Lake Charles, Louisiana – Day 9

The motorhome is parked at the 1,086 acre Sam Houston Jones State Park about 12 miles north of the city. We have been here enjoying Mardi Gras which ended Tuesday. We will move along later this morning.

Yesterday we rested from our Mardi Gras exoeriences…fun but tiring. Among the things we did was take a nice walk alongside a small Cypress Swamp directly across the road from where we are parked. You can read about this park by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston_Jones_State_Park

Here are some photos that I  took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Despite several signs telling us not to feed the Alligators…we saw none.

Enjoying a Louisiana Swamp is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Louisiana. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Lake Charles, Louisiana – Day1

Yesterday we drove the motorhome the about 15 miles from Sulphur to Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The motorhome is parked at the 1,086 acre Sam Houston Jones State Park about 12 miles north of the city. We are here to enjoy Mardi Gras and will depart on February 13th. Today we’ll start exploring the local area.

You can read about this state park by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston_Jones_State_Park

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

And the view from the dinette window…

After doing laundry we took about a 15 minute walk to a nearby small cypress swamp until we got rained out…

Enjoying beautiful swamps is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Louisiana. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Heron Lake State Park, New Mexico – Day 4

If you read my last couple of Blog entries, you know about my problems with the alternator in my Ford Bronco II and the no-see-ums bites on my legs.

The day before yesterday I hired two young park rangers to assist me with the alternator replacement. That is because of my injuries received from the May 27th accident. After we took out the alternator is when we discovered the spare alternator I had for my 1984 Bronco would not work in the 1986 Bronco. i called the nearest Napa auto store in Chama, 25 miles away, and they told me they had one in stock.

Yesterday I hitched a ride into Chama with a neighbor. I brought the malfunctioning alternator with me because it is an exchange sale and also to make sure I got the right replacement. When I got to the Napa store, they actually had two different alternators for my 1986 Bronco…BUT…you probably already guessed it…neither of them was the right one! That would have been too easy! The counterman placed the order which has to come from Albuquerque…175 miles away. He said it would be here by 8:00 AM Saturday…that’s today.

Now I needed to figure how to get to Chama once again. Taking my motorhome would have been a real pain. The camp host here…a real nice guy by the name of Rusty offered me the use of his truck. What a nice guy. So at 7:30 AM this morning I will be on my way to Chama to get the replacement alternator. Hopefully tomorrow’s Blog entry will be documenting the successful installation of that unit.

I’ll return the spare alternator to Auto Zone for a refund…when ever I see the next Auto Zone.

Now…the locals are saying that the current weather is unseasonably warm. Today is supposed to be 87 degrees. The sun here is a scorcher and after about 9:00 AM no one is seen walking around…it’s just too damn hot! Everyone is hunkered down inside of the rigs in the air-conditioning. So I have no new photos to show you today.

Except for photos of my no-see-ums bites. I’ll show just the area about three inches above were my sock was located. I have other bites that go above my knees!

I think my Blog entries have reached a new low today! 

For better or worse…here they are…

First the left leg…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

And then the right leg…

Remember, I also have bites on the back of my legs not seen by these photos! Isn’t that exciting???

In yesterday’s Blog entry I discussed how the use of Witch Hazel has greatly reduced the itch and pain.

Okay, enough of this for today. Let’s hope that future Blog entries will be more interesting!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Navajo Lake State Park, New Mexico – Day 2

We are still parked here. Thank goodness we have air-conditioning!

Mary continues busy in packing for her trip back home. She’ll begin her trip by catching the Albuquerque Airport Shuttle in Farmington…about 35 miles from here on Tuesday. She has collected/purchased an amazing amount of stuff and is trying to figure out how to get it all back home. The motorhome is not scheduled to arrive back there until  November 2013.

I’m staying busy here by trying to rest and recoup from my injuries of the terrible accident that occurred three weeks ago today. Lot’s of reading. some computer time and playing with my new camera.

Here’s an example of the zoom capacity…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Looking out the dinette window…look at just about center at the top of the ridge and you’ll see a small squarish rock outcropping…

A little closer view…

and a closer view…

Pretty neat, huh? These photos do not use the full extent of the 30x optical zoom. Another 30x zoom is also available in digital zoom. All photos are hand-held…no tripod was used.

Here is a panorama looking southeast along the nearby river…

We plan to drive the motorhome to Farmington tomorrow where we’ll do laundry in preparation for Mary’s 7:00 AM departure Tuesday morning. Temperatures here are in the low to 90′s…to danged hot for me! As soon as Mary departs, I’ll head for higher ground.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Pretty And Quiet…

Yesterday I wrote about Elephant Butte State Park near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4eb

In that posting I mentioned that within the state park boundaries there are about a dozen different campgrounds, mostly primitive, along the western shore of the lake. Yesterday morning I departed the overlook site near the park entrance and drove about eight miles north to the northern-most campground that has RV facilities. It’s named South Monticello. Here’s a Google Earth image showing the relative location on the lake shore…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

Only…I didn’t enter the campground with the RV facilities. I drove by that entrance and continued down the road for about another mile to the end…

This Google Earth image shows my location. The RV facilities campground is about 1/4 mile away…

Here’s my parking location. No RV facilities here…

Through the windshield I can see the RV facilities campground in the distance…

And this is the view through the dinette window…

Finally a panorama looking from North to East to South…

The dam created the lake in 1916. If there were no dam…the water would be narrower and be called the Rio Grande River.

