We have Wild Horses!

Katie and I moved to a couple of different sites the last few days because of the beautiful tree that was right over the rig.  I loved that site, but we were only getting great solar for half the day, and once the sun started to move across the sky, the tree blocked the sun. We were still doing okay solar-wise, but I decided I wanted as much bang for my solar buck as I could get.

I also found a dot of tree sap on one of my chairs, and I didn't want sap all over my rooftop.  I went up to the roof Tuesday with some towels and a water squirt bottle and checked the roof for sap.  There were some drops and I cleaned them off, then I cleaned the solar panels, too, while I was up there.  Then we moved to the campsite right above us, it didn't have any trees right overhead, and I had a beautiful view of the tree - in front of my window instead of overhead.  This second site wasn't as pretty, though, and I didn't like the layout.  It was rougher, with lots of little weed-like plants all over the ground.  But a good site for solar and a good view.

We left the second site in the morning yesterday and went to the water and dump stations and took care of that, then I drove around the campgrounds a little to see if I could find a pretty site with good solar possibilities.  I also wanted to check out the Primitive Camping area, which is the free area right on the lake.  There's also a nice campground right above that area, but I liked the campground area I'm in better.

While I was there checking it out, I saw a herd of wild horses near the lake edge.  They were hanging around, eating the grass, drinking the water, and just looking beautiful.  There were two foals in the herd by the water, and another one that looked like a new born foal was a little way off with two adult horses. These are the first wild horses I've seen.  After a year on the road, I'm still having "firsts."

 Here is a long shot of the horses, most of them are in the picture.

 Close-up of some of the mares and stallions and two foals.
It looks like a yearling right in the middle.

 Mare and foal.

Look at this little white foal - doesn't it look like a newborn?

After watching the horses for a while, we drove back to the Ranger's Office area, where the showers are. I decided to check them out, and if I liked what I saw, I'd use their water instead of my newly filled fresh water tank.  (BTW, no more water leaks.  That leak a while ago must have been from the loose black cap on the top of the water tank.)

The showers were old but clean, there are two, one regular and one handicapped.  Since there was no one around and the park was pretty empty, I felt okay using the handicapped one.  It had a lot more room and the shower was larger with a bench to put my stuff on.  I also liked the adjustable shower head.

There is a push button for the water, which lasted about 20 seconds.  The shower was great, and it was so easy to shave my legs with that nice bench!  Much easier than in my little shower.

Then we drove back to our campground and it was completely empty.  I drove slow and checked each site for ease of access, view, and the trees that would affect the solar panels.  Katie and I walk down this road every day, but I was really checking the sites this time.  There is a drive-through site right down from where we were camped that was perfect.  We went back to the second site and loaded up the chairs, solar lights, etc., and went to the new site.  I couldn't believe how long we got input into the solar panels last night.  At 7:00 pm, we were still getting a little input, so I'm really happy with this site, and plan to stay here.

 This is the Primitive Camping area over the Free Fishing weekend.

Right now there are only a few campers there.

If I want to move again, you know, hitch-itch happens after a week or two, I'll go down to the Primitive Camping area for the last few days to see if we can watch the wild horses again.  The Ranger said they also have wild burros here.

The other day Katie and I took a couple of "hikes."  I thought.  There's a trail head at the end of our road right near our site where lots of people park, and walk down with their fishing gear.  Or just walk. I decided to see what was there.  We walked a little way along a narrow trail with a nice drop off on one side.  We ended up at the dam.  It was a nice little walk, but definitely not a hike.

Then we walked to the road above us where I've seen people driving, and I wanted to see what was up there.  There was a curve in the road, and soon as we went around the curve, we saw a turn-around.  Nothing there at all.  So both of our hikes turned out to be a bust.

Probably just as well, since Katie and I are still a bit out of breath.  Some days are better than others, but this altitude is definitely affecting us.  I'm not sick, I feel fine.  It's only when we're walking that I notice a difference in my stamina.  I know there are some nice hikes in the park, but I guess they aren't up here at our end.

