LUNCH AT RAYMONDAR AND OTHER MUSINGS

10/1
We left Santa Fe at about noon today, figuring it wouldn't be too long a day to Roswell, about 200 miles away. We hated to say goodbye to our friends next door, Tim, Ruthie and all of their little dogs. This couple had just sold their business, bought a SUPER motor home on consignment for a SUPER price, and this was their shakedown trip. They were loving it. Here, you see Ruthie ( hiding behind her pack). Mitzi Gaynor is right next to her while Gracie Allen does what she does best: bark. Then come Benny Goodman and last but not least, Wookie Goldberg!! When people rescue dogs, they don't seem to be able to stop at just one!!

Bottomless Lake was our destination, and it was there that we were meeting Doug. The trip was uneventful, except for our lunch stop at Ramondar, about an hour or so on our way.

Small but plenty of roadside allure and cowboy feng shui. For our entrees, we chose a sauteed Canadian bacon, mustard, and lettuce sandwich on whole grain bread with a side of aldente edamame. For dessert we split a mini chocolate bundt cake smothered in chocolate icing and chocolate chips, which they have sent in from Trader Joe's in Santa Fe. Perfect!!

   So what DO we eat on our trip, besides the famous Vale Da Serra lasagna, chips, nuts, wine, beer, and out-to eat? I guess we'd call it “camper food". Bill does most of the driving and all of the camper maintenance and setup, and I take care of the meals, dishes and cleaning. ( not much cleaning going on, I can tell you right now!) This division of labor works just fine for us!! Some nights we arrive and want to just fall into bed, and other times there's more time to do a proper meal. So we've had the ubiquitous hotdogs and beans; spaghetti with sausage/ beef; sauteed ground beef/turkey and veggies; buffalo burgers; hamburgers,sloppy joes over potatoes and onions, sauteed chicken with veggies and ginger over rice. I try to do things that will last for two meals, and all of it is done on the stove top or in the micro. Maybe the next trip I will get more ambitious and do things in the oven, like casseroles. We haven't eaten outside much-- it's been too cold, too mosquitoey, or just easier to do it inside. Breakfast is usually cereal, etc. and lunch can be tuna or chicken salad, tomato, lettuce and cheese sandwiches,or what's leftover in the fridge. Sometimes at night we have breakfast, like egg, onion and cheese wraps. We've had some great fresh veggies from Ruthie and Cliff in Miles City, and we miss their tomatoes like crazy.

STILL SANTE FE

9/29
  Just a little girl talk here. Ladies, if you ever need to have your hair done in Santa Fe, I highly recommend Jennifer at Salon David. She is a lovely young woman who will work hard at doing exactly what you want. Some of us chicas have a hard time finding just the right hair stylist, and when we do, we don't want anyone else!! And heck, when you're on the road, finding someone good is sort of a crap shoot. Walk your  fingers through the Yellow Pages ( or Google) and pick a name, any name! I got Jennifer-- she's great!

  That afternoon we decided to go to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum, which was supposed to be open until 8. With time not an issue, we spent a quiet afternoon at the site and took off about 5 for the museum. When we pulled up to its door, not a soul was around, the bulding was dark. How dare they? It was supposed to be open until 8 on Friday-- it said so right there on the door. A bit deflated, I got back into the truck and then smacked my forehead. (Coulda had a V-8?)  The day was Thursday-- not Friday! So........ this is how it goes with us ding-a-lings.....we'll just have to come back next year!!

PECOS DOG LOVES HIS STICKS

I like this stick!

I think I'll make it mine.

I'll just work it this way.

Well, maybe I'll work it that way.

Maybe if I grab it in my teeth.....?

&%@!#!! I think it's attached to the tree.....

Just kidding- I didn't want the stick anyway.

PECOS WILDERNESS/ BILL'S TURN

9/28
Wednesday we packed up some some food and water, cameras, etc and drove into the Pecos Wilderness for a hike.This from Bill:  

"We-- Doug, Susi, Xian and I-- took a walk in the Pecos Wilderness. Nice well marked trails. We were in the head waters of the Pecos River, altitude of 8000 + feet. A number of streams merge into the Pecos confluence. Fishermen abound. An apparently moribund upscale fly fishing resort/school "owns" or posts about a mile of the waters. A state fish hatchery down stream from this 'school' and situated near the village of Pecos ensures part of the waters are stocked to keep all content and gay.
  Our trail walked beside and above Cave Creek. The well trod trail took the high road on a terrace open forest and shrubs. But, choice had us struggle along the stream's edge through willows, alders, small roses and Toxicodenron radicans. Oh, that's Poison Ivy. Yup
it's here too.

We followed where stalwart 'trouters' had made a passage; narrow, often on shale or muddy slippery slopes over fallen trees, under dense willows, and ever along.  Cold clear water tumbled over rocks, rills, logs to course under shrubs, fallen trees and banks. Many were the hiding places for wily trout . From high points we saw trout down in the pools. Do you suppose they thought they were not visible. Some were big! 12 inches at least. Susi has a photo of one. Its spots are clear.

