Last days in Alamogorda

Saturday May 11 2019

A beautiful morning breakfast on the grill and then sat around trying to decide what to do.  A hour later we figured it out.  We would do nothing today!  That worked for about 20 min, then Diane

This is just an interesting

camp site.  

started to get stuff out to clean and I headed outside to vacuum and wash the truck.  Diane started cleaning and the more she cleaned the more stuff she tore apart. By mid afternoon the truck was cleaned and washed inside and out.  The Moho was cleaned top to bottom(inside).  We poured a glass of wine, got the chairs out and just sat down to enjoy, when the wind picked up something fierce and the rain chased us inside.   Diane ended up making the pork roast in the oven.

Sunday May 12 2019

We had a lite breakfast and headed off to the  Museum of Space History around 10:30.  On our way Diane checked and the Museum didn't open until noon.  So we decided to have lunch first.  A place we have been wanting to try was just up the road so pulled in to the Hi-D-Ho drive-in where they actually came to the vehicle to take your order and then bring you your food. A flash back to the old days.  We just had burgers but they were huge and juicy(needed lots of napkins). Then it was off to the Museum.  It was very interesting and includes the International Space Hall of Fame. "Ham" the first monkey into space is buried here(who would of thought).  There was a lot of missile testing and research done here at White Sands over the years. It all started in WWII when the government leased/borrowed hand from local ranchers to test bombs.  After the war they liked the area for testing so they refused to give to back.  And eventually they just confiscated it, (go figure).  Back home, walks for Rudy and just hot dogs and beans for dinner.

Just a few pictures from the space museum.


Monday May 13 2019

We decided to try something new for breakfast so after Diane sliced, chopped and diced I made us an onion, mushroom, and cheese omelet with fresh sausage patties.   Worked around the camper, washed windshield, and made reservations.  Making reservations is always a challenge and today was no different but after two hours we are now booked for the rest of the month and we already had reservation in Golden CO so we are good until the 10th of June. Yea. Just as we were cleaning up the neighbors came over and we enjoyed happy hour with them.  They are also full timers and into their first year, it was a nice chat.  After they left we had ka-bobs on the grill but it was almost 7:30 until we ate.

Our last night at 

Holloman AFB

Tuesday May 14 2019

Another beautiful morning sunny 60 degrees warming quickly into the seventies.  After a quick breakfast cleaned up then off to Walgreens, coffee store and groceries  and of course lunch. Back to the Moho unpack and start preparing for our trip tomorrow.  We did get a new neighbor today and when they pulled in they were leaking hydraulic fluid, from their slide motor...oops.  Len and Barb our other neighbors came over about 4:30 for happy hour, then they headed out for dinner, while Brad had shrimp and I had left overs from yesterday.  All in all, it was a good day.

Alamogordo, NM

Tuesday May 7, 2019

We were up early and out of here by 8:10, Brad with the Moho and I had the truck and Rudy.  I got to the Moho shop just as Brad was finishing up with the technician.  We sat for a few minutes then we all got back in the truck and headed out in search of some coffee.  We finally settled on a coffee shop, 'Mad Coffee', but they didn't have any decaf, so we had up the road to a truck stop.  Brad got gas while I headed inside for coffee and a breakfast wrap to share (oatmeal and yogurt fades fast).  We finished there head out to the neighborhood park to eat, nice park but the wind just never lets up.  After that back to the shop for the Moho, no work done as it would take about 3 weeks for all the parts, and repairs and we are only here for a week.  Back home all set up by 12:30 and then nothing to do for the rest of the afternoon.   Brad did make chicken on the grill for a nice evening meal.

