Burned and Blonde

Burned and Blonde”

R is baking cookies. Yum! She wants to make cookies for friends and staff here at GICL to say “good bye” and “thank you”. So she is making chocolate chip and peanut butter blossom cookies. It’s a good thing. Understand that baking with an RV oven is not like baking at home. Getting even heat throughout the oven is nearly impossible. We have tried several things to improve performance. We use the air filled baking sheets. We put an unglazed tile on the bottom shelf to help diffuse the heat. To make matters even worse, the oven likes to go off in the middle of a project which does not help. So getting even baking continues to be a challenge.

So here we are baking cookies to give away. That means only the ones good enough to give away make it to the plates to pass out. And the over-done and under-done ones….( “the burned and the blonde”).. I get !! J

Beaver Pond Sunday

Sunday dawned clear and calm. What shall we do today? Let’s go on a hike up Little Creek. So, after breakfast, we packed a few snacks and drove the mile to parking spot. The wind had picked up by then and was blowing briskly, but in the small creek valley, it was ok. We started up the trail thinking we would be following the creek, but the trail veered away meandered through the forest and vale for a half mile before coming back to the creek. Ah, this is more like it! The trail was near the creek for a short time before we came to the place where it crossed to the other side. So we took off our shoes and started to wade. Wimp that I am I discovered that walking in bare feet was not comfortable. The water was only a little over my ankles but it was cold and the rocks were slippery and my feet did not like being on them. R felt the same. Now I know why we see backpackers with extra shoes tied to their packs. They use them for the river crossings.

So we started through the creek, each carrying our shoes. Rather than carry them I decided to throw mine over to the other bank. Number one went fine. Number two bounced on the ground and rolled backwards towards the water. As I watched, it proceeded to roll into the water. Luckily it entered the water right-side up. Did you know that Ecco shoes float? Mine only floated for a few feet before stopping on a rock. I would not have been able to move fast enough, barefoot, to catch it if it hadn’t. I slowly managed to walk gingerly over a pick up my means of transportation and carry it to the bank.

After our feet were dry and shodden again, we continued on, only to come to another crossing a short distance down the trail. We decided that we did not want to go further and sat down to have a snack. It was very enjoyable sitting in the shade, listening to the twitter of birds, the wind in the trees, watching the creek drift past. Wait! Was that a small fence lizard floating past us in the middle of the creek? Yup, there it was doing some sort a swimming motion staying afloat! We watched as it grabbed a hold of a small branch that was trapped in some rocks. We watched, enthralled by the mini drama in front of us. The little guy stayed on the branch for a few minutes before letting go and re-entering the water flow to grab another branch three feet downstream. This saga continued until he finally worked his way (more by luck than skill) to a relatively safe branch where he was totally out of the cold water and could dry off and warm up. We left him there hoping that he would safely make the journey the rest of the way to the nearby creek bank.

It was time to return to the truck, which meant another water crossing. This time I offered to throw for her, but R refused opting to throw her own shoes. Well, guess who got a wet shoe this time? The “where is my shoe going?” scream probably scared all the creatures for miles around. Her one shoe landed in the creek shallows so it and the accompanying sock got very wet. We had a good chuckle. J

After supper, just before sundown, we went to the beaver pond, nearby. As we quietly approached we watched a young one swim by. Following the trail around the pond we startled several deer that “spronged” away through the woods, making noise breaking branches along the way. This must have alerted the big beaver, because we heard a sound that resembled a large rock being thrown into the pond. There it was again!

We followed the sound and the trail to a view point of another portion of the pond. All around us were examples of the beaver’s chewing prowess. Trees, branches, and wood chips were lying everywhere you looked. There, in the middle of the large end of the pond, was a large swimming form that we knew was a full sized beaver. As we watched he arched his back and the tail came up and “Slap”. He dived. We waited and watched but did not see where he came back up. Knowing that our chances of seeing him again were slim, we walked back the way we had come. As we approached the other end of the pond again, we watched two young ones swimming nearby. As we about to leave, here comes the adult swimming toward one of the little ones. It was Mom or Dad coming to get junior to come home for supper. Together the two turned and swam back to the larger part of pond where the lodge must be located. It was a great experience to be there for the show.

