May 15 through May 21 - Buena Vista Area

Downtown Buena Vista

Mainly we just worked the past three days, although Howard and Jean who have their camper parked right next to ours knocked on the door Thursday night and wanted to know if we wanted to go over to Cottonwood Hot Springs with them. This is a small hotel with hot spring pools out in front that are made to look as natural as possible with cemented rock, etc. instead of a swimming pool type arrangement. They are very neat. It was the last day when a soak was $10. Friday their rates go to the summer rates of $15 per soak. Carol had been cold all day and this finally warmed her up. We spent about an hour and a half soaking and then stopped by the City Market for some groceries on the way home.

Friday (May 16) night we went downtown to see what the paddle fest was all about. Lots of folks paddling their kayaks down by the city park. We did a little shopping and Carol found a nice jacket for herself and some sweatshirts for Annabelle and Andrew, all at half price. It started to clear and warm up today. Got up in the 60s. Is suppose to continue to warm for the next few days, maybe even reaching 80 by Monday.



View of Buena Vista from above

Saturaday (May 17) after work we went and explored another road up behind the campground. It was very neat, some of it was an old railroad bed that has been made into a road. It ends high above BV at a deep gorge that once had a railroad trestle across it but it was removed during WWII when the need for scrap metal was so high. Thus the road dead ends there. We did find another road that forks off of it though and took that. Went quite a ways and saw nothing but one ranch. It is a great area to explore. I parked the car and Carol opted to stay with it while I hiked. I had a big hill behind the car so couldn't get lost, since I used that for a reference point. I headed down hill and took a dry creek bed for always. Kept looking for antler sheds and arrow heads but found nothing except complete silence. I sat down to drink some water and listened. I could hear nothing but the wind. It was great. Again the odors of the pine and sage were dominant. I just love the west.



Deer seen on hike

After our hike we came back and had tacos for supper. We used our last package of frozen venison from home. Now we'll have to start buying hamburger. This is pretty reasonable living overall. The campground owners pay for our site, propane, laundry, wifi, etc. Our only costs are groceries and gas. We aren't using much gas at the moment. We do have a few bills from home which I pay on the net, but they aren't bad since we put everything on vacation mode, phone, etc. Utilities are very low since we aren't there. Insurance is still the same, but that is a routine bill anyway. We really can't complain about the costs of traveling since we are staying put :-).


Not much happened on the 18th. I worked until 3:30 and Carol decided to work late on removing some wallpaper in the ladies restroom. I decided to hike up into the BLM area. I wondered around until about 6:00 looking for antler sheds and/or arrow heads but found none. I did get a little better acquainted with the area though. We had leftovers for supper and both took showers. We were beat.

Worked again on the 19th. I worked on cleaning and dewinterizing a swamp cooler and then dug some corner holes in the ground at an old building they call a tack shack. Tommy wants to move it from it's present location up to the new horseback riding office. Carol worked on the more wallpaper removal all day. After work we went into town and hit the ATM and went by a second hand store. After that we went to Coyote Cantina for supper. I had a burrito that wasn't anything exceptional. Carol had a Reuben sandwich that was pretty good. When we got back Carol went to do laundry and I'm working on this. Tomorrow and Wednesday we have off. We're lined up to go with Bob, a guy who has been coming here since 1969. He knows where there is an Indian rock quarry where the Utes use to get a lot of their stone for arrow heads and knives. He's going to show us where it is. He said it is pretty picked over but has lots of chips, etc. We'll see.



Bob and I on hike

May 20 - We are off today, yippee. We headed out to hike with Bob, the camper I mentioned yesterday. He has a knack for finding antler sheds and arrow heads. We hiked up into the Chinaman Gulch area. We'd get on one ridge and Bob would say, that ridge looks great pointing to the next ridge, so we'd have to hike down into a draw and up to the next ridge. We'd get on that ridge and then he'd say, that ridge looks good, pointing to the next ridge, so it was down and back up again. I think we covered about 5 miles. After that we headed to another spot he knew about that was a quarry of the type rock the Indians liked to use to make their arrow heads. That is about another mile and a half walk. We're getting our exercise. This quarry is in a beautiful area and we did find a lot of chips, the result of making arrow heads but found no arrow heads. It was a fantastic day though. When we got back to the camper I grilled some pork tenderloin and we had Bob and our neighbors, Howard and Jean to supper. It was delicious. We had pork and beans, pasta salad, lettuce salad along with it and fruit for desert.



Carol and I on hike

Tommy had organized a moonlight hike this evening. Carol was tired and didn't want to go but I did. We meet at the office at 8:45 and headed over to the Midland Trail ( a rails to trails) route. There were about 8 of us hiking. The moon hadn't risen yet so we hiked a little ways and then sat and waited for the moon to rise. I accidentally sat on a prickly pear cactus. That wasn't fun. When the moon rose we headed back the route we had hiked in.

