Easter in New Mexico

Tomorrow we will pull up the jacks and start making our way back north and east toward Iowa. The bikes will likely stay in the truck the rest of the way home.  The past week has been a whole new level of riding for me and I’ve experienced things I never thought I would on a motorcycle. Champ has done it all many times but has enjoyed watching me experience this kind of riding for the first time.

Our short stay in southern New Mexico did not disappoint. I am glad we chose the Alamogordo area for this trip. I have so many other places in this beautiful state I want to see, but this was a tasty appetizer. We scheduled two full days here.

Basecamp in Alamogordo

Gambel's Quail behind the rig

View of the Sacramento Mountains from our site

Day 1 was spent at White Sands National Park. It was Easter Sunday. If you have not been there make it a point to go. It is such a unique area. The history and geology are fascinating and I always marvel that there are species that adapt to harsh climates like this. We hiked the trails and marveled at our surroundings. The interpretive signage throughout the park does a great job educating visitors about what they are seeing and what to look for.  To see about the park to to   https://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm

I was examining a grouping of tracks in the sand on a dune when a family with three kids, armed with their Jr. Ranger guidebooks approached. I encouraged them to come to where I was standing and pointed out the tracks. I just stood back and my heart smiled as they got out their guides and began to identify the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Darkling Beetle, Bleached Earless Lizard, and Merriam’s Kangaroo Rat tracks in the 10’ square area where I was standing. I love to see kids get excited about things like that. It once again reminded me how much I love interpretive work when I get to do it on our Volunteer gigs at the Wildlife Refuges and State Parks.

Champ in the Dunes

Families enjoying Easter Sunday

Taking a rest on the boardwalk

Soap Tree Yucca at the top of the dune

Blue=Merriam's Kangaroo rat Red= Darkling Beetle Green =Bleached Earless Lizard

                                       

The park manager lent us sleds and a brick of resin so we could do some sledding ourselves. Champ even managed a trip down the hill standing up on the sled. Sand surfing!

Families had their canopies, and some their campers dry docked in the big parking lots at the base of the dunes. The kids were sledding and playing on the dunes. Grills were going, music was playing and it was Easter at White Sands. How special is that?

Day 2 today was motorcycle day. The park host here is a cyclist as well as the neighbor next to us. They helped me choose a route that I would not have come up with on my own.  We headed north from the park and Caught US  70 East toward the Sacramento Mountains. The first stop was Inn of the Mountain Gods. Not for the inn or the Casino but the beautiful canyon ride that ended at the lake near the lodge. There we put on our heavy jackets and headed into the Lincoln National Forest for the 30-mile ride to Cloud Croft. It was at least as challenging as the Twisted Sisters routes last week but this was through pine forest with a 4000’ gain in elevation. We ascended to 8600’. The scenery was breathtaking. The sun shone bright and warm on my face, a strong scent of pine hung in the air and signs warning of free ranging cattle, elk and wild horses reminded me to stay alert. It was hard to absorb all the beauty that was around me. I just rode and basked. Toward the end of the route, we came around a corner to find 4 remarkable wild horses prancing about in the middle of the road. We slowed and Champ revved his engine to get their attention. Two of them reared and all four scampered off the side of the road down into the valley. It was stunning! I have never seen wild horses, let along up close and on the road! That was one I’ll remember when I’m 98 years old sitting around reliving things in my mind. After a tasty lunch at a Wild Game Restaurant on the way down the mountain I thought I had been dazzled enough for the day. I was wrong. As we descended into Alamogordo, I came around a corner and saw the White Sands on the horizon, that was worth the quick stop on the shoulder for a picture. The temperature was a full 20 degrees warmer once we returned to the flat lands.

Sierra Blanca from US 70

Inn of the Mountain God's Lake

Tunnel on the way down

View of Alamogordo on the descent ~ 6000 ' Elev

The descent White Sands on the horizon at the foot of the San Andreas Mts. 

The rest of the day will be getting ready to travel once again.  We will make a couple more stops before we put jacks down in our summer home in north central Iowa. The past week has been long anticipated and very enjoyable. The weather has been perfect and the people we have met have been just as warm and inviting as the sun that has shown everyday since we left Mathis. What more could a girl ask for?

Until Next Time…

West Texas Part II 4-3-2021

 

Today we are travelling from West Texas to Tularosa New Mexico near White Sands. I am leaving West Texas with an appreciation for the area I did not expect to have. When we decided to go, the vision in my mind was fabricated from the old westerns and modern movies like The Rookie and Friday Night Lights. With a few rare exceptions I thought the entire place would be flat, barren and dusty. As far as Junction and Alpine went I could not have been more wrong.

