Outer Banks 2 Fairbanks

Tuesday we arrived in Aztec, NM to stay with my cousin Tony and his family. Great people. We realized how long it had been since our North Pole days; about 15 years! You know you have a lasting relationship with others when it seems like it's been only a day or week since your last visit. Those years-gone-by were muted by the amount of time and love given to help make this journey more memorable. Meeting new cousins and seeing how big this family has grown has reminded me of how important it is to keep in touch. Don't let the days go by.

Marie and Maria

Tony and Eleanor suggested we take the scenic route through Durango up through Silverton and Ouray. South West Colorado looks great on the map. Flat and colorful with pretty red words! Ha! We took their advice and headed up HWY 550. Little did we know what we were in for. Hearing Eleanor describe the drive, you can only envision and anticipate how things will turn out. The mountains came out to play in no time, and we braced ourselves as the truck crawled up and down steep hills. Trevor held his composure during the tight curves and passing 18 wheelers. There may be permanent hand prints on the "Oh Shit!" bar from by vice grip as I watched the road's painted line disappear a couple of times. Different areas of the highway became narrow and had some nice cliffs overlooking the towns and rivers. This was certainly a more memorable experience than we anticipated. The drive was magnificent. To be sure, this is only a taste of what's to come!

Stopped to collect ourselves.

Silverton, CO

Looks like an area where people use to pan for gold

Behind Trevor is a massive valley

Woke up this morning to the sites of Abiquiu Lake, northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is actually the product of the damming of the Rio Chama by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The campground sits on the north east side of the lake overlooking the lake with an incredible view of the mountains in the background. It is such a contrast to Carlsbad and the flat southern areas of the state. As we drove through Santa Fe, we encounter our first real rain since Georgia. The temperature is in the mid to upper 60's at night and probably somewhere in the 70's during the day. Heading to Aztec New Mexico to visit with cousins of Marie and do some much need laundry and camper repairs.

HWY 285N

Rider's on the storm

Destination Abiquiu Dam

the reason for the fences

big ass grill station

camper & scenery

70+ feet down from here!

hangin out!

Abiquiu Morning

Marie doing her yoga

Recent Visits

July 6th Helotes, TX
After Maxwell. Marie's cousin Ruby and her husband Bruce opened their home to us for the night. We enjoyed a very delicious salmon dinner Ruby had in a slow cooker all afternoon. They shared past camping experiences and suggested we stay in Junction for our next camp stop. Ruby also shared the family tree she has been working on for the last few years. So much history! It was great to see pictures of ancestors and learn where Marie's family came from.

July 7th-8th
We took Ruby and Bruce's advice and stayed at the South Llano River State Park outside of Junction, TX. The first thing we see once we enter the campgrounds are a small herd of deer. The deer hang out just outside the campsites.The state park also has one of the largest turkey roost for the Rio Grande Turkeys. This campground is full of wildlife. With the burn ban still in effect, we were not deterred as we rented tubes to float down the river. No college kids this time! and the dogs actually wanted to get in the river too.

July 9th
Saturday was spent at Balmorhea Lake in west Texas. The effects of the drought were evident as the lake is lower than it's ever been. We met Mickey and his family, who were out fishing the lake all day for cat fish. We invited them over for a spaghetti dinner as they gave us a little history about the lake and what they do. Mickey works with his Uncle Trinney on oil rigs around the area. Mickey's mother, Juanita, asked us if we had visited the springs then told us the springs were dry. We did drive down the road to check them out, but turned around to avoid the large crowd that was already there to camp at the lake instead. Despite the harsh wind, we still were able to enjoy the sunset.

On the way to Balmorhea..good to see alternative energy

Mickey's Uncle Trinny offering us their catfish..the dogs seem interested.

Good Morning!

A goose giving sunday service to the vultures.

West Texas..stark contrast to the wind turbines.

July 10th
After driving through the desert of west Texas we made it to Brantley Lake in New Mexico. Still windy in this part of the country. We visited Carslbad Caverns and took the self-walking tour of The Big Room.