Clovis NM to Las Cruces, NM

As the winds rose and temperatures dropped in Mule Shoe, I made ready to depart and go into Clovis NM and then southwest toward Alamagordo by way of rt 70. There was no picture taking time as the wind seemed to prevent me from making any time on this leg of the journey. Going into Roswell the daylight was fading, I did make a quick stop to let the dogs do their business, however not finding a convienient place to park for the night and no real rest areas like on the interstates, I kept going. Getting into the mountains the traveling wasn't too bad, but I could not see a place to pull off in time to get off the road. (I know..... I really need to plan better) Up , up, and round and up somemore in the mountains, always warning signs when I came to a steep down grade. I let my past semi-driver  training kick in and finally spotted a Walmart up a the hill on the left coming into Ruidoso, A quick look at traffic and sharp turn to the left had me going up to the parking lot. I surely hoped they had no problem with letting RV'ers park there overnight. It was late and I was tired. My eyes were tired. dogs had been fed and pottied earlier and were settled so I just went to bed.... didn't even change into my comfy jammies. Hopefully the pups could hold till morning and not go in the kennel. 

I woke to sunshine and cold in the morning. Having not really seen the hills I had been climbing through after dark, I was a bit delighted at the scene that met my eyes in the morning.

 I love western mountains!

The openness and vastness all around makes me feel very peaceful!

I had brought the dogs out to potty but the parking lot was paved clear up to the guide rails. Now Izzy had no trouble scooting under to do her business, but Sasha was another story. She would not jump the rail and thats likely a good thing because it was almost straight down on the other side. I wasn't sure I could get her back over if she had jumped. She also would not potty on the pavement, being of the fine upstanding breeding she is (Haha) After coaxing her I finally took them back to the motorhome and proceeded to get on my way. I would just have to find someplace else safe to stop where there was dirt and/or grass.

This was Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation land. I

 had seen a few casinos I could have stopped at but I made my way down the mountains and pulled off where there was a very wide paved spot and relieved the pooches there.

Across the highway, down into the valley below

the purple mountains were very magestic looking....

Sasha looking for gophers!!

Mountains we had just come through...

The little town of Tularosa, just north of Alamagordo, deserves a revisit! A very colorful town with interesting shops that I glimpsed as I made my way through town. Just no place to stop...

After Alamagordo we drove through an area I had been at before, delivering military freight in the semi with hubby. I was not prepared for the memories it stirred up;  memories of when we were proud and humbled to be able to serve our country delivering military goods after 9-11. This was the White Sands Missile Range and Holloman AFB.

I was able to stop for the night near Las Cruces, letting my dogs out of the kennel for supper and some play time with me before retiring for the night.  Tomorrow we fuel up, get the propane filled and head over to Willcox, AZ for a few days of kick back before going further. I have laundry to do and bookwork to catch up. I'm sure Sasha and Izzy think its about time for some real outdoor exercise

Thanks for coming along on my journey....

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

From Paducah, Kentucky to Hot Coffee, Mississippi

It took me 2 days to get to my next destination. I left Friday noon heading toward Mayfield KY, on to Union City TN, then 45W to Jackson, TN. From there I took SR 18 into Holly Springs,MS. I found a Wal-Mart and dry-camped there overnight. The next morning found me heading across Rt 4 to Senatobia on I 55. That little stretch was a hairy ride to say the least!! I went that way to avoid Memphis, but there has to be a better way. Won't do that one again! I continued down I 55 to Jackson, MS and on to Mike Conner State Park near Collins, MS. I got there just about dark but did get parked in a pull-thru site. I waited till next morning to set up. My DD and SIL met me at the main road and guided me in. I had been there before and used their dump station, but had forgotten exactly how to get to it, and it would not come up on my GPS.

The next day, we went on a joy ride around the countryside and they took me to a lil town called "Hot Coffee". Yes there IS such a place ! You can even find it on You Tube, so they tell me!

Not much to it but worth it to say I been there! Its not quite as big as Luckenbach, TX! (south of Fredericksburg, where 'Willie and the boys' sang)

                                                               









                                               

On our way back to camp, on a back road that Timmy knew, we passed this dilapidated old house. Now, I just love old houses, always seeing the character, the charm; always wondering if it was a happy home or if grief had been experienced there;

 I'm sure some of both, as that is the way life seems to go....

I just had to get a closer look. And because my daughter is a bit like me, well... 

There was no "No Trespassing" sign, at least we didn't see one, although we really tried not to look too hard. SIL said he'd hold the barbed wires apart for us, but HE wasn't going in.

So we got a bit closer, close enough to know it wasn't safe at all. The old tin roof was quite rusted but the chimney looked in fairly good shape. At least it was still standing. The brick porch posts were leaning and the porch floor looked like a heavy tree branch could finish it off.

The mammoth tree in the front yard was truely magnificent! I wondered if it had at one time held a tire swing on one of it's strong branches....

It was a beautiful tree with lovely form!

We did walk around a bit more, then exited the property, touching nothing. We made our way back to camp in time to walk the pups again, chat a bit, then they went home.

The next morning I was awake earlier than usual.

The campground I stayed at has a beautiful lake. The mist was just rising as I took the pups out for their walk about 7:15 Monday morning. The sun was shining bright and no wind, but still freezing cold, about 28*. I had a hard time getting the pups to sit still while I snapped a few pictures. 

