Little dog lost

Feb. 26 - Mar. 13, 2013 Hidden Valley Ranch - Deming, NM 88030

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RV LIFE:

I really enjoy getting a buzz from a big glass of wine...only one. That's not just a part RV life though. I worked for the Post Office for 32 years. What I liked about my job, was the benefits, the pay and the fact that when I punched out on the time clock, I was done. No worries. My Father would ask why I didn't want to become a Supervisor. NO WAY! Being a clerk in the PO, I do my job and I believe I had a very good work ethic and did a very good job. But if we were overwhelmed with Christmas mail...oh well. Not my problem. I sort the mail and try to do it a little faster, but it was not my worry. When the end of my shift came, that was it. The mail was now the Supervisor's worry and who would be willing to work the overtime. It sure felt good to head home and have a glass of wine and forget about the Post Office.

Watch out for the storm coming...

Normal view

Storms nearby

So what happened when the storm arrived? A lot huffing and puffing (high winds). Then the rain came! Yep, rain in the desert, about 10 minutes of drizzle. THEN, the hail came! Itty bitty ice dots for about 3 minutes. The wind tamed, but still hung around for most of the day. Storm over.

While the cat's away...nope I won't be playing, but totally relaxing. Scott  had to go into town to the Ford dealer. We needed our EGR valve replaced. Our engine light keeps coming on in the truck. We've had the valves cleaned twice. $450. later, it is replaced. It's a beautiful day outside and I've been sitting in my easy chair with my laptop for 5 hours reading blogs while Scott is sitting in the Ford waiting room, then going food shopping. I'm loving it! 

Just did our bills. Only takes a few minutes since we don't have a house. That is another benefit of the RV fulltime lifestyle. No house payment, no water, no sewer, no taxes, no electric, etc. Most of our expenses are on our credit card. A quick look over the statement to ensure no unknown charges. Click to pay. Done.

Balance my checking acct on Quicken. Easy peasy since we only have about 5 entries per month. Our pensions, the cc bill, and maybe a couple of other incidentals. Ahhhhh. I love it!

What a nice day after the excitement of this morning. Story further below. There are lots of birds, mourning doves, quail, other small birds flitting around. Also lots of rabbits and jack rabbits. The desert has it's own backyard wildlife. Glad we're here before the weather warms up and the snakes come out.

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PETS past:

Had some time on my hands and was sorting digital photo files. 

Sophie too tired to eat

This was a 10 yr old foster English Setter we had. We ended up adopting her. She was older and diabetic, so figured we'd just give her a home for her senior years.

Mom & babies

And yes, I fostered guinea pigs also. It got to the point that we had 4 dogs, 2 of which were foster dogs we adopted. I had pushed my husband as far as I could with the number of dogs in the household. I know HIS limits. I'm not sure I know MY limits. Since I couldn't foster any more dogs, I downsized to fostering ONE guinea pig. Then it was 2 at a time in one cage. then I got a larger cage that could be split, so I could foster 2 pairs for a total of 4 piggies, making sure females and males were kept separate! But oh no! One of the piggies I fostered came to me pregnant! Oh crap! What do I do. Marcie, the head of the rescue said guinea pig babies are easy. They are born looking just like miniature adults. And she was correct. I fostered many piggies and ended up with 2 fosters that were pregnant so went through 2 litters. No big deal. They eat adult food by the second day and no, the parents do not eat their young like mice. But...you have to separate the male piglets by 3 weeks old or they will start mating with Mom. Tsk, Tsk!

If you are thinking of any kind of pet, please check out PETFINDER. You can put in the type of pet you are looking for. There are rescues for almost any kind of pet.  Besides dogs and cats (including pure bred), there are guinea pig rescues as you can see from my past fostering. There are also rat rescues. Rats are a wonderful short term commitment pet. They are affectionate, attentive and VERY RARELY bite as is the problem with gerbils and hamsters. I think a rat is a much better pet than a gerbil or hamster for a young child. I had 2 pet rats. They were wonderful and easy care. The downside is that they only live about 2-3 yrs. I just couldn't go through the heartache, yes, I was heartbroken when they died. I just couldn't go through that every 2 years.

Above is my pet rat, Cagney (you dirty rat). Loved to be held, never bit. Quiet...they don't need a wheel for exercise and to keep you up at night with the squeaking. Really nice pet and companion.

Goodbye sweet Renny. We had quite a scare this morning. Renny, the stray dog we took in, has been spending a few days with the Mom of a potential adopter. Renny adjusted very well to their husky?, Mia and their two cats. So yea! It's a go! Renny will be adopted by Christine and her family in Casper, WY!!! Lianne and Dick who I met here at Hidden Valley Ranch will be driving Renny to their daughter, Christine in WY. Lianne & Dick have been permanently living here at Hidden Valley Ranch for 10 yrs.

Renny's new Grandmom

So this morning, Lianne & Dick had been preparing their RV for the trip to Casper, WY. In & out of the house to put things in the RV, in and out, in and out. Where's Renny????? I get a knock on our door and Lianne is there very upset and let's me know Renny is loose somewhere. He probably was chasing rabbits. Renny is only 12 lbs. The jack rabbits are bigger than him! Oh crap. Lianne heads in one direction with her dog Mia, I grab my two dogs and start calling and whistling. Dick is riding around slowly in his ATV.
So what does this mean with the adoption? Are they still going to leave without him? The purpose of going was to take Renny. Oh crap.
10 minutes later, Dick drives up and looks quite sheepish. We found Renny!
Wow, great, where? \
In the house. He never left. He was cozied up under the covers or in a closet or behind some furniture. He's so little, who knows.
All is well and he is on his way to Wyoming! If feels so good to know I took a heartworm positive, un neutered and a stray in and got him adopted. He would have most likely died without HW treatment. Yes, I'll give myself a pat on my back.