 

Doug leading the way and first over a pool saw many. I followed along on my three legs: left, right and walking stick. (It was made from a small dead red spruce I cut one day years ago on a hike in the Adirondacks. My rod was back in the camper unlimbered, unstrung. What a waste! Clearly this segment of the stream and going higher is more difficult to walk and fish than many care to attend. No casting of a line here. The places for rods were few and those were small openings in the over arching brush. They were like the kind of places I used to fish in Maine.
   Over our heads towered the forest of Douglas fir, Colorado Blue spruce and Ponderosa Pine of heights 60 to 80 feet. Aspens, 50-60 foot in stature, stood silver straight their leaves beginning to turn to gold.

Along the trail came two horsemen, Tom and his son, Adam. Their garments matched the 1861 Army clothing Manual (Tom did Civil War reenactments.) Tom, a leather worker, made saddles gauntlets, chaps, boot/ stirrup guards, and bridles. The bits and decorative metals were also made by him.  He rode under the brim of a Civil War Union Officer's issue hat of dark blue or black western style with broad brim sporting around the crown a gold braid with tassels. A huge smile on his face, and in his right hand a cold can of beer that clearly was not 1861 Army issue. Such is the world. Enjoy the day."

    And did we ever enjoy the day. The smell of sun-warmed pine and wood was intoxicating. We probably walked about 4 miles, give or take, ( much of it at a slant at first) but according to Doug and his GPS, we spent 3 times as much time in non-motion as we did in motion!! That statistic doesn't apply to Xian, who was in motion most of the time!!

 

SANTA FE 9/27-10/1

Ah, Santa Fe, way too little time in Santa Fe!! The three days we were there went like the wind,but it was wonderful spending time with Doug. Fortunately, Doug ferried us around while the pickup was in the shop....and never complained. Thanks be to the gods, out of all the very expensive problems that could have occurred, this turned out to be a fan clutch replacement-- only a little bit expensive...

    Doug is a busy man. He's working on a master's in teaching science as well as working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. On Tuesday 9/27 we had a tour of the lab area in Alamos.Doug's working for Dr. Aviva Sussman, who is involved in subcritical testing of nuclear weapons.  At the Bradbury Science Museum, we saw at video on just what this is. In a nutshell, we have a huge atomic stockpile which cannot, of course, be tested by detonating. However, for national security, it's important to know that these aging nuclear weapons are still viable. There are any number of ways in which this is done, using computers, and a number of other ways that are way over my head. We couldn't go into the labs, nor did we take any pictures of the grounds-- it is a huge area. Following our tour we drove to the Valles Caldera, a huge meadow created by a collapse after a number of volcanic eruptions, a million years ago. Doug would like to do some rock testing in this area.

   When he completes his master's, Doug then intends to get his PhD. in geophysics or structural geology. He and Bill had the best time talking geology together. Geology is one of Bill's passions, and he's just thrilled that Doug has the same one. Later in the afternoon we met Aviva and her husband Matt and 2-year-old Ellie for a burrito meal at the Butterfly. Love these burritos.....Aviva and company are quite down-to-earth, and we weren't able to spend nearly enough time with them. Maybe another time.....

THE DAY OF WINE AND CHOCOLATE OR WHY NONE OF THESE PHOTOS ARE MINE/ MONTROSE, CO TO SANTA FE, NM

9/27

Bill told me that he had decided in the middle of the night that I would be doing the majority of the driving today. He was tired! Really only fair, since he does most of the driving anyway. I agreed as long as I didn't have to do any of the kind of driving he did yesterday. We got going fairly early, as this was to be another long day. I felt a little stressed for some reason, probably because I had not driven for more than an hour or two each day.  But the day was sunny and beautiful, the road straight and flat. How bad could this be?

     Hmmmm, seems okay to me!  Until we got to Ouray, CO.

     Ouray is an incredible town nestled at the foot of steep and majestic mountains. Its main street is lined with businesses sporting late 19^th century facades. Quite charming.

Truly a town in which to linger, but not today. Outside of town, at the bottom of one of those majestic mountains, there was a delay for construction. Not long, but long enough to spot the road going up. ( Oh NO!)

   But, OH YES!! Up we started to climb; the road seemed narrow. (Bill says there is a standard width for roads, but this seemed narrower than most. ) Maybe because we seemed to achieve a great height without going a great distance. Maybe because there were no guard rails most of the way.

Bill was having a blast snapping photos down into the plunge-- if I looked down I felt dizzy. The road was serpentine, and some of the curves had to be taken at 10 mph. Many of the curves were steep, and the engine was overheating again.

