Sept 27th - Sun - Hobbs
Our neighbor was cooking chili this morning so I went over to see how she did it. Texas Bull Red chili has no beans - “If you know beans about chili, you know it has no beans” - and this is what everyone was making. A bit later we talked to another couple who both cooked for the competition. She got first yesterday and he got second - and they use the same recipe. When they cook chili, they do not taste it - she said she would not know which spice to adjust - and they rarely eat chili. They freeze the amount not needed for judging and give it away. Very interesting group of people.
They all pulled out of the RV parking so there was only the caretaker, us and one other rig left. We had taken a drive into town and found nearly the entire town shut down as it is Sunday. We checked out the golf course but decided that since it was 92 degrees at 11 am that it might be pretty warm for golf. So we ended up back at the casino again and did not do very well.
Sept 28th - Mon - to Carlsbad NM
Woke up at 6 to a howling wind that got us out of bed to close vents & windows. Needed 3 or 4 hands to open a storage door and get something inside.
Another short drive - just over an hour - to Carlsbad and the Carlsbad RV Park which is a PA park. Lots of room but it started filling up shortly after we set up. We went for a drive to get lunch and some groceries. Relaxed for a while and then went to Carlsbad Caverns to watch the evening bat flight program at 6. It was amazing. A ranger was giving a talk when a buzzing noise signaled the start of the bat flight. He stopped immediately as the bats started pouring out of the cave. They made one loop - gain altitude? get into formation? - and headed out in great clouds. It took about 20 minutes for the flow to slow to a trickle.
A few tidbits about the bats. Each evening, they fly to as high as 10,000 feet (starting at 4,000 at the cave) to eat cotton ball worm moths, fly to the Pecos River for a drink and return to the cave. Nursing mothers do this up to 3 times a night! The estimate is between 200,000 and 400,000 bats making the trip. Mind boggling!
Got back in time for a late dinner and DWTS.
Sept 29th - Tues - Carlsbad
Headed back to the caverns this morning. From where we are staying, it is 20 miles on the highway and then 6 ½ miles on a windy road in the park. We got tickets for the King’s Palace guided tour which gave us ½ hour to hang around before meeting at 9:45 for the 10 o’clock tour. There are 4 stops on this 1 mile tour and the guide used each one to tell us information about the caves - geology, biology, formations, discovery, etc. A fairly long blackout period was included - not just turn the lights off for a minute.
The tour finished at 11:45 so we took the elevator back up and had some lunch. Then we walked down the Natural Entrance which we had not done a couple of years ago when we were here. If anyone is going to visit the caverns for the first time, be sure to walk down instead of taking the elevator as I could pull out all the superlatives - amazing, wonderful, awesome, incredible - for this part of the experience. The start of the entrance is the cave where the bats emerge and the trail starts winding from there. The trail is 1.25 miles and is almost all steep, switchback trails as you drop 800 feet in 1 mile. In some places you can look down and see many loops of the trail but it is too dark to get a picture. Only if the elevators quit working would I walk back up that trail!
We decided to check out “The Big Room” again so added another 1.25 miles to our walks for the day. On our prior trip, flash photography was not allowed but was this time so I took quite a few pictures, probably duplicating some dark ones I already have.
Had plenty of time to sit out and watch TV when we got back. As we were barbequing dinner, we started talking to a couple who were walking by. They have been full timing for just over a year so we had lots to talk about. After dinner we went for a walk in the park and saw water shooting up about 4 feet above a big motor home that had just pulled in. They had somehow broken a water pipe so Terry found someone who knew where the owner lived and went to get help. The owner was pretty laid back, announced the eruption of “Old Faithful” and said his brother would be right there to find the shutoff.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sept 24th to 26th - Roswell & Hobbs NM
Sept 24th - Thurs - Roswell
A rare day when we did not leave the campground. Did a load of laundry before having a nice breakfast. Finally made one decision for the winter and got a reservation at the Cocopah RV & Golf Resort in Yuma for December and January. Then I got to work on a project that I have been putting off. The kitchen sink has a metal trim on the rim of the sink and the paint has been chipping. We bought the supplies some time ago so I masked it all off, sanded and painted. Turned out pretty good so hope the paint sticks for a while.
Spent the rest of the day watching TV and on the computer.
Sept 25th - Fri - Roswell
Had a nice chat with cousin Pat this morning. She is on PDT and we are on MDT so she had to get up quite early to make us jump out of bed to answer the phone - ok, it wasn’t THAT early!
After a late breakfast we drove into town for some errands including washing the truck. Don’t know what is going on with the price of diesel here. When we arrived a week ago, the price at one end of town was $2.52 and at the other $2.79. A few days later, all pumps were $2.79. Next day, one was back down to $2.52 and today that same station had diesel at $2.33, another was $2.46 and another still $2.79.
I found some vinyl that I thought I might use to make a cover for our bicycles. By the time we returned, measured and drew diagrams we talked me out of that idea.
Roswell is the “dairy capital of southeast NM” and we have no problem confirming that claim when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. This, and quite a few flies, are the only downsides to this campground.
Sept 26th - Sat - to Hobbs NM
We had a full 2 hour drive southeast to Hobbs which is just a few miles from the Texas border. All the way from Artesia to Hobbs (77 miles) are thousands of oil wells with new ones being drilled.
One of the reasons we came to Hobbs was that the park owner in Roswell told Terry there was a casino here. Also, we have some time to spare and have not been here.
We drove past the sign for the casino, saw some RVs camped in a parking lot and a lot full of cars nearby so decided to check it out. Turns out there was a chili cookoff - among other things - going on so we decided to stay a couple nights here. We set up, put on our walking shoes and headed over to all the tents on the far side of the events center. There was a motorcycle rodeo, lots of chili for sale and an arts & crafts sale in the events center. We are not brave enough to try unknown chili so, after chatting with some neighbors, we decided to go down the road about ½ mile to the casino as we were told they had a decent buffet for $5. The $5 price is for summer so it was now $10.95 and not too good.
Oh well, Terry figured winning at the slots would overshadow the buffet. Wrong again! I did hit a fluke $94 payout on a 20 cent spin so we ended up losing only part of our allowance. Back at the campsite, everyone had disappeared for the evening so we kicked back and watched TV.
