Posts Tagged ‘Angel Fire’
Angel Fire…Almost Heaven!
We finally arrived in Angel Fire, NM late Friday afternoon. It was a long beautiful drive bringing us to Eagle Nest, our last town before turning off towards Angel Fire. This is also where the Pilot decided to change into Levis and tennis shoes. The temperature had dropped to 64 degrees and we knew all was right in the world.
Eagle Nest Lake greeted us as we rounded our last curve in Cimarron Canyon which had brought us up to 8,400 feet. This view is what I think serenity looks like…the lake, the peacefulness of the valley with homes tucked here and there and knowing we were almost at the end of our trip.
We drove into Monte Verde RV Park around 5:30pm. Lynn and Maria, owners of this park, were really good about guiding us as we backed into our site. I sighed in relief as we put the slides out after spending three days closed in with a large dog attached to our leg at all times.
Side Note: We choose to believe that Bella isn’t insecure or neurotic but just has an abundant amount of love to share!
This is the view from our front window. We woke up Saturday morning to temperatures of 50 degrees, birds singing and cold floors! Mind you, I’m not complaining but I did run back to the closet and put on some slippers. The flowers pictured in the field are purple Penstemon. We also have feathered Sage growing around our patio.
Oh, you know that 8,400 feet elevation I referred to above? Well, it has somewhat knocked the breath out of me…literally. It’s difficult for me to breathe right now but I know with a few days of acclimation everything will be back to normal. It hasn’t affected the Pilot as much. But, both of us have experienced some light-headedness. Of course, that could be from the giddiness we’re experiencing in being in such a beautiful place!
As you look to the right out our window you can see a horse shed. I can hardly wait to see the horses. I want to take a trail ride around the area but don’t know if I can talk the Pilot into doing it too. He’s allergic to those beautiful creatures.
Further to the right of the horse shed and nestled at the base of the mountain is a 12 denominational church. There’s a little bit of something for everyone there. However, not to be missed is actually communing while in the outdoors and thanking whoever your greater power is for creating this beautiful land.
Our very first challenge has been getting us connected to the Internet… consistently. Fortunately, the RV park is set up for it but we are being blocked by twos huge 5th wheeler/toy hauler and some trees. This is a problem that we need to resolve for not only here but at other campgrounds. In order to do this blog I had to go outside get a connection. We’ve been on the phone with Verizon…with no help and will call Wilson tomorrow.
The first neighbor we met was Brett Wolfe, Chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee and Advisor of FMCA Forum at Family Motor Coach Association. He and the Pilot have had their heads together since we arrived. It’s like living next door to your doctor!
He filled the Pilot’s head with great information and when the Pilot offered to share his knowledge of jet engines, Brett’s hilarious response was,
“They’re like black boxes to me and as long as they stay in the air I’m happy.”
I think that we’re going to thoroughly enjoy ourselves here as we tour the surrounding areas. We’ve got quite a few magazines and pamphlets to figure out what to do.
Then, I’m going to start baking and see what changes I’ll need to make along the way. That, and copious notes on those same changes! In the interim, picture us contented…and cool!
Side Note 2: A special thanks to our BFF FB FT RVing friend, Candace Rivero, for recommending this RV park…via her FT RVing Mom, Lu Kaegi. For those of you who hate acronyms, BFF FB FT stands for Best Friend Forever on FaceBook Fulltiming RV friend.
Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to John & Peggi McDonald as they fight the good fight in John’s battle with cancer. Peggi wrote RV Living in the 21st Century. It was one of the first books we bought when we were researching this lifestyle. I’ve followed her blog ever since. You can read her blog at http://www.rvliving.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4823 for any updates. Our prayers are with them during this time. Please add them to yours.
Stay strong and steady with the wind always blowing at your back
as you travel down the road to your next adventure.
Until next week…keep creating Sentimental Journeyz in your RV.
Be Prepared…Even if You’re Not a Boy Scout!
It’s the 4th of July this week and people are preparing for their own celebrations or, celebrating with the town where they live. Most are hoping their township will even allow firecrackers this year. Rather than focusing on firecrackers, we’re focusing on fire ants, bugs and what to pack for our trip to Angel Fire. We leave in one week and there’s still a bit to do.
As we prepare for our departure to cooler climes at 8,400 feet, I’m seeing more articles about safety in higher elevations. In conversations with friends, we are being warned about safety in regard to animals. This is why we’ve invested in boots.
