We left Chama late in the morning, taking our time and enjoying the drive through Georgia O’Keeffe country.
Highway 84 follows small rivers, which are occasionally hidden by trees with golden crowns. The colors were spectacular. We drove from one beautiful valley to another. Northern New Mexico is part of the Land of Enchantment.
In Espanola we got lost and did not find the Cottonwood RV Park, so we continued on to Los Alamos, to the Elks Lodge.
After setting up the motorhome we went grocery shopping and visited Radio Shack. Doreen needed a new battery for her cell phone.
We also called my granddaughter Nicolette. Today was her seventh birthday.
10-11-08
After breakfast we went to the library to check E mail and to read magazines. We had planned to go to Chaco Canyon, but when I saw the dark clouds approaching, I changed my mind. It was a good decision.
When we arrived at the motor home for lunch, it came down in buckets. It was a heavy, solid rain.
I moved the mattresses away from both windows, and put a bucket under the vent in the roof. The vent has a tiny leak.
It rained all afternoon and part of the night. The wind shook the motor home. Since we can not use the leveling jacks, the movement is really noticeable.
10-12-08
We took off for Chaco Canyon at 9:00 AM. The drive through the Jemez Valley is always a wonderful experience. The trees are in full fall colors now.
I was not very smart today. I miscalculated the time it took to get to Chaco Canyon. It took us more than two hours to get to Cuba. Highway 4, through Jemez Valley, is a Scenic Byway, and people take their time.
Also the last 13 mile, before one gets to Chaco, is a bad dirt road. I had taken the other road to Chaco many years ago, and was told the road from highway was a good road. I thought the Saturn would fall apart, going over the wash board condition of the road.
We made it though.
The Chaco Culture National Historical Park has a Visitor Center and several ruins, the largest is Pueblo Bonito, a multistory complex of many kivas and buildings. One has to see this to believe what those people were able to built.
On the way home I filled up the gas tank at the Jemez Indian reservation. It was the cheapest gasoline we got so far, $ 2.70 a gallon.
We also stopped at the Soda Dam, a dam formed by deposits from the hot water. The town of Jemez Springs is nearby, with a natural spring fed hot water pool.
When we left this morning, the sky was filled with black clouds. The clouds slowly disappeared and now we have a blue sky again.
10-13-08
Today we were on the road to Taos. We took highway 76 and stopped at the church in Chimayo. Many people come to this church to get healed.
We also came through Truchas, where Robert Redford filmed "The Milagro Beanfield War"
The road winds through a beautiful valley. In Taos we went to Old Town.
Highway 68 brought us back to Los Alamos. This road follows the Rio Grande at certain places.
We had lunch at Anbudo Station, a riverside restaurant. Doreen will never forget this place. Several years ago she almost fell in the river while taking pictures.
In the evening I picked up the hose for the hydraulic jacks of the motor home, at the house of my friend Roland. I had it shipped there.
10-14-08
This was another rainy day. In the morning we went to the library and did our E mail. Then we went to the Bradbury Science Museum.
The museum is associated with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the exhibits show the history of the laboratory and its ongoing science and research.
Copies of the first nuclear bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man are also on display.
When the rain stopped I went under the motor home and removed the damaged hydraulic hose. Halfway through installing the new hose it started to rain again and I got wet. I finished the job though.
After a hot shower and some hot cocoa life was good again.
Our absentee ballots for the November election arrived today at Roland’s house. We picked them up and voted.
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