Richard got up early and walked to downtown Lordsburg, to attend the 8 AM mass and then go to the Ford dealer.
The mass was held in a tiny side chapel. When he arrived, there were five older Hispanic men, very pious, some kneeling. A couple of Hispanic women walked in, and then the priest came in. The mass was in Spanish, by an Anglo priest, with a pretty good accent, although he stumbled on a few words. It was not until the end of the mass that I realized that there was no homily, apparently because the priest was not fluent in Spanish. I spoke to one of the men after mass, and he described the priest as "learning Spanish".
After mass, I went to the Ford Dealer. The part was not there first thing in the morning, but it arrived soon. They installed the brake caliper and took the truck for a road test, including a stop from speed on the Interstate. I paid for the repair, and thanked the service manage and the mechanic for their efforts. I bought a 20 pound bag of Lordsburg pinto beans, filled the truck with gas, and we left the KOA at 11 AM.
We started the day with a tailwind on I-10, took the Hatch cutoff, and stopped in Hatch to buy some of the famous Hatch chili and eat at a local restaurant. The Restaurant was fun, with about half and half Spanish and English. When we turned onto I-25, we ran into a headwind which varied from moderate to severe. The rush hour traffic in central Albuquerque was slow, but we got though without much delay.
We arrived in Santa Fe at 6 AM, and pulled into our usual campground, Los Campos. It was cold and dark, 26F. Richard set us up and plugged us in, while Marianne put aluminum windshield covers on the windows for insulation. We are more or less warm. This was a leftovers night. We plan to drive from Santa Fe to Boulder tomorrow, but we understand that it may be windy.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
For Want of a Part......
The Good Sam road service arranged for Genesis Towing to come by in the morning and tow the truck over to the Ford Dealership. Hugo was the same guy who had towed our truck the day before.
We have been very pleased with the Good Sam road service; this is the first time that we have used their services. I had read on the internet that people thought that they were very good, and I would have to agree.
The Ford service manager said that it was probably a hub, a $450 part. He called later and said that the truck would be finished today. They called about noon to ask about the truck pulling to the left when you hit the brakes, so obviously they had replaced the hub, put the truck back together and road tested it. I told them that the truck did not pull to the left before. I started walking to the dealership. When I arrived, they were calling me to let me know that the problem was a bad brake caliper, probably due to overheating. Unfortunately, they did not have calipers in stock, and would need to get one out of New York! He thought that the part might come in 8 AM tomorrow. Apparently it does not take long to install the caliper.
Applying 20-20 hindsight, we should have stayed in Benson when we noticed the problem. The caliper was OK at that time. Of course, we don't know if the Ford dealer in Benson could have gotten to our truck in a timely manner. Benson is a nicer place to spend time than Lordsburg.
Marianne cleaned up the camper, took a short walk, and fixed a gourmet dinner. She is enjoying watching the Fiesta Bowl.
Richard went for a lengthy walk through Lordsburg: If you want to know more about Lordsburg, read below.
The main drag of town is Motel Drive, which runs next to the railroad. This was the old main road, bypassed by the interstate highway. Like many areas bypassed by a new road, there were lots of dead gas stations and dead motels. There were a few low-budget motels that were open.
Overall, the town has more boarded up storefronts and closed businesses than active businesses. The houses generally look better than the businesses. But they do have beautiful sunsets, lovely vistas, and big skies.
According to the service manager, the economic base of the town is mining and the railroad. There are a half dozen copper mines in the area. However, all of these mines have closed recently, due to the low price of copper. This has put 5000 people out of work, and explains why they could get my truck into the shop immediately. The population of Lordsburg is declining, he said that there was “A funeral every day”. The Census Bureau shows a 2000 population census of 3379, with a 2007 estimate of 2665, a 20% decline is just a few years.
There are two auto dealerships side by side on Motel Drive, Ford and Chevy. There are various auto parts and repair businesses on Motel Drive.
The NAPA auto parts store sells pinto beans; we are in pinto bean country.
There is a Western Auto store, something that we had not seen for many years. According to Wikipedia, the chain is defunct, but there are a few dealers using that name.
The City Hall was built in 1935 as a WPA work project, and has a brass plaque to commemorate this. The County Courthouse is here also.
The KOA is owned by a Filipino, who has owned it for more than 20 years. He could not explain why his campground had received the awards; “You would have to ask the KOA inspector”, who grades the KOAs. There are two other campgrounds on the east end of Motel Drive, one associated with a Laundromat, which did not look good, and another a block off Motel Drive, that looked OK, $20 a night.
On the east end of town, at one of the freeway exits, there is a Pilot and a Flying J truck stop.
