Capulin Volcano National Monument, NM, and Lathrop State Park, CO

What a delightful winter spent in New Mexico. First year I haven't felt frozen during the winter. Tucumcari was just right. Wanted to be on just the edge of winter so there would be no crowds but not so cold we couldn't stay cozy in our mobile cabin. However winds blew with a fury starting in April and we finally got out at the end of May when the temperatures soared to 110. Stopped for the weekend at Lake Conchas, 30 miles NW of Tucumcari. Stayed in the Corp of Engineers campground there. No hookups. Was down and dirty boondocking. Gave my solar panels their first workout. Found out there is a lot I don't know about solar and how to conserve. Still was able to run lights, watch the tube, run fans, run the computer etc.. Was lovely there right on the lake. There was a sailboat anchored in the cove below us. I was the only camper in that campground. It was very peaceful and HOT. So we pushed on to Las Vegas. Stayed in the KOA. Wanted AC as the weather was hot, then on to Ratan. East of Ratan is The Capulin Volcano National Monument which is really worth the short trip to see it and to hike around the crater and lava beds. See Pictures directly above.

Now we are further north at Lathrop State Park in Colorado. Just west of Walsenburg. Gorgeous mountain scenery here. Pictures are above the volcano pictures. Inspired me to paint again so started today. Painted "Mauve Evening" just to get back into practice. Top. It is breezy daytimes but the temperatures are mid 80's and nights probably 60's or 70. Very nice. The park has a dump, water hydrants every few campsites and 50 amp power! Very nice. My dogs enjoy watching Mom paint at the picnic table while they lay in the shade.

Interstate at Tucumcari, NM was a parking lot today

Everybody loves the Wave 8, Catalytic Heater. What a great piece of equipment it is. Who says cats and dogs don't get along?

Semis have just been parked on the interstate overpass all day. They got about a foot of moist snow here with a little drifting Thursday and it was enough to hold things up all day. Tonight trucks are still parked on the access roads however there is now some movement out on the interstate. You would think it's January!

Feathers, A Roadrunner, Pizza, and Wild Turkeys in Tucumcari

This colored pencil study of molted blackbird feathers I collected here I've entitled Ruined Finery. Hope you like it. We are having fabulous weather here in Tucumcari, NM. 60's and 70's everyday with sunshine now that the January thaw is in full swing. Have been told by transplants that the weather here is mild like this all year round. Not too hot and not too cold. Of course the natives are wearing coats and mufflers on days when it's 50's or 60's but those of us natives of the frozen north think it's warm enough for t-shirts, and shorts. Am really starting to enjoy the fulltime RV lifestyle as I become ever more comfortable with it and leave the pressures of the conventional world ever further behind. Today I happened upon a flock of wild turkeys, another roadrunner and that called for a homemade pizza. Can you beat it? Perfect relaxation helping me feel the creative juices flow once again, to work on my artwork and am already halfway through the outline for my new book! The first in my new Cracker Barrel Murder Club Mystery series? Time will tell. After the treacheries and loss of the past several years this experience has turned into an unexpected and very welcome blessing.

Beep! Beep!

22The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
Proverbs 10:22 (King James Version)

Christmas Eve in Tucumcari, New Mexico

The kids are waiting up for Santa.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's

Busy day baking pumpkin bread, making peanut brittle, and last minute shopping for Christmas gifts for the kids. Yesterday was a perfect snowfall day with gorgeous heavy snow coming almost straight down and temperatures in the mid 30's or even 40. Having a white Christmas Eve here along with clear sunny skies. There are several campers in this RV park who will be receiving pumpkin bread and peanut brittle gifts for Christmas.

Hard to feel lonely when you realize that God named His Son, Immanuel, God with us. Hope your Christmas is wonderful wherever you may be.

Welcome to Tucumcari, New Mexico!

