Our Time in Red River, New Mexico

This was our first visit to Red River, NM and it has been wonderful in so many ways.  We are coming to the close of nine days here and wish we didn’t have to leave.  The drive here from Buena Vista, CO was fairly unremarkable.  After going over the pass just outside Salida, CO the drive was flat, level and very easy in the motorhome.  When we arrived in Questa, NM we then headed 12 miles into the mountains to this beautiful little gem.  Red River is a small community and only covers 1 sq. mile of land.  It is very low key with lots of cute little shops and places to eat.  It sits at the base of the ski slopes, some of which are also used in the summer for sliding.  Besides lots of hiking and horseback riding, the big draw in the summer is the off roading so there are lots and lots of ATVs, UTVs and jeeps. 

We stayed in the Roadrunner RV Park at the east end of town nestled among the trees with the Red River running through the park.  It’s a large park with several different circle drives and over 200 sites.  We were able to get lots of dog walking in that included some hill climbing.  It wasn’t uncommon to have mule deer coming through the park and they don’t seem to be bothered by the humans and dogs.  If we could afford it, we would stay here two months in the summer, but they get $1200/month!  Yikes.  A bit out of our price range.

While we were here we paced ourselves, so we weren’t out and about every day.  We did get some off roading in with our jeep but decided not to take on the Goose Lake Trail after watching some videos.  Toward the end that trail it is very narrow and if you meet somebody, one of the vehicles must back up.  We did climb up to Cabresta Lake and after coming down we kept moving on until we reached Midnight Meadows and Greenie Peak.  The view from Greenie Peak was incredible.  We were up high looking down onto Red River and the ski slopes.  Beautiful.  We also drove the Enchanted Trail which is a complete circle from Red River through Angel Fire and Taos and back to Red River. 

We had heard about the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, NM which was only 40 miles away, so we climbed over Bobcat Pass and headed down there to check the place out.  The hotel has lots of history.  I think every gun slinger you can think off stayed there.  There are still bullet holes in the ceiling of the saloon.  We were able to wonder through the hotel and see several of the old rooms which I believe they still rent out.  Each of them has a famous person’s name on them.  The walls were covered in photos and historic information.  We ate lunch there and the food was affordable and well worth the drive over.  John’s comment about his chicken fried steak was “this is how chicken fry is supposed to be cooked”.  They had a very large outdoor patio with a water feature (that wasn’t working while we were there) and it looked like it would be a fun place to check out in the evenings.  While in Cimarron we took time to drive out to the Philmont Scout Ranch.  Now I know where my nephew spends so much time.  He has been involved in scouts for years.

 

We also took a day trip through the Valle Vidal mountain basin in the Sangre de Cristo mountains and it was also gorgeous.  We entered on the west side from Costilla just 20 miles north of Questa on state highway 196.  Just past Amalia we entered the west entrance of Valle Vidal and 55 miles later we emerged just outside Cimarron.  The road was gravel but a 2wd vehicle could do the trek, although the gravel often was like a scrub board.  The first several miles followed a trout stream that wound around in the beautiful, green meadows.  We took the top off the jeep and could look straight up at the mountain spires that we were winding around in between.  There were several folks out trout fishing.  We eventually found a picnic table in the tall pines and aspens right next to the stream, so we stopped to eat lunch and let the girls run around a bit.  They enjoyed drinking right out of the stream, something we usually can’t allow them to do.

At times we were in the basin between the mountains and then up high looking out for miles.  The scenery was nonstop.  We had hoped to see some wildlife but the best we got was cattle! 

We’ve seen more wild life in the RV park and just outside Red River on the main road.  About 20 miles before the end of the gravel road it started to rain and then it hailed.  We slowed down and stopped at times hoping our windshield wouldn’t break.  The hail was just pea sized but sure enough, the glass has tiny little pits in it!  I guess we need to be prepared to put in a windshield at least once a year.  We’ve already changed the one in this jeep once. 

When we passed through Cimarron to head back to Red River we drove through Cimarron Canyon State Park heading toward Bobcat Pass.  As we were heading into the Canyon we came across a large snow plow and a short distance further in we came across another one.  Then we saw steam coming off the road and then what looked snow!  Yep – it had hailed here as well – only a lot more than what we had encountered and it looked like there was snow everywhere.  This is the area that was burned up in a wild fire last May and now when they get a heavy rain they have mud slides, so we think the snow plows were out in case of mud slides so they could get the road opened quickly.  Fortunately, we didn’t encounter.

We wished our stay here didn’t have to end but we have other things to move onto.  We are heading to Albuquerque on the 3^rd of August for a family gathering and to see some of the VA Golden Age Games.  These are for retired vets age 55 and up and my cousin is participating in them and carrying the flag for his State of Oregon.  Should be fun.