Snakes! Yeah, yeah…say what you will. No one has ever put a Fear Barometer on me and on a snake to measure who was more afraid of the other. In my book, it’s hands down ME! And, if my fear already wasn’t high enough, I read that snakes still come out to sun themselves at cooler high elevations.
Dear Lord…please bear with me as I put in more requests than usual during prayer time…which will now be constant! Amen.
Consider me forewarned about staying away from bushes or holes in the ground where snakes like to be. I read another article that said sometimes when it gets too cold the snakes rattlers won’t work. Translated: You’ll never know what hit you until too late! If you hear screaming all the way to wherever you are…it’s me…seeing a stick that turned into a snake. And, the dust you’ll see is mine as I make tracks back to safety!
Dear Lord…it’s me again. Please save me from this wrath. I’m trying desparately to mentally communicate with these creatures that I’m not going to harm them. Please ask them to return the favor. Amen.
Regarding the elevation that we’ll be climbing to…8,024 feet, that means we’ll have cooler weather, especially at night. So, we went back to the storage units and brought out some of our warmer clothes. Please don’t tell me that you think the insulated vest pictured above is too much. It matches my boots so well!
In the kitchen I was determined that we wouldn’t have a repeat of when we were on our East Coast trip. That’s when our refrigerator doors came swinging open while we were contentedly moving on down the road singing our favorite Doo Wop songs. We lost 1 bottle of red wine, 1 ceramic crockpot insert filled with lasagna (yes, homemade!) and 1 jar of pepperoncini’s. I’ll let you imagine what the RV smelled like and how our slides sounded with all the broken glass when we put them out that night.
But, not to worry. I spent one day last week on Amazon ordering protection. Check out the padded products that I now have at my fingertips to help prevent spillage again! Well, that and a bungee cord that now securely wraps around the handles of the refrigerator doors.
I should have been saving these mesh webbing sleeves these past years. But, that’s okay because they’re pretty reasonably priced. The sleeves are going around the glasses in the cupboard and on the wine bottles.
I also stocked up on three Wine Diapers (their terminology…not mine.) for the wine bottles that promised to insulate and prevent breakage. In the event that a wine bottle does break, it’s all contained inside the diaper which closes with a zip-loc.
I’ve put up several jars of fresh peaches and sealed them with a marvelous lid that fits on our FoodSaver. That really saved a lot of time and kept the RV cool from the steam that comes from the big hot water bath that you normally can them in.
I then put up 10 quarts of my grandmother’s spaghetti sauce (sugo) using the same method above.
They went right back into the boxes that they came in. This box of quart jars didn’t come with the usual cardboard dividers. So, I improvised with mesh sleeves on the jars down the middle and folded paper towels between the outside jars. This box will be stored in the basement. We are trying to eat healthy fresh food and this will help. I’m also trying to control what goes in our food.
Here’s what works for me: When I cut the plastic covering on a new box of jars, I cut it down the middle and carefully fold the plastic back to access the jars. When I put the filled jar back in the box, I fold the plastic cover back over the top and it gives me a bit more protection from jiggling around during the trip.
This next week will be filled with safety checks on the RV, an RV inspection, cleaning out the closet and making sure that we’re stocked with the foods we love and can’t get elsewhere…like my Cozy Night’s coffee beans from HEB! We believe in pampering ourselves and so should you.
Stay strong and steady with the wind always blowing at your back as you travel down the road to your next adventure.
Until next week…keep creating Sentimental Journeyz in your RV.
Ghost Towns
I’ve been doing research this past week for one of the many things that we plan to do while in Angel Fire, New Mexico. Visit ghost towns. While the history behind many of them is interesting…it’s also sad.
As history has shown, it seems to continuously repeat itself, so shows these deserted towns. Hard work, very little money and always moving your dream on to somewhere else, leaving hearts and homes empty.
We love history and seek it out as much as we can. From our brief time in New Mexico earlier this spring we saw why it’s known as the Land of Enchantment. Now, we’re ready to explore its past.
I’d started a list of ghost towns that we’ll be close to; Agua del Lobo, Amizette, Glen Woody, La Belle, etc. to name but a few. Most of these places now just hold memories and maybe a scattering or two of bricks where home sites had been built with hope.
North of Albuquerque, in Hagen, NM, sits the remains of the once Grand Hotel built because the town had been growing from all the coal mining. The railroad would be running through this town and, it did for six years until the mines played out. The once thriving town was deserted leaving the buildings to crumble into themselves to mark an era gone by.
