Chapter 9 - Northern New Mexico

My computer is back! It turned out that only the bent connector on the power cord was the problem due to Dorothy dropping it. Thankfully the computer missed my toes - buy only by milli-meters.

I always wanted washboard abs. But I also always seem to want some baby back ribs. Washboard abs are hard to get. Baby back ribs are $8.99.

Thursday, August 12 - Over the last week, I spent several hours trying to figure out where I wanted to go. I never settled on a route. I knew that driving to Durango and shopping would consume half a day and that is enough activity for us. I noted the Sky Ute Casino was just 30 minutes SE from Durango. I could do with some pampering after boondocking for the last month. And pampered we will be. Full hookups, wifi, and a pool for $25.

Friday, August 13 - I washed KoKo. Dorothy cooked. We went to the pool. Relaxed. I sat in my chair and fiddled with my memories.

Saturday, August 14 - Washed the Jeep. Dorothy made pork chops, turnip greens, and sweet potato casserole. Went to the pool. Relaxed. Went back to the pool while the laundry tumbled.

Sunday, August 15 - We were quite enjoying the Sky Ute, but I thought it was time to move along. Just not too far. We drove 45 on CO 151 enjoying the pastoral scenery. The speed limit was 60, so there was a bit of passing the old folks from Alabama. We stopped at Chimney Rock NM. It kinda resembles a chimney, but I really doubt the Ute call it a chimney. They are constructing a building there, but work is stopped. Quite a few people were in the area where you can get a guided tour. The chimney is about 3/4 mile from the parking area, so I figured a good mile up a fairly steep slope. Well beyond our abilities. I read a few signs about how the tribes in this area were part of the larger Chacoan culture.  

Chimney Rock

Dorothy was not feeling that great this morning and I am having a low energy day. So that was the reason for only driving an hour. The Southern Ute CG on Lake Capote offered electricity, I opted to pay for it. No wi-fi, no pool, no pavement, but still $25. No usable cell signal either. We are the only ones here. The CG is only open Thursday-Sunday. The guy asked it if was for one-night, then followed with "You will be leaving in the morning". Assured that was the case he said he could accommodate us. And said the gate might appear to be locked in the morning, but it would be a fake lock. Guess I passed his smell test.

A word about the Southern Utes. They are like no other tribe we have encountered in the US. The casino is a huge property. Makes the ones in Las Vegas look like poor cousins. The homes are well kept. The farms are productive. They have a three-story glass building to house the workers that manage their mutual funds. 

Monday, August 16 - I was ready to dive into New Mexico. I screwed up again and drove 7.5 hours from Chimney Rock to Questa. I was not able to force Glenda into showing the direct route. She wanted to take us south to Santa Fe and then north. Eyeballing it, it did not seem so far. Like I said I screwed up again. Dorothy is still not feeling all that good, so I did not impose on her to drive. On arrival, I was barely able to stand.

The High Road to Taos.  I know the phrase refers to a route from Santa Fe to Taos. But the route we took from Tierra Amarilla must also qualify. US64 gradually climbs to 10,500 and then runs along the crest of the mountains for miles where several shades of bright green, mostly aspens and spruce, and lush green meadows. There are a few pullouts where you could park, but I did not stop. Bad decision. It's one of the few smooth road surfaces in the whole state. However, it goes back to bumpy when you get down on the east side. 

BTW, smoke from distant fires remains. This is now the third month of smoke.

We made it to Wild Rivers, a familiar haunt to us. Our first visit was on the trip home when we picked up KoKo in 2007. They are doing road work and closed the CG where we usually stay. We landed in Montoso. It has four sites and two are for RVs. It's on the rim of the Rio Grande gorge. Not bad for $3.50 a day. 

Tuesday, August 17 - We drove to Red River to eat at one of several suggested restaurants. I wanted New Mexican fare. Only one offered that and it was not open for lunch. Dorothy had a too large Rueben and I had a too large Hatch Chile burger. Good, but overpriced food in an almost sleazy tourist town. The dining experience could have been better, they had the windows open so you heard all the street noise competing with the too-loud music playing. Then a Harley guy fired up his machine and he and his gf took turns taking pictures of each other while the engine rumbled. I turned around and gave him the evil eye and they left. Harley's louder than a rice bike should be crushed.

