From the dusty wild west

April 22, 2018

It was 96° F in the RV when we returned from the Ross Maxwell scenic drive in Big Bend National Park. So we turned on the generator, then the A/C, and I put a load of wash in the dryer that I had washed that morning. We sat outside to let the RV cool awhile before making supper. Since it was about 88° F outside, I thought I could stand 88° inside and went in and put the instant pot on “saute”. BOOM! Not really—all went silent. Everything went off- the generator, the A/C, the dryer—everything.

We turned off all switches, checked fuses, and tried to turn the generator again. It sounded like a lawn mower that would hardly start and needed more gas.  UGH! Our supper was pimento cheese on crackers. The propane keeps the refrigerator cold so we had cold drinks. But it was WAY TOO HOT to sleep in the RV. We did not bring a tent or sleeping bags - mistake - although we do have a large mosquito net we had had in Haiti. We watched the night sky from our reclining chairs and saw satellites and tried to remember star constellations. And Steve worried over the generator.

We had planned to stay in Big Bend the rest of the week and had a canoe trip planned down the Rio Grande for Friday. But without electricity, it was going to be miserable. Steve wanted to get to Albuquerque as soon as possible as there is a Cummins generator repair place there. We could not get to sleep until after midnight from the heat (like being in Haiti without fans).

So we changed plans and headed to New Mexico. I was looking forward to being where my phone had service and having some internet. It was a long day of driving but we made it to Alamagordo by 4-ish pm. Parked at Boot Hill (cowboy boots everywhere) RV park. Plugged in, turned on the A/C, made supper and then found out the internet was horrible. If Steve was in a blue funk the night before, I was now.

Steve does all the driving of the RV (he doesn’t think he could relax with me driving, he has a tank for a bladder, and we probably are safer- although I have never had an accident since some guy ran into me in Bridgewater about 1997). So that means beside listening to music or the horrible news, I read and do Suduko all day. So I am ready to do something different after all day riding. I went through one of those (rare, I promise) times when I am just out of sorts with everything. I wished I had brought my sewing machine, I wished I could see some grandkids, I wished I could get on the internet. I wanted to go home and I don’t have one- except more of this. Poor Steve. But we both knew I would get over it.

The A/C and all appliances worked when we were "plugged in". When Steve turned on the generator the next morning it worked too. So the next morning, all looked brighter, we could delay going to Albuquerque, and I was glad to start exploring. We went to a pistachio farm and winery and then went to White Sands National Monument.

 

Kite flyers

Huge dunes - for miles

We had seen pictures of people sliding down the dunes so to prepare for the large white sand dunes we bought $5 round sleds and some wax for the bottom of them. White Sands National Monument is over 280 square miles of white gypsum blown into huge dunes. I was the first to go to the top of one and Steve was going to record me flying down the side of it. Nope. I just scooted and stopped, scooted and stopped. Rolling down would have been better. Steve had no more luck than me and we figured we were just too heavy. But after giving our sleds away to some teenagers who had no better luck and watching others try with different sleds, we wondered where those pictures came from and what kind of sled would work.

We had planned to go back there at sunset but the wind started blowing hard that afternoon. Here in New Mexico, the weather forecast always includes the predicted mph of the wind- which makes the dust and sand really nasty  to be out in. (Did I mention that our RV and car have had a thick layer of dust for at least 3 weeks now?)

The next day we saw the National Space Museum—ok, but not great compared to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. Then on Friday we drove to Ruidoso, NM and walked the streets to see the shops. In the winter, Ruidoso is a ski destination so tourist-trap shops are abundant. The most fascinating was a pottery shop where some old codgers – that means older than us- (he had lived in Richmond in 1948 and she was a potter from New Zealand) gave us a lot of information about how the artists made the their glazes. We were in awe of all of it and spent some money there. And planned to come back.

The next day we changed parks to go to a higher elevation. Here in Ruidoso, it is barely getting to the 60’s but perfect for hiking. We hiked around Grindstone Lake where we had to step off the path every couple of minutes to get out of the way of bikers who were doing a mountain bike race yesterday. The lake is turquoise, the pines and cedars spaced so you can see for miles.

Definitely more hiking this week…..

Its cooler in Ruidoso - Eagle Creek RV park

Another biker coming- can you see him?

Lake Grindstone

Steve needs a haircut