Yeah I know... been a while...

It's an out of the box world. You can plan and wish... and it works out how it works out.

Like last winter... Heidi has decided to stay close to the store in Fort Collins and continue working it to a better condition... and me... being me... just can't tolerate a Colorado winter... so I rolled south day before yesterday, bound for my Arizona.

Had to make a stop in Denver at a suspension shop to get the springs replaced on the front axle of the rig... one had fatigued and bent a couple inches. I almost only replaced the one spring...then looking at the opposite end, and seeing the "camel hump" it was developing, thought it might be more sensible to do both... next morning I continued the migration south along I-25...

But... anybody who's read here for long knows that interstates don't tickle my whistle any...

So, on a spur of the moment sort of thing I dropped off the interstate at Walsenburg and cut southwest. I dropped anchor for the night just across the border a bit and just west of a place called Tres Piedras, New Mexico.

Just a wide spot along the road, maybe four cars passed in the early evening... and then it was as silent as any spot down on the desert... and a spot where the Verizon guy asking "can you hear me now?" ... gets no answer.

New Mexico is a lot like Arizona. Most eastern folks think it to be desert and rocks... but a goodly chunk of that northern part... and parts of the south and west are some honest to god beautiful mountain country.

I believe I admire it, along with Arizona, some degree more than the good parts of Colorado.

It's the kind of country that a man lost in the wrong damned century and culture... can breathe in.

Just now I'm boondocked in the Oak Brush just a mite east of Mancos. Another spur of the moment lead me to drop here rather than continue on down to the desert. It's still fairly warm there and can tolerate my absence for a bit more.

In the mean time I've gone back to work on the next book which remains unfinished in my laptop. This'll be a good place to brush up for a few days and get deeply back into that project. The quiet in this brush and the long view out the window should provide the necessary inspiration.

Might could be I'll take a turn through Mesa Verde for the same purpose... get the confusion of soh-sigh-uh-tee knocked off my boots and some creative juices flowing... and maybe so, recorded on the page.

Plan is, just lay up here, immersed in that work and that book... and then move on when the voices start urging.

Brian

There are Places You Belong... and Places You Don't...

Along the Mogollon is one where I do...

After finding one of those places the night before, where I shall never return, we made a night camp along the highway in a roadside rest area...

Noisy as those can be, the sunrise offered a nice balance...

In the morning sunrise I turned west after fueling in Socorro, rolled past the VLA site one more time, and climbed up past Magdalena, Datil and Pie Town to Springerville. In just a few more miles I was rolling along my treasured Mogollon.

The simple truth is, though the High Lonesome, the coast and the rivers always attract me... the Malpais, the Chaparral, and the Sky Islands of Arizona and New Mexico will always be home. That is where I always breathe easiest. There and along the Mogollon Rim.

*Camp on the Mogollon*

Was under this rim that I chased wild cows 45 years ago. It's back in that country... and some of it still lives... where I'll end up.

Though the population has exploded in the settlements that choke the sonoran desert of Phoenix and Tucson... where five acre lakes, a foot deep, have been built amidst dozens of golf courses, that evaporate away precious water in a land where water is scarce...

...There's 113,000 square miles of Arizona to get lost in... miles that those townies have never and will never see.

Nascar is waiting... and Sunday morning we'll make the run to Avondale.

One of the last days in Denver our mail was picked up from fort Collins. I had dis-remembered a conversation I'd had with a reader a few weeks ago. He' told me of a gizmo he had that he used for sorting out some problems on his own rig. A laser thermometer. He allowed that he had an extra laying around and wanted to send it to me.

Now... let me say here that I am Not Good at receiving gifts. Fact is I'm awkward and stumbling. So... when I opened up the Box from Guy Cobham... a reader and RV Road Friend...

 ... to reveal a Laser Thermometer and LED light... I was... humbled. Thank You sir. Your gift will be a remembered kindness. It was a very nice way to start off a day.

Back On the Mogollon
Brian

I Go From the Desert That Offers Respite From Man Made Trials... To The Wintry Storms in the North...

Got loaded this morning and hauled out of the boondocks and down into Phoenix to cache the rig. Tomorrow at O five hundred, me, the dogs, an' the old Dodge will start the run to Colorado to rendezvous  with the rest of the family in Northglenn.