And some of the curves were very sharp-- when you're going around a curve and can see the back of your camper from the side window, you know it's a sharp one. We'd take a curve slowly and just begin to straighten out when along came another sharp curve. My hands were glued to the steering wheel ( Gorilla Glued!) I wanted to hug the center line but had to remember there was traffic coming from the other direction! My heart pounded, and my face was grim; I sat up straight, my mouth took on a closed scream shape, if you can imagine that one! I looked only at the yellow line.....

Bill asked if I wanted to turn the wheel over to him at the next turnout. The real answer was “yes”, but I determined to keep going. Mrs. Intrepid.

  Then came the construction. One lane road ahead.

 The construction equipment was hanging on the edge, for god's sake, and every worker had to be on a line! No lines for the camper. If we slipped off, we were crumbled toast! Somehow can't imagine 2 tons of truck and camper hanging on belay anyway......

    Turns out that this was better for us, because the single lane was on the inside, and there was no oncoming traffic. A breather! Not for long, however,because soon we were back to our sinuous road with oncoming traffic. Jeez, this seemed to go on and on-- into a tunnel, out of a tunnel.

 Just as I was beginning to have visions of truck and camper plunging off the side, I sensed that we were going down. ( on the road, not off the side.) Ah, how sweet it was! Seemingly it took no time at all until we were coming out into a flat road bounded on one side with mountains with those flaming aspens spilling down its side.

 I was actually able to take my eyes off the yellow line; I could enjoy the gorgeous view with my favorite trees! Hallelujah!! Yee haw!!

   Relief lasted too short at time as we began to climb again. It was a bit better this time, although I still had my heart in my mouth. Xian enjoyed the scenery...................................

Bill enjoyed the scenery. Sometimes I could even enjoy the scenery! As they say, this, too shall pass. Eventually we passed out of the pass ( yuk yuk!), and my heart slipped back into place. Whew! Not bad! Would I do this again? Yes. But not today.

    Around lunchtime one of the delightful surprises of the day was to be found in Durango at a little park by the Animas River. A lovely young gal, Tasha and her dog Guiness entertained Xian and us while we ate our sandwiches out on the rocks in the river. Guiness loves balls even more than Xian and practically turns himself inside out to get one that's tossed. When he leaps for the ball, he twists in the air, kicks out his back legs and lands with ball in his mouth. Incredible. He and Xian became fast friends, and as a goodbye gift, Xian presented Guiness with his tennis ball.  The pics tell it all-- no need for more story.

  After lunch we really needed to make time, so Bill drove a good bit of the remaining distance. We made Santa Fe, NM in the very late afternoon, and at day's end, I could well appreciate all the driving Bill had been doing-- especially the Douglas Pass. I was tired, he was tired. Son Doug met us at the campground, and it was a grand reunion. And now, it was time for wine... and chocolate! ( and steaks!)  I surmise you can see why none of these photos are mine. Thank you , Bill!

WE ARE HOT! HOT! HOT! / VERNAL, UT TO MONTROSE, CO

9/26
We loved our campground at Vernal. The sites were spacious, the surroundings pretty with a HUGE dog run area, no leashes needed. Nice people, a relaxing ambiance. A place we could have stayed for a few days. However, time to move on to Montrose, CO.

Vernal is a trip in itself.

 Lovely town with wide main street with baskets and planters of flowers everywhere, city pennants and interesting shops. We stopped later at Dinosaur National Monument to have a quick look-see at the quarry, and soon thereafter met a Danish father-son team of motorbikers who have been sponsored by Canon. Their trip is called Cross Americas-- from NYC to Buenos Ares. They have been gone about a month and expect to end their trip sometime in March 2011. They had their bikes shipped across while they flew from Copenhagen. Such interesting people we meet!

     As we drove, we passed by many small state recreational areas with nifty names. Waving Hands, Kokopelli, White Birds. Lunch was at 4-mile Draw, on a rock.

 This was surrounded by interesting rock formations with lots of cavities formed by erosion.

We had a most unique lunch with plenty of food left over to put into the freezer for later! Xian was especially fond of this meal!! We truly left very little behind!

Then we drove over the Douglas Pass.  This is a mountain pass at 8240 feet above sea level, ( 10- count 'em- -switch backs ) with some incredible views, one especially great one that gave us a view of the Grand Valley of the Colorado River, about 25 miles away.

 On this pass we ran into trouble again, as the engine began to overheat once more, and we had to be quite careful. This problem has just begun to occur, and we're looking forward to getting it diagnosed. We took advantage of a pull-out to let the engine cool ( at 8,000 ft.) where our two Danish friends, Chris and Jay, also happened to be stopped to enjoy the view. We took photos, they took photos, we exchanged emails.

They have a website detailing their trip. (alas in Danish!!) Later on, as we were pulled over-- letting the engine cool of course!-- they pulled in for some directions. There we said our final goodbyes and wished them lots of luck, especially in South America!

   When we finally got to the campground we were glad to say the journey had ended for the day!!