A rare day when we did not leave the campground. Did a load of laundry before having a nice breakfast. Finally made one decision for the winter and got a reservation at the Cocopah RV & Golf Resort in Yuma for December and January. Then I got to work on a project that I have been putting off. The kitchen sink has a metal trim on the rim of the sink and the paint has been chipping. We bought the supplies some time ago so I masked it all off, sanded and painted. Turned out pretty good so hope the paint sticks for a while.
Spent the rest of the day watching TV and on the computer.
Sept 25th - Fri - Roswell
Had a nice chat with cousin Pat this morning. She is on PDT and we are on MDT so she had to get up quite early to make us jump out of bed to answer the phone - ok, it wasn’t THAT early!
After a late breakfast we drove into town for some errands including washing the truck. Don’t know what is going on with the price of diesel here. When we arrived a week ago, the price at one end of town was $2.52 and at the other $2.79. A few days later, all pumps were $2.79. Next day, one was back down to $2.52 and today that same station had diesel at $2.33, another was $2.46 and another still $2.79.
I found some vinyl that I thought I might use to make a cover for our bicycles. By the time we returned, measured and drew diagrams we talked me out of that idea.
Roswell is the “dairy capital of southeast NM” and we have no problem confirming that claim when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. This, and quite a few flies, are the only downsides to this campground.
Sept 26th - Sat - to Hobbs NM
We had a full 2 hour drive southeast to Hobbs which is just a few miles from the Texas border. All the way from Artesia to Hobbs (77 miles) are thousands of oil wells with new ones being drilled.
One of the reasons we came to Hobbs was that the park owner in Roswell told Terry there was a casino here. Also, we have some time to spare and have not been here.
We drove past the sign for the casino, saw some RVs camped in a parking lot and a lot full of cars nearby so decided to check it out. Turns out there was a chili cookoff - among other things - going on so we decided to stay a couple nights here. We set up, put on our walking shoes and headed over to all the tents on the far side of the events center. There was a motorcycle rodeo, lots of chili for sale and an arts & crafts sale in the events center. We are not brave enough to try unknown chili so, after chatting with some neighbors, we decided to go down the road about ½ mile to the casino as we were told they had a decent buffet for $5. The $5 price is for summer so it was now $10.95 and not too good.
Oh well, Terry figured winning at the slots would overshadow the buffet. Wrong again! I did hit a fluke $94 payout on a 20 cent spin so we ended up losing only part of our allowance. Back at the campsite, everyone had disappeared for the evening so we kicked back and watched TV.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sept 21st to 23rd - Roswell NM
Sept 21st - Mon - Roswell
Was going to do one load of laundry this morning and ended up doing 3. The park has 1 washer & dryer that are not coin-operated. You put a note with your site #, what you purchased and the money into a metal box on the office counter. Nice to see trusting and trusted people are still around. The washer was large and spotlessly clean (like the rest of the park) and very close so the trips back and forth were no problem.
We drove a few miles to Bottomless Lakes State park - where we were heading before we stopped here. There is a very nice campground at the state park with large sites, covered “patios” with a picnic table and a pavilion and swimming beach right next to it. You can make reservations so this would be a great spot to go with a group of friends.
We had heard, at the visitor center, about a farm where raspberries were being picked so we headed west towards Ruidoso to try to find it. After about 15 miles we figured we missed it and turned around. On the way back we stopped at another museum (Historical Center for SE NM) and the lady there said the farm was probably 25 miles away. The museum was a very large house built in 1912 (14 rooms, 3 baths). Some of the rooms were furnished as they would have been nearly 100 years ago and others were used to display various historical collections. We learned that the extra wide front door was called a “casket door” for the obvious reason of allowing a casket to be easily carried in & out according to the customs of the day.
We stopped at the municipal golf course to see if we needed a tee time for tomorrow. Terry suggested 10 but I thought it would get too hot as it was over 90 when we were there. The guy there said it was going to cool down a lot with a front coming in so we decided to wait and see.
And cool down it did! There was a nice breeze when we sat out before dinner and then the wind picked up and clouds moved in about 6. Lightning, thunder, very gusty winds - and the temperature dropped to 52 by about 9. Luckily, the storm moved through as fast as it approached and only the cooler temperature remained.
Sept 22nd - Tues - Roswell
Cooler temperature makes for great sleeping conditions so we were late getting going this morning. Also decided it was too cool & breezy for golf. After a late breakfast we went to the Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge which is on the migration route for sandhill cranes and Canada geese. We took the 8 ½ mile auto tour around lakes & marshes but this is the wrong time of the year for birds.
We hit WalMart and Home Depot on the way back and then went to yet another museum - Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art. Not sure how I ever convinced Terry to visit this one! I continue to be fascinated by what can be displayed as art in a gallery. I sometimes wonder if the artists are making jokes or laughing at people who pretend to “understand” their creations. But of course there are also incredible works of art that even I can appreciate. When Don Anderson (of the museum name) had his 90th birthday, friends and artists were given diamond shaped blocks of wood to decorate and then they were fit together like a quilt on 2 long tables. Very interesting to see the imagination and diversity of the results.
The cook got a break tonight and we went to CiCi’s pizza for dinner.
Sept 23rd - Wed - Roswell
Another lovely, lazy morning catching some favorite shows on HGTV. Spent quite a bit of time on the computer trying to decide where we want to stay this winter but didn’t make any reservations yet.
We had some lunch before we left to play golf and take advantage of the warming weather. We played at the municipal course and had a lot of fun. The course is in good shape but they had just applied some dried sludge fertilizer (fluffy “dirt”) in front of the greens so you couldn’t count on any roll up to the green.
Then a repeat of other evenings - sit out with a drink, have dinner and watch Dancing with the Stars.
Was going to do one load of laundry this morning and ended up doing 3. The park has 1 washer & dryer that are not coin-operated. You put a note with your site #, what you purchased and the money into a metal box on the office counter. Nice to see trusting and trusted people are still around. The washer was large and spotlessly clean (like the rest of the park) and very close so the trips back and forth were no problem.
We drove a few miles to Bottomless Lakes State park - where we were heading before we stopped here. There is a very nice campground at the state park with large sites, covered “patios” with a picnic table and a pavilion and swimming beach right next to it. You can make reservations so this would be a great spot to go with a group of friends.
We had heard, at the visitor center, about a farm where raspberries were being picked so we headed west towards Ruidoso to try to find it. After about 15 miles we figured we missed it and turned around. On the way back we stopped at another museum (Historical Center for SE NM) and the lady there said the farm was probably 25 miles away. The museum was a very large house built in 1912 (14 rooms, 3 baths). Some of the rooms were furnished as they would have been nearly 100 years ago and others were used to display various historical collections. We learned that the extra wide front door was called a “casket door” for the obvious reason of allowing a casket to be easily carried in & out according to the customs of the day.