Tucumcari Mountain, New Mexico. The Legend: Wautonomah, Chief Apache, knew that he would soon die and was troubled over the matter of who his successor would be. His two finest braves were Tonopah and Tocom, enemies and deadly rivasl for the hand of Kari, the daughter of Wautonomah. But Kari loved Tocom and hated Tonopah.
So, Wautonomah called Tonopah and Tocom to his side and said: "Soon I must die and one of you must succeed me as Chief. Tonight you must take your long knives and meet in combat to settle the matter between you and he who survives shall be Chief and have for his squaw, Kari, my daughter"
So the two rivals met and hurled themselves upon one another in deadly combat, but unknwon to either, Kari had concealed herself nearby and as the knife of Tonopah found the heart of Tocom, she rushed from her hiding place and plunged her knife into the heart of Tonopah. Then, taking Tocom's knife, she stabbed herself in grief. When Wautonomah was led to the scene, he was heartbroken and seizing Kari's knife, he plunged it into his heart, crying in agony. "Tocom-Kari". The old Chief's dying utterance lives on today with a slight change to Tucumcari and the scene of the tragedy is now famous legendary Tucumcari Mountain.

Satin Bow loves the Christmas tree.

Whew! It has been quite a couple of days trying to outrun the blizzard that is headed for the Rockies and central plains states. Today we crossed three states, Oklahoma, Texas, and into New Mexico as far as Tucumcari where it is 51 as I post this. Was 71 yesterday in Boise, Oklahoma. So nice that we left our screen door open yesterday afternoon. Blizzard is supposed to start up tonight and go through Christmas Eve. Anyway we hope to be as cozy as possible here in Tucumcari. Who knows. It got cold during that last cold snap with highs only ten and it's supposed to snow tomorrow. But it can't be any worse than the 20 below temperatures in Cheyenne, last week. Anyway I have already received my Christmas presents this year. My dream of fulltiming in my RV has come true thanks to Lord Jesus. We are having a great time in Tucumcari tonight decorating while listening to Christmas Music and Carols on the terrific local Christian station.

Thanks Mom and Dad for sharing your dreams and excitement for all of life with me. This is for you. May Jesus always be glorified by the faithful lives you lived and mine, too.

Enjoying Kit Carson, Colorado

Small towns. I like 'em, do you? Left Limon, CO where it was pretty chilly at about 5300 ft. elevation yesterday and couldn't resist stopping in Kit Carson, CO. Kit Carson is a little over 200 population. To survive in a small town I think the population has to be really resourceful because there isn't a lot of business to keep the doors open. Kit Carson provides some necessary services besides just camping. Services I found here are Laundromat, restaurant, motel, grocery market, liquor store, auto parts store, post office, bank with an ATM, and an automated gas station with fully automated pumps, including diesel, that is easy for even an RV to pull into, and a great little museum that is open during the summertime. Even just looking around the outside at the great historic depot building and old caboose was loads of fun...

Kathleen, I couldn't help but think of Michael when I was poking around this museum today!

Directly across the street from the museum is the Kit Carson Observation Tower and many interesting metal sculptures roundabout it. I didn't take a picture of it but here as a picture at this link: http://www.city-data.com/city/Kit-Carson-Colorado.html

Even the little main street is decorated for Christmas and sports charming old fashioned street lamps...

Part of the main street businesses that feature not only this food market, but a senior center, bank, liquor store, auto parts store, post office etc. I love old fashioned false front buildings like the one in the picture above.

This part of main street sports a hardware store, auto parts store, post office and the liquor store. There were also at least four churches in town, too.

This is the Camper Park RV park with full hookups where I have the entire place to myself. I love off season camping.

Joy and Whimsy parked at the Camper Park. I have Joy plugged in to keep her little diesel heart warm so she will start. While daytime temperatures yesterday and today were 50 and 61 it gets down to freezing or below at night. Elevation here is 4288 ft. That thousand foot drop sure makes a difference in temperatures.

Just in case it gets really cold I have the electric heat blankets that warm my holding tanks plugged in, too. I had these wonderful heat blankets installed at Jolley Rogers RV while in Cheyenne, WY where it got down to 20 below the week before.

Here are Whimsy's brand new Big Foot levelers at work. I sure enjoy having levelers. Takes so much of the work out of parking the RV and I can level the RV even when it is still attached to the truck as it is here. A wonderful place to walk is along the country road that runs just east of the grain elevator and treks south out in the country. Made for a terrific shirt sleeves weather walk today with the dogs.