Heading West to Colorado and New Mexico

John and April on the gondola

We started our summer travels on June 7^th and headed north and east and had a wonderful time.  On July 5^th we arrived back in OKC for a few days as John had several medical appointments as well as a cancer injection.  We were thankful that our friends Mark and Donna had a spot for us in their RV park just outside OKC so we didn’t have to travel so many miles each day from Sulphur for the appointments.  All John’s appointments went very well and on July 16^th we headed west for another month of travel.

Turquois Lake

Hospital John was born in.  Condos now.

We spent two nights on the road during our trek to Buena Vista, CO for a week.  One night was in Dodge City, KS at the Gunsmoke RV park.  Dodge City was an interesting little town and the RV park was quite nice for a stopover.  Our second night was just west of Pueblo out in what felt like a desert at Haggards RV park.  We were at the base of the mountains and had quite a show of color and beauty with the sun, clouds and storms.  The following morning we made our way through Canyon City and along the Arkansas River up to Buena Vista.  This is a gorgeous drive that we never get tired of even though it is very curvey.  We always see lots of rafters along that drive. 

Off the regular roads

John holding up a structure

While traveling west we aren’t out to run and gun all the time but to just enjoy the beauty of the area as well as the much cooler temps.  We always enjoy a trek to Leadville (John’s birthplace), Cottonwood Lake which is buried back in the mountains and very peaceful, as well as the old ghost town of St. Elmo.  There’s an area in St. Elmo that is covered in chipmunks that eat right of your hand, which is always fun.  Many of the old buildings are still standing in St. Elmo and they are always doing fund raising to restore them.  We also drove up over Monarch Pass and rode the gondola at the top of the pass to the top of the mountain with the dogs!  I think the view from there was one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen.  The store at this pass is quite nice and also serves food.  It was a fun stopping point.

Cottonwood Lake

St. Elmo

After a week in Buena Vista we headed south to Red River, NM.  Neither of us have ever been to this area and it is gorgeous once you get back into the mountains.  Other than a 7 mile climb at 4 and 5% grades out of Salida, CO, the drive to Red River was flat, flat, flat with long straight roads.  A quick and easy drive.  Coming into Red River from Questa, NM to the west was a pretty drive and the climb was easy.  We did go over Bobcat Pass to the east of Red River in the jeep and both agreed we would not consider driving the RV over that pass.  It’s quite steep on both sides and very long.  I guess the diesel motorhomes might do it easier than us in our gas rig. 

Top of Monarch Pass

We are parked in Roadrunner RV park which is the nicest we’ve been in all summer.  The park itself is very nice with the Red River (which is really a creek) running right through it, lots of trees and the setting between two tall mountains.  The temps have been in the 70’s and low 80’s during the day with lows in the 40’s at night.  Unfortunately, our heater is not working so we are quite thankful for our fireplace as well as a space heater for the bedroom and bathroom.  At least it’s not freezing so we don’t have to worry about frozen pipes.  Yep, another repair when we return home!  It’s always something.

I’ll write more about our time here in Red River later.

The Creation Museum and Ark Encounter

Our sole purpose for going to Kentucky was to see the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter and we were not disappointed.  The Creation Museum is beautifully done with gorgeous grounds.  They have a huge pond and the landscaping is beautiful.  This is a museum where you need to take time to read as you go through it.  The emphasis of the museum is creation versus evolution from a Christian perspective.  The displays are very well done.  We spent 2-3 hours here. 

The following day we went to the Ark Encounter and that was amazing.  The is built to scale and is  massive.  The grounds are gorgeous and it’s easy to move throughout the complex.  The Ark is a good distance from the parking lot and they provide buses back and forth at no extra cost.  All I could think about was how in the world Noah and his family were able to build something of this size and the only way was with God’s help.  The folks who designed the inside did a lot of research and did their best to display how Noah may have designed the inside with everything from how to contain and care for all the animals and his family to dealing with getting fresh water and air and dealing with waste.  They also had to grow food.  Noah didn’t know how long they would be on this ship so had to prepare for the long haul.  In the end, it was about a year.  The whole thing is an engineering marvel and only God could have supplied him with all that he needed to build and design the Ark.  They are planning to expand the park with other biblical settings so this is something we will definitely want to come back and see again.    They have numerous areas to get food on the property but we went to the cafeteria for the buffet.  For seniors the cost was only $10 and that included your beverage.  For a place like this, I consider that a really good price. 