We stopped at the municipal golf course to see if we needed a tee time for tomorrow. Terry suggested 10 but I thought it would get too hot as it was over 90 when we were there. The guy there said it was going to cool down a lot with a front coming in so we decided to wait and see.
And cool down it did! There was a nice breeze when we sat out before dinner and then the wind picked up and clouds moved in about 6. Lightning, thunder, very gusty winds - and the temperature dropped to 52 by about 9. Luckily, the storm moved through as fast as it approached and only the cooler temperature remained.
Sept 22nd - Tues - Roswell
Cooler temperature makes for great sleeping conditions so we were late getting going this morning. Also decided it was too cool & breezy for golf. After a late breakfast we went to the Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge which is on the migration route for sandhill cranes and Canada geese. We took the 8 ½ mile auto tour around lakes & marshes but this is the wrong time of the year for birds.
We hit WalMart and Home Depot on the way back and then went to yet another museum - Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art. Not sure how I ever convinced Terry to visit this one! I continue to be fascinated by what can be displayed as art in a gallery. I sometimes wonder if the artists are making jokes or laughing at people who pretend to “understand” their creations. But of course there are also incredible works of art that even I can appreciate. When Don Anderson (of the museum name) had his 90th birthday, friends and artists were given diamond shaped blocks of wood to decorate and then they were fit together like a quilt on 2 long tables. Very interesting to see the imagination and diversity of the results.
The cook got a break tonight and we went to CiCi’s pizza for dinner.
Sept 23rd - Wed - Roswell
Another lovely, lazy morning catching some favorite shows on HGTV. Spent quite a bit of time on the computer trying to decide where we want to stay this winter but didn’t make any reservations yet.
We had some lunch before we left to play golf and take advantage of the warming weather. We played at the municipal course and had a lot of fun. The course is in good shape but they had just applied some dried sludge fertilizer (fluffy “dirt”) in front of the greens so you couldn’t count on any roll up to the green.
Then a repeat of other evenings - sit out with a drink, have dinner and watch Dancing with the Stars.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sept 17th to 20th - to Roswell NM
Sept 17th - Thurs - Bernalillo
It rained most of last night and was still raining this morning so we watched TV in bed for a while before getting up. Then we went to the nearby Santa Ana Casino to take advantage of a inexpensive breakfast - $2.99 for eggs, bacon, potatoes & toast. They also have very good coffee which I found out was Douwe Egberts. The waitress said she found it at one Smith’s grocery store. I did some digging on the internet and it can be ordered but is more expensive than I thought a restaurant would use as “everyday” coffee.
We got $5 free play on our cards and I got an additional $5 for rolling dice in a promotion so that started us off. Terry won somewhat at first while I was headed down fast. But, as usual, things can turn around quickly and I ended up giving Terry more money and we still broke even for the day.
It was still gloomy & sprinkling when we finished in the casino so we returned to the rig to hibernate & have dinner.
Sept 18th - Fri - Bernalillo
Some work on the computer this morning before we took advantage of the cheap breakfast again at the casino - at 11:30. Rolled the dice again for another $5 which didn’t make me rich! So we went to the Sandia Casino just down the road (please don’t send any Gambler’s Anonymous info!). I was not so lucky today so we finally spent our allowance several hours later.
We drove through downtown “historic” Bernalillo on the way back but didn’t see anything that we wanted to check out. It was nice enough to sit outside for a while and chat with neighbors before coming inside for dinner.
Sept 19th - Sat - to Roswell NM
We were heading to Santa Rosa today but didn’t like the look of the big empty RV park there so continued on to Roswell. Not exactly the shortest way to get here but ………..
We drove into an RV park here and went into the office to get a site. There were instructions about choosing a site, filling out a form and putting money in a drop box (this is about 2:00 pm). The sign concluded with the admonition that “if you can’t do this, then don’t stay here”. So we didn’t!
We continued on the road heading for a state park but saw a camping sign, pulled in and got a spot at the Red Barn RV park. There was no one in the office here but the sign was a little more friendly and said they would come see you when they returned. It is a small, very clean park with mostly long term campers. Our “back yard” is a huge hay field.
The weather was lovely so we just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the day at the park.
Sept 20th - Sun - Roswell
Just about the time that we decided to get up, motorcycles started roaring past the RV park. There was a big motorcycle rally in Ruidoso, everyone was headed home and many of them were going east past here.
After I made breakfast, we saw someone in the office so went to register. We spent quite some time getting the scoop on the area and sharing places that we have been with the owner.
Then we went to town - only a couple of miles- to do some sightseeing. There are 5 museums here so we checked out 2 today including the “official” Roswell UFO museum. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the UFO incident that finally put Roswell on the map - in 1947 there was a report of a UFO that crashed in a field. According to most residents (then & later), the incident was covered up by the government who claimed it was a weather balloon that crashed. The silence continued for 30 years until someone started digging and wrote a book.
The other museum had a lot of art and a huge collection of native and cowboy memorabilia donated by one couple to the museum. I was amazed at what passes for art. One canvas was painted a solid light green and titled “Celadon”. Give me a break!
Roswell is much larger that I thought it would be and has a big military academy. We decided to stay here for a week as it seems like there is a lot to do & see.
It rained most of last night and was still raining this morning so we watched TV in bed for a while before getting up. Then we went to the nearby Santa Ana Casino to take advantage of a inexpensive breakfast - $2.99 for eggs, bacon, potatoes & toast. They also have very good coffee which I found out was Douwe Egberts. The waitress said she found it at one Smith’s grocery store. I did some digging on the internet and it can be ordered but is more expensive than I thought a restaurant would use as “everyday” coffee.
We got $5 free play on our cards and I got an additional $5 for rolling dice in a promotion so that started us off. Terry won somewhat at first while I was headed down fast. But, as usual, things can turn around quickly and I ended up giving Terry more money and we still broke even for the day.
It was still gloomy & sprinkling when we finished in the casino so we returned to the rig to hibernate & have dinner.
Sept 18th - Fri - Bernalillo
Some work on the computer this morning before we took advantage of the cheap breakfast again at the casino - at 11:30. Rolled the dice again for another $5 which didn’t make me rich! So we went to the Sandia Casino just down the road (please don’t send any Gambler’s Anonymous info!). I was not so lucky today so we finally spent our allowance several hours later.