Wednesday May 8, 2019

We had breakfast on the grill then got ready and headed out to the White Sands National Monument.  We stopped at the visitors center and checked out the small museum they had and watched the 17

We made it to the top

of the Dune!!

min. film about the dunes themselves which ended up helping us appreciate the dunes when we got out there.  We then headed into the park, first stop at the Inter dune Boardwalk.  It was a short boardwalk over the dunes that had descriptions of some of the plants in the area.  Back to the truck and off to the heart of the dunes.  Now the sand is really gypsum that get tumbled and breaks down into tiny particles and looks like sand.  It was beautiful and absolutely  white when the sun shown on the dunes, we parked and actually climbed to the top of one of the dunes, that was not as easy as it sounds either.  We watched people sledding down the dunes, I think they would do about 2 runs and then would have enough of the climb.  Now the kids seemed to enjoy the challenge and would do a few more runs.  There were lots of picnic tables (all covered) and  a lot of them were being used.  We spent about 3 hours there then headed back to get Rudy and do some more walking.  We had a lazy dinner night and ordered wings from the Oasis Bar and Grill here on base, not bad.


 Pictures of White Sand click here:     White Sands

Thursday May 9, 2019

Oatmeal and yogurt then off we headed to Cloudcroft at 8500 feet elevation.  That really messes with us, we end up having to eat a breakfast bar and drink lots of water just to settle our stomachs. We stopped about half way up in High Rolls, NM  at the Old Apple Barn.  Now I thought I had seen junk

The Lodge reminded me of 

something out of 

'Dirty Dancing'

stores before, but this place put most of them to shame, it was rooms and rooms of stuff.  Nothing anybody would really need but they must sell a bunch of it to still be in business.  We headed up to hill and found the Chamber of Commerce and got some information on the town.  Found a local place to eat, chicken sandwich for Brad and I had the chicken quesadilla, both were good.  The museum was closed so our next option was a long drive, ah but then I spied the shopping area, so we turned in there.  There were a lot of little shops, the 'Off the Beaten Path' shop had some great things, but most of what I wanted was well over $100 and really wouldn't have fit in the Moho.   I had an iced tea from lunch, but Brad wanted to stop at a coffee shop and actually got a drink (Dirt Chai) that didn't make him sick, she made it with Almond Milk and decaf espresso....he was in heaven.  We walked around town until about 3:00, even making a purchase, then

I love all the whirly gig

artsy item up here!!

headed up to 'The Lodge' to check that out.  We thought about having Mother's day dinner there, but $42.00 for a buffet and I just can't eat enough to make that worth it, but the place is beautiful, built in 1899 and even has a resident ghost named Rebecca, no we didn't see her.  We were heading back down the mountain and decided to stop at the Wild Game Bar and Market.  Based on their recommendations we got some Bison burgers and a pack of wild boar sausage....I'll keep you posted on how they end up tasting.  A quick stop at Albertson's then home to rescue Rudy, a walk around with him then sitting outside trying to hide from the wind.  In for left overs for dinner and to watch The Big Bang Theory, it's getting close to the end of the show.

Friday May 10, 2019

We got up this morning with no real plans, so just hanging out at the Moho, Brad headed off for a bike ride and I jumped in the shower.  Brad came back, got cleaned up and we headed into town for lunch.  We stopped at the Patio Pizza restaurant and had Green Chili pizza, a bit spicy and not to bad, but I think once is enough for me.  A quick stop at the Lowe's Market to check out the store then off to the 'Tularosa Basin Museum of History'.  We spent about 2 hours in there, first a bit of an orientation from the lady at the desk, then off to tour the museum on our own.  After that we found an antique store to roam around....boy the stuff was expensive, but I did manage to make a small purchase.  

Carlsbad to Alamogordo

Saturday May 4, 2019

Beautiful drive down

the mountain side

We got up and headed out of Carlsbad about 10:30 in the morning.  First stop is Walgreen's for Brad's prescription, then off to Artesia for Fuel and a lunch stop. What a great little town, lots of art work, shops and history, we might need to stop there again.  As we were pulling out from our lunch stop there was a sign warning of steep grades and sharp curves, seemed funny in the desert.  Now the elevation in Artesia is 3379 feet and we drove through part of the Chihuahuan Desert (straight and flat) heading to Alamogordo NM.  After about an hour of desert travel(flat and straight) we noticed a bit of an incline and then very slowly things started to turn green and our elevation increased to 5500 feet.  After that our climb increased dramatically and curves got sharper then we were in a little town called Cloudcroft at 8600

Our first view o f the

White Sands!

feet.  What a difference, it is a little cooler, but everything is green and there are actually trees.  We decided we'll be doing a drive back to here for a visit and some sightseeing.  After that we started the descend, now it was probably about 90 miles to get this high and the downhill side is 17 miles to 4066 feet, wow what a rush, but the Moho did great.  Diane so enjoyed the down hill trek with the straight down view/drop out her window.   We got to the Holloman AFB, found the Famcamp and were set up by 3:30.  Not a fancy campground, but it's nicely located for seeing all the sights in the area.