Have happy life little one.

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WHERE WE'RE GOING:

Mar 14 - 27, 2013 Desert Trails RV Park - Tucson AZ 85735

Mar. 28 - Apr. 10, 2013 Dead Horse Ranch State Park - Cottonwood, AZ 

Apr. 11 - Apr. 17, 2013 Trailer Village - (Part of Grand Canyon Park), AZ

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

Feb. 26 - Mar. 13, 2013 Hidden Valley Ranch - Deming, NM 88030

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RV LIFE:

Hallelujah! I finally feel comfortable doing what I want without feeling guilty! That is truly a milestone! I am really enjoying retirement while living in an RV. Life is fairly uncomplicated.
Wheeling It, mentioned in their blog about a "restless gene", causing us to need to explore and move to new places. I may be traveling in an RV, which may seem adventurous, but really, I don't need to explore. I am comfortable in our little slice of real estate where ever we are. As long as I have something to do, I am content. I need to be able to read, watch TV, knit/crochet, surf the web, etc. All that takes up little space.

The weather again went down to the low 30's. But this afternoon, it is sunny, light breeze and 50°. Just my kind of weather to sit outside or take a hike.

There are murals on almost all the walls of the Rec-Community room here at Hidden Valley. The building is used as a library, lounge, office, game room, craft room, coffee club, pot lucks, etc.

Here's a close up of that sign on the left of the mural.

This is right next to the coffee pot area. "Why can't you Pilgrims jest drink yore coffee black!"
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HELP NEEDED:  
Our poor Basset butler who holds our Cedar Creek name sign is broken.

The wind was just too much for him. He went boom boom. Maybe I should call him Humpty Dumpty. Not sure if we'll be able to put him together again.  He stands about 3 feet tall, is hollow, in body only. He has a heart of gold. He is made out of resin. I've had him for many years and knew I had to bring him with us while RV'ing. He has been a good friend. I don't want to let him go.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to put him together again? I was thinking epoxy, or fill him with the foam expanding insulation for stability. Or maybe duct tape and paint him? Maybe not. Would love suggestions. Thanks.

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PET PEEVE: Misuse of the term, "Gentleman".
The original definition for Gentleman, was a man brought up in a genteel way. Genteel meaning, well-bred, polite, respectable.
Today the term generally means a man who is well mannered and courteous.
So why oh why do news people and even police officers use the term "gentleman" to describe a criminal???? When did the phrasing stop being perpetrator  or to be politically correct and state alleged perpetrator, or man/woman, or suspect, or just generic individual?
It drives me absolutely crazy to hear "The Gentleman was caught in the act of mugging the young woman". Grrrrrr! I myself would like to use "That low-life was caught in the act...".
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PETS:

It's all mine and I'm not sharing!

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LOCAL SIGHTS:
Deming, NM is about 20 minutes from the Mexican border. I like this company's name and sign. Cute play on words.

Looks like someone penciled in "pest" at the Border Control building. But nope, they are exterminators, bug exterminators that is.
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BUSINESS/WINE REVIEW:

St. Claire Winery, Deming, NM

Our rating 4 out of 5

Very enjoyable visit to this winery. They do grow their own grapes about 35 miles down the road. I was surprised grapes could grow in the desert. Our wine hostess said because the temps cool down so much overnight, that makes a great condition for growing grapes.
They bottle 3 labels of wine. St. Claire and Blue Teal, are very reasonable. DH Lescombes label is much higher priced.
For the wine tasting, you get 2 free tastings. If you want more, it costs $6.00 for 6 tastings, plus you also get your 2 free tastings for really a total of 8 tastings.
Our hostess was very informative and easy to talk to. She really seemed to enjoy her job.
I prefer dry reds and Scott prefers sweet wine, such as ports and fruit wines. I am usually the more picky in my purchases. When it comes to sweet fruit wines, it's difficult to go wrong. There is such a wide forgiving curve in fruit wines.
I tried:
Merlot Reserve: Not to my liking. Tart and not an enjoyable after taste.
Cab-Zin: described as "Lightly oaked Cab meets a well-mannered Zin". I liked it. Bought only one bottle for $12.
Shiraz: One sip and that was enough. Did not like.
Cabernet-Sauvignon: another I did not like.
Enough of the disappointing dry reds, on to the sweeter wines. I can enjoy fruit wines, but it has to be a warm day out and the fruit wine icy cold.
Summer Peach: Delicious! Excellent! Real fruit flavor and as Scott said, "you can even slightly taste the skins of the peach also". We bought 2 bottles at $10. each.
Sangria: didn't try, but at $10. for a large bottle, we would try it at home.
Triple Berri: Acai, blackberry & cranberry. Nice. We bought two bottles at $11.00 each.
Plum loco: Cherry & Plum. Scott tried this and bought 1 bottle for $10.00
Pomegranate: Scott tried this one. He liked it, but liked others better. We are in an RV and can only carry so much wine.
Lime-a-Rita: I did not like it. If I want a Margarita, I want a Margarita not blended with wine. Scott liked it so bought 1 bottle for $10.
Port, St. Clair label: Scott liked bought 2 bottles at $26. each.
Port: $4.99: Wasn't available to try. Was it that bad? We assume the $4.99 must have been an under-par batch and they were just trying to get rid of it at cost.
Then I decided to be a touch adventurous. When in the Southwest...
I am not really into all the kinds of peppers & hot sauces, etc. that the SW is known for, but since I still had a couple of tastings left, I tried...
Hatch Green Chile Wine: It smelled like peppers! Ooooh, do I dare? Here goes. A tentative sip and----nothing. Just a white wine flavor. Phew, I jumped that hurtle. But wait---there's more! One more chile infused wine.
Chimayo Red Chile Wine: So I took a sniff and just smelled a red wine. This should be easy! I take a sip and, wait for it!...wait for it! Huh? Took another sip and GOTCHA! There is a subtle tingling in the back of my throat. Not unpleasant at all. Very cool! This is a decent red wine, with that after zing in your throat. Not hot, just a tingle, almost like tame "pop rocks". I HAD to buy 2 bottles at $10. each for the novelty. This will be fun to bring out during Happy Hour with friends and see their reaction.
St. Clair also offers a reduced price for refills. I've never seen this done before. You purchase a jug of their basic red or white wine for $9.99. Bring the empty jug back for a refill for $6.00. Or, they will refill your own wine bottle for $3.00!!! What a deal.
We ended up purchasing 14 bottles of wine totaling only $159.00. We received a 10% discount (-$16.60) and the two wine tasting fees were refunded (-$12.00).
A must see if ever in Deming, NM.
We've got to drink up before we head to Sedona wine country in 3 weeks. Anyone want to join us for a glass of wine?
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WHERE WE'RE GOING
Mar 14 - 27, 2013 Desert Trails RV Park-Tucson AZ 85735
Mar. 28 - Apr. 10, 2013 Dead Horse Ranch State Park-Cottonwood, AZ
Apr. 11 - Apr. 17, 2013 Trailer Village,(Part of Grand Canyon Park)

