Monday, December 5, 2005
We got all of our jobs done yesterday so we had nothing to do today except try to retrieve our e-mail. Sharon also had a couple of Christmas ornaments she had started on yesterday and was planning to finish them up today.
I had also decided to dump our tanks and refill our water since our hose was frozen this morning. We took our showers and used the water in our tank until the water defrosted. It actually didn't thaw out until this afternoon so I really didn't have andything to do all day until then.
We needed to find someplace to shop for a few groceries today and as we drove around we ran across a Super Wal-Mart and picked up what we needed.We also got directions to the Post Office to buy stamps and mail out the Christmas cards. As long as we were gone around noon we decided to find an Arby's and try out the new Reuben sandwich they have been advertising. We found one right next to the Post Office so we stopped and had the sandwich. We also found out that they're fries taste just like the ones at the T&T Supper Club at home. I'll put that in the file for future reference.
When we finally got home the hose was thawed out so we took care of the dumping chores. I needed Sharon's help today because of the logs that were in the site between us and the sewer. And later it seemed like we got a lousy dump anyway.
We watched TV for awhile before Supper tonight and managed to find Jeopardy and Seinfeld before we sat down to eat. Sharon made Spaghetti and Sausage tonight with Garlic Bread and Salad. She had brought Becco's Sausage from home, like she usually does. We always have a couple of meals of that sausage after we leave the frozen north. It's like being at home except without the snow.
As we settled in for TV tonight Sharon was still working on her snowflake ornaments and finishing them up. We also got a call from Norm and Sue tonight and they were in Winslow, Arizona. We decided that they probably wouldn't make it to Clovis, NM tomorrow so we decided to meet in Santa Rosa, NM instead. We'll have to go a little further, but they'll have less to drive. It's stll only about 172 miles for us.
We turned out the lights at 10:30 tonight and we were both ready for the funny farm.
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
We got up this morning knowing that we got a lousy flush yesterday on our Black Water tank and with our water hose frozen solid. I tried for the next two "very blue" hours to get it unthawed and finally just threw it in the motorhome and we took off for Santa Rosa.
We looked for a campground to stop and ask if we could flush out but we couldn't find any on the highway until we arrived in Santa Rosa. The first guy we talked to told me that his dump station was for guests. When I offered to pay for a night just to dump, the moron asked me if I wanted a full hook-up. I told him I want a site without electricity, without water and without sewer. He looked at me funny and I explained that I only wanted to use the dump station. He again told me that it was only for guests as he told me that the site would be $24.95. Needless to say, he knew I had an attitude by this time when I told him thanks, but no thanks and walked out. I think he was handicapped. STUPIDITY IS A HANDICAP!!!!!
The next campground the guy offered for me to dump for free and just said stay with me the next time you come through. We marked down the name of the campground and vowed to come back.
We parked in the Love's Station truckstop and waited for Norm and Sue who arrived around 5 or so. The truckstop was so noisy that we opted to go to a vacant lot in town. The one we found had about 50 semi tractors arriving over the next 4 or so hours. The lot was full with engines running all night.
It was supposed to get really cold and snow sometime during the night which will certainly be icing on the already moldy cake. November was a disaster this year and it looks like December is going to be a joy to behold also.
We stayed up talking until 11 talking and catching up on the last 4 years. We stopped just long enough to go to the Mexican Restaurant across the street. We actually drove up and down the whole main street of town and that was the only thing we found that looked very inviting. The food was good and we sat talking for a while before back home. We had a few drinks with our conversation and then went our separate ways for the night.
Wednesday, December 7, 2005HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US (31)
Last night it must have gotten colder than a witch's thorax cause everything was too cold to start this morning. Generator battery and engine battery on the motorhome were both almost dead. The hood latch on the car was so cold that I had to warm up the car to get it open. Then I jumped the Generator battery and got that running and finally the engine battery on the motorhome. Happy December!! At least we still had water for showers.
We went to the Silver Moon again this morning for Breakfast and it was very good. We stayed after eating for about an hour or so just to have a change of scenery and to talk. Sharon and I had taken the car over there and Norm and Sue had walked. I figure it wouldn't hurt the car to run for a while just to warm up.
We got back and decided that we would play some games for the afternoon. We broke out a deck of cards and a cribbage board. Sue and I didn't fare too well in the final analysis. I think the final score was about 7 to 2 before we broke out another game. Pegs and Jokers was our next offering and we did much better at that. The game is also called Shits and Bastards. The name should tell you that the game is quite cutthroat. We played that until a late Dinner that was provided by Norm and Sue. We had Spaghetti and Mushroom Sauce with Garlic Bread, Salad and a beer to wash it all down. It was very good and we decided that we would come to our house and play another game of Pegs and Jokers. It was 10 o'clock by this time but the game was won after about an hour.
We decided that we would go to the Sliver Moon Restaurant again tomorrow morning before we head our separate ways. The whole visit, although brief, was a very welcome event, except for the very cold weather.
I ran the generator most of the night before we retired so the batteries should be okay for tomorrow. The "lights out" ceremony was held about 11:30.
Thursday, December 8, 2005
I got up this morning when I suspected that the furnace was blowing cold air. It was, and the batteries were almost dead. While trying to get the generator started those batteries died. And the motorhome battery was not far behind.
After the air turned a dark blue with $^#*&@)%^ I got my clothes on and headed out for the jumper cables. I had everything readily available this time so it only took a couple of minutes. I actually got the job done before I froze my a___ off. Man, this weather is for the birds. Well at least I have Breakfast to look forward to. Before we left though, Norm needed a jump on his motorhome which we took care of so he could get his windows defrosted.
