May 24, 2013 - Santa Fe ...mythique

Jour 16, jeudi 23 mai En route vers Santa fe Tôt ce matin nous avons quitté Amarillo, on a repris l'interstate 40 qui est un long ruban bien droit vers l'ouest. Environ une heure après notre départ nous quittions le paysage plat du Texas pour un paysage légèrement accidenté. Le sol change de couleur et prend une teinte rougeâtre, la végétation est moins rabougrie. Nous avons passé un autre parc d'éoliennes (des centaines ...) et oui, même le Texas semble vouloir diversifier son mode de production énergétique . Nous avons aussi vu d'immenses...

May 23, 2013 - Capulin Volcano

May 23 We run out to Capulin Volcano this morning and are there when the doors open. Capulin Volcano raises 1300’ above the grassland at 8100’. The monument was established in 1916 and is an example of an extinct cinder cone volcano. The volcano is relatively young, (58,000 to 62,000 years old).. The large volcanic field surrounding the monument contains at least 100 recognizable volcanoes, and aids visitors in gaining insights into 10 million years of the geological history of northern New Mexico. We had spent the night at the Capulin RV...

May 20, 2013 - Travel Day

BEGINNING MILEAGE 42762 We traveled along I-40 into New Mexico, today saw a lot of nothing, oh yea we did see some prong horns which we think look like antelope. Weather started out at 59 degrees when we got up around 6:30 and by the time we left it was up to 70 degrees and only got up to 73 so it was nice just real WINDY again. We stopped for diesel in Tucumcari, NM paying $3.76 and 7.7 mpg again. Stopped for the day in Albuquerque, NM at Enchanted Trails Campground. ENDING MILEAGE 43067 traveled 305 miles today.

May 20, 2013 - Albuquerque, New Mexico

20May2013 - This AM we are off to American RV Park in Albuquerque, NM. We will be here for six days. We arrived around 3PM and got setup, had BLTs for late lunch/dinner. Gene unhooked the car and discovered the battery drained, some glitch in the switch that turns power off. No worries though the RV park sent someone to give us a jump so all is well. We made a trip to camping world to pick up couple items and decided to just chill the rest of the evening. 21May2013 - We toured the International Balloon Museum today. It was very interesting...

May 19, 2013 - Second Round For ABQ

From High Desert RV Park – Albuquerque, NM You just have to love the “high blowing winds” of this region that we have experienced the last two days pulling our rig. Then add to that the mountains we encountered on our trip from Tucumcari to ABQ yesterday and poor miles per gallon was a result……..Dodge City to Tucumcari 8.6 and Tucumcari to ABQ 8.2. On the trip from Tucumcari to ABQ we went from 4140 foot elevation to 7120 feet before we got to coast into ABQ otherwise the mpg would have been closer to 7.0! This is the second time we have...

May 18, 2013 - Time to do Some Housework, Etc.

A very quiet morning. Marilyn did laundry and cleaned the fifth wheel while I worked on the blog. Everything is now clean and up-to-date. Went into Santa Fe after lunch to do some grocery shopping and get the lay of the land. Marilyn liked the $2.99 wine at Trader Joe's. Me I preferred the meat counter at Whole Foods Market. Thought about eating out but things were very busy so we picked up some stuff for dinner and headed home. While grocery shopping we saw some fiddleheads and got all excited until we saw the price $20/lb. Too expensive,...

May 18, 2013 - Here we are !!!

This week we moved to the KOA Campground in Albuquerque and plan to spend a month here to finish up our appointments and such before heading out to unknown places. We sure miss the spaciousness of the COE parks and the NM State Parks but we are here for the convenience and not the fondness of being packed in like sardines. - The temps here the past week have been pleasant with it being in the 80's every day. With low humidity it's nice. The swimming pool just opened yesterday and I checked out the water temp and I think I will wait a few...

May 18, 2013 - Kaibab Lake, AZ to Albuquerque, NM

Guess what?? Together we tried pulling the poop-tube out of the bumper again this morning and we got it out! YAY...we don't have to buy another one! Things are continuing to look up. We crossed into New Mexico today and so moved our watches forward an hour. It's still windy everywhere and of course it's never a tail wind; usually a cross wind. I used Ms. Garmin (bitch) to find a Best Buy in Albuquerque. Our plan was to unhook the trailer at the El Rancho RV park, go to Best Buy to buy a laptop, then go out to dinner somewhere, maybe even...

May 17, 2013 - Halfway Across Route 66

Today was a long drive. Amarillo to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I-40 almost all the way and the truck had to work extra hard as we battled headwinds and a 4000' rise in elevation. Just west of Amarillo we saw a piece of art work called Cadillac Ranch. Ten Cadillacs had been buried nose first in the ground in a row. Over the years people have spray painted all sorts of graffiti on the cars (with permission). We also saw a cattle feedlot that held 28,000 cattle. Huge. 90% of the cattle in Texas pass through Amarillo. This is 25% of the cattle in...

May 17, 2013 - Overnight In Tucumcari

From KOA Kampground – Tucumcari NM Good thing we gained an hour entering Mountain Time today as it was one of our longer mileage moves……….296 miles. We have always criticized the LONG boring trip across Texas on I-10, but think we met her sister today traveling US 54 through Oklahoma panhandle, a few miles into Texas through Dalhart and then into New Mexico where this highway ends in Tucumcari………..a very long, boring drive with very few communities to even break the dry, dusty desert landscape. Guess you must have to be prepared for boredom...

May 16, 2013 - "elephant Butte" And "truth Or Consequences?" What??

Hi everyone! Who ever heard of Elephant Butte?? Or, a city named Truth or Consequences?? Well, now you have. :) As of May 1st we traveled to this small community of Elephant Butte with T or C being just 5 miles away. We feel like we are on top of the mountain here at almost 5,000 ft elevation. The roads are like a maze here! The weather? FANTASTIC! So, a little history first. Called "The Diamond in the Desert" the City of Elephant Butte is nestled on the shores of New Mexico's largest lake. The area is mostly known as a retirement and...

May 16, 2013 - Santa Fe

This is our second trip to Santa Fe. 3 or 4 years ago when we were here it was HOT. This time it has been in the 70s making it very enjoyable. We were not able to stay in the senior trailer ranch where we were before so we booked 4 nights at the KOA out on I-40. This is a nice park with generous spaces place at angles so you don't feel crammed together. When we arrived Stan was feeling bad enough that we spent the late afternoon looking for an urgent care facility. The first one we found on the Internet was closed. Thank heaven for smart...