Broken Down in Lordsburg
We got up fairly early, and got on the road around 8 AM. As we were leaving Benson, we heard a squeaking and grinding sound. We pulled over, identified it as the right front tire on the truck, and took off the wheel. Things looked OK, except for a seal, and the wheel turned OK, so we put the wheel back on and started driving. The noise went away, and we got on I-10.
As we were driving down the road, the noise came and went. But suddenly, near Lordsburg New Mexico, there was more vibration, and the steering wheel felt loose. I pulled over immediately, and called our RV road service. The person on the phone was professional, and called me back to let me know that we would see a wrecker in 30 minutes, which we did.
The wrecker was heavy duty, but old. The driver was from Chihuahua, and did not speak English. His partner was from El Paso, and spoke both English and Spanish like a native. It took them a while to hook up the truck, but they did. They did not have room in the truck for both Marianne and I, so their boss showed up in his pickup. We all went to the KOA, where they dropped off the truck and camper. We set up the camper, in a cold cloudy day. The KOA is pretty basic, although they claim that they won a president's award recently.
The road service will arrange to tow the truck to the Ford dealer in the morning, assuming that they can get to the repair promptly.
As we were driving down the road, the noise came and went. But suddenly, near Lordsburg New Mexico, there was more vibration, and the steering wheel felt loose. I pulled over immediately, and called our RV road service. The person on the phone was professional, and called me back to let me know that we would see a wrecker in 30 minutes, which we did.
The wrecker was heavy duty, but old. The driver was from Chihuahua, and did not speak English. His partner was from El Paso, and spoke both English and Spanish like a native. It took them a while to hook up the truck, but they did. They did not have room in the truck for both Marianne and I, so their boss showed up in his pickup. We all went to the KOA, where they dropped off the truck and camper. We set up the camper, in a cold cloudy day. The KOA is pretty basic, although they claim that they won a president's award recently.
The road service will arrange to tow the truck to the Ford dealer in the morning, assuming that they can get to the repair promptly.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
East to Benson
Given the storm coming down from the north, we selected the longer southern route. We went east on I-10, cut down to I-8, continued on I-10, and stopped in Benson AZ. We knocked off around 3 because we were getting tired and gritchy.
We selected the highly rated Butterfield RV Resort, which is very well kept. The resort has an observatory, and we went over in the evening to take a look at the stars. There were some clouds, so we were only able to look at the moon and a few stars. The moon was impressive, with its deep craters and lava flows. The edge of the light on the moon makes the craters very well defined.
The storm continues, so we will probably not get home until Tuesday.
We selected the highly rated Butterfield RV Resort, which is very well kept. The resort has an observatory, and we went over in the evening to take a look at the stars. There were some clouds, so we were only able to look at the moon and a few stars. The moon was impressive, with its deep craters and lava flows. The edge of the light on the moon makes the craters very well defined.
The storm continues, so we will probably not get home until Tuesday.
Quartzsite
We got on the road about 8:15 AM Pacific Time, sad to leave Anza-Borrego and start heading home.
We stopped in El Centro at a 7-11 for fuel and air in the tires. There was a homeless man set up next to the fence, with blankets for privacy. He was listening to the financial news, shaking his head, talking to himself, rolling his own cigarettes, and minding his own business. Why did the 7-11 let him stay? There must be a story there.
We took I-8 to Yuma, and drove north on US95. The drive up was beautiful, with the Cathedral Dome and other mountains on our right. Marianne enjoys picking up rocks wherever she can find them, including on the side of the road. As we got close to Quartzsite we started to see more RVs in the desert. Then we saw the BLM long term visitor campgrounds, and finally we arrived in Quartzsite around 2 PM Mountain Time.
After driving through town, and mostly seeing funky RV campgrounds, we consulted out Trailer Life guidebook, and called one of their recommended campgrounds. The price was reasonable, so we went there. The campground looked noticeably better than the campgrounds we had seen, with palm trees and lots of retirees escaping the cold.
We headed over to the Rock and Gem show, which was a giant flea market, selling everything from tools to kitchen gadgets to quilts. But there were many booths with rocks, gems, and jewelry. We went into one large building full of stones, jewelry, and everything related to them. We went on overload, never having seen that much raw stone in one place. There were expensive items and cheap items, such as agate spheres for $20 a pound, and handfuls of strings of beads for a few dollars. We bought a few necklaces for gifts, paying 75 cents each.
Richard chatted at some length with some Anabaptists wearing bonnets selling natural food. They explained that their church had about 200 members, after splitting their church into two churches when the congregation got too large. Richard talked about our failed utopian communities tour, which included some Anabaptist groups.
Quartzsite is all about flea market vendors and small stores; we did not find a sizable grocery store, just a couple of small stores.