Mogollon was another cast off because of failed metal values after WWI. The town was started in the late 1880’s and lasted until the late 1940’s. Fires and floods contributed to its decline. It’s now a historical site made famous by a gold and silver mine called the Little Fannie. Mogollon is about 12 miles northeast of Glenwood.
Cuchillo is another ghost town located just 15 miles west of Truth or Consequences in southern New Mexico. While the town has mainly been deserted it does boast a population of 35. Those residents have been there a long time. It’s not known how many, there are other reported residents of the supernatural type…that make loud noises and go “Bump” in the night! Truly!
Josh Bond, current owner of the Old Cuchillo Bar and Store, rents the place out to interested people. It’s also listed for sale. Here’s your chance to have your own little ghost town.
I’m always open to learning about new things but I have to tell you that sometimes I’m shocked beyond belief. Here’s why. It appears that a high-tech ghost town is going to be built for 1 billion dollars! Yes, you read that right. That’s a photo above of how part of it will look.
The new ghost town will be built near Hobbs, NM as a testing site for new technology, courtesy of Pegasus-Global Holdings. Uh, don’t get too excited though. No people will be allowed to live there.
On the upside however, it will create a lot of jobs for the people in NM. If you’re interested in reading more about it you can go to this link Pegasus-Global Holdings and read all about it. Who would have ever guessed that someone would actually build a ghost town?
A lot of people died while trying to realize their dreams. Mines played out, accidents happened and fires that could start at a moments notice destroyed towns, people and dreams. That’s where the sadness lingers.
We’ll tread respectfully on the ground that many others crossed before us and learn more about the history of this Enchanted Land.
Stay strong and steady with the wind always blowing at your back
as you travel down the road to your next adventure.
Until next week…keep creating Sentimental Journeyz in your RV.
Summertime and the living is…HOT!
It’s official. We’re ready to do it. We’re getting ready to go to the mountains in Angel Fire, New Mexico for the rest of the summer…and possibly into fall.
Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know. You’re probably rolling your eyes while shaking a head filled with fulltime RVing knowledge saying,
What are they thinking? Aren’t they a little bit late finding somewhere to go for the summer?
Well, the definitive answer would be a resounding yes. But, wait before you shake your head again. We had a good reason for this late start. And, I promise I’ll try not to whine while I relay it to you.
We’ve had a home inspection business for many years that we’ve been trying to downscale. We have three very competent inspectors that work for us while we do the admin end…which can be done anywhere.
However, part of that admin end meant answering the phone…no matter where…no matter when…24/7. It was putting a definite crimp in our travels. It’s very frustrating to be in the middle of a conversation, dinner, sightseeing, etc. and have to stop whatever you’re doing and answer the phone. We finally said, “Enough is enough!”
We were questioning ourselves on what was the point of being retired if we couldn’t enjoy ourselves while on the road. We have nothing against working but we wanted (read as needed) to get this under control. So, now the majority of the business is being taken care of by one of our inspectors and we’ll continue in a very diminished role.
It is such a relief to know that when we set out for Angel Fire that the time is ours to do with as we please. This will allow both of us to concentrate on writing and seeing the sights around us…without the annoying ring of the telephone.
We’ve worked all our lives and we want to enjoy the years we have left, which hopefully, will be many. We moved into our RV over a year ago with every intention of traveling but found ourselves quite stifled, work-heavy and frustrated with the many demands of our business. It was either grow it larger or gracefully bow out.
Last week I spoke with one of the owner’s of the RV park where we’ll be staying in Angel Fire and she said that the temperature had gone down to 27 the previous night. She told us the rule of thumb was not to go anywhere in the evening without having a jacket handy to throw on.
This is refreshing news to us as our humidity and temperatures are steadily climbing into the triple digits. This was another reason we made the decision to move into an RV…so we could pick up and leave whenever the weather wasn’t conducive to our needs.
So, we are finally at the stage where we can “stop and smell the roses”. It’s taken us the first part of the summer to get the business in order and to get things squared away with VA.
However, the rest of the summer will be spent at 8,000 feet above where we are now and enjoying the mountains and valleys. We all know what that equates to. We’re looking forward to being in a relaxed mode and being able to jump in the car on a whim and set off for an exciting day filled with wonder and beauty.
Soon, we won’t have to keep reminding ourselves that we’re retired. It will be second nature to us and will probably prolong our lives by a good stretch…from my mouth to God’s ears!