Blast from the past

Hidden Valley Ranch, Deming, NM 88030 Feb. 26 - Mar. 13, 2013  

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RV LIFE:
Funny how little things  evolve as we adjust to RV life.
It is now normal to take navy showers, meaning wet yourself down, turn off the water, soap up, turn on water to rinse off. Saving water by not running the shower continuously and also saving the grey tank from filling too quickly. I've known about these kind of showers since childhood. My father was in the navy during the Korean War.

My Dad

He often mentioned navy showers and encouraged us to embrace that. But of course, we never did.
I caught myself automatically stepping over the floor heating vents. When we first moved into the RV, we went through quite a few of these cheaply made vents because we kept stepping on them. Now it is just a subconscious move to avoid them.

I'm really enjoying NM. Of course when we step outside Hidden Heaven, I  mean Hidden Valley and we venture into town, then it's not so heavenly. Hidden Valley has the park nicely landscaped and not a lot of shrub. Whereas along the drive on the dirt road and into town, the property hasn't been pruned and it is quite ugly and junky looking.
We have only been here 9 days and already, I feel a part of this community.  We are tentatively planning on spending a good part of the winter here at the end of 2013.
The dry air is really starting to affect me. itchy, watery eyes, gook in the corners, bloody nose, dry face and hands. We are using body cream daily now.
The slow internet is also really starting to bother me. I've downgraded my rating of Hidden Valley to 4 because of that. I am so used to just Googling items that I want to know more about. Here at Hidden Valley, it just takes too much time. I have been reading my Kindle in between page loading down time. Very frustrating. Speaking of Kindle...
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PETS:
We've again tried to leave Devin loose in the RV. Unfortunately, he is just too inconsistent to be trusted. This time, he got my Kindle. Grrrr! I had the Kindle on the little shelf beside our bed. Devin likes to look out the window on the bed. My Kindle has a nice heavy brown leather cover. Dog & leather... ...ahhh chew toy!

All those dots are teeth marks

Mom & Dad left me something so I wouldn't be bored while they were away. Yep, Devin decided to gnaw on my Kindle, and yep he cracked the screen.

I could still read it for the most part. The upper right corner is unreadable. Oh what the heck, it was the first edition Kindle and a Scott hand me down. I think it's time I upgraded anyway.  So, I ordered a new Kindle Paperwhite.
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PRODUCT REVIEWS:
Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi only, No ads $139.00
My rating 5 out of 5
Scott is so jealous!  Maybe if Scott leaves his Kindle 3 on the bed and Devin loose, then Scott can also get a new Kindle Paperwhite.
I think all the Kindles have a 6" screen. It's the surrounding area that is different measurements. The Kindle will be larger if you opt for the keyboard instead of on screen keyboard.
The purpose of my Kindle is exclusively to read, so there is not much use for the keyboard.  I wanted something light and small. My new Kindle is light and thin. Even with the leather cover it's still much smaller than the Kindle 1. It fits nicely into my pocketbook without adding too much weight. Very handy.
The touch sensitivity is very good. Instead of pushing a side bar to turn a page, you just tap or swipe the screen. Very rarely have to re-tap.
The special advantage to the Paperwhite as to a regular Kindle is that it has a back light. Even with this light, the battery life is quite long. The light means  that in bright sunlight, you can darken it for better contrast. At night, you don't need a book light. The screen can be adjusted to read at night without giving off any blaring light.
It's very easy to navigate on screen. I don't miss the keyboard or the 4 buttons at the bottom at all.
I opted to pay an extra $20. so I wouldn't receive ads on my home screen.

