“EVENTLESS AS OUR LIFE WAS, IT SWEPT US ALONG.” Wallace Stegner’s words in Crossing Over pretty much cover our time in Texas and New Mexico. We had to be somewhere while we were killing time until it was warm enough to return to Colorado.
Big Bend National Park
El Paso isn’t the most pleasant city in Texas, especially if you are in an RV — Mission RV Park was nestled in an industrial park almost underneath I-10! Lost Alaskan RV Resort in Alpine, TX was much nicer — and quieter. We used it as a base for birding visits to both Guadalupe and Big Bend National Parks where we scored a few border-crossing Mexican migrant birds. So much for you and your wall, Trump!
Fort Davis National Historic Site
Fort Davis National Historic Site was named for future president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis, then US Secretary of War. Little did he know that it would one day be home to black “Buffalo Soldiers.” Historical footnote — one of Connie’s ancestors was among the troops who captured the fugitive Davis after the Civil War. True story — the family even has a photo!
Lone Rider, White Sands Yucca Shadow, White Sands
We backtracked to Las Cruces, NM where we celebrated our 24th Anniversary with dinner at the St. Clair Winery — we're already working on plans for #25. It only took a visit to White Sands NM to realize how it got its name. We also backtracked all the way to El Paso to watch the Chihuahuas (aka Diablos) play the Salt Lake Bees in a Triple A baseball game.
Happy Anniversary El Paso Chihuahuas
When we reached our next stop at Elephant Butte, our kitchen slide refused to slide out. Uh-Oh. We couldn’t even open the fridge for a cold drink. Luckily the RV repair guy in town was open and agreed to take a look. The motor that operates the cables was kaput but he, along with some of our neighbors, helped us manually push the slide out. And he returned later in the week and installed the new part. We were so relieved we hardly noticed the $500 repair bill.
Albuquerque Isotopes
Our dawdling days are coming to an end and we’re getting anxious to get to Colorado, but first a stop at Bosque del Apache NWR. The snow geese and sandhill cranes are gone from the refuge but the birding is still pretty good — for New Mexico, that is. A couple of trips netted more than 40 species and several new ones for the year.I-25 goes right through Albuquerque anyway, so we stayed a night and caught another Triple A game, Albuquerque Isotopes v. El Paso. We didn’t even know the Isotopes were the Rockies farm team. Last we heard it was the Colorado Springs SkySox!
Colorful Santa Fe Art from the caves of Lascaux
We almost felt an obligation to spend some time in Santa Fe, even though we’ve been there before. And it was a good base to visit Los Alamos, birthplace of “The Bomb.” The national laboratory is still in business so all the history is housed in the Ray Bradbury Museum. Now we have come full-circle from Hanford, where the fuel was produced, Los Alamos, where it was conceived and built, and Hiroshima, where the bomb was used.
Fat Man and Little Boy
Of less consequence, but finishing up the NPS sites in New Mexico, were Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument and Pecos National Monument. Their stories are familiar to us by now but it is still noteworthy that these places are being protected for future generations.
Missions Impossible: Salinas and Pecos National Monuments
