Chillin' at Elephant Butte and T 'r C

Sunday, February 3, 2013 through Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Sunday we relaxed and caught up with odds and ends. Greg said we needed an administrative day, so he worked on finances and I puttered. We haven't taken the time to evaluate our expenses since we left home almost three months ago. Greg had worked up an elaborate spread sheet as we planned our move, with estimates of our expenses, so now it was time to see how realistic we had been. Long story short, we are spending more than we expected. Diesel fuel has been less expensive but we are driving much more than estimated, campsite costs and food costs have been higher. Our fixed expenses can't change, so we are evaluating the rest. Our health insurance, which is primarily catastrophic coverage, as we are in good health, is higher than we estimated. Silly me! I had the nerve to turn 60 and get bumped up into a higher risk pool, so up the fee went, for no other reason!

We decided to spend whatever we need on fuel. The point of our journey, is to journey! We are not ready to be “snowbirds” and reside in one or two spots for the winter. The RV is averaging 17+ mpg, and Greg drives below the speed limit to keep it good. He is a very considerate RV'er and pulls over frequently to let vehicles pass.

We haven't tried to cut our campsite expenses too much. We stay, for the most part in state and national parks, and avoid the really pricey RV parks. When we feel more confident in our ability to boondock or dry camp, we can start staying for free on federal land, mostly national forests and BLM land. In Texas, we bought a $70 annual pass for the state parks. They charge the daily park fee as well as the camping fee, so it adds up fast. Florida only charges the camping fee, so we didn't buy a pass there. In Everglades National Park we bought the $80 annual parks pass that gets us into any federal land for free. Of course, we still pay to camp. After camping two nights at Elephant Butte, we realized that of the $14 a night it was costing us, $10 was the entry fee, so we bought an annual pass for $225, pretty pricey, but it gets us $4 a night camping in all New Mexico state parks through next February. When I reach 62, I will be eligible for senior passes and discounts. So, until Greg catches up, after 62, I'll be doing all the check-ins!

Food is more of a problem. Whenever we need food, we have to find a grocery store. Not being familiar with regional chains, we don't know what we will find. We have been growing and buying organic food for decades. Back in Maryland, I could stretch our food dollars by growing vegetables, taking advantage of sales and coupons, and buying with a discount at our food co-op. We search for local natural food stores, but their selection has been small and expensive. Some of the conventional food stores have some organic items, but some none at all. Pretty much everyone has boxed organic lettuce, if nothing else. I've bought more non-organics than I'd like to. When I find organics, I stock up, and then our small fridge is crammed full and not running as efficiently! The top of the fridge is my pantry, and is usually loaded up, too. That helps when we travel, as there is less to go flying on the turns, when it is packed tight!

I am not in love with WalMart, and have avoided shopping there over the years, but I am coming to find that they do stock some organics. More some places than others. They also seem to have all the non grocery odds and ends we need, and they cater to RV'ers, so we can purchase the RV toilet paper, (yes, it has to be specially biodegradable for our waste tanks!), that we need. Any WalMart stop turns into an hour because it takes so darn long to find things! So, the point of all this rambling is that I am going to find it difficult to keep our food costs as low as they were at home. And, I need to keep Greg, who never shopped for groceries at home, out of the cookie aisle!

Another expense that we have control over is eating out. Sometimes, I just need a break from cooking in my tiny kitchen. We don't want to miss out on the local specialties, so if we choose to go out to eat, we usually go at lunch when the same menu costs less.

All in all, we should be able to cut back here and there and still enjoy the journey.