Marware Eco-Flip Kindle cover $34.99
My rating 4 out of 5
This would be rated 5 out of 5 if the price was more in the $15.00 range.
This is a simple well thought out cover. I love the hot pink color. Of course it also comes in boring black & brown.

This cover is lightweight but sturdy and keeps the total weight of my Kindle Paperwhite light. Since I am only using this to read, I only view the Kindle in portrait mode. My old Kindle cover opened like a book and was bulky to hold while reading.
This Marware Flip cover flips up & over like a Steno pad (anyone remember those?) When flipped over, it enables me to read hands free, which is a a great feature. The other special feature I love is the slot for your hand. It makes it so much easier to hold the Kindle while reading. No more GRIPPING the Kindle. Simply slip your hand in the back and let the Kindle lay easily in your palm. Makes for many hours of comfortable reading.
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BLAST FROM THE PAST: Stenography
Stenography is a way to take dictation notes in shorthand. There are line wiggles to represent letters of the alphabet. Then there are other wiggles that are combos of letters of abbreviated words. I took Shorthand course in high school and did very well. I had to demonstrate for a job interview, but did not take the job. I never did use shorthand for the secretary job I did end up taking. But, I used it for my diary. I was a very unhappy and rebellious teenager. I wrote pages and pages and pages of shorthand journal entries. I kept it until I purged when we were going full time. Of course I couldn't read it now anyway. The point was that my father couldn't read it, so no need to hide or lock it up.

  Here is a great video demonstration.
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SIGHTS:
Rockhound Roundup, presented by the Deming Gem & Mineral Society, Inc.
More than 100 dealers, display cases, geode cutting, gold panning, spinning wheel, silent and live auctions, door prizes, raffle, guided field trips.
I've never appreciated the process of rock to precious gem, rock to polished stones & beads. Now that we are right in the midst of rock & mineral mining and we can walk out to the desert and have our pick, I've become interested in the process. I am truly amazed that rock enthusiasts can see an ugly rock in the desert with MAYBE a hint of color and know what it is and that it will polish up to a beautiful stone.
This show was the first of it's kind I've attended. This is all a part of living in the SW.
The inside vendors of the show was more commercialized and more expensive. I felt completely "lost" knowledge wise. Some of the stones were fake, or painted. How can I tell? So I was not willing to spend money on an unknown.
We did see some amazing items, one of which was a 3 foot high Geode.
We ended up picking up quite a few items. Check out our onyx goblets! Holds about 6 ozs.

Onyx before

Onyx after

I picked up an amethyst pendant, three bracelets ($3.00 each) & a slab of something pretty. May make a pin out of the slab.

And Scott picked up this little doggy item.

The vendors on the outside were cheaper and showed the raw materials and the finished products. Lots of info on rock tumbling. Scott may have the bug. I'm on the fence. If we had a permanent place, I'd say go for it, but being on the road, that means a rock tumbler takes space, adds weight. And as one of the vendors told us, one rock leads to more which leads to 10 pounds, then 20 pounds, then you start giving away your polished rocks to friends and then they start avoiding you because they don't need any more pretty stones.

FYI: Dogs were allowed. We didn't bring ours because we didn't know.

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FOOD REVIEW: 

Sunrise Kettle Corn, Deming, NM 

Caution, this may be addictive to your taste buds.

Yes! We found kettle corn! I love kettle corn.

We visited the Sunrise Kettle Corn booth, we were offered generous samples of different flavor kettle corn. We tried regular, caramel and cinnamon. They also offer chili and banana split, both of which I had no interest in.

The popped kernels were huge and fluffy. We were told they are called mushroom popcorn.

REGULAR KETTLE CORN: This was fluffy, with the right amount of salty and sweet. 

CINNAMON KETTLE CORN: At first I wasn't impressed. I was expecting more of a cinnamon/sugar combo taste, but it was pure cinnamon coating the kettle corn. I bought a bag anyway. Well, it is addicting!!! I love it. No need for more sweetness. 

CARAMEL KETTLE CORN: Perfect! This is not overly sweet nor sticky. Just a subtle caramel taste that lets you eat a lot without your taste buds being overwhelmed with sweetness.

All flavors above had the undertones of the regular kettle corn. We will be back.

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Let's end with a NM sunset

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 Mar 14 - 27, 2013 Desert Trails RV Park-Tucson AZ 85735

Mar. 28 - Apr. 10, 2013 Dead Horse Ranch State Park-Cottonwood, AZ

Apr. 11 - Apr. 17, 2013 Trailer Village,(Part of Grand Canyon Park)

No Trespassing?

Hidden Valley Ranch, Deming, NM 88030

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CRAFTS:

It is so much nicer staying 2 weeks in one place. Two weeks gives us down time. I am so close to pulling out my embroidery machine and trying out some samples...this close!

But it's so much easier to just grab my knitting project hanging on the back of my computer chair.

I'm still working on Alexa, which is a cabled short sleeve cardigan.

I did crochet a dog sweater for our itty bitty foster dog, Renny. I don't know if he shivers because that's what little dogs do or if he's truly cold. 

I'm cold. I need a sweater!

Either way, it gives me an excuse to quickly use up some stash by making him a sweater.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:

Adobe Deli, Deming, NM 88030

Our rating 3 out of 5

This is the reason we came to Deming. Adobe Grill was a "must stop" place if in the area. We were warned that it didn't look very inviting, but to go ahead and venture in. Although it was 15 miles from our RV, it was a quick 15 miles with just a straight road and no traffic lights. Sure enough upon arriving, we had our reservations, not for dinner but reservations about even entering this place. 

