May 18, 2015 by Rae

Santa Fe, NM, to Walsenburg, CO

I’ve decided to split my day up into two posts. The more interesting one will follow. 🙂

Unfortunately, I got to bed very late last night, a combination of having dinner with John (I cooked and he can attest to the fact that I can cook, even with a very limited pantry! 🙂 ) and the File From Hell that would not finish. So it was a slow and molassy kind of morning for me. My to-do list felt daunting — finish packing up the fifty billion bags I brought into the rig, schlep them all the way to my truck and repack it (John fixed my tailgate again, btw, THANK YOU!!!), and then clean the rig and throw on laundry. Of course, it all came together very quickly. I was ready to pull out at about 9:30, an hour and a half later than I would have liked, but still a half hour ahead of my ‘this is the absolute latest I want to leave’ hour.

John and I both tried to figure out how long I’d been there and drew a blank. I later figured out it was 12 days!!!. My Santa Fe stay really felt like a moment out of time. I am really grateful to have been there as it enabled me to recharge my batteries and my bank account a little as well as do loads of touristy stuff. It was definitely time to move on, but John said I was welcome to return if I wanted to tonight since my day’s fun was to be had not very far down the road. It’s nice to feel that welcome. 🙂

After getting fuel, it was time to head to Bandelier National Monument, the subject of my next post.

It’s unbelievable the places my life takes me…

Right to Bandelier!

After several hours of fun that I am convinced Disney World couldn’t rival, I decided to go to Los Alamos for lunch and a bit of tourism.

Los Alamos has great significance for me. Judy Blume’s book Tiger Eyes was one of the defining stories of my adolescence. I must have retreated to this story set primarily in Los Alamos more than a hundred times. It painted a world that was absolutely alien to me and I promised myself that if I ever was in the area, I would check out the town and its environs.

I thought I’d done my research and that Los Alamos is now open, with no more guard houses and plenty of museums and other touristy things to do. So imagine my surprise when there was a checkpoint coming into the town. A surely woman asked me where I was going. I told her the truth, going downtown to have lunch and visit the museums. “You’re on government property. I need to see your ID,” she replied. I handed her my passport and she told me to turn around and go the way I came. So, that was that for Los Alamos. Can’t say I didn’t try. 🙂 But I did see the canyons that Judy Blume paints so well with words and they were exactly as I expected. I’m not disappointed about not seeing the town as I doubt it would have borne any resemblance to the the 1970’s town she described.

It was then time to head northeast.

Last chance to go back to John’s for the night!

I put Mount Rushmore into my GPS and it plotted out the same route I had to I-25 and beyond, so I followed its directions, heading northeast through mountain passes. Traffic was very slow through the tourist town of Taos and I had no desire to stop.

Quesnel Road! I wonder how they pronounce Quesnel here.

From the mountains, I eventually emerged into a plateau as I entered Colorado. I went to three places in 1996, Quebec City, Colorado, and New York City. If I had known then that of the three, Colorado is the first one I would return to a second time, I would not have believed it.

Colorado was looking a lot like Florida the last time I was there. 🙂

Snow capped peaks in the distance.

I didn’t want to drive too much today and hoped to stop around 4:00. But motels were far apart and expensive. I decided that I was stopping in Walsenburg, CO, no matter the prices. By the time I got there around 6:45, I’d seen about four roach motels wanting more than 80CAD a night. Google told me that the average price in Walsenburg was about that. So when the first place I stopped in was clean, neat, and 60CAD, my maximum budget, I was done for the day! BTW, it’s cold and rainy; not truck camping weather at all!

Having done so much exercise today, I needed a proper dinner, so I walked the block to a sit down Mexican restaurant. I ordered a beer (Budweiser!) and wasn’t asked for ID. Mexico officially aged me! 😀 The menu was uninspiring, just your typical ‘Mexican’ and American fare, so I ordered the two enchilada special (opting for chicken with green sauce). It was tasty enough, spicy as hell, and a good deal for the price ($7). The beer brought the tab up to $10.30 with the tax, still a very reasonable price. The enchiladas were topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and… black olives. Strange. I started to eat olives last summer and haven’t had them since I left home, so I tried one and didn’t hate it, so I ate them all. 🙂

It was a good day on the road. I could easily get to Mount Rushmore tomorrow, but I’d rather split it up into two or even two and a half days. We’ll see how the weather is. 🙂

May 7, 2015 by Rae

Some Catch Up Pictures

It was too dark last night to take some of the pictures I wanted to share in addition to the fact that I’d left the camera battery in the truck and I was too knackered to go and get it. 🙂 BTW, it is DARK out there at night. John left me a flashlight. He thought of everything!