I returned to the RV and put a roast in the crock-pot with a dry onion soup mix, and a small jar of my home-made tomato sauce. Then I got out the mid-sized crock-pot and started sweet potatoes and apples in that one. Later I cooked up some kale with bacon and onion, and a small side-dish of white beans. Later after DD and SIL got here I cooked up a cornbread in the convection oven. It was the first time I had used it. DD helped me figure it out. I am a sight learner. Reading directions? Not so much..

That was our early Thanksgiving dinner together. And we had plenty to be thankful for!We had a very good visit; talked a bit, and laughed alot! It was so good to be able to enjoy each other's company! I had purchased a painting from DD, Rachel, and she brought it to me. I promptly hung it on my wall. It looks beautiful in my new RV!  

Oh..... and the best part? A cotton bouquet from my SIL. Thank you soooo very much Timmy Ray!

Thanks you all for coming along with me. Leave a comment if you care to

I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving. What you eat is not so important as sharing time with ones you love. God bless you each and every one!

Phil. 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again, rejoice!

Paducah, Historic Section and River Art Wall

This is the rest of the pictures from my local tour of Paducah the other day. i was disappointed to find out that the Truck driving school where I had taken my training had shut their doors permanently a couple years ago. I would have liked to stopped in and talked to the instructors. However, maybe they had just retired and had no one to take it over.

Anyway I went down a couple familiar streets that I had seen at the time. The old section of town with its small shops looked somewhat the same, bringing a smile to my face. They were already putting out Christmas wares. A little early for my taste, but thats the way they do things now

I would have loved to have the time to look around this antique store! I can just imagine the treasures they would have inside!

I loved the structure of this warehouse type building turned museum. I wondered if it might have been a train station at one time, as the train museum was close by,

and an old locomotive was just up the street and around the corner. I saw one young girl and her mother exiting the engine. Again, I just didn't have the time but to snap a few picutres. Thats the way it is when you have fur-babies , and one in training, waiting for you to get back to camp 20+ miles away. So I went on snapping pictures along the river wall.

And there is the train up ahead.

I can remember living by the railroad tracks growing up and massive engines like this one would come roaring past the house!

After seeing the train I had to circle back and get pictures of the rest of the river wall.

Glory days of the river boats!

And the barges that carry goods up and down the river

Beautiful scenes....

....of  earlier times,

showing the colorful history of this area

To see this wall completed with quaint streetlights and all, made my delayed stop in the area worthwhile. I'm glad I didn't miss being able to visit.

That is one of my goals on this trip; to slow down, take each day at a time , and enjoy the journey!!

Thanks for coming along with me.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is an appointed time for everything,

 and there is a time for every event under the sun....

I've Hit the Road!!

I finally was all packed (unless there's something I forgot, which most likely there is) and was able to leave out about 3 pm Sunday afternoon, Oct 23. The first few days I was quite busy getting used to driving a Class A, but then I settled in as it became much like driving the Volvo 770 semi back many years ago. I began to be at ease with it all. 

The biggest challenge however was getting Sasha used to all the different sights, sounds and smells associated with roadside rests, truck stops, and traffic. So many people, so many changing scenes, such loud noises coming from humongous shapes rolling on so many wheels!! And then of course the ground all around smelled different than back in her familiar yard..... however, by the time one week had passed she had settled right in to the routine. First out to pee, back in to eat, second out for further elimination and a training walk. sleep until about lunch-time. Oh such is the complex life of our furry friends!

Meanwhile on one of those days we took a side-trip to visit the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln. 

The old structures were quite interesting to me

....especially this one built with hand-hewn square beams!

 The beautiful split-rail fences reminded me of long ago unhurried times 

Practically everything they needed was supplied on the homestead.

A kind gentleman took my picture...

Time to get back in the motorhome, as we still had a ways to go before night fall.

Ps. 104:14 "He (the Lord) causes the grass to grow for the cattle,

 and vegetation for the labor of man, so that he may bring forth food from the earth"

Thanks for stopping by!

Cold? ....naw.

Cold  to me is milking 6 goats morning and night in a 2 week long spell of  -17* weather, breaking up the ice in their water buckets, refilling, and hoping they drank enough before it froze again.

Cold   is waking up to find out your fuel oil furnace ran out during the night, and your 6 month old baby girl had soaked through her diaper, nightgown, AND blankets. Temp in the old cold house?  0*

 

Cold   is a house catching on fire at 1:00 am on Jan 4th 1978 in the  dead of winter in PA; and handing your 5 kids a coat to throw over themselves as they ran out the door to safety.

 

Cold ..... is also the unexpected death of a spouse, who had always been there to lean on; after 32+ years of marriage.

 

Some wonder why I smile alot (and I do). Its because, through the hard times you learn to smile so you don't cry. Its also because I know who holds tomorrow....... and that warms my heart!

However, I write this as I sit in my rig tonight at 65* indoors temp..... shivering. :-)
 Funny what age does.....

 Brother, Deaf Ranger, and I after a 4-whlr ride in the desert.

Ranger just told me it is supposed to be in the teens tonight... oh my!
Have a blessed day tomorrow! and of course, stay warm!!!