Day Trip to El Paso IV

El Paso is an interesting city just begging to be explored further. Its buildings cover a long span of time, different cultural traditions, and tastes.

The menu of buildings outside of the Camino Real Hotel is just as intriguing as the menu inside. We could not resist the urge to snap photo after photo without moving from a 5 foot radius.

A return visit for exploration purposes is on both Pauli and my "too do" lists.

It was a good day; the weather was not too hot, the sights interesting, and the time spent with a friend was the most precious of all.

Day Trip to El Paso III

After our tour of the El Paso Museum of Art we crossed the street to the Camino Real Hotel for a very late lunch.

It was pretty much what one could expect from a hotel dinning room, and the decor was pleasent.



As you can see even with sore "museum feet" we were still enjoying ourselves. Just give us an air conditioned room, a place to sit, and food, and you have a couple of happy campers.

Day Trip to El Paso II

The El Paso Museum of Art greets visitors with El Vacquero, a fiberglass statue by Luis Jimenez. This being Texas, the statue is is biggest, shiniest, toughest cowboy imaginable.

Alas I am not an appreciative audience of this statue because I am not fond of fiberglass as a medium. For me it evokes the same feelings of other statues done in that medium like Ronald McDonald, and Bob's Big Boy; places that want my money of something of lesser quality.

The architecture of both the interior and exterior are interesting. However I got distracted and only took pictures of the entrance. I cannot find pictures of the interior on the Internet to share with you, but promise I will on my next visit.

We went specifically to see the Bedazzled exhibit; it was on loan and therefore I could not photograph it. My working life was in the jewelry industry and I am a sucker for any exhibit of jewelry; modern, historical, costume or fine. This exhibit, while worth seeing, was of a private collection that was unfocused, and the mounting of the exhibit could have been better. The lighting was not the best for the objects shown, and the magnifying glasses to see the detail were not installed in the cases at the optimum focus, but hand held by the viewer. This link will take you to images from the catalogue. This is the very fist exhibit I have ever attended where the images in the catalogue were better than the objects themselves.

However a day out with a friend is treasure, no matter what you are doing.

Day Trip to El Paso I

Saturday my friend Pauli and I went to El Paso, TX for a visit to the El Paso Museum of Art. (Let me add that the El Paso Museum of Art will not go down as one of the worlds finest, but when you have been without the finest for long enough it will do.) We parked the car in the lot under the Convention Center

When we emerged from the subterranean world of parking we discovered that the Convention Center had redesigned their plaza. No longer was it a vast interesting paved area with an unused water feature. It was now covered with a vast, multi angled, multi curved, blue, glass canopy that bordered on sculpture.

It was supported by the earth toned columns that were interesting in themselves being multi textured and evocative ofthe desert.

The over head was pure almost endless sky, the kind that is best enjoyed in the desert.

When viewed from inside the El Paso Art Museum across the street it was even more sculptural.

I would have liked to spend more time exploring and experiencing the changing light of the canopy, but El Paso is a two hour drive from Deming and moving on to the museum was in order.

Cloudcroft, NM Part V

In this, my final post about my trip to Cloudcroft, I leave you with pictures of clouds. There are some spectacular clouds in Cloudcroft.

Clouds moving up from the mouth of the canyon...

Clouds further up the canyon...

Clouds as the backdrop for the never ending pine trees...

and clouds that bear the look of the hand of a god.

Cloudcroft, NM Part IV

During our stay in Cloudcroft the Boy's and I went for walks. Walking with dogs is a necessity, at least that is what the Boy's think. Walks provide the perfect opportunity to explore an area. Unfortunately exploring while walking with dogs means you rush past the scenic areas, and explore dumpsters, telephone poles and things that smell bad. Our walks are always matters of compromise.

When I first got to Cloudcroft I couldn't figure out why the forest bothered me; there was just something a bit "off". It took me two days realize that not only were all of the trees pine, but that there was very little variety in the kind of pine. This lack of variety is due to the very high altitude. The lack of variety also makes for either a bland forest view, or a relaxing forest view; depending on your mindset. I was not only surrounded by green, but green of the same hue and value. This took some getting used to.