We drove through downtown “historic” Bernalillo on the way back but didn’t see anything that we wanted to check out. It was nice enough to sit outside for a while and chat with neighbors before coming inside for dinner.
Sept 19th - Sat - to Roswell NM
We were heading to Santa Rosa today but didn’t like the look of the big empty RV park there so continued on to Roswell. Not exactly the shortest way to get here but ………..
We drove into an RV park here and went into the office to get a site. There were instructions about choosing a site, filling out a form and putting money in a drop box (this is about 2:00 pm). The sign concluded with the admonition that “if you can’t do this, then don’t stay here”. So we didn’t!
We continued on the road heading for a state park but saw a camping sign, pulled in and got a spot at the Red Barn RV park. There was no one in the office here but the sign was a little more friendly and said they would come see you when they returned. It is a small, very clean park with mostly long term campers. Our “back yard” is a huge hay field.
The weather was lovely so we just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the day at the park.
Sept 20th - Sun - Roswell
Just about the time that we decided to get up, motorcycles started roaring past the RV park. There was a big motorcycle rally in Ruidoso, everyone was headed home and many of them were going east past here.
After I made breakfast, we saw someone in the office so went to register. We spent quite some time getting the scoop on the area and sharing places that we have been with the owner.
Then we went to town - only a couple of miles- to do some sightseeing. There are 5 museums here so we checked out 2 today including the “official” Roswell UFO museum. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the UFO incident that finally put Roswell on the map - in 1947 there was a report of a UFO that crashed in a field. According to most residents (then & later), the incident was covered up by the government who claimed it was a weather balloon that crashed. The silence continued for 30 years until someone started digging and wrote a book.
The other museum had a lot of art and a huge collection of native and cowboy memorabilia donated by one couple to the museum. I was amazed at what passes for art. One canvas was painted a solid light green and titled “Celadon”. Give me a break!
Roswell is much larger that I thought it would be and has a big military academy. We decided to stay here for a week as it seems like there is a lot to do & see.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sept 12th to 16th - Santa Fe, Bernalillo NM
Sept 12th - Sat - Santa Fe
Good thing we did not get an early start to the Tesuque Pueblo Flea Market as vendors were still opening up at 10. The literature advertises 500 vendors at this flea market and call it a Moroccan type market including carpets, pottery and jewelry and with an expectation to haggle over prices. The season will be ending soon here so less than half of the vendor stalls were occupied but it was still interesting to wander through.
We stopped in at a casino in Espanola and had a good, late breakfast. We received a little gift package when we got a player’s card - don’t know what we will do with 2 nice desk clocks!
We stopped at a super WalMart for some groceries and then returned to the park to put them away. I talked Terry into checking out a store - Jackalope Mercado - that we had passed several times since we have been here. It turned out to be several shops with an assortment of goods and even Terry enjoyed exploring it.
A little windy but we barbequed for dinner.
Sept 13th - Sun - Santa Fe
Laundry today. We discovered a very unusual laundry here at the park. There are 2 washers and 2 dryers in the men’s and in the women’s restrooms. One washer was out of order in the women’s restroom and both washers in the men’s restroom were in use so we found a nearby laundromat and got it done. I made a nice breakfast for lunch when we returned.
I have been irritated with slow internet access on the computer lately and something trying to access the internet at random times. So I dug out a note about some anti-virus software from Microsoft and downloaded it. I ran a quick scan and no problems were found. So I decided to run a full scan. 2 hours and over a million files later, the software found one bad file which Norton had already quarantined. When I got on the internet later, I still had delays while a lot of files were downloading (who knows what they were) so don’t know what the next step is.
We made a trip to Trader Joe’s to buy some inexpensive wine, sat outside for a while, barbequed dinner and watched TV.
Sept 14th - Mon - to Bernalillo NM
Didn’t need to get an early start today as we only had about 45 miles to go. We were still plenty early and saw a casino so decided to stop. Terry got $5 free play and I got $3 - whoopee!! But I managed to turn my $3 into $20 and covered Terry’s losses. The bad thing is, they gave us another scratch ticket for more free play after 24 hours - but you can’t scratch it until you go there.
We are staying at the Coronado Campground where we stayed in April after the RV rally. Terry has had a toothache for a couple of days so I tried to find a dentist online- no luck. So we went for a drive and found one dental office nearby who could not fit him in. Terry is a real wimp when it comes to dentists so he said he would be OK. When we started driving, we went through a really heavy rain and hail storm. On the way back, we waded through puddles at WalMart and then came back to the RV park where residents were discussing the storm and skirting huge puddles. After dinner, we chatted with a neighbor who introduced us to another neighbor who could make a sign for us. We continued on our way and it took us over an hour to walk around the small park as we stopped and chatted with 2 more couples.
Sept 15th - Tues - Bernalillo
We visited Mike to work out details for the sign that he was going to paint for us and then left to go to the State Fair in Albuquerque. I remembered the correct freeway exit from our visit here in April so we had no problem finding the parking for the fair.
We walked and walked and walked. Started with a funnel cake for breakfast, checked out all the vendors giving their spiels and wandered through a few other buildings. Watched an aerial act including sway poles, motorcycle on a high wire and a rotating cage. We started in the grandstand but moved to some shade - it was hot! Stayed in shade again for a cute performing pig show. Tried Indian fry bread (taco & hamburger) for lunch (so-so), spent time in the arts building and called it a day at the fair.
But the day was not over so we continued south on I25 to the Isleta Casino. We each got a player’s card with $25 in free play but their computers were down so we could not use it right away. We played with our “allowance” but it was sometimes quite frustrating. Because of the computer problem, sometimes when you would try to cash out of a machine it would put up a message requiring manual payout. Then you would have to wait for an employee who would write down the info and then have to go get the money. Because this was happening all over the casino, you would have to wait a long time to get your money. Luckily it did not happen every time and, also luckily, I was winning a bit.
Finally the computers came up so we HAD to stay to play our $25 and wait for a cash drawing (didn’t win!). We did walk out winners this time. We stopped at McDonalds (at 10:15!) on the way back.
When we got back, our new sign was waiting on our doorstep. It is great! It will be attached to the ladder on the 5th wheel and says “Little House on the Chevy”.