It was a great day. Life is good.



Ghost town of Futurity

May 21 - I wanted to go somewhere today, but Carol wanted to stay home. I took the CRV and headed out to explore some national forest roads. I left about 9:00 and got back at 4:00. I only went about 60 miles total in seven hours so I was really taking it easy. Glad Carol wasn't with me. I didn't have to turn around when the road got a little rough. It was another great day exploring road named Shield Gulch, McGee Gulch, Castle Rock Gulch, Bald Mountain Gulch, and locations like Bassam Park ( a park is a meadow like valley in the mountains), Futurity City, a ghost town. Got to watch some mountain rams and got some great photos of them. I only saw two atvs and 3 other trucks all day.



Mountain ram

When I got home Carol had gone to the store and gotten some chicken gizzards, so we'll have fried chicken gizzards for supper, yummy.

May 12 through May 14, 2008 - Buena Vista

May 12, 2008 - Buena Vista KOA



Main drag through Buena Vista (BV)

Some new workampers came in last night, Howard and Jean from South Dakota. They have bought a lot in Salida and hope to get a house project underway this summer. They are currently full timers. Now that they are here we can coordinate our move to the hill with them, since they are the ones we will be sharing the site with. We walked up and made preliminary plans last night as to how we would move this morning. We woke up and were getting the rigs ready to move by 7:30. We got our camper up on the hill first and pulled forward far enough for them to do a little manuevering to position theirs and then we backed ours into place. It took us awhile to level ours, had to rehook once to re position boards under the tires. Carol is a stickler for level. Finally got it level and set up. I winterized the water line so I didn't have to keep unhooking it every night.

This site gives us a million dollar view of the mountain range to the west. What a fantastic site.



View from our site

We made a quick trip to town to pick up a few items and some groceries now that we are settled. I took a few photos of the main streets in town. Buena Vista is a very pretty little town and it has all the necessities, a great hardware store, grocery store, bakery, service stations, restaurants, and outdoor gear store. The prices are a little higher than you might find in Denver, but so far we have been able to find what we needed.

We walked around the campground some more today, just to familiarize ourselves with the site some more. Toward the end of this walk the wind was picking up and the temps were dropping. While setting up the camper we were wearing short sleeves, the wind was constant and continued to be into the night, I guess due to the front passing through. The forecast is for snow tonight, brrrrrr.

We went back to the camper and Carol fixed her hamburger guloosh for supper, hamburger, corn, green pepper, onions, tomatoes, and shell pasta. It is really good. After supper we watched PBS, a great show on FDR.

Good night all.

May 13, 2008 - Buena Vista KOA

Well, sure enough we awoke to snow and a heavy, heavy overcast this morning. It was pretty miserable outside so we just stayed in and watched it snow most of the day. Finally, about 2:30 we got restless and decided to go for a hike up into the BLM land. We basically followed the hike route I took with Tommy and Bernie the other day. It was gorgeous, so quiet with the snow and the air smelled of pines and sage. Those of you who are familiar with the west will know what I mean about the scent out here. It is completely different than the midwest and has a smell that brings back many fond memories of previous trips out to this area, backpack trips with the guys, and family vacations with the kids. It is funny what memories the sense of smell conjures up.



Hiking in the snow

After the hike we got back to the camper and Carol fixed up some chicken stir fry for supper. She cooks and I clean up. I had plenty of pots pans and other dishes to do tonight. We read and watched a little television. I missed NCIS though cause the transmitter for some of the stations were out due to the snow I guess. Oh well, can't wait until tomorrow morning to see the mountains. I hope it is clear in the morning.

May 14, 2008 - BV KOA

Well, it did dawn clear this morning. Wow, what a view. I got up about 6:30 and went out to take some photos. What a beautiful view. Patches of snow on the ground with quite a bit of new snow on the mountains. Carol and I both took a lot of photos of the new snow on the mountains.



Snow on the mountains

We had put up our humming bird feeder yesterday when we moved. There was a humming bird feeding at it this morning, the temperature is 32. I always thought they were warm weather birds, but guess not. We see a lot to them out here.

Today is training day. We had a nice training session, covered policies and procedures, KOA philosophy, took a tour of the grounds and discussed what could go in what sites, etc. Very informative.

Tommy and Sarah treated us to donuts, lunch, and supper. Can't complain about that. I'm afraid paybacks are going to be tough though. We haven't really started working in earnest yet and I think this is going to entail a lot of manual labor. We ate supper at Quincy's in BV and all had filet mignon. Very good.

I guess we could call ourselves Coloradoans for the summer. Her are a couple of funnies about Coloradoans.

You are a Coloradoan if.......

You switch for 'heat' to 'A/C' in one day.

Your sense of direction is: towards the mountains and away from the mountains.

Have a great day.