Woke up from my nap hot and it got worse. I set up a fan on the table and that provided some relief. Our neighbors joined us for a bottle of vino and good conversation soiled by 4,756 flies who all bit my ankles. I killed several dozen.

When we came in to escape the flies it was 92 inside, so we collapsed under our fans. Neither of us got to sleep until 10.

Wednesday, August 18 - It masks up in New Mexico. The last time I stopped in Taos was in 1994. I was the only straight male in town. We passed through a few years back on our way to Eagles Nest. The traffic was horrible. We came today to eat. It was a decent meal. We had shrimp tacos at Guadalajara Grill. There was one other white couple there -  a good sign.

New Mexico is a poor state. The roads are mostly in serious need of repair. The businesses and homes along the highways are in a sad state of decline. We drove through one of the residential sections of Taos. The road was a goat trail and homes looked like places where goats would not be happy to live.

I looked and looked online for a place to park that had hookups. I found nothing. Nothing! OK, then we saw two RV parks along the road near Questa. I would be ashamed to stay in them.

It was warm when we got back. 87, but surprise at mid-afternoon the wind picked up and it dropped to 76.

Thursday, August 19 - It was a day. After much back and forth we decided to leave Wild Rivers for Abiquiu. It would allow us to fill the larder before going to Chaco canyon and eat at the Mexican restaurant favored by our friends. Abiquiu is the only place known to us in the area to park.

An hour after we left we got a text from some friends, who only decide where they are going a few minutes before starting the engine, that they had arrived a Wild Rivers. Well all they do is hike and there are numerous trails there, so they don't need us, but we could have some Happy Hours with them.

I tried several times to make reservations at Abiquiu, but I could not find the button to reserve a site. When we got to Abiquiu, we saw a sign that you could not come in unless you had a reservation. There was a woman in the booth and a man standing outside next to a park attendant car holding a handheld radio. Never a good sign.

We were sent to the dump to turn around. I decided to dump while I was there. The Nazi campground attendant came down in his car to inform us that only registered guests could dump. I said no problem, as I had already dumped. There was another guy at the dump and he asked him his site number and name. He then radioed to verify the information. [Keep in mind, you had to have reservations to get in] These kind of people never had any authority in their work-life and want to flaunt it in retirement.

We proceeded west on a near-deserted road. We found a fine boondock site on a Forest Service road near Coyote. The landscape had Carmel and Estrada sandstone exposed. It looked just like the Arizona Strip. We had four hot bars.

View from our boondock site

Friday, August 20 - We backtracked east to Espanola to get groceries and eat at a recommended restaurant - Rancho de Chimayo. The food was excellent. We had to wait an hour as we did not have reservations and there were several dozen in an Airstream party. [Dorothy and I are usually the best dressed in t-shirts. Not so with the Airstream crew. They were bespoke, many with newly acquired woven Indian vests) We had a margarita while we waited and Dorothy lost her fingerprints halfway through hers. We both had the same diner. I finished mine. Dorothy brought half of hers home.

We spent a little time at the Santuario de Chimayo church. It was built in 1813.

I have no idea. A doll in a wooden box

There are no RV parks in this area. We were too tired and a little tipsy to return to the spot we had last night, so we are in a casino parking lot with the generator running for ac for two hours. It cooled off and we had nice breeze by 5:30.

Gasoline is $2.94 here. The last time we saw it under $3 was two months ago in Great Falls.

Saturday, August 21 - We headed back to Abiquiu Lake. Stopped for lunch at an overlook. Dorothy made tomato and onion salad and our new recipe of sautéed cauliflower, spinach, zucchini, onions and yellow squash. We took a short nap and continued west through red rock country.