Sept 16th - Wed - Bernalillo
Wonderful day today! I made jelly biscuits and shared with the couple who made our sign. Then we went to the casino that we visited on the trip here to see how much free play that we would get on the second of our scratch tickets. Didn’t take long for Terry to use his $10 and me to lose my $20.
From there we went slightly further north on I25 and turned east on Hwy 22 to reach Hwy 14 (Turquoise Trail). Hwy 22 included 11 miles of dirt road that was in good shape considering the rains lately. A few miles north on the Turquoise Trail took us to Madrid which is a fun little town with lots of shops lining the main street. I had picked out the store Weasel & Fitz from a brochure so we visited it first. It was the neatest shop featuring the works of several artists who recycle material for their incredibly imaginative artwork. Paintbrushes, chopsticks, silverware, coffee pots, army helmets, used tires and assorted kitchen utensils were all turned into wonderful art.
We wandered down the main street and stopped at several stores - one had the largest selection of silver and gem jewelry that I have seen in one small store and another had amazing huge light fixtures with blown glass shades. The recycled theme was seen in other stores.
Then we continued south on 14 and stopped for a good lunch in San Antonito. This is where the road forks to Sandia Peak which was our destination. A couple of miles from the junction, we stopped at an attraction called Tinkertown. It is a quirky “museum” that is the life work of a man who made a miniature town, mostly by carving and building everything from wood. It is housed in buildings that are made from bottles set in mortar - one side shows the flat bottoms and the other has the necks of all lengths. He also built a complete miniature circus with moving performers. Other miscellaneous collections are also housed in the museum as well as a gift shop with as many different items as the museum.
From there the road winds for 11 miles and climbs to a viewpoint at 10,748 feet. It was cold (50 degrees so luckily we had jackets in the truck) and windy. There was a storm moving in so pictures were not wonderful but the view was. You can see all of Albuquerque and a valley on the other side. We didn’t tarry long.
We had passed a sign for a different route back and decided to take it even though the map indicated another unpaved road. Even the warning sign for 8.5 miles of unimproved road did not stop us. We descended in fewer miles than we ascended so it was steep, very windy and very narrow - but fun and took us right into Bernalillo where we are staying.
The storm that we saw from the mountain top moved in so we retired for the evening.
Good thing we did not get an early start to the Tesuque Pueblo Flea Market as vendors were still opening up at 10. The literature advertises 500 vendors at this flea market and call it a Moroccan type market including carpets, pottery and jewelry and with an expectation to haggle over prices. The season will be ending soon here so less than half of the vendor stalls were occupied but it was still interesting to wander through.
We stopped in at a casino in Espanola and had a good, late breakfast. We received a little gift package when we got a player’s card - don’t know what we will do with 2 nice desk clocks!
We stopped at a super WalMart for some groceries and then returned to the park to put them away. I talked Terry into checking out a store - Jackalope Mercado - that we had passed several times since we have been here. It turned out to be several shops with an assortment of goods and even Terry enjoyed exploring it.
A little windy but we barbequed for dinner.
Sept 13th - Sun - Santa Fe
Laundry today. We discovered a very unusual laundry here at the park. There are 2 washers and 2 dryers in the men’s and in the women’s restrooms. One washer was out of order in the women’s restroom and both washers in the men’s restroom were in use so we found a nearby laundromat and got it done. I made a nice breakfast for lunch when we returned.
I have been irritated with slow internet access on the computer lately and something trying to access the internet at random times. So I dug out a note about some anti-virus software from Microsoft and downloaded it. I ran a quick scan and no problems were found. So I decided to run a full scan. 2 hours and over a million files later, the software found one bad file which Norton had already quarantined. When I got on the internet later, I still had delays while a lot of files were downloading (who knows what they were) so don’t know what the next step is.
We made a trip to Trader Joe’s to buy some inexpensive wine, sat outside for a while, barbequed dinner and watched TV.
Sept 14th - Mon - to Bernalillo NM
Didn’t need to get an early start today as we only had about 45 miles to go. We were still plenty early and saw a casino so decided to stop. Terry got $5 free play and I got $3 - whoopee!! But I managed to turn my $3 into $20 and covered Terry’s losses. The bad thing is, they gave us another scratch ticket for more free play after 24 hours - but you can’t scratch it until you go there.
We are staying at the Coronado Campground where we stayed in April after the RV rally. Terry has had a toothache for a couple of days so I tried to find a dentist online- no luck. So we went for a drive and found one dental office nearby who could not fit him in. Terry is a real wimp when it comes to dentists so he said he would be OK. When we started driving, we went through a really heavy rain and hail storm. On the way back, we waded through puddles at WalMart and then came back to the RV park where residents were discussing the storm and skirting huge puddles. After dinner, we chatted with a neighbor who introduced us to another neighbor who could make a sign for us. We continued on our way and it took us over an hour to walk around the small park as we stopped and chatted with 2 more couples.
Sept 15th - Tues - Bernalillo
We visited Mike to work out details for the sign that he was going to paint for us and then left to go to the State Fair in Albuquerque. I remembered the correct freeway exit from our visit here in April so we had no problem finding the parking for the fair.
We walked and walked and walked. Started with a funnel cake for breakfast, checked out all the vendors giving their spiels and wandered through a few other buildings. Watched an aerial act including sway poles, motorcycle on a high wire and a rotating cage. We started in the grandstand but moved to some shade - it was hot! Stayed in shade again for a cute performing pig show. Tried Indian fry bread (taco & hamburger) for lunch (so-so), spent time in the arts building and called it a day at the fair.
But the day was not over so we continued south on I25 to the Isleta Casino. We each got a player’s card with $25 in free play but their computers were down so we could not use it right away. We played with our “allowance” but it was sometimes quite frustrating. Because of the computer problem, sometimes when you would try to cash out of a machine it would put up a message requiring manual payout. Then you would have to wait for an employee who would write down the info and then have to go get the money. Because this was happening all over the casino, you would have to wait a long time to get your money. Luckily it did not happen every time and, also luckily, I was winning a bit.
Finally the computers came up so we HAD to stay to play our $25 and wait for a cash drawing (didn’t win!). We did walk out winners this time. We stopped at McDonalds (at 10:15!) on the way back.
When we got back, our new sign was waiting on our doorstep. It is great! It will be attached to the ladder on the 5th wheel and says “Little House on the Chevy”.
Sept 16th - Wed - Bernalillo
Wonderful day today! I made jelly biscuits and shared with the couple who made our sign. Then we went to the casino that we visited on the trip here to see how much free play that we would get on the second of our scratch tickets. Didn’t take long for Terry to use his $10 and me to lose my $20.
