New Shocks & TV Antenna

Today was a productive day. After lunch, we unhooked the coach and took it about a half mile down the road to Alamo RV. This is a service and parts place that was recommended by our park owners.

A couple of months ago, Doug bought some Koni shocks and wasn't able to install them himself. He didn't have the correct tools or the air compressor necessary for the tools. Alamo RV told us that they could install them in about an hour and a half. And best of all, their labor rate is waaaaay under everyone else's in the big cities.


These are the worn out, beat up, no good, old shocks. Good riddance.

At the same time, we discovered that the batwing tv antenna on the top of the coach had quit working. Doug removed it so we could take it to Alamo RV and check if they had a replacement. They didn't. But, in the catalog, we found a much better one. It was ordered and installed at the same time as the shocks.



The white disk on top of the coach is the new antenna. It looks so much nicer and will find the stations available automatically. No more cranking up the batwing and turning and turning, trying to find a signal. We are now able to watch local news instead of just New York and Los Angeles as well as make use of the digital cable box we bought months ago.

These were the greatest people to deal with. We can hardly recommend them enough. Funny thing, later in the evening after we were settled back in the park, the owners of Alamo RV showed up to do some work for another person in the park. After they finished, they stopped by and visited with us. Talk about customer service!

Extended Stay

After our fun day at White Sands National Park, we spent today trying to figure out how to fit all of the places we want to see in this area into the next three days. Ain't gonna happen!

So, we reviewed our options.
1) Leave without seeing everything.
2) Stay another week. ($85)
3) Stay a month. ($100)

The weather has turned beautiful and is forecasted to be this way now that spring is almost here. Yay! That made our decision simple. We are going to stay here at Edgington RV Park for a month. The owners let us roll over this week into the monthly rate. Neat people!

So, we can get our mail here until April 11. (If you want to send $100 bills, they will be gratefully accepted.) And we can see Three Rivers Petroglyphs, the Sunspot Solar Observatory, Inn of the Mountain Gods (casino), Tularosa, Cloudcroft, Valley of Fire and maybe some more rockhounding. Of course, we will return to White Sands. In fact, once a month they conduct a special trip to Lake Lucero where all of the sand originates. This month it's scheduled for March 28. We're already planning on attending that.

To my dear kids in Texas, we're working our way there, only verrrrrrry slowly.

Snow???

We had the most spectacular day today!


It was a visit to the White Sands National Monument. Everyone had told us that it was a "not to be missed" experience and they were not kidding. Words can't begin to describe the park. We started our trip at the visitor center (of course) and learned about the gypsum that the winds pick up at Lake Lucero and then deposit in the 275 square mile of desert in the Tularosa Basin.



After our stop at the museum and gift shop, we headed to the 8 mile road that takes us through the dunes. The first half mile gave us an indication of what to expect.


Then we stopped at the first trail. It's a one mile trek straight up a sand dune and then through the well marked interdune area.


This is where the dunes surround the hunting grounds for the insects, birds, rodents and wildlife that can survive in this harsh environment. We saw the tracks of kit foxes, kangaroo rats and several others we were not sure about.


We followed the ridges of pure white sand for the a while and then I couldn't stand it any longer. The shoes came off and the rest of the day was spent barefoot. What a delightful treat!


After finishing the trail and learning about the plant, wildlife and dunes themselves, we continued on the road to the next trails.


Then, to our surprise, the paved road stopped and it looked just like we were driving on snow and ice. There were pullouts everywhere and the further we went into the park, the fewer plants were to be found.


The dunes became just white sand with kids sledding and digging and playing. They looked like they should be freezing in the snow yet they were in shorts and tank tops. It was such an odd feeling driving through this winter wonderland and having the air conditioning running full blast.


Even some of the grown ups got in on the fun!

At the end of the road is a huge loop with picnic areas. The shelters all have protection from the wind, picnic tables and bbq's. There were people everywhere! We didn't get them in the pictures but almost every shelter was in use as well as cars parked everywhere.


At every opportunity, we stopped and climbed the dunes and took pictures. It was impossible to wipe the smiles from our faces!

Couch Potato

It rained off and on all day today. And, I was feeling a little under the weather. (Pun intended) So, we just stayed home so I could lie on the couch and doze. Doug visited with the neighbors and checked the rocks in the tumbler and took good care of me.

Some days are better than others....

Seeing the Town

Our day began with a nice visit with John & Barbara, the owners of the Edgington RV Park. They gave us lots of ideas and more brochures for the surrounding area. We now know which grocery store to shop and where the best rv parts store is located and which vet to not visit. (We don't need a vet any longer.)