View more photos here

May 4 through May 11, 2008

Our current campsite

May 4, 2008 - Buena Vista KOA

We don't have to start work until tomorrow so this morning when I got up I worked on the blog and brought it up to date. We just had toast for breakfast. While we were eating a herd of deer grazed by the camper. After breakfast we walked around the campground trying to get more acquainted with the layout, site numbering, what units might fit where, etc. When we got back to the camper I decided to work on the kitchen sink which had been leaking a little since we started our trip. I thought I might be able to cure the problem with a little teflon tape. Unfortunately this did not work. It only got worse. Instead of leaking it started spraying water. Oh boy. Well we decided to run into town and see what other kitchen faucets they had at the Ace Truevalue Hardware store. We found one made by Moen with a single handle to control the water, which is the kind Carol really likes. We got it back to the camper and I thought I would never get the old faucet off. It was really bolted on from the bottom. I finally did and we finally got the new faucet installed. What a difference. It is great. I checked out the original faucet and it is just plastic and I think it was leaking on the inside so was a good thing we decided to change them out.

We went over to do laundry and I ran into Tommy (the owner) and Bernie (another workamper) and they asked if I wanted to go hiking. I said sure and asked them to wait a minute while I went and got my hiking boots on and grabbed my day pack. We hiked up the hills behind the campground, which is all Bureau of Land Management land and had a great time. We were looking for antler sheds, but didn't find any. The rocks around this campground remind me of a Bev Doolittle painting. They are beautiful. We ended up hiking a couple of miles, but it was great exercise since it seemed all uphill.

When I got back we cooked supper, spaghetti, with garlic toast and some green peppers and cucumber cut up to nibble on. It was delicious. We put some jalapeno peppers in the sauce and it really spiced up the taste. My lips are still burning a little. After dishes were done we got out the computer and printed our write ups off and a few photos to send to Carol's folks since they don't have internet and can't read the blog.

By the way, it got down to 22 degrees last night, but warms up to 70 during the day. Sure am glad we have heat. It is supposed to get down in the low 20s again tonight.

May 5-7, 2008 - Buena Vista KOA



A view of the campground



Another view of the campground

Well, we started work today. I did a lot of different things including taking the front tires off of the tractor so Tommy could take them into town and get new ones installed. Then Tommy and I started running highly chlorinated water through the upper site water lines to clean them, prior to opening these sites. Carol worked mainly on cleaning the one park model unit they have here.

May 6 I worked on the outside of the park model and ran more water lines to clean them. Then I worked on taking parts off of the wrangler shack so it can be moved later. Carol worked in the office and gift shop mainly.

Tommy and Sarah Martin are the owners here and they will be great to work for. We enjoy all of the other workampers. This will be a good summer.

I will most likely not make entries daily from now on out but only for the days we are doing something other than work.

It has been getting down below freezing each night here, therefore, have been having to undo the water connection each night to avoid the water hose freezing. Each night after dishes and showers are done I go out and unhook the hoses and put them into the basement compartment of the camper which is heated so they don't freeze. We purchased an indoor/outdoor thermometer at Walmart the other day which is really handy, when the temperature rises above 32 in the morning I go out and reconnect the hose. The other option would be to insulate the hose but since our only hose is 25' that isn't really practical for us. In a couple of weeks we should be into the warmer weather and not have to worry about this.

We drove into town last night and looked at a few motels for Rob and Rebecca to stay at and the prices are not cheap. We decided that it would be best to stay here at the KOA in the park unit, if it is available.

We finally found out where we needed to aim our antenna so we could get television stations. Get mainly the Denver stations.


May 8, 2008 - Buena Vista KOA

Had oatmeal for breakfast, not quite as good as the bacon, eggs and toast I whipped up yesterday morning but it will do. Got assigned to clean up the playground and check the playground equipment with Bernie today. After that we went around with the other two guys and cleaned fire pits and raked campsites.

Had tacos for supper.

May 9, 2008 - Buena Vista KOA

It actually snowed a little this morning. Just a few flakes, but this is May after all. People started pouring in today. Since it is Friday we had a lot more traffic than through the week. Carol and I both worked from 9 to 3 today. One of the other workamper couples went to the doctor this morning. The husband was having real problems breathing. Doctor said it was due to the altitude, so they are heading out to go back to Ohio. That just leaves 3 workamper couples. Tommy and Sarah had originally lined up 5. One left before we got here, also due to the altitude and then this couple today will be leaving. The altitude here is right at 8,000 feet. Carol and I haven't had any problems. The only thing I have noticed is a little dizziness when I stand up very quickly, which is common to higher altitude.

After work we did laundry. Then we headed for Salida. We ate at a pizza brew pub called Amica. It was good, especially Rex's Amber. After that we went to the Walmart in Salida and loaded up on groceries.

