Enjoyed our stay in Durango Colorado…

Leaving New Mexico for Colorful Colorado we made our way to the NW edge of the state. It was another fairly short drive but we found ourselves slowly creeping into town with the summertime traffic in Durango. The town was bustling with tourists which I am sure made all the businesses in town very happy!

When we were near the La Platt Fairgrounds for our planned stay we made a wrong turn and ended up in a parking lot, Sigh! As a result we hurriedly unhooked the CRV and I had to make some creative forward and backward moves to maneuver the RV  back around. It ended well as we corrected our navigational mistake and made our way over to our site.

Right beside the fairgrounds is the Animas River and there is a nice trail which leads all the way into downtown. It is about 1.7 miles into town so one afternoon we took the very pleasant and scenic trail into town. Lots of rafters were on the Animas River and every now and then the steam train traveling from Durango to Silverton Co. would pass by.

The downtown area has some older buildings, lots of shops, restaurants and several breweries. We walked around the town a bit and ended up at Carver’s  Brewery right around happy hour time. They had a $2.00 off per beer at happy hour which, let’s just say, made us very happy

We had rain nearly every afternoon so we were unable to drive highway 550, the million dollar highway, to Silverton for a hike but we did squeeze in some disc golf at the course at Fort Lewis College. Another day, another brewery visit as we tried Animas Brewing. Our preference was Carver over this one.

One evening right out our front window the Durango Rodeo was taking place. Sharon and I strolled over to the bleachers to watch all the cowboys and cowgirls doing their thing. There were a variety of events including little kids riding sheep, to barrel racing to bull riding and several other events that evening. What a treat it was to happen to be in the fairgrounds for this rodeo.

Well four day went fast and we had to leave Durango as the park was preparing for their annual County State Fair.. We had hoped to stay a while longer but we were sure glad we made the trip as Durango was really fun!.

NOTE:  We are currently Dolores, Colorado until July 30th…

The Surrealness of Lake Abiquiu NM…

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We loved our stay in Albuquerque as we always seem to have a great time whenever we visit.. Who knows, we may even choose to live here one day. However the time came to move on and our next stop is one of my favorite NM parks. Riana Campground, COE Park, at Lake Abiquiu.  Warning: There will be lots of photos in today’s blog!

There are only about a dozen sites with hook-ups at the park and none have sewer. What is lacking in services is made up for in views and expanse. Another big plus is most of the campsites have a grill/smoker, picnic table and shade shelter. I took full advantage of the smoker and smoked a couple of racks of ribs!

We were a bit worried about the heat this time of year but with daytime highs only in the 80’s and lows in the upper 60’s it was perfect. It is monsoon season so there were always rain and thunder showers nearby making for some pretty landscapes with the rain shadows.

I won’t say a lot about this area as we have stayed here before and blogged about it. Let’s just say everywhere you look would make a great watercolor painting or postcard.

We hiked all around the trails within Riana Park which offer  some very scenic moments. Of course we both took lots of photos and todays blog is photo rich as a result.

We also took a day trip over to the Ghost Ranch where we ended up spending most of our time around an old dilapidated ranch house and corral. They also erected an archway of elk antlers near a very tiny rustic church. Amazing photo ops!

Just down the road a piece is the Echo Amphitheater and just across from it a little closer to us is a short hike to see a nice natural arch perched on the side of a rocky mountain outcrop. The rock features in this small part of New Mexico are stunning…

We certainly enjoyed our stay at the lake giving us a little downtime after our social whirlwind stay in Albuquerque. Next up will be Colorado…

NOTE:  We are currently Durango, Colorado until July 23rd…

Wrapping up our stay near Albuquerque…

Anytime we are this close to the Sandia Mountains we have to make the drive up to the top and find a hike in cooler climes. It takes a good while to drive up the mountain but once at the top there is a stunning panorama of the city of Albuquerque below.

After heading back down the mountain we stopped at a turnout to take a nice little hike. Embarking on the trail we could tell very quickly that we have been flatlanders for too long as we were both huffing and puffing our way up the mountain. The cool temperature and the beautiful scenery soon made us forget about the extra effort. 

