Sunday, June 1
It was a hot morning to start out the day, with predictions of temperatures well above 100 degrees by afternoon. Since we had made arrangements to get the motorcycle to the shop in Roswell today, we decided that we’d leave relatively early to get on up there, drop the cycle off, and do some shopping before it got too hot and windy back in Artesia.
We got away from the house around 11:00. I headed on up the highway on the Voyager while Barbara followed in the Vibe. (Both of us listening to Artesia 1st Methodist on the radio) It didn’t take too long to get the work order done up on the cycle, but it did take a little while for them to discover that they didn’t have the right size rear tire in stock. They told me it would have to be ordered on Monday and that it would take about ten days to get it in. I told them to just keep it there until everything was done (nothing too serious…just the routine 20,000 mile checkup and maintenance procedures), and to call me if they found anything else that needed attention.
After leaving the cycle shop, we drove across town to Sam’s Club to try to find a memory-foam mattress topper for the main bed in Big V. When we stayed with Gary and Joyce in Houston, we slept on a bed that had that topper, and we thought it would be well worth the money to get one for ourselves.
It didn’t take long to find the merchandise we wanted, but as we started to check out, we decided we’d take another page from the Gary and Joyce playbook and walk around the store to see what kinds of food samples they were offering. When we visited Gary and Joyce in Maryland once upon a time, they took us out to Sam’s on a Sunday and we walked around testing all the different kinds of food. Well, the store in Roswell had a really good selection of samples, so we took time to “savor the moment” as it was, and enjoyed several new taste treats.
Once we were checked out, and had wrestled the topper box into the car, we drove back to Artesia and Big V. We didn’t know that it would take three or four graduate degrees to figure out how to get the topper unfolded and placed flat on the bed, but we eventually got there after much discussion and sweating. Since the topper had to lie flat on the mattress for at least 24 hours so it could expand to its proper size and shape, we went ahead and opened up the sleeper-sofa in the living room and made it up for the night.
While we were doing all this work (in 90-plus degree temperatures inside), we decided that we needed to move Big V to a cooler climate. Temperatures for Artesia were predicted to range from 103 to 108 over the next two weeks, and our air conditioner just can’t keep up with that sort of thing.
So, we turned to the internet to get some information about an RV park that we had stayed in previously up in Ruidoso. Fortunately, we were able to reserve a space for several nights, so we then turned to making all the plans for closing up and moving Big V tomorrow.
Meanwhile, we took Jean up on an earlier invitation to join the group over at her house for supper tonight. She wanted to try her hand at grilling chicken on her new outdoor cooker, and since Susie was spending the night with her while James was on a business trip, we just turned it all into a family dinner. We had prepared potato salad the way Margarita and Maria taught us when we were in Puerto Rico, and others contributed their own dishes. As usual, it was wonderful to join in the conversation and great food with everyone.
After eating, we decided we had better call it a day so we could finish the preparations for tomorrow’s travel, so we said our goodbyes and returned to Big V.
Monday, June 2
Happy Birthday to Zeke in Knox City!
We took our time moving around this morning, checking and double-checking to make sure we had everything we needed for a few days away from Artesia, and to be sure that Big V was properly buttoned down for travel.
Before leaving, we went over to Jean’s to say goodbye to Susie and her and to ask if Jean would keep up with our mail while we were gone. Then, it was off to Wal-Mart to gas up both Big V and the Vibe (luckily, neither tank was so low that we suffered severe price-shock). Then, leaving Big V in the Wal-Mart parking lot for a bit, we drove the Vibe over to Mother’s house to check in with everyone there and let them know where we would be for a few days.
While we were talking, we asked if Mother had received any counter-offers on her house from the lady who had been talking to the realtor about it. She said that they hadn’t, but there was always the chance that there might be something in the works. Barbara jokingly told her that if they got an acceptable offer on the house, they would need to come up to the mountains to visit and we would celebrate. With that, we said goodbye and headed back to Wal-Mart so I could drive Big V up to Ruidoso while Barbara followed in the Vibe.
When we got to Ruidoso, we stopped and fixed ourselves a little lunch. We found long ago that trying to set up a rig, whether a pop-up camper or a motor home, is not a job to be done when we are tired and hungry.
Soon, we found our way to the Twin Spruce RV Park, the only RV park we have ever stayed in Ruidoso. We got checked in, found our site, and were soon setting up our home in the cool pine country of the Sacramento Mountains. Since temperatures were already 15-20 degrees lower than they were in Artesia, we were well on our way to being happy campers!
Tuesday, June 3
What a change from down in the valley! In the middle of the night I had to get up and turn on the gas furnace and close the bedroom windows. The cool night air had taken a strong turn toward cold. We were suddenly wishing that we hadn’t taken the electric blanket off the bed when we made it up with the new topper last night.
We were greeted by cool morning breezes that soon became gale force winds. With predictions of 35 – 50 mph winds for today and tomorrow, we battened down the hatches and prepared to stay inside for most of the day. It seems that there is just no escaping the strong winds this season.
While I was working on some things inside Big V this morning, Barbara went over to the park laundry and started getting caught up with the washing and drying.
When she got back, we decided that, if possible, we’d extend our stay in the mountains for the rest of the month. In talking with our hosts last night, we found that we could get a great rate if we stayed a month…much better than at most RV parks. The only question would be the availability of a site for the rest of the month, since many sites have been reserved for several days at a time.
Luckily, there was a secluded site available up on the hillside, so we made arrangements to move from our present site to the new one on Friday.
We did venture out around the area for a couple of hours, but it was just too windy to be outside for long.