First of all, some neat things about this RV.

Notice the beautiful solid honey oak cabinetry like I have in my rig. It feels very natural to handle. 🙂

Next, notice the big drawer under the sink?

Big drawer under the sink?

Nope. What a clever use of space!

That is brilliant! In case the picture isn’t clear, you have two little drawers on either side, a long narrow one in the middle, and the interior is cut open for the sink.

Next, the shower, which is within a little tub. This was hanging in on the towel bar:

A chamois says so much. 🙂

I know that that means! Dry the shower after use! I’m pretty sure this is common RV language that does not require words. 🙂

There is no shower curtain, but rather one of those roller doors on a spring (like a window blind, only installed vertically):

Challenging shower screen.

I’d heard about them, but never used one. You need firm steady pressure to extend it. Do not let go or it will snap back! It then needs to be snapped into place at the other end of the bath.

So I had my shower last night, lovely water pressure, hot water, all is wonderful, and I’m about to crawl into warm jammies and a comfy bed when…

I realise I have no idea how to get the dang shower screen open again.

Since it had snapped into place, I figured a firm pressure at the right place would dislodge it, but it took a minute to find the right place. I remembered to hold on tight to keep it from snapping back! Tonight will be easier. 🙂

I like the screen very much as it’s more water tight than a shower curtain, plus you don’t have to deal with the shower curtain flapping around you. I now get why a lot of RVers have upgraded to them.

Finally about the RV:

View from my office.

Now, some pictures for the curious ladies. Here’s that purse/wallet I bought yesterday. The exterior weaving is gorgeous!

Wallet/purse opened up to show the pattern.

The inside is a fine denim with lots of pockets. The only thing I don’t like is the Velcro and I will likely pick it all apart when I get home and replace it with a few snaps instead.

Lots and lots of pockets in it!

Closed up in purse mode.

My glass bead earrings were easier to photograph in daylight. I’m sure all the earring wearing ladies reading this would agree that I couldn’t possibly leave these behind, right?

So pretty!

And here are my turquoise earrings, understated and unpolished and full of iron oxide and one has a chunk missing from it. I would have paid $4 anyway to support the community, so what’s an extra $6 for a souvenir that will ensure I’ll never forget driving the Turquoise Trail?

The imperfections make them perfect.

May 7, 2015 by Rae

Down Day

John picked up on something that I hadn’t even noticed myself, that I’m getting road weary. I didn’t realise it until this morning that he’s right! I’ve been on the road 12 days now and I haven’t had a real day of rest. Even though I have a project due tomorrow night, I just may leave it till tomorrow and instead just chill this morning and go hiking in the nearby hills in the afternoon.

I’m out in the country and it is so quiet here! I’ll take pictures later. It is the polar opposite of Isla. T or C wasn’t really that noisy, but I was still in a town. It was lovely to wake up with the sun this morning instead of the roosters or garbage trucks! 🙂

The night was cold and I just burrowed under a pile of bedding like I do at home, getting up around 6:30 to turn on the heat and then go back to bed with my iPad to catch up on blogs… and promptly fell back asleep in the middle of reading Croft‘s latest comment! Someone was more tired than she realised. 😀

The bed is yet another super comfy marshmallowly one, this time with a topper, so now I know that a topper would be a really good investment for me and that I don’t have to spend a lot of money. The bed on Isla is the same size as my bed at home, so the topper could go between both properties.

John has been reading the blog carefully and listening to all my gripes about my accommodations so far, worried about getting a bad review. Heh heh heh. No worries, five-star accommodations here. I mean, clean rig, good bed, good shower, kettle, and SHARP KNIVES. 😀

April 29, 2015 by Rae

My Quirky Truth or Consequences Apartment

I had a really good first night in T or C! It was quiet, the apartment was reasonably dark, and the bed, while very firm, wasn’t hard (and I always thought those two things were synonymous). I’m having a late start today, but I am going to get typing because I am SWAMPED. But first, I thought y’all might like a tour of my place.

You come into the kitchen/dining/living room. The arm chair and ottoman are super comfy and what I wish I had on Isla! The table is good for working, the folding chairs not so much.