Sunday May 5, 2019

Oh yea, I forgot to mention, yesterday when we stopped for lunch, we had the generator running so we could run the AC.  Just as I was getting ready to shut the AC off, there was a loud bang.  As it

We are staying about 10 miles

south of this sign.  Makes 

me wonder if we're safe!!

turned out one of the 3 AC's decided crap out.  So first thing this morning was a call to Brad's nephew, our HVAC guy, who thought it might have been the fan, so that'll get checked tomorrow.

 We headed into Alamogordo to find a place for lunch and found a Mexican restaurant open.  I had the chicken and green chili burrito and Brad had a shrimp burrito, mine actually had much better flavor.  After that a google search showed that the visitors center in town was open so we headed there to get some information on the area and the sights we need to see. The lady at the visitors center was very nice and most helpful. We did make the mistake of asking how she was doing, wrong question, after 15 minutes we started to slowly back up toward the exit. phew! We made it out.  We have found out  in the South most things are closed on Sunday, so it was a quick trip to the Military Exchange and then the commissary just to check them out and off to home to Rudy. 

Monday May 6 2019

Off to the RV dealer after breakfast to check about the a/c unit and as you would guess they really couldn't say anything until they look at it.  So tomorrow we will be taking the coach in for work, appt at 9:00 AM.  But we made the most of the trip,  First was a stop at McGinn's Pistachio Land to taste and buy pistachios and other touristy stuff.  They also had a wine tasting section which was free, we couldn't pass that up.  Then off to The Heart of Desert Pistachio Farm and darn they had free wine tasting there too.  It was a nice day so we got a small pizza and a glass of wine, sat on the patio and enjoyed lunch.  We stopped at the mall walked around for awhile, Diane found a dress she couldn't live without and then back home.  We sat outside for some time chatting then a walk for Rudy and sausages for diner.

This is the McGinn Pistachio Farm and Winery.

They claim to have the worlds largest Pistachio.

The winery is beautiful with the white sands in the background.

This is the Heart of the Desert Pistachio farm

and Winery.  I love the Pistachios here, I've been ordering them for years!!

Carlsbad NM

Tuesday 30 April 2019

We were up early even though we are only traveling 80 miles to Carlsbad, NM, just a bad nights sleep.  We were on the road by 10:15 stopped just once for lunch and arrived around 12:45.  The first 

Welcome to Windy

Sandy New Mexico!

40 miles were OK but after lunch the wind picked up a lot.  I guess it was 25/30 mph with gusts up to 40mph.  And out here in the flat land that means dust.  Sometimes we thought it was fog but no as you get closer it was dust.  We set up camp then went to the visitors center for info, drove around town for a little then back to camp. The wind was so bad Diane made chicken wraps and we stayed inside. Hot, just around 90.

Wednesday 1 May 2019

We had a quick breakfast and headed to the Carlsbad Caverns around 9:30.   The 30 mile ride down route 285 was lovely (in a desert kind of way) then a 10 mile drive up to the edge of the Guadalupe Mountain to the Carlsbad Cavern Visitor's center.  We stopped at an information pull off on the way up the mountain and while reading the plaque 5 mountain sheep walked by. That was cool.  We walked up to get our tickets and the lady wanted to know if we were taking the elevator down. We said no we will walk, well she looked at us (really me) and said are you sure!

I'm good I said and off we went.  I'll just give you some info,  it is a 850 foot descent to the bottom, that is 85 stories,  it is wet, slippery, very dimly lit, and very, very steep.  About half way I had to sit and rest watching younger people walking by both up and down.  After a little rest we made it to the bottom. Yea, there is a snack bar and restroom we were both relieved. We had a bunch of pictures from the caverns I think she has a link but they were awl inspiring and we didn't do the extra tours.