Our last sunset in the Carefree camp was a nice soft sendoff...

I expect there's those that weary of sunset pictures... "Seen one you seen 'em all" sort of an attitude; which is something I just don't get. I'd guess they don't bother with any art in their houses/rigs either... I mean... "seen it once you seen it so why bother?" right? ;)

If it bugs 'em... I guess they can go look out the window for a while... I've got a few more to hang on here! But then... I would think there's curtains over the windows... they already looked out 'em once. ;)

Truth be told... I need the quiet beauty of  these desert sunsets just now... bein' able to walk out into a pasture and watch a set of colts runnin' an' buckin' would be a good thing too... or into a meadow with a bunch of fresh lambs... anything that speaks of new life and hope.

Been doin' some self medicatin' the past few nights... Hot chocolate and Butterscotch Schnapps. mmmmm... that's some potent stuff! Tastes like candy and carries a decent kick! ;) too many cups O' that and a fella might could get stupid! ;) Just one or two though and it works kinda like Nyquill... only tastes a lot better. :)

They've got rain laid on for tonight here in the Valley... or they claim anyway... Then... seems like I manage to trigger it this time every year for a couple now... Tomorrow the weather 'cross northern New Mexico is bleaker than a mother-in-laws outlook.

Snow and wind... wind whippin' up 50 miles an hour. I'll tell you, those high plains above Las Vegas are gonna get down right unfriendly come late tomorrow afternoon... Don't know if you've ever drove through a New Mexico blizzard. Runnin' through that with the wind whistlin' high; the snow racin' at you like a million sparklin' lights till you can't tell which way is left... your eyes cross and you get vertigo sittin' there on the seat of your rig.

You'd pull over and stop... but your afraid if you let go of the wheel and shift gears you'll fall over! ;)

Yes Sir! It's a damn fine time! Genuine Western.

I'm thinkin' I'll take the north western route. Cut up across the Navajo reservation and slide around and come in through Utah.

Hmmmm.... maybe ~ Slide ~ wasn't the best choice of words... considerin'. ;)

The storm is s'posed to have blown through already; by the time I expect to make it that far... With any luck the tires on that old dodge won't see too much ice.

*Almost looks like a digital watercolor... Looking toward Wickenburg*

Was finishing up settlin' the rig in for the next couple of weeks where I've got it cached here in Glendale... and looked up over the top of my sister's neighbor's horses... and ... uh huh...

... More sunsets ;)

Patricia sent an excerpt from an editorial in Desert Magazine, published in 1936, in a comment yesterday. The sentiments touch a truth that kept me out in the desert these past few days for what I sorely needed... Thanks Patricia. (the country gained a good bit when you decided to become one of us!)

"There are 2 deserts...

Once is a grim desolate wasteland. It is the home of venomous reptiles and stinging insects, of vicious thorn-covered plants and trees, and of unbearable heat. This is the desert seen by the stranger speeding along the highway, impatient to be out of “this damnable country”. It is the desert visualized by those children of luxury to whom any environment is unbearable which does not provide all the comfort and services of a pampering civilization. It is a concept fostered by fictions writers who dramatize the tragedies of the desert for the profit it will bring them.

But the stranger and the uninitiated see only the mask. The other Desert -the real Desert- is not for the eyes of the superficial observer, or the fearful soul or the cynic. It is a land, the character of which is hidden except to those who come with friendliness and understanding. To these the Desert offers rare gifts: health-giving sunshine, a sky that is studded with diamonds, a breeze that bears no poison, a landscape of pastel colors such as no artist can duplicate, thorn-covered plants which during countless ages have clung tenaciously to life though heat and drought and wind and the depredations of thirsty animals, and yet each season send forth blossoms of exquisite coloring as a symbol of courage that has triumphed over terrifying obstacles.

To those who come to the Desert with friendliness, it gives friendship; to those who come with courage, it gives new strength of character. Those seeking relaxation find release from the world of man-made troubles. For those seeking beauty, the Desert offers nature’s rarest artistry. This is the Desert that men and women learn to love."

 Well, the weatherman didn't lie. The rain has come again to the desert as I'm writin' this. I'll send it off to you and hit the rack. Oh dark thirty comes pretty quick and I've got miles to go.

