Escape from Demming

We escaped from Deming, New Mexico today. 

Sunday brought very high winds, rain, sleet, snow, dust storm, and hell fire to Deming.  The temperature also dropped to 20.  Police were advising no travel due to very limited visibility.  So we stayed in town and attended a free jam session at a local dance hall.  About 10 musicians showed and close to 75 spectators practiced spectating and/or dancing to the music.  Donna believes that I could sing better than some of the performers.  Make any assumption you want on the quality of the performance from that fact.

We left Deming at 9:00 this morning and travelled almost 300 miles through New Mexico and into Arizona.  We crossed the continental divide about a half-hour out.   Many of the higher mountain peaks were snow capped but the desert floor was very dry.  Some road construction interfered with our speed and we survived I-10 through Tucson.  We landed at the Rover's Roost Park (an Escapee Park) in Casa Grande, AZ.  Casa Grande is about an hour out south of Phoenix.  The temperature was 70 and the sky was full sun when we arrived this afternoon.  We decided to stay for a month as the rate is very reasonable:  $250 plus electricity for full hookups.

First impressions are very positive.  However, we did see a coyote just outside of the park and were told that rattle snakes may be out at night trying to keep warm on the blacktop in the park.  Fun!

White Sands National Monument

On Friday after touring Mesilla, we went to the White Sands National Monument click located 52 miles east of  Las Cruces or 15 miles southwest of Alamogordo, New Mexico.  The monument borders the White Sands missile Range and, in fact, is often closed during periods of testing.  There are 275 square miles of  magnificent white dunes.  There is a self guided tour on an 8 mile long road which takes you through the dunes:

The dunes are gypsum crystals.   From a distance they appear as drifted banks of snow:

Touring this site was well worth the drive from Deming.

New Mexico Tourist Traps

As the conditions remain too windy to tow the trailer, we decided to see some of the sights today.  We headed back east to Las Cruces area to see the old town of Mesilla, New Mexico.  Mesilla was a part of Mexico until 1848.  Mesilla has a long history of Apache attacks and colorful characters including Billy the Kid.  Old Billy was tried in this building for murder and was hung:

The old downtown is built about a plaza with a catholic church on one end.  Here is Donna talking to her sister Judy in the square:
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The square is lined with shops and restaurants all looking for handouts from northern tourists.  We had a late morning snack here:

Here is yet another example of the adobe architecture:

It's a very picturesque town connected to the very large city of Las Cruces. 

On the Move

Thursday was a day of travel.  We left Ft. Stockton Texas at about 8:00 and headed out to Deming New Mexico, a distance of about 360 miles on I-10.  West Texas is one long and boring drive through the desert with distant low mountains visible.  We saw lots of goats and some cattle grazing.  The weather was much colder than we had on Wednesday.  Highs were only in the 50s (had been in the low eighties).  We had a strong head wind all the way which negatively affected our mileage.  The area is very dry so dust and dirt were prevalent.  The speed limit was 80 yet very few vehicles went that fast.  We  travelled at 65 mph and had only a handful of vehicles pass us until we got near El Paso. 

We stopped in Van Horn, Texas for a late breakfast and re-fueling.  We realized that we had changed time zones and gained an hour because we were now in Mountain Time.  We entered the dreaded El Paso traffic at 11:30.  Traffic was moderate and we had no problems.  The highway runs parallel to the Mexico border which looked to be less than a mile away.  At the north end of El Paso is the border for New Mexico.  We stopped at a visitor's center on the highway and picked up a new map and tourist information.  We remembered stopping here 6 years ago:

About 15 miles west of Las Cruces was a border patrol check point.  All west bound traffic was pulled off the road (similar to a truck weigh station)  for "inspection."  About a 1/4 mile from the border patrol staff were video cameras pointed at the driver, passenger, front license plate, rear license plate, passenger's left ankle, driver's right arm pit etc.  Also evident were an array of other sensors.  Once at the head of the line, I was asked if we had anyone riding in our trailer.  After I replied "no," we were waived through.  Apparently, old people from Wisconsin and considered "safe." 

We arrived in Deming elevation 4487 feet shortly before 2:00 PM and set up house in the Dream Catcher's RV Park which is a part of the Escapee Club's park system.  The rate is $12 per night plus electricity for full hook-ups.  The site is a flat gravelled service which includes a club house.

 Initially, we were going to stay at Deming for only one night.  However, high wind warnings are in effect so we decided to stay put until at least Monday.  Temperatures are expected to dip into the low 20s and rain/sleet/snow is possible.  Winds are forecast to be in the 40 mph range with gusts to 70 mph.  We are told if the visibility is poor due to blowing dust, the interstate will be closed.   We will be hunkered down until the storm passes.