Yesterday we had another picture-perfect day to ride the bikes and head up to Ft. Davis State Park. At 6300 feet elevation. I learned two things while there. I learned that my love of birding and riding my motorcycle do not mesh well in the same day.  It was too cold in the morning to ride into the mountains. By the time we got there around Noon, the birds were starting to settle in for the afternoon. The clothing for the two activities doesn’t really work either. I did spend some time in a very nice bird blind that had several feeders and water falls and was treated to my first sighting of a Pine Siskin and a Lark Bunting. I was hoping to see a Green Tailed Towhee, but it wasn’t meant to be. There were several species that would have been new to me if I had arrived earlier in the morning, I may have seen them. My bike didn’t mind the altitude and ran fine. My body wasn’t a fan. I adjust to higher altitudes a little slowly so my initial assent up a trail was cut short by my lightheadedness as my body struggled in the thinner air. Instead of fighting it, we got back on the bikes and spent the afternoon riding the unbelievably scenic roads through the park.  I looked at the Skyline Drive switchbacks from below and wondered if I had the skill to ride it. I took a deep breath and led the way up. Out of my comfort zone once again I honed my riding skills a bit more and learned some things about riding on steep grades. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be and we basked in the stunning views at the top.

Pine Siskin on a feeder at the bird blind

Rose's Claret Cup Cactus in bloom

Skyline Dr. road assent from below

The other thing I learned is, I really want to go back!  Next time we will pull the rig up to one of the nice camping sites and stay for at least a week, so I can really do some serious birding and have a couple of days to adjust to the altitude, so I can hike the miles of trails in the park. The Observatory was closed so that gives me another reason to go back.

Riding the bike up into the mountains that morning was a profound experience. The morning light lit up the mountain face, the air was warm, and I was there on my motorcycle alone with my music, drinking up the scenery around me. It was one of the moments, some would describe as feeling close to God. I would describe it as feeling very connected to the natural world that enveloped me. All my senses were heightened, yet I was more relaxed riding those mountain pass roads than I have felt in an awfully long time.

The Haystacks from the South at Marfa 4400 Ft. Elevation

The Haystacks from the  North Ft. Davis top of Skyline Drive 6300 Ft. Elev.

View of the Hotel in the park from 1/2  way up Skyline Dr 

 

At the top of the park

This morning the drive between Marfa and El Paso was the flat dry west Texas I imagined last week. As I drove the motorhome, I was continually surprised at the beauty of the mountain ranges that surrounded the flat lands. I am excited to be headed to New Mexico. I have wanted to go there since I was a kid. My only disappointment will be that the Georgia O’Keefe (one of my favorite artists) museum complex continues to stay closed due to ‘you know what’. I’ll have to stop in Santa Fe another time. For now, we head to Tularosa for three days of immersion in all that southern New Mexico has to offer.

Until Next Time...

West Texas Part I Th, 2021ursday April 1

 

We travelled from Junction to Alpine Texas on Today. For once the scenery holds my attention. Normally I get bored and work on a crossword puzzle or read a book on my Kindle.  I am enchanted with this rocky, hilly land. I have never associated Texas with mountains and was surprised to find that Alpine is at nearly 4500 feet elevation.  Almost as high as Denver! I knew we were headed for the Davis Mountains but thought the name was more a formality.

I-10 between Junction and Alpine

View from our site in Junction Bluffs in the background

The plan is to ride the motorcycles to Fr. Davis State Park tomorrow. When I read that the elevation was 6300 feet, I immediately thought of my carbureted motorcycle engine. I went to a forum to see what the modern carburetors’ tolerance for higher altitudes is and what the remedy is. As it turns out I will be riding at the threshold of the limits of the factory settings, so we are prepared to stop and tweak the jet screw if it starts to load up and run like crap tomorrow. We have been told by many that the 25 mile route from our RV Park to the State Park in the mountains is breathtaking. Birding is on the agenda when we get there. I tried to get tickets to the tour of the McDonald Observatory but was disappointed to find that the soonest available date was April 22^nd. Due to the current circumstances that I don’t need to explain, entry is limited to those with advance reservations. I even had to buy State Park Day passes in advance in order to be let into the park as they work to limit crowds. I am thankful to at least get to go birding and pack a lunch to enjoy while we are there.

