Every Mile a Memory: May 2016

May 22, 2016

We left Capulin, NM for Boiling Springs State Park in Oklahoma today. It was a five-hour drive through the high plains…very flat and windy, but pretty. We stopped at a Walmart in Guymon, OK to get some DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) for the rig so we decided to make that a lunch stop.

Oklahoma

Pronghorn along the road for miles

The wind blows so hard here that the trees just grow leaning

We lost an hour on the drive east (MST to CST), so we arrived at the campground at around 4 pm. We checked in at the entrance and the woman told us we could pick any site we wanted in the two campgrounds. So we chose one in the Whitetail campground. There were only three other campers in the Whitetail campground so that’s kind of nice. We set up camp and started the grill. Then had a fire and watched TV (only one channel available…LOL) outside with the awnings out to protect us from the on and off drizzle.

Wild turkey wondering through the campground

The campground was just about empty

May 23, 2016

It was VERY windy and rained a lot last night so we weren’t sure what was in store for the weather today. There was mention of tornadoes on our one local TV station. We weren’t very happy to hear that so Dave went to the ranger station to see if we had anything to worry about. We were also concerned that all of the other campers left by 9 a.m. The ranger said the “weather” usually misses them, "the last tornado was in 2012, and 1934 before that". So we decided to stay put for another night. The day turned out beautiful…lots of sun and humidity (ugh, we haven’t missed the humidity and kinda bummed to be feeling it again). We stayed within the park and road our bikes and hiked some trails, also went to see the boiling springs, well…boil, very cool. Dave washed the jeep in the late afternoon.

Small lake on the park property. Tons of turtles on an old dam in the center.

Boiling Springs well

The spring is bubbling and the sand does look as if it is boiling

River Trail

Some cyclists snuck up on us when we were looking at the river

and it scared the heck out of Dave. He started cracking up after they left.

Saw this big guy crossing the road on the bike ride back to the RV

Then the wind started to pick up…and the clouds rolled in and the sky turned an eerie color…then the hail started…and the tornado siren in the nearby town of Woodward went off…we then headed for the bathroom where the rangers had told us to go in case of a tornado. This was at 7:40 pm, about an hour before sunset. We met other campers there…all Oklahoma residents. They’d been through this before and it was interesting…and scary… to listen to their stories. We were there for about an hour watching the storm when a ranger finally came by to check on us. He was glad to see that we had left our rigs/tents/campers to seek shelter. He said the tornado had touched down about 3 miles away and it was stationary.

Dan and Gail had been tracking the storm for us since we had no TV and sporadic internet, but our cell phones died so that line of communication ended. One of the guys with us, Bob, had a transistor radio and that was good, but we couldn’t see a Doppler radar and only heard what the forecasters wanted to talk about. Tony, another guy in the “shelter” got a radar picture up on his phone so that was helpful. Dave was able to run to our rig in between lightning strikes and got our chargers so the line of communication opened again with Dan. At 9:20 Dan said the tornado had dissipated.

Dave (wearing a yamulke?) trying to find a radar picture on his cell phone

The low clouds rushing toward the tornado were fascinating. The tornado was 3-5 miles to the northwest of us (left in the photo) when this was taken. Our rig looked so small and helpless (right in the photo).

Dan was texting us info during the storm

A piece of hail...luckily this was about as big as they got

This was our storm shelter

So we all felt safe enough to head back to our campsites. We had brought our slides in so we kept them in for the night just in case. And that was a good thing since at around midnight the winds picked up again and the rain and lightning started. That ended at around 2. It wasn't a great night’s sleep, but we’re glad the tornado stayed far enough away that it didn’t hurt the rig or us.

May 24, 2016

We watched our one channel of TV this morning and they were talking about another storm possibly coming through this area again later this afternoon. So we’re outta here. Not sure if there’s any good place to be in the state or surrounding states for that matter, but we’re heading to Eufaula State Park. Dan said it doesn’t look like they’re expecting any bad weather in that part of the state so off we go.

Since we didn’t make our decision to leave Boiling Springs until 9:00, we didn’t get on the road until 10:30. It was a windy drive, but no rain. The birds around here played “chicken” with our RV the whole drive. We were constantly yelling “Whoa!” as the birds narrowly escaped death just missing our windshield. Not sure why the birds are hanging around the highway when there seems to be sooo much countryside to fly around in.

We arrived at around 3 and the sun was shining. This is a pretty state park. Again…we love birds…but a female bluebird is wreaking havoc on our jeep and rv mirrors. She must be jealous of the bird she sees in the mirror and she’s scratching them up. We had to cover all of the mirrors.

