Aussies on tour - instalment #15

The thing most memorable about the drive from Amarillo to Wichita Falls was the extreme heat, and the magnificent rest areas. The rest areas were well off the road, and the buildings were quite new, probably about two to three stories tall, with open vaulted ceilings, air conditioned, cool water and wifi. This was a welcome break after driving in extreme temperatures all day. Our overnighter at Memphis (not that Memphis the Texas Memphis) was alongside the large town park, on the outer edge of the town. A group of Mexican families were enjoying a party in the park, accompanied with loud music. They did not leave until after dusk. We decided to sit outside for dinner as it was still very hot in the Van. Whilst having our meal an official looking vehicle came in and started patrolling the area, he came to where we were and he enquired as to whether we intended staying the night. We said that we had considered it, he said that you have to obtain a permit from the chief, he then added” but that’s ok, because I am the chief”. During our conversation with him, he informed us that Mule Deer would probably come in during the night, young people as well, and wild pigs, weighing around two hundred pounds , with the warning not to approach them, as they are aggressive. After all that we decided to stay, it turned out to be a good night spot without any of the above being a problem. The following day we moved on down the 287, located and used another visitors centre and wifi, and to have a break from the extreme heat. We had lunch at Vernon, there was a lack of trees in the town, and as we were desperate for some shade, we parked in a church car park under a large tree, still hot but gave us some temporary relief, after lunch we continued on to Wichita Falls. We arrived late in the afternoon, and were greeted by Carole. We are just so amazed at the welcome we receive from the people we have met on our tour, we have been total strangers to them all, and yet we are treated as long lost friends. Carole was no exception. She soon had us settled in her back yard, connected to a special 30 amp power outlet; she also had a waste outlet there. trailers (caravans for the Australians), she had three on the go when we were there. Later in the afternoon, she was kind enough to take us on a tour of Wichita Falls. Wichita Falls is quite a reasonable sized city about 105000 population .The main city centre is like many American Cities, in that it has died, seems strange that they build new malls,” shopping centers” way out, and let the heart of the city die, Carole took us to the town lake, which is quite a large size, and I am sure helps with giving the impression of cooling things down, which was nice in the really hot weather. She also showed us the famous “Ant Hill”, where the athletes of the city train, as there are no natural hills in Wichita Falls, they simply made one. Visited an interesting Mexican pastry shop, and to the Wichita Falls, This is in parklands on the edge of town, a real credit to the city, acres of parklands, nice big trees, and walkways along the Red River. Apparently the falls have been rebuilt, after floods destroyed the original ones some years ago. We must say thanks to the generosity of Carole, supplying us with electricity, our stay in Wichita Fall was made a whole lot more comfortable, due to our extremely efficient air conditioner. I even found a hot spot at the end of her verandah. Had a bit of a downside when our TV stopped working, but once again thanks to Carole, who took me down to the local opp shop, found a replacement, actually an upgraded model for $10 Carols husband Eric returned from a business trip while we were there, so we had the pleasure of his company for a short time. But regretfully after a short visit the time had come to move on, we certainly hope this is not the last time we see Carole and her family……………….

