Saturday, April 28, 2018

2018-12 Echo Canyon, Chama New Mexico


2018-12

dandelion's cove the ground and lawns
throughout Chama New Mexico adding
lots of color to the area


Chama New Mexico


(Home of the Cumbres-Toltec Railroad) One of the best railroad tours in the country. I’ve done it twice)


Ghost Ranch NM


Echo Canyon NM

 
At Echo Canyon:  nature made or man made?
high up on a cliff

FROM THE HEART OF THE OLD WEST


Campground: Echo (Canyon) Amphitheater, Carson National Forest. $5 senior discount. Water available at entrance to campsites. No other utilities. Small campground, beautiful mountain views and site of Echo Canyon.

no hookups, but water is available.  


Campground: Heron Lake State Park. Chama New Mexico. $4 electric, I purchased the season pass which gives me free camping for a year, New Mexico parks. 30 amp electric, water. Dump station available. Some sites are full hookups.

Heron Lake State Park
Water and 30 amp Electric (no water views from elec. sites)


Distance traveled: 100 miles


hyw 84 leading north out of Santa Fe


Leaving the Cochiti lake/Santa Fe area, I quickly enter the northern part of New Mexico with it’s wide open spaces, stunning rock formations and an area that Georgia O'Keeffe painted many times. I even visited the Ghost ranch where she had a home looking out onto the colorful scenery. I would have liked to have taken a jeep tour around the property where she did many of her paintings, but I would have had to have made arrangements in advance as their limited tours fill up quickly. I settled for taking a tour of the two museums they have on site. One of the museums had a nice exhibit on the influence of women on preserving the many historical sites out west.

log cabin near front entrance to Ghost Cayon

Georgia O'Keeffe home at Ghost Ranch



large collection of water jugs
used by native Indians

Ghost Ranch, chimney rock

many colors changing throughout the day




Note to self:

Stop off at the small settlement of Abiquiu New Mexico as they have one of Georgia O'Keeffe's home’s and studio available for touring. There is also the Purple Adobe Lavender Farm. Might be well worth stopping for.

Along the route (hwy 84) there’s a sign pointing to a monastery off one of the dirt roads. Needless to say, this area would be awesome for contemplation and meditation. I continued onto Echo Canyon for an overnight of dry camping (no hookups) and once again tested my new generator for a short time. It started up fine, even with being at 7111 feet elevation. Daytime temps were a comfortable 70 degrees and night time was down into the 30’s. Ekk, that’s a bit chilly for me, with many blankets on the bed and the furnace running half the night. Though I turned it off for a couple of hours trying to conserve the batteries used to run the fan on the propane furnace.

Echo Canyon, no hookups, used solar panels and new generator

awesome rock formations

small park, with picnic areas

Echo Canyon formation, hello, hellooooo....


Western Douglas Fir

high up on the side of a shear mountain side,
this tree has found a footing


I could have stayed at another Army Corp campground which has electric sites, but wanted to spend a night at the Echo canyon site.

RV TIP:


My friend Kathy S gave me one of these ECO Cloth's to use for cleaning my RV windows.  She found it at a flea market.  I gave it a try, wiping all the windows down with the one cloth which was run under tap water, wrung out so it was barely damp.  Could not believe how clean it got all the windows, no streaks either.  Thanks Kathy, it worked great.  ps did not rinse the cloth between wiping each window clean.

Eco Cloth, works great!

Distance traveled: 37 miles.


lots of pine-cones at my
next campsite 
Ok so this is perhaps one of my shorter trips to get to the next campground. Because of the short distance, I took the opportunity to stop for fuel ($3.61 a gallon diesel) which is about 61 cents higher than in more populated areas. Also stopped and had breakfast. Which would have been good except the hash-browns (which I shouldn’t have anyway) were ice cold, as if they had just taken them out of the fridge. So it was onto the state park, which isn’t busy this time of year and the ranger said I could take any unoccupied spot for a couple of nights, even though most sites indicate they are reservable sites and only one night permitted. The lake is diminished in size as the water level is extremely low. Some boat access points have only a grassy lake bottom. The locals tell me that this winter they have had virtually no snow on the ground, which quite often would still be on the ground this time of year. We are at 7,871 feet elevation after all. A few of the mountain peaks have a small bit of snow remaining on them. All adding up to little to no water to fill the lake/reservoir. Drought is a common word for this area.

no views of Heron Lake from electric campsites

near dam spillway

over half of lake is empty, drought years


Talking to a forest ranger, she was telling me about a group of hunters coming to the area. One of the family members, a young man in his 20’s, in excellent health, started to feel like he was coming down with the flu, headaches etc. Didn’t go on their first day of hunting. A few days later, he didn’t make it. It was altitude sickness. Said it’s a hereditary thing. What ever the case, it’s worth noting the symptoms. I did notice one shop in town advertised that they had oxygen available. I do notice when walking/hiking that I seem more out of shape, just a sign of the thinner air and need to get more oxygen into my system….

Mule deer are prevalent everywhere in Northern New Mexico


There are lots of mule deer in the area. A fairly large deer. Blinking signs are on the main highway leading into Chama warning of deer crossing. I’ve seen quite a few in the park and heading into town.

The town doesn’t seem to be doing very well. Of course it is before the summer season when many tourist arrive to go on the Cumbre’s/Toltec Train ride. it’s one of the top train rides in the country and I’ve enjoyed it a couple times. They also tell me this is one of the poorest counties in New Mexico.

entering Chama

your business here...

not much traffic in town this time of year


only two shops open in the mini mall the day
I checked out the place....

one of the top train rides one could ever take.


The area consists of high country pastures with many horses grazing and even some alpaca ranches. All surrounded by mountains off in the distance. Heron Lake State Park is quiet this time of year, with just a smattering of campers. My little home on wheels sits backed into a cozy site surrounded with Western Douglas Fir, cedar trees and pinion trees.  

