Sunday, June 15
Happy Father’s Day to all Fathers! (and yes, Ryan, that means you, too!)
With eagerness in our steps today, we journeyed up the road a bit to the J Bar J Country Church. What a place! It was extremely packed this morning even though we arrived early to join in the singing; but, fortunately, we found two empty seats. By the time church started for real, there were only 5 empty seats. No wonder they can hardly wait until their big red barn of a church is ready for occupation!
A couple of things we didn’t mention last week that impacted us greatly though we just had to be there in spirit, not physically…
First, we received word on Friday, the 6th, that Juanita, brother-in-law Tom’s mother, had passed away. Juanita had been in ill health for quite a few years and confined to bed; so the news came as a blessing, but not without its grief. The services for her were on Tuesday, the 10th, in Slaton, TX, but we were not able to attend. However, our thoughts and prayers were with the family at this time.
Then on the 11th, we received an email telling us that Dick Conklin in Lady Lake, FL, was killed in an automobile accident. When Jim and I were helping to build the church in Lady Lake, we parked Big V next to Dick’s and Dottie’s home in Weirsdale.
Early Friday morning the 13th we received an email from our friends, Margarita, Maria, and Francisco in Puerto Rico informing us that while brother George and his family were visiting them prior to their planned trip to Spain, George's wife, Evelyn, who was six months pregnant was taken to the hospital. Not only was the family letting us know, they were asking for our prayers.
Monday, June 16
Early this morning, we received another email from Margarita to tell us that the doctors found that on Friday Evelyn and George's unborn baby girl was stillborn. Evelyn, like our Leah only a month earlier, still had to go through the delivery process.
Little Stephanie Marie's services will be tomorrow at 11:00 Puerto Rico time. Our hearts are broken for this beautiful and caring family who had "adopted" us. Margarita and Maria had been such a strength to us when we went through Jameson's death, giving us beautiful words of encouragement and shoring up our stunned faith.
Now, it was our turn to share of our experiences and try to bring comfort to someone in similar circumstances. Of course, our hearts and prayers went out to them, and we have exchanged several emails trying to keep up with what was happening.
Eventually, there was no doubt that we could no longer hide from the mound of dirty clothes these two people, who don’t seem to do much of anything, had to take care of! So…after messing around half of the day on the computer, straightening the house, etc., we donned our bathing suits and headed to the laundry and the pool. Some combination, huh? Why waste time while the washing and drying of clothes was taking place? We spent the next several hours alternating between the laundry room and the pool which, let’s face it; if you have to spend time doing laundry, soaking up the sun helps ease the pain!
The rest of the day was as exciting as the above mentioned activity!
Tuesday, June 17
Happy Birthday, Amanda, in Knox City
Since brother-in-law Cal has a doctor appointment in Alamogordo tomorrow, Carol called to say they were at the Travel Center. Once we got our act together, we met them there for an hour before we started what I call the Ride to Heck!
Keep in mind that here in Ruidoso; the highs are in the 80’s which makes riding the cycle a joy. However, the scheduled trip for today was the Three Rivers Petroglyphs site about 23 miles north of Tularosa. And, the trip started well until we left Mescalero, NM, and started into the flatlands. Then the heat just poured all around us…
When I mentioned how hot it was, Jim wanted to know if we should turn around…well, wrong thing to ask me! Now, this is a woman thing, I know…but I wasn’t about to be the one who called it quits, I expected him to decide that on his own. But, he did the man thing…didn’t read my mind…and, therefore, continued on our journey with my temper boiling inside as rapidly as the temperature rose outside! I kept asking myself, “Who in their right mind can think this is fun????”
Jim: There’s a book out there somewhere called Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. It points out some of the essential differences between men and women. I guess I was in my Martian mode today, and science fiction notwithstanding, Martians ARE lousy mind-readers. I pointed out that “do what you want” and “whatever” must have different meanings in male-ese than they do in female-ese, and that was the root of the problem. Yes, tempers were pretty hot for a while, but, along with cooler temperatures in the mountains came cooler heads, and we were soon able to laugh (ok, maybe smile a bit) about the day’s adventures.
One good thing that occurred was that Barbara did have a hot opportunity to snap the below photos of the shimmering sands of White Sands in the far distance once we left Mescalero.
Barbara: Finally, we did arrive at Three Rivers Trading Post with no more damage than my burnt calves and the rising temperature…I quickly went into the restroom and stuck my head under the faucet to cool everything down and was then ready to find those petroglyphs!
Jim: The petroglyphs site is about 4 ½ miles east of the trading post and U.S. 54.
We had asked the manager of the trading post if the road was paved (important information for motorcyclists) and she assured us it was. What she didn’t tell us was that the turnoff and the roads into and throughout the site (managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management) were gravel, not a cycle-friendly surface.
Luckily, I was able to maneuver the Voyager through the dirt and gravel to a parking place outside the main office.
