definite struggle, especially if we have to coordinate with an event or a meet-up with friends. By the time we got confirmation Steve would be working at an RV rally in Tucson, the only RV site available at Rockhound State Park just outside Deming, New Mexico was a boondocking site. But I wanted to go to Deming!!! We would just have to make do!

Normally, boondocking isn’t an issue since we have a generator plus our fridge and furnace run on propane, as well as electricity. With forecast lows in the 40’s, we knew we’d have to run the furnace. Do you think we remembered to check the propane level before heading to New Mexico? Of course not. We were about 17 miles from the campground when Steve realized we needed propane. Shouldn’t be a problem, most Love’s truck stops dispense propane and so do a lot of Tractor Supply companies. The was a Love’s in Las Cruces AND a Tractor Supply! Wouldn’t you know it, that Love’s didn’t and Tractor Supply was out. Yep, I’m still inserting choice words! Several phone calls later, I finally found an RV park in Deming who sold propane IF we could get there by 4:30. Phew! Shouldn’t be a problem. At 4:29 we rolled in and thankfully their clocks weren’t fast. Finally we could head to our site.

We spent our first day in Deming picking up the remaining Jeep parts (yep, it still wasn’t completely back together) and checking the visitor’s center for interesting things to do in the area. We discovered Deming has a Historic Landmark Walking Tour and an app to tell you about the buildings. Our first stop was the Deming Luna County Mimbres Museum, built as an armory in 1917…

Unfortunately, the museum was under repair so we couldn’t go in. The app would give us relative information about each building and often an interesting story as well. Like at the J.A. Mahoney building (no relation)…

Apparently, in 1906, the superintendent of the Deming public school and the principal of the high school, both married men, got into a shootout over the “rights of favors” of a school teacher. The shootout left the principal dead, shot in the middle of the forehead. A grand jury declared the shooting was in self defense and no charges were filed.

While I enjoyed hearing about all of the buildings, I was intrigued by the murals and sculptures…

We thought we would wrap up our first day with a stop at the Luna Rossa Winery…

But, as it turned out, we met some of the locals who convinced us to go with them to the Happy Camper Clubhouse for dinner and “mix tape bingo”.

While we didn’t win at bingo, we definitely won with new friends!

The plan for the next day was for Steve to button up the Jeep and I would go in search of some of the famous thunder eggs, geodes and jasper found in the region. It didn’t take me long to get distracted by the wildflowers…

There are marked trails, but you are free to explore everywhere on the mountain and surrounding hills. One of the things which makes Rockhound SP unique is its “finders keepers” instead of “take only photos” policy. I had picked up quite a few “pretty rocks” when I looked back towards Waldo to see if Steve was done working on the Jeep. That was when I realized how high up I had climbed.

In hindsight, I should have stopped, but then it became about reaching the top, not about “pretty rocks.” When I had climbed as far as I felt I could, I took a picture of the campground…

I had to zoom to 10 on my phone before Waldo was clear…

I texted Steve and asked him to take a picture from Waldo, but, try as he might, he couldn’t quite find me…

I’m up there somewhere!

Upon my return to Waldo, I found Steve still slaving away. Come to find out, trying to work without a bench or all the proper tools can be a challenge. At long last, he was ready to re-install the front drive shaft, my off-roading plans would be saved! But wait!!!!! The new to us front drive shafts took different bolts than my old driveshaft. Special bolts, the kind you can’t buy in a parts store or hardware store. (I’m running out of choice words and beginning to recycle them now.) Since there was nothing more he could do until said special bolts were ordered, we called it a night…

Coming up…Spring Canyon and the Florida mountains

Just so you know, in New Mexico they pronounce it Floor -ee- da! Thanks for coming along.

What Else Can Go Wrong?

Leaving Mustang Island SP was a bit of a challenge. Usually, we drive the Jeep to Waldo to hook it up as our “toad” (towed, for those of you unfamiliar with RV speak). But since the Jeep was still out of commission, we had to back Waldo up to it. Not the easiest way to hook-up, but we managed. Our next stop was Lake Casa Blanca International State Park in Laredo. I agree, it is a hell of a long name for a state park.

Before we could head to our site at the state park, we had to drop the Jeep off at the shop. They were quite understanding of our instability to back up with the Jeep attached to Waldo and offered to tow it from the parking lot across the street. We lucked out in finding this shop because they also ran a salvage yard and happened to have a Jeep identical to ours. With assurances the Jeep would be ready on Wednesday, we headed to the park. I was quite excited about getting the Jeep back, there were quite a few things I wanted to see in Laredo. We were only going to be in town until Friday morning. We found an H-E-B (H-E-B is my favorite grocery store in America!!) in Laredo with a parking lot large enough to accommodate Waldo and stocked up on provisions before heading to our site. Once there, we were stuck until we got the Jeep back.