Where's the entrance? Follow the sign. Is it open? Don't you see the sign on the gate? Dummy!

Ok, we're trusting Ray's instructions and we did venture in despite the No Trespassing sign.

What a curious, cozy restaurant.  You walk in and on your right is the  deli counter with lots of taxidermy animals ready to wait on us.


Then into the dining area, with quite an impressive bar.

There are more taxidermy animals throughout...on the walls, in display cases, etc. If you are offended by this, then don't go here. There is no place to avoid them. There is a 10' alligator in the middle of the dining area. You can sit right next to it if you'd like. Interesting  place. Now on to the food.

FRENCH ONION SOUP: Above average. The beef broth was hearty, but lacking any special uniqueness. Plenty of melted cheese atop the crock. 

FRIED ONION RINGS: Average. They onions were fairly sweet, the batter was crispy. Would have liked their own type of signature sauce to accompany it.

FRENCH DIP SANDWICH: Large sandwich, plenty of good roast beef. The au jus average. Again, both of these items were lacking any special flavoring or unique to Adobe Deli rubs.

PASTRAMI ON RYE: Very good. The pastrami was piled high on a nice pumpernickel/rye bread. The pastrami itself was great. I enjoyed picking up the pieces that fell out of the sandwich and just eating it plain. The bread was smeared with a very potent brown mustard. The mustard definitely had a bite to it and sometimes overwhelmed the sandwich. Lettuce and red onions also on sandwich.

Our sandwiches with a side and a pickle were each $10.99. Pretty pricey for a so-so sandwich. 3" of meat does not make for a good sandwich, unless that meat is exceptional.

I asked for a box to bring the other half of the large sandwich and leftover potato salad home.  I was given a small square styrofoam container. Could barely hold the 1/2 sandwich. So potato salad and sandwich are joined for a new concoction at home.

FRENCH FRIES: Below average. Typical frozen packaged fries. They could have been fried a little longer. They almost tasted like oven baked fries.

POTATO SALAD: This was interesting. Very good. It had more of a sour cream base instead of mayo. Kind of refreshing. But this too seemed just to come out of a big tub.

We arrived at 3:30pm. No one was there to seat us, so we just started looking around at all the animals for a while. Finally we saw a girl at the bar & we were then seated. The wait staff left much to be desired, not only in their service, but the way they were dressed. Both girls although, not really too overweight, both had bellies that could pass for a 4 or 5 month pregnancy. I can not judge since I am very overweight, but and this is a big but (yes, I have a big butt also), the girls were wearing skin tight shirts. More under Pet Peeve section below. We ordered french onion soup because we were told by friends this was good. We were the only 2 patrons in the restaurant when we ordered. Only two people and she couldn't remember which of us ordered what sandwich. Plus, she was ready to take away my 3/4 full soup because I moved it to the side. I moved it to the side, because my sandwich came and I had to make room for the plate! I told her I was still eating the soup.

Looking at the website, we thought the menu was the same for lunch and dinner. But sadly, no. Only sandwiches were offered for lunch. Scott was hoping for a big steak! The start transitioning to dinner at 4pm.

Heading to the Ladies room, this was displayed in the hallway.

I think it is a bicycle taxi from Malasia. The letters on the side are SEDAAP, which are a brand of Malasian noodles. Once in the Ladies room, there were parking meters.

Overall, I would not return. The sandwich was good, the atmosphere is interesting, but...eh.

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PET PEEVE: Girls/Women who wear skin tight clothes and don't have the figure for it. 

All their rolls and bumps show. 

Sample photo

What is the point of skin tight? Is that appealing to guys? I guess that's "full disclosure" for potential mates. There are no surprises as to their body type. I guess I've been deceitful wearing a looser shirt to cover my less than perfect body.

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WHERE WE'RE GOING:

Mar 14 - 27, 2013 Desert Trails RV Park-Tucson AZ 85735

Mar. 28 - Apr. 10, 2013 Dead Horse Ranch State Park-Cottonwood, AZ

Items for Sale

Hidden Valley Ranch, Deming, NM 88030

Feb. 26 - Mar. 12, 2013

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NOTICE, NEW PAGE: ITEMS FOR SALE

This page will be for items I've made that are for sale. Sometimes I make things just for the joy of making, but have no use for them. Please check out my page with items knit & crocheted by little ol' me that are for sale. All proceeds go to charity, specifically A&B English Setter Rescue.

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RV LIFE:
Some RV's have a washer/dryer included. We don't and do not want one.  I do a couple of loads every two weeks. That is not worth the loss of storage space for a washer/dryer. Here at Hidden Valley, there is a nice laundry with about 6 washers & dryers. Plenty of room to move around, iron and ironing board, folding tables and clothes lines outside! That is a first for us. They do not want you to hang your clothes outside your RV, but are happy to have you use the clothes line next to the laundry room.
I haven't hung out laundry since I lived at my childhood home, which is 30+ years ago! What the heck, I've got all the time in the day to hang clothes. Let's give it a go. I loved it! I did not hang out our undies and socks, but all the rest was blowing in the breeze and quite a breeze it was. The dryer ran for 45 minutes. By the time I took our "unmentionables" out of the dryer, the clothes on the line were dry also! NM is very dry and windy. Perfect conditions for outdoor air drying your clothes.