We were soon greeted by one of the caretakers who told us that he (also a biker) had been trying to get “them” to do something about the parking lot because of all the motorcyclists who came to the area, but so far he hadn’t had any luck.
After showing him our National Parks Senior Pass and signing in, we got a map and description of the site and headed down the one-half mile trail. We had our water bottle with us, but the signs stating, “Rattlesnakes are common in this area and have been found in the boundaries of the petroglyph and village sites. Stay alert and watch your children and pets,” caused us to look around a little more carefully. I told Barbara that no self-respecting rattlesnake would be out in this kind of heat, but she didn’t think that was funny. (I still hadn’t found my sense of humor! Barbara)
The Three Rivers Petroglyphs are outstanding examples of prehistoric Jornada Mogollon rock art. The basaltic ridges rising above the Three Rivers Valley contains over 21,000 petroglyphs, including masks, sunbursts, wildlife, hand prints, and geometric designs. The number and concentration of petroglyphs here makes this one of the largest and most interesting rock art sites in the Southwest.
Some of the petroglyphs were made expediently by simply scratching through the patina to the light inner layer of the rock. Others were painstakingly created by pecking through the patina with two rocks used like a hammer and chisel.
The petroglyphs of Three Rivers were made at a time of great social and lifestyle changes for the Jornada Mogollon people. It is assumed that early hunters and gatherers in the area practiced an animalistic religion, worshiping nature. As their population increased, they settled into villages. Their rock art seems to reflect a strong supernatural and religious connection to their environment.
We walked up the hill and along the path to the sites, stopping at some of the rocks to take pictures. Due to the heat (probably around 106 degrees), Barbara soon returned to the canopy area to seek some shade and wet down her shirt (a trick sister Nancy had taught her, thanks Nancy!), while I continued up the path to try to get a few more pictures. It was miserably hot, but I knew that there was little chance that we would return to this area, since our travels don’t bring us through here anymore.
When I was through taking pictures, I carefully made my way back down the path toward the parking lot, where I took a short break before getting back on the Voyager and guiding it to a spot in the road that was safe enough to put down the kickstand and let Barbara remount.
After a short stop at the trading post for water and a dreamsicle (and Barbara to go into the ladies room to douse/drench her shirt and pants with water), we once again climbed aboard the Voyager and headed south to Tularosa and U.S. 70, and then north to Ruidoso.
Now, we’ve made the journey from Ruidoso to Tularosa, Alamogordo, and El Paso many times, always marveling at the scenery along the way, but never taking time to get photographs of some of the sites that seem to jump out at us. Today, Barbara kept the camera handy to attempt shots of a couple of unique sights. (My sense of adventure had returned since my wet clothes made an effecient type of air conditioning for the cycle ride! Barbara)
The first view along the way was Round Mountain, a towering 1000-foot high hill that has a 20-foot tall cross tethered to the rocks with guy wire at its peak. It is not at all unusual to see crosses on the tops of hills throughout New Mexico, most the sites of religious pilgrimages. However, the cross at the top of Round Mountain was placed there by a Tularosa religious order in remembrance of those who fought at the Battle of Round Mountain in 1868, the last in a series of vicious attacks by the Apaches against the invading Hispanics who were driven up into the foothills from the Mesilla Valley when the flooding Rio Grande River washed out their crops.
In the battle, a sergeant and five troopers from Fort Stanton managed to stave off an attack by nearly two hundred fierce Apache warriors led by legendary war chiefs, San Juan and Cadette, until 26 armed citizens from Tularosa arrived by horseback and joined the fray. Having lost their advantage to superior arms fire, the Apaches retreated, never to invade Tularosa again.
In memory of the brave men from Tularosa who joined the battle, the cross was erected at the top of the mountain in 1957 by a religious order known as Los Caballeros de la Santa Corona. A plaque at the base of the mountain contains the names of the 26 citizens and lawmen who fought there.
The next picture was to be of a beautiful stone Catholic church in Mescalero. We’ve seen the church countless times and have remarked that we wanted a picture of it those same countless times.
Today we were ready…as we approached the church, I moved to the
outside lane of the highway and slowed down as much as I possibly could. Barbara sat on the back seat, armed with our trusty Sony digital camera, just waiting for the perfect moment. We’ve both done this a kazillion times, but today it just didn’t work. For some reason, probably the gathering clouds above us, the shutter delayed and we missed both the optimum shot and another that would have been ok.
Since it was too tricky to make a u-turn in the highway and come back for a better shot, we decided that this just wasn’t the day, and that we’d have to make another trip down the mountain to get this picture.
So, we resumed our highway speed and continued our trip back up the mountain to Ruidoso. As we got closer to the village, I told Barbara to be ready to get some shots of Sierra Blanca Mountain, as it would swing into view around one of the sweeping curves on this modern 4-lane stretch of U.S. 70.