Our second full day here we decided to go explore Truth or Consequences, or as the locals call it T'r C. We drove into town and found an easy parking spot on the main street. T 'r C was originally called Hot Springs, but in 1950, won a contest by Ralph Edwards, the host of the TV show Truth or Consequences, to re-name the town. It is an interesting mix of old-timers, old West, New Agers and the desert. There are quite a few businesses that have hot springs, mostly inside, for you to enjoy. We walked around and had lunch at the Happy Belly Deli. Greg got to try a Green Chile Philly. The funky version of a green chile hamburger. We also found the Turtleback Oasis Marketplace, the local natural foods store, but we only bought some loose tea. They had no produce. Since we are still looking for a book of New Mexico geology, we visited a used book store, Xochi's. He led us to a back room, flicked on the light, and pointed us to an old bookcase full of ancient geology texts from random places. Greg had fun perusing the books, but didn't find what he wanted. We then wandered into the Chamber of Commerce and met a fulltiming couple from Michigan, who had decided to buy a house in T 'r C, since they had been wintering there. Talk about a nightmare! They bought a fixer upper and can't get tradesmen to come in a timely manner to do the unexpected work. The nearest Lowe's is in Las Cruces, 75 miles away. The local electrician charges $80 an hour and won't give quotes. So, I guess it takes

as long as he needs the money to pay his bills!

After our visit downtown, we drove to the outskirts of town to WalMart and picked up some odds and ends. Then back to the park to pick out a new site. We bought our annual pass and paid for three more nights. This time we wound up in Quail Run farther back from the lake, but the sites are more private and quieter.

Yesterday, the 5^th, Greg took some bike rides around the area and tried to ride to the dam, but the access road is closed off. Today, he took off up the trail north along the lake, but after two falls in the soft sand, and an encounter with a thorned mesquite bush, (ouch!), he gave up and rode on the road. Yesterday's bike ride did yield a bundle of wood that he strapped to his bike, so last night, we had the first campfire since Manatee Springs. We had a pile of bills and receipts to burn. We started the fire before dark because the temperature drops so rapidly at sundown. It has been in the 60's during the day and near freezing at night.

I have been cleaning, relaxing, cooking, and playing on the computer. The park has free wifi access, and we have good phone reception. We have water and electric, but have to go to the dump station every few days. The Albuquerque TV stations come in clearly with our roof antenna, and we were finally able to stream the last two episodes of Downton Abbey, and access Netflicks. We have a covered patio and table, and a shower close by. A lot of camp amenities for $4! We are paid up through tonight, and will probably stay two more nights after that. Then a big windstorm is coming, so we need to head out on Saturday. We will probably go farther south in New Mexico, but haven't decided where yet. We are camped in a very dry unsheltered spot, and as soon as the wind picks up, the sand will be in everything!

Greg just came to tell me that a whole flock of Gambel’s Quails are acting crazy and all wound up in the desert bushes by our site. They also make little “woot-woot” sounds that sound digitalized. Apparently, we are here the time of year that they begin to leave the flocks and start nesting pairs. Interesting to watch the males and females “courting” nearby!

Westward to the Rio Grande (Again!)

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Goodbye Roswell! We kept a lookout for more aliens as we left town and headed west. We could see snow covered peaks on the horizon and were excited to be leaving this part of the desert. As we drove farther from Roswell, it turned hilly and the vegetation changed. We drove into the foothills of the Capitan Mountains and then the mountains themselves , and into the Lincoln National Forest. We passed through the towns of Lincoln, Billy the Kid's home, and Capitan, which is the turnoff for the snow covered mountains and the ski resort. On the other side is Ruidoso with the horse racing track and casinos. We continued on to Carrizozo. We grabbed a quick Mexican lunch at a crossroads restaurant. Two Mexican meals now, and neither was very good. Hopefully we'll find a good one soon.

Past Carrizozo the road cut through the Valley of Fires. This is a fairly recent lava flow, perhaps 8-10,000 years old. It runs north-south and the road cuts east-west across it for several miles. We had an over 60 mile stretch of road to travel across. Part of it bordered on the White Sands Missile Range. “Trinity Site” where the first atomic bomb was exploded in 1945, was about 14 miles south of us. Sobering to think what that area experienced during the explosion.

At San Antonio, NM we reached I 25 and the Rio Grande again. Apparently the best green chile burgers are here on the Green Chile Burger Trail. New Mexico has lots of designated trails! We were still full from our mediocre Mexican lunch, so we passed on. We headed south on I 25 for Elephant Butte Lake State Park outside of Truth or Consequences, NM. We traveled along the El Camino Real, which was the road connecting Spain and Mexico with New Mexico starting in 1598, 20 years before the Mayflower. This area contained a stretch of road known as Jornada del Muerto, the Journey of Death. It was a 90 mile waterless shortcut, that shaved several weeks off the journey, but many people and draft animals died.