From there we went slightly further north on I25 and turned east on Hwy 22 to reach Hwy 14 (Turquoise Trail). Hwy 22 included 11 miles of dirt road that was in good shape considering the rains lately. A few miles north on the Turquoise Trail took us to Madrid which is a fun little town with lots of shops lining the main street. I had picked out the store Weasel & Fitz from a brochure so we visited it first. It was the neatest shop featuring the works of several artists who recycle material for their incredibly imaginative artwork. Paintbrushes, chopsticks, silverware, coffee pots, army helmets, used tires and assorted kitchen utensils were all turned into wonderful art.
We wandered down the main street and stopped at several stores - one had the largest selection of silver and gem jewelry that I have seen in one small store and another had amazing huge light fixtures with blown glass shades. The recycled theme was seen in other stores.
Then we continued south on 14 and stopped for a good lunch in San Antonito. This is where the road forks to Sandia Peak which was our destination. A couple of miles from the junction, we stopped at an attraction called Tinkertown. It is a quirky “museum” that is the life work of a man who made a miniature town, mostly by carving and building everything from wood. It is housed in buildings that are made from bottles set in mortar - one side shows the flat bottoms and the other has the necks of all lengths. He also built a complete miniature circus with moving performers. Other miscellaneous collections are also housed in the museum as well as a gift shop with as many different items as the museum.
From there the road winds for 11 miles and climbs to a viewpoint at 10,748 feet. It was cold (50 degrees so luckily we had jackets in the truck) and windy. There was a storm moving in so pictures were not wonderful but the view was. You can see all of Albuquerque and a valley on the other side. We didn’t tarry long.
We had passed a sign for a different route back and decided to take it even though the map indicated another unpaved road. Even the warning sign for 8.5 miles of unimproved road did not stop us. We descended in fewer miles than we ascended so it was steep, very windy and very narrow - but fun and took us right into Bernalillo where we are staying.
The storm that we saw from the mountain top moved in so we retired for the evening.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Sept 8th to 11th - Santa Fe
Sept 8th - Tues - Santa Fe
Caught up my blog before heading to downtown Santa Fe this morning. It is a very pretty city center with no high rises - mostly adobe buildings in the Southwest tradition. We had to check out the Plaza as every brochure mentions it. It is a small park in the middle of town with lots of benches for people watching. Apparently it is used for many events.
On a wide, covered sidewalk in front of the Palace of the Governors, many vendors (mostly jewelry) display their goods on blankets and “mind the store” by sitting on pillows on the ground. Santa Fe is known for jewelry stores and art galleries. Of course there are also the expected touristy shops, high end clothing stores and lots of hand woven blankets and smaller items such as place mats. We did a lot of walking in absolutely beautiful weather!
On the way back to the RV park we stopped at a grocery store and then had a quiet evening.
Sept 9th - Wed - Santa Fe
Emails and other computer work this morning and then a casino called to Terry. Camel Rock Casino is just north of downtown Santa Fe and is not huge. I continued my slow downward spiral at the slots but Terry did OK. We actually left with more money than we took - and with 4 shot glasses that were the prize of the week for earning points on the player’s card. And I can’t forget to mention 2 decks of cards with holes punched through the middle!! I see another junk cleanout in our future.
Our lovely sunshine changed into rain by the time we got back so Terry was excused from cooking on the BBQ tonight.
Sept 10th - Thurs - Santa Fe
We are really enjoying being lazy in the mornings! Once we finally got going it was to casinos again! We went to the new Buffalo Thunder casino first. It is beautifully done - all adobe style exterior to blend into the landscape. We got to swipe our new players cards to select a token for the amount of free play that we would have. Terry went first and ended up with $75. I continued my losing streak by ending up with $5 which disappeared really fast. We used a food coupon to have a really good pressed sandwich for lunch before we headed to another casino just a few miles away.
The next small casino is affiliated with Buffalo Thunder so we had to earn some points before getting $10 each on our cards. I finally broke my losing streak and it ended up costing us $5 for the day of gambling and lunch.
It rained on & off most of the day and poured when we got back to Santa Fe. The curb lane on the major street that we traveled was covered with fast moving water. But the rain let up quickly and a few blocks later there was no river in the curb lane.
We watched the burning of Zozobra on TV this evening. This is an 85 year tradition of burning “father gloom” who is stuffed with viewers problems or “glooms” in hopes of banishing them. There was a lot of dancing up & down a set of stairs in front of the huge Zozobra figure, moaning from Zozobra and fireworks. I think you have to live here to appreciate how long it took for the actual burning to take place.
Sept 11th - Fri - Santa Fe
Took a while to get going this morning with emails and such. Then finding a place to get a haircut for me. Lunch at the mall and then off for a drive. We took “The High Road” to Taos. It was a really pretty drive through hills/mountains (as the name suggests) and a variety of terrains- sandy looking with small shrubs, green valleys, wooded hillsides and one small town after another. It was about 2 hours on this road.
Taos is a long, narrow town due to hills and the main road is quite narrow and lined with shops - very picturesque. Rain showers did not invite walking. We saw a sign for a casino so had to check it out. It was small and paid out in dollar tokens so we weren’t there for long.
We took a different route back (hwy 68) that followed the Rio Grande for quite a ways. The travel time decreased to 1 ½ hours. When we got back, we visited for a while with a neighbor who is from Idaho Falls before I made dinner.
Caught up my blog before heading to downtown Santa Fe this morning. It is a very pretty city center with no high rises - mostly adobe buildings in the Southwest tradition. We had to check out the Plaza as every brochure mentions it. It is a small park in the middle of town with lots of benches for people watching. Apparently it is used for many events.
On a wide, covered sidewalk in front of the Palace of the Governors, many vendors (mostly jewelry) display their goods on blankets and “mind the store” by sitting on pillows on the ground. Santa Fe is known for jewelry stores and art galleries. Of course there are also the expected touristy shops, high end clothing stores and lots of hand woven blankets and smaller items such as place mats. We did a lot of walking in absolutely beautiful weather!
On the way back to the RV park we stopped at a grocery store and then had a quiet evening.
Sept 9th - Wed - Santa Fe
Emails and other computer work this morning and then a casino called to Terry. Camel Rock Casino is just north of downtown Santa Fe and is not huge. I continued my slow downward spiral at the slots but Terry did OK. We actually left with more money than we took - and with 4 shot glasses that were the prize of the week for earning points on the player’s card. And I can’t forget to mention 2 decks of cards with holes punched through the middle!! I see another junk cleanout in our future.