There were very few wildflowers. Those that were there were so singular that they stood out like jewels in a deep green velvet box.

The above two pictures were taken with great difficulty. The thistles were not inaccessible; they were right on the edge of the road. They were on a scenic part of the road, not a part with something that would interest two dogs. While I tried to focus on flowers that were gently moving with a breeze the Boy's were each pulling in a different direction while using me as a Maypole. That is why you had better enjoy these two pictures because they are the only ones that I got remotely in focus.

Cloudcroft, NM Part III

"They" are right; necessity is the mother of invention. When Ralph and I traveled I COOKED. He liked his 3 squares a day. A salad was something that went along with a meal. Now it is just me, and a bigger salad is a meal.

On my recent trip I was faced with the fact that I didn't have a bowl big enough for a BIG salad. A cereal bowl was too small, and a dinner plate a bit awkward. Then it hit me; the perfect solution.

I have a set of stacking cookware made for RV travel. Below is how one of the pans looks when it is assembled for cooking.

I took off the lid, and the handle,

and filled it with salad.

My problem was solved.

Cloudcroft, NM Part II

It is Monsoon Season in New Mexico. Down in Deming we anxiously hope that the scattered storms will land in our yards. In Cloudcroft the storms cover the entire territory. While I was there the village of Cloudcroft had enough hail to call out their snow clearing equipment to make the steep roads safe. Also to the south, at around 6,500 feet, they had so much rain the streets were flooded.

Most days there was rain for an hour or two in the afternoon, and one day it rained all day. Somehow that didn't matter. I was not attracted to the town that looked like a collection to tourist shops and Bar BQ joints; I stayed in the campground. When it rained we just moved inside and continued our relaxation. I read my new Kindle (which I love), knit, watched old movies on DVD, napped, and ate.


Roul is good at napping. When the temperature is below 75 F he is cold so he gets tucked under his little Night-Night. He slept peacefully because he is not bothered by storms.

On the other hand, poor Blizzard is terrified by storms. He would tuck himself either in my lap, or wedged between me and Roul, and shiver and shake until the storm was over and moved well out of earshot.

When it was nice the Boys stayed in their pen outside or walked with me.

This was their second camping trip and they have figured out that the camper will take them to new places full of new smells. They loved it. Now when I go out to empty, and clean the trailer they are hot on my heels, forcing there way past me into the trailer in anticipation of a new adventure. This is going to make loading up the trailer for our next trip a bit of a challenge.

Cloudcroft, NM Part I

Last week the Boys and I ventured forth once again in our little camper. This time we were seeking cooler weather. The only way to get cooler weather around here it to go higher in altitude. The highest point within a reasonable drive time is Cloudcroft, NM. Because we went 8 miles past Cloudcroft to Scenic Canyon RV Park we climbed to about 9,000 feet. That is 5,000 feet higher than we are here in Deming. What a difference a few thousand feet make.

The campground was small; only 15 spaces tucked into a narrow canyon that looked more like a mountain meadow to me. To make the most of a narrow space the RVs were parked on one side of a circling road. Some of the RVs faced North and the others South. We were nose to tail. I found this a bit disconcerting after living and camping in the almost endless vistas of the desert.


Only self contained RVs were allowed; there were no tent campers, no homemade units. While walking around the park I noticed that except for one medium sized rig; I was the only one with NM plates, all of the others were from Texas. That might explain the size of the rigs. Most of them were Huge! They were extremely long, all with multiple slideouts and one was so tall that they needed a 6 foot ladder to put up the outside window shades. Then there was me, in my little 17 foot Casita Travel Trailer. A ladder is not needed to cover its windows, the only option to just to reach out and pull down the blinds. The only thing that slides out is the step to enter. I was a lonely little petunia in an onion patch. (Below is my rig in front of one of the medium/large, but not the largest rig in the park.)



That is just fine by me. The Boys and I were as snug as three little bugs in a rug. While the men were futzing with the mechanics, and the women were cleaning the insides, the Boys and I were sitting outside taking it easy.

The view up the canyon was beautiful. When the sun was out and the light just right I expected to see Julie Andrews running into the meadow singing "The Sound of Music".

Because I booked late in the season, and in fact would not have gotten a spot at all if someone had not cancelled, I did not have the prime view. Rather than look across a grassy dip and then just a bit up the tamer side of the canyon, I could have looked right up the steep side (as seen above). I am told that elk and other wildlife can be seen close up from this side. You can bet that next year I will book ahead.

Yarn

I know that some of my readers are sister knitters; this blog is for them.

Above is Tosh Lace, it is 100% superwash merino wool and I now own 2 skeins of 950 yards each. Now that will make one very big, yet to be designated shawl. (In real life the value of the colors is darker.)

The darker of the two yarns above is Dream in Color's Baby Lace Weight in Gothic Rose. It is 100% superfine Australian Merino Superwash. I bought it to go with the Kauni variegated yarn that I already had. I plan to make "Dusk" from "The Fine Line". I have a total of 1,770 yards. Their will be left over, or this will be one huge shawl.

This is 880 yards of 100% Baby Alpaca from Peru. It is as soft as the inside of a puppy's ears. I am using it to make a "Dancing Crane Shawl"

Last, but not least, is this Lacey Lamb 100% extrafine lambswool. I bought it because of its deeply saturated color, which my picture does not do justice to. I plan to use it to make another "Hanging Garden"
I seldom knit the same pattern twice, but this yarn called out for the sophistication of this shawl designed by Sivia Harding

If you find yourself standing near me look out for flying needles. I have 5,130 yards of new yarn (We won't count the 1,000's of yards I already have in my stash.) and I am on a roll.

Yarn Crawl

For those of you who don't know; a Yarn Crawl is like a Pub Crawl only with a lot more lasting fun, and no hangover.


Joanell, Barbara, Jane, Sharon

Last week some of the ladies of my Stitch & Bitch joined me for a trip to Tucson, AZ for a "Yarn Crawl". It was an all day excursion starting at 7AM and ending at 10PM. Joanell and I shared the driving, Jane and Sharon navigated.



I have a 7 passenger GMC Arcadia; it should have more than enough room for four ladies yarn shopping. However we all brought projects to work on, books for reference, water for desert travel, and snacks. We were prepared for anything.



The first shop we visited was Purls Tucson. We caught them at a bad time; they had just vacated their shop temporarily for a few days while it was being remodeled. They had only moved two doors down. Typical of any move; there was little or no method to how the movers dropped their stuff. The shop owners had managed to put out one ball of each yarn in every color, and would get however many balls you wanted from the bags and bags of yarn that were stacked against the walls, under the tables, and in the back room. It takes more than an upside down shop to slow down a dedicated knitter. We shopped, the owners dug, and we shopped some more.


Here is Jane, tucked in between the bins and bags, checking out some new patterns.



Here is Sharon, perhaps reconsidering her choices as the store owner tallies up Sharon's bill. Sharon did not reconsider long. She took everything she wanted, and stuffed it into my rapidly filling SUV.


"Grandma"

Our next stop was Grandma's Spinning Wheel. It featured not only some very unusual yarns for knitting, but also anything you would ever need for spinning your own yarn. We all looked at the lovely fleece, and the wooden spinning wheels longingly, and then went to the other side of the store where we bought already spun yarn. I guess there is not a purest in the bunch. Many more bags were added to my SUV at Grandma's.



Our next scheduled stop was The Kiwi Knitter alas, they were closed for vacation. However we did peek in the window and deemed the shop well worth a future visit.



Across the street was Rincon Market, a combination market and deli. We all stoked up on the salad buffet by the oz. We all also indulged in the deserts. I can personally say that the pecan baklava is heavenly.



Our last stop was The Tucson Yarn Company by this time I was too tired to take pictures, or perhaps too distracted in their back room which they open to me so I could look through the boxes of lace weight yarn that had just arrived. Here we filled more bags that were stuffed in the back of my SUV.



It was time to drive back to Deming. There was one more stop at the truck stop in Wilcox, AZ where we switched drivers, and ate just one more desert.

While none of use need any more yarn, we had such a good time that we have planned to go again some time next spring. Until then we had better knit fast to make room for more yarn.




Here in Joanell checking out just one more hank.....

Forgetful

This last week has been so eventful that I haven't had time to post. I am sitting in my RV in a campground in Cloudcroft, NM. The sun is in and out, mostly in, and I had planned to use this time to download pictures and catch up with the blog.

However I have forgotten to bring the cable to download my camera with. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

While forgetful me can't show you the pictures, I can tell you a bit about what I did last week and the place I am at now.

Earlier this week my some of the ladies from my Stitch & Bitch group went to Tucson, AZ to visit the yarn stores there. My 7 passenger car was filled to the brim with 4 ladies, snacks, water (of course we were in the desert), knitting books for quick reference, our knitting projects to keep us occupied during the drive (like chatting would not be enough), and bags of yarn. The bags of yarn kept adding up at each stop; lovely yarn of every weight and color, enough yarn to last for years. We had so much fun that we plan to do it again. Not because we need more yarn, but because it was such a good day.

I promise that pictures will follow, but not right away.

On Friday morning I left the high desert of 4,000 ft. where I live, to go the the woods of the high mountains near Cloudcroft, NM. I am at 9,000 ft, where it is much cooler. Of course the coolness of the air is a relief, but the pine woods that surround me are starting to bother me. I find that while I like an occasional tree for the shade, a whole forest of them hems me in and blocks my view. I will be interested to see how I feel about trees when my visit is done.

I promise that pictures of my mountain vacation will follow also.

Forgetful, forgetful, forgetful.......

TOMTOM

There are no pictures today; there is nothing to take a picture of. TOMTOM has gone bye-bye. I return it this morning to Best Buy who cheerfully refunded my money.

The more I played with TOMTOM the more I realized that it didn't have much of a sense of direction. Nor did it have any common sense.

I will do some more research and decide if I want to purchase another GPS.

TOMTOM

Meet Tom, its full name is Tomtom. I have used several other names for it, but cannot use them on my blog or it will have to be listed as having "adult content". You get the idea.

When my husband and I traveled back and forth the country I did the navigating. I had big maps, little maps, and directories for campgrounds. I was and still am a very good navigator. However now that I will be driving I can't deal with reading all of that paper.

A GPS unit that connects to Google for the locations of the nearest gas stations and their prices, campgrounds, hospitals etc, and that will navigate a driving route all while you are still on the interstate traveling at a minimum of 65 MPH using a predetermined route to your destination should be a great help. I even paid extra for one that answers to voice commands to avoid trying to key in commands while driving.

Now if I could just figure out how the #%@*^(*@! thing works.

It is 1:30 PM an I am still in my nightgown, interfacing with the device itself and its computer counterpart. Ever so slowly I am starting to figure it out, but this is one very long learning curve. I have spent the morning trying to set up a route for a road trip to be taken by my Stitch & Bitch this week to Tucson to visit four yarn shops. Planning the invasion of Normandy must have been easier.

I am also routing a proposed trip to Florida to see my family next year. It is hard to have faith in a devise that insists that I410 goes around Huston, when all of the other maps in the world show it is I610 and that I410 goes around San Antonio.

Also Deming is a small town with very pronounced cross streets; getting from point A to point B is very, very easy. I ran a test route from my house to Wal Mart and had I taken their proposed route I would have been very, very dizzy.

I have less than a week left to either get this sucker figured out or return it. Grrrrrrrr

Cactus for Suzanne

This entry is for my friend Suzanne. She shares her time between Florida and North Carolina. She lives in tropical jungle like foliage and deep woods; depending on the time of year. The desert does not attract her at all. This morning she sent me an attachment of cactus flower pictures; saying that she had no idea that cactus blossoms were that pretty. So Suzanne, here are some pictures I took during my visit to Rockhound State Park, and one of my neighbors yard.

The blossoms open in the morning and are spent in 24 hours. But there are enough buds for the cactus flower to keep going for several weeks of splendor.

(Note the little bug in the lower left.)

Even when the blossom is spent, it is beautiful.

Hmmmm - I may just take a quick trip around the neighborhood to take pictures of the seed pods that are the reason for all of these beautiful flowers. They are almost as pretty as the flowers.