June 27, 2014 A Scenic Day

It was a nice still morning with the temperature about 52. We had  a good fire going and sat outside for quite awhile.  After breakfast we took Maggie for a walk. We decided to take a drive north of Chama into the higher mountains .  It turned out to be an absolute gorgeous drive. The road runs beside the Chama train for quite a ways. We crossed two passes over 10,000 ft. We thought we might do some hiking but we were not prepared for the cold. It only got to 55 with a brisk wind. We found two different forest service campgrounds which we could boondock. Later we found a campground on the Conejos River which we liked. We stopped and talked to the owners for about 30 minutes. Really nice people. We may come back and spend the summer here one year. We headed back to Chama and got some lunch and did the shopping thing. They had a little Territorial Days  set up with booths sharing the old traditions. I didn’t stay around for the hanging as we headed home to chill out the rest of the day.

June 26, 2014 A Slow Day

Another cool morning around 44 degrees with a pretty good breeze. Susan woke up still plagued by allergies. I ran into Chama to find some more allergy medicine. I found a few things and headed back. In the meantime someone on Facebook told Susan that lavender oil would help. Aine Malone told her there was a lavender farm in Abiquiu which is about 40 miles south of us. Therefore when I got back we headed that way. It’s a pretty drive with many pretty rock formations.  One was Echo Amphitheater which is really pretty.   We made it to the Lavender Farm and it was actually an interesting place. We left there and stopped at Bodes to eat. I had my new favorite, a green chili cheeseburger. Yesterday I had a smothered green chili cheeseburger and I recommend both. After lunch we drove to Lake Abiquiu and looked around. Finally we just headed home and chilled out the rest of the day.

Lake Abiquiu

Heron Lake

June 25 2014 A Wool Kind of Day

It was a brisk 44 degrees this morning. I built a nice fire and drank my coffee. Susan got up all stopped up. Her allergies are bad and nothing is helping. After breakfast we went to Los Ojos, a very small poor community. It has a really nice old church, small restaurant and a wool weaving business.  Tierra Wools is the place. They have several weavers who make all kinds of things. The lady that runs it now has had it for 31 years. Everything is done here starting with the animals to the finished product. Don’t expect to find anything cheap here. I was amazed at the prices but then again everything is handmade.  After that we drove to Dulce which is a town in the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. We didn’t know what to expect but let’s just say we have been there. We then drove to Pagosa Springs, Colorado.  It was a very pretty drive. Typical tourist town but we did find a nice cantina to eat lunch. Then we headed back to the park and just chilled the rest of the day.

June 24,2014 A Quiet Day

It was about 49 when I got up this morning...Last night I had put a hoody out to wear but forgot about some kind of long pants. It was kind of chilly while I was building a fire outside. I went back inside till the fire was going good. Susan got up early and we sat out by the fire for quite some time. Finally I got up and cooked some breakfast. We then took Maggie for a walk. After getting back Susan did some cleaning. I drove to the lake to see where the best place for launching our kayak. Then I drove to the Rio Chama Canyon to check out the access.  When I got back I took a little nap. I have a cousin Aine Malone who lives near Santa Fe. She came up and we visited all evening. We really had a good time. Not sure what we will do tomorrow. The temp rose to 92 today but cooled off nicely by 6.

Up early, looking for a warm spot

Trying out our new fire pit

Rio Chama

Heron Lake

lake is really low

Start your climb down to the river

June 23, 2014 Travel Day to Heron Lake

We pulled out about 7:30 am.  We just drove at a slow pace, not in any hurry. We stopped at Kline’s Corner, which is in the middle of nowhere and ate breakfast  When we went thru Santa Fe we made a stop at Jo Ann’s so Susan could get some type of scissors. Santa Fe looked like a nice little town. We arrived at Heron Lake State Park around 2 pm.   This is near Chama. It is a nice park with the elevation near 7500 feet.  After we got set up and rested we drove into Chama and looked around. We stopped at the only grocery/hardware store and got a few things.  We ate at a little place called High Country and it was good. We headed back to the trailer and sat outside the rest of the evening.  We had hummingbirds entertaining us. Our cell service is spotty here but we get good service about 5 miles up the road.

All these signs for one place as if you could miss it

A nice site

Maggie enjoying life

June 21,2014 A Good Day

I woke up last night about 1:00 am and turned the ac on.  As soon as I did all power  went out. I checked the trailer breakers and they were ok. When I checked the power box I could smell burnt odor. Sure enough my cord had melted with one prong welded in receptable.  Decided to open windows and door and try to sleep. It was plenty cool but we are used to having a fan for noise, but we were able to sleep. Once morning came I cleaned the junction box up and got out my new spare trailer cord. I couldn’t use the 30 amp but with an adapter I plugged into the 15 amp side.  Turned coffee maker on and life was good. Later went to the Ranger station and told them about it and they sent someone to repair it.  We headed into town and went to a Route 66 Museum. They had a nice collection of old cars. It was a neat place. The two couples that were there ahead of us were from Livingston and College Station. We chatted with them for awhile, then drove around and checked out Santa Rosa. It has a nice city park with a swimming lake.  We went back to the trailer and chilled out. We had a pretty good storm move in but it kind of split us so we got just a little rain. It ended up being a nice evening.

June 22, 2014 Laundry Day and Hot

This is our last day in Santa Rosa. Tomorrow we are leaving for Heron Lake State   near Chama. We went into town and did our laundry.  After that we filled the truck up and went by the grocery store. Back to the park to chill out the rest of the day.  It was 60 when I got up this morning and then it  made 99.8 in the shade by 5 pm. Yep its time to move to a higher elevation.  This is a nice park and if it wasn’t for the gnats it would be great. They don”t bite but they buzz your ears,eyes and mouth. So far there is always a good breeze blowing.  I may wait to load up everything in the morning when its cooler.

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