I highly recommend taking the time to come and see these sights.  The Creation Museum is up closer to Cincinnati and the Ark is about 45 miles south of it in Williamstown, KY so both are easy to get to.  We visited them both in the mornings and had the afternoons to relax. 

Today we started working our way back to Oklahoma and will spend three nights at the Paris Landing/Kentucky Lake KOA near Buchanan, TN.

Springfield, IL and Brown County State Park in Nashville, IN

Springfield, Illinois

After leaving Iowa we stopped over in Springfield, Illinois.  It was on our route to The Ark Encounter so decided to stop and visit some of the Lincoln things.  Originally, we were going to spend three nights so we had a couple of days to see the sights but due to poor traveling weather, we spent an extra day in Iowa waiting out storms.  We weren’t able to see all we had planned on but that was okay.  We found a very nice campground, the Double J, just south of Springfield and went to see the only home Lincoln ever owned along with all the old homes surrounding his that have all been restored.  We also had time to go through the Lincoln Museum.  These were all fun and interesting to see.  The have done a beautiful job restoring Lincoln’s home back to it’s original status.  They were even able to have the same wallpaper made and figured out the original color or the outside paint.  Many of the furnishings were also original including the stove in the kitchen.  All the beds had pots under them as there was no indoor plumbing.  The outhouse in the back yard had three seats in it!  LOL.  Not sure I can imagine sharing in one of those!  While going through the house I could only imagine how challenging it was to live in those times with all the amenities we have today.   We are definitely a spoiled society!  Springfield is definitely a place to visit.  I would recommend two days to see the sights. 

Brown County State Park

We spent three nights in Brown County State Park in Nashville, IN and just resting.  The drive here was bright and sunny – finally no rain!  For the most part, very uneventful.  All John was going to have to do when we arrived was plug in the power as there was no water or sewer at the sites.  What was supposed to be a quick hookup turned into a much longer ordeal.  After topping off our fresh water holding tank at a water station we backed into our spot which was not level.  Side to side we were good but front to back was WAY off.  John tried to build up blocks for us to back onto with what he had and we got the leveling jacks down.  BUT when we tried to push out one of the long slides it groaned and groaned.  It was the last of three slides to put out.  We finally realized that we had probably gotten the RV twisted and that meant pulling them all in and starting completely over if we wanted to drive off the blocks.  The RV won’t allow you to put it in gear if the slides are out.  UGH!  We were able to lift the back up high enough with the leveling jacks to pull the blocks out and get less of them under there evenly on both sides.  Then we raised the jacks and started over to relevel the until.  We prayed that when we left on Wednesday the slide would come in without problems and it did.  The joys of RVing!

 

This park is 16,000 acres and stunning.  There are several vistas looking out over miles of treed land.  The roads through the park are narrow and heavily treed.  There are miles of trails for bikes as well as hiking trails, a nature center, huge pool, cabins, lodge, restaurant, nature center, camp store and lots and lots of camping sites.  There are also two lakes in the park and one has a pretty waterfall.  Both lakes have a hiking trail all around them.  You could easily spend several days in this location. 

Visiting Maggie's Son in Lansing, Iowa

After leaving Branson we headed toward Lansing, Iowa with a one-night stop over in Canton, Missouri.  We absolutely loved our night in Canton at the City of Canton Mississippi River Park.  This is a tiny city park right at the edge of the river with 23 cement pads and full hookups.  They can all accommodate large rigs.  There are no amenities here but for $20 a night what would you expect?  But there really are amenities.  There is the peacefulness of the river flowing just feet away from your RV and it is located immediately outside Lock and Dam #20.  Some would think this would be very loud but it’s actually very quiet.  Numerous towboats with their barges went through in the few hours we were there.  It seemed to take about an hour for them as they all had to separate half of their barges to work their way through the lock.  It was so quiet you could hear some of the crew talking among themselves on the front of the barges when approaching the lock.  There was an area you could walk to right up by the lock to get a closer look.  The noisy part was the train that was on our back side – we were sandwiched between it and the river.  At least the trains didn’t honk their horns when they came by but I noticed that I woke up a bit each time one came through at night although I went right back to sleep.  We never heard any river traffic at all while sleeping.  We found this stop to be a special treat.