Night Folks. Hold each other close.
Brian

Bandelier National Monument...

It's not a long way from Questa to Bandelier National Monument... but it takes some time if you get caught in a parade...

We pulled into Taos just as they were shutting off roads to run their Homecoming parade. From the looks of things the entire town and half the county turn out for that affair. I think we might of been the last rig through 'fore they shut off the road... and the confusion in front of us had things kinda bottled up for a bit.

Once we got through it was a fairly quick last few miles to the monument. If you've got a sizeable rig I'd get there early in the day and likely mid week to find a spot... They recently rebuilt things in their campground and for reasons unknown to me seem to think the vehicles folks are traveling in are 'bout 6 feet long.

There are a few spurs and fewer pull thoughs to park a 30' like ours or a lil' larger... but they are the minority.

Once you do get set up it's a pretty nice area. I was sitting at the table one afternoon watching a crow pickin' a fight with a Hawk overhead. It was pretty impressive. That Hawk did a complete inverted wing over kind of maneuver two or three times until finally that crow exercised a lil discretion and packed it for home... 'fore that Hawk had him for supper!

We took a hike from the Juniper Campground down to some of the ruins, descending from the canyon rim. It's only 'bout a mile and a half... and the path is pretty easy most of the way. A little narrow here and there... but mostly a nice and easy stroll.

Came around one bend and I couldn't help but think this rock looked like one of those big "tiki" heads. ;)

If ya'll don't want to hike it... they have a shuttle bus that passes the camp every quarter hour or so. Fact is those are the only two ways you can get there. The road is pretty much closed to cars.

 

 Bandelier is one of those sweet spots in the desert. This whole area runs fast from tall pines up by Los Alamos to scrubby Juniper and bunch grass in the lower areas. Then you get the places like Frijoles Canyon
that are the oasis with Oak, Cottonwood and the Junipers that benefit from better water.

It's no wonder those ancient indians picked it for a place to live. I expect it gets pretty warm in the summers but with plenty of leafy shade to lay up in... I think I could make it through.

*Trail through Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument*

 There is one thing 'bout taking a closer look at some of the more interesting ruins here... or several things... ladders.

Heidi isn't too fond of such things... not into rock climbing neither...  buuuuut... if you want to have a look inside of the digs at Bandelier Nat. Mon. ya gotta climb!

*Weaving Area at Bandelier*

This cave was set up for weaving they claimed. They'd set hooked poles into the ceiling and there were holes drilled into the floor to anchor their looms setups...

Some others had caves connected together for multiple rooms...

One of the sites is called the Alcove house... I think there were three ladders to climb the 140 feet up... or maybe it was four? Tell the truth I think I lost count of all the ladders in that place!

*Bandelier Alcove House*

This is one of those spots, if height is an issue? Ya'll probably shouldn't look down. :)

*Climbing up to Alcove House... Not necessarily willingly ;) *

The hike to get here isn't much... but I'm thinkin' the climbing of all these ladders has to count for another mile or two!

truly, there's not a whole lot left of Alcove house. Most appears to be a rubble pile... but another of the Weaving areas is there... Heidi climbed down into that... Curious, considering all the grousin' goin' on 'bout the ladders! :)

... and then of course... what goes up... must come down... so all those ladders and narrow steps in reverse...

It's a pretty interesting place... especially if you're into ladders!

I did happen to notice something I don't believe anybody else had seen... Apparently the folks living here were Greenbay Packers fans...

 

Look just to the right of the window with the rocks piled up in it... hmmm... what other reason could there be for a cliff dweller to carve the symbol of a cheese head? :)

*Ruins at Bandelier National Monument*

*Bandelier National Monument

*Bandolier National Monument ~ Long House*

... and of course the requisite flower pic from along the trail!

The paths are kinda narrow in spots... and occasionally you find lost hikers hiding along the way...

But Bandelier National Monument makes a pretty nice camp for a few days.

