December 19, 2016 - Truth or Consequences

Yes, Truth or Consequences is named after the old game show. In 1950 the game show announced they would film from the first town to officially change its name to the same name as the show. Hot Springs, New Mexico won the challenge. This little "hot" spot made it on our itinerary when I read about the hot springs that feed into the Rio Grande river. We booked an hour in a private infinity hot tub at the Riverbed Spa for only $30. Highly recommend, awesome place. It was chilly out so that hot tub felt so good.

December 18, 2016 - Lack of Research = Adventure Travel

It's been getting down right cold here in the desert southwest. Scoop is not freeze-friendly. If we stay in below-freezing temps we run the risk of our pipes freezing. Our initial plan was to stay as far south and at a low elevation until we were to head to Albuquerque to Uncle David's. Then I found that our planned route was making us miss cool places like Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. 

We decided to winterize Scoop which we were going to have to do in Albuquerque anyway and hotel it for a couple nights while visiting high desert sights. We stayed in Silver City, New Mexico so the next day we could drive into the canyons where the Gila Cliff Dwellings reside. A quick Google map of the route showed that it was 1.25 hours from Silver City. We could leave Scoop in the parking lot of our hotel, drive to the cliffs, then go pick up Scoop and drive to our next destination that was only a couple hours down the road.

What we didn't research was road conditions. You would think that being from the Sierra Nevada area we would know to check road conditions when traveling at higher elevations in the winter. We didn't even check the elevation. It wasn't long after we started out that the winding, forested, steep county road went from icy patches to full blown ice rink. the 1.25 hour drive became 2+ hours. We arrived at the cliffs safely and were thankful we at least had thought to not tow scoop to the dwellings.

The Gila Cliff Dwellings are up a picturesque one-mile hike up from the valley floor along a creek. It was cold out with patches of snow on the trail, but we were ready for this. Our nail-biting drive and brisk hike were well worth it. These caves made into homes were amazing. A forest docent recited amazing stories of the families that built and resided here. More amazing and appreciated was that visitors were allowed to climb, crawl and explore all throughout the dwellings. I was glad I didn't have a small child to keep track of.

 

 

The rangers at the monument were amazed we braved the mountain road to get to the park and routed us back to Silver City a different way that went around the mountain we went over. The drive back to pick up Scoop and head to our next stop was thankfully uneventful.

December 16, 2016 - A Birthday to Remember

Today I turned 58. For my birthday dinner I asked Denis to BBQ some fillets to go with a salad and a good bottle wine at the campsite. A nice peaceful camping dinner. And then the skunk came.

Let me backtrack. Earlier in the day we were sitting outside in our camp chairs. About 30 yards from our campsite was a hiking trail and strolling down the trail in broad daylight was a beautiful coyote. He had a full winter coat and looked very well fed. He wasn't slinking past, merely walking past, giving us a bored glance. I immediately had to count heads and be sure Fu was accounted for and corralled so he couldn't take off after his relative.

Now fast forward to our evening BBQ. We hadn't started the steaks yet, the sun had set and it was dark out. It was a nice evening, a little cool, but we had the door open for fresh air with the screen door closed. Fu was sitting at the screen door looking out into the darkness when all of a sudden his diligence was reward. He had spotted it. He was gonna get it no matter what. His whole nine pounds pushed on the screen and it gave way. He disappeared into the darkness. We jumped into action thinking we would never see him again. He was going to be that coyote's dinner! 

Denis, the faster of us two, was next into the darkness until he realized it was dark and he needed light. As he turned to come back for a flashlight, Fu screamed, my blood curdled, Fu came running back to us and I grabbed him up, then it hit us....the smell. He hadn't seen the coyote, it was a skunk.

My little Fu, that I was so thankful to have back in my arms, was dropped back to the ground. Poor little guy had foam coming out of his nose and mouth while liquid poured from his eyes. We got him on his leash, did a preliminary wet wipe down, then googled how to get rid of the skunk smell. We had all the ingredients but peroxide. Fortunately, the neighborhood Walmart was only a couple miles away. Denis went to the store while I stood outside the trailer with Fu who was not fit to take in. I nervously stared out into the darkness expecting the coyote to come lunging from the darkness. Then I realized I did not have to, I called my son Chaz in Minnesota. He stayed on the phone with me until Denis returned. What a sissy I am!

The recommended recipe of peroxide, baking soda and Dawn dish detergent worked miracles on Fu. When I was done washing him there was only a slight scent around the wrinkles on his face where I couldn't really scrub too hard. We had to throw out the clothes I wore when I picked him up and the initial towels used to wipe him off. In all the hubbub I didn't get any photos, but I found this old one of Fu at bath time to show his level of misery.

December 15, 2016 - Christmas in Scoop and Molly

I love to decorate for Christmas so Denis indulged my desires with a trip down the Christmas decor aisle...Merry Christmas!

 

December 13, 2016 - Best Desert Ever

Our dear friends Jim and Theresa Lovett are from Tucson, Arizona and they gave us great recommendations for the area. We set up for three nights at Catalina State Park. This park had wonderful hiking trails and bike rides. Besides enjoying hiking and biking in this park we went to Saguaro National Park - West District and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. We both decided that the Sonoran desert is our favorite. The diversity of plants in this desert environment is amazing. You know what else is amazing in Tucson? The taco trucks! I'm sure there are amazing restaurants in Tucson, but the taco trucks ruled with us. We try to watch our budget and cook in most of the time, but we also like to try the local fare as we travel.

 

 

 

 

December 13, 2016 - Musical Instruments and Zen Gardens

Our next stop has been on Denis’ bucket list for a few years. Back when Denis worked at Target headquarters one of his favorite people was Bob Ulrich. Bob was a collector of musical instruments and eventually founded the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix, Arizona. 

MIM displays over 6500 musical instruments from over 200 countries around the world. We thought this would be a quick walk through, but we ended up staying over 4 hours. Visitors are given headphones that activate and play music from an instrument when you walk up to it, must be Bluetooth technology. Then as you walk away from an exhibit the music fades quietly away and the next begins as you approach that display. Highly recommend the MIM.

For our overnight in the Phoenix area we camped at McDowell Mountain Regional Park. The park provided beautiful vistas of the mountains and perfectly raked sand sites reminiscent of a Zen garden. I found myself tiptoeing to our picnic table so as not to mess up the raking pattern.

December 12, 2016 - Joshua Trees Are Just Cool

Just when you think you have just seen the coolest Joshua Tree, another, yet cooler, one appears. I could take photos of these individuals all day long. Most interesting trivia I discovered at Joshua Tree National Park is that the photography for the U2 Joshua Tree album was not done here, but in another patch of Joshua trees not in the park. Another highlight in the park was the  Cholla garden, proof that gardens come in all shapes and sizes.

Cholla Garden

One of my favorite episodes of Star Trek was entitled, "The Trouble with Tribbles."
These are cholla tribbles
 

I named this F-U rock