May 10, 2008 - San Isabel National Forest

We worked this morning but got off a little early - 2:00 so we decided we would head up to a place just south of us and up into the national forest and try to find a place we had camped at with our tent camper. We headed out and with the two of us combined we went almost directly to it. This was not an organized campground. We were doing what the forest service calls dispersed camping. This spot happens to be on a high ridge overlooking the town of Salida. We really enjoyed our stay there so thus we wanted to find it again, not to camp, but just for future reference possibly. After we found the place Carol and I, both thinking it was about 7 or 8 years ago started talking about how long ago it was and low and behold it was about 18 years ago. Becky was 17 when we came out, we remembered because it was the year we left the girls home by themselves. It was the summer before Becky's senior year and Shelby's junior year so we had a good reference to base it on. Can't believe time passes so quickly. It was really cold today and windy, but we didn't spend much time out of the car so wasn't bad for us. It is still on the verge of becoming spring here. The buds are not very far along on the trees, if there are any. I guess we'll get to see at least three seasons out here in Colorado this year, spring, summer, and fall. I'm not too interested in seeing winter.

We got back to the camper around 6:00 and cooked up some cube steak, rice, and salad for supper. After supper we watched PBS, a program about the life of Jimmy Stewart. It was very good.

May 11, 2008 - San Isabel National Forest

It dawned kind of cool today, our thermometer said 26 this morning, but once the sun comes up it quickly warms up. This afternoon it was a comfortable 72. We had the day off today so we decided to head up into the national forest again. We took a road that is just north of the one we took yesterday. It goes to an old ghost town that has seen some revitalization over the last several years and is kind of a tourist attraction of sorts in the summer. It is still too early in the season to have any activity there. On the way in we passed Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. This is a commercial hot spring with pools where the hot spring water is piped into the pools. Quite a few people swimming today. Tommy had told us about a trail that we might enjoy so we found that and hiked up to a place called Agnes Vaille Falls. It was about 3/4 mile up but about a 600' rise.



Me at Agnes Vaille Falls

We passed a placard on the trail that talked about the railroad race to the mines in the valley back in the 1800s. I thought of my brother Mike who is a railroad fanatic, so I had to take these photos.



Placard about RR-the actual railroad bed in on the opposite slope.



The placard

We passed about three forest service campgrounds but none were open this early. One was being prepared to open, probably by Memorial Day. We made it up to St. Elmo and took a few photos. Saw one guy and gal doing a little glamour shots with the old buildings as back ground. I was surprised at how many cars we saw on the road and in St. Elmo, even though nothing is open. It was such a nice day I guess folks just wanted to get out. Most of the forest roads that go on up to the higher ghost towns were closed due to snow. There is still a lot of snow even up at St. Elmo around 9500'.



St. Elmo

We got back to the campground about 4:00 and a new workamper couple was here who we will be sharing a site with upon the hill so we meet them and then walked up on the hill to decide how we would arrange our two units in this large pull through site so both of us could get decent views and still hook up and pull out if we needed to. We finally laid things out and agreed to move in the morning.

I grilled some pork chops for supper, and made up a tossed salad, and Carol made some of her black bean and corn salad for supper. Very good.

We have tomorrow off also, so will move in the morning and then run a few errands. Maybe we will have time to explore some more.

April 27 through May 3

Sunday, April 27



On the Main Loop Trail - Bandolier National Monument

We decided to head on up to Bandolier National Monument this morning. While packing up to leave we chatted with the folks in a couple of motor homes next to us. They had just come down from up there. One of the motor homes had a big piece of fiberglass missing from the rear passenger corner. The owner said that that had happened to him on a curve just west of Bandolier on Highway 4. He assured us we wouldn't have any problems coming in from the east side on highway 4 though. They mentioned they were going to Branson and we told them to stay at Acorn Acres RV Park, where we stayed last year. It is so easy to access SDC and the shows from there.

We made it to Bandolier with no problems. We did get separated at the entrance gate though. Carol got held up there and I didn't think to wait for her as I took the turn for the campground and headed on in. She missed the turn for the campground and ended up at the visitor center, way down in the bottom of the valley. She had to go ask where the campground was. In the mean time I had gone through the campground and found one site, but just couldn't maneuver into it. National park and forest sites are not designed for rigs as big as ours. The pads are not usually level and they are not cleared for easy access like RV parks. That's one of the reasons we like to travel in our truck camper. Anyway, I finally found a site I thought I could get into. It took me about 10 minutes of maneuvering and getting out to check clearance and moving a little more. Some folks watching me complimented me on backing in with no co-pilot. Carol finally pulled in just when I got the camper into the spot. We did have to do a little more adjusting to open the slides without hitting a tree though so she helped on that. I apologized for not waiting for her at the gate. We got all set up finally which entailed dropping the front of the camper quite a bit since the site is on an incline. Luckily it is fairly level right to left.



Our campsite at Bandolier

After a light lunch of chicken salad and crackers we headed back down to the visitor center. I see why the ranger at the gate said don't miss the right hand turn into the campground. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to take the camper down and back up the hill down to the visitor center. We went in and found out what trails were available to hike. We also watched a show about Bandolier and it's history. It was a large Indian community back approximately from 1200 A.D. to 1500 A. D. The valley has a year round stream running through it and it was very well suited for settlement by the ancient ones (Anasazi) because of the volcanic ash that had eroded in the cliff walls making natural storage bins for food and shelter. Some believe some of the ancient ones came here from Chaco Canyon and also from Mesa Verde. When they left here they created the current Pueblos here in New Mexico. It is fascinating walking the main loop trail and seeing the remains of their village and some of the cliff dwellings they built. One can almost imagine the hustle and bustle of a live village here with the inhabitants going about their daily lives. The history of these ancient tribes is evident all over the southwest and very much an influence today in art and the cultural aspects of the current day inhabitants. This fascinates both Carol and I and we love to visit these ancient villages. The ancient ones were so attuned to their environment. To think that this village lasted in this small valley serving a few hundred inhabitants for 300 years is quite a tribute to their conservation practices. Three hundred years is longer than the United States has been in existence. One sign mentioned that when drought or other environmental problems did arise they moved on to other locations. It asked where we would go when we depleted our natural resources.

We came back to the camper and had a supper of leftovers and then walked around the campground. There are three camping loops here but only one is open. We walked all three. Loop C has a number of great sites for larger units like ours but it is not open. We got back to the camper and read for awhile and then went to bed around 9:00.

Monday, April 28



Indian Paintbrush wildflowers

Woke up about 6:00 and it was freezing. We had left the heater off last night for a couple of reasons, one it makes a lot of noise and we didn't want to disturb the other campers and also we didn't want to run down our batteries. I finally crawled out about 7:00 and turned on the furnace and then went and dug out a camping coffee pot I had in the camper basement area so I could make the 'pampered maiden' some coffee. I'm not much of a coffee drinker but Carol really likes it in the morning.



Historical museum at Los Alamos

We had a batch of home made biscuits for breakfast, and then decided to take an overlook trail of about 2 miles to walk it off. It was great walking in the sunshine and enjoying the smell of juniper and pine. What a pleasant way to start the day. After the hike we decided to run into Los Alamos. We visited the Bradbury Science Museum and the Los Alamos Historical Museum. Los Alamos was nothing more that a dude ranch for rich young boys until World War II. At that time the U.S. government basically used their right of imminent domain to secure the land and constructed a large base/city for research on the development of the atomic bomb. No one knew the base even existed until after the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Today it is a lovely small town with what appeared to us to be a booming economy. The US government still maintains a large research facility here. I would venture a guess that about 80% of the population is employed by the federal government. We were trying to find our way back to Highway 4 and came across a bunch of guard posts, which we thought at first were toll booths. We asked if that was the way to Highway 4. We asked if this was a toll road. The guys smiled and said no it was just a checkpoint for suspicious vehicles which we did not fall into, so he let us proceed on through. We made it to Highway 4 and headed west toward Jemez Springs. We found the curve where the guy in the motor home lost the passenger side rear corner. I was certainly glad we didn't have to take our camper up this way. We passed an area know as the Valle Caldera (Valley of Fire). It is a 15 square mile area of flat plain surrounded by forested hills. This is the crater of the volcano that spewed volcanic ash all over this country about 5 million years ago and it was about 500 times larger than the eruption at Mt. Saint Helens. That was one big bang. This is still a fairly active thermal area with quite a few hot springs. Unfortunately we didn't have time to stop at any of them today. We got back to the camper around 5:30. Carol fixed a very tasty pasta and sausage dish from a Zataran mix and we had salad with it. Walked the campground loops again and read before we went to bed.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Woke up to a cold morning again. Turned on the furnace and in about a half hour it was reasonably comfortable. We had simple breakfast of cereal and toast this morning. We wanted to hike another trail that went through some more Indian dwellings and then head up to Taos. We left the camper around 9:00 and got to our hiking destination around 9:20. This is a one and a half mile trek but it took us about 2 1/2 hours cause we stopped so much. It was a great hike with some great sites to view. The rock paths are the same ones that the ancient ones used to access their homes and had been worn down by hundreds of years of walking on and water erosion. Some of the paths were as much as 18“ deep. Carol said she thought the National Park people had scrapped out the paths so we wouldn't get lost. I told her I couldn't see them spending money doing that. It was a strange feeling walking in the original inhabitants foot steps. We got some great photos of these sites.



Ladders on the trial



Pottery chards

Around noon we finally got on the road to Taos which is about 50 miles northeast of where we are. We went through several small towns including one called Chimayo which has a pretty little Catholic sanctuary that supposedly has a pool of healing water in it. A lot of people make pilgrimages to it around Easter each year, some carrying large crosses. It has been compared to Lourdes, France. We also made side trips through a couple of Indian Pueblos but we couldn't take any photos there. There are rules against that in the Pueblos.



