Gallup, NM

We decided we had seen what we came to see in Albuquerque so we left our campsite, the Sandia Casino parking lot, about 8:30 heading towards Gallup, NM. Stayed Friday evening at the Bluewater Lake State Park near Grants, NM. The main campground was OK; nothing special. When we were driving around looking for a campsite we saw three RV’s camped right on the edge of the far side of the lake. We stopped a Park Ranger and he told us how to get there. Off we went down dirt roads and through a marshy area to get to the far side of the lake. We thought our Sumner Lake SP campsite was special. Look at the picture of this site. We’re parked four feet from the lake. Us and three other RV’s shared this entire side of the lake. No utility hookups but who needs them? We’ll take a view over an electric plug any day. This campsite rates near the top for view. It got cold last night; 35*. There is still snow visible on the tops of nearby moiuntains.

Saturday morning we drove into downtown Gallup. Carol wanted to get matching wedding bands. Carol had lost her original wedding band perhaps 30 years ago and had my band resized to fit her. I haven’t worn a ring since then. We went to the Richardson’s Trading Co. & Cash Pawn store. We were there four years ago when Gopher & I made this trip together and Carol flew into Albuquerque for a week. This trading post has been in business for over a hundred years. We found matching silver & turquoise bands. They write on the sales slip who made the merchandise you buy. Our rings were made by a Navajo named Virginia Tulley. I bought myself a pair of jeans at Zimmerman’s; another long time trading post. They said the jeans were made by a Zuni named Levi but they wouldn’t put that in writing. Both these store are on Historic Route 66.

From a local magazine

“The arrival of the railroads in the Southwest in the 1880’s ushered in a new era of commerce that continues today. The Southwestern trading posts, which made Native American arts & crafts available worldwide, evolved into complex business operations. With all business transacted under one roof, each trading post became a regional social center, wholesale buyer, department & grocery store, financial institution and the link to the outside world for people of the area. Artisans needed the raw materials of their crafts as well as sustenance while they handmade their labor-intensive products. There were no banks in the Southwest to lend money. Trading posts had vaults for safe storage of valuables, so an alternative banking system developed. It was known as the cash pawn, and like the trading posts themselves, it remains an important part of community life today. Traders accepted handmade items, which were called pawn, as collateral and returned them to the owner upon repayment of the loan.” The article went on to say that only a very small percentage of pawn is never reclaimed by the borrower. Even so, the quantity of merchandise that can accumulate over a hundred or more years is considerable. Pawn vaults are a good source of high quality handmade merchandise.

Browsing through Richardson’s is like spending time in a museum except everything is for sale. They have a special vault room where the really valuable merchandise is kept. The jewelry in the regular display cases topped out at about $10,000.

After shopping, we walked around the downtown area for a while then went to lunch. More very good Southwest food. After lunch we walked to an amazing bakery. Going to stop there again in the morning.

Early afternoon we went to the Red Rock State Park located off Rt 66 east of Gallup about 8 miles. Took a picture of Church Rock; a religious place for the Navajo. We were the only people there. Tried to find someone to pay but everything was closed except for the local Post Office. Right now it’s 6:30pm. It’s us and two others.

Albuquerque, Thursday

Albuquerque, NM.

Thursday:

Drove from Santa Rosa Lake SP to Albuquerque this morning. Very, very strong headwind. The weather channel said gusts to 40 mph. The winds were really buffeting the camper. I was glad when the drive was finished. We went straight to the Old Town area of the city. Albuquerque is an easy city to drive in as big cities go. There is a large parking lot by the convention center that is great for RV parking. When I was here by myself four years ago, I found an angel store and bought Carol some things. We found Angel Town again. Carol bought two bumper stickers for her scooter and a card for Izzy. I was glad to see her buy the card. Before Carol’s stroke she was always getting something for Izzy. This is yet another sign of a return to “typical” Carol. Had a great Southwest lunch at the Church Street Café. Carol had a taco salad; I had a burrito. After lunch we walked around Old Town for a while. Visited the San Felipe de Neri Church (see the picture describing the history of the church), walked around the outside sculpture garden at the Albuquerque Museum of Art & History, and the adjacent open space park. After that we drove to the Tigley Beach Park. Not really a beach, as such, but a series of three lakes. The lakes are stocked with fish. It’s all catch & release. One lake is reserved for kids under 12. Except for the Kids Lake, all the other fisherman were guys with their fly rods. Gopher & I walked around the lakes. Never saw anyone catch anything but you could see lots of big fish in the water. There were two 20# catfish released in the largest lake. There was a $100 prize for catching one of these fish.

