Good Times in New Mexico

We really like Albuquerque. In general, we like New Mexico better than Arizona. NM is a poor state, not really as commercial as Arizona, but there is an attitude here we like. People seem comfortable with who they are.

Albuquerque is a very old city tucked into a new city. The edges of the city sprawl with acres of subdivisions, all faux adobe, all painted in the colors of dirt, and most with iron bars on the windows. We cant tell whether the wrought iron is protection or decoration.

Downtown ABQ is trendy and colorful, the sidewalks are full. The newspaper says Los Angeles gangs have come, thinking New Mexico is soft on gangs. We didnt see any evidence that (if you dont count the bars on the doors and windows). We did spot one unique sign posted in a tiny one-bench park downtown: Please no puking, pissing, panhandlers or perversions. Thanks.

Albuquerque is big. There are 12 Wal*Marts here, and 17 exits off I – 40. The park we map is about 12 miles west of the city, just off the freeway. This is a good job for us, even if we have to drive quite a bit. Dave also gets a bike ride or two in with Ted Bertholate and his crew of retired PHDs, or up the hill from their place to the end of the road, urged on by Marcia.

We had some valve work done on the Bird (routine maintenance) and two days later we left to go east on our next job. On acceleration there was a bad growling rattle that seemed to come from up front in the engine. So we paid to stay over two days to take it back to the valve guy Monday morning; it was a weekend of trying not to worry. Our luck held, though, as the mechanic guy determined it wasnt the engine, but an actual rattle up front. By 50 miles later Dave had tracked it down and fixed it ( loose hinge bolt on the Wanderlodge Face Plate on front that opens up so he can check the oil and coolant levels). Whew!

So were at Santa Rosa now. This is the fourth year weve done this park. Its always a struggle, as there are only about 20 businesses in town and the print cost is real high since we print 10,000 maps. (Most parks use 3 – 4 thousand a year.) It can also be cold and blowy here but we really like the town. Most of our stay this year its been a lot like summer. In years past weve seen the Christmas Parade of Lights (one float with 6,000 twinkie lights, and 17 vehicles with red and blue lights, and of course all the police cars and fire trucks in town). This year we watched them dress the town for Christmas. They plant little plastic stick trees pre-wrapped with twinkie lights… a LOT of them.

This year we also went to the Santa Rosa Mighty Lions football game. Wanna feel like a minority? This IS a New Mexico town. They played the Texico Wolverines in the AAAA semifinals. Almost everyone in town was there, and there were a lot of folks from Texico too. (Texico is down by Muleshoe on the Texas/NM border.) The teams were pretty evenly matched; neither could win. It was so cold I thought I might have wet my pants but couldnt tell; my nether regions were numb from sitting on a metal bench in 28 weather. Poor Dave got to shivering so bad the bench was vibrating and of course it wasnt Daves idea to join our Santa Rosa friends in this community event. When it went into OT he started to groan. It was still tied when we left. I heard the next day the Lions lost . . . . . Bummer.

We are both feeling good. Im still testing my glucose levels 2 – 3 times a day but the numbers are good, and I no longer have to take insulin. I have lost 20 lb. and am stuck. Will try not to over eat on Thanksgiving which shouldnt be too hard since well probably be eating at a Flying J truck stop in Oklahoma. Our managers gave us a $50 gift certificate for Flying J, so we are looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner on the road . Woo-hoo! Life on the road is a constant adventure!

Tomorrow we start our big trek east. We figure it will take about a week to get to our next job, a park in Lenoir, North Carolina. Well leave the bird there and drive the car to the kids place to celebrate Katies baptism and see Susie and Becca in the Christmas play.

Were counting our blessings and as always, each of you is on our list.

Love,

Sam & DaveÂ