I think we spent 3 hours walking around looking at everything.  It was hard to imagine the early explorers climbing rope ladders with just a dim lantern. We were ready to head back up and Diane asked if we were walking back up, but it was to late I was already in the elevator.  Up to the top, walked around the souvenir shop bought a few things and then home.  As we were leaving Diane found a side road down through the canyon and of course we took it.  A nine mile road at ten mph plus slow down for the switch backs and it becomes a 1 hour detour.  After that a ride home to rescue Rudy, burgers on the grill and pain killers for my knees/legs and the day is over.

Click here:      Carlsbad Cavern


Thursday 2May 2019

  We woke up about 4:30 am to the sound of the slide out covers flapping in the wind, next was the lawn chairs flipping over then the Moho was rocking.  It was just wind but a lot of it.  We went to Happy's for breakfast, it was OK no need to return.  Came home walked Rudy and on our way out by 10:30.  We had several stops to make, drug store, hardware store, lunch, money and groceries.  With the town being over run with oil field worker everything is congested.  Some times making a left turn is a nerve racking event. The first stop was for money at a (free CU) they wanted to charge me $4.00 no way. And headed to next one after making two more left turns it also charged me $4.00 no way.  So Diane got out of the truck walked around and her card worked. Ugh   I was trying to use my credit card, switched to my debit card all was well. I  missed the turn to the restaurant and had to turn around in traffic.  The rest of day went OK the grocery store is always full and you have to hunt for a parking spot.  We made it home unloaded groceries and happy hour was on. The wind died down enough for burgers on the grill.

Friday 3 May 2019

Very warm today but calm so I'm  not complaining.  We headed out to the river walk and few errands to get ready for our trip tomorrow. First was the river walk it was very nice along the Pecos River but just to hot.  We walk for almost a hour then headed back as temps were around 85 degrees.  Next was lunch we stopped at Junior's a Mexican restaurant we sat down and waited the food delivered to other tables looked good but after ten minutes no one waited on us so we left.  I guess they don't serve

English speaking people.  Next was the BLM office for some info then lunch at the Red Chimney. Once again we split "The Hogs Plate" and we brought left overs home. Then it was the second trip to the drug store trying to get scripts filled and again no luck.  The grocery store for stuff we forgot yesterday and gas station.  Then it was three o'clock so no Desert Zoo this trip. Back home walk Rudy left overs for dinner and start preparing for tomorrow.

Roswell New Mexico

Friday 26 April 2019

We had breakfast in, then headed into town.  We parked and walked up to the visitors center, but we

Our new !from

the Visitors Center

already had all the hand outs that they had.  We did manage to get our pictures taken with the aliens while we were there.  We then headed down the street, hitting a couple of the shops, of course they are all alien related, go figure.  We had lunch at Pepper's Bar and Grill, my meal was good, Brad's was OK.  More walking after that and we made it to the UFO Museum.  It really was interesting to walk through.  There were a lot of the testimonials of the people that were supposedly at the UFO crash site, most from their death beds since their lives and the lives of their

A display from

the museum.

families were threatened if they ever spoke of the incident.  There was a lot of information on many more sightings from all over the world along with pictures and transcripts.   It really makes you think.  Head home, rescue Rudy a couple of walks, dinner and off to bed.

We found the New Mexico

Military Institute, where our

son-in-law, Len attended 

High School.  

Saturday 27 April 2019

We had breakfast on the grill, then headed into town to visit the museum.  We stopped at three different ones and they were all closed....what the heck.  The only thing we could find open was a

Enjoyably !!

winery....imagine that.  Well we stopped in and did a wine tasting which ended up being some pretty decent wine, so we decided to stay for lunch and have a nice glass of wine.  Well you know how that goes, we couldn't decide on something we both liked, so we each had something different, ordered sandwiches (which were wonderful).  Then we ordered another glass of wine and headed to the patio, there was finally a seat open out side.  We ended up being there about 3 hours, had a nice time, but  the shopping got put on hold, headed home and a walk for Rudy....and us.  Oh what a day, day drinking and off to bed earlier than normal.