The weather was beautiful for sightseeing, but we needed to get a couple of chores out of the way. About half a mile away, we found the Alamo RV place and talked to them about installing the Koni shocks that Doug bought a couple of months ago. We also needed a new head for the Wineguard batwing antenna on top of the coach. While we were in the store looking for the antenna, we found a newer model for just a little bit more that will seek out the tv signal on it's own. We ordered that and on Monday we'll take the coach to the shop and have it installed as well as the shocks.

Feeling pretty smart, we took a drive through town just to get acquainted with the place. It's not a big city, but it has just about everything you could ask for. A dozen different fast food joints, Wally World, Big K, Home Depot, Lowes, a zoo, a city park and lots more were all just on the main street. I really like small towns.

Hopefully, the weather will be just as nice tomorrow and we'll go find something interesting. (not rocks!)

Alamogordo!

Again, rain and sleet on the roof! We packed up the last minute stuff and hit the road out of Pinos Altos. Since we were going to stop at the Walmart in Silver City (6 miles away), I just followed Doug and the motorhome in the car. The gas station at Walmart is kinda snug and maneuvering was easier without the car hooked on behind. The snow was coming down pretty good as we got off that hill!

We used our Walmart card and saved some money on diesel, then hooked up the car and pointed south. It was a nice drive back through Deming and then on into Las Cruces. Las Cruces was a much bigger city than we were expecting and we got to drive right through town. Narrow lanes and lots of traffic, but we made it. Then we continued north on US 70 through San Agustin Pass, past the Holloway Air Force Base and the White Sands National Monument to the much smaller city of Alamogordo.


We found the Edgington RV Park just two miles past Alamogordo. I had called last night to see if they had room for us since it's a fairly small park. All we gave them was our name, but the owner, John saw us coming down the road and waved us in through the exit of the park, guided us to our spot and took the time to introduce himself, his wife and the park. What neat people! We have never been treated like long lost relatives at a park before! John & Barbara brought us brochures of all the things to see and do in the area and visited and answered all of our questions.



The picture of our site makes it look barren here, but it's quite the opposite. In front of us are almond trees, pine trees, a huge willow tree and many others I can't name. It was just desert when John & Barbara bought the property 25 years ago. He has planted every tree himself.



He also built the fishing pond in the middle of the park. It's stocked with catfish, bass, blue gill and some koi. Doug can hardly wait to start fishing. Since we still have fish in the freezer, he'll probably just catch and release.


Here's the pond from the other side. There's a little dock and a picnic table. Quite refreshing!

I spent the evening going through brochures and I hope a week is long enough to see every thing!

And most important........Happy Birthday Mom Bev!!!!!!

More Crummy Weather

We woke to more rain and nasty weather and decided to just get ready to move tomorrow. We made a quick run to Walmart for gas and groceries and then spent the day gradually putting things away.

We did find something interesting though. In Silver City, diesel is twenty cents a gallon cheaper than gas! And, even better, we discovered that if we buy a rechargeable gift card at Walmart and use it at the gas station, we save three cents a gallon. So, we purchased a card and spent $2.26 a gallon for gas and tomorrow we will fill the diesel tank in the motorhome for only $1.96 a gallon. Yippeee!

Our shopping is occasionally done in Walmart and we will definitely keep a gift card in our wallets. I know .03 isn't a fortune but every little bit helps.

Rain, Snow & Hail

Our plan for the day was to visit the Catwalk at Whitewater Canyon. But, when we peeked outside our windows, the weather was atrocious! So, we hunkered down in our cozy, little house on wheels and spent the day playing.

The portable heater never shut off all day and the propane heater ran too. I don't believe it ever got above 40 degrees. Doug worked with the tumblers a little bit and the stones are looking good.

The freedom to put our plans on hold or change them entirely is wonderful.

Mining Arrastra

We didn't have any great plans for today, so we decided to return to a couple of places we missed yesterday due to time.


Our first stop was at an 1800's mining arrastra. This was a crude, stone mill for extracting gold from the surrounding ore. Because of all of the gold in this area, there were 18 of these in this vicinity.


This was a mule drawn mill, but Doug played the part for me.


Quartz and ore were piled into the prepared hole and heavy stones were dragged around and around, grinding the rocks into a wet powdery substance. Water and quicksilver were added during the process because the gold would bind with the quicksilver and drop to the bottom. After the grinding was finished and the gold was all extracted, the quicksilver would be separated and the gold was then formed into ingots. (blocks)

After this interesting stop, we drove through a couple of campgrounds in the Gila National Forest. There is no way we could ever get the motorhome into these, but it was fun to see them.