  

One of the reasons we always stop in Albuquerque is that we have lots of friends here. Some we have known a long, long time while others we met on the road.The first couple we met up with was Carol and Ed. We first met them when we stayed down in Puerto Penasco Mexico. I love sunsets so every evening in Puerto Penasco we would go down to the sea wall to see the sunset. Carol and Ed’s RV was right next to the wall and upon meeting them we discovered what a fun and loving couple they were. As a result we make a point to try to see them whenever we are in town. This time we met at Bosque Brewery spending a few hours catching up with each others journey through life.

Jo Beth and Catherine are another couple we try to visit while in town. We first met in Las Cruces NM as they were camping beside us and said hey after recognizing us from our blog. We met them at the Tin Can Alley which houses many different food and drinking establishments under one roof. Again several hours passed as we enjoyed beer at Santa Fe Brewery while having a lot of fun catching up.

One of Sharon's very best friends lives here as well. We first met in Austin TX when Sharon and Vicki worked together at the same dental office. We quickly became lifelong friends and we always get together when we are in Albuquerque. Vicki and her husband Roger met us at the Sawmill Market where we had dinner and some adult beverages. It is always great to see Vicki and Roger!

I should add while having dinner with Vicki and Roger we amazingly met up with a couple who lives in Virginia whom we met at our daughter Katie’s wedding. We knew they were here but, even though we tried, were unable to meet up. Well, serendipity reared it’s head and we ran into each other at the same place in time. It was fantastic to see Colin and Katie.

On one of our last nights we met up with Vicki and Roger once again but this time at Vicki’s brother and sister-in law’s house. Dave and Kelly’s home was beautiful and we ate a feast outside on their expansive outdoor patio which overlooks the city. This unexpected dinner and gathering was one of the highlights of our return trip to Albuquerque. Dave and I got to know each other real well when we both went on an 11 day float trip down the Green River in Utah. It really was wonderful reconnecting with all of these great people!

Albuquerque, it’s  a wrap…

NOTE:  We are currently Durango, Colorado until July 23rd…

Onward to the Sandia Mountains in NM…

After all the the alien encounters we had in Roswell, it was time to move on. Heading north we drove to the edge of the Sandia Mountains to another Passport America Park called Route 66 RV Park in Edgewood, NM on the well known Route 66 highway.This is a nice little park just far enough off the highway to not be too noisy.

We were only at the park for two nights and since we arrived later than normal we didn’t really do much other than walk around the park. Sharon also set up a spot on our large site for her “outdoor gym”. We found a brewery nearby called Sierra Blanca to visit and I have to say that they brew some mighty good craft beers!

Our two days went by fast so we packed up to move on to Albuquerque and a short while later pulled into our campsite at Coronado Campground in Bernalillo,NM. This is a neat little park we have stayed at before.We especially like the picturesque adobe enclosures providing shade and a breeze over the picnic tables on each site The only downside is that it has no sewer and we weren’t able to score 50 amp service so we will endure the heat with only 30 amps.

The view of the Sandia Mountains from this park is all the reason we need to stay at the park but we will also visit friends in the area. “Sandía means watermelon in Spanish, and is popularly believed to be a reference to the reddish color of the mountains at sunset. Sunsets here can be fabulous!

While in Bernalillo we also hiked the Willow Creek Trail which is close to our park. It was a nice two mile hike along the Rio Grande where we found evidence of beavers including one tree that looks like a beaver may have bitten off more than he could chew. Near that tree was a great spot for our picnic lunch!

While in Albuquerque we also had to stop by our favorite place to have some Carne Adovada, a pork dish stewed in red chili, at Mary and Tito’s in downtown Albuquerque. We were a bit disappointed this time around as the pork was shredded whereas we prefer it to be chunky. We enjoyed it nonetheless.

We did find a neat little craft beer tap house while we were grocery shopping. Alien Brewpub is actually affiliated with Sierra Brewing and as a result they serve the same great beers we had at the brewery. Even better was the fact that we showed up on a Tuesday night when they discount all beers by 50% which was quite a score. Their Alien IPA is outta this world good! I might add that their basket of hand cut fries were awesome as well…Our New Mexico alien encounters sure have been fun!

