Drive to Bottomless Lake State Park, NM

We got up this morning and checked the weather in the Roswell, NM area and decided to head to the Bottomless State Park just east of Roswell.  Our friend Russell Smith has stayed there a couple times and said it was a great place to spend a few days.  So, we packed our bags and the MH and hit the road around 11AM.

The Pilot station nearby was our first stop of the day.  I wanted to top off the fuel tank in the MH and car before we headed out.  I try and run on the top half of the tanks when we are on the road, since you never know what the prices are down the road.  I check with Gas Buddy and have a good idea, but don't want to run low looking for a good price.

We took RT 70 through Las Cruces and made the big hill climb east of town and then down the 10 mile grade on the other side.  The missile range wasn't having any tests today so it was an easy drive through the area.  We came upon the Border Patrol checkpoint and whizzed on through.  

 

 Note the flags on the flag pole.  Same pole, but a few minutes apart.  One is slack and the other standing straight out.  There aren't any obstacles to slow down the wind and it can/was quite gusty.

A few miles down the road was the entrance to the White Sands National Monument.  There were some strong wind coming through this area a couple nights ago and the sand (gypsum) was on the edge of the road heading west.  If we had an hour to spare we would have driven through the park and check it out again.  We've been there a number of times, but it is always nice to see the dunes.

 

The route we chose took us through Ruidoso, NM and over the 7.500 ft summit and then down to the town.  Ruidoso is known as a speed trap, so we obeyed the speed limit and made it through fine.  We were followed by a police car for a few miles, but I kept the MH speed under the limit.  They will have to catch another unsuspecting person to add $$ to their coffers.

 

Coming down from the summit.

See anything you need?

History of Las Cruces Geocaches

Jr, we are having fun.

There is still some cold weather ahead of us and we decided to hang around Las Cruces a little longer.  There was a "wind" event in the area the last few days, but we didn't even notice it in the motor home.  It helps to have a 45ft Prevost RV parked next to you and have it shield you from the wind.   It has been a little dusty, but it cleared up some today.

The owners of the Prevost are traveling to Charlotte, NC for the NASCAR race on Memorial Day.  They are a friendly couple and own a campground in Mapleton, OR.  The campground received excellent reviews in the RVPARKREVIEWS website and the campground webpage is:  Maple Lane RV Park
If you are in their area, check them out.
 
There is a string of 18 caches just west of Las Cruces under the name of History of Las Cruces and they are named after different events in the past.  For example, 1598, 1849, etc.  They were hidden along a ranch road and were fairly easy to find.  Gerry and I shared searching for them and we completed the finds in less than 1 1/2 hours.  There were also 3 caches that weren't on this list and we picked them up, also.  The Border Patrol agent kept a watchful eye on us during one find, but didn't put us in the hoosegow. 

Retrieving cache with water tower in background.

Las Cruces water tower about 5 miles from cache.

I found it!

Muggles watching us.

Note:  Muggles are those who aren't geocaching but are watching what you are doing.  Some of them check where you were and try and find the geocache after you leave.

Last cache of the day.

One of the exciting parts of searching in the desert during hot weather is the chance of meeting creepy crawlers.  Today was one such day for me when I ran across a 2 1/2 ft long snake that was heading for the same place as I was.  He seemed more determined than I was, so he got the right of way.  I didn't see where he went since my back was turned as I ran down the path.  Yep, ran!  My knee replacement held up very well and I scooted out of there.  

I then tried another approach to the spot where the cache was located and carefully pulled it out of it's hiding place with my walking stick.  It helped that the stick is 4 ft long.   

We finally called it a day and headed back to the MH to clean up and go out to dinner.  One of  our favorite restaurants is located in Las Cruces and we try and eat there at least one time when we are in the area.  It's the Cattle Baron Steak & Seafood Restaurant.  We got there late and the first rush of patrons were beginning to thin out, so we got seated quickly.  They have a very nice choice of steaks, seafood and a great salad bar.  We enjoyed our meals and left there with full tummies.

That was our day, how was yours?

Geocaching Day in Las Cruces

We  took our time getting up today and then relaxed with our coffee and breakfast.  It's so dusty here with the winds. Our morning showers felt really good.  I think I lost 4 lbs of dust in the shower.

Before we knew it, lunch time arrived and went by in a flash.  We had a quick lunch and then went geocaching in the area.  It was a mixed day with us finding 5 caches and not finding 4 more.  (DNF)  That is a lot of DNFs for us since our find rate is higher than that.

The first find was in a field out in the open and very easy.  Then we found one next to the mighty Rio Grande river which looked like a beach without any water.  The next on the list was at a statue in downtown Las Cruces.  We stood out like a sore thumb looking for the cache, but nobody paid any attention to us.  The cache was tiny and well hidden but eagle eye Gerry spotted it.

Right across the street from the statue cache was the Dona Ana County Courthouse and it is a very impressive building.  Built in the southwest style, it fit in with all the other buildings in the area.

 
The next cache was right next to the road and people really noticed us there since it was right in the open.  This cache was in one of the pipes next to the electric box.  Gerry checked the pipe cover on one, but couldn't remove the other one.  I came to her rescue.  We had to use a rock to pry off the top of the pipe and there it was.

A drive through Old Mesilla was the next stop on our tour of Las Cruces.  It is a very old town and has narrow streets and homes that are over 200 years old.  There is a lot of history in this old town.