At the small grocery store, the man and woman in front of us were buying a quart of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes, emptying their pockets to find enough change to pay the bill. The couple behind us were a diminutive Hispanic man and a large black woman. He was buying a pint of vodka, and said that he was going to get drunk. She said that was not nearly enough. Many of the people here seem to be escapees from regular life, hippies, or just the down and out. There are dropouts, and people driving very expensive RVs. It is quite a trip for a couple of Boulderites, who don't spend much time in the real world.
All in all, Quartzsite did not seem attractive to us, but it is an experience.
We stopped in El Centro at a 7-11 for fuel and air in the tires. There was a homeless man set up next to the fence, with blankets for privacy. He was listening to the financial news, shaking his head, talking to himself, rolling his own cigarettes, and minding his own business. Why did the 7-11 let him stay? There must be a story there.
We took I-8 to Yuma, and drove north on US95. The drive up was beautiful, with the Cathedral Dome and other mountains on our right. Marianne enjoys picking up rocks wherever she can find them, including on the side of the road. As we got close to Quartzsite we started to see more RVs in the desert. Then we saw the BLM long term visitor campgrounds, and finally we arrived in Quartzsite around 2 PM Mountain Time.
After driving through town, and mostly seeing funky RV campgrounds, we consulted out Trailer Life guidebook, and called one of their recommended campgrounds. The price was reasonable, so we went there. The campground looked noticeably better than the campgrounds we had seen, with palm trees and lots of retirees escaping the cold.
We headed over to the Rock and Gem show, which was a giant flea market, selling everything from tools to kitchen gadgets to quilts. But there were many booths with rocks, gems, and jewelry. We went into one large building full of stones, jewelry, and everything related to them. We went on overload, never having seen that much raw stone in one place. There were expensive items and cheap items, such as agate spheres for $20 a pound, and handfuls of strings of beads for a few dollars. We bought a few necklaces for gifts, paying 75 cents each.
Richard chatted at some length with some Anabaptists wearing bonnets selling natural food. They explained that their church had about 200 members, after splitting their church into two churches when the congregation got too large. Richard talked about our failed utopian communities tour, which included some Anabaptist groups.
Quartzsite is all about flea market vendors and small stores; we did not find a sizable grocery store, just a couple of small stores.
At the small grocery store, the man and woman in front of us were buying a quart of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes, emptying their pockets to find enough change to pay the bill. The couple behind us were a diminutive Hispanic man and a large black woman. He was buying a pint of vodka, and said that he was going to get drunk. She said that was not nearly enough. Many of the people here seem to be escapees from regular life, hippies, or just the down and out. There are dropouts, and people driving very expensive RVs. It is quite a trip for a couple of Boulderites, who don't spend much time in the real world.
All in all, Quartzsite did not seem attractive to us, but it is an experience.
Jeeping in the Desert
On January 1st, our last day here, we agreed to go jeeping. We started down the Canyon Sin Nombre (canyon without a name), and stopped to walk up one of the slot canyons. When we got to the bottom, we headed downstream towards Carrizo Marsh. We were surprised to see water in the road in that area, in the middle of the desert.
We stopped at the Carrizo Stage Station site. There was no trace of the station, but Joan found a bullet, and Marianne found a auto bulb.
We then headed up Arroyo Seco de Diablo. This area had high sandstone walls with a sandy bottom. At the end of the Arroyo, we went to look at the dropoff into Fish Creek. When we arrived, a Jeep was towing an Explorer Sport up the hill, as the Ford spun its wheels. The Jeep was part of a group of Jeepers, who had set up lawn chairs to watch the fun. Tom looked at the dropoff and decided to go down and up it as a challenge; he made it without difficulty. At that point, we decided to head home, retracing our steps.
We shared Champagne, toasted in the new year, and talked about our trip. Tom and Joan leave for Seattle in the morning, while we head out for Quartzite.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Palm Groves and Railroads
Richard got up early to take pictures, and was able to get a picture of one of the campground rabbits.
For New Years eve, the plan was to hike to some of the local palm groves. Marianne decided that she would just as soon stay home, so Richard drove over to Tom's and Joan's campsite.
We drove over to Mountain Palm Springs campground, and headed up the right hand wash, which gradually became steeper, and involved a little scrambling. We found at least three groves, Mary's, North, and Surprise, but decided not to hike up to the Palm Bowl.
After lunch, we headed out to do a little jeeping. Richard wanted to see the railroad, so we drove down Mortero Wash to the Dos Cabezas rail siding. The rails appeared to be in good shape, with some evidence of use. We noticed the the rails were marked “Colorado”, and 1915, so the rails dated to the original construction of the line. The Mortero wash trail was straightforward, but we decided to return via the Jojoba Wash. The Jojoba road was quite a bit more challenging. There was a dropoff into a wash that required us to stop and move some rocks, but Tom negotiated it well, with some direction from Joan. After snacks and a margarita, Richard headed home. Marianne had a very quiet day.