Once we were settled, a walk across the park road brought us to the edge of the lake, a perfect spot to kick back and fish. The sweet acacia ( uh*kay*shuh) were in bloom, showing off their yellow puffball flowers…

But, the nearly constantly gusting winds prevented us from doing any fishing, instead, we contented ourselves with playing Yahtzee. Tuesday evening, Steve noticed a problem with Waldo’s chassis batteries. One of them wasn’t charging. Gee, I don’t have any way to go into town to buy new ones. Hmmm, what to do. Insert choice words here! The decision was made to keep the battery charger on it until we could get replacements. An inconvenience, but not really a problem. I spent Wednesday anxiously awaiting the call from the shop saying the Jeep was ready while Steve serviced all the batteries. Around 5pm, a call finally came, only to inform us it wasn’t ready…insert more choice words here! Thursday morning we got the call….YAY! The shop was kind enough to send someone to pick Steve up so we didn’t have to call an Uber. With the Jeep finally back where it belonged, I took our site picture…

While the Jeep was drivable, it still didn’t have any 4X4. Steve wanted to rebuild the used front drive shaft he bought before installing it. I nodded and smiled while he explained what that entailed all the while thinking, “Yada, yada, yada, is my Jeep done yet?” I have to confess, when he talks about working on vehicles, all I hear is the mumbled sounds of the adults on the Peanuts cartoons.

Friday morning found us packing up and heading west to Seminole Canyon State Park near Comstock, TX. Several phone calls on the way confirmed there weren’t any Waldo batteries or Jeep parts to be found within 100 miles of Comstock. Not to worry, we have a battery charger and I didn’t want to have fun 4 wheeling anyhow.

We had to drive through Del Rio to get to Comstock. Del Rio is home to The Amistad Reservoir. When we drove passed it in 2022 is was pretty low…

But conditions are worse now…

The reservoir is only at 26% capacity. All but 2 of the boat ramps are closed and there are numerous warnings on the National Park Service website about boating hazards.

Settled in at our site at Seminole Canyon…

Thoughts turned to dinner and the tomahawk steak we purchased at H-E-B…

Steve did a fantastic job of grilling it!! Trust me, it tasted even better than it looks! We spent the evening in a meat coma and planned our adventures for the next four days.

Coming up…

Exploring the Comstock area and up to Balmorhea (and Waldo gets batteries!)

Where Have You Been the Last 2 Years?!?!?

I know, I know. We’ve been missing in action as far as updating the blog, but I am going to try to re-motivate myself. We’ve been lots of fantastic places and I’ve struggled with where do I pick back up. Do I go back to where we have been? Or do I just start with what’s been happening recently? The “plan” I’ve come up with is to get you all up to speed on where we are, what’s going on and what’s coming up first, then, throw in random places from the past. So with that in mind, here goes…

2024

We had a major change at the end of 2023, we opted to stop selling Christmas trees for Hayes Farms. It was a tough decision. It was a huge part of our lives for the last 5 years. We had gone to Florida in October with the plan of selling trees, but, things change. We still sell fireworks for New Years so we started 2024 in Florida. We spent our first night back on the road at our favorite Harvest Host, Southern Grace Lavender Farm. It is always a pleasure to stay there and it breaks up the long drive out of Florida. Then we headed west to Blakeley State Park in Spanish Fort, AL. From here, it was an easy drive into Mobile. We missed their Mardi Gras celebration by 1 day, which was kind of OK with me. I’m not a fan of big crowds or impossible to find parking. After doing a Google search, we found The Oyster City Brewing Company…

This is Dane, our bartender. Apparently taking a selfie, before taking our picture sounded fun. It’s not the first time it has happened and I’m actually a bit disappointed now when it doesn’t happen.

We walked the boardwalk trail passed the “hiding tree”. It is said that it was a hiding place for Confederate soliders trying to escape capture after loosing the battle of Fort Blakeley….

Next, we headed to Palmetto Island State Park in Abbeville, LA. In case you don’t know, all Louisiana state parks offer a camping discount for people 62 and over! Score! It pays to have an old man for a husband, hehehe. My main reason for stopping there is they have 3 ponds/lakes that are connected by a kayak trail, but the weather had no plans to cooperated with me. Don’t let the patches of blue sky fool you, it was cold!

Instead we decided to check out the local, come on! you know what’s coming…brewery. Adopted Dog Brewery in Lafayette did not disappoint!

Josie

There are many impressive live oak trees in the area, but this one really stood out to me. It definitely has a desire to live!

Up next, 17 Days to Cross Texas