Page 6

K- I took Gypsy out for her very early morning bathroom break about 5AM. After I gave her breakfast I went back to bed. After a minute all I could smell was skunk. It was so bad I had to rethink what just happened. Had I let a skunk back in instead of my dog? The intensity was so great I got my flashlight just to make sure it wasn’t in the kitchen. But alas it must have been under the trailer right on my side of the bed with a few friends stinking up the place, yuck!

I wanted to mention a very nice attribute my husband has. It’s Mojo. I have to give him props for a few things, like picking out places far in advance (years really) for us to get out of the hot desert summer heat. Also, he backs up the truck to the trailer all by himself with no help from me. The trailer, he backs up without me even getting out of the truck. For those of you who have never done these things it is no small feat. You can’t see a thing behind you and have to use your judgment and side mirrors only. Of course I could help, but that only complicates things. He navigates the steep inclines and switchback roads with easy and always with safety first. Bob just keeps on going and just gets the job done. His confidence is amazing, he knows everything about everything and I’m happy to be on the road with him, not only on our trip but being married to a remarkable man on our road together. Thanks Sweetie!

7 July 2013 Elephante Butte Lake State Park, NM

We left Ruidoso and climbed our way north through the rest of the mountains to Carrizozo. From there we headed west to San Antonio, New Mexico, then due south past the lava beds of the "Valley of Fire" National Monument and on to Elephant Butte Lake State Park. Quite a ride for one day. When we arrived we finally saw the severity of the ongoing drought in the West. The lake is fed by the Rio Grande River, and when we passed the Rio Grande, it was dry. Everyone says this drought is the worst since the 1930's. On memorial Day it was reported to be 11% full. I don't know how much worse it can get. We may have to make some on-the-fly plans for the near future since many parks may be closed due to the fire danger.

08-10 July 2013 Silver City, Pinos Altos, Mimbres NM

After years of wanting to check out Silver City we’ve arrived. We came via scenic route Hwy 152 through the mountains where the fires had recently been. What a drive! Twisty, curvy, steep hills, and valleys have made this the most strenuous stretch for the truck so far. We both thought it would be the best to take that drive on an open air sports car or motorcycle. I wouldn’t

Campgrounds along the way were closed due to fire danger, and they would have been perfect. The weather up at those altitudes was fresh and breezy. At one time the temperature was at 57 degrees in the afternoon. Well, the fire is completely out, and it rained as we left the mountains. We passed through a couple mining towns where Freeport-McMoran has some huge copper mines. The mines had been started by the Spanish in the 1800’s. Some of the same families have the same vocations as their ancestors.

meander through the hills. It was robust during a gold rush. There are many old historic buildings still surviving, many still being lived in. They are all pretty small, usually made of wood or adobe. Billy the Kidd was born in Silver City, and his mother is buried in the cemetery next to where we are camped.

We took another drive further north above Pinos Altos, Hwy 15, the Trail of the Mountain Spirits Scenic Byway, during which we passed the continental divide. This road was even more twisted and steep than Hwy 152 the one from Truth or Consequenses to Silver City. It was a

loop. At Lake Roberts we turned onto Hwy 35 and headed along the Mimbres River canyon to San Lorenzo, then back west on Hwy 152 passing Hanover and Chino Open Pit Copper Mine, where we were able to get some nice photos and read the history of mining in the area. We passed through Ft. Bayard and Santa Clara and back to Silver City. We went to the historic district of Silver City and had an excellent dinner at Café Jalisco, which we can highly recommend. Finally a place that we can say offers authentic New Mexican fare and rates with the best we’ve had in the state. In the middle of town, directly behind the main street is what is called the Big Ditch Park. During the late 1800’s a flash flood of Pinos Altos creek, careened right down the middle of the town to a depth of 35 feet, wiping out all but one building in its path. The town decided to control the flood and built containing walls for the runoff area and built some bridges across the deep ravine now left. If you didn’t walk one block from the main street, you would never know it existed.

We have been discussing changing the route of our trip. With the extreme heat in Arizona, many of the parks closed in New Mexico and having visited our main goal in the western part of New Mexico, we are inclined to head north. We don’t like the idea of having to retrace part of our recent route, but there are always new places to see along the way. Besides, our prior plans will still be viable later in the season when things cool down a bit. It looks like we’ll be headed North by Northwest possibly to Oregon and then check out some of the places we missed in the southwest on the way back.

11 July 2013 Percha Dam State Park, NMWe’ve made up most of the back tracking today, and stopped just north of Hatch New Mexico at Percha Dam. I think it is just a spillway control for the little amount of water that gets released from Elephant Butte Lake a bit further north. There is not much here, a few trees and the spillway, lots of gnats and flies, but it is overcast today making it not too hot. It’s just a stop over to keep from driving too much in one day. Kim has come up with a draft route going north through Albuquerque, Santa Fe, then Sugarite Canyon just south of the Colarado border, then on into Colorado. The problem is, now there are fire restrictions in Colorado. Fire restrictions keep me from making a nice charcoal fire to cook on. We miss that a lot. It really is amazing if you stop to think about how large of an area of our country is and has been affected by the ongoing drought. As we left, they had opened the dam and were going to leave it open from Friday morning until Sunday evening. After that I was told it would be closed until around February or March.

12 July 2013 Isleta Casino RV Park

We camped here on our way north. The location is just south of Albuquerque NM. The RV park had a man made lake and an American Buffalo graving area. There was an express rail train running constantly from the city. It was a nice place, well kept, but basically just a rest stop for us.

13-14 July 2013 Santa Fe NM

We arrived in Santa Fe with storm clouds surrounding us. We really thought it was going to rain, but it didn’t happen. There was lightning in all the hills around us, but we were spared. Just like we remembered the weather here is super. It is so nice to sit outside in the evening, no bugs, and a cool breeze. We were looking forward to going to a few of the places we loved to eat the last time here, but the first place was closed. We headed to a place that was supposedly good, Tomasitas, near the old Santa Fe train depot, but were disappointed. The food wasn’t bad, but wasn’t as good as we expected in Santa Fe.

We finally made it to Harry’s Restaurant again. I have to admit it was just as good as last time. This is a place that I could highly recommend. It is located just 4 miles out of town and well worth the short drive. The weather has cooled considerably and our decision to head north was right on. It rained in the evening and was overcast throughout the day.