Sunday 28 April 2019

Today is a stay at home, clean, laundry and all that fun stuff you still need to do.  We did a lot of break walks with Rudy, then headed out about 2:00 to find the grocery store and get the few things

Down the road from us

was a flying pig.  

we needed.  Back home finish all that we had started, wine didn't get opened until about 6:00, then a start to a great evening dinner.  We had the last of the Filet mignons, mushrooms and enjoyed the evening.  Not much exciting but a lot of little things got done.

Monday 29 April 2019

It was kind of a cool morning but we still had breakfast on grill.  We headed in to town around 1030 to the Historical Society Museum.  It was in a old house of one of the original cattle ranchers of the area. Is was a grand old house for the time.  It was brick/stone, some 5000 plus square foot 2 and 1/2 story house.  Beautiful wood work including a 4 foot wide front door.  Lot of historical displays upstairs including the 1956 Little League Championship team photo from Williamsport Pa.  Next was lunch at a Thai place, the food was great and we brought half of it home.   Our last task of the day was to pick up some wine.  Not an easy task, we went from one end of town to the other stopped at three stores and when it was over we ended up buying wine at Walgreens.  Finally we head home, walked Rudy and left overs for dinner and start packing for our move tomorrow.

The museum was a 

home built in 1912.

An original stained

glass window in the

home/museum.

Beautiful!!

Lubbock then out of Texas

Monday 22 April 2019

We were on the road by 9:30, it was an uneventful drive to Lubbock TX arriving and set up by 2:30.  It was our usual day of travel 207 miles but only one stop.  We have been staying off the interstates the only problem is finding a rest area.  Now there are a lot of places to pull over but I don't know if I can maneuver the motor home through it until you are passing it.  Anyway, we drove through some desolate areas and didn't eat lunch until we were about an hour away from Lubbock.  It was very cool temps only in the low 60's.  No grilling just left overs for dinner.

Tuesday 23 April 2019

Woke up to the pitter patter of rain drops and that was nice because we had hard rain during the night with a  tornado warning for a hour or so.  Tired of that, this is the third stop in a row with tornado warnings.  It is not funny and Diane has started asking where the shelter is when we check in.  Anyway that didn't stop us.  After an indoor breakfast we headed out for the day umbrellas in hand.  First was the Silent Wings Museum it is a museum of the glider planes used during WWII.  We thought it would take a hour or so ended up we were in there for 2 1/2 hours.  I never realized how much they were used I knew they were used on D-day but I found out they were used through out Europe and the Philippines.  They even had a small bulldozer they carried to build a landing strip.  We were starved by the time we left so we stopped at the closest place for lunch.  We were lucky it was an event center that happen to serve lunch and it was great.  It was a smoke house and we ordered the BEAST and of course we shared it.  It consisted of 4 slices of brisket, 4 ribs, 1/4 lb. smoked turkey, 2 jalapeno and cheese sausages,  1/3 lb. pulled pork, homemade biscuits and two sides.  Oh I forgot a cup of jalapeno bean stew came with it.  We brought half of it home. And the day wasn't over next was the Buddy Holly museum and again it took twice as long as we thought it would.  And again you learn so much.  I'll just mention two things Buddy Holly's professional career only last 18 months and his group was the Crickets and they so impressed a group from England they called themselves the Beatles.  By now we were exhausted back home, walk Rudy and snacks for 

dinner.

 Glider used in WWII

Buddy Hollys Famed glasses

Child hood home of J. I. Allison, he wrote 'That'll Be the Day" and he and Buddy wrote many of their songs in this home.

