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 9, 2013 - Benson, Tombstone & Elephant Butte, New Mexico - whew

Hi everyone! Well, it's been a while since I have updated our Trip Journal....so, here it is :)On April 25th, our dog Harley passed away in the night, so we were left with the decision on what to do next. We took Harley to the vet and he was cremated so that we could have his ashes sent to us. We really miss him, he was a great little dog and loosing a pet is so very difficult. On April 26th, we left Tacna, AZ and traveled to Benson, Arizona to an Escapee SKP-Co-op there. Great park! We were here for 5 days. On Sunday, April 28th we...

Jan 17, 2013 - Soakin' up the sights and the hot springs

One of our very good friends (or I THOUGHT she was a good friend!) sent us a one line e-mail yesterday letting us know that it was +7 in FORT ST JOHN. Another good friend kindly advised that it was +12 in WHITEHORSE. So by all these kind hearted gestures we are getting the impression that we should have turned left at Vancouver and headed north for our winter holiday this year, instead of south!!! Actually we hit double digits yesterday (on the + side!) up to 13 (it also hit -3 during the day but we don't talk about that much!). Wayne...

Jan 16, 2013 - settled in at Elephant's Butte (With an E on the end)

What a difference a day makes! We gave up fighting with the furnace and decided to move north (it can't get any colder) and check out some of the Indian ruins and hot springs around Truth or Consequences (its a town, I'm not making this up). I wanted to visit Desperate Housewives but my navigator said no!!! We are in a very nice state park at Elephants Butte Lake set on the hillside overlooking the Rio Grande river which has been dammed to make a huge resevior. There is a marina full of boats so this place is probably packed in the summer...

Nov 9, 2012 - Elephant Butte, NM - Hawaii Called Once More

(Elena Writing) I returned to ABQ today after a 2-week “vacation” to Kauai and Oahu. On Saturday, October 27, I attended the last (so they say) Olokele Plantation Reunion. Although it was a small turnout compared to previous reunions, it was lots of fun filled with music and entertainment. There was an array of comfort foods/desserts that could have fed an army. Time was spent visiting with friends and catching up on our lives. We played bingo several ways and there were prizes for everyone. I won one of many $25 gift cards. Later into the...

Nov 4, 2012 - Elephant Butte, NM - Fantastic Fan Project

The weather has been just about perfect the past few days. There are several maintenance items I attend to on the first of each month and I got those all checked off my to-do list again. I also completed another little project that’s been on my list for over a year. Like many (most) RVs we have a roof vent with a Fantastic Fan installed. These fans really live up to their brand name and do a great job of ventilating the trailer. They move a large volume of air and run very quietly. In recent years the company has added several new models...

Oct 31, 2012 - Elephant Butte, NM - Improved AC Filter

(Ron Writing) The weather has been very nice the past few days here at Elephant Butte. It gets down in the lower 40’s at night but by late afternoon it’s up in the high 60’s and stays in the low 70’s all afternoon. And since there hasn’t been any wind I’ve been getting outdoors to do some long walks, maintenance, and projects. The little “project” in this entry is really not so much a project as it is a small, easily implemented improvement that RVers might find useful. We periodically have problems with allergies (especially Elena) and we...

Oct 28, 2012 - Elephant Butte, NM - Old Time Fiddlers, Day 2

(Ron Writing) I spent another very pleasant day at the NM Fiddlers contest. That is probably the most entertainment one will find for just the $5 daily ticket price! This morning between 9:30 and 11 there was a break in the competition for an Old Time Gospel Sing. There must have been at least 30 musicians on stage participating in that. About half the songs were solos sung by the musicians and about half were sung by the audience. The last two competitive events were held this afternoon. The first was for the accompanists who play guitar...

Oct 27, 2012 - Elephant Butte, NM - Old Time Fiddlers Contest in T or C

(Ron Writing) By coincidence we were here at Elephant Butte just a year ago and enjoyed the New Mexico Old Time Fiddlers Contest. Today I drove over to nearby Truth or Consequences and enjoyed the first day of that same event. I recognized many of the same people participating and once again enjoyed some very fine fiddle music. The fiddlers compete in age groups for cash prizes and then tomorrow there will be a final competition open to contestants of any age but they must be New Mexico residents. Each contestant had to play three numbers -...

Oct 26, 2012 - Elephant Butte, NM - Skylight Project

(Ron Writing) That big cold front moved into New Mexico last night. When I got up this morning it was in the low 40’s and never got above about 65° all day. That wouldn’t be too bad but we had wind all day also making it feel much colder. Except for one long walk for some exercise I spent the day indoors reading and working on the computer. Our trailer has two skylights, one above the shower in the bathroom and one in the center of the main living area. They make the interior so much brighter and more pleasant during the daytime and it was...

Oct 25, 2012 - Elephant Butte, NM - Projects

(Ron Writing) I’ve had quite a bit of time to work on “projects” this summer since we’ve been doing less exploring and have had several longer stays at some very nice state park campgrounds here in New Mexico. Over the next few days I’ll try to write about a few of these projects that might be of interest to other RVers that follow our journal. When we first purchased our trailer in 2004 I bought an inexpensive set of wheel chocks to keep the trailer from rolling when not parked on level ground. Since we seldom camp in commercial...

Oct 24, 2012 - Elephant Butte State Park, NM - Elena's Off to Paradise

(Ron Writing) It’s about time I bring this journal up to date once again since we’ve moved twice since the last input. We had a very enjoyable time at Cochiti Lake. Except for the first day when it was a little stormy we had almost perfect weather. In fact it’s been unseasonably warm and mild all over this part of New Mexico. Elena had time to do quite a bit of cooking and baking and I had time to work on some little projects. We left Cochiti Lake early on October 22 and headed south for Albuquerque. The weather forecast is for a cold...