I found an RV park in Cuba. Filling the water tank was my prime objective. However, Teresa's Beauty Shop and RV Park was full. Not much of a place. About 10 long-termers in sites jammed together. Teresa made two calls and found us a place in La Jara. I have no idea the name of the place. It has a small sign on the road that says RV Parking. The park mistress told us on the phone the gate was closed because the horse was out, but to come on in and find a place and she would be back around 6. All the sites are sloped, but I managed to get the front end up enough to be comfortable. The power pedestal has two 50amp and two 20amp but no 30amp outlets, tho one breaker is labeled 30 and there was a 30amp outlet on the ground in the weeds. One water hydrant and a 100-foot hose to serve everyone. I guess I will disconnect the hose from the RV it is connected to in the morning and fill our tank. Then somehow position the rig close to one of the clean-out tubes. The park mistress lives in a mobile home that is covered with a tin roof and has a porch. I can't wait to find out how much this is going to cost. ($20) PS The horse, Shorty, is 27, but still handsome.

The RV park with no name

Sunday, August 22 - Headed to Chaco canyon. Managed, with great difficulty, to make reservations at Chaco. See Chapter 10 for Chaco.

I watched a couple haul endless items to their tent site. I remarked to Dorothy that the woman had two small dogs. I call them foo-foos. Bacall said she had an ugly dress. I observed that the dress matched her and that he did not look like Tom Selleck. Bacall retorted "Of course not or I would not still be here". 

PS, fire smoke continues.

Chapter 10 - Adventures in New Mexico

August 12- 21 Chapter 9 is temporarily lost due to Dorothy breaking my computer! So here is Chapter 10.  Don has his version of the broken computer and I have my version.

Sunday, August 22 - We made it to Chaco canyon. The road was not as bad as I imagined it would be. It took us an hour to drive the 21 miles from US550 to the park. 8 miles on bumpy asphalt, the rest on washboard gravel at 8 to 18mph. A ranger told us the road was in the best condition of the year.

I was disappointed in Chaco. No artifacts are on display. They are all locked up at the U of NM. Only vetted archaeologists get in there. While all artifacts are photographed, you have to pay $18 an image to get a digital copy and a minimum of a $40 research fee. I may be a skeptic, but I think the natives have the park service over a barrel and don’t want any white eyes seeing any of the artifacts. And that’s also the reason for the washboard road. They don’t want people coming to their sacred site. Maybe it’s time to return it to them?

Chaco is the largest of the several (13?) pueblo sites and has the pueblos. Most of them have not been excavated and you only see mounds of dirt. Chaco was built to impress the thousands who made the pilgrimage to trade and see it.

Over 50,000 pieces of turquoise were found in one small room. Since turquoise was highly valued why would something so transportable be left behind? Can this be the same mindset that Navahos today live in squalor, always on the government and tribal dole. That refuses to work. Do things so desired in the white world have no meaning to Natives?

The ruins are the only thing you see in Chaco. We toured Pueblo Bonito, the largest one and the one that required the least walking. It was interesting, but we saw nothing new. It’s just bigger than at Hovenweep, Mesa Verde, etc.

The message they want you to get at Chaco is that it is not a ruin but it is still alive for the Natives. OK, fine, if that was what you are brought up to believe.

One last word. If Natives find a shard of pottery they will grind it up and use it to make new pottery. That’s why they would love to get their hands on the collections at the Smithsonian, and at the U of NM.

The Whites named this Fajada Butte. Don't know what the Natives called it. It can be seen from over 10 miles away. Certainly, it was a navigation aid to Chaco.

Part of Pueblo Bonita - The largest of the excavated ruins. They think it was 3-4 stories

Think your stonework would stand for millennia?

In this section, numerous rooms were interconnected.

Having seen all we could physically see at Chaco, we left a day early.

Monday, August 23 - We headed south to Cuba and turned east on NM136, and came to rest at Clear Creek FS CG. The drive was through some of the best mountain forests we have seen in NM. The CG has paved sites, but no other amenities. We got the only site that offered some sun for the solar panels.

Dorothy caused my computer to pulled off a table and drop on the power cord bending it so it will not charge. No tunes, no pictures, and my blog for the last two weeks poof. Maybe it can be fixed in Albuquerque? I would enjoy torturing the Apple folks who design the power cords. They had a good idea with magnetic ones, but the cords on those deteriorated in less than two years. More dollars to the bottom line to replace them. They discarded the mag attachment in favor of a plug that can be easily snagged and bent.

