Hi All,
We're only a day or two away from Colorado but find ourselves in Chama, New Mexico for the end of Mike's "birthday week". And it's been a fun week. We have been to Santa Fe and stayed at nearby Black Canyon in the national forest (thank you, Helen!) for a couple rainy nights. It was sunny during the daytime but at night there was thunder and lightening. Hard to have a fire but we sorta managed.
It was Mike's birthday and he decided that he wanted a shotgun.....and it's probably a good idea to have one since we are going to Alaska next year about this time. He was an expert shot in the Marines but wouldn't kill Bambi on a bet.....but it's nice to know that when we're out in the wilds of wherever, we can protect ourselves if necessary. It's a single shot 20 gauge if anyone cares. One day we'll go shoot a can with it and hopefully that's all we ever have to shoot!!
We did make it into town and had a late lunch of wonderful New Mexican food...and saw some of the sights. All the towns are pretty cool but they truly are just stores and more stores with restaurants in between. I think we're a little more into just seeing the sights than shopping though eating is always fun. Thing is, we cook and eat great meals in our camper. Or, I should say, Mike cooks.
Last night we had rib eye steak with corn on the cob and red potatoes with carmelized onions on the bar-b-que. The night before Mike made Chicken Picatta.....we always eat like kings. Pork chops on the grill, spinich salads, Mike's special chicken thighs with homemade rub, spaghetti, canneloni, chicken cordon bleu, the list goes on and on. I'm sure this camper is way overweight with all the food we pack around!!
On Mike's actual birthday we drove to Taos. We stayed in a park there that actually had laundry facilities, so I had to utilize them while the chance presented itself. Mike had misplaced his watch, and I found it in the dryer after it had been through the works. And it still worked. It's a cheap Timex and it was pretty funny because tonight we were watching old DVD's of Johnny Carson shows and here was John Cameron Swazy doing Timex ads and telling everyone about how the Timex will "take a lickin' and keep on tickin' ". We had to laugh because fifty years later it's still true.
There were the most interesting cloud formations in the nearby mountains in Taos that night. Unreal....they look like photos from the Hubble telescope. Later there was a lightening show that was constant and I caught that on video. No rain and you couldn't hear the thunder but the light show was amazing.
There is a circle loop road called the Enchanting Circle that goes east from Taos and then north and back west. It's about 100 miles around. What a beautiful drive. There are so many huge green valleys and mountains all around. And being spring, lots of flowers in bloom. On this drive there a a State Park that is a Vietnam Memorial which we visited. The land for the memorial was donated by a father who lost his son in that war. The memorial is dedicated to all Vietnam Veterans and was a very beautiful and moving place. There was a documentary film being shown called "Ma" and though we, and many others, didn't get there in time to see the beginning, no one left once they started watching until it was over. It showed interviews with soldiers and there were different voices "talking" the letters that they wrote home to their families and loved ones during that most tragic of wars. It was very sad......such a waste of those dear lives of over 58,000 soldiers.
We camped in the Carson National Forest on a beautiful creek. We had a great spot right on the almost waterfall creek. It was going downhill bigtime and fast. Birthday Boy decided to wash his favorite shorts in the creek and turned out losing his shorts instead. Oh well, another birthday present in the making....more shorts. The line broke and those shorts could be in Mexico by now.
We drove almost back to Taos and headed east. First you cross the Rio Grande River where there is a very deep canyon. The raft in the rapids is a very long way down (see photo). Then we drove back into the Carson National Forest and it was such a pretty drive.
Our destination was Heron Lake.....another pretty spot. The lakes around these parts are all manmade but this one was very blue. When we got to the lake, which is a state park, I got information about a train trip that is the longest and the highest narrow gage rail in North America and with a steam engine. So we are in Chama, one end of the line, and are taking the train tomorrow to the halfway point, have lunch and back again. The lunch is what sold us on the ride. Everyone says it's wonderful. And I also heard that this half of the trip is the most beautiful. The train passes right by where we are camped, and we got pictures of it coming over the bridge this afternoon. It was pretty cool to stand practically right in front of the train and then get out of the way as it came toward us....we weren't the only ones doing that and the train was going pretty slow. Anyway tomorrow should be fun and "birthday week" will be over. I hope it's been a good one for you, Mike. I love you.
Off to bed.....Mike's snoring away and I know he's going to wake me up early. And did I mention that it's COLD here? What's up with that? Good night all, Gayle
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