 Bluewater Lake Dam

According to the website describing the dam, it's "an arched dam 90 ft high and 500 ft long that impounds 38,500 acre-ft of water. The last time water spilled over the dam was in 1941. The dam is convex in the upstream direction for increased strength, and it is at the mouth of Bluewater Creek in a steep-walled canyon. An overlook at the end of the road through the park facilities offers an excellent view of the dam and canyon. A primitive hiking trail leads down into the canyon below the dam."  I don't know if that's the trail we were on.  It seemed to stop, but there was a sharp turn that we didn't take.  There were big rocks in the way that we could have climbed over, but with the drop off, I was afraid to try.  I couldn't see where it went, but it may be continued on into the canyon.

The man in the photo below was camped down the road from us for a few nights.  We talked a little bit when Katie and I walked past his site; I should have engaged him more.  I'll bet he was interesting.  He had a truck and this sleeping hammock.   He was gone this morning, but my neighbor said he talked to him, and he said, yes, he did sleep in it.  He said all he needs is two trees strong enough to hang it on, and he's set.  I guess it's easier than putting up a tent. I wonder how comfortable it is.  And he had no privacy at all, but I guess he's okay with that.

 Katie and the sunset.

From Me and Katie, have a great Thursday, everyone!  :)

The elevation and the Tiger Muskie

WELCOME to our newest follower, Ron!  Ron doesn't show any information or have a profile, but he sent me an e-mail of introduction. He's in Mexico during the winter months and southeast Alaska during the summer.  If I have this right, he lives either in a Winnebago on the land or in a Cris Craft on the water in Alaska, and travels in a Provan Tiger 4x4 “El Tigre” in the US and Mexico.  He has a Mexican street dog adoptee, “Max,” who is dreaming now of becoming an Alaskan Sled Dog.  :)   Sounds like you travel and live in some great places, Ron, isn't it a wonderful life?  Welcome aboard!

Katie and I are still enjoying our time here at Bluewater Lake State Park.  New Mexico has a lot of State Parks, and I'll be interested in seeing if they are all as nice as this one.  When we stopped at the Ranger Station on our way in, both the Ranger and the Camp Hosts said this is the best park in the system, but they might be a little prejudiced.  

We've been taking a few walks each day, usually around our "loop," which is mostly flat, but also has a stretch that is a little bit of a hill.  I've been a little out of breath when I get to the top of the hill.  Then yesterday we walked down to the lake.

 I was surprised how close Katie got to the water.

When we walked back up the hill, I had to stop for minute, and even Katie seemed to appreciate the little rest.

Thanks for stopping, Mom.

We got to the top of the hill and continued on. I was thinking, Wow, maybe that pharmacist was right, maybe I DID need a boost to my thyroid!

So, later I was talking to my neighbors and mentioned that I was surprised how these little walks are getting me out of breath.  Katie, too.  She said, "Remember, we're at 7,400 foot elevation."  OH!  Okay, in that case, I'm surprised I'm not MORE winded.  I didn't even think about the elevation.  What a relief.

Friday was so pretty with the clouds over the lake:

And the sunset was gorgeous:

The clouds after the sun went down:

Yesterday was kind of windy, and we had the wonderful sound of the wind in the trees, the clouds blowing in and out.  It is supposed to be in the mid-80s today, light breezes - this is really the perfect weather. There must be good drafts over the lake this morning, there were a dozen big black birds soaring with the breezes, and three more coming from the other side of the lake to join them.  I love watching them.  I didn't have my camera with me when all the birds were soaring overhead, but I did get two yesterday.