Ft. Stockton, Texas Day 2

We veered off from our very tight schedule and stayed a second night in Ft. Stockton.  Not directly by choice, however.  Upon unloading the trailer from the hitch, I noticed that one of the safety chains was oily. Donna smelled propane.  As propane was higher on the do it now list, I discovered that propane was leaking from a bleeder nozzle at the fill port.  When we got propane on the way out of Boerne, the propane attendant did not tighten it down appropriately.  Tightened it and the smell dissipated.  Another thing to double check when we refill!  Back to the oil.  Checked under the truck and could not see any evidence of a drip or leak.  Wondered if propane could have been the culprit?  Checked the Ft. Stockton area for an auto repair service to check for possible problem.  Chevy dealer was less than 2 miles away.  Went there and came back with an 8:00 AM appointment for today.   Needed a rear end gasket.  Left by 11:00 with gasket installed and $227.00 dollars less in the kitty.  We decided that we would rather stay another night here than get to El Paso at rush hour this afternoon.  The last time we drove through El Passo was at rush hour and the traffic on the interstate was horrendous.  We plan on leaving early tomorrow morning to be in El Paso before noon and then ending in Deming, New Mexico. 

We made the most of our time here by touring the area.  Yes, there really is a fort in Ft. Stockton.  We know because we paid our $3.00 each for a tour of the grounds.    The fort lies in the heart of the city and has been recently restored.  The fort never had a palisade as one could see across the desert for miles in all directions.  No one could sneak up on it without being seen.  The fort consists of a large parade grounds with several buildings including bunkhouses, officers' quarters and guard house:

The above guardhouse had three solitary confinement cells and a large holding cell.  Not too many of the residents of the cells smiled upon entry.  Below is an example of other buildings on the site:

And, of course, any old western fort has to have a connection with John Wayne, right?

Here is a closer view of the sign painted on the wagon for you old western buffs (you know who you are, don't you?):

Behind the wagon, is the parade grounds.  The grass looks very brown in the photo.  It was.  It actually crunched under our feet.  It is so dry here that there is a high alert in place for flash fires. 

A few blocks away from the fort is the tourist information center where tourists are greeted with this water falls and sculpture:

Actually, this is but a small piece of a much larger display.  It was quite impressive.  But not as impressive as this REAL, GIANT ROADRUNNER we found downtown:

Donna got it to pose for us by teasing it with some candy.  And, of course, there was some pretty good camera work involved!

Ft. Stockton, Texas

Today was a travel day.  We have left Boerne and are on our way to Arizona.  We are spending the the night in Ft. Stockton, Texas, at an RV park, Comanche Land RV Park, along Interstate 10.  It's basically a large gravelled parking lot on the highway.  The price is OK ($16) for full hookups for an overnight stay.  And we have good phone and Internet service!

Ft. Stockton is part of the Big Bend region of Texas and lies with the Chihuahuan Desert which covers not only parts of Texas but Mexico and New Mexico as well.  Annual rainfall is reported to be no more than 12 inches.  There actually is an old fort here which initially protected settlers from the Comanches a few years prior to the Civil War.  Tourist attraction now.  Big Bend National Park is also in the vicinity--actually 127 miles away, but in Texas, that is in the neighborhood.

Wicked in San Antonio

On Sunday afternoon we attended a performance of the musical "Wicked" which is based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 book “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.”  The story is centered on Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West ) from the "Wizard of Oz" and deals with the circumstances of her birth, her friendship with Glinda (the "good" witch) and how she became "wicked." 

The performance was at the Majestic Theater which really is quite majestic. 

We attended with John and Judy's daughter, Kathy, and her son Justin and had box seats provided by Johna and Judy.  There were 6 boxes in the theater (three left and three right of the stage) with each box having 6 chairs.

 If that didn't spoiled us enough,  the assigned wait staff and valet parking topped it off.  Good show.  Thanks to John and Judy for tickets!

Prior to the show, we took a stroll on the River Walk.  It is a walkway along the San Antonio River one story below street level with hotels, shops, cafes, restaurants, etc.   We found it bustling with activity with people eating at street cafes, shopping or just out for the sights.  And the river boast were full of tourists floating up and down the river with the boat captains providing a history lesson of the area. 

It was a great day.

Note that the above photos are not my own but are from Internet sources.

Downtown San Antonio and the Alamo

We recently spent the better part of a day downtown in San Antonio.  Parking, of course, was ridiculous and took about 1/2 hour to find.  We ended up in a church parking lot and paying $5 for the privilege.  The lot was about 6 blocks from the main downtown. We walked to see some of the sites and ended up at the Mission San Antonio de Valero, known now as the Alamo (click for Alamo).  The Alamo sits on approximately 4 acres in the downtown area and is managed by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. 

Where's Waldo?

The flower of Texas inside the Alamo walls
:

Spring has almost Sprung

Saturday was a very nice, sunny day with highs in the 60s.  We decided to have breakfast at a coffee shop "The Daily Grind") in downtown Boerne.  We were luck to get there before the crowds.  Very good food.  The place was still cool from the overnight hard freeze, but they had several space heaters.   Somehow one of the heaters found its way to point directly at us and we were warmed.

Boerne had what is called a "Market Day" which occurs once each month year round.  It is an outdoor market with vendors selling their wares including food, jewelry, clothing, rugs etc. with much of it manufactured in Mexico.  Some one of a kind art was also for sale.  The downtown area was very busy with Market Day shoppers as well as downtown strollers.  Beautiful weather brought out many people to keep the merchants happy.

