Because We Can

When you are in Columbus, New Mexico on the day after Christmas, the day all the big box stores advertise their super special sales, what do you do when there are no stores? You go down to Palomas and enjoy the wonders of The Pink Store . It is the place to go when you are are here, great food, great people, great shopping and great services. Park in a nice lot on the American side, walk across, one block down on the left side of the main street. Enjoy margarita's and lunch, buy a few things, walk back across the border and five minutes later you are home. Life is good. We were there with Lew and Helen who have an RV lot in Columbus and had found the Daily Journal. We had a great time visiting, great food and fun shopping afterward, picking up a few Mexican specialties and having a great time. If our box is at the Post Office tomorrow we will be off to the Phoenix area. If not, we know the secret to the Notcold Norcold, so another day in Columbus is no problem. Sometimes Li...

It was a cold morning, the overnight low being in the mid teens, with the thermometer showing 18 when I first looked at it this morning. Later, after it had warmed up considerably, Linda came out announcing it was so cold in the bathroom there was ice on the window frame, and she had a photo to prove it. Just so everyone will know what she exposed herself to during her early morning duties, here it is. At least she didn't have to have me come back and pour water on the toilet seat to get her unfrozen. Now that would really have been an experience and a half, none of which could ever be talked about. If I talk about her, I'd better balance it out by pointing out that as far as I was concerned, it was also cold. But where there's a will, there's a way, and a few minutes in front of our heater does wonders. I usually don't heat my clothes, just my razor, but since it was Christmas, I though I would treat myself. Actually it wasn't bad at all in the front ha...

It was a good morning today, as we were greeted with snow and sunshine this morning. While it looked similar to yesterday, fortunately it was not causing any of the problems with travel that yesterdays storm had brought. Also the temperatures had only dipped into the upper 20's, and the sun quickly melted much of the snow. About 10:30 Linda headed off to the post office, a three minute drive, to see if the box of presents had arrived. Or at least I thought she had left, but as I sat at my computer I caught a glimpse of a wildly waving arm. Looking up, I saw a snowball heading directly for me and I instinctively ducked. It splatted against the window in direct line with where my face had been a split second ago. Then I watched in wonder as she reached down, scooped up some more snow and fired another one right at where my head was now located. As she raised both arms over head in triumph and walked towards the car I realized that all that softball talent our granddaughters h...

This is what greeted us this morning, a beautiful snowy landscape. The storm had come through during the night and we were actually on the southern edge of it. Interstate 10 across much of New Mexico was closed due to snow and ice, but we weren't going anywhere, so it was of no consequence to us. That meant we had time to enjoy the snow covered Sotol outside the coach. Then we discovered we weren't the only ones looking at that Sotol. Out in the expanse of snow Linda caught sight of a jack rabbit wandering around, and as she reached for her camera, it started making a rabbit line to our Sotol. She caught it in mid hop just before it ducked under cover. It must have been a case of any port in a storm because that rabbit stayed safely tucked under the Sotol until I later ventured outside, at which time he took off like the proverbial scared rabbit. What a beautiful sight, at least when you look at someone's blog and see a scene like this. It hasn't been very ...

No, it's not what it seems though we were doing something else to the refrigerator. Now that it is working like it should we were getting water in the produce keeper. Checking, the tray below the fins, we could see it was full of water, meaning the drain tube was not draining. Linda got a pin, and when I used it to clean the black thing at the end of the tube, water immediately started dripping out. I put it back into the little black pan by the burner tube, and checking it a while later found the pan almost full. Using a rag to sop up the water it was soon empty, a task that need to be repeated once again. The weather forecast for the next several days is for a severe winter storm, with temperatures plummeting into the low teens and daytime highs below or at freezing. The last time we turned on the heater for the wet bay, the small 12 volt DC heater that keeps our water lines from freezing, the pilot lights hadn't come on, but I ascribed that to the fact the pilot ligh...

Yes, it's what it looks like. This is definitely not good. Think of the car along the road, the hood up and some poor unfortunate person peering under that hood, as if looking at it could solve what ever the problem is. One thing for sure, our refrigerator wasn't working, but then again, that was nothing new. Backing up a bit, she who sleeps past dawn was heard to be moving about in the back, I ground her coffee beans and started to brew a pot. Thinking good thoughts, I proceeded to begin fixing breakfast only to brought up short when I opened the refrigerator to find it dark inside. A glance at the controls confirmed it was once again not working, a not so surprising event given the way it has performed the past few months, but still it was, shall I say, disconcerting. Eager to share the news with her royal highness, I opened the sliding door and approaching her as she perch on the throne, blurted out, "The frig isn't working again." I have no recollection...

There are days and then there are days. And then there are days like today. It started with Linda asking, "What is that?" "What is that, that?" I asked in reply. "That red line across the sky." Bingo! "That's the sunrise, you know when the sun comes up in the morning." "It sure is pretty." and the next thing I know she is taking pictures of something I see every morning. It was a cold morning and we were up early because we had many miles to go today. The thing is, the coach really, really does NOT like cold weather, and it was in fine form this morning. It started when I retracted the jacks and the jacks down light would not go off. By any visual check, the jacks were up, but the panel said they weren't, which meant as soon as I put the coach into drive, the alarm started ringing. We've come to expect this, and it was only a few feet of travel before we had tuned it out. Accompanied by the dinging of the jacks...