Travel Days

Travels days are not always fun days, but they always wear us out. 

Yesterday we said our goodbyes to the folks. This gets harder with each visit, but we know we will see them again soon when a bunch of us meet up at Disneyland in July. 

It did help that I was anxious to put some highway between us and the local bear. 

Oh, did I forget to mention that a giant black bear tipped over the rubbish bin sitting about 5 feet in front of our rig and was enjoying a very, early morning brekkies when Mark, hearing the crash, got up to see him feeding? He took pictures but it was so dark, they didn't turn out well. 

Bear on left, rubbish on right near propane tank

This is the best one, but his eyes look slightly cartoon-ish. 

It was taken at the exact moment the bear looked up and discovered Mark watching him. *surprise!

So, every night thereafter, heading from the house to the rig seemed more frightening than any haunted house I’d ever been in! I’m a critter loving gal, but I have no desire to shake hands with any bear, other than my husband.

We were looking forward to a short, easy drive to Taos, New Mexico.  Barely out of Walsenburg, we rounded a corner and both of us looked at each other a bit wide-eyed …something wicked this way comes!

Add in flashes of lightening threading across the sky.

When we hit the center of the storm, all the cars on the highway pulled over and waited it out. 

It was raining so hard, but coming down white - - - Hail! 

I hadn't seen that in a long time. The whole area was covered white and looked like snow.

It was a little precarious starting back out again, even though the hail had passed, the wind was still against us and the roads were slick. 

Eventually we got to New Mexico. Odd little towns speckled the sides of the highway in between vast stretches of nothingness. However, there were these reoccurring signs that at first, we thought was a cow with a sombrero.

Not sure if you can make it out, but that is actually a UFO above the cow. So, cattle AND UFO crossing? Aren't highway signs State funded?

I looked up the back story on these signs, and the UFO’s are stickers that, although the State keeps removing, they keep reappearing. 

Apparently there have been many UFO sightings in this area, but mostly quite a few cow abductions and mutilations done with lasers that leave no blood on the cow or body parts. Ew, if the aliens wanted beef, couldn't they just order from the local butcher like every other carnivorous person?

Moving on . . . When we got to our destination, the Taos Valley RV Park & Campground (www.taosrv.com), we set up the rig and fell quickly into our respective seats; I on the couch, Mark on the recliner and Cotye on his bagel bed.  We saw out the windows that another storm was lingering in the distance but this storm did not appear ominous at all. The rainbow seemed a good sign.

The rain did not hit until we were tucked in for the night. And we ALL slept very soundly. Even short travel days really take it out of you.

Had a late sleep in this morning, even Cotye. And when Mark was doing Cotye’s morning walk, the lady next to us was singing as she opened the door to her rig;

“Good morning to you! Good morning to you!

We’re all in our places, with bright shining faces…”

This is the song my mother used to sing in the mornings as she came in and opened my drapes; probably in an effort to stave off my morning grumpies.  I was never a morning person. She would have been more successful greeting me with a large cup of coffee.  Being short never bothered me anyway.

I no longer cringe when I hear this song, rather would give anything to hear my mom sing it to me again. That is the first thing I will request of her when we meet again.

Meanwhile, the sky is clearing. My energy is returning . . . time to go out and live.