One question before I sign off for the week. Do any of you have any advice for being in a higher altitude? This would include getting our bodies acclimated and adjusting how I cook.
Stay strong and steady with the wind always blowing at your back
as you travel down the road to your next adventure.
Until next week…keep creating Sentimental Journeyz in your RV.
Reality is Hard Work!
For someone who is dedicated to keeping life simple it suddenly got away from me the past few weeks. My friends on Facebook messaged me asking, “Where are you?” followed by the question…which I’ll admit made me feel good…“Where was last week’s blog?”
Reality Check #1: It’s tax season. I felt I was way ahead of the game and had all of our papers together for personal and business taxes only to find that some dastardly gremlin had invaded QuickBooks and completely wiped out two years worth of bank reconciliations…that are obviously crucial to our CPA.
I held in my hands all the completed reconciliation reports and didn’t know whether to throw them across the room, laugh or just cry. Knowing none of the initial reactions would get me anywhere I sucked it up and just plowed in reconstructing the last two years.
Reality Check #2: Growing old isn’t for the feint of heart…and I’ve known that all along in my heart of hearts. However, I feel that the Pilot and I have recently endured more visits to the dentist than is normal. We’ve never had any problems before and all of a sudden we’re slammed.
It’s been my turn at the dentist…and then at a specialist because we all know that all doctors and dentists specialize. No one generalizes anymore…I guess that’s a lost art and/or skill. This way they can all share the wealth. Sorry, if that sounds like sour grapes but it seems like each visit is always around $900-1000. a pop. I was even more surprised to find that my visit would be just under $1300…for one tooth. Now, that’s just wrong!
I get very agitated and almost break out in a rash when I know that I’m helping to pay for a million dollar machine. One of my dentists let that one slip out when they were complaining about health care. They stopped talking when they saw the look of amazement and total lack of sympathy on my face. I’m looking elsewhere for dental care..
So, I’ve been away from the social side of the computer trying to simplify our lives again. We’re retired you know and we’re fighting like crazy to enjoy it…doggonit!!! Enough complaining because it drains me of energy.
I’ve been checking online for different places to summer in and thought I’d found one in Ft. Davis, TX.
Now I’ve heard back from two different people that we should seriously reconsider that thought. Both people are well respected by us and know their stuff.
I did have to laugh when the State Trooper that lives by us said that on his last trip through that vast area of very few towns, he and his wife were cruising by on their motorcycles they saw a Prada Shoe outlet…all by itself…in the middle of nowhere. I would say that’s one very industrious entrepreneur.
We’ll now check further into possibly summering in New Mexico…specifically Angel Fire.
It has an elevation of ~8,400 feet and is 23 miles from Taos. The temps are reportedly around 75 during the day and 55 at night. Oh, besides all the usual things to do like fishing, hiking, horseback riding, etc. there are ghost towns around the area. We’ll be checking this out on our return trip from Arizona.
Time is slipping away from us as we try to get everything in order for our trip and then for moving out of Texas for the summer. I have very mixed emotions about leaving here even for the summer because I love this state totally…just not the hot steaming summer weather.
Just My Opinion
In the news this past week a woman came forward (please read as “pushing her book”) and “revealed” to the world her affair, and extra activities, with John F. Kennedy and his friends. She had “held on to this secret” for almost 50 years.
Now, I’m not here to judge her or to even care what she did 50 years ago. What I do care about is the invasion of my privacy with all of the media that she is doing on different television programs to let the public hear her confession. A visit to a therapist, priest or best friend would have accomplished the same goal.
I’m tired of switching channels so I don’t have to hear this hypocrisy and her not so neatly hidden agenda of making money. I would much rather see statistics on what kind of people would buy her book. I mean…why would anyone even care?
Personally, I think it’s rather freaky that an almost 70 year old women feels the need to write a book at this late date and share her sex life in the 1960’s. Did she suddenly realize that she didn’t have enough retirement funds or social security so she needed to make money? Did she think the public “needed” to know about JFK…and, who in the public doesn’t already know? Or, was she counting on the fact that there were enough people out there that would live vicariously through her life to buy her book?
If I could, I would give each of the television shows a slap on the wrist for allowing this woman air time thus giving us indigestion that we all thought we had under control. Please, please don’t do this to us again. It’s just ugly!
Welcome to Aging Gracefully...Without Fear. Please join us as we travel the road to a richer more fulfilling life as we age. This blog is for people who are aging and their family and friends. We're here to share our experiences with others so that we may all age gracefully...and without fear.