Arriving at Elephant Butte, we discovered a nice state park, and a lake that is 100' below it's normal level. The campsites used to be lakefront. Now it is a long hike to get there. They have positioned porta potties along the lake, because the original bathrooms are too far away. We chose a site in the Lion's Beach area on a bluff, so we had a nice view of the lake. Gambel's Quail were living all around us, scurrying around and making kind of chirpy noises. We also heard the doves mostly in the morning and evening. They have been everywhere we have camped in the Southwest. We were calling them mourning doves, but after consulting the bird book, and finding doves, doves and more doves, we are just calling them doves!

We paid for two nights with the agreement between us that we would stay longer if we liked it. We have been moving too much, but hadn't found a campsite that we wanted to spend more time in. We are still in the desert, but now we have topography and water to look at. But, everything else is very dry dusty fine sand. We took a walk before dusk, and watched the sunset in the east in front of our site! The sky was more spectacular where it was refracting the light of the setting sun. At dusk it turns blue along the ridges with a beautiful pink above, and eventually the lake reflects a violet color.

Roswell! (Cue creepy alien music...)

Friday, February 1, 2013

Greg had an interesting tour of the Lower Cave with 6 other visitors and 2 rangers. They climbed in and out on ropes and ladders. There was an optional crawl section, but Greg opted out. Too, many years of parking garage caisson inspections in Maryland. The novelty factor was gone. He said it was good that I hadn't gone. Too many tight spaces. We left after the tour and drove to Brantley Lake State Park just north of Carlsbad. Nice state park, but we could see very little of the once large lake. The long term drought has taken its toll on the dammed up Pecos River. The air smelled of sulfur from the oil and gas field activity. At night on the horizon, we saw fires from the flares where they were burning off the gases. The desert isn't as attractive in this area either.

On to Roswell! A long, straight drive in which Greg had his foot off the pedal using cruise control, and no steering was involved. Just his hand resting lightly on the steering wheel! On the outskirts of Roswell we stopped for gas and propane and a carved green alien welcomed us. We drove straight on through the main part of town to go to WalMart. We passed the UFO Museum and various tourist businesses with green aliens out front. WalMart had aliens in their window. Colonel Sanders had an alien next to him at KFC. The Crashdown Diner from the TV show Roswell is now a t-shirt gift shop.

It was all a bit disappointing. We decided not to go to the museum. We found the Trailer Village RV Park on the outskirts of town and checked in for the night. Tomorrow we leave again and head west. It is time to find some nicer scenery and a place that we can hike and bike. At least it is getting warm again. 60's during the day feels great!

Greg Can't Get Much Lower

Thursday, January 31, 2013

I am sitting in the camper in the parking lot at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Greg is somewhere over 800 feet below me. He is taking a guided tour of the Lower Cave with a small group. The park provides the helmet, headlamps and gloves. For three hours they are exploring under the Reef. I have claustrophobia, so he didn't need to be touring with me. We have done a few small caves in the past, and Greg kids about the claw marks on his arms when I freak out!

We broke camp this morning after the rooster incident and being told the whole town was shutting off the electricity at 11 am for maintenance. Bye-Bye! When we arrived at the park we walked to the natural cave entrance to do another self-guided tour. We entered through the large outside opening in the amphitheater. During the warmer months of the year visitors can gather there to see the millions of bats exit the cave at dusk and dawn. We spent an hour traveling down, down, down into the cave. It was like hiking down the side of a canyon. It is paved, and has hand rails, but is steep. Various features are lit, but it is still dim. We came out at the bottom by the elevators and the Big Room. They were just getting ready to open up the snack bar, and we visited the restrooms. Yes, I know, TMI, but I was fascinated with having a fully tiled, modern restroom at 750' deep, carved out of the cave, and curious about the plumbing challenges!

We ascended back up in the elevator. It was dynamited out of solid rock in 1931. The crews worked from both directions and met within a quarter inch of each other. The ranger who was operating it offered to turn out the lights on the way up, but when she saw my freaked out face, she changed her mind.

