Weekend in Colorado

Getting there (Red Mountain Pass)

 

 

 

Coming home (Red Mountain Pass)

 

 

A Little Trip to Southern New Mexico

Hubby had to attend a conference for work in Ruidoso, New Mexico and his employer provided nice accommodations. I was fortunate to be allowed to accompany him, stay in the hotel room and spend a few days checking out the little touristy town of Ruidoso.

Suffice it to say that this not the season to be a tourist in Ruidoso. At least 90% of the shops and restaurants are closed weekdays until their summer season begins. As we were there during the week, there was not much to do there. Boring. Boring. 

The Texans invade in winter for skiing and in the summer to cool off a little. Spring is apparently way OFF season. I don't know what the attraction is even in season, other than a place where wealthy rednecks get together to drink and shout and drive their big trucks and eat beef. I guess lots of locals also drive excruciatingly loud pick-up trucks, obvious looking for attention as they drive the main street in town. Fortunately our hotel was a bit off the beaten path.

Every town in New Mexico has the "BEST GREEN CHILI CHEESE BURGER" and sometimes more than one restaurant in town claims it. And finding anything besides burgers and fried foods in Ruidoso was a challenge.  I think every average New Mexico eatery buys their food from the same big restaurant supply warehouse because it all seems to look and taste the same. 

I should do a post on the scarcity of interesting, healthy food in New Mexico. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. I am not crazy about Mexican/New Mexican cuisine but the beef fajita at the Hacienda in Ruidoso was very good. 

The highlight of my day on Wednesday was buying food at the grocery store for our dinner.

The hotel was quite nice and our room/suite was probably the nicest one I've ever had the opportunity to occupy. We stayed four nights. Free breakfast with just about everything you could want for an American style wake-up.

There must be carpet designers especially for fancy hotels.

The highlight of our little trip was the Valley of Fires, a Malpais (Badlands) area of ancient lava flows. There was a very nice one-mile nature trail with interesting flora and lava formations. 

I like rocks and plants, so this was my kind of tourist attraction. Here are a bunch of photos, but it's better in person.

A Quick Update ... No Time to Waste When at the Seaside

Practically no Verizon service so little internet on cell. Just so you all know why I’m not reading or posting. 

Yes, we've heard about THE Queen, but here we are enjoying a vacation in a place where the word "Queen" has a slightly different meaning...no disrespect intended.

 

Although we don't have our truck with us, we were able to drive it vicariously while watching this video (only a portion of which appears below)

 

 

There are only two places on the East Coast of the US where one can see the sunset over the ocean. One is Key West and this is the other: Unfortunately smoke from fire on the West Coast has been creating quite a haze here.

Full moon high tide around sunset on Friday/Saturday. The full rosy moon rose just after sunset last evening. With the almost 360 degree horizon it is always a treat to see both.

P.S. Bloggers...I haven't been commenting because I can only be "anonymous" using my iPhone...and that's unacceptable!

OK. Enough for today...we have beaches to find.

Where in the World are We ?

 

Comfort Food After a Long Desert Sojourn

 Seeing green trees and real lakes again has given me a desperately needed lift. It's kind of like comfort food for the entire body.

Cypress trees in Lake Ocoee, Tennessee

And As If That Were Not Enough

 Now we have to make a terrifying car trip to South Carolina to visit Leon's mom who's been in the hospital.

And by terrifying I mean this:

WHY?OMING

So, after 32 years together, I underestimated Leon's powers of persuasion - again. I was content to stay home. 

But Leon had it in his mind to check out a camper that he'd seen on Craig's List. A used (2006) 24 foot Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel. They don't make them that small anymore and we have a limited parking spot across from our house.

I saw the photos and was unimpressed, but Leon saw the photos and saw his dream camper. "It will be good to get away. We really need a road trip. So sick of doing nothing this past year. It will do us good." And a number of other persuasive arguments.

Problem was, the coveted camper was in Wyoming. A seven and a half hour drive not counting eating, peeing and walking the dog.

The dog. That was problem number two. Benni is not doing great. The past few months he's been having a problem with his hind legs. The vet says it's likely a neurological problem. Apparently it's fairly common although I'd never heard of it. If we want to get a CT scan or MRI for $1300 plus the consulting fee we could get a better diagnosis. 

A better diagnosis will not provide any particular options for a cure. There likely is no cure. Something is obstructing the messages from Benni's brain to his hind quarters. He is not walking normally. He stumbles occasionally. He poops while walking and leaves a trail. We will take Benni with us of course.

We decided to drive about 5 hours and stay in Colorado Springs for one night. "Soul, Community, Planet" - SCP - an interesting hotel, dog friendly, environmentally friendly, liberal values. They donate a tree to re-forestation of the rainforest or something for each guest. Unfortunately there was only a paved parking lot to walk the dog. Not a tree on the property. Oh, well.

We checked out "Garden of the Gods Nature Center" before checking in. I guess I was tired from the drive. We didn't have the time or energy to hike the trails and Benni might not have appreciated a hike either, so we drove through.  So it was a lot of rocks.

Photos below of SCP - The hotel in Colorado Springs. 

We ordered pizza and ate in the hotel. We won't eat inside a restaurant, no matter what the state says is OK. Nice hotel, but I DID NOT SLEEP FOR A SECOND ALL NIGHT! Why? I couldn't tell you except that I was wired like I was on some kind of amphetamine or a gallon of caffeine. Horribly long night.

We drove another 3 hours the next day. The highlight of the trip for me was a stop in Denver to splurge at an Italian imports market. Capicolla, Mortadella con pistacchio, Prosciutto, Capa Cavallo,  Pancetta. Stuff I cannot find in New Mexico. Heaven.

Multiply this photo by 1 million = Wyoming

So, bottom line: the camper in Wyoming was not Leon's dream. We had planned to stay in Cheyanne overnight but did you ever read the reviews of hotels in our price range? Actually we would have chosen a better hotel but the good ones were all booked up. So we decided to just put miles behind us and head south.

I drove most of the way. Lucky I didn't fall asleep at the wheel. Leon drove. We made it to Pueblo Colorado by around 5 PM and went through the stress of finding a hotel. I stopped reading the reviews. Leon drove into the parking lot of one and went in and booked a room. I was exhausted from lack of sleep and didn't care anymore. I think it was a Best Western. Not cheap, but comfortable. 

The rooms were accessible from an inner corridor instead of my preference - door directly to outside - preferred both because of COVID and having the dog. Our room was on the second floor. We had to exit through the lobby to walk the dog. I worried that Benni might have to go out during the night. What if he didn't make it and pooped all down the hallway? So we walked him for a good hour before going to bed. Still I worried.

So our very needed getaway turned out, for me, to be a very stressful weekend. Pretty much a weekend from hell. The saving grace is that Leon and I get along, even under stress and he is always supportive (even though it was his idea to drive to friggin Wyoming and cause me all the stress in the first place).

Just an update: Benni had acupuncture today. Hey, I am a sceptic but we'll give it a try. Leon and I got notice that we can get our COVID vaccine #1 on Friday. That is a relief.

Benni walking.