Day 22 - April, 7 2008

Today we left Albuquerque and headed back to Las Cruces. The truck line finally delivered the a/c unit at 4:30. Hopefully, they will install the unit tomorrow and we will be on our way to continue the Big Adventure. We are going to have to catch the New Mexico sites we missed on another trip. We are glad we decided to go up to Alburquerque and Santa Fe over the weekend so at least we could see those cities.

We will be heading to Durango, CO to get back on schedule.

PS Frank says if you ever want to do this trip, "Buy a damn tent".

Day 21 - April 6, 2006

We again started our day off with a 50 minute walk around the base. Then we headed over to Santa Fe, NM. What a charming city - much nicer than Albuqueque. We thoroughly enjoyed our day as you can see by the pictures below. The weather was a lot cooler up at Santa Fe - temperatures were in the 60's.

We are tracking the air conditioner unit with the trucking lines web site. So far it is in El Paso but it doesn't show it being loaded on a trailer yet to go to Las Cruces. Pretty soon we will have to start paying NM state taxes. Hopefully, we can be moving on very soon,

As we take our morning walk around the Air Force Base's Family Housing area, we are amazed at the typical landscape. Note all the rocks, few plants and no grass. Pretty neat idea if you are tired of mowing the grass all the time.

Strict ordinances enacted decades ago mandate the appearance of new and remodeled buildings. Even fast food restaurants and convenience stores must be painted in officially sanctioned hues of brown and conform to the traditional adobe style.

The Palace of the Governors. Built in 1610, the Palace is considered one of the oldest public buildings in the United States. The long, low adobe structure with massive walls was the seat of government under Spanish, Pueblo Indian, Mexican and US territorial rule until 1909. The portal (porch) is a gathering place for local American Indian artisans. Frank bought his necklace here.

We ate lunch at Ore House on the Plaza. The food was delicious and we had a great view of the Plaza and all of its activity. We were lucky enough to be able to sit out on the balcony.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. This is the first church in New Mexico to attain the status of cathedral basilica. The parish was founded in 1610 and the current building dates to 1869.

Kateri Tekakwitha - 1st Indian of North America to be promoted to sainthood.

The "Oldest House" is among the last surviving examples of a puddled adobe dwelling.

San Miguel Mission Church is one of the country's oldest churches in continual use. It was constructed in 1610. Priceless ornaments and painting were inside the church.

Frank with his new Indian crafted necklace.

New Mexico State Capital. It is round and designed in the shape of the state's official emblem, the Zia sun symbol (see yesterday's post for it's explanation). There were lots of really neat sculptures outside. Too bad we would not be there tomorrow as I understand there is quite a collection of art work inside.

Typical Street in Santa Fe, NM

Day 20 - April 5, 2008

Today we started our day off with one of our good ol' walks. Then it was on to the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway. The 2.7 mile tramway, one of the world's longest, takes you above the deep canyons and offers spectacular views of the western Sandia Mountains and the Cibola National Forest. The peak is 10,378'. It was very winding and quite a difference in temperature - at the bottom the temperature was 70 degrees but at the top it was 32 degrees. We had some fantastic views from the tram and the trail. Then we ate lunch at the restaurant at the top. We then went to Old Town and checked out some of the shops.

FYI

Snow was still on the top of the mountain.

We ate lunch on the top of the mountain at this restaurant.

View from Sandia Peak

Trail we hiked.

View while we are walking the trail. Notice that if you make a misstep, you are in for a real adventure. The trail was narrow and the edge was right there.

Check this out - the other tram is coming up the mountain while we are going down. We sure are awfully high up in the air!!

Another fantastic view from our aerial tramway.

One of the many shopping alcoves at Old Town.

The San Felipe de Neri Church on the Plaza at Old Town. This church was built in 1793. An interesting mix of Victorian and basic adobe architecture.

Day 19 - April 4, 2008

Still waiting on the air conditioning unit. Frank took the bull by the horns and called the manufacturer to get a tracking number for the shipment. Guess what the unit left Dallas this morning. That's a LONG way from Las Cruces, NM. Frank called trucking line to fine tune it a little bit more. Looks like it will get to Las Cruces either Sat. or Mon. Frank said let's see if there are any military bases around. Kirtland Air Force base is in Albuquerque which was one of our planned stops before this ac problem. We decided to check out of rv park, leave coach at rv service center and go to Albuquerque for the long weekend.

As we were heading to Alburquerque, checked in the AAA book and found the Pacific Grill restaurant in Truth or Consequences, NM. This town was previously called Hot Springs, NM but after a live broadcast of the show in 1950, they decided to change the name of the town to Truth or Consequences. The restaurant was fabulous. Who would have guessed such fantastic seafood in the middle of the dessert!!

We checked into our suite at Kirtland Air Force Base. We are really reaping the benefits of all of the hard years of Frank's reserve time. Check out our suite accommodations for only $43.50 a night.

Pacific Grill Restaurant in Truth or Consequences, NM

Bedroom area

Living room area

Day 18 - April 3, 2004

Well, we are still waiting on our new air conditioning unit. Decided to put the time to good use. Frank and I did a really good inside cleaning of the coach. Then we put on our hiking gear and hiked the Dripping Springs Cox Ranch trail,. This started out as Dripping Springs Resort which was built by Col. Van Patten in the 1870's. The resort had 16 rooms. Actually Pat Garret and Pancho Villa stayed here. The trail we walked was the actual stage coach road which took the guests to the resort. In 1917 Van Patten went bankrupt and Dripping Springs was sold to Dr. Nathan Boyd who eventually turned it into a TB sanatorium as his wife had TB

Dead skunk on the trail. Does this sound like the lyrics to a song?

Hiking on the Dripping Springs, Cox Ranch trail

Resort ruin of the Van Patten Resort

View along the Dripping Springs Cox Ranch trail

Hiking on the Dripping Springs, Cox Ranch trail in Las Cruces, NM

Ruins of the the kitchen and dining room of the TB sanatorium built by Dr. Nathan Boyd

What a view from our hiking trail. We are so blessed to be able to see our country!!

Another fantastic view from our hiking trail!!!

Day 17 - April 2, 2008

We started our day with a shopping trip to the Farmers Market on the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We do not feel bad about our delay of trip because this city is very nice, people are very friendly and the weather is absolutely beautiful. There is only 9% humidity and a lovely breeze all day. We spent the bulk of our day at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. The highlight was spending about an hour with one of the local volunteers, Jay Sharp. Frank and I were studying the New Mexico map and he came up and started talking with us. He gave us some excellent tips on places to see and a whole lot of New Mexican history. Did you realize it only rains 8 inches a YEAR in New Mexico? Hope you enjoy the museum photos below.

New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum

Pit house exhibit in the Main Gallery

Chuck wagon exhibit in the Main Gallery

Stage Coach Exhibit in the Main Gallery

Milking Demonstration

Black Smith demonstration with Susan

Day 16 - April 1, 2008

Today we got some really good news about our air conditioner repair. The local rv dealership was having trouble getting someone to install the new condenser. Well, they pressured the manufacturer and were able to get a whole brand new unit. It should be coming in either Friday or Monday. So, we will have a whole new air conditioning unit and this is a great place to spend extra time.

Today we went shopping at Old Mesilla.

We spent a good bit of money in this shop buying souveniers.