Up I-25 New Mexico

We visited ol town Mesillia, the square is surrounded by old buildings, including the church. We stopped at the chilis market and picked up a small riasta which will ride with us til it falls apart! 50 miles around Albuquerque was packed so we didn't see balloons, except for one on the freeway.

We are working our way north in New Mexico, nice weather tho getting colder at night. We went to the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife perserve. They have a good visitor center with a movie that explains the perserve efforts, the restoring of the Sand Hill Cranes in particular. We took the 13 mile drive through the park, getting out at the various overlooks. We did see a coyote, 2 Sand Hill cranes and many Canadian geese and ducks. It is early for the cranes so we felt very lucky to see them in the field. We also saw a family of deer cross the road right in front of us.

Next we went to the Las Vegas NWP which is not nearly as 'official' with no visitor center that we could find. However we did see many crane and geese as well as the various kinds of ducks in the fields and on the water. I must add here that we bought a great pair of binoculars while in Jackson Hole WY a few years ago (to settle a question ..lol) and they sure came in handy for bird watching. We could hear the cranes across the water but could not really see them. Using the binocs, there they were! Also spotted another coyote and an eagle high in a dead tree. It was a great day for viewing, and we only saw 3 other cars the whole trip on the perserve!


We've had a mishap with our recliner chair so looks like we will have to go shopping. Nothing we can't handle, as we are having too much fun to worry about it!
Must say love this life... hope you are making the most of every day too!

Happy trails...

Red Rock Canyon and Canyon of Fire State Park, NV

These cowboys were part of a photo shoot going on at Red Rock. Our trip to Las Vegas didn't include the 'strip', just some wonderful scenery. The Thousand Trails park is tight, but has full hookups and an easy access to the freeways.

Our stay at the Las Vegas Thousand Trails park was a good one, even tho we didn't go to the "strip" at all. Our first day we drove out to the Red Rock Canyon perserve and took the 13 mile round trip drive. What great red rock formations. We spent most of the day and were so glad we went, thinking we had really seen some beautiful scenery. The next day we took a 50 mile drive out to the Canyon of Fire State Park, after hearing some other tourists talking about it. WoW!! The petroglyphs, colors of rock, huge! domes, beehive-looking formations; it was just amazing. It took us all day cause I kept getting out of the car to take photos. We walked back to Mouse Tank, where we saw many petroglyphs, beautiful rock formations - all just too big to even describe. I hope you click on some of the photos to get a better look at all that is there in this park. We saw two campgrounds, one with hookups for big rigs, and all tucked into the rocks. They had nice covered tables and grills. Course you are in the desert, so it was warm, but what views!

Red Rock Canyon is a Federal perserve, under going renovations/upgrades right now. Our Sr. pass got us in free. The Canyon of Fire park is run by Nevada and cost $6... what a bargain! If you go remember to carry plenty of water and some food; the one visitor's center only had a couple of vending machines... hardly adequate for the number of people and campers.

We'd recommend these sides trips on your next trip to the LV area! We're on our way to Colorado via New Mexico now.

Happy trails.....

Morgan Hill visit 9/09

While staying in MorganHill we visited with family, pictured here with grand daughter Vienna and her hubby Dave, in their new home. We will become great grandparents in December and can hardly wait! My daughter Lisa, Vienna's mom, and her husband Bill also were in on the visit and dinner that followed. My goodness, I can remember waiting in the waiting room while Lisa had Vienna... how time flys. Roger and I also attended the Morgan Hill Bite Festival last Saturday. Lots of food, music, and also an exhibit of wild birds at one booth. The day was really warm, and we only stayed about 1-1/2 hours. But fun to actual be able to attend a local festival for a change... we usually miss them by a weekend or so!

Leaving the Morgan Hills Thousand Trails perserve, we moved on to the Las Vegas TT. Our first day it was reallllllly hot, 96 deg... but today 20 deg. cooler, and much nicer. Look for upcoming photos of the Red Rock Canyon tour we took and the trip to Canyon of Fire state park. Can't wait!

happy trails...

So Jetty and Grand daughters!

We stayed at the SO. Jetty Thousand Trails park 9/9/09 to 9/14. Oregan Nat'l Dunes park is very close to the park. I have some photos of the dunes at So. Jetty. Fishing for crab is a big activity in this area. One day we drove to Heceta Lighthouse (prev post) and of course we ate at the Florence Mo's for famous clam chowder.

On 9/14 we arrived in Weed, Ca. to see our granddaughter Hannah Cooke who is fresman at College of the Siskiyou where she plays softball for the school. We managed to get a game of golf in at the nearby 9 hole course. From Weed we drove on down to Chico where granddaughter Lacey Cooke
is a junior at the University of California, Chico. We are so proud of these young women and all they are accomplishing!

Now we are at the Thousand Trails perserve in Morgan Hill CA. The top photo is of the 9 or so wild turkeys that cruised through the park tonight. As you can see, I still haven't figured out how to arrange the photos in correct order! Ah well, another lil project for me!

Happy trails...

From Florence OR 9/12/09

We watched folks surf fishing south of Pacific City, and here's a photo taking his ease on the beach. We made a trip to Heceta Lighthouse north of Florence. What gorgeous views from the walk up to the lighthouse. The bridge coming to the lighthouse is famous and very graceful. The beach below had lots of families and kids having fun. This is just north of the Sea Lions cave along the coast and we saw seals in the water near the rocks in the photos having a great time rocking in the waves. Below the lighthouse is the caretakers house, a white two-story with a red roof. There is a garden in the back with vegetables and beautiful flowers.

Have yet to get photos of the dunes right near the park, but it's on my list!

Happy Trails.

Pacific City OR 9/5/09

We spent just about a week at the Pacific City Thousand Trails perserve. Took one day to make the drive up to Tillamook, bought some cheese, and tried their yummy ice cream. Along the way we stopped at the Cape Mears lighthouse. What a beautiful drive. Took lots of photos of the coast line, some included here. We drove along the coast going to Tillamook, and came back through the valley on Hiw 101. Perfect day for a drive. On Tues we drove south to Lincoln City, had to go to Mo's for clam chowder. Then Surprise! Tanger Outlet has a Coldwater Creek and I did a little shopping.... but so did Roger... some kind of tool to use on the bike rack.
Happy Trails!