The following day we headed to Lansing and only about 45 minutes into the drive it started to rain and kept raining nearly the entire trip.  Until we got to the edge of the storm, it was just rain and no wind.  As we passed through Oelwein going north the rain let up but both of us noticed that it was quite windy yet we weren’t really feeling it in the motorhome, which seemed odd.  We then turned east and almost immediately we were slammed from the rear with very strong wind that started to unfurl our large awning.  John was able to pull onto the shoulder but when I opened the door to check the awning, the door was nearly whipped out of my hand.  I had all I could do to hang onto it with both hands and get it closed.  The awning seemed to be in but I just held my finger on the “in” button hoping that would work as we continued to get pounded by the wind.  We could see a small town just a quarter mile up the road so John very slowly crawled forward with the motorhome hoping to find a wind break from some of the buildings, which he did.  There was a long area to pull over just into town.  We have a vent on our roof that has a big cover over it to protect it from damage and the wind had somehow sucked that vent wide open as well and yet it didn’t pull that cover off it.  We ordered awning clamps and installed them while we were in Iowa.  They should stop the wind from pulling it out while driving.

We had a great visit with Maggie’s son, Chad while in Lansing, IA.  Besides visiting and playing games, we took some road trips to see the area.  Lansing is right on the Mississippi River so we drove along it through La Crosse, WI to head to Rochester, MN – Maggie’s hometown.  Chad was born there but never lived there so we were able to show him all the places his Mom lived and went to schoo

l.  The city has changed a lot since we were last here, especially the Mayo Clinic.  There are so many more large buildings there now that are all part of the Mayo complex.  We wondered what is in all of them. 

We also took a road trip to Wabasha, MN.  This beautiful small town is only 45 miles from Rochester and also right on the Mississippi.  While growing up, Maggie’s family had a houseboat and ski boat that they kept at a marina in Wabash and spent many weekends anchored on sand beaches along the river there.  The town has changed quite a bit.  There are beautiful homes built right along the river and the old downtown has been kept up very nicely.  After checking out the town we headed across the river to the Wisconsin side and followed it down where we could cross back into Winona, MN.  There were several small river towns along the way and the town of Alma was really quaint and kept up.  In Winona we stopped to eat at the Ground Round so Maggie could get some batter fried walleye.  She couldn’t come this far north and not eat walleye.  This is not a fish we can find in Oklahoma.  Then we drove back down to Lansing along the river.  The Mississippi is really beautiful this far north.  It’s expansive with acres and acres of backwater which I’m sure is great for fishing.  John was dreaming of having a airboat to cruise around all those backwaters in.  Back in Lansing John found a veteran’s park on top of a large bluff that overlooks the Mississippi.  You could see for miles.  One thing we noticed while up north was the wonderful, green, soft grass.  Everybody keeps their yards mowed, even in the country where the yards are extremely large.  They mow it all and it is so pretty to look at while driving.  John said he could easily spend summers here. 

Summer Travels Have Begun

We rolled into June and completely skipped Spring here in Oklahoma.  After having the 2^nd coldest April on record and the 2^nd hottest May on record and a feel like temp of 115 deg on June 2nd we looked forward to finally hitting the road and heading north.  We are very excited about being able to travel again.

On June 7^th we headed for Branson, MO to spend time with friends we haven’t seen in over a year.  We met them during our first winter in Rockport, TX.  It was a long day on the road.  We ran into significant storms as we approached Seminole, OK and had to wait them out a bit before heading east on I-40.  Poor April hit the trifecta of terror – storms with wind and very loud thunder, riding in the RV and the windshield wipers were running.  She was a wreck but with some Lorazapam, Zen treats and noise cancelling ear muffs she finally settled down.  Once we were out of the storms life greatly improved for her.  We also encountered about 60 miles of very curvy and hilly driving on highway 412 in Arkansas. 

While we have been in Branson we saw Samson at the Sight and Sound Theater and loved it.  Their special effects are amazing and they presented the gospel.  Then we connected with our friends and enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Branson Belle.  The boat, food and entertainment was lots of fun and we had great seats.  We also checked out the College of the Ozarks.  This is a small 4-year college where the students attend for free.  They work all over the campus to pay for their tuition and in the summer they have the ability to work off their room and board as well.  There is a wonderful museum there that is a must see.  They even have the original car used for the filming of the Beverly Hillbillies.  The campus chapel is like a magnificent cathedral with beautiful stained glass windows.  They also have a restaurant, bakery and creamery but didn’t get to experience them.  There was much more to see then we had time for so we have something to return to on our next visit.  Then we enjoyed a Christian musician leading a gospel singing at the Treasure Lake RV Park on our last evening with our friends.  We spent our last day relaxing and taking in the movie, Solo.  A great visit and we look forward to returning.

 

God has blessed us beyond measure while we’ve had to sit tight in Oklahoma the past 10-11 months.  Everything from providing us with a new doctor that specializes in John’s type of cancer to some new treatments for it as well as getting all the repairs and maintenance done on the RV which included insurance agreeing to pay for a very expensive windshield.  John’s insurance changed and has a very high deductible and yet a company stepped in an agreed to cover our out of pocket expenses for his high-priced injections which nearly eliminated our portion of our total out of pocket expense.  We joined a church and have made some wonderful new friends who are great prayer warriors.  Also, doors were opened to allow us to pay it forward to others in a variety of ways.  It was certainly a time to refresh both physically and spiritually.