Aussies on tour - instalment #14

The overnighter that was not so good where the last newsletter finished, but it did have a toilet, I was walking to visit it, when I struck up conversation with a guy who had a pushbike fully decked out for long distance cycling, he asked if we had any spare water, I invited him into our van. We gave him the water, and then breakfast, he had been on the road about the same time as us, and had traveled 4000 miles, and is due to finish his ride about the same time we finish our current tour. After about three hours with him we said our good buys. The route we took was breathtaking, followed a river down through a valley for the first part of it, a huge valley, with lush forests and windy road. We had lunch at an old part of the road, right near the river. (Perfect for a night spot). After lunch the magic scenery continued. We climbed over 10000ft; we had views that seemed to go forever. When we reached the top, we then had a steep decent to about 3000 ft ,we then drove though a number of small settlements. For afternoon tea, we parked near an old waterwheel flour mill, over 100 years old, no longer working but it was an interesting old building to explore, unfortunately I could only do this externally, however it did give some photo opportunities. We continued our journey to Las Vegas (not that Las Vegas, but the NM Las Vegas). It was raining when we arrived, and also late, we checked into our favorite RV park chain (the big W), this was the best one so far on this trip. They have a huge parking area, there were no other vehicles on the section where we parked, no trucks coming and going all night, fabulous. We also had television reception here, and once again the program was constantly interrupted by warnings of a cyclone in our area, and more particularly around Tucumcari. As it turned out that was our predicted destination, before Matt (the cyclist) paid us a visit in the morning, and in doing so, delayed our departure time by around three hours, so we watched as the presenter explained about funnels, eyes, hooks and other weird terms us, thinking how lucky we were to have spent an enjoyable time with Matt, otherwise we may have been in the middle of it. We don’t receive TV all that often, but when we do, it seems as though the weather is a problem close by. Next morning after our visit to the McDonald’s internet site, we went to the visitors information centre. This building is an impressive, significant structure, it was built when the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad arrived in 1879, along with this came a boom to the town, there are 900 buildings listed on the National register of Historic Places in Las Vegas. Can’t say we visited them all, but quite a few. The city is a little tired and could do with a revamp. The most significant building is Montezuma Castle; it has an interesting history, dating back to the railway of course. Today students from around the world matriculate through a two year baccalaureate program at Armand Hammer United World College of the American West, one of 10 United World College campuses located in countries across the globe. The building is closed to the general public, however the grounds are magnificent, and the exterior view of the building is outstanding. We left here in the afternoon and drove down through more mountains, at an 8% decline for quite a few miles; this gave us great views over the flat plains below. The weather was becoming extremely hot, not sure if it was the decrease in altitude, or the fact that we were heading south towards Texas. We found a road side rest area, but we didn’t get much sleep as it was so hot, even the nights do not cool down, it can be around 100 during the day, and then only drop to around 80 at night, although being a minor road the traffic didn’t bother us. The following days drive was fairly ordinary, open farmland, with only hills as a backdrop, not the mountains that we have had for the past few weeks. We thought that we would take a look at Conchas lake and have breakfast there, a very large lake, however there was no water access, all taken up with residential dwellings a bit of a disappointment, so we continued on towards Tucumcari, where we found a nice park with shade to rest at. Tucumcari survived the cyclone from the previous night, and all appeared well. From there we drove down the 40; towards Amarillo, it had been a long time since we had been on a major interstate, I had to readjust to the multitude of trucks and passenger vehicles and the speed at which they all travel at, nobody over here seems to drive to admire the beautiful scenery, only seems to be a contest to get to the next destination the fastest way possible. Just before we reached Amarillo, we stopped at the Cadillac monument. There ten Cadillac’s buried nose down in a paddock, people are permitted to spray paint the cars, why they are there? I have no idea, it appears a bit like “build it and they will come”. Amarillo is quite a big place 173,000 people, called into McDonald’s internet spot, and the visitor’s center, very friendly & helpful, we were introduced to the saying y’all ( “you all”) (“can I help y’all?”,” y’all come back soon”,” what are y’all doing” } etc, even when there is only one person in view, I am constantly looking over my shoulder to see who else is there. It was just a few miles down the 40 and we turned off and headed towards Wichita Falls, to see Carole the next contact that we have made, on our blind date tour of the USA………