A Brush with Brush, Colorado

Lit out of Cheyenne, WY yesterday in the quest for warmer temperatures about noon and took Hwy 85 south to Ault, CO and then turned east on SR 14 to just beyond Stoneham then south on Hwy 71 to Brush, CO. One of my goals in life is to always avoid interstate highways whenever possible. In my humble opinion they are probably ok for getting somewhere fast but they stink if you want to enjoy life let alone your trip. Driving's equivalent to working on an assembly line. Also they tend to take you close to large metropolitan areas which being a true country gal, I also hate. I want to drive at a leisurely pace (I drove 55, got 11 mpg with not much traffic either which I like), and enjoy the scenery, and actually drive through the little towns at 30 mph instead of past them at 75 mph. Nuff said and to each his own.

Colorado SR 14 is designated as a scenic byway. It is a good road and I saw many fabulous raptors up close and personal sitting on the utility poles, or chasing little munchies. It goes through the Pawnee National Grasslands and is worth taking a leisurely drive through, as wildlife is abundant. On the way there is a Forrest Campground just north off of highway 14 which would have been fun to check out in warmer weather. Will have to wait for next summer or earlier in the day.

Nice map of Brush at the entrance to the Brush Memorial Park Campground. Campground is marked in blue at the southern end of town you can barely see it at the crossroad of Clayton St. and Road R that make a cross at the very bottom of the map. Followed the directions in the campground directory and boy were they off. Sent me to a deadend road and I had to jacknife the trailer to get her turned around and back on the road out. Thank you Trailer Life Campground directory! Close but no cigar. So, I drove back to the main drag, followed the city signs to the fairgrounds and voila! I found this nice big sign opposite the entrance to Brush, Colorado's Memorial Park Campground. It's easy to find if you ignore Trailer Life Campground Directory directions. Just follow the signs to the Fairgrounds. If you're coming in from the interstate or south on Hwy 71 that is Colorado St. in Brush. Just take that south to Railroad St. then turn west (right) and go one block to Clayton St. and take that south across the tracks and go south 3 blocks and you will see the below sign on your left, and the campground entrance is on your right. You will be on the south end of town on Clayton St.. Dear friend, Kathleen phoned last night to see how everything was going. When she found out the misdirection problem she suggested I try using mapquest next time.

See, we made it! Memorial Park Campground has water, 30 amp hookups in many of the spaces, restrooms, showers, and a dump which is located just behind the restrooms. However from the look of the dump you would have to chip away the ice to find the drain, see pictures at the end.

One reason I like off season camping...no people. Only one other camper is in the campground besides me. There is a great area to walk the dogs, jog, or fish east across the street from here. Was going to stay one night but it's so pleasant here and the weather is great so have decided to stay two or three days at least. The cost of this nice campground is free the first night and only $10 per night with a limit of 6 nights.

The weather in Cheyenne when I left was cold, nights were single digits or lower, daytime temperatures were lucky to make 30's most days. Here it seems much warmer and was 50's yesterday and today. Lows last night were 30ish. Of course altitude is 4200 here and that helps. Cheyenne is over 6000 ft.

See, nobody is even near our space.

This is maybe the most unusual Christmas season in my life. Have to say I am really enjoying its difference. Has been so sad each year since first my mom went to be with Jesus and then my dad following her home not long after. Christmas will never be the same without them, but this year is the first time I have been preoccupied with stepping into an entirely new lifestyle and therefore have not felt the loss as keenly. Was wonderful to pull into the campground late in the afternoon, hookup, make a pot of homemade spaghetti sauce while listening to one of my favorite Christmas albums I had downloaded a couple days before, Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians "Now is the Caroling Season". Have had this album since I was a child in the 50's and have played it every year. Was lucky enough to hear the group perform when I lived in Sterling, CO years ago. They were wonderful. Last night we watched one of my favorite Christmas movies, "The Bishop's Wife", the old one with Loretta Young, David Niven, and Cary Grant.

Nice restrooms.

Dump drain is under the slushy ice. Could probably be easily dug up today if needed.

this is a wide shot of the dump directly behind the restroom building.

30 amp hookups and water at many of the spaces.