At the end of May John underwent a series of scans to see if his injections are doing what they are supposed to and they are.  There are no new carcinoid tumors and the large one in his liver has decreased in size.  Praise the Lord! 

Tomorrow we head to Iowa to see Maggie’s son, Chad and plan to spend a week at the Red Barn Resort in Lansing, IA.  Keep us in your prayers as we travel for the summer and we wish all of you a wonderful and safe summer as well.

Spring was Blooming and We Thought Winter Was Behind Us

Sunrise on Goose Lake -
A short walk from our place in Sulphur

April came in like a lion with Easter temps in the low 40’s.  Burrrrr.  After using the AC in the RV on April 6^th we woke up to freezing temps and snow as well as a 4.6 earthquake!  Flowers and trees have been budding and blooming for a few weeks now and they must be wondering what is going on.  Always expect the unexpected in Oklahoma where nature is concerned.  We are surviving our 6^th winter in Oklahoma in our motorhome and am yearning for spring temps to kick in and hold on.  We had very little in the way of snow, ice or rain this year but we did have several very cold days and nights.    

Sunset on Lake Arbuckle - A mile
down the road from our place

In November 2e spent three weeks at our 2^nd home in Jenks, OK (our friend, Priscilla’s) to enjoy Thanksgiving with her and her family (our adopted family) and take care of her and her pets while she recovered from surgery and again over Christmas while she visited family.  We get to spoil her critters while she is away and keep them from being boarded.  When one of her dogs sees us show up, you can see it in his face and body language that he knows Momma is leaving.  He perks up pretty fast though.  Most of the winter was spent making multiple trips to Oklahoma City for John’s health.  Scans, getting referred to a new doctor that specializes in his type of cancer and starting a new monthly treatment of injections that must be administered at the infusion center.  John is doing well and tolerating the injections well.  They make him a bit sick at his stomach the first day but nothing he needs medicine for.  It’s the other end that is causing him to take daily medications! 

Until March 2018, we hadn’t heard from John’s attorney on the legal case that was filed close to a year ago by a former patient for months.  Although this was a really large blip in our lives when it first came up, it’s now like an irritating fly buzzing around.  Who knows how long this thing will go on, but we are not going to let this stop us from moving forward with any plans. 

In March we returned to our 2^nd home in Jenks to house and pet sit again for several days while our friend finally took a fun trip!!  We were also at a point where we could now focus on getting the motorhome windshield replaced and other maintenance issues done that we had put off for months  while several detours occurred in our lives.  While in Jenks, we took the RV in to get work started.  The first windshield didn’t fit and there was a question of possible structural issues, but the glass folks insisted it was a bad windshield and they were right!  The second one fit perfectly.  The ice maker than was repaired and we were finally able to get our ‘home’ back. 

Sunset on Lake Arbuckle

The day we picked the RV up we drove straight to a tire center for an alignment and four new rear tires.  Thank goodness we have a tire budget to allow for replacements every 5 years.  They are expensive!  We then parked at the A-AAA RV Park where we lived for five years just outside Oklahoma City to see friends and take care of repairing our combo washer/dryer and replacing batteries in the RV.  John and I were able to pull the washer/dryer out ourselves and get it into the jeep to deliver to a repair place.  We’ll stay where we are until that gets fixed.

Since John gets injections every 4-6 weeks we aren’t going to be able to travel for 2-3 months at a time, so we must plan our summer trips a bit differently.  We hope to head to Iowa to see Maggie’s son, Chad, as well as friends in Branson and the Ark in Williamstown, KY.  We will then pass through Oklahoma for an injection and head west to Colorado, New Mexico and meet up with some family in Albuquerque. 

It is such a blessing to have so many friends and family that keep us in their prayers.  God has answered one prayer after another this past year.  He guided us home from Glacier when John was having health problems and to all the right places for medical help as well as a very affordable co-pay for extremely expensive injections.  Most recently, while in the middle of the windshield install, we were encouraged to try to get insurance to pay and they did – a few thousand dollars!  All thanks to a rock chip.  Insurance wouldn’t cover the original problem, so another prayer answered by a rock.  We still have some hurdles ahead of us as John changes insurance companies in May for a few months before going on Medicare next year.  We are praying for doors to open so we can continue to afford the injections and that the scans will show the injections are doing their job.

Thank you for your prayers and friendships.