Flamingo on a Stick

View of campground and lake from the ridge We have enjoyed Roper Lake. It is a quiet place and we’ve met some very nice folks while we’ve been here. The other night we spent it around a campfire with the couple next to us from Colorado. He was the Postmaster at Yellowstone for quite awhile but recently retired and they have some land in Colorado they eventually want to build on. He has had some health problems so they are just traveling full time this winter. They had a lot of great stories and we all laughed a lot and enjoyed a beautiful Arizona night.  Steps up the trail On Thursday we went out for a hike. There is a trail that goes up along the ridge behind the campground. It wasn’t too steep or too long but make for a nice little hike. Another of our neighbors, a couple from Albuquerque, told us they had seen a Great Horned owl in the trees at the day use area so we went to find it. Met them out there looking again too. Laurie was just sure she had found it, pointing to ...

Well, John is working on some research things so it may be a little while before I get him back to the blog. We are going to add an exhaust brake to the truck, so far I think it is the Banks system he is going to go with. We’d like to get it done when we are in the Phoenix area. Pulling this trailer he’d just like to be safer on the mountain passes. Gamble or California Quail We are really enjoying Roper Lake. Not many people here but the ones that are here are very friendly. A couple from the Albuquerque and another from Colorado. It looks like there should be more people coming in today as most of the reserve sites have tags on them. We look right out on the lake and the rushes. This park was one of the ones set to close due to budget cuts here in Arizona but the local communities saved it. The cattails have really grown up here and you can’t see as much of the lake as previously but there isn’t money in the budget to control their growth (or so we were told). However, the birds ...

I know we didn't write much about Deming. Nice little town, good to see my aunt and cousins that I haven't seen in 15 years. They had 2 nice wineries too - St Clair and Las Lunes. Of course we had to try the local product and now after our NM visit we have lots of wine to drink - oh, how we suffer. The campground was basically a gravel parking lot with hook ups but what you do find at Escapees parks are wonderful people who are willing to share their vast knowledge on RVing, something we always value and a good price. View from our camper door  Marshes across from site We left this morning for Roper lake State park in Arizona. Only a 3 hour trip and this is a great place. The campground isn't anything special but the views are outstanding. Mountains in the distance and the lake and marsh area right out our door. I've already seen a couple birds that are new to us. I'll write more on that later when I get a few more photos. For now we are just taking in the...

Guadalupe Mountains on our way to Deming NM Well, I am writing this as we travel along US62 on our way to Deming NM. We really enjoyed our time in the Carlsbad area. Brantley Lake is our kind of place. A nice campground with beautiful views. I met a lady here that is a snow bird. She stays all winter between Brantley Lake and another NM park north of here Bottomless Lake. She just loves this area and I have say at $14 a day, it is economically. I could see staying in this area about 2-4 weeks but after that I think I would want to move on.  full moon over the campground One of the things we really haven’t talked about is that Carlsbad is where John was born. His dad was a mining engineer and was here with the Potash mines. Potash is still being mined in the area. Neither of us has a clue as to what they use potash for. They lived in Carlsbad until he was four.  He has a few memories of the area. His first girlfriend, Vicky, lived across the street and the house they ...

John's still writing! Yipee!! to Judy, the flamingo's stick has been ailing lately and John hasn't decided how to fix it yet, soon he should be back up, that would be cool  if the aliens visited him. Now for the real post: Site1-Human One of the local trails here has numbered posts along the route with a guide that explains something about whatever it is you’re looking at. In this case, what you’re looking at is a concrete impression of what various local animal tracks would look like if that animal had stepped in wet concrete. (Just to be thorough, the first station was for a barefoot human although you would have to be demented to be walking through the scrub without shoes. Thick soled hiking boots would be best.) We never saw tracks of anything other than in the concrete patches, but we did see a jackrabbit. And some bugs. I was washing the rig today and got to wondering if it might be possible to identify bugs by the splatter pattern they leave. They’re not as...

We’ll give John a break today. I am amazed I got him to do 3 posts in one week.  He is a talented writer and a funny guy and I encourage him to share his talent. I don’t mind writing but I enjoy his posts so much that I’m hoping I can get him to do at least a couple  a week. Yesterday we drove up to Roswell NM. We may have been abducted but I am not sure yet. When we were at Carlsbad Caverns it did look like another planet. Many of you know this is where an alien craft was suppose to have landed with a couple aliens that the government quickly stepped in and covered up. The UFO museum and research center is here and it lays out all the info of the time to support the theory that it was really aliens. It is all pretty interesting but I’m not sure I buy it. I don’t discount that life could exisit outside this galaxy but what I do have trouble with is how they are always portrayed. Have you noticed they always seem to have a humanoid form. I mean not that they look just like us ...

Ok everyone, I've really got him going now, lets see how long I can keep him blogging. Oh, and to Laurie and George, John liked the You Tube idea now if he could just convince me that we have $300 extra to buy one. (lol) Here's Johnny!!!! Sunset Brantley lake Carlsbad (DH) We’re camped out just north of Carlsbad enjoying some great views. The evenings are cool enough to be outside, so we made some margaritas and Janie’s taking pictures of the sunset. I’m trying to ignore the mosquitos. They’re ignoring my bug spray. Earlier I was out here by myself veging out with a book when a roadrunner walked right up to me, gave me a quick once-over and walked back into the scrub. It might have been a sign that I should live in the desert and follow the ways of the roadrunner. Or maybe it meant I should have another margarita. Today we visited our first National Park: Carlsbad Caverns. Totally impressed. Did you know bats pollinate the cactus tequila is made from? So without bats,...