Sure enough, the big mountain, which looks different every time we see it, soon appeared, first ahead and to our left, and then right in front of us. It’s a beautiful sight, and well worth the effort to capture the image.
We got back to Big V in time to rest and relax a bit before going to the regular Tuesday night service at the J Bar J Country Church.
As usual, we thoroughly enjoyed the song service, the preaching, and the covered dish supper. Since this was our second visit, we brought our contribution, a large dish of my green beans. I made what I thought was enough that we would bring some home for tomorrow’s meal, but there was nothing but a little juice left when I went to pick up the dish…so much for leftovers!
One of the highlights of the evening was talking with some first-time visitors, a couple from Switzerland. Actually, Patsy is originally from Snyder, Texas, but Gary is a Swiss chef.
We also got a chance to ask the pastor, Charles Clary, how they came up with the name of the church. He told us that it was pretty simple. The current church building was for many years the J Bar J western wear store. When the building was sold to the church, the church board asked if they could keep the name, mainly for the recognition factor. He told us though that now they say that since “bar” in Aramaic means “son of,” J Bar J now means Jesus, Son of, Jehovah…pretty neat, huh!
Tonight we received an email from Margarita telling us of Stephanie Marie's funeral and sharing the depth of her faith when she said that now Jameson and Stephanie Marie were two angels in Heaven, laughing and playing, and serving as our guardian angels. Even while we attempted to bring comfort to them, Margarita found a way to increase our faith and strength.
Wednesday, June 18
After yesterday’s cycle adventure, we were “plumb tuckered out.”
Our original plan for the day was to take a motorcycle through the back country of the Mescalero Apache reservation to Cloudcroft and Sacramento, a trip that we’ve discussed many times. However, neither of us felt much like climbing back on the cycle again, so we left it covered and took advantage of the day to take care of some paperwork that’s been piling up.
It was a great day to just rest, relax, and take advantage of the relatively cool weather here in the mountains.
Thursday, June 19
Another day of hanging around and taking it easy. We spent much of the day exchanging emails and telephone calls with family members to try to figure out how we are going to handle the final details of getting Mother’s house closed out and moving her to Mineola, Texas. We now know for sure that the mover’s will be at the house on June 30 to load, and will deliver to the new house in Mineola on July 2.
While this information meant that we would have to cancel our part of the traditional Fourth of July celebration at Jean’s house with the Terpening/Francis, we drew some comfort in knowing that we finally have a plan for the move.
Barbara fired off some emails to an RV park in Mineola, one that we stayed in on our very first trip in Big V, and made reservations for the month of July. We’ll just stay down there to help Mother get her new house set up and to maybe take a few side trips around the area.
We also decided that we need to get the motorcycle back to Artesia as soon as possible so we can get back up here and move the Vibe and Big V back down next week. We’ll just cut our stay up here short in order to have the time to refit Big V and do the thousand and one other chores that have to be finished before we can take off for a long time.
Friday, June 20
This was another travel day. We got up early and left Ruidoso around 8:00 a.m. I rode the cycle back to Artesia and Barbara drove the Vibe. While in Artesia, we stopped by Wal-Mart so Barbara could get her hair cut, then picked up mail that Jean was holding for us at the funeral home. From there, we went over to Mother’s house where we washed a couple of loads of clothes while we chowed down on hamburgers and fries while we discussed the details of moving day.
After a fun and informative visit at Mother’s house, we drove back to the funeral home to share our new-found information with Jean and Jerry and then crawled back in the car for our two-hour trip back to Ruidoso.
On the way back we noticed great clouds of smoke rising from behind some of the mountains. Jean had told us that a forest fire had started last night, but we hadn’t heard anything about it. Sure enough, several large plumes of smoke were billowing above the mountain tops, and the air around the little village of Picacho was yellow. (In the photo the smoke looks rather pink and white.)
We met several fire trucks as we were coming up toward the mountains…don’t know if they had finished their jobs or were just having to shut down for the day.
We were really pleased to run into rain as we got into Ruidoso, and enjoyed the sound of rain hitting the roof of Big V during the evening.
Saturday, June 21
It was just another day of making like flatland tourists in the mountains. We went up to the Inn for a bit and then came back down to the travel center where I stuffed myself with their fantastic Huevos Rancheros while Barbara had bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, and pancakes.
We received a phone call from Nancy Terpening telling us that her brother-in-law Ron has passed away and that she is on the way to Kauffman to be with her sister. Once again, our thoughts and prayers accompany Nancy and her family at this time.
We also received an email with a photo of Brandi's daughters Eva, who wa.jpg)
s 3 in April and Keylin, who was 7 in May. My sister Nancy, the grandmother, wrote, in part, "Of course I’m not braggin’ or too proud – but aren’t they just too cute???" We definitely agree with her...they are real cuties!
Tonight…stay inside and listen to the rain (and occasional hail).
“Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstances.” – Church Signs
Finishing our time in Ruidoso…Jim & Barbara
