Gadsden Purchase

A couple of days ago, Tuesday following Memorial Weekend, we made a shopping run in to Silver City.  On the way, we passed a huge open pit mine, but didn't stop to check it out.  Wednesday, on our way to Alpine, we did stop and read a few informative signs about the mine and the local area.

The picture doesn't begin to show the immensity of the open pit.  The trucks making their way on the winding road in the pit cost 2.5 million each and are loaded by a shovel that takes 80,000 pound bites.  It's a copper mine, one of the oldest continually mined sites in the USA.  Once when the mine site was still part of Mexico, before we purchased the land, copper was mined there and shipped to the Mexico Mint in Mexico City.  That was around 1806.   Sometimes dates surprise me.  Mexican ties to the southwest, New Mexico and Arizona are very real, and gringoes like me need to remember that.  

Reached Arizona

We left the Silver City area on Wednesday and drove about 120 miles to a Forest Service Campground just over the state line with New Mexico and Arizona.  The campground is near Alpine, Az where we are now sitting in their library using their wifi.  The campground is situated in a stand of Ponderosa Pines with large campsites.  We have a shady site with a few of Luna Lake, which is stocked with trout.

On the way here, we stopped at the Catwalk.  The Catwalk is just that, a catwalk that follows a mountain stream for a couple of miles.  It was originally constructed so that workers could easily access and maintain a water pipeline.  Now it is only for recreational purposes, and follows the course of a mountain stream.  It's really neat to look down through the steel mesh floor and see a flowing mountain stream.  It was a nice stop on the way to Arizona.

The altitude, 8,000 feet, is something we aren't quite aclimated to, so our hiking and walks are conducted at a slower pace.

The campground pictures below are where we are camped now.

Surviving Memorial Day

It's Tuesday after the Memorial day weekend, which we managed to survive.  Last Thursday we traveled from Leasburg State Park to Silver City, New Mexico.  We stopped in at the Gila Forest Service Office to get camping information, and with that as a guide headed for Mesa Campground in the Gila Forest.  We thought we wouldn't have much problem finding a campsite being it was only Thursday, but when we got there after an adventurous 29 miles on a twisty narrow mountain road, there were only three remaining sites available, and none of those had electric.  We did manage to pick one that shaded the camper a bit in the afternoon.  Fortunately the very low humidity mitigated the temperatures during the day.

Our location was without cell phone, and internet and we could locate only one radio station which played music only.  We were pretty isolated.

When the revelers started arriving, the campground really filled up, with multiple families on each campsite.  We visited the Gila Cliff Dwellings on Saturday.   This is the third cliff dwelling site that we've visited.  They are all pretty similar, most amazing is that they were inhabited for only about 30 years at the end of the 13th century.  Life was tough then, beyond our imagining.

Sunday and Monday we hiked a so called "loop trail"  We should have been able to complete the hike in one day, but the middle of the trail is no longer maintained, and it began to peter out, so we reversed direction returning the same way we came.  The second day we started the loop in the other direction and hiked quite a distance in a canyon.  When the trail left the canyon, pretty soon we could no longer distinguish a clear trail, so decided the prudent thing to do was reverse direction again and return the same way we came.

By evening Monday, the campground had almost completely emptied.  It's just us, a couple from Texas and a family, probably starting a summer vacation.  Quiet, quiet, quiet...

We have a long shopping list, so drove into Silver City to find a laundromat for our 10 days worth of dirty close, and then a shopping list for Walmart.  We hope to find a good Mexican Restaurant for lunch, maybe dinner.  Also picking up some supplies for the couple from Texas and our Campground Host.

We are undecided as to whether to stay another day at Mesa Campground or not, but in any case will be heading northward a bit and probably drifting into eastern Arizona tomorrow, Wednesday or Thursday.  Cell coverage and lack of internet access will limit our ability to communicate.

Having a great time so far.

Ginnie snuggled under our down quilt

Wilderness Hiker

A Nice Sunset

Hiking a Canyon

New Mexico State Parks

.We arrived in San Cruces and found a nearby state park located at a dam site on the Rio Grande River. It's named Leasburg Dam State Park.  At these lower elevations, it is very hot and accompanied with strong gusty winds, making the trailer rock.  We found a campsite, and didn't unhitch, as we were level.  As soon as the camper was open, I turned on the A/C as it was in the lo 90's with strong gusty winds.  Not pretty, at all.

Tomorrow we head for the Silver City area, where daytime highs are in the lo 80's.  Silver City has a super Walmart and also the headquarters for the Gila National Forest, where we will be camping through memorial day weekend.