This weekend is a free fishing weekend here at the lake, you don't need a fishing license.  I heard from a man down the road that he had caught tons of fish, some really big.  The man below walked past our campsite on the way to his car with his catch and I asked if I could get a shot of his fish:

 

Tiger Muskie

I asked him if I could hold it. He had a string going through the fish's mouth that was tied on a stick, so he  handed the stick to me.  Wow, it was heavy!  A little boy wanted to hold it after me, but he wasn't tall enough, so I lifted him up, and the man handed the boy the stick.  The boy's weight was about doubled and almost too heavy for me. Quite a thrill to see a fish this big, I've never caught one near that size.

The sunset last night (Saturday) was so pretty, I guess they all are.  Each evening, I run out with my camera and take a bunch of shots from different places, and every shot is beautiful. Maybe there just isn't a bad sunset.

That's it for today - time to loaf some more.  Take a walk (Katie is bugging me).  And then fix lunch.  Play my favorite computer game.  Maybe read more of my book.  Life is good!

From Me and Katie, have a great Sunday, everyone!  :)

The squirrel in the bird feeder

WELCOME to our two new followers:

Jim - who is a part-time traveler with summer and winter home bases in South Dakota, New Mexico and Colorado. Talk about having the best of all worlds!   Jim, I need to catch up on some of your past posts, but I'm assuming the part-time travel is during the winter months?  Thanks for following along with me and Katie on our adventures!

John Rogers - who is enjoying life in a VW bus.  It looks like John is staying in Truth or Consequences, NM for now.  I have heard and read a lot about that area, and will certainly stop  in TorC one of these days to see what it's about.  Thanks, John, for following our full-time travels!

I love waking up in a new place.  Back in the day when I had a house, I moved every few years, and loved the first few weeks in the new house the best.  Now I get to have that experience pretty often.

I've hung both  my seed feeders, but not the hummer feeders, and I just saw a hummingbird come up to the seed feeder to examine it.  I guess the hummingbird feeders are coming out.

Here's a squirrel from yesterday - trying to get the seed from the bird feeder:

When he climbed down the tree, he had his pouches full of seed.

A little different entry strategy:

He was fun to watch, but after he left the second time, I switched the feeders so this one is higher, and away from the tree a bit more.  We'll see how that works.  I don't mind him eating the seed, no birds have found the feeders yet, but he's going to work for it.

It's beautiful here at Bluewater Lake State Park today.  The lake is calm, there are a few boats below in the water, but they must be far enough away to keep the noise from us, because I've hardly heard a boat yet.  There are fluffy while clouds moving in, and today so far we've seen a lizard and lots of birds.

I finally got a good shot of a large bird overhead:

 Lots of these guys soaring with the breezes over the lake.

It's breezy now, I love the sound of the breeze going through the trees.  That's a sound I haven't heard in a while.  I can hear the wind, but The Palms isn't rocking.  On the desert or blacktopping it, I usually didn't hear wind, I was aware of it when The Palms started rocking, and Katie got those big eyes.

We did fine last night with our solar, parked under the tree.  I was thinking, though, if I want to get more input from the sun, all I have to do is drive forward a few yards and the whole rig will be in the sun the second half of the day.  But so far, so good.

We had a family set up camp late yesterday afternoon in the reserved site above and in front of us. I can see the site from the front window.  They set things up, later I went to bed, and when I woke up the tent, car and people were gone.  That was hardly worth setting up the tent!

Today I see there is another couple in that campsite, just now setting up.  I don't see a rig, so they must be tent campers.  They are so quiet, I didn't even hear them driving into the site.

There was a beautiful sunset last night, the only thing that would make it prettier would be some clouds.  We have clouds in the sky today, so I'm hoping tonight's sunset will be spectacular.

From Me and Katie, have a great Friday, everyone!  :)

New Mexico - soooo happy to be here! :)

We have two new followers!

Welcome to BEE!, who is not showing any information.  Bee, if you have a blog, let us know.  Are you an RVer, or planning a future RV purchase?  Katie and I are happy to have you following along with us on our full-timing adventures.