Aussies on tour - instalment #13

We left Espanola late next day for Taos traveling via back roads going through Chimayo, Tuchas, and San Juan Pueblo which is a very old village. There has been consistent habitation there for many hundreds of years, and the buildings reflect that. We managed to find an overnighter at a scenic lookout at the top of a hill; it had the most marvelous view of the village, the valley and the mountains as a backdrop. We left late the next day, the view was so fantastic, and we were reluctant to leave. The drive to Taos was marvelous travelling through the tall pines of the Carson National Forest, stopped for lunch at a lookout, it was impressive, more push bike riders were there, high up in the mountains. We arrived late in Taos, the information centre was on the way in for information, and found that they had internet, even booths for you to sit in. Bridge was shown in the day’s end list, so we went out to investigate. It was twelve miles from town. At the Eastern end of the bridge, there were a number of venders selling a variety of craft and jewelry objects, as it was Memorial Day there were a lot of people around. On the Western side of the bridge is a rest area with a 24 hour time period, marvelous amenities. They appear to have full time staff working at New Mexico rest areas, which keeps them in top shape. The Rio Grande Bridge is an impressive massive expanse, several hundred feet above a rugged canyon, with the Rio Grande River way down. Before the bridge was built, which was only in 1966, people had to zig zag down the walls of the canyon, cross the river, then go back up the other side, hard to imagine doing this. We met an interesting guy here and spent a bit of time talking with him about some of his adventures, who was overnighting here as well. Next morning we looked out our bedroom window, to see a hot air balloon in the next paddock, this is a regular happening each morning as they take flights across the Rio Grande River gorge. After breakfast we walked part of the 9 mile rim trail, we then returned to Taos, stopping at a Pueblo village on the way. People have lived here for hundreds of years; unfortunately parts of the village were off limits to tourists. In Taos we visited Old town, and the square, taking many photographs. I was taking some of an old church, which turned out to be Couse House; there was a couple in the grounds at the time. We assumed they were tourists as well but I was photographing the front they came over and asked if we would like to look through. The front of the building was originally a mission church. A group of artists converted it and used it as an art studio. One of the artists was the grandfather of the lady who had invited us in. We were joined by a German couple, and we finished up going through the whole building, Most of the building is in original condition. The grandfather used to paint Native American Indians, and he often took black and white photos of his models, these photos are magnificent, they could be considered as art just the way they are, some of them have grid markings on them that he used for his paintings. One family of his models went through three generation with him. He had his own dark room; the chemical bottles and equipment are still there, everywhere you looked there were objects of interest, together with a running commentary by the man & woman. They all appeared to be quite innovative, back in the 30,s when things were obviously tough, one of this man’s sons was making a mobile workshop on the back of a truck, in a huge workshop on the property, that was full of all sorts of equipment including a giant lathe, I even spotted an electroplating tank. The whole property is mostly original as it was over a hundred years ago, it was a fabulous visit. They have set up a foundation in an endeavor to preserve the establishment, as it is the last of the original art colonies of this type left in the area. From this a huge art community has grown, basically making Taos what it is today , which is lots and lots of galleries selling all types of art, craft jewelry, souvenirs etc . A final visit to a very old mission church on the way out, and then on to find a night spot, we had to drive further than we wanted to, and the site was not the best one that we had stayed in, but it turned out to be interesting as you will read about in the next news letter……………….

Aussies on tour - instalment #12

We had a nice break at Rol’s and enjoyed the good company of Rol, Alan & Rebecca but with the oppressive heat it was time to push on for new experiences. Our first stop was Abique Lake for lunch, we parked in a rest area overlooking the lake. Marvelous views of the lake, with the mountains as a great feature in the background. Continuing on our journey we visited the "ghost ranch" which is a small village of people and adobe houses. We continued driving through marvelous coloured mountains. They were just the most unusual colours, mainly in the purple until we reached Tierra Amarilla. We fueled up and asked the attendant where we could park overnight.
Being a local, he had no idea, but suggested a small park near the swimming pool. We investigated, and it looked great. There were a group of workman replacing a roof at the swimming pool that had blown off during a storm. When asked if it was ok to stay overnight he said, "sure no problems, it is a parking area isn’t it?' They also had timber off cuts, which were just right to add to our leveling block collection. The next morning, we woke up to overcast skies. after breakfast it started to rain, which turned into hail, and then to snow. It was freezing cold,

who would think that two days ago it was unbearably hot - now snow, quite thick, covering everything. We gave thanks to the propane furnace. Not much point traveling this day, so we decided to sit it out, and wait for the weather to improve, unfortunately this did not happen. The next day we figured that we may as well make the most of a bad situation, and do the laundry. We checked with the local sheriff to enquire if there was one in town . I saw his car parked in the street and assumed this was his office, I didn’t realize that this was the court house, on a busy court day in a small town. Well I got scanned with a metal detector, and looked at oddly. We found out there was a Laundromat in Charma. We took a slow drive to Charma and the snow was still falling when we arrived at the Visitor’s center. This was the first time that I had walked in snow. Charma is quite a reasonable sized town, a few gas stations, a few restaurants, a fully functioning visitors information centre and a Laundromat. It is a snow resort place, so we were most surprised when we asked. “Where the grocery store was” we were told, that it blew down last winter, and to get supplies you had to drive 20 miles out to an Indian reservation to buy anything - seems like a great opportunity for someone. While in the laundry, I was talking to a man about going over the mountain to Taos the following day. He considered that the bad weather had passed, and considered there should be no problem (unfortunately I didn’t get his name). We left and found an overnighter back towards Tierra Amarilla, nice one with power. The next morning the weather did not appear to be as bad, so we decided to give it a go, and go over the mountain. It started off fine, however the higher we climbed, the more the conditions deteriorated. At about 10000ft snow was falling and it was difficult to see the

road. Everything was white, not used to driving in these conditions (no snow in our part of the world) - the decision was made, and we retreated, to take the long way around, via Espanola. We were amazed to see cars, and even motorcycles, driving up into the unknown. I don’t know if they continued, or like us, turned around. We unfortunately had to retrace some of the roads we had already driven but the scenery made up for this. Through the beautiful coloured mountains, called in to the Echo Amphitheatre for lunch, more great rock formations, and it did echo. Arrived in Espanola late, and once again took the easy way out and booked into the big “W” RV park chain. Tomorrow we will go to Taos the easy way……….

Aussies on tour - instalment #11

We arrived at Todd’s ranch, on the way to Rol’s ranch late in the afternoon, thanks to the detailed instructions given to us from Rol. Todd has humming bird feeders, and the birds were very active, they are a great sight to watch, the only bird in the world that can fly backwards. He also has several wild deer that come right up to his back door, which he feeds, you can get right up close - you wouldn’t think that they are wild animals. Todd has a fabulous house, a very old log cabin, which he has extended and is still extending. The house is full of antiques, and memorabilia of his and Rol’s days in the film industry, great house and lovely man. Another couple of wandering souls, Alan and Rebecca, came in with their big fifth wheeler. We all then proceeded to Rol’s ranch to stay the night. After our convoy drove the short distance to Rol’s ranch, problem number one occurred. Alan couldn’t negotiate the bend into the area we were to park, caused by over hanging pine tree limbs! But Rol, being a 'can do' kind of guy, soon had a ladder and saw and he soon had the situation under control. Problem number two, the slope of the land. Once again Rol was there with planks and leveling blocks for us. Meanwhile in the background Alan was practicing his reversing skills, trying to find a level spot. The ranch is one square mile, with rim rock ranges, beautiful wooded pine areas and open meadows. Rol is very much involved in the aviation industry, including being a Director of an Aviation Foundation. It is Rol’s intention to build an airstrip on part of the open land and invite people to fly in and to hike the surrounding areas. Rol then returned to his office after showing us where the water and power were situated. The weather was extremely hot and as the Motorhome was not totally level which made our fridge struggle to the point of defrosting all the items in the freezer. Next morning Alan, Rebecca and I (Brian) decided to take one of Rol’s suggested hikes. There were no trail markings so we headed towards the mountains, trying to remember where we had come from, just in case we got lost! Luckily the woman in the group came to the fore - Rebecca lead us on the right path! We found a beautiful valley which was like a picture post card setting of a Ranch, including a Log cabin. Later on in the day Rol came to check on us, and offered to take us on a tour of his Ranch. A most interesting four wheel drive experience (for city people), driving up the side of hills, on undeveloped roads that had been washed out with the rain, producing large ruts, however the end result was really worth the drive. A valley of magnificent rock formations and views over the surrounding area.

Rol returned just prior to dusk to take us to “The Valley Of The Moons” for a sunset tour. You won’t see this name on a map as it is a private name given to the area by Rol, Todd and others. If the name sounds exotic then the whole area matches the title. A valley of beautiful and interesting rock formations. I can’t understand why the government hasn’t claimed it and turned it into a National Park. I should be able to post more pictures on my Picassa site in the future, so you can gain a better perspective of the area (keep it a secret, as it is too good to be spoiled).
We thank Rol for sharing his property, and for the tours, and for the most interesting conversations we had with him. He is a most knowledgeable person, on many subjects, however the heat, and time were against us, so it was time for us to move on to our next experience.