The New Mexico Park Campground facilities that we have experienced (all of 2 campgrounds) are very nice.  The bathhouse where we are now is clean, modern, air conditioned, private rather than communal showers with lots and lots of hooks to hang things.

Near sundown last night the winds abated and as it was cooling off, we went for a very short walk, and then sat outside for a bit.

The lone picture is taken as we sat out, with the moon hovering over the camper.

Four states

We were glad to leave Arkalon Campground.  It is pleasant enough, but the bathrooms really do suck.  We did manage to get showers, so we are at least clean.

The four states are Kansas where we began the day, the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles and New Mexico.  We started in Kansas and by 1pm were in Tucumcari, NM.  We had a voice mail from Joe Henry, so gave a return call to Joe.  He had heard that Arkansas was hit with tornados and was concerned about us.

We brought Joe up to date on our recent happenings, and Joe told us about another long term snowbird who had just passed.  He is Pete McFarland's brother in law, who had sold his winter home and a rental as well.  I suppose he was in failing health.

After talking to Joe, we got back on the road for another 50 miles or so and stopped for the night at Santa Rosa Lake State Park.  We got a level parking space so didn't have to unhitch.  The bathrooms were much superior to last night, and the campground was very quiet.  We watched a movie, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?".  It's an old movie, but neither of us had seen it before.

We were tucked in by 11 central time, where we are now on mountain time, one hour earlier.

On the road tomorrow for southern NM, in the Las Cruces area.  From there we will make our way a bit west to Silver City, at a higher altitude than the Rio Grande river valley where Las Cruces is located.  This would be a good place in the winter, but hot and windy now doesn't have much appeal.

No pictures again.

On the Road

We got the wheel locks replaced this morning in Salina all as per promised by the Car Dealer.  Then we hit Aldi's and a Dillons for some groceries.  Lunch was from the Dillon's salad bar, which we both really like.

Back to Lindsborg to hook up and hit the road.  We were hitched and driving by 1:30 and drove mostly 2 lane roads to Arkalon Campground, on the banks of the Cimarron River, just a few miles outside of Liberal Kansas.  The only other camper is the campground host.  The Campground is two miles off the highway on a dirt road.  It's located in a grove of Cottonwoods, which is typical of this area.

We are looking forward to showers, despite the fact that the shower room leaves something to be desired.

Ginnie cooked tonight and I did dishes.  We reserve half the meal for tomorrow, so all that is involved is heating up left overs.  This has become our habit, and it works well for us.

I think we are past the really bad weather cells, listening to NPR and assessment of the destruction in OK City.  Horrible.

Tomorrow we cross Oklahoma, Texas and into New Mexico, three states the Aliner hasn't been in.  That leaves Arizona and Louisiana.  To complete the lower 48 we have to pick up eleven states in the northwest.  I'm not sure when that will happen.

The only picture is of the campground and our camper  nothing scenic or noteworthy for the camera to record, unless endless views of grain elevators on the horizon is your cup of tea.

Visting Salina II

The dance recital took place yesterday and Madeline was in several numbers.  The dance instructor told us that this was her 38th recital, and we know from experience that it has grown over the years.  This year there were two performances, 1pm and 4pm, with a variation in the programs.  Madeline performed in both the 1 and the 4 oclock, so it was a long day, not getting out until 6.  That's a lot of watching little girls with stage fright, but Madeline loves dance and does very well at it, so our patience paid off.  We wouldn't miss this for the world.

Last night, we were under a Tornado watch and high winds and rain came in.  We retreated to the campground in Lindsborg, got ready for bed and turned in listening to the radio.  Our camper is in a very sheltered spot, and while there were high winds coming in with the rain, it really didn't both us at all.  We listened to the radio until 11pm when the Tornado watch expired, and slept like babies after that.

We thought we would hit the coffee shop Sunday morning and then attend Church in Lindsborg.  Oops, Lindsborg shuts down on Sunday, so off we went to Salina for coffee at a McDonalds and then attended services at our old Church.  Lots of familiar faces, but they all are so much older than we remember.  Hmmm.  We've probably aged some too.  The new Church is really beautiful, and even better, we didn't have to pay for it.  Done paying to build new Churches.

We are at Scott's now.  The boys are napping, and Scott is cutting grass.  Adrian bawled, but Grandparents just ignored him, and he finally quit.  He's asleep on the floor now.  Hopefully he will warm up to us as the day goes by.