Welcome, also, to Fernweh!  Per their blog,  Fernweh: in German means "an ache for distant places", which sums up nicely what we want. 'We' are a husband and wife with a goal of living a life of travel. Our plan is to be in an Airstream, wandering North America in 6 years.  Keep your eye on the prize; you'll make it.  Thanks for following Me and My Dog!

Welcome aboard to you both!  :)

First thing, I have to show you a photo of my youngest granddaughter, Lauren, from Vacaville, CA.  She is 4 and quite the gymnast.  Her team was in the local Memorial Day Parade, and I got this photo from my daughter's Face Book page.  Kristy said if you go to the parade, watch for the littlest blond on the team. That'll be Lauren. :)

Lauren, 4 years old, in her Gymnastics parade uniform.

I haven't gotten any parade photos yet, but I thought this one was just darling!

I haven't posted since Sunday, when I was parked in the BLM area on the side of Highway 10.  A lot has happened since then - nothing bad, just a blur of trying to get out of California and onward to New Mexico.

I've spent $698.04 in gas this month - most in the last six days. This is by far the most I've used in a month in the last year. When you consider I spent the first 22 nights in an RV Resort, this last week has been a killer gas-wise and mileage-wise!  I stayed in a different place each night for eight nights in 90+ degree weather, waiting for the holiday weekend to be over so that I could get my blood test results, and then hear from my doctor.  Would I have to drive back to San Diego to see her, or would she prescribe something?  If there was an Rx, I needed to get it at a Kaiser pharmacy so I was stuck in Southern California until I had news.

I finally heard from my doctor's nurse on Tuesday afternoon - the doctor was off, but another doctor was covering and prescribed an Rx for me, a low-dose thyroid med.  I don't have any symptoms, but the pharmacist said I'd have more energy, etc, so I picked it up on Tuesday afternoon, and who knows?  Maybe I have symptoms that I don't know about, and think are normal.  Maybe I'll feel better in spite of myself. :)

At 3:00 pm left the Palm Springs area and headed northwest to New Mexico. We sped north to Needles, CA, then west on I-40 through the Arizona Desert.  The road seemed new, and was not level, so it was an interesting ride.  There wasn't much traffic and the driving was easy, but after hours and hours, I was looking forward to different scenery.

Desert Center - West through Arizona

We drove through Kingman, to Williams to Holbrook, and finally to Gallup, NM.

The speed limit most of the way was 75, and that's how fast we went. The roads were great for the most part, I slowed down when I was on a road that wasn't smooth, but most of them seemed to have been recently repaired and repaved and were great.  Even the big rigs were driving 75 mph.

On Tuesday night we stayed at a gas station right off the 40 in Lake Havasu, then last night we stayed at the Walmart in Gallup, NM, so it took us only one full day for the entire drive, from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon.  I usually take my time, but felt some urgency to get out of the heat and settled in a nice place.  Katie's nose is drying out again even with the ointment the vet recommended, and the generator was going all day to keep the A/C on and The Palms cool enough for us.  You can imagine what that did to our miles-per-gallon!  The worst tank was 5.15 MPG.  :(   Definitely wanted to speed along!

Walmart Camper - this was a young woman who came in late.

For probably the first time ever, I was at a Walmart and didn't need anything, so I didn't even go into the store.  Katie and I took a little walk in the dirt lot alongside the Walmart parking lot, saw a snake, and then stayed on the blacktop.

We woke up early this morning.  I wanted to arrive at the State Park in the morning and have time to find a site, so we got here at 9:00 am this morning and I couldn't be happier to be here!!

I bought the Out of State Visitor's Annual Pass for the New Mexico State Parks for $225. With the pass, I can park free in the Primitive Camping Areas, or in one of the Campground areas that don't have hookups, which is what I chose after driving around the areas.  I can also change to an electric site for $4/night if I want to.  This pass is good for an entire year, or through the end of June 2013, at any of the New Mexico State Parks.  I am thinking between the Arizona/California Long Term Visitors Permit and this annual pass, campsites will be pretty inexpensive for the next year.

This is our campsite.  We are the last campsite in the Scenic Overlook Campsite.  There is an empty site right above us, and others down the road, mostly empty, so it should be pretty quiet.

We have a beautiful view of the lake out the window.  Views of large and small birds flying from tree to tree and over the lake are constant, and we've already had a small ground squirrel and a large squirrel visit our site.  After the blazing hot weather for the last month and a half, this warm, breezy 80ish weather is perfect. From what I can see, the forecast for the next three weeks is pretty much all 80's with cool mornings.  Nice.

View from the dinette window.

This is the first time since I've had my solar panels that I've been parked under a tree.  I get full morning sun, then shade in the afternoon.  I may move The Palms out further to get more sun. I'll see how it goes, and if I have enough sun for what I want to do.  I love this campsite, and don't know if I want to move.  Quiet time is 10 pm to 7 am, and generators can be used the rest of the time, so if I need to use my generator to watch TV, I can.  I don't like to run it for very long, though, in a place like this.

Also, the bonus is:   the Verizon signal here is great.  So far this park has everything I need and I'm really happy to be here - FINALLY!

And now I'm going to sit outside with Katie and my Kindle and enjoy this beautiful area.

From Me and Katie, have a great Thursday, everyone!  :)

P.S.  I just had a temperature pop-up from Rancho Mirage, near Palm Springs - 111 degrees!  Whew, glad we're not there today.

Brief stop at Joshua Tree National Park

SATURDAY, MAY 26

Katie and I left the Sam’s Club parking lot early this morning (Saturday).  I wanted to find a place we could stay through Tuesday without having to move.  Looking at my Atlas, Joshua Tree National Park (the southern entrance at Cottonwood Spring) wasn’t too far away.   First we drove through some small towns and entered Box Canyon Road in Mecca, CA.  We drove past the agricultural area into the actual canyons, which are a BLM area, I think. 

I haven’t been in an area like this before, the landscape was pretty barren, and I think you can just pull off the side of the road into one of the open areas and park for 14 days.  The only problem is that, even though this is a holiday weekend, there was no one there.  I passed two empty cars, probably hikers, and then further on, another two cars back by the hills. That was it.

I didn’t want to camp in an area where there were no RVers, so I continued on, crossed Highway 10, and kept going until I reached the Cottonwood Visitor Center.  This is a “United States Department of the Interior National Park Service” area, and my Senior pass got me in free, with half price on the campsite, which is $15 (or $7.50/night for me).  The closest campground is one-half mile behind the Visitor’s Center.  These campsites are level, paved parking areas with a picnic table and barbecue.  There is a restroom with water, fresh water faucets every few campsites, and a dump/fresh water station nearby.  It was almost empty, there are 62 sites, and I’d say maybe 20 at the most were taken when I got here this morning.  The Ranger I talked to when I checked in said she was surprised, she thought they would be crowded this weekend.

Cottonwood Spring is a typical desert landscape with lots of different kinds of cactus, bushes, flowering plants, very interesting terrain.   There are lots of birds, and when we got settled and were walking down to the pay station, I saw a chipmunk, lizard and a couple of big jackrabbits.  I can see Katie and I taking a lot of good walks here.  It’s all flat, there are lots of trails, but dogs have to say within 100 feet of the roads, so we will stay on the paved roads.  That’s fine with me. 

Our camp site:

View out our kitchen window

(Can  you see the two tables behind our site?  When we got here, they were empty, but by Sunday morning, there were lots more people in the campground, and the space got smaller and the noise got louder.)