This evening we will drive the truck over to Marfa and check out the eclectic town and eat dinner at one of the many unique restaurants. I hear it is a Foodies paradise. Then after dark we will head to the Marfa Lights viewing area East of town and try our luck at seeing the famous, mysterious lights in the night sky. I am looking forward to a good night sky away from civilization. Even if I don’t see the Marfa Lights, the stars are bound to be spectacular.

Marfa Lights Viewing area at Sunset

We are on US 67 South headed into Alpine and the landscape is dotted with scrub, Soap TreeYucca  that is new to me and dirt devils winding about all over the open fields. Having watch 100’s of Westerns in my lifetime, especially in the past 20 years living with Champ, I look around and think to myself, things haven’t changed all that much out here.

As we drove today, we talked about what the experience of living in such a remote area must be like. When a large grocery store or Wall-mart is 200 miles away and a small town is easily 75 to 100 for some of these ranchers. I muse at the thought that many are likely wealthy enough to own airplanes and simply fly to El Paso for groceries.

Our time in Junction was exactly what I imagined. It is nice when a plan comes together. We had good riding weather for our 185-mile ride to and around the entire Twisted Sisters Motorcycle loop on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Champs’s cousin Zeke and his with Roselyn drove the 52 miles from Kerrville. After a delicious lunch at the local BBQ joint and good conversation catching up. We went back to our site and spent the afternoon playing a rather rowdy and fun few games of Pitch.

For the rest of the trip, we will not see anyone we know till we get back to the Midwest and possibly see my cousins in Kansas.

Texas never ceases to amaze me with its expanse and diversity of landscape and climate. I am glad we finally made it to this part of the state.

Until Next Time...

Sure Signs of Spring

 

This week in Southeast Texas, the Bluebonnets bloomed, migrating Hummingbirds are feasting at the feeders in the park and I am making reservations and planning our trip home.  Spring has officially arrived. Both, on the calendar and in our routine! Another winter has flown by and we are feeling the usual mixed feelings of the goodbyes to friends in our winter location and excitement of getting back to our home base.

The famous Texas Bluebonnets blooming in the park

Purple Martins have arrived to evict the House Sparrows

We are happy with our decision to come back to Wilderness Lakes.  We continued on with friends we made here three years ago. We even got to spend a day with a Ranger we worked for at Goliad, and her family one special day. The weather has been nice except for the horrible cold that nobody escaped one week in February. We don’t know what we missed by not going to Arizona but we both agree this was where we were meant to be this season.

Last spring’s intrusion of COVID-19 nixed everyone’s travel plans including our plans return to Iowa via West Texas and New Mexico.  This year we are looking forward to seeing another new corner of this great nation. They say things happen for a reason. I am a big believer in that, and this year is proof. If we had taken the trip last year, we would have done it with no motorcycles. Since the trip was postponed last year, I bought another motorcycle, and we traded the SUV for a pickup to haul them both south with us. So, this year not only will we see these two beautiful areas, but we will also be able to ride the motorcycles through some breathtaking countryside and experience Texas Hill Country, The Big Bend area and southern New Mexico desert and mountains as motorcyclists. Not, simply car rubberneckers. I have longed to see the desert in all it’s spring glory for most of my adult life. Now I get to do it from the perch of my two wheeled companions listening to my music as I take in the scenery.  Yes, I have some lofty expectations for our trip home. The weather can always put a kink in the chain, but we are looking forward to our excursion with great excitement.

We are 8 days from lift off. All the yard decorations and pots that grow my lettuce and greens that have fed me through the winter got washed and packed away today. The shopping list of provisions for the trip home is starting to populate and we are making last time plans with winter friends.

Excitement is building for the return home and excitement grows for our commitment with Fish and Wildlife Services on Key Largo next winter. A bonus is we got word that our good friends John and Cathy, who we met on our very first volunteer gig are going to be visiting the Keys for a month next winter. I was over the moon when they told me they were planning time in Florida nearby. We can all experience the beauty of the Keys and I get to go birding with The Great John Harrington as he is known to some, including me.

The countdown has begun.

Until Next Time…

 

Aransas Wildlife Refuge

Ever since my first winter in Texas, people have asked if we have been to Aransas Wildlife Refuge. I know others who have volunteered there, I have worked for Rangers who worked there at some point in their career and today I finally visited.  We originally set out yesterday. We were on the road and I pulled up the weather to see if the forecast had changed and indeed it had. It was raining there, and the sun wasn’t coming till late afternoon. We took a detour to Auto Zone and picked up a new Serpentine belt for the motorhome and went back home and improvised the rest of the day.  The one-day delay was worth the wait.

