One year later?!

When I was young, I had a diary a number of different times.  They all started out with a brand new physical diary, the kind with a clasp that folds over the cover so it can be locked with a special key.  That same key unlocked every other diary of its kind in the United States. As far as that is concerned, those diaries could be unlocked with a simple bobby pin, not that I would ever have used a bobby pin to open one of my sisters' diaries.  But I digress.
When I started this blog, I had all intentions of keeping it current every day, but as with all of my childhood diaries, it started out strong and petered out to nothing in a matter of time.  When I told Bill I was going to start it up again, he indicated that I would now have to catch everyone up on what has happened in the past year.  Nope, ain't happening. No apologies, no excuses.
I will, however, outline the general facets of life during my absence from this blog.
1. October 2016:  We meandered our way from New Mexico through Arizona, eventually ending up at our son Mike's home in Kelseyville, CA.
2. October 2016-January 2017: Spent the holidays with family, getting to know 3 foster kids then living with Mike and Jess.
3. Jan. 2017-mid-February 2017: Traveled to Quartzsite and Yuma, AZ, where I began seeking employment in earnest.
4. Mid-February to Present: Worked with a team from Dignity Health on a 9 1/2 month project, rolling out a new electronic medical record at 2 hospitals in "the valley." Bakersfield and Stockton, CA.
5. Present: In Las Vegas, NV, finished out the project remotely and explored Vegas.  Tomorrow we head out to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.  Or wherever a whim might take us.

Time is flying by....
We've been to some very interesting places in the past week!

We are interested in the city of Las Cruces, NM, so we rented a car and spent some time looking at parts of the city as possible places to perhaps live in eventually.
We also visited a very nice little part of Las Cruces, the old city of  Mesilla.  Wandered around and looked in little shops.  Click here to read about Mesilla.

We visited White Sands National Monument in the northern Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico. It's known for its dramatic landscape of rare white gypsum sand dunes. There was a raised Interdune Boardwalk with interpretive exhibits on wildlife and other features. We drove on the Dunes Drive looping from the White Sands Visitor Center to the dune field.

Click here for more pix

About halfway between Silver City and Deming is City of Rocks State Park.
"City of Rocks gets its name from the incredible volcanic rock formations found here. The park encompasses a one square mile area in the scenic Chihuahuan desert region of southwestern New Mexico at an elevation of 5,200 feet. The “city” is a geologic formation made up of large, sculptured rock columns, or pinnacles, rising as high as 40 feet and separated by paths or lanes resembling city streets. These rocks were formed about 34.9 million years ago when a very large volcano erupted. Then, erosion over millions of years slowly formed the sculptured columns seen today, creating a stunning, otherworldly landscape."

Our RV is in this photo.  See it??

"Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is a U.S. National Monument created to protect Mogollon cliff dwellings in the Gila Wilderness on the headwaters of the Gila River in southwest New Mexico. The 533-acre national monument was established by President Theodore Roosevelt through executive proclamation on November 16, 1907."

After a short hike, we were treated to an amazing view inside the primitive community that lived here for only one generation.

Anybody know what this is?

Tomorrow we'll explore Arizona around the Tucson area.

Thus far, this trip has been all we expected and more.  We're relaxed, we're learning and experiencing new things, and we feel blessed to be able to travel with our home on our backs.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Just before dawn we made out way to the balloon launching field. We stumbled onto the field by the hundreds and were able to watch the balloon teams setting up in real time.  Until just before launch, we were able to stand right next to the baskets with their propane tanks ready to go.  Testing the burners, the balloonists intermittently lit the area with bursts of light and warmth.
When it was time for the balloon to fill with hot air, a team member would scoot everyone away from the basket and the flat shape of the balloon on the ground.  Once the balloon was inflated, it coasted along the grass for a few steps and then lifted into the air.  On the ground, everyone cheered noisily each time a new balloon took off.
The first few balloons rose in the dark, with the dawn just breaking behind them.  Soon the sky was light and hundreds of hot air balloons crowded the sky.  All different shapes, sizes, and colors.
An amazing process to witness.

Rolling into the Southwest

We've had a busy week!
When we left New Orleans, we drove to Galveston, TX  and stayed in a resort park at Jamaica Beach right across from the Gulf of Mexico.  I was able to get Bill into the salt water, which wasn't much colder than the air.  Delicious.

When we left there, we drove along the gulf and checked into Choke Canyon State Park in Calliham, TX.  We had a very secluded site with views of a lake.  Very tame deer came out to feed at dusk and in the morning, rabbits were munching on the grass. 

We had one very long travel day and stopped for the night at a rest stop populated with tractor trailer rigs.  There was an impressive thunderstorm while we were there.

The next morning Peggy and John went their own way and we went ours to Carlsbad Caverns.  What a treat!!  The caves where enormous, and not at all what we expected.

Click here to check it out!

The next day we drove to Roswell, NM and visited the International UFO Museum and Research Center which was definitely on my BUCKET LIST. Very informational and exciting for a UFO/alien buff like me.

We drove west after that to Valley of Fires Recreational Area. 

"Valley of Fires recreation area is located immediately adjacent to the Malpais Lava Flow. Approximately 5,000 years ago, Little Black Peak erupted and flowed 44 miles into the Tularosa Basin, filling the basin with molten rock. The resulting lava flow is four to six miles wide, 160 feet thick and covers 125 square miles. The lava flow is considered to be one of the youngest lava flows in the continental United States.

From a distance, Valley of Fires appears as barren rock but when you walk through the nature trail there are many varieties of flowers, cactus, trees and bushes typical of the Chihuahuan desert. Animals include bats, roadrunners, quail, cottontails, mule deer, barberry sheep, and lizards. It's also a virtual birdwatcher's paradise with great horned owls, burrowing owls, turkey vultures, hawks, gnat catchers, cactus wrens, sparrows and golden eagles."

This place was surreal.  We camped on a small island of untouched lad, smack in the middle of a lava field.

  Click this picture for a slide show.

We joined Peggy and John at Elephant Butte RV Resort in Elephant Butte, NM.

Our next adventure will be Albuquerque!