Chapel at Chimayo

We finally got to Taos around 2:00 and walked around the Plaza. We weren't really in the shopping mood. We asked a local shop owner about a good hole in the wall Mexican restaurant and he gave us directions to the Guadalahare Grill on north 68. We found that about 3:00 and had a late lunch. We split a Burito Grande and had a basket of chips with salsa. It was all the two of us could eat. It was excellent. We got away from Taos around 4:00 and headed back to the camper. We stopped in Espenola at the Walmart for a few groceries and arrived home around 6:00. No supper tonight. We're both still full. I think we will have some strawberry shortcake in a little while though. Life is good.



Taos Plaza

April 30, 2008 - Bandolier National Monument

After breakfast this morning we decided to hike down to the visitor center on the Frey Trail which is about 1.5 miles (all downhill, thank goodness). Carol and I separated at the junction with the Main Loop Trail and I headed up to the Alcove house which entails another mile hike and climbing about a hundred feet of ladders, which Carol did not want to do. I made it to the Alcove House and as I was going up the ladders there were a group of about 20 kids coming down so had to wait awhile at one of the levels. Had some other teenagers coming up when I was going down and one of the girls was practically hysterical crying coming up. I gave her my hand to help her up. She finally calmed down. I don't know how they talked her into going back down. I went on down myself and hiked about another half mile up the canyon trail so I could get away from the crowd. I sat down on a boulder and ate some raisins and nuts and drank some water and just looked at the magnificent bluff in front of me. The rock formations in this canyon are amazing. I finally headed back to the visitor center and hooked up with Carol and we took the Honda back to the camper. We had shuttled it down earlier in the morning.



Inside one of the cave rooms of the ancient ones

In the afternoon we started the generator and tried to recharge the batteries some. We just relaxed and read during the afternoon. Grilled some hamburgers in the evening for supper and went on a hike around the campground.

May 1, 2008 - Bandolier National Monument

Well, the batteries finally gave up the ghost. I guess it was a little to much to expect them to last the whole week. They were the original batteries that came with the camper when it was built, which means they are the least expensive that can be bought. They are 80 amp hour batteries and they died on us last night. Batteries can be recharged a number of times but as they get older they don't recharge for as long, nor as fast. My little 2000 watt generator just didn't have enough power to recharge them fully. It got down to about 39 last night and was cold this morning when we got up but didn't have enough power to get the heater going. Told Carol we really needed to drive into Santa Fe and get a couple of new batteries. I disconnected the old ones and loaded them in the car and we headed to Santa Fe. We went to Sam's and got a good price on a couple of new 105 amp hour batteries. These should do the trick. Got back to the camper, cleaned the contacts real well and then we hooked them up. Full power again. Hopefully we won't have any problems heating the camper in the morning.

This afternoon we headed out to explore in the Honda. We had heard about a few 4-wheel drive roads nearby so we went to check them out. The first 2 miles of the road run through the Bandolier National Monument, but after that we were in the Santa Fe National Forest. The drive was beautiful. We found dozens of places we could get to to camp with our truck camper. We do miss the mobility of the truck camper and it is our choice when we are not going to be work camping. We will know where to camp if we ever come out again with the truck camper. For those of you who are not familiar with the intricacies of the national land use, the main difference between national parks and national forests is the fact that in national parks there are a lot more restrictions, camping only in designated campgrounds, etc., but in national forests one can camp most anywhere unless otherwise posted. This is called dispersed camping. Nationa parks are administered by the Department of the Interior and national forests and Bureau of Land Management (like national forests) are administered by the Department of Agriculture.



National forest meadow

When we got back to the camper we had leftovers for supper and read for awhile and went to bed around 9:00.

May 2, 2008 - Bandolier National Monument



Is there someone watching me?

We had my specialty, pancakes, for breakfast this morning. The great news is that we had power and could run the furnace. We waited for it to warm up a little and headed down to hike the Falls Trail. We got about a half mile down and Carol was feeling a little lightheaded. We figured it was due to not eating lunch before we left. We decided to go back to the camper and have lunch and then come back and tackle the trail. Sure enough after lunch she was in great shape and we headed back to the trail head. We spent about 3 hours walking the Falls Trail down to the lower falls and then back. It was a nice hike, we got some photos of a mule deer on the hike back. A total of about 3.5 miles, which actually made for a total of 4.5 miles today. We got back to the camper and Carol was beat. We had tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches for supper and played a game of Scrabble. I won :-). Went to bed around 10:00. This is a late night for us.