But along with the advantage of dry windy conditions is the negative also.  We opened our windows to let the lovely breeze circulate through the RV. I noticed that my keyboard and mouse felt dirty. Yep, sure enough, the fine desert sand blows right through the screens and puts a teeny layer of dirt all over the place. You don't notice it unless the sun is shining in or you wipe your fingers across.
Another negative of the dirt & wind combo, is after taking an enjoyable walk with the dogs, I notice that my nostrils are encircled with dirt. Yeck! Also, both Scott and my eyes have been irritated. We are assuming that is from the sand and wind also.
The temps here in the desert are really strange! It has been dropping to below freezing, as low as 27° one morning. But it really is true about dry cold. You really don't feel the chill as bad as 27° in NJ. The day temps range anwhere from 50 to 75°. Nice!
I love our morning walks. I can see the disappearing moon and then turn and see the rising sun. And during our night walks it is so dark here with no close by towns and no campground lamps lighting. We actually almost walked into an electrical pole because we didn't have our flashlights and it was pitch black! But oh, the rewards of seeing all those stars in the sky. Priceless! Never thought I consider desert living.
We would really consider Hidden Valley a snowbird destination for us. We have too many places to still check out before settling in one place for a season.
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BROWSING THE WWW: 
You Tube Downloader-This is a great free program to enable you to download and save videos off You Tube and some other supported web sites. Once downloaded, you won't have to be annoyed by buffering and the video is on your computer for whenever you may want to refer back to it.
There are a few You Tube subjects I follow and tend to save many of their videos.
RV Travel offers tips from fixing RV problems, to storage tips, maintenance tips, how things work in the RV,etc.
Lifehacker This is one of my very favorite sites and videos. Lifehacker covers a wide range of every day problems. Many are computer related, such as how to "jailbreak" your devices so it can be used with more apps, how to easily keep your headphones wires from being tangled, tips about using Facebook, household tips and much more.
Geeks on Tour These are RV full-timers who give lectures around the country about all your electronic gadgets and setting it up in the RV, also Picasa photo editing & organizing program, and lots of other useful tips.
Gentleman Bunny shows how to make things with polymer clay.
Polymer clay shows how to make things with polymer clay.
Roberta Kelley demonstrates different things to do on a knitting machine.
Knitting Help is a great source to learn how to knit and also learn advance techniques.
Cat Bordhi demonstrates "how to's" of knitting. Very helpful.
Kens Sewing's Channel Tips on how to use different sewing machine feet, etc.
Eddie's Wheels for Pets This one is close to my heart. We had a 95# Irish Setter named Pillsbury, that in his later years needed a wheel cart to get around.

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MAGAZINE REVIEW:
Whole Dog Journal: Great resource for all dog owners. This magazine is full of up to the minute (well month) current subjects pertaining to dogs.
They cover dog food recalls, training methods, health, medical treatments both conventional and holistic, diseases, behaviors, etc.
They give an unbiased review & rate quality of dog food, quality of dog toys, dog accessories, etc. They are unbiased because they do not take any advertising, so are not beholding to any companies or organizations.
They have the digital version on line, but they mail you the Journal also. I love the on line version because I KEEP & index all their issues for reference.
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WHERE WE ARE HEADED:
Since we are traveling into more "popular" areas of the country, we decided to plan ahead. We normally just plan 1 week ahead of time. Our plans are two weeks in Tucson, two weeks in Sedona (recommended by our friend, Petra), and a week at the Grand Canyon.
Desert Trails RV Park-Tucson AZ 85735  Mar 13 - 26, 2013
Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, AZ (20 miles from Sedona) Mar. 27 - Apr. 9, 2013
Trailer Village, Grand Canyon Park, AZ Apr. 10 - 17, 2013

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No matter what life brings you,

take a lesson from your dog... 

kick some grass over that shit and move on. 

What a day!

Hidden Valley Ranch, Deming, NM 88030
Feb. 26 - Mar. 13, 2013
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RV LIFE!! & sights: 

What a day we had!!! 

On Friday morning (3/1/13) I was on my morning dog walk and met up with Marjorie and her Bichon mix?, Moxey. She looked familiar, but not enough to really figure out where I could have seen her before. Well Marjorie remembered. She met us last year when we were in Boise, ID!!! Ahhh, now I remember exactly when I met her! Sometimes it can be such a small world. Marjorie is a permanent resident here at Hidden Valley Ranch (RVR). She is a true rescue dog lover. She understands rescue and the problems of homeless dogs. She really lucked out with Moxey. She is not yappy and just seems to take everything in stride. Well Marjorie asked if we were going to the pot luck dinner that night. She encouraged us to participate.

Hmmmm, we just arrived and we have nothing to bring to the pot luck. Well, I could just bring some ham & cheese roll ups. To get to the store we have to drive that 7 mile dirt road and then how far? Scott took the drive. We just made a quick vegetable dish-cubed sweet potatoes sauteed in olive oil and sprinkled with fresh rosemary. Yum! 

About 40 people attended the pot luck dinner, so there was plenty of food and plenty of desert. Yumm, again! The room and tables were almost all full. As non regulars, we were a little intimidated as to where to sit. But we were welcomed and seats found for us. We met a nice couple from upstate NY, passing through. Easy conversation and good food. Nice! We had to introduce ourselves and were put to the front of the buffet line! Nice! Marjorie saw me and came over and said how glad she was that we came and a hug followed. 

After dinner, we were just kind of relaxing and still talking to our table mates, when another couple Lianne & Dick, came over and started talking. What a cute couple. They both talk almost at the same time. They are so in tune with each other, it was like how twins finish each other's sentences. They asked if we were going on the ATV ride the next day. Huh? No, we don't have ATV's and we've never driven them before. They have two ATV's and offered Scott to drive one and they would just double up on their other ATV. What? Really? I can't believe they really are going to let us use their ATV with no experience! 