The GPS is near broken. When the power cord is inserted the screen goes dark. It still charges, but to use it, you have to unplug it and let it run on its short-life battery. I can get another GPS, but I can not replace the file that has all the public campgrounds. It’s no longer sold.

Tuesday, August 24 - We took the Jeep east on 126 to evaluate the road as a shortcut to the Jemez area. There is a section of dirt with extremely fine dust which roils up behind vehicles and another section of one lane not wide enough for KoKo. So we will be taking the long way around the mountain.

We did find an ideal open meadow boondock site just three miles from Clear Creek. [35.97197, 106.78457 on NF264F east of Cuba in NM126] While Clear Creek was a fine CG, we were not going to fully charge due to shade from trees and the bozo across from us ran his Chinese generator from 8 to 8. You could not hear it inside, but outside it was like a buzzing bee.

Last week a young couple pulled into the CG almost dark. I heard him tell the park mistress that he just could not drive another hour. He snared me when I went outside and wanted to tell me he was from New Orleans and they had driven here in three days. Three Days! They were on their way to Lake Powell, the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and then back home. All in two weeks. He was quite proud of his travel accomplishments. I hope his brand new Forest River camper stays together until he gets home. Tho I have my doubts. The next morning I was entertained by his putting all the stuff he put out back up. The folding chair had him puzzled. After several minutes he hit on folding the seat.

My Love Is Here To Stay sung by the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald just popped on. [I copied iTunes from my last backup to Dorothy’s laptop) That song, for me, will forever be linked It was not spontaneous, but it was not rehearsed. Maybe Johnny boned up on the lyrics that afternoon. It was a sheer joy to watch. He had enough natural talent to get him through it with some grace. Fucking no talent rappers.

Can you tell by all the words that we are boondocking without a cell signal?

Wednesday, August 25 - We headed south on US550 and hooked back north into the Jemez area. Our friends, Betty and Terry had texted us yesterday they would be at Jemez Falls CG. Just as we passed Redondo CG we got another text saying they were at Redondo instead. I think Redondo is much better, not crowded, and no reservations.

This was my worst day on the trip. I was headed downhill after lunch and by 3:30 I could no longer function, so I went back to KoKo to lay down. I stayed down and slept over 12 hours. 

Thursday, August 26 - I woke up feeling much improved and we drove Valles Caldera. We knew about the place from 2007, but it was not federal then and we did not see much of it. It is a large ranch in the basin of the caldera. The last owner put in his will that he wanted it to be preserved as a working ranch. The exterior scenes of Longmire at his ranch were filmed at the ranch foreman’s cabin. If you recall the view from the porch looking out over the meadow in the caldera you know the beauty of the place.

Longmire's porch. It was built in 1918 for the ranch foreman.

View from Longmire's porch

Another view from Longmire's porch

We are at 8,200 feet and the temp has been great. Our site has sun in the front for the solar panels and shade in the rear. The trees “cut off” the sun on the panels in mid-afternoon and we have to run the genset to get the batteries back to close to full charge.

Friday, August 27 - Laundry day. We went to Los Alamos to do laundry, get some internet and fill the freshwater tank. It’s always something. Getting the batteries charged, filling/dumping the storage tanks, making sure we have propane, getting all the electronic devices charged. I was remiss in coming here without topping off the water. I didn’t think we would stay for four days, but it’s a very pleasant place and we can visit with our friends.

The GPS repaired itself!

Saturday, August 28 - Nothing much happened today. I still having “low energy days”. Pulse is always in the mid 90's. Normal for me is high 60's. Stay out another two months or head to Alabama and see what the doctors say. Will I ever be able to travel again?

Sunday, August 29 - We went down the hill, from 8,200 to 5,700 feet. Viva la warmer. We parked in a nice county park in Bernalillo. Full hookups for $25. Hope to find a power cord for my MacBook and that the bent connector is the only problem. The ac should shut off by 6pm.