We hooked up the TV and watched the Univision New Year's Eve award show. We were surprised to find four very watchable TV channels. The weather forecast was very favorable, which is good. We watched Coach Shanahan give a sad farewell after being fired by the Broncos. Marianne lost at Scrabble, but won at Skipbow. We heard some whooping and hollering at midnight, but we went right back to sleep.
For New Years eve, the plan was to hike to some of the local palm groves. Marianne decided that she would just as soon stay home, so Richard drove over to Tom's and Joan's campsite.
We drove over to Mountain Palm Springs campground, and headed up the right hand wash, which gradually became steeper, and involved a little scrambling. We found at least three groves, Mary's, North, and Surprise, but decided not to hike up to the Palm Bowl.
After lunch, we headed out to do a little jeeping. Richard wanted to see the railroad, so we drove down Mortero Wash to the Dos Cabezas rail siding. The rails appeared to be in good shape, with some evidence of use. We noticed the the rails were marked “Colorado”, and 1915, so the rails dated to the original construction of the line. The Mortero wash trail was straightforward, but we decided to return via the Jojoba Wash. The Jojoba road was quite a bit more challenging. There was a dropoff into a wash that required us to stop and move some rocks, but Tom negotiated it well, with some direction from Joan. After snacks and a margarita, Richard headed home. Marianne had a very quiet day.
We hooked up the TV and watched the Univision New Year's Eve award show. We were surprised to find four very watchable TV channels. The weather forecast was very favorable, which is good. We watched Coach Shanahan give a sad farewell after being fired by the Broncos. Marianne lost at Scrabble, but won at Skipbow. We heard some whooping and hollering at midnight, but we went right back to sleep.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The Salton Sea
Our goal today was to see the Salton Sea, since none of us had ever seen it, except from a distance. We left camp around 8 AM, picked up Tom and Joan, and drove out of the park and west on I-8. We turned north just beyond El Centro, and headed toward the east side of the Salton Sea. Our first stop was disappointing, as the state park was closed, and the town was ramshackle, so we kept driving. The next state park was also closed, so things looked bad. We stopped at one place that was nothing more than a parking area near the shore, where we had lunch, but it was not attractive. What looked like a sandy beach was the shells of barnacles.
We finally made it to the Salton Visitor Center, where we found friendly volunteers, a good bookstore, an educational film, a very nice campground, and exhibits. We felt that we really learned about the Sea. The Sea is slightly saltier than the ocean, and was formed due to the failure of the headgate on the Colorado River, filling up the basin, which had been dry. The Sea is 228 feet below sea level, and can offer good fishing. It is threatened by pollution from agricultural runoff from the Imperial Valley.
We continued on to the Anza-Borrego Visitor Center in Borrego Springs, where we saw a film on a family that lived a primitive life in the park during the Great Depression. Marshall South was a writer, so their life became famous. Their experiment came to an end after the Second World War. The park volunteer we spoke to was very knowledgeable about the various hiking and 4WD trails in the park.
We dropped Tom and Joan off at their camp after sunset. The photo shows the moon, Venus above the moon, and Jupiter just above the mountains. The photo was taken without light pollution, near Bow Willow Campground.
A Hike in Bisnaga Wash
Tom and Joan came to our campsite midmorning. They duly admired our 5th wheel. Interestingly, they recently upgraded to a Bigfoot truck camper, the same model that we had before the 5th wheel.
We were going to hike in Rainbow Wash, but there was no real trail that we could find, and a lot of cactus, so we decided to go elsewhere. We ended up walking in Bisnaga Wash, near our campground. It was a pleasant walk, more interesting near the end, closer to the mountains. Blue blue skies, warmer than we have been in months. Lots of different cactus. There is one cactus, the Jumping Jack Cactus, that drops pieces of cactus that tend to stick to your shoes. We kept having to stop and work the cactus off our shoes. According to the guidebook, this hike was 2.5 miles each way, and we felt that we had a bit of a workout.
After our hike, we headed back to our campground to soak in the hot springs. The swimming pool was cold, but the “therapeutic pool” was nice and hot. We stayed in for a while, and then headed back to our camper for drinks, snacks, and conversation. Tom and Joan appreciated the fruit from Eileen's back yard.
We agreed to head for the Salton Sea tomorrow, Tuesday. When I went to the campground office to ask for Salton Sea information, they sent me down the road to the store, run by a desert rat, a man with a gaunt look. He said that the Salton Sea was polluted, but that it was better to be on the east side. When he found we were from Colorado, he asked about the San Luis Valley. I suggested the town of San Luis, the oldest town in Colorado, the Sand Dunes, and Crestone, the spiritual center.
The picture at the bottom is the view from our campground. Our hike was on the left edge of the big mountain.
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