New Mexico

As you know, we stopped in San Antonio , saw the outside of the Alamo, the beautiful Riverwalk, Courthouse, Train Station and many lovely old  adobe homes, but there was no parking anywhere – again, it was “Spring Break” in Texas.

From San Antonio traveling north, there was empty land – derelict little towns and vast expanses of almost dry and barren land for miles and miles, tumbleweeds piled up against the fence.  

We ended up (after a long, dry day) in Fort Stockton, TX and “camped” at the Walmart there.  Carole reports that the store was not up to Virginia standards and she didn’t buy a thing! 

After getting back reluctantly in the drivers seat, we headed for New Mexico, and almost immediately saw a difference in the landscape and the prosperity of the settlements – the land did seem to be less arid. 

We ended up in Carlsbad NM and found a state campground at Bradley Lake.  We met the lovliest  (US Army) family there, and Luke and Claudia helped unstick our rear window.  They are moving to  Saratoga, NY in June and are looking forward to seeing green and snow again – not much here.

We had planned to go the Carlsbad Caverns the next morning, but had a problem with the electrical system that needed immediate attention, so we hightailed it to an RV service center, where we were referred to a parts place and repair facility in Albuquerque, NM, only 267 miles away, filled with nothingness (but we did see a group of pronghorns).

Through Roswell (no, we didn’t stop to see the alien mummies) and through more  hot and dry and empty countryside, but we got there by 5pm, picked up the part and were chased from spot to spot at the local Walmart, but were at the Service place Saturday at 8am and are now all fixed up.

Here’s the best part.  We are now in a wonderful campground outside of Santa Fe that we had discovered in our 2006 trip (Cochiti Lake, Corps of Engineers) and are enjoying the cool weather and the beautiful mountains.  Here are the pictures of the campground and the scenery.  We will leave Santa Fe on Tuesday morning, but will tell you about our visit here in Santa Fe and Taos on our next entry.

More later, let us hear from you!