After lunch in the camper, Greg left for his adventure. I am parked on top of the Reef and can see at least fifty miles east across the desert. There is a high overcast coming in after a beautiful clear morning, but the weather report is promising dry weather and in the 60's. When Greg comes back at 4 pm, we will head up to Carlsbad and stay at Brantley Lake State Park. This will be our first New Mexico state park. After that, we plan to head to Roswell, New Mexico. Time to check out the UFO Museum and the Crashdown Diner from the TV show Roswell.

Empty Roads and a Rooster in the Bathroom- Welcome to New Mexico!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Greg got me up before dawn. Easy to do this far west in the Central Time Zone! We stowed everything in the camper, Greg dumped the tanks in the wind and the cold, and we parked in front of the not yet opened Interpretive Center to use the wifi and post the blog. Then three miles back down the mountain to the Fort Davis Drugstore for a big breakfast. Greg loves his big breakfasts. Me, not so much, but I love Greg, so I got up early to go!

We hit Fort Davis during morning rush hour. Where were the cars? The breakfast rush at the Drugstore was over, too. Good country music playing, a good ol' girl waitress, funky plumbing in the bathroom and overly salted food completed our breakfast and we left for New Mexico.

Our route took us through half of the 75 mile scenic route through the Davis Mountains. We had elevation climbs and twisty roads. We passed only one car in the 50 miles to the interstate. At Interstate 10 we drove west for 37 miles. Greg commented that it seemed like a lot of traffic. We calculated that for the entire state of Texas we had driven about 160 miles of interstate highways. The majority from the Louisiana border to Houston, then a few miles north of Laredo, and the 37 miles yesterday. Lots of “blue highways” for us!

After leaving I 10 at Van Horn, which has another restored 1930's hotel by the same architects as the ones in Alpine, Marathon, and Marfa, we headed north through desolate countryside, the Sierra Diablo (devil) Mountains. Again, we only passed one car across that long stretch. On the horizon we saw a huge upthrusting of rock, named El Capitan and we reached the beginning of the Guadalupe Mountains and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. This range includes the highest point in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, 8,749'.

The Guadalupe Mountains are an ancient sea reef that was later thrust up and the surrounding area eroded down. The north-south spine of the range overlooks a huge flat desert to the east. Both Guadalupe Mountain NP and Carlsbad Caverns NP are connected along this reef. The latter park is in New Mexico.

As we drove into Guadalupe Pass the wind was howling and struck us sideways. Greg pulled into a rest area to take pictures of El Capitan and quickly jumped back in and fought our way up the pass. At the top we stopped at the Visitor's Center. There was snow on the ground, and it was 40 degrees with a windchill of 29 degrees! (It was 67 degrees back in Maryland...) We toured the center, picked up hiking brochures, and drove through the campground. There were actually two small tents pitched in the howling wind! We want to come back and hike this park, but when it is warmer!

Another stretch of straight road and desert brought us to the New Mexico border and Mountain Standard Time. No big sign to photograph. I guess we were sneaking in the back way! A little further and we reached the turn-off for Carlsbad Caverns National Park in White's City. We reached the Visitor's Center shortly before 3 pm, just in time to take the elevator down 75 stories through solid rock to the Big Room. We walked through on the self-guided tour and made plans to come back the next day.

We stayed at the only RV park close by. The national park has no campground. Otherwise, you stay in Carlsbad and drive the 20 some miles back. Not fuel efficient with most RV's. The park had gotten some bad reviews due to its bathrooms, but we have our own. The bathrooms were one room with a toilet, sink and a shower head coming out of the wall. Shut the door and take your shower. In some RV's they have what is called a wet bath, where everything is molded into one piece like a shower stall with a toilet and sink. But, that is in your own camper, not a separate building. So, no showers for us! But, even stranger was that Greg said there was a rooster crowing this morning and the sound was coming from behind the closed door of the women's bathroom! I guess the rooster wanted a shower, but picked the wrong gender bathroom! Anyway, lots of other quirkiness at this park, but it was quieter than the crazy truck stops we've over-nighted in.