It is February!

I have been delinquent this winter about keeping up with the blog. ( I’m not the only one) The only excuse is pretty lame, but I have been a bit overwhelmed with the responsibility of travel. Once you get someplace there seems to be the overpowering notion that you are obligated to see everything, and even look for things that aren’t in the books and on the lists. Actually I am almost done in by natural history and flight museums, and am getting a little thin on art. The wonders of nature will never cease to amaze me and I am frustrated that every time I see a new geological formation I have to dig out a book so I can be sure I am right about what I think I am seeing, and to refresh my terminology. I regret that I did not take more geology in school, or pay better attention to both Aunt Christina and John when they were busy describing the surroundings. My bird list is getting long, and with spring coming on I will have to refresh myself on wild flowers.

I do know that at this point I no longer have much interest in Antique malls or local galleries. It seems every location has only the slightest variety in the offerings. A few crafts using unique local products and then it seems to be all the same. (I will have to get over the gallery part, but have seen a lot of bad “art” this year.) I have gotten to the point where I will not even consider a product unless it is local. Why would I want to by Georgia peaches, or NM chile in a California winery, but they seem to be on the shelf. We have enjoyed picking up local wines, and produce in season, but only as part of the every day shopping and keeping the pantry supplied with fresh foods.

To follow is a recap of the highlights of the past few months

After finally leaving Oregon in early Dec. and making it south of Mt. Shasta, only one day, before the snows fell we made out way south of San Francisco and set up residence just south of Gilroy, CA. at the Betabel (beautiful beet) RV Resort. From this beautiful location in the rolling hills and farm land we were within a short drive of Monterey Bay, the Salinas Valley, and San Jose and the south San Francisco area. The days were pleasant when it wasn’t raining, the nights were only sub freezing on a few occasions, and there was much for us to do and see. Hoover loved the large lawns which were designated as dog play areas, and his play dates with the other dogs in residence.

We were able to enjoy visits to Monterey, Santa Cruz, Sunnyvale, and a nice visit with Cousin Enid and her husband Dwight, as well as some good hikes at the Pinnacles National Monument and Freemont Peak, both of which provided good geology studies. There was also the balance of the Holiday shopping to cover and stops at Lowes for the short list of home improvement projects. Carl did a lovely job of lining the bedroom cabinets and closet with cedar plank which did help with the condensation problem caused by the cold and damp weather. (We were later to find the leak which explained why there was water running out of the cabinet mounting screws) Just before Christine’s arrival for the long Christmas weekend we moved down to Marina, CA and stayed at a nice small quiet resort right on the dunes. We were a short walk from Monterey Bay where we had pounding magnificent surf for a few days as the beginning of the storm, which later blanketed NM with record snows, rolled in.

Christine arrived at 1:30 am on Dec 23rd at the Monterey airport, a 20 minute drive from Marina, but her luggage has taken a vacation without her. As all horror stories go there is much agitation, demonstration of incompetence by airline employees and the final resolution of the situation within 24 hours. Christmas Eve was somewhat traditional for us with the construction and lighting of Luminaria (Bag-o-Lites) and brandy and cookies by the outside fire place. Apparently the other guests were not familiar with the tradition as there were numerous inquiries the next day and several people were observed peeking into our row of bags. Christine was delivered to San Jose airport the afternoon of the 26th, after which Carl and I did our final Garlic shopping in Gilroy as we would be heading east on the 28th.

After checking the incoming weather and considering the Gerald Ford Funeral we altered or plans to head south through Santa Clarita, and San Bernardino and on to Palm Springs, instead heading east through the Mojave to Needles, CA. and the banks of the Colorado River. It turned out to be a great choice as we missed the destructive winds and snows outside of LA and found an interesting, attractive, and cheap place to spend the next two weeks. Hoover was impressed by our grassy site next to the sandy beach of the river where he was able to swim daily. We were enthralled by the fact that this could be a good place for winter boating with miles of river and Lake Havasu in our front yard. A few windy and cool days but who wants to get the boat out every day. We will see what next year has in store. It is quite amazing all the development that has taken place in the area since we were last there in the early 90s. There is no apparent lull in the housing market here with homes in all price ranges and number the number of amenities available rather staggering.

Along with investigating the area we were able to meet up with friends in Laughlin, NV and take in some of the activities of what was billed “Winter Brake” for seniors. We skipped the Humana sign up for Medicare part D activities, but did hit the Chile cook off and Car show as well as some nice meals and those free drinks you get while disposing of your rolls of quarters. I still don’t get the allure of the Casino and guess I never will.

On to Tucson for a few days, and to visit with friends and try out one of those popular resorts with private hot tub at your site, restaurants on the premises and shuttles to the golf and tennis clubs. The hot tub was a pleasure, the restaurant food was good, but the service awful, Hoover loved the large fenced dog area, and we play neither golf nor tennis. It was good though to see our friends, find a Whole Foods, and Target and make plans for the next few weeks.

Carl’s birthday was celebrated in Las Cruces where we feel at home and are able to spend time with good friends. Our planned week was cut short by the advancing snow storm which was to blanket all of southern NM with inches/feet of snow. We made it north to ABQ, where we only had a few inches, and got the Coach dropped off for its final warranty appointment at the dealership, and then darted north to spend the week in Lyden dog sitting for John and Chamisa and taking care of our scheduled doctor and dental appointments.

Christine flew in for a ski weekend with John and Chamisa in Taos, and she stopped and spent a night with us in Lyden. She was taking advantage of what might be her last long weekend for several months as one of the midwives was to leave the practice as of Feb. first. She and the other midwife in the practice are interviewing for a replacement, but it will most likely taken a few months before she is able to have any real time off as they already know they will have a busy spring.

Carl and I will be spending most of Feb. and March in Las Cruces except for scheduled trips to Santa Fe to allow John and Chamisa to make use of available free skiing at the Colorado resorts (by way of employee privileges) by dog sitting while we keep our various appointments. Hoover is naturally thrilled to get “Home” to Lyden and spend time running through the snow and playing ball with Blanco and Sierra. We will also get out and do some real camping and take advantage of the beauty of southern NM in the early spring before moving the Coach to Lyden in April when the snows are melted and the ground starts to dry out a bit.

Hopefully we will be better about keeping things posted.