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

After watching the weather forecast for the next several days, we decided that today was probably our best bet for seeing the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The drive was only 40 miles, yet everyone told us to plan on two hours each way. That sounded a little odd until we started up the narrow, two lane (barely) road.


The scenery quickly became spectacular with odd shaped, columnar rocks on both sides. We stopped for photos on barely noticeable pull outs and then continued a short distance to the next photo op.

The road was extremely curvy with quite a few blind switchbacks and our speed rarely got over 30, even on the straightaways. There were hardly any railings on the curves and the drop to the bottom was considerable.


After 10 stops for pictures, (that's one every 4 miles!) we finally arrived at the Gila National Forest visitor center. We had a lovely chat with the volunteer and a walk through the exhibits. She told us the proper way of pronouncing the word Mogollon. It's Mug-e-yon. Hmmmmm. These were the indians that inhabited this area and were thought to have used the caves in the cliffs as their dwellings. Turns out, the caves were used as ceremonial chambers, not actual living spaces. All of the volunteers that we encountered on our hike were full of great information.


We drove on up to the beginning of the cliff tour.


It's a 1 mile hike through the canyon, crossing the creek several times and up an old trail.



For most all of the walk, you can see the caves waaaaaay up in the cliffs.


And the photo ops get better the closer we get.


We rounded the last curve in the path and arrived at the entrance to cave 3.
There are actually 7 caves in the formation.


Caves 1 and 2 are not accessible any longer and it is believed that they were used for food storage and perhaps a communal kitchen. The foundations are still intact as well as a hearth and 2 circular depressions for cooking pots.


There are 40 rooms within the 6 used caves at the Gila Cliff Dwellings. Most are too small to be living areas and archaeologists believe that the Mogollon lived in pueblos on a nearby mesa where they gardened and caught small animals. The caves appear to be used for storage and ceremonies.


This small building was used as a storage and drying area for animal skins. 80% of the walls and buildings are original construction with the remaining 20% to maintain the structures.


I was amazed that we are allowed inside the caves. This is such an archaeological treasure! We climbed a stairway into cave 3 and could wander from cave to cave, up to cave 6. This is the main room from the outside. The T shaped opening was a door that was accessed by ladders. The Mogollon must have been small, muscular people, because that opening is not very big. Also, the wood timbers in the walls are all original wood. Fascinating!

How would like this view from your window each day?


We spent a long time inside the caves admiring the handiwork and pictographs on the walls. There were several volunteers in the caves available to answer questions, of which we had a million.


When it was time to exit, Doug climbed down the ladder from cave 6.


I, on the other hand, got cold feet and retreated back the way we came in. Believe me, it was a long drop if you missed a step.


What an amazing day! We headed back down to the parking lot just before the park closed for the day. You get some perspective of how high we were when you look down on the parking lot.

In the Arroyo

Our trip this morning began with a stop at the Royal Scepter Gem & Mineral shop and museum in Silver City. It was a fascinating place with lots to see, but we didn't get a whole lot of information. We had a nice visit with the owner and she told us about an arroyo twenty minutes away.



So, of course, we took a ride past the towns of Bayard, Hurley and the airport where the road turned to gravel for a bit and then we dropped down into the riverbed. Fortunately, it was dry!


We grabbed our bags and started walking up the arroyo looking for valuable gems. We found pretty rocks, but nothing valuable. We spent at least two hours wandering and sharing our discoveries.

Then the clouds really rolled in and we decided to get out of the path of the storm. It never did rain but, wow, did the wind blow. When we arrived back at the coach, we were rockin' and rollin'. Doug prepared a fancy pizza for us and we were finally rocked to sleep. Never lost power!

Pinos Altos (Tall Pines)

Ha! You probably thought we were going to Silver City after yesterday's post. Fooled you! Actually, we are about six miles north of Silver City in the teeny, tiny town of Pinos Altos. 150 years ago, gold was discovered in these hills and this rough and tumble town grew almost overnight.


We are parked in an old apple orchard/rv park called Continental Divide RV Park. It's full of old, crummy trailers and converted rvs, but it's central to all of the things we want to see and the price is right.


We drove a narrow, windy road up into the mountains where the continental divide runs right through the rv park. Since we are at 7000 feet, I'm guessing the nights will be below freezing. And the scenery here is so different from the desert. It's green and there are trees everywhere. It almost reminds us of Idaho.