When we did get back in, we had an email from Ernie letting us know that Mother had received an acceptable counter-offer on her house, so the long weeks of waiting are nearly at an end. There were no details, only the information that the house would be under contract as soon as they could meet with the realtor on Monday. Hallelujah…an answer to our prayers!
As soon as we finished reading and digesting the message, we called Mother to congratulate her. She didn’t know that Ernie had already told us, but she was obviously very happy at the turn of events. While she was talking, Barbara reminded her that she had promised to come up to the mountains for a celebration if the house sold. Mother then asked Ernie which day they were coming up, and we all settled on Saturday for a celebration meal.
Wednesday, June 4
Today was much more of the same…high winds and gusts that could really spin us around if they caught us just wrong, so mostly we just hunkered down inside and got caught up on some cleaning, straightening, and the business of daily life.
Thursday, June 5
Today was a major housecleaning day. We haven’t done a good deep-cleaning for some time, and we decided to get that out of the way while the winds were blowing all around us.
By the time we finished everything, it was time for a nap, and we ended up taking a long one…both of us slept the afternoon away.
Tonight was the opening game of the NBA basketball championship series, so I turned on the TV and cheered for the Celtics over the Lakers. Wonder of all wonders…a team I was cheering for actually won! Now if they can just keep it up for Sunday’s second game.
Friday, June 6
It’s moving day!
And let me tell you, folks, except for the distances involved, there’s not much difference between moving this rig a couple of blocks or across the country. Either way, everything has to be taken down and packed away just right or there will be a huge mess at the end of the journey.
By 9:30 we had everything closed in and buttoned down. Then, I made a short detour across the parking lot to take on a load of propane before going up the hill. We might have had enough propane to last us for the rest of the month, but I didn’t want to take that chance, since the only way to get it is to drive from wherever you are to the pump.
Once loaded with a full tank of LPG, I followed our host up two steep hills and through two very sharp turns (one to each side) before arriving at our new site overlooking most of the campground. With a little more help, I got Big V backed into the site and Barbara and I soon started the reverse of the process we began earlier this morning…getting everything opened up, leveled, and livable.
After an hour or so, we had the place looking like new…even put out some of the decorations that we had taken down some time back because we weren’t sure how long we’d be in one place.
Carol had called last night to say that she and Cal were coming over from Roswell to spend a couple of hours at the Apache Travel Center. We told them that we would be moving, but that we’d try to meet them sometime after 11:00…as soon as we could get everything ready at the campsite.
With everything finally in place, we got cleaned up and headed on down to the travel center where we played and visited with Carol and Cal. Aside from the fact that we really enjoy visiting and talking with them, about all we can say about today is that we seemed to be good luck charms for Carol, allowing her to walk out with a big smile on her face.
We returned to Big V, had some lunch, and took a nap before sitting down to work up a grocery list. In addition to the food items that we promised Mother, Ernie, and Billee, we were running short on some of our standard supplies. Around 5:00 p.m. we made our way back up the highway to Wal-Mart to join the Friday evening throngs…seems like we’d know better than that, but that’s just the way it worked out today.
Back at the RV park we sorted out the groceries, got everything put away, and worked out a general game plan for turning Big V into an industrial strength kitchen tomorrow morning.
Once everything was organized, Barbara started work on tomorrow’s dessert, a large pan of Cherry Betty.
Saturday, June 7
What a beautiful morning! It was absolutely gorgeous outside, with a beautiful sunrise over the mountain behind us.
We got started on the menu for the day. With two different meals in the works, we were using every square inch of the kitchen area for food preparation.
In addition to a roast that Barbara was cooking in the crock pot, our meal for today was brown-in-bag chicken with carrots, potatoes, and onions. Also, I had a loaf of honey wheat bread going in the bread-maker. At the height of our activities, we had the bread-maker, the crock pot, the convection oven, and two stove top burners going. Meanwhile, Barbara was also preparing a pecan pie that would go into the convection oven as soon as the chicken came out.
Ernie, Billee, and Mother arrived around 10:45…way early for the meal, but it gave us a lot of time to visit and get caught up on the past few days. By shortly after noon we were sitting down and digging into a delicious meal…all of us eating far more than we needed.
While Mother took an after dinner nap, the rest of us went for a hike around the RV park. We stopped in at the office to ask about area churches and services for tomorrow, and then made our way back up the steep hills to Big V, feeling somewhat self-righteous for having a little bit of exercise after that huge meal.
Soon, they all had to load up and head back to Artesia, and we set about straightening Big V, but leaving all the dishes until we could get the temperature back down. The air-conditioner was running full blast, but it just couldn’t keep up with all the heat we generated while cooking, and the warm afternoon outside.
With everyone gone and the place kind of neat (but scorching hot!), we took off for a couple of hours to go up to the Inn of the Mountain Gods, before returning to the site to wash and dry all the dishes and cookware and get them put away. Then, after a couple of hours of television, it was time to call it a day and head for bed.
EXTRA! EXTRA!!
We had several bits of information and some pictures of grandkids the last few days and, since they didn’t fit into any particular spot in the daily entries, we’ve added this short section to showcase them this week.
First, we got the great news that both Randi and Jaycie passed their TAKS tests (the Texas state assessments that are tied to No Child Left Behind) with flying colors. In fact, Jaycie made a perfect score on the 4th grade writing test and was notified that the test publishers wanted to use her writing sample as an example of a Level 4 submission. Way to go girls!
Andy and Heather sent us the following photos of Alexander and Abby:
Meanwhile, Whitney and Jim sent us these pictures of Little Jimmy in the outfit that we bought him when we were in Puerto Rico.
Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him ... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ( Phil. 4: 13 )
From the cool pines of Ruidoso,
Jim and Barbara