As you can see I’m out on this point of land all by myself…and it’s pretty and quiet! One week from today I expect to be in Albuquerque and I’m betting that I’ll be thinking about the quiet I enjoyed here. I know it won’t be quiet there!

A lovely sunny day of 74 degrees and a nice gentle breeze off of the lake made for a most enjoyable stay.

Today I’ll continue wandering north towards Albuquerque which I expect to enter this coming Sunday morning.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Elephant Butte State Park, New Mexico…

A few days back I wrote about the Elephant Butte Dam…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4by

Which created Elephant Butte Lake…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4c7

Along the west side of the lake…Elephant Butte State Park, over about ten miles, has about a dozen campgrounds…most of them are primitive with no utilities.

Yesterday I moved the motorhome from the Moose Lodge in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico the about five miles to the State Park. I’ll spend only one night. I came to primarily dump my waste tanks, fill my fresh water tank and take a nice long hot shower. After last Saturday’s wind/dust storm I also cleaned the window glass inside and out as well as the solar panels on the motorhome roof.

I’m parked in what I consider the best view site in the state park. I’m situated on an overlook near the park entrance…about 300 feet elevation about the lake.

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

Here’s the view through the dinette window…

Another view…

And a panorama view…

Then three Google Earth views…

There are about six overlook sites…each with a three-sided protective shelter…

that have a metal picnic table inside…

that gives a great view of the lake…

People park their RV’s right along the lake shore so they can pull their watercraft onshore nearby their rigs…

When I scouted out this park Easter weekend there were several hundred RV’s parked along the lake shore. The roadways down to there are not well marked…so much so that I got the Bronco into some loose sand and had to put it into 4 wheel drive to get moving again. A local told me that the local tow truck drivers do a lively business retrieving stuck vehicles. They’re not going to get my business…I’m staying on solid ground up on the overlook!

A lovely sunny day of 70 degrees with a gentle breeze made it a delightful stay.

Here’s the state park’s official website link…
http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/prd/elephant.htm

Today I’ll head out and start wandering north towards Albuquerque where I’m hopefully going to meet up Mary in about 10 days.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

A Democrat’s RV…

Shortly after my arrival here in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico…I took my towed Ford Bronco II over to Elephant Butte State Park about five miles distant to checkout the four campgrounds there. I’ll be moving the motorhome there this morning and I wanted to get to know the lay of the land before I go there as the online maps are very confusing.

As I was driving through the campgrounds…I noticed this Democrat’s RV. I had never seen one before and I thought I’d share it with you…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

Kind of unique…isn’t it? I wonder what a Republican’s RV looks like?

In other news…

This morning I will depart Moose Lodge 2050 after an 11 day visit. I chose to stay here rather than drive in daily from the state park. It’s nice to enjoy good food and drink with the locals. Thank you Moose Lodge 2050 for your hospitality!

In addition to visiting local attractions while here…I’ve also been busy researching my upcoming approach to Albuquerque. The locals here tell me it’s a city of about 900,000 people and everyone drives like they are crazy.

Whenever I’m approaching a large city…which I’ve not been to before and don’t know my way around…I use Google Earth to learn about the area. In this first Google Earth Image you can see that I’ll be traveling…more or less…along side of the Rio Grande River towards Albuquerque about 150 miles distant…

The pins identify pre-planned potential stops. The below Google Earth concentrates on the southeast area of Albuquerque…where I expect to spend the better portion of my time while there. The APT pin marks the location of the airport where I’ll meet Mary hopefully in about ten days…

Since this is my first visit to Albuquerque…I’m planning to enter the city on next Sunday morning when traffic should be the lightest. It sure makes traveling a lot easier having Google Earth and The Internet for researching areas prior to arrival.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

City Of Rocks State Park, Faywood, New Mexico…

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 40 miles from Rockhound State Park to City of Rocks State Park at Faywood, New Mexico.

From their brochure, in part…

————————————

Born some 33 million years ago from a volcanic eruption 1,000 times greater than Mt. St. Helen’s, mother nature has slowly chiseled her into to the rock “city” you see today. The park encompasses one-square-mile area in the scenic Chihuahuan desert region of southeastern New Mexico at the elevation of 5,200 feet. The “city” is a truly geologic monument formed by large sculptured rock columns, or pinnacles, rising as high as 40 feet and separated by paths or lanes resembling city streets.