The morning ended on a high note with a spur of the moment trip back to Fredricksburg (about 40 miles north of Boerne).  It was a good day to explore, and we drove back to this small town founded by German immigrants.   The downtown area is a mecca for tourists and locals who walk from one end of the business district to the other and then double back on the opposite side of the 4 lane main street.  We explored several shops including an old 5 and 10 store, an antique book store and a western wear shop among others. 

On our tour, we ran into a couple sitting on a bench wearing Packer garb.  They were from Sussex, Wisconsin (near Waukesha) and were down to visit their son in San Antonio.  Their son and friends had tickets for the Super  Bowl and convinced their parents to attend with them.  While the others were in Jerry Jone's ego-palace, their son paid $200.00 each for his parents to watch the game outside the stadium on large screen TVs.  Unfortunately, it rained, they got soaked and left for the comfort of their car at half time.  They listened to the remaining two quarters on the radio in the car.  They said they would have enjoyed the game better in their living room. 

After about two hours of successful shopping, we had lunch at an outside beer garden/restaurant which beckoned us in with its very good two-piece blues band playing original music.  Again, the place was very busy, but with short waiting lines.  The menu boasted German specialties--Donna ordered a schnitzel sandwich with a side of horseradish and I had a pastrami Reuben.  While we waited for the food, we decided that a cold beer would be an appropriate accompaniment with the music (MGD and a Spaten Oktoberfest).  We tried to remember when the last time we had a beer (I think it was sometime in the last decade).  Food was good, the beer was refreshing and the music was excellent.  The only downside was that the seating was outside.  Though we were mostly in the shade, the highly polished stainless steel table surfaces reflected up in our face.  I felt like George Hamilton. 

On the way back to the truck, we found this interesting "tree" in a downtown park depicting the history of the town:

I guess you had to be there.  It was a great day!

Day Trips, Waylon Jennings and Mr. Green Jeans

In the last 2 weeks, we have taken the opportunity to do a little sight seeing in the San Antonia area. The area had a very large German immigrant history.  We took a day trip to New Braunfels which is about 40 miles east of Boerne on I-35. We went downtown hoping to do some walking. However, the downtown area is a large round about which accommodates two major roads. Lots of traffic and no street lights. And no way for pedestrians to cross without taking their lives in their own hands. The downtown was disappointing to say the least. We also went on to the adjoining town of Gruene (pronounced like Mr. “Green” Jeans). The site to see here is the historic dance hall advertised as the oldest dance hall in Texas. The hall looks very similar to the country dance hall in the movie “Blues Brothers.” It was the venue that played both kinds of music, country and western. The only apparent difference is that there is no chicken wire on the stage to protect the bands from beer bottle projectiles, The hall is still in operation today and offers a New Orleans gospel brunch on the third Sunday of every month.

We also visited Luckenback.  This is an odd little community of a few old buildings made famous by Waylon Jennings (see music video "Luckenbach Texas"  (click to watch)and by frequent visits by Willie Nelson.  The community includes a bar (of course) a dance hall, post office and out buildings.


Post office:

Dance hall and outdoor restaurant:

Public restrooms:

Somewhat rustic.  While there, we spotted someone with a motorcycle jacket from the Wolf River Riders of Shawano, Wisconsin.  Small world.  I spoke with them and they were in Texas to escape the northern winter.  They were staying in an RV in the nearby town of Fredricksburg in an RV.  The highlight of the town was watching the roosters and chickens creating havoc in the outside bar. 

Cold weather and loss of power

Well the weather has really taken a turn for the worse here in Boerne like most of the US.  The thermometer finally bottomed out at 13 on both Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  The temperature in Madison on Wednesday morning was warmer by two degrees than what we had here.  Of course, they also had almost 20 inches of fresh snow.  We have barely made it to the low 20s the last 2 days.  But we have also had very significant winds all week.  Wind chills have been continually near zero or below. 

Because of the cold, we have been forced to run our furnace 24 hours per day.  Our 2 little electric heaters haven't been able to keep up.  So we have been burning propane.  The furnace and electric heaters together do a good job.  However, Texas has a power shortage and there have been running blackouts throughout the state over the last two days.  We lost power yesterday for about 45 minutes.  It gave us a good excuse to fire up the generator and put a good load on it.  Everything worked fine.

Because of our heat-taped water hose, we suffered no freeze up.  However, that was not the case for others in the park.  Our neighbors were aqffecte3d as well as others.  Most people here are using garden hoses for fresh water without any insulation apparent.  They are asking for trouble.

On Friday, the forecast is for snow (2 inches or so) but with temperatures climbing into the upper 30s to low 40s.  The weekend looks nice with forecasted temperatures in the upper 50s.  We are looking forward to that.

Texas is under an electrical supply problem.  They report 50 power plants are down due to the weather.  One is reported to have frozen pipes , but there has been no mention of what the problem is with the other 49.  Texas has been forced to import power from Mexico to cover the lack of internal supply.  Texas will take their power, apparently, but not their people. 

The new slow cooker has been getting a work out lately.