Carol at the upper falls

May 3, 2008 - Bandolier National Monument to Buena Vista, Colorado

Well we got up this morning and still had plenty of power for the heater, plus power to pull in the slides and lift the jacks so we could hook up to the camper. We left Bandolier around 9:00am and headed north toward Colorado. It was a nice drive, not much traffic and we made it to Alamosa CO around noon. We stopped here at the Walmart to pick up some supplies. When we were ready to check out the registers were down. We left our basket and went to Wendy's and got a couple of hamburgers and had lunch in the camper. Finally we noticed people coming out of Walmart so went back got our basket which was still there and checked out. We got to the KOA at Buena Vista about 3:00 and met the owners. We got the camper set up and the owners showed us around the campground. It is on a hill above Buena Vista with a great view of the mountains. I think we will really enjoy this summer. The only drawback is that it is still getting down into the 20s here at night so we have to watch our water lines so they don't freeze. I'm disconnecting ours and putting it in the basement of the camper at night until it warms up a little. We cooked some chicken, rice, and fresh asparagus for supper. Delicious. We sat and ate and looked out at snow covered mountains. Life is good. I'm catching up on this blog but Carol went to bed early, well 9:30.



The morning view from our camper at Buena Vista

Carol's Take on the Trip

Saturday, April 19

Closed up the house and head out about 8 a.m. Cool-rainy. Larry is driving the fifth-wheel and I following in the Hnda CRV. We figured over the summer would save money by having the CRV to putz around in. Drove non-stop to Joplin to refuel. Diesel is $3.99 and unleaded $3.29 today. Takes a bite out of the ole checking account!

Headed on to Oklahome to visit Ray and Dianna. Arried about 3:30. They an the neigbors were busy building a cook shack for the summer crowd. We sat up housekeeping in the campground. Weather was sunny and 80's - wha a difference from home. Had a community dinner after construction work. Ended with a relax in the hot tub.

Sunday, April 20

Went out for breakfast - 2.99 special (2 eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and biscuit and gravy). Took a walk on the trails with Ray and Dianna and their dog, Tarney. Relaxed and enjoyed warm sunshine - Larry got a slight sunburn in 2 hours! I read through some country decorating books purchased at the flea market this morning. We took Ray and Dianna out to dinner. Larry lost a bet last winter with Ray. It was the Missouri vs. Oklahoma football game for the Big 12 Conference Champion.

Monday, April 21

Took out about 8 a.m. headed for New Mexico. Took a straight shot on I-44 and I-40 - following old Route 66. Gas jumped up $.05 a gallon today. Got the the Texas/New Mexico border and got off the highway to check out old delapidated town of Glenrio. Was a thriving community in Route 66 days. Now is deserted filling stations and empty motels. Lots of old vintage cars and trucks adding to the nostalgia.

Drove another 20 miles to San Jon (San Hone pronunciation). Quiet little town of a few blocks of modest homes, and 2 filling stations. The city park offered free camping. Right across the street was the New Mexico visitors center and post office. Free camping is wonderful! It is 80s and sunny - but real windy. We checked out the information at the visitor's center on places we want to visit in New Mexico the next several days. Had an easy diner of leftovers from the fridge.

Decided to take a drive around the town and area after dinner. To the south of town a butte rises abruptly, a high plateau. This is called Llano Estacado or staked plain covering 32,000 square miles. It is one of the flattest areas in the US rising 450 feet above the great plains. We drove over to and up into the plateau. A hundred or so new windmills have been built there to supply power (electric). The view of the plains is gorgeous. We stopped to photograph an old cemetery and grave stones marked with an iron arch gate named Pleasant Valley. Hope our digital pics come out good. It was just before sunset and the light was soft and glowing on the headstones.

Tuesday, April 22

Dawn came and it was cold and overcast. Bummer. Asked if we could spend a second night in the park. No problem. Took the Honda to Tucumcari (20 miles). Was a thriving community in the 50's along Route 66. Lots and lots of 50's motels and restaurants. It's seeing a revival of sorts for the nostalgic baby boomers. There is a great dinosaur museum connect to the community college. Dinosaurs, fossils, and petrified wood are preserved due to the climate and topography.

Had lunch at Del's Diner, established in the 50's. The day turned sunny and warm (70s) about mid morning. Came the long way back to camper. Walked around town that evening.

Wednesday April 23, 2008

Drove form San Jon to Villaneuva State Park. Situated along the Pecos River, it is a quiet small park with very few campers. Got a site with electric so we could vacuum, use hair dryer and download pics and print for Mom and Dad. Across the river is a bluff with a hiking trial of 2.5 miles. Under duress I climbed up 1/2 mile and completed the hike with a feeling of accomplishment. The mornings are cold, but the days warm up in mid 70s and beautifully clear and sunny. Is a bit windy the locals tell us. They need rain - kind of a drought. Along the river are several small Mexican communities that farm with irrigation. We came back to camper after hiking- cooked a steak , vegetables, and salad. We read and I did a Sudoko puzzle. The camper is so comfortable- just everything we need for living easy. What a life!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Today we have to change campsites and got one right by the river. Since we have electric this morning, made coffee, bacon, and toast for breakfast. Also showered and fixed my hair. Hairdryer needs electric too.