Our lovely sunshine changed into rain by the time we got back so Terry was excused from cooking on the BBQ tonight.
Sept 10th - Thurs - Santa Fe
We are really enjoying being lazy in the mornings! Once we finally got going it was to casinos again! We went to the new Buffalo Thunder casino first. It is beautifully done - all adobe style exterior to blend into the landscape. We got to swipe our new players cards to select a token for the amount of free play that we would have. Terry went first and ended up with $75. I continued my losing streak by ending up with $5 which disappeared really fast. We used a food coupon to have a really good pressed sandwich for lunch before we headed to another casino just a few miles away.
The next small casino is affiliated with Buffalo Thunder so we had to earn some points before getting $10 each on our cards. I finally broke my losing streak and it ended up costing us $5 for the day of gambling and lunch.
It rained on & off most of the day and poured when we got back to Santa Fe. The curb lane on the major street that we traveled was covered with fast moving water. But the rain let up quickly and a few blocks later there was no river in the curb lane.
We watched the burning of Zozobra on TV this evening. This is an 85 year tradition of burning “father gloom” who is stuffed with viewers problems or “glooms” in hopes of banishing them. There was a lot of dancing up & down a set of stairs in front of the huge Zozobra figure, moaning from Zozobra and fireworks. I think you have to live here to appreciate how long it took for the actual burning to take place.
Sept 11th - Fri - Santa Fe
Took a while to get going this morning with emails and such. Then finding a place to get a haircut for me. Lunch at the mall and then off for a drive. We took “The High Road” to Taos. It was a really pretty drive through hills/mountains (as the name suggests) and a variety of terrains- sandy looking with small shrubs, green valleys, wooded hillsides and one small town after another. It was about 2 hours on this road.
Taos is a long, narrow town due to hills and the main road is quite narrow and lined with shops - very picturesque. Rain showers did not invite walking. We saw a sign for a casino so had to check it out. It was small and paid out in dollar tokens so we weren’t there for long.
We took a different route back (hwy 68) that followed the Rio Grande for quite a ways. The travel time decreased to 1 ½ hours. When we got back, we visited for a while with a neighbor who is from Idaho Falls before I made dinner.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Sept 4th to 7th - AZ to Santa Fe NM
Sept 4th - Fri - Williams
We decided to check out the county fair at Flagstaff this morning and possibly a demolition derby near the fairgrounds. The weather was lovely but it got cloudy as we drove east. The fair was very small and it didn’t take us long to wander through all of it. There were a lot of large groups of kids there and it was great to see them having fun and being so excited.
We carried on into Flagstaff, got diesel and went to a mall to look for shoes as we both destroyed our tennis shoes in 100 Mile House. We actually ended up with shoes for both of us.
When we left this morning, we walked through a swap meet that was just being set up in Williams so we went back to see if there were any more interesting vendors. Because of wind & rain, most tables were covered. We went across the street to a dollar store for a couple of items and headed back to the rig for another quiet evening.
Sept 5th - Sat - Williams
Lots of rain last night and this morning so we stayed in bed and watched TV until Terry felt too guilty and had to get up. Finally got the laundry sorted out and went to the laundry room to get it done. This park is very well kept and the laundry room and restrooms are spotless - but the laundry is a little expensive compared to other parks & laundromats.
I made a nice lunch and then we went back to the swap meet - nothing that we had to get. We drove into the heart of downtown and wandered through all the touristy stores. Some stores made me wish that I had more room for “stuff”. I worked on the computer before making dinner while Terry checked out the inside of his eyelids and then walked around the park. Pretty cool but we ate dinner outside.
Sept 6th - Sun - to Albuquerque
NM was not in our plans just yet but…….. We were going to stay in Grants at an inexpensive, stop-over park but it was early when we got there so decided to go on to the Route 66 Casino and stay in the parking lot after checking out the casino. After we finally lost our “allowance”, we had dinner at a really bad buffet, moved to a spot where we could put out the bedroom slide and tried to sleep. We could hear traffic on the highway, trains on a nearby track (no whistles though) and cars coming from & going to the casino including pounding sound systems. It was warm so we had to have the bedroom window open which faced the casino so we had flashing neon signs all night. Not one of our more inspired choices!
Sept 7th - Mon - to Santa Fe NM
We finally got an hour sleep this morning so didn’t get going at the crack of dawn. Walked to the casino for coffee and said “no thanks” to a $2 muffin.
Lovely, sunny day for a drive. Light traffic due to it being Labor Day. I made some phone calls as we drove and we selected Los Campos de Santa Fe RV Resort. It is tucked away behind a commercial center which eliminates nearly all traffic noise and we are at the back of the campground which is even more quiet.
I made lunch after we set up and then we enjoyed watching PGA golf. A walk around the park area before dinner, a short visit with a neighbor and a phone call with Claude & Val after dinner completed our day.
We decided to check out the county fair at Flagstaff this morning and possibly a demolition derby near the fairgrounds. The weather was lovely but it got cloudy as we drove east. The fair was very small and it didn’t take us long to wander through all of it. There were a lot of large groups of kids there and it was great to see them having fun and being so excited.
We carried on into Flagstaff, got diesel and went to a mall to look for shoes as we both destroyed our tennis shoes in 100 Mile House. We actually ended up with shoes for both of us.
When we left this morning, we walked through a swap meet that was just being set up in Williams so we went back to see if there were any more interesting vendors. Because of wind & rain, most tables were covered. We went across the street to a dollar store for a couple of items and headed back to the rig for another quiet evening.
Sept 5th - Sat - Williams
Lots of rain last night and this morning so we stayed in bed and watched TV until Terry felt too guilty and had to get up. Finally got the laundry sorted out and went to the laundry room to get it done. This park is very well kept and the laundry room and restrooms are spotless - but the laundry is a little expensive compared to other parks & laundromats.
I made a nice lunch and then we went back to the swap meet - nothing that we had to get. We drove into the heart of downtown and wandered through all the touristy stores. Some stores made me wish that I had more room for “stuff”. I worked on the computer before making dinner while Terry checked out the inside of his eyelids and then walked around the park. Pretty cool but we ate dinner outside.