Bound Once again for Zion..
Brian

Blustery Days, Bungling Bureaucrats, Busted Cameras and Swaggerin' Cowboys

Hung around a day to make sure they had their sewer under control...turned out to be pricey... but not as bad as first thought... I like to think me skulkin' around smackin' the ground with my chunk of hickory and cooin'; "Yooooo Hooooo... lillll' IIIIrish! Where ya be hidin' lil' feller? Let's play lil' guy!" ~ kept ol' Murph hidin' back in the bushes. ;)

Yeah I know... but I'm the fella they was watchin' when they discovered the notion that it's a bad thing to go pokin' the badger with a pointy stick that one too many times!

We started for Trinidad... mid morning on a chilly, kinda blustery Denver day... thinking that'd be a good time to slip through town. Turns out ~ There ain't no good time... and ya'll ain't gonna slip through nuthin' if you're gonna roll through Denver. Got caught in stop and go for miles... but then we broke out from under the clouds, I stuck the speed control on "Roadblock" :) and away we rattled.

Somewhere along the way before we got to Colorado Springs we made the decision for sure and for certain that Bandelier National Monument would be our goal... and that we'd cut off the Interstate at Walsenburg and climb over LaVeta pass rather than taking Raton pass into New Mexico.

That took us to Fort Garland where we'd cut south, bound for Questa and Taos with the Monument just a bit beyond ... only it was... 'cause I hurry along so slow, late in the day and too far to go...

Not to worry! Havin' been thrown out of the boy scouts ~ for reasons best left to your imagination ~ I was prepared with an alternate plan! Just east of Questa, New Mexico a few miles is a canyon that runs toward Red River, and in that canyon is a campground called Columbine...

Now... It could have cost us a whole $6 bucks to stay here... if the yahoos that Questa ranger district has given this campground to... were doin' their jobs... buuuuuut... since actually doin' the job is too much to ask of either a well paid federal agency... or a corp. with a sweetheart deal... We is campin' FREE AGAIN! Ha Ha Ha Ha....

*Civil disobedience in New Mexico!*

Jus' like at Flaming gorge a couple of weeks ago... The lousy corporation running things decided they couldn't make a profit on their contract, so they locked up what ain't theirs to lock up... and went home.

Only... some guys like me believe in a lil' version of Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" ideas. ;)

If ya'll are gonna lock up what ya got no right to... I'm likely to just go ahead and "camp" there anyway! :)

It is a lil' frustrating that they hang the gates in so far that you don't know the place is locked up till you're in too far to turn around... less of course your as stubborn and as gifted with a steering wheel as some fellers. ;)

I got 'er swung 'round... and we just backed up to the gate and like John Wayne, I pointed at the ground and said; Here!

 It was on toward sunset so we took advantage of the New Mexico warmth; ain't it amazing what a couple of hundred miles will do for you? ... and took a lil' stroll around our all-by-ourselves home for the night.

... and gettin' these pics ain't as easy as it used to be. I gotta hold the battery box closed with one finger...keepin' enough pressure on the door to keep the battery engaged so the camera don't shut off...

... then I have to  make sure that the light isn't coming from the wrong direction so the scratches on the lens don't show up... and theeeennn before I actually trip the shutter, I have to make sure that the lens cover has completely opened... It's a complicated task using these fancy new digital cameras. :)

Especially when the onliest one we got left is this hyar lil' Nikon that's purt near as banged up as I am!

The best part is... When I got to Walsenburg I kinda looked west and turned... real sudden like... and disappeared over the rise there awful quick... ha ha ha ha ha... While I was capturin' these pics a hundred miles southwest... that lil' beer swillin' Irishman is hunting all over Trinidad for me clean up on the other side of Raton Pass!

*Columbine Campground Carson National Forest*

*Inside Columbine Campground on the Carson national forest.*

*... and a river runs through it*

Tomorrow could turn out to be a pretty short roll. If we choose to only go as far as Bandelier National Monument or there-a-bouts. I can't remember ever having stopped in the place... so it's a likely camp for a couple of days.

I'll tell ya what, if this rig was as slender as my scooter, I'd slide her around this gate and pick me out a nice camp right here! This lockin' things up, in front of some of the best weeks to be out and about in the west ~ All fandanglin' year! would make me a droolin' angraphobic, if... it didn't deal me such nice quiet camps all to ourselves! :) and all I got to do is ignore a few lazy burrorats.

Keepin' my powder dry and the rig rollin'
Brian