New Visitors Center under construction

On arrival we were greeted by bright sunshine and about 60 degrees. The birds were actively feeding, and the trails were not particularly busy.  We were treated to a nice variety of shorebirds and views of Mustang Lake and San Antonio Bay from the trails and the viewing platforms.  They have done a nice job with this refuge. Hurricane Harvey made landfall in this very place in 2017 and there was still some evidence in the gnarled tree debris and the brand-new handicap accessible 40’ and 20’ viewing towers. The new Visitor’s Center is under construction and looks like it will be fabulous!

Breakfast for all!

American Pelican's in flight

Roseated Spoonbills and Egrets

R

Egrets flying in

Tri Colored Heron

Tri Colored Heron in flight

Alligators were plentiful as they slumbered in the sun along the shores of the waterways sleeping off their meals from last night. We watched a bit in horror as one idiot loudly taunted a large sleeping alligator as we exited one of the trails. Not only was he stupid he was loud and proud about it. The worst of it was he had several kids with him and a wife pleading with him to quiet down. He reminded me of the occasional news report when someone is attacked by wildlife in a park or refuge and is usually chomped on because of their own ignorance and /or lack of respect for where they were. No one got hurt but I did get a telling picture from the bridge, of this moron getting way too close. 

All I can say is "What a dumbass"

Gater trails to the water

Say Cheese!  Shot from across the channel

 

One of the areas was ironically named Jones Lake. We couldn’t resist the urge to take a selfie with the sign. The lake was covered in ducks and I stood there missing my friend John, who knows ducks well. There was a gentleman with an exceptionally large camera on the viewing deck and I asked him if he knew ducks. He did and was happy to decipher my scenery. I knew the Pied Billed Grebe and the Gadwall, but the American Wigeon escaped me till he told me what it was. The light was excellent, but the picture of the beautiful Wigeon was only recorded in my memory bank since my camera battery died and the extra was back in the truck.

Lesser Yellow Legs wading

My duck guy. I didn't get his name

Pied Billed Grebe

We had a full day walking the trails and taking in the scenery, knowing that it may indeed be several years before we return to Texas. Next year we will be in the Florida Keys and we plan to finally spend some time in Arizona or New Mexico next winter. Who knows after that?  We finished our day in North Padre Island at a Burger Place that I ate at with a lady’s group two weeks ago. I knew Champ would love it and it seemed a just reward for him putting up with 5 hours of walking trails with me stopping every 10 feet to watch a bird through my binoculars. He said it was well worth it!

The next three weeks will be a frenzy of preparing to travel and getting around doing things and seeing people for the last time this winter season. We are looking forward to a meandering trip home that we planned last year but was thwarted by the virus situation. In a way it will be a better trip this year since we have two motorcycles with us to enjoy the areas we will visit in West Texas and New Mexico on our round about trip back to central Iowa.

We are happy with our decision to come back to Wilderness Lakes. We spent time with friends we made here in 2017 and made some new friends that we are sure we will see again down the road.

I talked to my sister on the phone during the hour trip to our birding destination this morning and realized that I am starting to feel the symptoms of my springtime homesickness. I hung up the phone knowing it is time to go home.

Until Next Time…  

 

I never dreamed I would take post ice storm pictures, while bundled up in a coat and long johns under my jeans again, but there I was Wednesday morning in South East Texas doing just that! As my northern, non-migrating friends and family exist in an unthinkable deep freeze. Texas is enduring record cold temperatures not seen in over 40 years.  Mathis escaped the snow that has fallen by the foot as close as 100 miles north of us but has endured one ice storm after another the past 5 days.

I had enough of being coop up in the motorhome the past 7 days and bundled up with what little cold weather clothing I own and defiantly went for a walk along the trail by the lake. As I walked in the 34 degree temps the ice that accumulated on the trees was dripping. It sounded like rain it was melting so quickly. The solace is in knowing that we will be back in the 70’s by next week after the stubborn jet stream retreats back to the north. Today the sun is out and we will see upper 40’s. A heat wave compared to what we have had the past week. Water lines are rupturing all over Texas.  The Texas power grid descended into a downward spiral early this week and of course everyone ran to the store and picked it clean of most everything. Panic over weather at its very worst.

Today the sun came out, power is coming back online slowly, and the grocery stores await deliveries, not seen in days because of the treacherous road conditions and power outages everywhere. It has been quite a few days.