After we got all set up, we took a ride through historic Pinos Altos. This is the museum and yes, it's as old and rustic as the picture portrays. This was Grant County's first private school house, built around 1866. We didn't have a chance to go inside, but we certainly will before we leave.

This is the opera house. It was built in 1969, capturing the flavor of an old west opera house. According to the signs on the front doors, it is still used to present old fashion melodramas. I would dearly love to see one of those!


And this is the historic saloon, built in 1865. There were several more historic sights such as the original cemetary, the first courthouse and Judge Roy Bean's store site. But we didn't get pictures of everything. Maybe later.

Tomorrow, we will check out the Silver City visitor information center and the local rockshop for maps of the old mines in the area. Most of the mines are on BLM (bureau of land management) property and are open to anyone. Of course, we won't enter the mines themselves, but there is plenty of rockhounding material in the tailings piles.

Lots to report in the next week as long as the weather continues to be good. There are reports of heavy winds and a few rain showers over the next few days. Wish us luck!

Change of Plans

The wind finally died and we had a beautiful, hot day. There were a couple of free dvds to return to the Redbox and a quick stop at the rockshop before we leave town and then we started getting ready to move on.

Our plan had tentatively been to start east towards Texas. But at the last minute, we decided to go north to Silver City. There are so many sights to see that direction like the Gila Cliff Dwellers National Monument and the Catwalk. Plus, there are lots of old mines up there in the hills and the rockhounding is supposed to be spectacular.

So, that's our plan for tomorrow. Some clouds rolled in during the evening and we hope they keep rolling on.

Redbox Code 3/2/09

For our readers that asked for the Redbox promo code......

Free movie code good only for today March 2nd, expires at midnight MS72K3

Good at all redbox locations

Simple and fun. I'll get to our real post later.

Another One Bites the Dust

We love our coach! Years ago, my mother gave me a tiny plate with the following saying on it. "As I was wandering o'er the green, Not knowing where I went, By chance I saw a pleasant scene, The cottage of content."

This little plate hangs on the wall beside my bed and I often think of our motorhome as our "cottage of content". We have everything we need contained in less than 400 square feet. We can go where we want, stay as long as we want and move when we choose. Our expenses are less than half of what we were spending living in our "sticks n bricks" house. What a wonderful way to live!

When the announcement came that Western RV (our manufacturer) had closed it's doors, we were stunned. We knew the economy was slowing, but this was before everything tanked. It was a little nerve racking thinking that we were now an orphan coach without a supplier or support for problems. This hadn't happened very often that a motorhome manufacturer just stopped producing it's product.

And then the economy took it's nosedive. And one after another, the rv industry started folding. National RV, Travel Supreme and Alfa Leisure all shuttered their doors. Other rv companies began closing plants and downsizing their work force. Fleetwood, Coachman, Tiffin, Newmar and Country Coach all face cash crunches and layoffs.

Today, one of the major, major players in the rv industry, Monaco, headquartered in Coburg, Oregon, with manufacturing facilities in Oregon and Indiana, the company that offered a variety of RVs, from entry-level priced towables to custom-made luxury models under the Monaco, Holiday Rambler, Safari, Beaver, McKenzie, and R-Vision brand names, issued termination notices to it's employees.

It's a shame to watch another sector of the ecomony fail. But we, like many others will continue to roll down the highway and live life our way. We'll find all of the treasures that this amazing country has to offer and do it on a budget. Our money will trickle up through the economy. We'll continue to boost the livelihoods of small rv parks, cafes, grocery stores (and big oil companies) instead of greedy mortgage companies, wasteful local governments and stupid politicians. We still pay our fair share of taxes and in some states our unfair share of taxes. But, our "cottage of content" will keep moving and spending and finding joy.

Racin' and Rollin'

We are middle class, redneck, nascar lovin' fans. So, we enjoy hanging around home on Sundays to watch the race on tv.


Doug washed and sorted rocks during the commercials and downtime. We have both been excited to get the tumblers going.


After deciding which rocks to tumble (we have buckets full), Doug added the powder and water that helps grind the rough edges.


He loaded the tub onto the machine and started it up. The tub has a rubber lining, so the noise if quite muffled. But, after an hour we were a little bothered by the sound.


Doug cleared a small space under his desk and placed the tumbler on a towel on the floor. Amazing difference. (He slid it back under the desk where he has plenty of room for his feet.) When the coach is totally silent, we hear a sound like soft rain on the roof.

In a week, we will check the stones and change the powder to a finer grit and add water, then tumble them some more. It's an experiment with common rocks, but maybe we'll get some neat specimens.