Friday, March 21--On the Road Again!

By Wednesday we were feeling better and decided to get on the road again! We enjoyed our stay with Bobby, Cathy and the kids, but it was time to travel!

Since we were still not 100%, we just drove about and hour and a half from Bobby's house to Oliver Lee Memorial State Park south of Alamogordo, New Mexico.

The sites were just long enough to back the rv into and park the car in front! As with other New Mexico State Parks, we had water and electric hookups for $4 a night.

You might notice that we have the kayaks with us again. For most of the winter we left the kayaks in Bobby and Cathy's garage since we were camping in the desert.

The park is nestled at the foot of the Sacramento Mountains near Dog Canyon. The sites here are spaced nicely in two big loops.

Wednesday afternoon, we walked around the campground loops and walked up to the visitor center which was closed. The nature trail was washed out in a flood during the summer of 2006 and is being rebuilt. The Oliver Lee Ranch House was also heavily damaged in the same flood. Hopefully it will reopen soon.

Thursday we drove to Cloudcroft. I don't think we visited Cloudcroft when we lived in El Paso in the late 70s. As we drove north out of Cloudcroft we saw an observatory on the top of a mountain. We drove up the road to the observatory and saw this sign.

The area was unlocked and no one was around. We wondered how often the building is occupied for observing space debris. It seems like it would be a 24/7 job.

We continued driving north to Ruidoso. We camped somewhere near Ruidoso when we lived in El Paso. We also went on a 3ACR (Third Armored Cavalry) retreat in Ruidoso. We drove around the area, but nothing looked familiar. We ate lunch in a barbecue restaurant, then drove back to Oliver Lee.

During our sightseeing, we discovered that this area is known for growing pistachios. There are several ranches between Tularosa and Alamogordo that grow pistachios and grapes!

One of the things we have seen near Alamogordo that we have never seen before is stealth fighters flying maneuvers. They are stationed at Holloman AFB. All of a sudden you will hear a noise, look up, and there they are!

Our next trip will be to White Sands National Monument. We can see the white sands from our campsite!