So 9:30am on Saturday (3/2/13), we meet at the club house. Sure enough there are about a dozen ATV's parked. Lianne comes over and shows us the ATV we can use! Oh my gosh! We're really doing this! They had told us to dress in layers. It can be cold in the morning and while riding, and then it heats up later in the day and can be hot when we stop for lunch. We were told to bring lunch and beverage and a bandanna for the dust.

We need some cowboy hats!

We really needed those bandanna! The dust kicked up following the front ATV was plentiful. Our clothes ended up filthy with dirt dust.  

There are miles and miles of trails amid the "open ranges". Although our jeep 4 wheeling trip last year in Idaho with Don was scarier, this was a lot of fun and had it's scary moments also. How are we going to get through that ditch? How are we going to ride over those huge rocks? Are those cattle going to attack when we go through their herd?

And calves too!

We drove around the trails for 1.5 hours and then stopped for a lunch break. We brought gummy bears to share, someone else brought vanilla almond bark, another toffee and still some more sweets, brownies!
While just hanging out and chatting, I noticed the variety of people in the group. There was Jen?, a little Asian woman driving her own ATV. She had a very cool red suede Aussie type hat on. Another woman  had polio as a child, so needed a leg brace. She also, was driving her own ATV. The Marjorie brought her little dog, Moxey along for the ride. But the real kicker was seeing an older gentleman hooked up to an oxygen tank! Yep, tubing in his nose leading to the tank in the front of his ATV. Not only that, he's also taking water pills for his heart, so he had to find more blue bushes than others.
Great group of people. 

Lunch Break

This area is dry and the range itself is evil looking with the sparse brush and dangerous cactus plants.

 The above piece of cactus is call a fish hook barrel cactus. What a nasty plant.

Even though the range itself is kind of ugly, the surrounding peaks are beautiful and really interesting. We saw the original poles for the telegraph lines, we saw cave dwellings, we saw 100+ year mine openings, current rock digs, & cattle grazing. 

3 sisters peaks

There are all kinds of rocks for the taking and polishing. I'm not much of a scavenger, but to see these beautiful rocks makes even me want to explore. Scott was a geology major is college, so he finds all this very interesting. I on the other hand am just looking for "pretty" rocks.

We also stopped to look for blue bushes and pink bushes. Huh? That meant bathroom breaks and the girls would go behind one area of bushes (pink) and the boys would go to another area of bushes (blue). Luckily, I didn't have to use the bushes.

We were out on the trails from 9:30am to about 2:00pm, with a total of approximately 34 miles covered! What a day!

Special thanks for Lianne & Dick

For so generously allowing us to use their ATV for a fabulous day out and totally new and fun experience!

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PETS:

The desert is totally different than what we are used to living at the Jersey Shore. We now have a whole arsenal of items to bring along for our dog walks.

Items needed for walking the dogs:

1. Leashes and harness for Devin.

2. Poop bags

3. Sunglasses, even at 7:00 in the morning!

4. Baseball cap. As soon as the sun is up, it is glaring. Sunglasses are not enough.

5. Scissors, to cut out pieces of cactus that get caught in our Setters long, thick fur.

4. Hemostat forceps or tweezers to pull out cactus barbs, foxtail from paws. 

I am definitely enjoying the more isolated area of this country. Give me this beautiful desert region over San Antonio River Walk any day!

PARK REVIEW: Hidden Valley Ranch, Deming, NM

RV PARK REVIEW:
Hidden Valley Ranch, Deming, NM 88030
Site #65  $12.75/day Passport America Rate
Our rating 4.5 out of 5 
"If you want to be in the country, you gotta drive on a country road to get there."

Even without discount, the weekly rate is only $100.00
Be forewarned...there is a 7 mile dirt road to be driven on to get here. But it is well compacted and was really not a rough ride. Just puts a layer of dirt all over the truck and RV.
I am not a SW kind of person. I like green & lakes, but this place is close to paradise in the winter. Located in a valley with beautiful views of all the different surrounding peaks.
Staff are wonderful, permanent residents are very friendly & welcoming. After only two days, we felt like a part of the RV park family. We were originally going to stay for a week and extended it to 2 weeks. Lots of open range trails for ATV's.
Normally, I would lower my rating for bad internet and close sites, but there is something about this place that is magical. I really love it here.
SITES: Neat gravel sites, but just a little too close for my liking.
HOOK UPS: FHU (limited 50amp)
BATHROOMS: clean
LAUNDRY: clean & spacious, with nice hand painted garden mural on walls.

PETS: Very pet friendly. Park is surrounded by open range where you can let your dogs loose if you'd like. On leash in park.
WIFI: Available for $2./day Connnection isn't very good, the further away from office. Jan. 2014 update: WiFi worked great in the "E" row sites.. We could not get internet with our Verizon service.
VERIZON INTERNET: No
SPRINT INTERNET: No
VERIZON PHONE: No bars
AT&T PHONE: No bars
BOOK EXCHANGE: Yes, large library type room. All categorized.
MAIL DELIVERY ACCEPTED: Yes

Our site #65

DOG is our Co-pilot

Hidden Valley RV Park, Deming, NM

Feb. 27 - Mar. 12, 2013

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PETS: And Scott didn't want me to save this little guy. He can be a softie. Renny could not move any further onto Scott. Renny was tethered, so his movement was limited.