About 4:00 we headed for the Sandia Resort & Casino; our camping spot for the night. Ate the buffet for dinner, played one dollar in the slots and called it a day.

Searched for grocery stores with the GPS. Found a Whole Foods nearby. Tomorrow we head there. Carol wants to go in to stock up on goof stuff; i.e. things I generally don’t buy.

Santa Rosa State Park

Left Sumner Lake SP about 9am heading for Santa Rosa SP, near Santa Rosa, NM. Stopped at the local grocery store in Santa Rosa for hot dog rolls & cereal. Santa Rosa is a pretty little town. It’s hay day was when Route 66 was the major cross country road. Route 66 was completed in 1926. When I-40 was completed through this area in 1972, Santa Rosa became just another interchange.

Santa Rosa Lake State Park is an attractive place but not as nice as either Sumner Lake or Bottomless Lakes. All three of these lakes were formed when dams were built to control the Pecos River. We walked the ¾ mile accessible nature trail, drove down near the lake for a while then spent the rest of the day doing this & that.

Another pretty, sunny & very windy day. Saw another huge windmill farm on the way here. Seems the winds around here blow steadily most of the year.

Sumner Lake SP, NM

Tuesday, March 25, 2008.

Sumner Lake State Park near Fort Sumner, NM.

Arrived mid-afternoon, yesterday, Monday the 24th. A beautiful, clear, cool day. We decided to stay in the primitive area rather than in the regular RV campground. We’re camped on a spit of land jutting into Lake Sumner. Among the most beautiful campsite setting we can recall. We have the whole area to ourselves. Let Gopher off her leash. She just roams around, swims & chases the stick. Wish she knew what cactus was. So far she hasn’t stepped on any. Carol walked around a little then found a sunny place to sit, stay warm, read her book & enjoy the great view. She’s just as happy as can be.

Today we’ve been trying to think of equally beautiful campsites we’ve stayed in. Decided Curry Hammock or Long Key in the Fla. Keys, Brooklyn Lake in the Snowy Range of Wyoming, the City Campground in Seward Alaska, the campground in Denali or here, are the most scenic of all.

Met two other couples camping. They are all retired school teachers. Just traveling here & there like us.

Tomorrow we continue on to Santa Rosa Lake SP.

Bottomless Lakes State Park, Roswell, NM

We arrived at the Bottomless Lakes SP near Roswell, NM on Friday afternoon. Did our shopping in Roswell on the way here. Roswell is best known for the mysterious crash landing of a flying saucer in 1947. Roswell has turned what the military calls the “Roswell Incident” into a major tourist attraction.

We have a wonderful camp site right on the largest lake in the State Park. The lake is spring fed and about 90’ deep. Legend has it that a group of cowboys were camped here in the 1800’s. The wanted to see how deep the lake was so they tied all their lariats together, tied the rope to a rock and threw it in the lake. The rock never hit bottom so they called it a bottomless lake.

Dogs are allowed off leash in certain parts of the lake. Gopher has had the most wonderful time swimming. We originally planned to stay here for Friday & Saturday, but just paid for Sunday & Monday as well. When Gopher and I made our trip out here in 2005, we stayed here. Forgot just how nice it was.

The weather is just perfect. Low 80’s during the day, high 30’s at night.