Chapter 8 - The San Juan Mountains

Sunday, August 1 - It was supposed to rain today. We got a shower after lunch. Before and after it was bright sun. We spent the morning chatting with folks from Payson, AZ. We had a long nap after lunch and went to town for peach ice cream and a dozen eggs.

I have been feeling hot for a month. Maybe I was damaged by the heat dome? It's 65 right now and I have a fan blowing on me. Anything out of the ordinary and I wonder if it's related to leukemia. My appetite is also reduced.

There is one other Jeep in the CG. I walked around this morning and counted 17 dirt bikes and then I quit counting. They all belong to men over 60.

The culture of this CG which we have enjoyed for over a decade has changed. It's not about Jeeping anymore. In addition to the motorbikers, there is a contingent of entitled folks from Texas and Oklahoma who are close friends and want to take over the CG with their high-end rigs by claiming sites for their friends who are arriving. They would seem to be happier in an RV resort.

Monday, August 2 - Another lazy day. It was supposed to rain a lot, but all we got were some dark clouds and a brief shower.

Tuesday, August 3 - More rain was forecast today. Again, another brief mist while we were unloading the groceries. Dorothy had her doc call in a script to Montrose so we took the hour drive to pick it up and reload the larder. What a busy town. We had long lines at Walmart, City Market, and Wendy's. All had Help Wanted posters in the windows.

If I were going to buy property in Colorado, I would locate in the valley north of Montrose.

We have noticed a lot of people masking up, tho it is not required. I wanted a mask the other day when we were standing in line for ice cream. I am going to add one to my pocket.

Wednesday, August 4 - The first day in a week without rain in the forecast. While the afternoon rain showers have not slowed us down much. Dark skies do not make for good photography or charging the batteries. No rain is forecast for the next 10 days.

I wanted to drive up Stoney Pass and down to Kite Lake - a drive we had not done. Alas, the road was closed. So we decided to do nearby Kendall Mountain instead. It's not a popular trail, so we would not have to contend with traffic.

The first few miles were not scenic, just rough. Then it opened up and there were mountains all around us. Then it went to a one-lane shelf road, which scared the bejeesus out of Dorothy. Nothing to do but continue forward. When we reached the top we were on top of the world. About 12,800. We could see every mountain. Even the elusive Needles. If it had been a clear day, the photos would have been spectacular. I cleaned them up as much as I knew how. 

A mostly clear day on Kendall Mountain

Does the trail continue?

Silverton from Kendall Mountain

The tall plants reminded me of catus in California

At the very top, we saw a girl sitting in the road taking in the view. She quickly scrambled up the steep side of the road - perhaps thinking we were going to hit her going 4mph. Turned out she was 22 and from NM and had hiked to the top in three hours. It took us almost that long to drive it. She was a delicate-looking creature and enjoyable to chat with.

There was no turnaround at the top, so I backed up the mountainside of the trail as far as I could and then inched forward to the edge of the road. Made it in only two passes. I would have liked to have seen how the 4door we saw did it. I warned him about it, but he was unfazed.

Thursday, August 5 - The intent was to do Cinnamon Pass and beyond. We had not done this trail before. The trail out to Animas Forks where Cinnamon begins has been trashed by side-by-sides. It was slow bumpy going for over 10 miles. Cinnamon was OK, but will not get top scenery awards from me. 

No, we did swing on the bridge

Dorothy always likes to walk through the houses at Animas Forks

I did not want to return the way we came so I opted to return via California and Corkscrew gulches. I thought it might save some time, but we were still on the trails for five hours and that's too long for us. My neck is stiff.

For the first time, we have seen Mexicans on the trail. There is a Japanese-born single young woman parked next to us in $150,000 B+. We saw a Prius that has slid off a trail. It is a new world, everyone is out.

Friday, August 6 - The dirt bike "convention" here is coming to an end. The apparent group leader, the guy in the 45 foot Class A with the 30-foot double high trailer that carries all his toys, put his scooter-pooter in the trailer at 6:30am. We were up, so it did not bother us, but it did bother the woman next door to him. What an asshole to crank up a noisy engine at that time of the day. He could have waited or done it last night. What does he do next? He and his chums stand in the parking lot having coffee for an hour. Then he and his chums spend another half-hour hooking up the trailer. His mates followed him out. Texans! After the mass exodus we moved down to one of the premium waterfront sites.