Drove up to tLas Vegas, NM (about 30 miles). It's nice to have the Honda for running around in, although the gas prices for unleaded skyrocketed to 3.58!

The town was originally settled by Mexicans who received a land grant in 1835 from the Mexican government in a ceremony at the San Miguel Del Vado Church (which we photographed today). Of course previous to the Mexicans, the area was occupied by pre-historic cultures and early native cultures. The Norte Americans began a settlement in 1850-1940s and the Victorian homes reflect that settlement with the arrival of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in 1879. We walked through the Rough Rider Museum, so named because a group of veterans started an annual get together for veterans of the Spanish-American War which Teddy Roosevelt attended in early 1900s.

Came back to the camper about 5:00pm. Plan on having fajitas with left over steak. What a life!

Friday, April 25

Well, it's a good life if your camper batteries don't fail. Yes, after dinner last night , we discovered the batteries were nearly dead. We still don't know why. So, no lights, no hot water, no heat. We were forced to take a walk in the moonlight and look for the big dipper. Pulled out the camp lantern and read until we got sleepy. We were planning on staying here at Villaneuava another night, but Larry felt like we ought to invest in new batteries, so we packed up and drove to Santa Fe. Just an hour away. Here we can address the problem and have access to whatever supplies we need.

The campground in Santa Fe is charming - adobe office buildings and Lilac bushes blooming outside our door. Had taco salad for dinner. Yum, yum.

Shelby called - Rob got a job with Cherry Creek schools, a suburb of Denver. It's an upscale residential area. He will be teaching 6th grade. He's really excited about it.

Monday, April 28

Spend Saturday in Santa Fe. Had Huevas Rancheros and Enchillada with green chile sauce for breakfast at Guadalupe Cafe on their outdoor patio by the sidewalk. Was so pleasant with the warm sunshine and cool morning air. Had to buy a basket and some pinion incense.

Early Sunday morning Larry finally discovered that the battery problem was burned out fuses. Halleluia!

Drove up to Bandolier National Monument Sunday. Beautiful Juniper and Pinion pine. The campground is so quiet and I can see why this country speaks to the soul. Life takes on a slower pace. From the visitor center we hiked a 1.2 mile trial to see the ancient Indian dwellings along the stream and in caves on the side of the cliffs. WE read a plaque that said in essence:
“The Anasazi people used the land to provide them with shelter and to grow crops but only within walking distance. When the land was depleted they moved on. When the people of the world today use up the worlds resources, where will they go?“

Today (Monday, April 28) we baked Buddy biscuits for breakfast with coffee and orange juice. Took a morning hike (2.5 miles) along the edge of the canyon. Saw a western bluebird and huge black ravens. The vistas are grand. Also saw some Indian paintbrush wildflowers. The cholla cactus are on the verge of blooming red - to rival a rose bush.
Then we drove up to Los Alamos. Toured the history museum and the Bradbury Science Museum. There was really no town of Los Alamos till the government occupied it for research purposes during WWII. Before, from 1917-1943 there existed the Los Alamos Ranch School for privileged eastern boys.

Tuesday, April 29

Drove to Taos via several Indian Pueblos. The casinos have been a real boom to the Indians income. Had lunch at Guadalupe Grill in Taos. Gas is $3.57 today for unleaded. Having strawberry shortcake tonight.

Saturday, May 3

Time to catch up - Wednesday through Friday at Bandolier, we hiked several trails. At one location, there were lots of pottery chards laying around. We took pictures. it's amazing they are still there after 900 years. One day we drove up into the Jemez Mountains and into the national forest- lots of good campsites for the truck camper - info for another trip. Thursday, finally gave up on the batteries in the camper and replaced them. Saturday, this morning packed up and headed north for the mountains. Couldn't find one of the walkie-talkies. Finally located it - makes it nice to be able to communicate as we go down the road. Thanks, Shelby! Stopped at the Walmart in Alamosa to get groceries. Their registers were down for about hours - so we ate lunch in the camper to while away the time. Then on to Buena Vista. Arrived about 3:00. Well, the KOA is lovely. It's set in the foothills with boulders all around the perimeter, and 14ers all around for a view. Tommy and Sarah Martin are the owners. We also met some other staff and took a preliminary tour of the grounds. Tomorrow we will get more acquainted with the layout. It's still pretty cold at night (20s) but warm to 50s and 60s during the day. The setting is spectacular here - what an adventure.

Oh yes, forgot that yesterday we hiked 4.5 miles - I was absolutely pooped! My feet still hurt.

More Photos From Our Trip