NOTE:  We are currently Lake Abiquiu, New Mexico until July 19th…

Roswell NM and Alien Encounters…

As another travel day arrived we packed up the RV, hitched up the CRV and hit the road. Our destination was Roswell, New Mexico. The landscape changed slightly as we crossed into New Mexico and we saw a few Pronghorn Antelope along the way. Looking for antelope made the time pass and before we knew it we had driven the 135 miles to Roswell.

We arrived at Spring River RV Park which is a nice Passport America park for only $20 per night. As luck would have it we landed here on the weekend of the Roswell UFO Festival. This three day festival offered up live music, food trucks, booths costume contests for those in attendance and it was all FREE! The music was all played on a stage in front of the really cool looking courthouse.

We checked out several of the live music venues and some of them were pretty darned good. It was great attending live music events again. New Mexico is quite a bit more cautious with Covid  in comparison to the lack of interest shown by much of Texas about the pandemic. We saw lots of masked and un-masked (vaccinated) folks attending the events.

We also made a day trip over to the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. It was a short drive outside of town where we drove the loop road through the park looking for birds and wildlife. We didn’t spot much wildlife but did see some birds. We also stopped at several pullouts to either take in the sights or set off on a short hike. We found it to be a really pretty area with a lot of wetlands throughout the park.

We also found a nice little disc golf course that we played and enjoyed. We really liked the Alien logos on the baskets. The entire town really embraces the Alien theme. Nearly every business has alien or UFO art making it quite fun to stroll or drive through town.

We also enjoyed some craft beer at a few different locations. One was at the Black Cock Brewery (No I didn’t name it!) which had a fun vibe and good beers available. Another popular spot for dining and drinking was Farley’s. They served up some Alien IPA beers that were tasty. Also we noticed they had one of the most unique bar tops we had ever seen which was a lot of computer motherboards side by side and encased in resin making for a real interesting bar top!!!

And just like that our time was up in Roswell and it once again became time to head North and West towards Albuquerque…

NOTE:  We are currently Bernalillo, New Mexico until July 14th…

San Angelo to Brownfield Texas…

We sure enjoyed our extended stay in San Angelo even though it was hot and the A/C quit working.  Upon leaving  we continued our trek westerly to Big Spring Texas. We did  find a nice little hike within Big Springs State Park It provided us a bit of elevation to give our legs a good workout as we have been “flatlanders” for quite some time now.

Before we knew it the time came to move on so we continued westward and pulled into a “free” city park in Brownfield, Texas. We arrived before noon and found a very nice site with some shade with 50 amp and water hookups. I said free but there is a donation station where campers can leave a donation to help the city offset costs. Hopefully those who don’t make a donation will at least consider spending some money at the local businesses. to assist the city as a whole.

We found a Chinese Restaurant in town which always had locals inside enjoying the buffet but we preferred ordering from the many choices on the menu. It was fun in that while we waited for our takeout we could see the cook making our meal and he made a point of thanking us for returning because we liked it so much we came back. Also the kolaches at the Donut shop close to our campground  were an awesome breakfast the day we left Brownfield. We only spent a few days but could have stayed longer because we really liked our site. I should mention there is a 5 day maximum stay however.

Another nice feature of this RV Park, besides having 50amp power during this heat, is that it is just across the street from a nice, but long, disc golf course. The course was flat and long with several holes offering some water challenges. One hole it appeared as if Sharon wasn’t quite up to the challenge as I had to find a long stick to fish her errant disc out of a deep creek.

At one hole we were assaulted by a Mississippi Kite who while protecting its nest dive bombed us several times.  I had never experienced this behavior before and thought it was really cool. Sharon, however was a little freaked out as it really came fast and close to the top of our heads! We both regretted later that we didn’t video or photograph this event!

Our second day in Brownfield we decided to make a drive up to Lubbock to play another disc golf course. One cool thing about this park was the horse sculptures on top of a hill on the last hole of the course. Lots of flowers were in bloom and everything was a lush green because of all the rains they have had.