The four of us headed to the Silver Moon Restaurant for another delicious meal and Norm and Sue decided to treat us to celebrate our anniversary. (yesterday) After Breakfast we headed home and got everything hooked-up and said our good-byes vowing never to do this in the cold weather again. We were shortly thereafter on the road and headed south and they were headed back to Amarillo. Our weather will get better but their's won't for the next couple of days. But I think they're out of the worst of it. The final tally was 12 below with the wind chill.
The rest of today we checked on Mom on our way to Tularosa, New Mexico. We did get some good news on her release from the hospital. It seems there may be some nursing care that will be available when she's home.
The rest of our trip was pretty uneventful and we arrived about 2 in the afternoon and Mary and Dennis met us at the truck stop they told us about.
As soon as we got here I got to work on the frozen water pump. It took about an hour to replace it with the extra I always carry with me. We (Dennis and I) got the water moving again and then it was Miller Time.
For the rest of the afternoon we just sat and talked and had a good time. Mary made a very delicious supper of Sloppy Joes', Potato Salad and Beans. It was just like a summer picnic, except better. The Sloppy Joe mix had a very unique taste to it having been made from scratch with a couple of "extra ingredients."
In the evening we watched our favorite shows along with Mary and Dennis and came out and crashed at 10. It seemed as though I was beginning to manifest the symptoms of a cold. I was not looking forward to this.
We went immediately to bed when we got back to the motorhome.
Friday, December 9, 2005
We had a good night last night and no freeze-ups this morning. Maybe we're through with that crap for the time being. We can only hope. The sky was clear and bright and looking like it would warm up today.
After our showers we went into the house and had Toast and Coffee and Muffins for Breakfast this morning. And while we sat and talked, Dennis and Mary decided to take us to Ruidoso and show us the sights today. We left around noon and stopped over to the Hinkle's Ranch for a moment or so just to say hi and be introduced to them. They're Rodeo Circuit people, if that's the right terminology, and seem very friendly and nice.
We were on a mission, however, and left to go up into the mountains and the Apache Ski Lodge in Ruidoso. We stopped at Wal;-Mart and picked-up some Airborne for you-know-who so I could start battling this cold that was for sure coming on at this point. I haven't had a cold in about 4 years. They usually hit me pretty hard.
Dennis had taken a couple of side roads and we ended up on some very spectacular lookouts overseeing the Tularosa Basin. It was cold and windy up there so we didn't stay long at any single place.
It was getting to be time for supper after a quick ride through the ski lodge parking lot. Sharon got out and took a couple of pictures but the rest of us just stayed in the car where it was warm.
We returned to town and the Mescalero Apache Casino for the buffet for supper. It was quite pricey by our standards and we couldn't talk Dennis out of paying for us. It was very generous on their part and the buffet was very good. Of course we were miserable when we left there as we always are from a buffet.
By the time we got back home it was already dark and we were all ready to just sit and watch TV for awhile.
By 10 o'clock me and the Mrs. retired to the motorhome, checked e-mail and hit the hay. (That's cowboy talk)
Saturday, December 10, 2005
I got up at my usual time this morning even while fighting this cold. It seems to get better during the daytime and then attack again at night. Sleeping Beauty also got up at her usual time. It's nice that at least someone is getting their rest.
Dennis and I took off this morning to show me where the cheap gas is in Alamagordo and to see if we could find an LP outfit that would be open tomorrow when we leave. We didn't have much luck with the LP but the gas we found was $1.99. Not too shabby for New Mexico. A fill-up will get us to Casa Grande, Arizona and our next cheapest spot. In fact the ONLY cheap fill-up in Arizona.
We were back by lunch and we wanted to go over to the Hinkle's this afternoon where they will be practicing their Team Roping. We were over there for a couple of hours and I got the biggest charge out of the dog Sadie. After they rope the steers she drives them back down to the end of the arena and to the gate so they can practice on them again. The they send her back down to wait for another batch of steers to drive back again. It was quite an efficient operation with Sadie herding the steers like an English Sheepdog would herd sheep. She awaits her pat on the head and a word of encouragement and then she's off again.
Sharon and Mary made pasties for supper tonight. They turned out very well and tasted just like home. We finished up eating just in time to watch the NFR Rodeo on TV tonight.
At 10 we were all ready for the sack and headed to our respective beddy-byes. Sharon went immediately to her puzzle and I checked e-mail before joining her. It had been a fun day.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
We were up early this morning and after our "thanks and good-byes" we were rolling by about 7:15. We had to make it to Tucson, Arizona by late afternoon to visit my cousin Tom and Dawn McKenna.
We stopped and refilled with gas in Alamagordo and stopped at a couple of tourist places on the way over. I needed a New Mexico T-shirt but I didn't manage to find one. The rest of the trip over was pretty uneventful. We kept looking for a place to pick up LP Gas but none surfaced. The sun started shining and it started to warm up. That was a pleasant site to see.
We got a call from Tom saying that he would be tied up until about 6:30 tonight and to come over then. That worked out fine with us because we had some grocery shopping to do and we didn't get into Tucson until about 4 anyway.
As soon as we arrived we both tried to take a nap to no avail. It was much too noisy in our Wal-Mart Campground according to Sharon. I attribute it to the fact that neither of us was sleepy enough for a nap. Either way we weren't getting one.
We went in to Wal-Mart to do our shopping and by the time we were done it was time to go to the McKenna's. A couple more Motorhomes pulled in to park since we had arrived this afternoon. We've got one clown in front of us that looks like he'll run his generator all night.
The visit with Tom and Dawn went swimmingly just like it always does. We just sat and talked til around 10 and then we got up and headed toward home. We'll leave in the morning and head up toward Casa Grande and our campground where we'll spend a week before heading to California. For now, we're just content to stay here and relax for the night even though we have no LP for the furnace. It seems to be warm enough out to not need it. We'll see by morning.