Standing at the front door.

Between the armchair and the kitchen, you can see a gas heater. I started it last night. It took a bit of effort and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving it on overnight. I think that the owner of the property would have done better buying two oil filled radiators, one for each room, but this did a good job of heating the place before bed.

To our right is the bedroom.

The door to the bedroom is to the right of the front door.

Coming into the bedroom.

Comfy bed with good sheets and a lovely duvet.

The bedroom is almost the size of the other room. If I was living here long-term, I could easily separate it into a small bedroom and a small office.

Stained glass window in the bedroom.

I had to hang one of my own blankets from two conveniently placed nails over the stained glass window because it allowed in a surprising amount of light.

The kitchen is perfect for a short stay.

Love the cute stove! All the burners work. I haven’t tried the oven yet.

The kitchen is very clean. I came in and felt I could start cooking and using the utensils without having to wash anything, which is a very big compliment on my part! The kitchen has most of the basics, but, like my Isla kitchen, is lacking a sharp knife!

And from the kitchen, we get to the, “Okay, that’s going to be interesting,” part of the apartment, to quote Cameron Diaz in ‘The Holiday’ when faced with a similar situation.

The bathroom is where things get quirky…

Can you see the shower head at the top left? It’s a wet room. And there’s no sink; you brush your teeth in the kitchen.

The shower had a lot of calcium build up over the shut off valve handles (not taps) and I had to figure out that I needed to open a main shut off before I could open the hot and cold handles. It then took a while to get hot water, but once I did, there was tons of pressure!

I don’t know if I could get used to this kind of bathroom long-term since the floor gets wet after the shower, obviously. I shower at night and the floor had time to dry by the morning so it wasn’t too bad, but this isn’t really a set up for morning showerers, although I suppose a squeegee could get most of the water into the drain, and then a towel could get the rest.

I would have also added a second shower curtain to block off the toilet. I had put some things on the closed seat and they got sprayed (as I said, LOTS of pressure!). I’ll figure out a routine. 🙂

Finally, there is a little terrace, but the space has not been maintained. There is a defunct hot tub out there, showing that this could be a very sweet bit of outdoor space if it is ever restored.

Patio doors lead to what could be a really nice space.

All in all, I really like this apartment. I don’t know if I could live here long-term, but it is going to be a blessing for the week!

Love the raftered ceilings.

My only real complaint with the space is that the front door is really not that secure. The owner really needs to invest in a better door and lock. But perhaps this is a neighbourhood where there aren’t too many crime concerns. I really don’t know.

T or C seems very quiet so far and a little desolate. Some folks might be wondering why I chose to be here since there really isn’t much to do besides the hot springs. That’s the whole point. I’m on a work, not exploration, break, like I was in Pocatello. There is little out there to tempt me! I am going to checkout the ‘downtown’ district and one or two museums soon as I get a handle on my workload, but I’m glad to be somewhere quiet where I can work and not be bothered. I love that the grocery store is literally across the store and I’ll head over in a bit to get some more food. I’m glad I made the effort last night to get a few things so I was able to breakfast without going out.

So that’s the scoop. And now, I must get typing!

April 28, 2015 by Rae

Silver City, NM, to Truth or Consequences, NM

The day was rather full, so I am going to give the Gila cliff dwellings their own post.

I left the motel around 10:00 this morning and my truck was really not happy about having been left out in the cold all night! She was making a whining sound that was very easy to anthropomorphize as her reprimanding me for taking her away from the heat! It only took about a half a mile for the engine to warm up and the noise to go away. I wasn’t worried. 🙂

I headed a ways out of town to meet up with reader Ed! Ed has been a long-time commenter and route planning helper. How wonderful to end up in the same place like this! He was staying at a nice little RV park tucked away at the end of a gravel road and I got lots of attention and cuddles from his beautiful and sweet dog. Ed and I had a nice chat and then it was time for me to go since I had about five hours of driving to do today, on top of visiting the cliff dwellings.

By the time I’d filled up and hit highway 15, it was just past 11:30. My ETA for the cliff dwellings was 1:30 and I planned to be back on the road by 3:00 to get to T or C by about 6:00.

It’s only about 75KM/45Mi to the cliff dwellings, but the road is very sinuous. Larger RVs are told to avoid the section between Silver City and the junction with highway 35 and instead take 35, then continue on 15. This is good advice. All of highway 15 would be a nightmare in an RV, but the first section was exceptionally challenging!