Tomorrow planning to hit the Honda dealer and get the new wheel locks installed.  It all depends on when the wheel locks come in.  Service tech, "promised" Monday morning, and us free by noon.
We'll see.

After looking at maps, we decided to head for Liberal, Kansas tomorrow.  There appears to be a nice park with Campground near Liberal.

I'm posting this now, before the Grandsons wake up from their nap.

I took a few pictures after posting and added them later.

Visiting Salina

We left Bella Vista Thursday morning, but not before the adventure began.  I was routinely checking tire pressures on the camper and Ridge, when suddenly it dawned on me that I have wheel locks on the Ridge wheels.  I've had wheel locks before, and know that a special socket is required in order to change a flat or demount a tire.  Having already been through all the places where these sockets are hidden, I know that I was out of luck.  A quick call to the service dept of my local Honda dealer, and I was reassured that it wasn't a big deal, just bring the vehicle in and the parts dept could determine which socket I needed and in a couple of days, I would have it.  Trouble is, of course, we were leaving in an hour or so.   I decided that since we would be in Salina for a few days, to go to the Salina Honda Dealer and get the socket through them.

When we got to Salina, late in the afternoon, they had a different answer for me.  All they could do would be to remove the existing locks and replace them.  New locks still had to be ordered, and naturally it was more expensive.  We are now waiting for new wheel locks, "promised" for Monday, the day we are scheduled to leave.

Back to the real story, we are at son Bill's and he is smoking brisket.  Bill is a real barbecue enthusiast and took a class in Wichita on barbecue techniques.  We had a small brisket for lunch and it was terrific.  More later for dinner.  Tomorrow is Maddy's recital.

Son Scott came over and ate lunch with us.  He brought Adrian along.  We were anxious to see if Adrian has overcome his negative reaction to strangers, but he apparently hasn't.  One look at us and he begins to bawl.  Oh, Well, he isn't quite two yet, so there is lots of hope for the future.

Madeline is posing with the apple pie she baked.  She didn't assemble the pie, but she did bake it.  I'm sure it will go good with dinner.

Bill with his smoker and a handful of remote thermometers

Madeline and her pie

 Scott and Adrian

Why I write this

The purpose of this blog is to document our adventures, such as they are, now that we are settled in North West Arkansas.  We are in a more or less retirement community named Bella Vista.  Most here are golfers, which we are not, although we do own clubs and very occasionally have played a round or so.

We are once again getting accustomed to four seasons, where living in Florida for 12 years got us to thinking that there were only two.  It's all part of getting acclimated to our new environment.  Last year was mostly spent getting settled in Arkansas.  Although we did escape the August heat by travelling north to the U.P., Yooper country.  Now we are ready to get out and about a bit more.

Part of getting ready for travel included trading our van for a "truck", a Honda Ridgeline.  The Ridge has several advantages over the van.  Higher ground clearance to match our so called "off road" camper, the ability to carry our bikes, barbecue grill, and inflatable kayak in the truck bed, plus hidden storage for our generator, in the Ridge's unique trunk.  The Ridge also is rated with a higher towing capacity than our van, should we opt for a larger trailer.

We had some nice mods made to the Aliner trailer earlier this year, where John Pfeil, well known amongst Aliner folks,  gave us a grey water tank and added a hinged bed platform.  We gave up the sofa option, which we had never used in favor of a permanent bed.  The platform rises with ease, assisted with struts and gives us access to much needed storage.  Organization has never been easier.  With the addition of the grey water tank, we feel much better about overnight stops at Walmarts and Flying J's as we make our way toward destinations.

We will be leaving home in a few days for a Spring trip towing the Aliner.  We will start with a visit to Salina, KS, with the main purpose being to attend Granddaughter Madeline's Dance Recital, an annual event we can't miss.  We will stay in the city park in Lindsborg, KS about 20 miles from Salina.    Lindsborg has always been a favorite small town, and the park is quiet and an easy walk to downtown and our favorite coffee shop. After the Recital, we should be heading west.  At this writing, most likely we will be headed for northern New Mexico.  If the weather breaks we could head straight west to Colorado, in anticipation of some higher altitude camping, perhaps venturing into Wyoming.

The travel map is the result of a peripatetic beginning when we first acquired the camper in 2011.  Twenty states, on our first outing, and eleven more that fall.  Phew too much too fast, we decided to slow down, and limit our daily driving mileage, plus we should stay longer when we stop.  In 2012 we added only one more state, Michigan.

If I continue to post, I hope that a pattern of slowing down and enjoying more will materialize.

Only time will tell.