Wednesday 24 April 2019

Another cool cloudy day but without rain.  To cool to grill so indoor breakfast then off again.  Today we had a lot of stops.  Started at the post office,  liquor store, lunch and then the Wind Power Museum.  We learned our lesson and had lunch before the museum.  We stopped at the Iron Skillet it was very good we both just had salad with chicken.  After yesterday we had to step it down a notch.  Then off to the Wind Power Museum again it was ten times larger than we planned for. There were three arena size buildings all connected and probably 2 acres of outside displays.  There were displays of mill wheels often turned by wind mills, huge scales train running the length of the building.  By the time we were done it was to late to stop at the winery.  I know, really, better planning next time.  Back to Rudy some walks, packing for trip tomorrow and left overs for dinner. 

This ones for Dad!

Lots and lots of

Windmills!

 

A Lady made miniature homes and 

Display pieces.   There must have been 

100 of them.  This is just one of them.

A display of Grinding stones,

many from PA and this one is

from Hershey Chocolate Factory.

                                             
There was also a huge model train display.  I didn't get a picture but it was really great and covered half of the first building then climbed a platform and ran around the building over head.

Thursday 25 April 2019

Still cool this morning but it is to warm up to 80's this afternoon.  Breakfast, cleaned up and on the road by 10:20.  Learning from previous trips we started looking for a lunch spot much sooner.  We pulled into a large gas station with lots of parking for lunch.  A very nice ride again all on secondary roads.  We arrived at our campground and WOW what a scary place, we drove in one end and out the other.  While I was turning the coach around Diane found another place just two miles away and it was great.  Temps were is the 80's so burgers on the grill for dinner.

   Lessons learned in Texas.  Everything is bigger in Texas, an F150 is just a soccer mom's vehicle.   Wind is just a way of life.  Tornadoes to Texans is just another cloudy day.  And we were surprised with industries we didn't associate with Texas.  Sheep and goats are huge along with cotton.  Today we drove for miles and miles with nothing but cotton fields with an occasional oil pumper.

Now we are in Roswell, sleeping with the Aliens!!

That's our RV in the background!!

Easter weekend

Friday 19 April 2019  (Good Friday)

Lovely this morning but it was breakfast in anyway.  We watched a group of airmen setting up for what looked like a retirement party with color guard and everything, so we headed out with Rudy just as their ceremony started.  We didn't want to leave him here with all the commotion right beside the camper.  We stopped and got a pizza then drove to a nearby state park for a little picnic lunch.   The lake is at only 14 percent of water capacity but nice anyway.  We had a nice lunch but the trails were just a little to narrow to take Rudy on.  The cactus plants were right to the edge of the trail.  We drove all around the park and finally found a mile loop of  road we could walk.  It was kind of funny to see boat ramps that are 100 yards away from the water. We would love to see it again when it is full.  Back to the camper another great day to sit outside for happy hour. 

Saturday 20 April 2019

Sitting area at 

Miss Hattie's 

Breakfast on the grill cleaned up and headed to town by 11:00.  We walked through several antique stores and mercantile.  The highlight of the day was lunch at Miss Hattie's  Restaurant and Cathouse Lounge.  We split a club sandwich and soup which was very good. And then a tour of Miss Hattie's Bordello.  It was really cool, the bordello operated from 1902 until 1952 when the Texas rangers came to San Angelo just to shut it down.  The girls all left town and Miss Hattie simply locked the doors.  No one touched anything until 1975 when someone realized the historic significance and turned it into a museum. The beds, furnishing, clothing and personal items are just like they were in 1952.  Several "girls" settled locally so they had to remove the last names from the record book. With the authenticity it was one of the best finds we came across lately.  Back to the campground and wow the place has just exploded with tent campers and day use gatherings. People and KIDS running through the camp site, they were everywhere.  Leftovers for dinner locked the doors and off to bed.

Sunday 21 April 2019  (Happy Easter)

Happy Easter to everyone.  We had a beautiful sunrise and a warm sunny day. I made chorizo, egg and cheese wraps with all the fixin's  for Easter breakfast.  The tent campers and picnic people were not bad at all.  We spent the day cleaning and packing for our trip tomorrow.  And once again I waited the entire week before I cleaned the windshield and once again it was hard to clean.  The crowd started to thin out by 3pm or so. Diane had made us baked ham, pickled eggs, coleslaw and potato salad for Easter dinner.  A very nice day.