But, wow, this course turned out to be the longest course we have ever played in our lives. There were three holes all of which were longer than 1,000 feet! Normally a long hole is 500 to 600 feet. After logging nearly three miles we ended the day downtown a nice brewery called The Brewery LDK.

Tomorrow is a travel day once again…

NOTE:  We are currently Bernalillo, New Mexico until July 12th…

It’s Hot and the A/C quit working, what now?

While in San Angelo we modified our fourth of July plans and will now be in Albuquerque after the fourth instead of during it. We did this so we could see one of Sharon’s best friends who wouldn’t have been in town during the fourth. Therefore we added four more days to our stay at the San Angelo State Park.

It turns out it was a good thing we added days. Why? Because our rear A/C quit working. The night we rearranged our plans, we set the thermostat lower as we always do when preparing for bed when suddenly we heard a noise and smelled what seemed to be an electrical component burning. Not good with temperatures in San Angelo over 100 degrees during the day.

I immediately shut down the A/C and checked the rooftop unit to make sure nothing was burning. With no fire or smoke I went back in to get some sleep and would check it in the morning. The next morning I crawled back up on the roof and removed the A/C shroud to inspect what I suspected was a blown start capacitor as we had that problem once before on the front A/C.

I couldn’t find anything that appeared burnt on the start capacitor but there was a smaller black piece attached on top of it that obviously had burnt. We carried that part all around town trying to find a replacement Trying to find one that also had the PCTR, otherwise known as the motor start relay, proved difficult.

It began to look like we were going to have to order one when I finally located one a few days later near Abilene Texas. We drove over to Abilene and sure enough they had a replacement part. The people there were really nice so we want to give them a shout out to let others know this is a good place to get parts, Young’s RV Parts.Once the part was installed our A/C was functional again.

With the repair behind us we were able to get in another hike around the park and before leaving San Angelo we checked out the International Waterlily Collection in town. The collection is open to the public at no charge. It really is quite a fabulous display of different species of water lilies.

With our time finally up in San Angelo we moved a little further NW to Big Spring Texas to spend a few nights there.

NOTE:  We are currently Bernalillo, New Mexico until July 12th…

What is that rattling noise?

Next stop for us was in a park we have been to many times before, San Angelo State Park. We initially planned to stay four days but when we arrived we noticed a strange noise coming from the front end of our Honda CRV. Everything I read online suggested it was a suspension issue, but I had no way to get under the car to check it out.

More online research yielded an overriding favorite place for car repairs, Kelly’s Auto Repair. I called and they said bring it over as they would be able to squeeze me in. I sat about an hour when the mechanic called me to come into the shop. I went udder the car to see that the stabilizing rod had lost it’s bushings and needed to be replaced.

I authorized the job so after calling around for parts, they located one. Less than an hour later the job was done! The total bill was… get ready for this… $84.10. I was floored as I was expected nothing less than $350.00 and honestly expected more. I paid my bill and will tell everyone who will hear me to go there for any needed car repairs if  anywhere near San Angelo Texas. I feel there is no more trustworthy and competent mechanic to be found!

With the car repaired we enjoyed hiking in the state park, visiting the craft beer spots downtown and playing a bit of disc golf. San Angelo State Park may not have much of a lake but it has miles of good hiking trails. One of our favorite loops is the Roadrunner Trail, a 3.2 mile loop.

On the Roadrunner trail there is a turn out where there is another fenced pasture with Bison and Longhorn Cattle on it. One day we happened to luckily walking by when the rangers were feeding the Bison and Cattle. We had an enjoyable chat with them about the herds and all their newborn babies.

It has been a wetter than normal late spring and early summer here. As a result there are a lot of wildflowers in bloom and it is still very green. Butterflies are fairly abundant on anything that is blooming. Also, as I mentioned earlier, we have been coming here for years and this is the first year there was enough water in the lake to actually look like a lake!

With a few days remaining in San Angelo we thought we had better get some last dinners at a good Tex Mex restaurant. As luck would have it we found a good one that had some excellent salsa and great cheese enchiladas…

NOTE:  We are currently in Roswell, New Mexico until July 5th…