The HUGE trailer and his Class A. See KoKo in the reflection.

What parked in the same space

We met a couple from Cedar City, UT yesterday and invited them to have lunch with us today. They also have a Jeep so we figured we might fit. We had a really great pizza together. 

Saturday, August 7 - We woke up to fire smoke from California. You can not smell it, but you sure can see it. Laundry day. Went to the PO to pick up mail, but only one piece was sent or had arrived. Will have to wait until Monday to call and see what's up. Spent an hour at the library downloading and looking at books about the area. The library was built by Carnegie. Had another fine pizza. Spent the afternoon chatting with Patty and Geran from Cedar City and Lauren and Roy from Hemet. The CG is about empty. All but a small group of bikers have left.

Sunday, August 8 - It has been low 40's every morning here until today it was 34. The smoke is still here. Roy, next door, is a ham operator. He checked his sources and told us a high-pressure system in Utah is causing the smoke to hang around, but it should dissipate by tomorrow.

Still figuring where to go next. Somewhere in the northern NM mountains. But, where first?

It's been a full morning. A couple saw the name on our rig. She came over and said, "I know you, You are Don Malpas". She knew us from the Lazy Daze Forum. They are Florence and Tim from Dana Point. We had a long and interesting conversation. Then Patty and Geran came by to say goodbye before heading home. We may see them again next month.

Monday, August 9 - The smoke remains, but not as dense. By 10am the smoke cleared and we had a cobalt blue sky.

I called the mail forwarding service to find out what happened to our mail. Turned out our mail was placed in an adjoining box. I guess the good thing was it was not sent to the holder of the box it was in.

We went into town to dump and fill the freshwater tank. Somehow we wound up with cones of chocolate ice cream.

Tuesday, August 10 - Our stay here is drawing to a close. It's a maximum 14-day stay limit and the rangers are enforcing it this year.

Some haze, but we thought we would wheel a trail. I chose Governor's Basin, one we had not done before. We got away at 8:30 and on the way up 550 I told Dorothy that if she was OK with it we could do the famous/infamous Black Bear down to Telluride and come back on Imogene Pass. To my surprise, she was up for it. And so we did. We had been up to Black Bear Pass twice before, but we had never descended. It proved an easy downhill trail with a few off-camber places. I did not even have to back up to get around most of the switchbacks. One reason I wanted a 2Door.

The switchback section of Black Bear Trail taken from Imogene - across the valley

That's Telluride through the haze. Note the cable that remains from a tram that carried the ore down

The obligatory picture of the Bridal Vail Falls and the power plant. First AC in the mountains

We had snacks with us, but we got to Telluride at 11:30 and we took a chance on a restaurant meal. We choose one based just on the name shown on the GPS. It turned out to be an excellent choice. We both had Chile Renellos, pinto beans, and mixed vegetables.  We jotted down all the veggies so we can sauté the dish ourselves. I have always said sauces make the meal and that was the case today. You dish up your own chips and can have several sauces. I choose all three. One was made with tomatillos and was divine not only for chips but also for dipping the Chili Renellos.

Stuffed, we found the Imogene trail and went back up the other side of the valley we just came down. I was really looking forward to getting to the pass. Regrettably, by the time we gained the summit the CA smoke had settled in and it was not worth a single picture. We did not even get out of the Jeep.

And so it goes. It made for another long day - 7.5 hours, 6.5 of it behind the wheel. Dorothy was in pain by the time we got back just from having her foot low all day.

Wednesday, August 11 - Yesterday, I noticed something that was interfering with my foot on the brake pedal. Not a good thing as brake use is seriously important going down steep grades. I found a single screw had come out of the toad brake cylinder and it was flopping around the brake pedal. Of course, repair meant taking the whole assembly out. That took up my morning. 

Not much is lost as the smoke remains. Dorothy fixed BBQ, baked beans, and Althea corn for lunch. We had a nap and came into town to the library to download some movies and upload this post.