Our life is one of flexibility.  We were lucky to have not lost power in our RV Park. Why is a mystery, but I’ll take it. Even if we had the motorhome has a generator and we had just had the LP tank filled before this front enveloped us in the sub-freezing temps. I had just been to the store so we have plenty of groceries. In all, our biggest complaint was boredom and spotty internet.

I have book marked Key Largos weather on my app as I do our future destinations to see what the next winter will have in store for us. I am envious of the consistent upper 70’s that the Florida Keys have enjoyed while the rest of the country freezes.  My sites are set on next winters adventure, the tropical climate and of course the summer at home with our family and close friends that divides our winter gigs.

I never thought I would post ice pictures again, but here they are.

Until Next Time…

2021 Change of Pace

 

We reached an unusual seasonal milestone this week, that only full-time RV’ers will understand. I opened the last package of Hy-Vee brand frozen veggies. Let me explain.  Hy-Vee is the major grocer in Iowa, much like HEB in Texas or Kroger in other parts of the country. I’m a house brand girl on many things like canned and frozen veggies and pantry items. We know when we’ve been away from a place for a certain length of time when we open that last item with the regional house brand emblazoned on the label. It’s a weird but definitive milestone.

The winter has been satisfying, even with our semi locked down circumstances.  The park we are in has been free of COVID issues. The club house is closed and what few activities taking place are outside. It hasn’t been boring by any means. Horseshoes and Bocce Ball are a blast and the pool is open for the sunny days.   It is just a different speed.

 I bought a portable greenhouse last summer and have put it to good use here. It protected my outdoor plants during our ‘winter’ that brought lows in the upper 30’s for a couple of weeks, and it gave me a place to get my lettuces started. My spider plant that got bit one night when it got colder than expected is using it as an infirmary now, and recovery nicely!  I’m not sure how I have lived without it the first 4 winters as full-timers.

Plants recovering from the cold night

Lettuces and Spinach three weeks after sewing seed

We have occasional happy hours with friends and neighbors.  I do Yoga regularly with a friend here in the park and when the mornings start being consistently in the 60’s the office has asked me to lead a social yoga practice at the pool patio a couple of mornings a week.  My yoga partner also taught me how to play Canasta and we get together once a week or so with another friend and spend an afternoon playing. Most days are nice as we while away the days going for walks, taking motorcycle rides and enjoying our winter off from workcamping.

I have spent a great deal of time sewing. I work on my own projects and even got to help my neighbor here, who doesn't sew, make some decorative throw pillows and a curtain for her RV. I am finally learning to ‘just be still’ for the first time in my adult life.

My New Couch Blankie

Like all full time RV lifestyles, our way of living, working and traveling is evolving after 5 years.  When we return to Iowa this spring, we will not be working at Saylorville for the first time since we started. Instead, we will be homesteading on our oldest son’s acreage during the summers. We are both excited to spend time with a new crop of young great grandkids and be on what was once Champs home before his son bought it from us several years ago. I will be able to put  a  garden in the ground and not in containers, the cats will roam about and hunt, like the farm cats they once were, and we will be free to travel.

And travel we will this summer!  A trip to the Black Hills with 2 of our 3 kids and their families, an adult grandson, my son in laws parents and his brothers family is on the calendar for June. A huge 5 BR house will be our basecamp as we explore Western South Dakota. Several weekends reserved at Saylorville to be guests rather than workcampers and then the big trip of the summer will be out East. We will visit friends in Maine, finally after cancelling last summer due to COVID, then park the truck in long term parking in Boston while we take a 7-day cruise to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the Coast of Maine. Upon disembarking from the cruise, a road trip back to Iowa will cap off what will end up being nearly 3 weeks of exploring parts of the country, we have not yet broken ground on.

Next fall we will head for a long-awaited engagement with Fish and Wildlife Services at a volunteer gig from November to March, on Key Largo.  Jobs will vary from vehicle maintenance and heavy equipment work for Champ, to Butterfly garden, interpretive tour and working with the Biology interns in the field for me. I couldn’t be more excited!  Champ is cautiously optimistic that he won’t encounter a behemoth Python during our 4-month tenure. I, on the other hand will be thrilled if I get to help the interns capture and collar one of the invasive beasts that they are working to eradicate. There are 8 species actively being protected at this refuge.  I am beyond excited to get the opportunity to be on such a diverse refuge and in an amazing climate like the Keys! Check it out at this link if you want to see more. 

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/crocodile_lake/

We stay in contact with our RV friends around the country, practice our social distancing and await the near future when travel will be easier, and adventure awaits!

Until Next Time…