to enlarge
San Antonio, NM
the guest book is limited to
approx. 250 characters
including spaces. For longer
messages please e-mail us at
morton@rmortonc.com
- The tool box protrudes over six inches above the bed of the truck. While in South
Dakota, we had a problem backing into a camping spot on uneven ground. The
underneath edge of the RV front rubbed on the tool box. To prevent any possible
damage, we replaced the box with one that sits flush with the truck bed. We had
tried to sell the tool box through local ads in Alamogordo but had no luck. While Chuck
sat waiting for a buyer and got sunburned (although it was cold), Renée went to the
Mall. As she was shopping and trying on clothes, Dick Farmer called to invite us for
the afternoon at Aguirre Springs. Shortly thereafter a second call from Chuck
announced that the tool box had been sold. Excess baggage in this life style is a real
problem and we were quite happy to celebrate our loss by the campfire at the foot of
the Organ Mountains.
February 8th was Renée’s birthday and the morning was filled with non-stop phone
calls and flowers (see photos). In the afternoon we drove to Las Cruces since Dick
had invited us to celebrate Renée’s birthday with him. In the Golf Club House of New
Mexico State University we had an impressive meal (we had Surf ‘n’ Turf) and then
went to an old movie theater in Old Mesilla where we saw the movie “Capote.” The
theater specializes in showing foreign films with original sound tracks and English sub-
titles. Occasionally, they show American productions. About two thirds of the theater
is normal seating but in the rear are tables and chairs where customers can sit and
watch the film. Renée enjoyed her tea while Dick and Chuck had ice cream. The film
was quite good but Philip Seymour Hoffman (who played Capote) placed so much effort
on duplicating Capote’s unusual speech pattern, that he was often unintelligible.
On the following morning we drove to Tucson (leaving the RV at Holloman) to visit Bea
and Phil Shapiro. Bea and Renée worked together in the early eighties. Bea is blind
since early childhood and met Phil at the School for the Blind in Alamogordo, where Phil
was an instructor. Phil is Jewish whose parents were very religious. Bea was born in
Mexico and converted to Judaism.
They have a son and daughter and we have been friends for over 25 years. As we
lived in Las Cruces, they built a house across the street from us. Although we have
lived in many places since then, we have always been in contact. They visited us in
Germany in 1997. We spent the weekend talking about old times and reminiscing, while
enjoying the Tucson weather.
On the return trip from Tucson we made a stop at Steins, a ghost town and former
railroad town (see photos). New Mexico has a lot of ghost towns, and Stein is one of
the better kept ones. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get inside the buildings since the
entire town had been fenced in and it was past visiting hours. We intend to visit many
more ghost towns while we are here.
The next few days were spent on more doctor’s visits and related appointments.
On February 16th we met Gloria, a former fellow worker from the Missile Range. We
had lunch at the Frontier Club and then toured the post. It has changed a lot since
1989, with several new buildings. The library/education center is quite elaborate with
modern offices, furniture and working conditions that we have never seen before with
the government. Even the older structures have been renovated. The physical
working conditions are better than any we have seen anywhere with the federal
government. The Missile Range has a small RV park at the foot of the Organ
Mountains and we hope to stay there after we leave our current campsite.
We left the Missile Range and drove to Oliver Lee State Park where we had a very
nice walk with Lobo in the Cañon. Lobo seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. He is beginning
to show his age. He was eleven years old on the 19th. His birthday was celebrated
with a goulash (cooked especially for him). Since he has also been on a diet, it was a
treat that he really enjoyed. The following morning we received an email from
Germany that Elli, Lobo’s mother, had died on Lobo’s birthday. She was 12. His father,
Chino, was also 12 when he died.
After spending three months at Holloman, we left on the 21st for Columbus, with a
detour to Albuquerque where the nearest Crossroads dealer is located. A shock
absorber problem was solved and we headed south on I-25 toward Columbus. In
Lemitar (population <200), a man has invented and patented a sandwich with a shelf life
of over a month (unrefrigerated). Chuck’s sister, Mary had sent an article from
FORTUNE Small Business with information that the firm was in Lemitar and in full
production. We wanted to buy a few sandwiches and send one to Mary. We found the
firm but except for a large friendly dog, the “factory” was unoccupied. We tried to
reach them by the phone number on their sign but only received a recording to dial a
different number, where we left a message. So far we have heard nothing from them.
We didn’t make it all the way to Columbus, and as we arrived in Deming we began
looking for the Wal-Mart. Although we have spent many nights at Wal-Mart, this was
the first one with a roving security patrol (with flashing blue lights). The patrol
separates the RV’s and truckers into separate areas and ensures that parking is
orderly. Deming is on I-10 and with the amount of overnighters, apparently this is
necessary to ensure some order.
The following morning we noticed that behind us was a motor home with British plates
and next to it was another with German plates (see photos). Chuck went out to take a
picture and at the same time, men came out from both RVs. Chuck spoke to them and
then Renée arrived. We learned that it was only a coincidence that they were parked
near each other. The British bus was Gill and Chris Love from Southampton, England
and the German RV was Margarita and Peter Soukup from Offingen near Augsburg.
Both couples had shipped their RV’s from Europe and are living the vagabond retired
life. Although we had never before seen an RV in the US with German plates, Peter
and Margarita said that they had met several in the USA. A few days later we met a
young German couple from Dortmund with a beautiful dog (Leonberger) at Pancho Villa
State Park who had also met Peter and Margarita. The world is getting smaller, it
seems.
On the weekend, Dick came to visit. We asked him to spend the night but he wanted to
camp in a tent instead. After much discussion we finally compromised by providing him
with electric lights and an electric heater in the downstairs guest quarters (see
photos). Dick left us on Monday after breakfast and we went to visit the Dentist in
Mexico. After our initial visit to the dentist, we took an afternoon trip to Lake Valley
(see photos), another ghost town with a past of silver mining beginning in 1878 and then
manganese. The railroad was removed in 1934 but one family continued to live there
until 1994.
And that concludes our February adventures. See you next month!
guest book is limited to approx. 250
characters including spaces. For
longer messages please e-mail us at
morton@rmortonc.com
guest book
in our guest book