Eufaula State Park

Bluebird yelling at itself in our mirror

Now attacking the bluebird in the mirror

We got to enjoy the sun for about an hour and then the clouds rolled in and it started to rain. While we were FaceTiming with Becca and Gregg, a park host came by on a golf cart and warned us of heavy thunderstorms headed our way. Yippee!! But at least they aren’t expecting tornadoes!!

May 25, 2016

Heading to the library for wifi and to see where it’s safe and less stormy to camp. They’re predicting rain here until Sunday. So it would be nice to find someplace sunny and dry to spend the holiday weekend.

The state park is located in Checotah - the hometown of Carrie Underwood :)

In the afternoon, we road our bikes around the campground, down to the lake and to the beach area. This is a nice campground…we wish the weather was going to be nicer so we could take advantage of everything it has to offer; big lake, disc golf, hiking trails.

Rode around the park today

A nice lake, but the weather is too crazy around here

So sad to be leaving tomorrow! It's so nice here!

We’ll be heading for Mena, Arkansas tomorrow.

May 26, 2016

We got on the road at around 9:30 today heading for Mena, Arkansas. We arrived at around 1:30. After lunch, Dave went down to the pond and did some fishing. He caught three crappies.

Someone please come up with a national fishing license so he can fish in every state!

May 27, 2016

We went to a Visitor’s Center this morning to see if there was anyplace we could put our kayaks in the water. The woman working there gave us some information on rivers and lakes. We checked out the Ouachita River but it was hard to judge from just looking over one access point. If we knew more about the water levels, etc., it would be easier to figure out where to put in and how long to float. Too many variables. So we ended up hiking the Earthquake Ridge Trail in the Ouachita National Forest. It was a 3-mile loop trail along a tree lined path.

After our hike we headed back to the RV to make plans for tomorrow, eat dinner, and Dave went fishing down at the pond again. Tonight he caught two crappies.

May 28. 2016

We drove out to Shady Lake Recreation area today since the forecast said it was going to be sunny in the afternoon. We haven’t been in the kayaks since California about a month ago so we’re anxious to get back on the water. It was an hour drive from our campground to the lake and it was totally overcast when we put the kayaks in the water. We were hoping the weather would improve as the day went on and it did at around 1:00. The lake is only 25 acres, but it was pretty and we had fun floating around. A family was having a reunion in the pavilion by the lake and they had some musical talent so we were entertained with live music for the last two hours of our float.

Our float on the lake started with an overcast sky

Lots of turtles on a log

The sky eventually cleared up

Dave checking out the dam

The location of the awesome family reunion music!

We had a fun time on Shady Lake. It was nice to be out in the sun and on the water! We headed back to the RV at around 4:30 and Dave took a dip in the campground pool.

Heading for Hot Springs, Arkansas!

May 17, 2016

We left Heron Lake at around 9 and we’re heading for Los Alamos. There’s a Visitor’s Center in White Rock (about 15 miles from Los Alamos) that has an RV park attached. When we arrived at the Visitor’s Center there were only three other RV’s parked in the 20 site parking lot. It really is just a parking lot with electrical hookups. However, we parked as close to the Visitor’s Center as possible and were able to get a great free wifi connection. Yeah! And at $20/night…that’s a real bargain.

Our awesome parking lot spot at the White Rock Visitor's Center

Once we parked and put out the slides, we went into the Visitor’s Center and got info on Bandelier National Monument. Hopped on the shuttle (the only way to visit the park) for a 20-minute ride to the visitor center, that’s right, another visitor center. This one had a 14-minute movie and rangers to help you on your way. Bandelier is named for Adolph F.A. Bandelier, a self-taught anthropologist who established the foundation for much of modern southwestern archeology. Men from Cochiti Pueblo guided him to their ancestral homes in the Frijoles Canyon in 1880, now part of Bandelier. Bandelier is unusual in that it has only 3 miles of public roads within its 33,750 acres, but 70 miles of trails.

We were able to borrow a trail guide from the Visitor's Center.

They sell them there and we usually buy them, but we've been throwing them out left and right so it was nice to be able to borrow one.

We decided to start with the Main Loop Trail (1.2 miles in the Frijoles Canyon) which takes you through the ruins of the Ancestral Pueblo village of Tyuoni (QU-weh-nee). Although the area had been occupied for thousands of years, Tyuoni and this area reached its height of development in the 1400’s. What was interesting to us was that some of the people who settled here were the refugees from Mesa Verde in the late 1200’s (see last post). In the mid 1500’s, the inhabitants here also up and left and moved even further south to villages along the Rio Grande.