I was sure the two hours travel time the signs indicated was exaggerated, but it really wasn’t! It was a fun drive with a standard, but I would have hated it if I was driving something large as the drive is one hair pin turn after another. The road takes you through ponderosa pine and Douglas fir forest before taking you high up into the mountains to see sweeping vistas.

You then descend into the valley where the cliff dwellings are located. My new brakes got a workout even though I engine braked as much as I could!

I allotted exactly the right amount of time to visit the cliff dwellings and the visitors’ centre. The next post will have all the details!

I do have to share a bonehead move that almost spoiled my visit. I was coming out of the caves when I had a weird niggle about my truck keys. I emptied out my purse and had to admit that I didn’t have them. Never mind getting a locksmith all the way out there, just think of how much stuff I had in the truck!

I suspected that I had left them at the counter where you have to pay or fill out your pass information. That was more likely than the keys having fallen out along my walk. So I swiftly made my way back down to the entrance and there they were, stuck on an information post and being minded by a ranger! Oy!

I went to grab them and he said, “Woah, how do I know those are yours?” I actually thought he was serious and went to pull out my truck registration and he burst out laughing. A lady he was talking to said, “I don’t think anyone but the owners of those keys would be so glad to see them!”

There was a similar incident on the way down in the fall and after it happened, I thought that I really should get a chain or lanyard and wear them around my neck when I’m traveling like this. Lesson learned and I will buy a lanyard!

But all was well that ended well and I was able to get back on the road by 3:00, with my ETA being just shy of 6:00. No, I wasn’t rushed, I just demonstrated commendable time management skills and was lucky that nothing happened to delay me! 🙂

It was slooow going to T or C. I only had about 175KM/109Mi to go, but it took three hours! It was just more of the same twistiness and up and down all the way to I-25. There was a really long downhill stretch with steep curves where I just stuck the truck in first gear and slow poked my way down, pulling over for the speedy Gonzalezes less worried about burning out their brakes.

Can you see how one side of the payment is pink and the other is grey?

The entire hillside was ravaged by forest fire.

Approaching I-25. That’s the kind of camper I want, one with off-road capability!

I was surprise that the highway doesn’t go through T or C.

It was a short drive off I-25 to my apartment in T or C, which I found without any problems. I’d been told that a key would be left for me in a certain spot and it was there.

The apartment is advertised as ‘quirky’ and it certainly is. I’ll post pictures tomorrow. It has a large bedroom, a combination kitchen/living/dining room, and a wet room with a toilet and shower. The kitchen has a really cute gas stove and is pretty well equipped, but there’s no toaster, microwave, or sharp knives! The neighbourhood feels a little desolate and there’s a surprising amount of traffic, but I think that will go down as it gets later. So far, I like it. We’ll see how I feel after a few days! It’s going to be cool tonight and I’m going to see how useful the heater is.

There is barely any cell service here and I can’t get data to work. 🙁 BUT there’s wifi! Happy surprise!!!

I was beat when I got in, so the first priority was food. There’s a grocery store across the street (!), so I went in to get something with which to make dinner and breakfast. I’ll do a better shop tomorrow when I’m not so exhausted and can think up a menu. I came in and made up hash browns, Polish sausage, and a red pepper, a pretty decent meal, although I should have bought some oil to keep the food from sticking to the pan. I used water to steam the meal instead, more healthy, but not as tasty. I have tons of leftovers, so I’m try the meal again with a little cheese . 🙂

I treated myself to not only English muffins but a jar of peanut butter for my breakfasts this week. And when I say a jar of peanut butter, I mean the kind with sugar and oil in it, not the all natural kind I normal eat, like Jiffy or Squirrel brand. I haven’t had that in ages and ages. But I did have all natural peanut butter a few times this winter, courtesy of the peanut vendor by the police station on Isla. (For those of you who are paying attention, I’ll toast the English muffins in the pan!)

The last few nights of little sleep are catching up with me. I’m going to do the dwellings post, then call it a night. I have heaps of work to do by Friday night, so I doubt I’ll get out to see much of T or C until the weekend.

A Life By Design

"Sometimes in life, we reach to a right place by departing from a wrong port with a wrong ship!" ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

Accommodation

Santa Fe, NM, to Walsenburg, CO

Some Catch Up Pictures

Down Day

My Quirky Truth or Consequences Apartment

Silver City, NM, to Truth or Consequences, NM