The other campgrounds are 30 miles down the road, into the areas where the Joshua Trees are.  I’m sure there's more going on there this weekend.  Those are the North and West Entrance Stations off Highway 62, where they have a bunch of campgrounds.  I just headed out this morning in this general direction, and ended up at the Cottonwood Spring Campground, which was good because it is quiet and has the only dump station in the park, which I’ll use when I leave.

The only problem is that I don’t have a Verizon signal here, at least in my campsite, so I can’t get on-line or receive phone calls, so I won’t be able to communicate with my doctor.  I’ve paid for four days, through Tuesday night, so on Wednesday morning, I’ll head back to where I can get a Verizon signal to see if I have a message from the doctor.  Then I will have a plan.

When I checked in at the Visitor’s Center, I looked at the books offered for sale. I’ve been looking for a Sibley Field Guide to Birds, Western North America (thanks for the suggestion, Judy!) and there is was!  I bought it, and the first bird I saw here was a Black Throated Sparrow. Very pretty bird. So, along with my Birds of Arizona Field Guide, I’m in pretty good shape when I want to identify the birds I see.  Sometimes I’m too lazy, but I feel like I’ve learned something new when I do find one in my books.  Here he is:

There are three young foreign men across the street from me.  The first thing one did is walk through my site, right by my door, around The Palms, checking out my site. He continued through other sites, and went back to his. Later when Katie and I took our walk, I asked him if he lost something. He said, no, he was just looking for firewood.  1.  Don’t walk around in other people’s campsites. 2.  Do NOT collect anything in this desert. Bring in your own firewood. Those are the posted regs.

Later they got out their football and the wood gatherer stood right in front of The Palms to catch and throw the ball.  He was not a good football catcher, but luckily the ball hasn’t hit The Palms.

There are Blacktailed Jackrabbits here, too - I've seen quite a few of them, but they keep moving, so by the time my camera is pointed at them, they are gone or behind a bush. They're big, and have long legs.  They seem to move slow, but considering I haven't caught one yet for a good shot, I guess they're faster than they seem. 

Some random empty sites - it seems like all the sites are good, but if they were all filled, it would be pretty close.

 Back-in site

 Pull alongside site

 Amphitheater

 Restroom

SUNDAY, MAY 27

It was nice and cool last night.

 Katie, all covered up.

I learned something new last night and this morning.  I like campgrounds with RVs, not tents.  There was a group of young men behind us - they were very active yesterday playing catch with their football, too - but they were far enough from The Palms that I wasn't worried about them.  As soon as it got dark, they got loud.  I finally fell asleep, then woke up around midnight and they were still at it.  Then I couldn't fall back asleep.

RVers seem to be in their rigs after "quiet time,"  or they are just quieter.  Maybe it's because a lot of us are older and talk quietly outside.  But tent campers don't have anywhere to go, their voices seem louder and so their conversations carry to the other campsites.  

I finally fell asleep, and was awakened again before 6 a.m. to the sound of male voices and laughter, and the slap of a football as it was being caught.  Over and over again.  Jeez!

I finally got up, heated my water tank and washed my hair, emptied the garbage, refilled my gallon water jug, got ready and left.  I paid for four days and only stayed one, so I didn't feel bad not paying the $5 for the dump station, which I used on our way out. I also filled the fresh water tank.

Due to the lack of a Verizon signal, I don't think I'll be back, unless I want to be without my phone and the Internet.  But... if that wouldn't bother you, it is really a beautiful area. Next time I'm in an out-of-the-way area, I'm going to check for phone service before I pay.  I don't like being out of touch for more than a day, and not having a phone signal in an emergency isn't good when you're alone.

So I'm parked in the BLM area right near the 10, where I have a good signal. I wanted to check on the other test result, and it's not back yet.  Rats again!  I'll have to wait until Tuesday for that one.  I think I'll head back to a Casino where I can wait; it will be quieter, there will be no football, and I'll have a good Verizon signal.

It's hard to admit, but I'd rather have all my conveniences than a beautiful view. 

From me and Katie, enjoy your Sunday! :)