I called Lazy Daze on Friday to find out the status of our order. Our new LD will be ready for pickup on April 24. Called Steve & Carol Crisp who are buying our 2000 LD; they were as happy as we were to finally have a firm date. They will fly to LA on the 23^rd to pick up their new-to-them Lazy Daze.

On Saturday morning we all took a nice walk on a multi-use trail that runs for 3 or 4 miles. Saw a ferret today. The campground host said it escaped from an RV some time ago but seems to have adapted well to the environment. As long as the hawks don’t get it.

Woke up Sunday to 45*. A cold & grey day. Misty rain. Carol stayed bundled up all day. Never did go outside. Tonight it’s supposed to get down to 35*. Gopher & Took a few nice walks.

On Tuesday morning we left for Sumner Lake SP near Ft. Sumner. Did laundry in Roswell then grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. Arrived at Sumner Lake about 2:30. The drive was through some of the most barren territory yet. Miles & miles of flat, open, treeless land. Saw the occasional antelope & cow, and on the rare occasion, another

Junction, TX to Brantley Lake SP, NM

When we got up today, it was 35*. Frost on the windows. What a surprise.

We left Junction at about 9am heading towards Fort Stockton, TX , Pecos, TX then New Mexico. Stopped in Ft. Stockton at Wal-Mart then continued on. The drive from Ft. Stockton to New Mexico was through the most desolate area yet. You can see all the way to the horizon; not even a low hill. All brown, a few low bushes here & there. This is oil & gas country. Oil rigs everywhere. Occasionally we would see a small heard of goats or an irrigated field of hay. There was a huge windmill farm. Must have been 200 huge windmills.

We stayed the night at the Brantley Lake State Park north of Carlsbad, NM. Got the very last regular campsite except for the overflow area. The lake is pretty but there is a sign warning you not to eat the fish: DDT. Plus a warning about the danger of blue-green algae. Reminded us of a sign we saw on the Old Erie Canal near Syracuse, NY. It said “This water is not safe for human contact” Saw kids fishing in the Canal. Brantley Lake SP is an attractive place but nothing special. Tomorrow we’re heading for Bottomless Lakes SP. I’ve been there before; a very nice place.

Gonzales & Junction, TX

Late Tuesday night we had a rain storm while camping in Gonzales, TX. At the same time there were high winds and a dust storm covering most of Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. The result was that it was actually raining mud!!. I took the hose and washed the mud off the camper as best I could. About mid-morning we headed towards Junction, TX.

We stopped for groceries at a H.E.B. grocery store near San Antonio. Carol tried to walk in but it was just too far. I found the type of cart you put children in; Carol fit in just fine so we went grocery shopping together. They had a great bakery. We bought a variety of baked goods neither of us really needed. After that we stopped by Wal-Mart for gas and a few odds & ends.

When we arrived in Junction, we first stopped at a Junction city campground called Schreiner City Park. Didn’t look so hot so we continued to our alternate campground, South Llano River State Park. Spring break is here; the campground was full. We stopped at the beautiful day use area. Gopher went for a swim and Carol sat on a picnic bench near the river. People were fishing and kids were tubing down the river. No wonder it’s a popular place. We went back to the City campground. There are three RV’s here. We have a site right on the Llano River next to the dam. What a beautiful view. Plus, it’s free camping. Amazing. This turned out to be a wonderful place to spend the night. We sat outside until it got too cold. Used the grill for chicken & asparagus. Called Mom; she’s doing fine. Ginny came up to show Mom her new Toyota 4Runner.

The drive from San Antonio west towards El Paso is through a very desolate part of Texas. Called the Hill Country. Not much here. Some ranches & poultry farms. Junction is a very small farming community. An IGA grocery store, post office, a few shops and that’s about it. Carol spotted the Post Office so we mailed all the birthday & anniversary cards for March & April.

I often wonder when traveling through these very small towns just what people do to earn a living. What do they do for recreation? Major shopping? It’s about two hours from Junction to anywhere. Cell phone service but no Internet service in Junction.

We’re having a wonderful time.