Alamogordo II

After breakfast at the motel, we drove the 16 scenic miles uphill on Hwy 82 to Cloudcroft. A lot of people have said to us, “Oh you need to go to Cloudcroft.” It is a small town up in the mountains that has lots of small shops along the main street and summer cabins in the surrounding area. At 9000 ft the summers are much cooler than Las Cruces or Alamogordo and the winters are cold and snow covered.

Leaving Cloudcroft we went north on 244 which travels through the Mescalero Apache Reservation. The road meanders through the high tree-covered plateau and eventually joins Hwy 70 and into Ruidoso ( roo ee DO so). We followed 70 through what was the outskirts of Ruidoso, through Ruidoso Downs where there is a track that features quarter horse racing in the summer. Just as we approached Hondo we passed a sign that made us turn around. “The Hondo Iris Garden”. We spent over an hour wandering along rows of color, walking on actual grass, taking pictures and enjoying the moment. The garden is located on Hwy 70 about a ½ mile west of the junction of Hwy 380 in Hondo, NM. A definite stop if you in the area.

Turning west on 380 we came to Lincoln, NM. As you come in you notice that it looks like an old west town, which it is. If you look up the Five Day War you will read about the bloody standoff between two factions basically fighting over control of the area. Billy the Kid was a warrior on the side that eventually lost, which meant he had to go to jail. The shooting of two men during his jail break changed his stature from a bad boy to an outlaw.

Lincoln has many structures still standing as they were in 1870s including what was the county courthouse, a mercantile store, a couple of restaurants, and several other interesting buildings. I spent 20 minutes visiting with Carolyn at La Placita Fine Crafts which is a nice spinning and weaving shop located in a historic building along the main street. I spotted the store as we drove through and it is one the reasons we turned around to check out the town. I’m glad we did. The town has lots of charm and history and has not been commercialized like some other places (Tombstone, AZ for one). I would go back again. A good time would be during the historic reenactment week-end in Lincoln and nearby Fort Stanton. www.LincolnNewMexico.com

The next town west on 380 is Capitan ( cap ih TAN) who’s claim to fame is the Smokey Bear Museum. Smokey was found was an orphaned cub in the nearby Lincoln National Forest in 1950, became famous and died in 77 after a life in the Washington DC Zoo. He is buried on the grounds of the museum in Capitan. The story is that Smokey body was buried in the middle of the night because of threats of his body being kidnapped. Gosh, life is exciting in New Mexico! We did not get to see the museum because we arrived too late, having spent too much time exploring Lincoln, but we did get a picture of Smokie's grave...........................>>>>>>>>>>>

Continuing toward Alamogordo, we drove through the northern end of Ruidoso, passing the road to the ski resort and miles of expensive houses, condos, fancy shops, real estate offices before getting back on 70 and back to Alamogordo. This part of Ruidoso had the feel of Sho Low, AZ or maybe Sedona (without the ski resort). My least favorite part of the trip.

Alamogordo

Today, we headed out for our weekend. We had decided that it was time to go some distance. So we decided to check out the area around Alamogordo, NM. We left the trailer about 9:30 and took Hwy 35 and 61 to Deming. We then traveled on 26 to Hatch as a round about way to Las Cruces. Got lucky with our lunch choice, Sparky’s restaurant is right on the corner in downtown, Hatch. It looks like it’s been there a while and lots of folks know it’s there, because it was constantly busy during the time we were there. The specialty of house is a chili cheese burger which we tried (less the chili, of course). It was a good burger. A good burger. My side dish was pineapple coleslaw and R picked fries, both were outstanding also. So if you are ever traveling down I-25 between Siccoro and Las Cruces, stop in Hatch and have lunch at Sparky’s.

From Las Cruces, traveling east on Hwy 70 over the pass for 40 miles brought us to White Sands National Monument. 275 square miles of the Tularosa Valley is covered with white gypsum sand. The prevailing wind keeps the dunes moving northeast at about a foot a year. From the visitor center which is next to the highway the road goes 8 miles into the dunes. As you travel into the interior, the road goes from paved to gravel to a road covered in white sand and the land changes from semi arid land covered in bunch grass, buckhorn cacti, soap root yuccas, and several blooming hedgehog cacti to more and more white sand dunes. By the time you arrive at the turn around the “whiteness” is almost overwhelming.