————————————

Here’s the official website link…
http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/prd/cityrocks.htm

Here are some photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

First through the magic of Google Earth where my campsite is marked by an “X”…

Entering the park…

The view through the motorhome windshield from my campsite…

My campsite…

A view of some of the rock and park of the campground. My rig is the furthest one…

A picture of the rocks in the visitors center…

Now some closer ones of the rocks…

To see the other 50 photos that I took, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/CityOfRocksStateParkFaywoodNewMexico

I took this photo through the windshield of the motorhome about one hour after sunset…

I got up to pee about 2:00 AM…peeked out of the dinette window where I saw about one bazillion stars. What there is to see once you get away from city lights!

Though it’s very pretty and quiet here…once you’ve explored the rocks there’s little else to do since the park is located about 25 miles equi-distant between the cities of Deming and Silver City. So today I’ll move on up to Silver City to begin a visit which I’m expecting will last a few days.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Pancho Villa State Park, Columbus, New Mexico

We are parked at Pancho Villa State Park at Columbus, New Mexico.

One might wonder how a New Mexico State Park gets to be named for someone who raided the Town of Columbus, New Mexico on March 9, 1916 and killed 18 Americans. I researched that topic on-line and found the answer in one word…TOURISM. It was meant to attract tourists. The U.S. Army Camp that was here was named Camp Furlong. Now…would you go out of your way to go to Camp Furlong State Park? Most likely not!

Nonetheless controversy over the naming of the park still remains. The following two links provide the information…

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-03-09-1Apanchovilla09_CV_N.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/letters/2011-03-14-letters14_ST_N.htm

Upon arrival four days ago we purchased a New Mexico Annual Camping Permit. It allows a full year’s use in all of New Mexico’s State Parks for a non-resident for only $225. You are allowed to stay as long as three weeks before being required to move along. If you desire an electrical hook-up it is available for only $4 a night. I have several friends who have purchased this Annual Camping Permit in the past and speak highly of it. We intend to spend the better part of 2012 exploring New Mexico…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

I must tell you Pancho Villa State Park is one of the nicest state parks I’ve been to. At 49 acres with only 62 campsites…that makes it very spacious. Lots of room between campsites also makes it very quiet and peaceful. It’s also nice and level which makes for very easy RV parking. The desert scenery is very beautiful in its own natural way.

Here’s a Google Earth image showing Columbus, New Mexico is only three miles from Palomus, Mexico. Our location is shown by an “X”…

Here’s one showing the state park boundaries. Our site is marked as an “X”…

Here’s a photo of our campsite…

Here’s a panorama shot of Columbus, New Mexico looking east from north to south…

Here’s another looking directly to the south, east to west,  over the state park and into Mexico. Our motorhome is somewhere in this photo…

This link provides a good description of the park…
http://columbusnewmexico.com/columbus_new_mexico_pancho_villa_state_rv_park.htm

Yesterday morning at 10:00 AM we were among the about 50 people who braved the cold temperature and a rather brisk wind to attend an hour-long memorial service for the eight soldiers and ten civilians killed in the raid. In addition 90 Villaistas were also killed. I was honored when asked to respond for Private Fred A. Griffin during the Honor Roll Call. When his name was called I answered loudly “Here, Sir” and a bell was rung in remembrance. The other 17 causalities also had representatives to answer for their name when called. Mary answered for a civilian.

Private Fred A. Griffin was the first soldier killed in the raid. His image and information is shown below…

Here are some other photos I took during the memorial service…

After the memorial service we went to the nearby Columbus Historical Society Museum in the refurbished old railroad depot. There are three rooms full of local historical information and one room is dedicated to the Villa Raid, Camp Furlong and the Punitive Expedition led by General John “Black Jack” Pershing who pursued Villa into Mexico.

Here are some photos from the museum…

From this nearby small rise of land known as Cootes Hill, the soldiers of Camp Furlong drove the Villaistas from Columbus back towards Mexico…

We expect to move on from Pancho Villa State Park tomorrow morning.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Pancho Villa Attacks Columbus, New Mexico!

We are currently parked at the Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus, New Mexico.

This morning at about 4:20 AM, 96 years ago, in 1916, Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, New Mexico from the southwest, riding over the very ground where we are currently parked. The below Google Earth image shows Mexico is only three miles south of our location marked by the “X”…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

Here’s a photo of Pancho…

and a photo of a mural honoring Pancho. I took this photo in Parral, Mexico in 2004. Pancho was living in near Parral in retirement when he was assassinated in 1923.

To read all about Pancho Villa, click this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_Villa

To read all about the attack, click this link..
http://web.nmsu.edu/~publhist/colhist.htm

Here’s a photo of our site. Mexico can be seen in the background. Pancho Villa and his men rode across this very land to attack Columbus, New Mexico…

Once again, it is interesting and fun to walk literally in the footsteps of history.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust