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.

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

Goodies from Amazon.com

The mail lady brought such treasures today.

The road atlas and the book on National Parks of the West were purchased because my older editions were from 2003 and I needed to update before I started planning any road trips.

The Casita Travel Trailer is in the process of having all its systems overhauled. It has been sitting so long that I didn’t dare even light the stove until I made sure that all of the connections for the gas were in good order. I know it needed new tires, an anode for the heater, and one of the power outlets didn’t work. I have no idea what it will cost to overhaul it, but whatever the cost, it will be worth it.

The copy of “500 Handmade Books” was added to my Amazon order because I was a few cents short of the $25 purchase needed for free shipping. I am aware that this was not an economically wise decision, but a little eye candy never hurt anyone.

I think I will brew a pot of tea, ignore the work that needs to be done, curl up on the sofa to fondle my new books.