After leaving White Sands we continued on to Alamogordo (fat cottonwood in Spanish). The town sits at the base of the San Andres and San Francisco mountains. After driving the perimeter of the city, we grabbed a mediocre dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant and checked into our motel.

Tomorrow we head up Hwy 82 to Cloudcroft. The sign at the intersection says “Steep highway, altitude gain of 4300 feet in 16 miles. It should be an interesting drive.

The "Tour of the Gila"

Last week-end was the Tour of the Gila a huge 5-Day bicycle event in Silver City that included over 700 participants. some days were spent out on the open road traveling fast and others were negotiating the mountainous roads of this area. Saturday was the Criterion which meant a fast and furious race run on teh streets of downtown Silver City. A one mile loop was roped off with one of the legs being the main street of town. The race began at 8am, ran all day, and concluded with the Mens 1,2,&3 at 3:15. It was great fun watching lots of expensive bikes being riden by riders in brightly colored outfits traveling a break-neck speed through the downtown streets.
The weather cooperated with temperatures in the 60's and no rain. It was great fun.

Sunday was the final day and it moved out into the country for a 100 mile jaunt with lots of mountain work. The group climbed the steep grade into and out of our valley, turning around in the parking lot of the National Monument Visitor Center and ending in the village of Pinos Altos.
We at RV park had two views of the racers as they went by our place on the way to and came back from the VC. The racers were basically in three groups: the lead group of 9-10, the main group of about 30-40 (about 10 minutes behind), a third group of 10 (another 5 minutes) and then several stragglers following along at various distances behind.

Behind each group of riders were their support vehicles who were there to provide assistance in case of breakdowns, etc. Nourishment was provided at specific areas called feed zones, that were at the uphill parts of the routes where the riders were going slowly anyway. It would have been interesting to watch this process. The "food" is liquid because the riders do not stop.

Watching these bikes zoom past after handling the mountain and then zoom past again only to be faced with going back over that same mountain made me appreciate the physical condition that these atheletes are in. It also helped me define masochism.

Recycling

A look at recycling in a “non-green” area.

I am from Oregon, land of no sales tax, land of no self service gas, land of the first or one of the first “bottle bills” (a five cent deposit on soda and beer cans and bottles). Recycling is big in our state. Most everything is recycled in Oregon. Under the sink in our kitchen are two containers. The smaller one is for garbage and the larger one is for recycling. Every week when we put out the trash bin for the sanitation truck, there is a larger bin sitting next to it. One week it is a bin for yard debris such as trimmed branches, grass clippings, etc. Theses are taken to an area and turned into yard mulch to be sold for yards, gardens, etc. On the alternate week, the household recycling bin sits next to the trash bin. In the bin are all recycling materials including plastic water bottles and milk jugs, plastic vegetable containers, paper, cardboard. Glass bottles go in a separate small bin and used motor oil is put in plastic milk jugs, both at the curb.

One reason the throw away bin is so small is that food items such as egg shells, apple cores, coffee grounds all go in the five gallon pail that sits outside our back door. When it’s full it gets carried out and added to the mulch box out back behind the shed. The mulch next year makes a nice addition to the flower beds.

So this brings me to the Southwest, meaning Arizona and New Mexico. Two things we noticed as we drove around, soda and beer cans and bottles along the highways. (See a previous blog concerning litter) I’m not saying that you don’t see litter in Oregon, but because of the five cent deposit , people are less apt to throw. Without it……

And then there is Styrofoam. You do not see it in Oregon. It may have been banned, but you do not get your take-out in foam. You do not get your drinks in foam. Your shipping items are protected with bio-degradable “peanuts” instead of foam ones. Down here? I shutter when I see Styrofoam used everywhere.

Because we are working in a federal facility, an attempt is made to recycle. There is a bin at the headquarters for paper and at the maintenance yard there is a trailer where cardboard, aluminum cans, and numbers 1 & 2 plastic is collected (but must be in plastic sacks). Theses are then hauled into town along with the park’s trash. Because we are so far out in the sticks, there is no garbage service available. I don’t know the locals do around here, probably burn their trash.

The point I am trying to make it that recycling works and the more we do it, the more it will be available to all of us everywhere, even in Arizona and New Mexico.