A change of heart - our travels begin

It seemed like shifting to Facebook would make things easier, but I'm finding I just can't get in the explanation, the photos, and the flavor that I want when posting about an area. An ipad, Smartphone, whatever, just doesn't suit my style. The Trailmaster says "You're an American.  It's your right to bloviate as much as you want to". So I will, and it's back to the blog.

This time around though, the posts will be fewer, more like summaries, and we will continue to post short bits and photos on Facebook. Since we've used the blog as a journal of our travels for our own use, it seems like a workable blend.

First things first, a summary of the first few weeks of the 2016 season, so I don't forget where I've been.

Several circumstances conspired against us and we left later than we had originally planned, so escaping the heat was a consideration in route selection. We stopped at many of our usual haunts, as there are only so many ways to leave Texas heading west.



June 12 - 14

We spent the first two nights in San Angelo State Park, giving Watch a chance to adjust a bit to the requirements of campground rules and regulations. He proved to be a quick learner, and he enjoyed the water very much!

There was far more water in the lake than we have ever seen before. It was almost dry the last time we visited. It's good to see it so full.





Wednesday June 15
Oasis State Park, New Mexico.

Oasis is a nice little campground with a small lake off to the side and large shade trees at most of the sites.  The park is small, but it's easy to get up over the huge sand dune, then over or under the fence to take the dogs for a hike on the big dry lakebed right next to it. Lots of fun rabbits to chase here.

It was so hot the rain dried up before it hit the ground! (This condition is called virga)

June 16- 18
Three days at Monte Bello RV Park, Taos, New Mexico.

Monte Bello, meaning Beautiful Mountain, and it fits. The RV park sits between two ranges of mountains, and it's a really picturesque setting.

The park is well equipped, and for us, it's location on the edge of open desert was perfect. Our site was only three away from the entrance to the trail the led out to the sagebrush where the dogs could sniff to their hearts' content. Perfect!

Even more perfect, right up the road is Taos Mesa Brewing , a fun little place where we went for dinner and a few brews.

We spent a day in Taos proper, battling traffic (Taos is obviously a popular destination point.)

We visited the old town square, which is beautiful. I found a quilt shop where I could collect another fabric license plate for my as yet unplanned project, and we visited the Kit Carson house.


The courtyard/kitchen garden at the Carson home is beautiful and is classic of southwestern gardening styles.

The main street through the oldest part of town has been named in Kit Carson's honor, and the architecture all reflects the pueblo adobe style, though some of it is new.

Posts are either raw wood or painted stylish colors, like the turquoise one Steve's leaning on.

There are interesting details all over town - flower beds, gates, carved posts, it's a very artistic town.

Sunday, June 19 Buffalo Pass, Colorado

A one night stop and relaxation. This is beautiful country and the campground wasn't busy at all.

                                                                                We took the puppies just outside the rail fence into grazing land for a romp. They really enjoyed all the  cow, deer and elk aromas!

Over the hump!

Monday, June 20
Fruita, Colorado
James M. Robb, Colorado River State Park

We made pretty good time, heading west.
It was hot enough that weren't really tempted to spend too long in any one place. After all, the truck is air conditioned, and the dogs are good travelers.

We had a nice site, with a little shade cover and trees. It's a very clean and well organized park.

By 8 o'clock it had cooled down to 93, so we decided to take the puppies out on the trail by the river for a short walk.


This is a really nice park. The campsites are well maintained, and there are nice trails and two ponds to fish in. It's a great place for bird watching too. What a wonderful view as we walked along the river!

As we watched a flock of Canadian geese in the river a heron flew right over us.  There's more info about the park here.




Tuesday, June 21  Antelope RV Park, Delta, Colorado

Not much to say about this park except that it was conveniently located.

Our plans to take it slow and spend two nights at each stop were set in jello it seems, and the jello melted.

Our scheduled stop in Green River was projected to hit 108+  so we decided to, again, spend the afternoon in the air conditioned confines of our Ram truck with a/c seating. It reached 101 here after our arrival so we were chilling in the RV (98 at 6:30 pm).

Our site was on the back side of the park, against an alfalfa field, so the pups at least had a place to chase the ball a bit (when no one was looking!) We let them select the beverage for the evening.

Wednesday, June 22
Sacramento Pass, BLM campground, Nevada

This is the first time we've stayed here, and wow, what a find.

The clouds were amazing, and the small pond in the middle of the campground appealed to the pups for sure, not to mention the beautiful effects at sundown.




We took a hike up the road to the horse camp and enjoyed the wildflowers and the rock formations.

This definitely goes on our list of places to stop at again.

sunset over the pond

Thursday, June 23  Bob Scott Campground, Nevada
One of our many regular stops, we've posted about this one before.

Friday, June 24
Yeah! we arrived in Gardnerville, Nevada, for the annual Happy Birthday America reunion and BBQ!
The first leg of this trip is safely completed.