Happy Thanksgiving!

After all of the traveling, Ron & I are really enjoying our extended stay at "The Ranch".  We have explored a little bit of Artesia and Carlsbad, but mostly have just relaxed.  "The Ranch RV Park" is actually located in the middle of cattle ranching country, so we see cattle out the windows often.  There is an electric fence around the park, so they can't get in. 

Although it looks like it is flat and featureless, the desert is quite beautiful!  Every day we notice something different.  We have found great areas for walking & running each day.  One route takes us past a large pecan tree farm. 

We had seen pecan groves on our drive down, but until the freeze caused them to loose their leaves, I didn't know that's what they were. You can see the pecans on the tops where the branches are bare.   There are also pistachio groves, but I haven't seen any of those yet.

Another of our routes took us to this beautiful wetland.  There are lots of ducks & grebes on the water, but I haven't had my binoculars with me, so I haven't been able to identify them. 

 

Speaking of birds - one day we looked out our window at this fella attacking his reflection in Ron's truck window.

Yep - it is a Roadrunner!! 

 I was so excited to finally see one that I chased it all over the park trying to take pictures.  I think he got fed up because he stopped running and just started yelling at me.  I guess he wasn't too mad though, he was back again yesterday.

 

My other big sighting was this little guy.

He was lying on the road I was walking on and was so still I though he was dead.  It is amazing how much they blend in with the road. I only realized he wasn't dead when I saw that he was looking at me.  He was about 18" long and about as big around as a skinny hot dog. 

 

We wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving.  We are thankful for your continued presence in our lives through your interest in this blog and what we are doing.  Please post comments - we love to read them!

We are eating our Thanksgiving dinner here, at The Ranch, with the other RVers.  They are a great group of people.  Cheers!

 

 

"The Truth Is Out There"

Haven't blogged lately as we were trying to stay ahead of the POLAR VORTEX!  Also, I have been fighting an infection - argh...  Anyway, we have hunkered down in a wonderful park in southeastern New Mexico called "The Ranch".  This is my "backyard" -

On our way down, we took time to stop in Roswell.  As a huge fan of  The X Files, I had to see the UFO Museum and Research Center. 

The museum is very well done and tells the story of a rancher, Mac Brazel, who found foil looking debris while working the ranch.  When he turned it over to the Sheriff who turned it over to an Intelligence officer all hell broke loose.  As you go through the museum you see reports of intimidation by the US Government, sightings of dead alien bodies at the site, accusations of a coverup and lots of thought provoking research.  I loved it!

I also learned about the Close Encounter of the First, Second & Third Kind -

First Kind:  Sighting

Second Kind:  Sighting and some physical evidence (flattened grass, burns)

Third Kind: Alien contact

But, what you really have to love about Roswell is how they have embraced the "event" and become the Alien capitol of the world.  There are Aliens and Alien references everywhere - including advertising on TV for Roswell businesses. 

So, we got out of Roswell ahead of the cold (although we did get a taste of the cold snap and even had a little snow).  Today is a beautiful day, sunny and in the 70's.  I will leave you with another New Mexican sunset - more later!

 

The Raton Pass, Las Vegas & Billy the Kid

After above average temps in Colorado, we figured we'd better head south before reality hit in the form of much coolers temps.  Our first stop in New Mexico was, literally, right on the border, on the Raton Pass.  As we exited for the campground, we thought we were going to be camping in a Weigh Station, as they share the exit.  It was a very pleasant surprise when we pulled into the Cedar Rail Campground, high above the Interstate.

It felt like we were on top of the world with beautiful mountain views in every direction.

And to top it all off, a beautiful sunset!

The altitude on the Raton Pass is 7880 feet, so it got pretty darn cold at night!  Time to continue southward.

Next stop was a nice KOA just outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Who knew there was another Las Vegas!  Turns out that this one is much older than Las Vegas, NV, having received its name in 1835 when 29 individuals received the Las Vegas Land Grant from the Mexican government.  It became a premier city, for awhile, as a major stop on the Santa Fe Trail, a railroad hub and trade center.   Its important waned in the early 20th century when the railroad built a more southerly route through Albuquerque.  We took a walking tour of the historical areas.

This is the railroad station and visitor information center built in 1899.  It has been beautifully restored, and the person we spoke to in the information center was fantastic.  She told us all about the historical buildings (there are over 900 of them), gave us a map and highlighted the things we shouldn't miss.

This is the Carnegie Library, one of the small town libraries built by the grant from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.  There are only 12 of them in operation yet today (there is also one in Stillwater, MN!). Further down the street, we came to Bridge Street, which took us past New Mexico Highlands University, with its beautiful campus buildings with red tile roofs and historical churches.

We walked across the bridge to Old Town Plaza.  It has this gorgeous park

and is surrounded by lots of beautiful buildings.  The variety of architectural styles is amazing.

The Plaza Hotel (built in 1882)

Our Lady of Sorrows Parrish Hall (built pre-1883)

E. Romero Hose and Fire Company (built in 1909)

On our walk back, we passed the Las Vegas Museum - no time to visit it today, but Las Vegas, NM is definitely a town we'd love to come back to!

 

Our next stop was the sleepy little town of Fort Sumner.  Sleepy now, but not in the past!  It is the home of Billy the Kid's gravesite and the Billy the Kid Museum.

Billy the Kid's gravesite, where he is buried with two of his "Pals". 

This is his actual headstone, which has been stolen twice!  His real name was Henry McCarty, but he went by William H. Bonney.  He was killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett when he was 21 years old.  Legend has it that Billy the Kid killed 21 men, but only 4 have been proven.  He was more a thief and cattle rustler, and he was extremely good at escaping from whatever situation he was in, including jail.

This is Billy the Kid's gun and an authentic wanted poster. 

There was a lot of other things in the Billy the Kid Museum including antiques from the early days of Fort Sumner, clippings about Billy the Kid's tombstone being stolen and returned, a theory that Billy the Kid hadn't ever been killed and was living nearby.  The founder of the museum, Ed Sweet, collected a lot of "stuff".  The museum (& campground) is still run by Ed Sweet's son & daughter in law - they are probably in their 70's and as sharp and cute as can be. 

An old horse drawn hearse and pickup truck at the museum.

 

Fort Sumner is also home to the Bosque Redondo Memorial Historic Site.  Fort Sumner was established to help deal with the "Indian problem" in New Mexico as ranchers were moving into Native American lands.  A plan was hatched to round up the Mescalero Apaches and the Navajos (with the help of Kit Carson) and put them on a reservation at the Fort.  They were going to be taught how to plant and harvest crops.  Sadly, there were far too many Native Americans at the Fort, their crops were destroyed in consecutive years by insects, the water was tainted and the Native Americans were not immune to white man's diseases.  Many of them died.  Both tribes eventually escaped and went back to their native lands.  Nothing is left of the fort, but there is a beautiful Memorial at the site.

We are still lucking out with the weather, but will continue south through Roswell.  I'll be watching the skies for UFO's!