Truth or Consequences

From Truth or Consequences

Truth or Consequences! For those of you old enough to remember the 50's, that was the name of a TV show hosted by Ralph Edwards. And it became the name of a NM town that had been called Hot Springs.

Last night I "previewed" the ride with Google Earth. I was amazed at how much irrigated cropland is in the Rio Grande River floodplain.

Today we rode north to ToC. The highway paralled the Rio Grande, and crossed it at several points. We passed two lakes / reservoirs formed by dams that store water for irrigation and other needs. We also saw a huge dairy operation - there were at least 2000 dairy cows visible in the yards. Along our route were more pecan orchards, lettuce, onion and alfalfa fields, and many yet to be planted. Of course, any time we are near water, Char is happy!

From Truth or Consequences

Tomorrow we head for Dallas to visit a friend we knew from Englewood - Judy Smith. If the weather cooperates it will be a two day trip.

White Sands

From White Sands

(NOTE: Click on a picture to view the rest of the pics in the album)

Yesterday (Saturday) we rode to White Sands Missile Range. This is where America's first atomic weapons were tested, and where, to this day, much of the missile testing occurs. Char saw the sign for "White Sands Museum" and suggested that we stop. And I'm sure glad she did.

From White Sands

Here we viewed weapons components and missiles that dated from the late 1940's to some current systems such as the Patriot Missile. Of course, I enjoyed the "antique" Huey (that I used to fly)!

From White Sands

From there we rode to White Sands National Monument. The gypsum erodes from the surrounding mountains and flows down into depressional areas called plyas. Since there is no river that drains out of the basin to carry the sand away, it stays in the pools. After the water evaporates, the sand blows away - and much ends up in the dunes - about 278 square miles of dunes. Check it out on Google Earth - it's awesome!

From White Sands

Rio Grande River valley agriculture

Today started out windy and was forecast to increase, with wind gusts as high as 40 mph by 4 PM. I'm not sure it reached 40, but it was definitely windy. So in the interest of safety we rode "the cage."

From Rio Grande valley ag 3/26/09

(Note: Click on a picture to see all pics in today's album.)

Our first stop was Stahmanns pecan farm. Even though I'm retired, I still have a strong desire to learn about the agriculture in the areas we visit. Somehow, seeing thousands upon thousands of corn and soybeans in the Midwest seems "normal." But seeing thousands of acres of pecan trees seems "abnormal." We learned a lot about their operation at the retail outlet - and picked up some pecan goodies. Yum!

From Rio Grande valley ag 3/26/09

From Stahmanns we just drove around the countryside for a bit, amazed that they can grow crops in the desert. When I think of desert, I think of sand. So I stopped to examine the soil in a recently irrigated field and found it to be - SILT! Well, duh! This is the floodplain for the Rio Grande. So much of it was naturally quite fertile.

Tomorrow is forecast to be a high of 51 degrees - and windy again. Maybe we'll just stay home and snuggle. :-)

Visiting New Mexico

From New Mexico 3/24/09

Yesterday, Char and I (somewhat sadly) departed from Tucson and drove to Las Cruces, NM. The appearance of the desert changed several times as we drove thru several elevattion changes. We even saw several shallow bodies of water. (At first, I thought one was a mirage!)

From New Mexico 3/24/09

The Las Cruces KoA Campground sits on a bluff overlooking the city. The view is beautiful, and it's even better at night.

From New Mexico 3/24/09

Today we visited the historic village of Old Mesilla, just south of Las Cruces. Since we arrived about 1 PM we decided to visit the Double Eagle restaurant. Wow! What beautiful decorating. We could have spent the whole afternoon there, pretending we were aristocrats.

Tomorrow's weather forecast is for high winds (up to 40 MPH), so we'll probably drive "the cage" down to Stahmanns pecan farm.

Montezuma Castle & Well

Shortly before we left Phoenix, our new friends John and Linda suggested that we visit Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well. Even though we rode I-17 northward, we were going up into the mountains. The scenery was beautiful!

From Montezuma Castle & Well 02/04/09

Montezuma Castle was named by Spanish explorers who thought it was Aztec King Montezuma's "summer retreat." NOT! But the name stuck. Whoever built this residence was certainly persistent. We couldn't imagine how they carried those adobe bricks up the cliff face to build the pueblo.

From Montezuma Castle & Well 02/04/09

From there we rode a couple of miles north to see Montezuma Well. It is actually a sinkhole that has a phenomenal amount of water that flows through it and out into the river valley. The early peoples who settled here dug extensive irrigation canals. Primitive people? I think not. It certainly was interesting to see how accomplished the early native Americans really were. Yet, it's puzzling that we don't know why they abondoned the site.

Tombstone and Bisbee

A few weeks ago, our good friends Ken and Jackie Hurst took us on a tour of Tombstone and Bisbee. Most folks (at least of our generation) relate Tombstone to the "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral." And you might think that today it's just a tourist trap. Surprisingly, the "downtown" of Tombstone has been maintained much as it was at the turn of the century. Many of the buildings are original, as are some of the furnishings.

From Tombstone 3/21/09

Bisbee is an old copper mining town. The mine is now closed, but the town still continues - sort of an artsy town.

From Tombstone 3/21/09

From Bisbee it's a short ride down to the US - Mexico border. I've heard many times about the fence our government has constructed to try to keep out the illegal immigrants. (Border Patrol agents say it is very effective.) We were able to view it that day.

From Tombstone 3/21/09

Today we again went with Ken and Jackie to Tombstone. First we stopped at the old Tombstone cemetery (a.k.a. boot Hill). It had to be a tough job trying to dig a grave in that rocky soil.

From Tombstone 3/21/09

Then we went to "downtown Tombstone" and did a little shopping, followed by lunch. There, we say reenactments of several "shootouts" that ocurred in that vicinity. Many were related to excessive alcohol consumption. Imagine that!

From Tombstone 3/21/09

We still haven't explored all the "establishments" in Tombstone. So I guess we'll just have to make another trip back to Arizona. Yeah!

Desert Botanical Garden - Phoenix

Today was another "normal" ho-hum day - sunshine and 90 degrees. Line dancing at 9:00, then do laundry and write a newsletter article. Swimming and sunning at 1:00, post office at 2:00, then shopping for pottery and a few groceries. So let's go back in time.

From Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix 1/22/09

Remember, click on a picture to see the entire album.

One day in Phoenix we visited the Desert Botanical Garden. "Chihuly: The Nature of Glass features new and unique works of glass of Dale Chihuly, artfully located throughout the garden.
Dale Chihuly is known for his inovative glass sculptures, and his work is imediately recognizable for its grand scale and vibrant colors. Chihuly's spectacular creations are found in more than 200 museums worldwide. This is Chihuly's first exhibition in a desert environment." (From the BDG brochure) Another link for more pictures is:
http://www.cactuslovers.com/phoenix-dbg.htm

From Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix 1/22/09

This was our first opportunity to explore the diverse vegetation in a desert environment. It was thrilling to see the stately saguaros and elephant cacti up close. And who knew that there were so many varieties of cacti? Actually, the garden contains cacti gathered from deserts around the world. We accompanied a docent on a 45 minute tour. The rest of the time we strolled around and looked in awe at all the plants. For an agronomist, it was extremely interesting. I'll bet that botanists think they are in heaven!

Then add in the exquisite glass artwork by Chihuly and you have a wondrously dazzling garden. Again I underestimated the time to tour the garden. We arrived about noon and left at 5:00. We should have arrived when they opened!

If you ever visit Phoenix, AZ this is a must-see!