View of the Tyuoni Village from above. What's left of the walls are on the ground below.

You might have to zoom in to see the rooms.

This is an artist's rendering of Tyuoni Village

Next was an 800-foot stretch of adjoining, multistoried stone homes with hand-carved caves as backrooms along the canyon wall called the Long House. The builders carved the backrooms (called cavates) into a layer of relatively soft tuff (volcanic ash) from the eruption and collapse of the Valle Caldera 1.15 million years ago just to the north.

The rock looked like swiss cheese.

In this photo, you can see the pueblo dwellings on the ground

as well as the cliff dwelling windows and doors.

Dave climbing into one of the dwellings.

These structures were truly amazing to crawl through and explore. And were, not surprisingly, very similar to the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. Still visible today, the inhabitants decorated the inside walls and on the cliff above the homes with pictographs and petroglyphs. It looks like they stood on the roofs of the buildings to apply the art to the cliff.

A zigzag decorative painting that was preserved under plexiglass

A petroglyph drawing on the cliff wall

At the mid-point of the Main Loop we chose to continue up the canyon another .5-miles to the “Alcove House”, a cliff dwelling reached only by climbing 3 long ladders and 1 short ladder. Wendy, having had enough ladder climbing at Mesa Verde, chose to document the event while Dave did the climbing.

The sign that helped Wendy decide to stay on the ground for this one.

Dave beginning the ascent

He's at the mid level now

Dave took this pic of Wendy at the mid level point in his climb.

The third ladder

And the fourth and final ladder

On the hike back to the shuttle, we passed a few mule deer and an Abert's squirrel.

Mule Deer

A mule deer resting in the grass

Had to laugh when we saw this little guy. A squirrel with long ears called an Abert's Squirrel

We headed back to the visitor center and caught the shuttle to White Rock. Riding the shuttle and driving around the Los Alamos area it becomes obvious there were a lot of people living here back then. Anywhere the layer of tuff is exposed you will see evidence of cliff dwellers homes and cavates.

To celebrate our thirtieth anniversary we picked a restaurant in Los Alamos called Blue Window Bistro. We ordered a bottle of red wine and Wendy had the salmon special and Dave had a Cajun seafood pasta special. We also found enough room to order desserts. Dave had a huge piece of carrot cake and Wendy had a warm peach/raspberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Everything was delicious!

Blue Window Bistro

Delicious Dessert!!

May 18, 2016

Visited the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos today. It tells the story of the race to build the first atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project and the work of the Los Alamos National Laboratory today. Dave especially enjoyed the history and security nature of the Lab. Wendy couldn’t wait to get to our next stop, the Pajarito Brew Pub and Grill with over 30 craft beers on tap.

Paj's Palateau :)

Loved the ice strip on this bar!

Nice selection of beer at the Pajarito Brew Pub

We then returned to the rig for dinner and the season finale of Survivor, even though we missed most of the episodes this season.

May 19, 2016

Didn’t do too much today except try to catch up on the blog, figure out the last three weeks of our trip, and do some grocery shopping.

May 20, 2016

Heading for Capulin, NM today. Over 4 hours away, so we got on the road by 9:30. Arrived around 1:30. Wendy did 3 loads of laundry, since we haven’t had full hook-ups in a while! The town of Capulin is small, an RV park, one country store and...I think that's it, population 66 in the 2010 census.

Full moon rising over Capulin

May 21, 2016

Visited the Capulin Volcano National Monument today. We have a beautiful view of the volcano out the front of our rv, it lies only 3 miles north of the town and about 1,300 ft. higher in elevation, 8,182 ft. above sea level.

Our view of Capulin Volcano

Capulin (cah-poo-LEEN) was named for the Spanish word for chokeberry, which grows on its slopes. It erupted into existence about 60,000 years ago at the end (we hope!) of a period of regional volcanism that began 9 million years ago. Capulin is a cinder cone volcano made of layers of loose cinders, ash and volcanic bombs formed by gaseous lava that cooled quickly. We took the 1-mile loop Crater Rim trail which has spectacular unobstructed views in all directions. From here we saw the volcanoes, cones, lava flows, and mesas throughout the 8,000-square-mile Raton-Clayton volcanic field. It was such a clear day we could also see the snow covered Rockies in both Colorado and New Mexico, and points in Oklahoma and Texas. We also took the trail to the bottom of the crater.

Dave walking the rim

As part of the National Park Service's 100th Anniversary, this park employee was manning a HF radio near the volcano's top, one at each park for ham operators to contact.