THE GADSDEN PURCHASE

In 1846, President Polk declared war on Mexico and sent troops to New Mexico and California under General Kearny. This began the military era in New Mexico, which lasted for about 50 years. At this time, Mexican troops were garrisoned in Mesilla. By 1848 the war had ended and most of the state had been ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
		According to the treaty, the boundary between the United States and Mexico was to extend from the Gulf of Mexico and follow the Rio Grande to a point eight miles north of El Paso and then continue west to the first branch of the Gila River. The boundary was established from a map drawn by J. Disturnell of New York. When the United States sent men to survey the boundary, they found that the Disturnell map was in error. El Paso was actually located 40 miles north of its position on the map and the Rio Grande was actually 130 miles to the west. A settlement was made between the two countries known as the Gadsden Purchase, but diplomatic tension followed.  In 1853, the United States negotiated with Mexico to resolve the boundary dispute which resulted at the termination of the Mexican War and to purchase the land in question. This was known as the Gadsden Purchase. The treaty was consummated by the raising of the United States flag in the Mesilla Plaza by Fort Fillmore troops. With the protection afforded by the forts in the Southwest, north-south and east-west traffic along the trails increased and Mesilla found itself in an optimum location for economic growth. It became an important stop on two stagecoach, mail and trade routes-- the El Camino Real, which reached from Chihuahua to Santa Fe and the Butterfield stage route, which extended from San Antonio to San Diego. The Butterfield Stage Stop was located east of the Mesilla Plaza, between Calle de Guadalupe and Calle de Principal.

  
We stopped at a nice restaurant nearby and had an enjoyable dinner and then returned to the motorhome to rest as result of our busy day.  We also watched one of our favorite tv programs, "Person of Interest".  It is getting complicated and still keeping our interest.

 

That was it for us, what about you?

On The Road Again

It was slow going this morning getting ready to hit the road after staying in one spot for 6 months.  We had been working putting things away and checking the motorhome and all those things you have to do to get a 34,000 lb motorhome on the road.  We finished up with all the tasks around 10:30 am and were ready to roll.

Ron K came over to tell us goodbye and it was sad to bid him farewell.  He's a good friend and was a big help on some motorhome problems.  We hope to see him again in November when we return to Tucson for the winter.  He has some plans and it all depends on how things work out for him.  Good luck, Ron.

We finally flew the coop and got on

I-10 east and were about 10 miles down the road when I passed a slow moving motorhome.  When I checked the rear mirror to pull over I noticed the door for the outside tv had come open and it looked like a wing.  I pulled over as soon as I could and we got out and locked the door down.  It has some difficult locks that are always hard to close.  

The tailwind out of the west was a pleasant surprise and I had a difficult time keeping the motorhome under 70mph.  It rides so smoothly that I have to keep checking the speedometer.  I can use cruise control, but there were a number of hills to climb and I don't like to have cruise control on for them.  

It was smooth sailing for a long time and when we passed this sign, it was downhill for us.  No, the picture isn't doctored, it was that brown out there.  The drought has really taken it's toll.

 Then the winds shifted to the northwest and we ran into some of these dust devils along the side of the road.  A couple of them were like mini tornadoes and shook the motorhome really hard.  I avoided the two worst of them and all was well.

Very large dust devil

Continental Divide Trading Post

 The Rio Grande River near Las Cruces is not so grand or even a river at this time.  A person could jump across the river and not even get their feet wet.  This is the driest we have ever seen the river in Las Cruces.   It looked kind of sad seeing it so dry and then reading about the floods in the Midwest.  Maybe we should build a water pipeline out here, rather than an oil pipeline.

Rio Grande River

Rio Grande River

We had an easy drive of 260 miles today and will stay in Las Cruces until Saturday.  The weather forecast is for high winds and temps down to 35 degrees on Friday night.  Whew, 98 one day and 35 degrees a couple days later.  They were even calling for snow in the mountains for Friday night. 

The Coachlight RV park is part of the Passport America system and the campsite is $18.75/night for a full hookup.  It isn't the greatest park, but suits our needs for our stay here.  

That was our day, how was yours?  

    

Last doctor appointment

Gerry went in for her follow up appointment today and passed with flying colors.  She is good to go for 5 years for that segment of health care.  

We had lunch with Ron K at Poco & Mom's, but my burrito wasn't as good as last time.  Gerry enjoyed her meal and said it tasted just like the first time.  Ron wasn't that impressed with the restaurant and I don't think he will be a regular there.

An early start today paid off since we got a lot of tasks finished before it got too hot.  After the lunch we came back to the MH and worked on finishing up all the little things that go into getting an early start tomorrow after being here for several months.  

One task was to work on the MH computer and get it running and up to date.  The computer monitor also serves as a backup camera and that is important to have working properly.  There is a very nice MH GPS program on the computer and I wanted to fix it, also.  The culprit was a loose cable in the back of the computer.  Easy fix, but I will have to take the screen out and secure the cable even better.

The checklist for the oil level, water, tires, etc was performed and all is well there.  The six batteries for the coach are all filled and charged up and working great.  The two batteries for the engine are sealed and either work or they don't.  The coach started easily and I think we are ready to go.

This will be an early to bed night and early to rise so we can get to Las Cruces before the winds pick up in the afternoon.  It's about a 5 hour drive if the winds are light and no dust storms.  We should be there in time for a late lunch and then have time to tour around Las Cruces.  We usually have a good time there, but will be staying at a different campground since the old one doesn't have any sites large enough for us.

It looks like we will be heading into some cold weather in West Texas, which is a big surprise for us.  Usually it's hot and stormy when we pass through that area.  As usual, we will be checking the weather forecast for storms and wind.

We booked our site here for next fall and are shooting for a Nov 1 arrival.  All that is subject to change, of course.

And away we go!