We took Renny for his first heartworm treatment. Another $90. added to the almost $300. vet bill already.

We had quite the scare on Thursday. I was taking the trio on their morning walk. Devin is living up to the Irish Setter crazy, wild, hyper reputation! There are too many smells here in NM. There are pack rats, that burrow in the dirt and drag all kinds of things in their cubby hole with them. We haven't seen them yet, but we see their handy work. There are quail running around and teasing Devin in the trees. There are small rabbits and huge jack rabbits that Devin cannot resist trying to get to.

Once Devin sees a rabbit, he starts screeching, howling, pulling and jumping. He's very difficult to control and keep quiet. This has gotten little Renny upset, which makes Renny start barking and jumping on Devin. Utter chaos! This is the only time we've heard Renny bark. Luckily, so far, he is not a "little yappy dog".
Well, crazy Devin was pulling and pulling and ..........FREEDOM! His prong collar unhooked! GONE~! No more barking, just running and out of sight. He has been loose before, but not strayed far.  But this time he disappeared! You'd think in the desert I'd be able to keep track of him. Nope. Vanished. I FREAKED!!!! There is a single wire electric fence surrounding the park. Since I did not hear Devin, I had visions of him taking off and being decapitated by the wire and that's why there was no barking.  So, a decision, do  I continue looking dragging Lyla and little Renny with me, or do I go back to the RV and get Scott to help? HELP!!!! Scott & I go out to search with just Lyla. We split up. Woo hoo! I saw a flash of auburn. Yep, that's Devin! He's alive and in the campground! I call out "Deviiiiiiiin, coooooooookie". He comes over to me, but has no interest in the cookie. He flops down spreads out on the cool dirt panting. I guess his 10 minutes of freedom wore him out.  All is well. I will not be using the prong collar anymore. Back to his harness.
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RV LIFE: 

We left San Antonio, TX on Tuesday.  Made it to Fort Stockton RV park, still in TX. Damn! Texas is a big state! Scott did not sleep well at our overnight. No reason, just something Scott has to deal with sometimes. So in the morning, we knew we had to get to at least El Paso, TX to refuel. If Scott was too tired, we'd stop in El Paso for another overnight. I don't like doing consecutive overnights. It is just an unsettled feeling. Why bother setting things up just to pack up in the morning. Our hopes were to make it to Deming, NM.
We arrived in El Paso around 1:30pm. Scott felt fine. I felt fine. The dogs were doing great. Onward! I can do more knitting! Time flies while Scott drives and I get to listen to a book on tape and knit.
El Paso is so congested! Very built up and more shopping plazas still being built. Highways criss-crossing over each other. Oiy~! Too much activity for me.
We were stopped by Border Control just past El Paso on I-10. No big deal. They asked if we were US Citizens, we said Yes. They let us go. That's it. We arrived in Deming, NM about 3:30pm. Of course the hour back time change helped.
And WHY did we choose Deming, NM? To follow the food of course. Ray S. from our Cedar Creek RV owners' club said there is a great deli in Deming. So we'll be trying that out and of course a review once we stop there.
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RV PARK REVIEW:
Fort Stockton RV Park, Fort Stockton, TX 79735
Our rating 3 out of 5
I'm not reporting a full review since we were just there overnight.
FHU
Pets allowed: The dog run in the brochure has been taken down. I don't know why, since they have the space.
This used to be  KOA. I don't think the new owners are really doing the upkeep that should be done at the park. There are quite a few permanent residents. Some have nice lots, others are questionable.
No landscaping at all. A very ugly park.
The highlight of this park is the restaurant on site. What a pleasant surprise!
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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Roadrunner Cafe, Fort Stockton, TX 79735
Our rating 4 out of 5
A very casual and very limited menu. 4 breakfast selections available & 5 dinner selections available. Beer & wine available.
Restaurant is located attached to the park office of Fort Stockton RV Park.
Breakfast is served 7:30 - 9:30am   Dinner is served 5:30 - 7:30pm
There are about 10 tables in this little cafe. One waitress and one cook. Prompt & pleasant service.
For Breakfast:
BISCUIT & GRAVY, SAUSAGE, SCRAMBLED EGGS: $5.95 Very good. Decent light biscuit with typical white pepper gravy. Served with 2 sausages patties which were very good.  I crumbled one patty and mixed with my gravy since I prefer sausage gravy. Scrambled egg was served more like a plain omelet. They were delicious, with the taste of butter it was cooked in still clinging to the eggs.
COFFEE: Coffee was decent. I was expecting it to be terrible.
DOUBLE DOUBLE: This consisted of 2 eggs, 2 sausages, 2 bacon strips and 2 pancakes. $7.95. All was good. I especially LOVED the pancakes. Light, fluffy and crispy sweetness around the edges.
For Dinner:
All meals come with mashed potato or french fries, Italian green beans, roll and desert.
MESQUITE COUNTRY-STYLE PORK RIBS: $7.95 This was very good. Seemed to be cooked "crock pot" style.
BREADED CATFISH FILET: This was ok. I was expecting deep fried catfish. This may have been baked.
FRENCH FRIES: Very average. Better to get the mashed potatoes.
MASHED POTATOES: Yum! This were REAL mashed potatoes, not fro a box. They were delicous and came with brown or white gravy.
ITALIAN GREEN BEANS: Seemed canned or overdone, but still better than limp canned green beans that I've had served at "home style" restaurants.
DESERT: Just a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream with chocolate or strawberry sauce. Nice sweet finish to a decent meal.
We almost stayed another day, just eat there again.