Sept 6th - Sun - to Albuquerque
NM was not in our plans just yet but…….. We were going to stay in Grants at an inexpensive, stop-over park but it was early when we got there so decided to go on to the Route 66 Casino and stay in the parking lot after checking out the casino. After we finally lost our “allowance”, we had dinner at a really bad buffet, moved to a spot where we could put out the bedroom slide and tried to sleep. We could hear traffic on the highway, trains on a nearby track (no whistles though) and cars coming from & going to the casino including pounding sound systems. It was warm so we had to have the bedroom window open which faced the casino so we had flashing neon signs all night. Not one of our more inspired choices!
Sept 7th - Mon - to Santa Fe NM
We finally got an hour sleep this morning so didn’t get going at the crack of dawn. Walked to the casino for coffee and said “no thanks” to a $2 muffin.
Lovely, sunny day for a drive. Light traffic due to it being Labor Day. I made some phone calls as we drove and we selected Los Campos de Santa Fe RV Resort. It is tucked away behind a commercial center which eliminates nearly all traffic noise and we are at the back of the campground which is even more quiet.
I made lunch after we set up and then we enjoyed watching PGA golf. A walk around the park area before dinner, a short visit with a neighbor and a phone call with Claude & Val after dinner completed our day.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Sept 1st to 3rd - Williams AZ
Sept 1st - Tues - to Williams AZ
On Sunday we saw so many huge cultivated fields and orchards and today it seemed that we drove through many times that acreage in absolutely useless land - rocks, hills, scrub brush, dried sparse grass. We managed to get to Arizona before we got diesel and it was much cheaper than in California - $2.55 vs. $3.19. We stopped in a rest area where I cooked breakfast for lunch and arrived at the Grand Canyon Railway RV park about 3. The weather was a lot cooler but we still had the AC on until the sun went down and the wind picked up a bit.
We drove through town and stopped at Safeway for a few items before settling in for the evening.
Sept 2nd - Wed - Williams
We headed for Camping World and Flagstaff this morning. Camping World is several miles west of Flagstaff on Hwy 40 and has no signs so we missed it. We decided to continue on to Flagstaff as the next exit was too far down the road. We found my favorite Big Lots store and picked up a few “essential” items. Then to a WalMart which turned out to be undergoing a remodel and was a real mess so we got the one item that I really needed. Next to Camping World for a new sewer hose. Hit Safeway on the way back to get ingredients for Salsa Salad that I have not made for a long time.
Put the Salsa Salad together and had some for a late lunch - good stuff. Then I got at a job that I have been putting off - entering our expenses into a spreadsheet. I was so happy to get caught up. I had a pork roast in the crockpot so dinner was easy. Went for a stroll around the park after dinner since the sporadic rain showers had quit.
Sept 3rd - Thurs - Williams
We spent some time this morning going over maps & camping books to decide exactly where we are heading next. Didn’t decide!
Off to Flagstaff again but this time to continue north to Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments. Unfortunately, a parking area in Sunset Crater was being resurfaced so we couldn’t take the main walking path to view lava beds. We enjoyed walking around the preserved Wupatki Pueblo that had multiple stories and originally about 100 rooms.
This loop ended back at Hwy 89 which we took north to Hwy 64 into Grand Canyon Ntl Park. We have been to the south rim of the park previously but never to the east end. Shortly after you enter the park you encounter the Watchtower at Desert View. It is a stone tower built as a gift shop and to showcase Indian culture. We walked up the four stories to take pictures from the top - hard work at 7522 feet above sea level! We stopped at several more view points along the road before the highway turns south and out of the park. I was really impressed with the views and loved the lack of cars & people as compared to the main areas of the south rim.
We experienced several downpours during the day but it was nice when we got back to the park about 5. It wasn’t nice all day however as our neighbors had their awning flip over the top of their trailer while they were gone. Visited with neighbors, watched TV and walked around the park before dinner since we had a late lunch in the park - an amazingly good Philly steak sandwich at a snack shop.
On Sunday we saw so many huge cultivated fields and orchards and today it seemed that we drove through many times that acreage in absolutely useless land - rocks, hills, scrub brush, dried sparse grass. We managed to get to Arizona before we got diesel and it was much cheaper than in California - $2.55 vs. $3.19. We stopped in a rest area where I cooked breakfast for lunch and arrived at the Grand Canyon Railway RV park about 3. The weather was a lot cooler but we still had the AC on until the sun went down and the wind picked up a bit.
We drove through town and stopped at Safeway for a few items before settling in for the evening.
Sept 2nd - Wed - Williams
We headed for Camping World and Flagstaff this morning. Camping World is several miles west of Flagstaff on Hwy 40 and has no signs so we missed it. We decided to continue on to Flagstaff as the next exit was too far down the road. We found my favorite Big Lots store and picked up a few “essential” items. Then to a WalMart which turned out to be undergoing a remodel and was a real mess so we got the one item that I really needed. Next to Camping World for a new sewer hose. Hit Safeway on the way back to get ingredients for Salsa Salad that I have not made for a long time.
Put the Salsa Salad together and had some for a late lunch - good stuff. Then I got at a job that I have been putting off - entering our expenses into a spreadsheet. I was so happy to get caught up. I had a pork roast in the crockpot so dinner was easy. Went for a stroll around the park after dinner since the sporadic rain showers had quit.
Sept 3rd - Thurs - Williams
We spent some time this morning going over maps & camping books to decide exactly where we are heading next. Didn’t decide!
Off to Flagstaff again but this time to continue north to Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments. Unfortunately, a parking area in Sunset Crater was being resurfaced so we couldn’t take the main walking path to view lava beds. We enjoyed walking around the preserved Wupatki Pueblo that had multiple stories and originally about 100 rooms.
This loop ended back at Hwy 89 which we took north to Hwy 64 into Grand Canyon Ntl Park. We have been to the south rim of the park previously but never to the east end. Shortly after you enter the park you encounter the Watchtower at Desert View. It is a stone tower built as a gift shop and to showcase Indian culture. We walked up the four stories to take pictures from the top - hard work at 7522 feet above sea level! We stopped at several more view points along the road before the highway turns south and out of the park. I was really impressed with the views and loved the lack of cars & people as compared to the main areas of the south rim.
We experienced several downpours during the day but it was nice when we got back to the park about 5. It wasn’t nice all day however as our neighbors had their awning flip over the top of their trailer while they were gone. Visited with neighbors, watched TV and walked around the park before dinner since we had a late lunch in the park - an amazingly good Philly steak sandwich at a snack shop.
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