More photos:


Tuesday, April 24, 2018

2018-11 Albuquerque and Santa Fe New Mexico


2018-11

Orange poppies, it's springtime

Santa Fe New Mexico


Campground: Cochiti Lake (an Army Corp developed campground) 50 amp. $10 senior rate. Lower campground loops have electric and water at sites. All sites have paved pad and many sites have covers over the picnic table. 50+ over-the-air tv stations and strong Verizon signal.

Cochiti Lake, New Mexico, Juniper Loop
I've had my welcome sign
for a few years and had
to glue the bear back to-
gether again
The winds have been an almost constant factor this week, making for poor conditions to do any exploring outdoors. Though I’ve had to do a number of chores that have kept me busy. Returning the second electric generator since I could not get it to start. Finally after having a repair guy at Home Depot where I had purchased the generator check it all out it was determined that the damage done to the unit during shipping and other factors, my best option was to once again return it for a full refund.

Plan B was put in place to order a third generator, this was a Champion brand which I ordered through Walmart/3rd party order. Had to have it sent to the FEDEX distribution center in Santa Fe and I’ll pick it up early next week before once again heading out on the road, hopefully to destinations with less wind in the forecast.

My other project was to get my eyes examined specifically eye pressure since I recently had laser surgery on both eyes and needed to see what changes had occurred with that. The Dr at Eye Mart Express determined that the pressures were good at 14 and 16. Though I know my specialist would like to see them lower. At least it’s within an acceptable range. While there, I also got an eye glass prescription renewed since I haven’t had new glasses in about 6 years, maybe more.

two new eye glasses, done in 1 1/2 hours
It was a quick experience selecting new glasses and both pairs were made in less than an hour and a half. First time I’ve ever had such speedy service. One pair has the transition lenses which I like. Learned a new trick, if the glasses don’t go dark enough all I need do is put the eye glasses in the freezer for less than an hour and they will be rejuvenated back to normal. And although they advertise $38 glasses, you know that never is what you’ll pay. My cost for two pairs: $550+

Although there are just a ton of good things to see and do in the area, with the winds and cooler weather, I’ve not done the exploring I’ve done in the past in this area, just enjoying local scenery and an impromptu get together with friends Chis Lynn and Ginny and new friends Gracie and Mike who are camp hosts at Cochiti Lake campground. Gracie and Mike are on their second year full-timing with plans to camp host 6 months and then travel the other 6 months. While up at the front check in office, I met a guy who’s been on the road for 30 years. He was telling us that his first 5 years were long excursions using only his Prius car. Said is was an awesome vehicle for getting around, besides the great gas mileage since it runs on electric and gas. A feature he really enjoyed was that he could set the temperature in the car at night to around 65 degrees. When the batteries got low, the engine would come on for about 15 minutes, recharging the batteries and keeping the car cozy and comfortable for a good nights sleep. There are so many ways to “camp out” or go full-timing. Now he has a van camper with only the very barest of necessities. But it fits his lifestyle completely.





Stopped into the FEDEX store today to pick up my generator, after going to the distribution center I’d put on the mailing label I was redirected to a small local FEDEX ground shipping center. When I got there, they had the generator, but only a couple of women operating the store…. Obviously they couldn’t help lift a 135 lb generator into my truck, so I’ll go back later in the day when two strong young men will be there to help out.

should be a great addition for my dry camping adventures

I have one more day in the area and will drive down to Albuquerque to visit a former co-worker Lynn Mroz. And what a pleasant visit we had. Having brunch on the outdoor patio at Hannah and Nate’s in Corrales NM. Always fun to catch up with former co-workers and friends. A bit nostalgic since my sweet Niece “Heidi” once lived in this area. She is missed but resides with the angels. And a big congratulation as Lynn is now a proud Grandma. And what a sweet little baby she has to dote on like all good Grand Mama’s.

Lynn, good friend and former co-worker

Lynn and I ate out on the patio
but there is good seating inside as well
 Hannah and Nate’s restaurant
I would highly recommend the place

Needless to say this isn’t so much of a travel journal this week, but more of what a full time camper needs to do on occasion while on the road. It’s not always touring, exploring, finding new adventures and that’s ok. Though those things make for a very interesting lifestyle, it’s nice to know one can just spend a week doing those projects that need attending too before they pile up and become overwhelming.

a whole row of lilacs at a Taco Bell

and yes, I filled my nose with the beautiful scent
of lilacs 


Update on generator:


Well after the first two generators did not work, of course I returned them to Home Depot for a full refund. And I’ll admit they were very kind about taking them back, I ordered a Champion 3800 watt dual fuel generator. It arrived via Fedex and after setting it up in the back of the truck, connecting the propane tank, flipping a few switches, it started up right away. This one does have an electric start and a manual choke feature which makes it much easier to start. For a cost of around $569.00 I think is was a good deal. And should be a great asset for when I boondock/ or dry camp.

Update on rental Rv lots:


I currently have both of my Rv lots in St Cloud Florida tentatively rented out. Lot 56 has a young couple on it right now and Lot 55 is scheduled to have someone move in May 15. It’s nice to know that while traveling around the country my sister is able to aid me with the rentals.

I’m also having a few palm trees replaced as they were cold sensitive and didn’t fair too well during this past winters hard freeze in central Florida.

the robellini palms are doing well (pygmy palms)

poor foxtail didn't do well
and will be replaced

a picture of the renter's 5th wheel on lot 56

may have these Christmas Palms replaced

I’ll be heading out tomorrow morning traveling through NW New Mexico before getting into Colorado and Utah and Northern Arizona where my plan is to get to Lake Powell for a water adventure.

More photos: