May 2, 2015 by Rae

Cozy

It’s rather funny, but my quirky little Truth or Consequences apartment feels more like home to me than the Isla apartment ever did.

The Isla apartment is huge and so cold with all that beige tile and those white walls. There is also no comfortable place to sit.

What a luxury it was this evening to do what I do in Miranda — shut the computer, grab the iPad, and curl up in a comfy chair with a few episodes of something on the iPad while a door was left open to let in the cool evening air. And that was after making a fabulous dinner that included roasting the meat in the oven.

I also love the warm wood floor in here. It’s convinced me that even if I can’t save the cabin’s original floor, I want real wood planks as my permanent flooring, not laminate.

I didn’t put any money into the Isla apartment this winter because there simply wasn’t any until it was much too late in the winter to do so. For next winter, I firmly plan to have enough in the kitty to get a decent armchair if the landlady hasn’t provided something, and I’ll be sure to bring back down my two lovely blankets that added some much needed colour to the space.

It’s been four full days here and I only have two left. How fast time flies! I’m working hard again tomorrow, but hope to get out Monday afternoon to see a little of T or C. There’s a museum within walking distance, so I’ll definitely do that. The admission price of $6 will put me in the poor house, but I have to keep you blog readers entertained, so I’ll sacrifice (*tongue firmly in cheek*).

May 1, 2015 by Rae

Typing

Work is a little out of hand this week, but needs to be done! I’m enjoying my Truth or Consequences apartment very much, especially the comfy bed in a dark and quiet room, as well as the kitchen. The weather has been beautiful, but I haven’t gotten out at all except to the grocery store across the street. This is simply not a tourism stop.

On top of my regular workload, I have to do all the bookkeeping to close April and start May. It’s especially important for me to keep on top of the budget when I have expenses straddling two months and I’m not entering transactions daily. I’ve gotten used to dealing with the three different currencies, but the addition of US cash is giving me a little more work. I may change my mind and just go back to using the credit card for everything and entering estimated totals until the transactions are posted to my account.

I came in right on budget for April, with about 30CAD to spare! This is a far cry from my last couple of months in Mexico where I usually ended with several hundred dollars to spare, but considering all the extra expenses I had this past month (not counting the truck, which came in within its own budget), I’m just glad to still be in the black!

I should perhaps point out that this is not the balance in my chequing account. I use a zero-sum budgeting approach where my budget resets to zero every month, I can only spend the money I earned for that month, and anything not spent at the end goes into the emergency fund. So this means is that I didn’t have to dip into the emergency fund this month and I put $30 into it. Every little bit helps. 🙂

April 29, 2015 by Rae

My Quirky Truth or Consequences Apartment

I had a really good first night in T or C! It was quiet, the apartment was reasonably dark, and the bed, while very firm, wasn’t hard (and I always thought those two things were synonymous). I’m having a late start today, but I am going to get typing because I am SWAMPED. But first, I thought y’all might like a tour of my place.

You come into the kitchen/dining/living room. The arm chair and ottoman are super comfy and what I wish I had on Isla! The table is good for working, the folding chairs not so much.

Standing at the front door.

Between the armchair and the kitchen, you can see a gas heater. I started it last night. It took a bit of effort and I didn’t feel comfortable leaving it on overnight. I think that the owner of the property would have done better buying two oil filled radiators, one for each room, but this did a good job of heating the place before bed.

To our right is the bedroom.

The door to the bedroom is to the right of the front door.

Coming into the bedroom.

Comfy bed with good sheets and a lovely duvet.

The bedroom is almost the size of the other room. If I was living here long-term, I could easily separate it into a small bedroom and a small office.

Stained glass window in the bedroom.

I had to hang one of my own blankets from two conveniently placed nails over the stained glass window because it allowed in a surprising amount of light.

The kitchen is perfect for a short stay.

Love the cute stove! All the burners work. I haven’t tried the oven yet.

The kitchen is very clean. I came in and felt I could start cooking and using the utensils without having to wash anything, which is a very big compliment on my part! The kitchen has most of the basics, but, like my Isla kitchen, is lacking a sharp knife!

And from the kitchen, we get to the, “Okay, that’s going to be interesting,” part of the apartment, to quote Cameron Diaz in ‘The Holiday’ when faced with a similar situation.

The bathroom is where things get quirky…

Can you see the shower head at the top left? It’s a wet room. And there’s no sink; you brush your teeth in the kitchen.

The shower had a lot of calcium build up over the shut off valve handles (not taps) and I had to figure out that I needed to open a main shut off before I could open the hot and cold handles. It then took a while to get hot water, but once I did, there was tons of pressure!

I don’t know if I could get used to this kind of bathroom long-term since the floor gets wet after the shower, obviously. I shower at night and the floor had time to dry by the morning so it wasn’t too bad, but this isn’t really a set up for morning showerers, although I suppose a squeegee could get most of the water into the drain, and then a towel could get the rest.

I would have also added a second shower curtain to block off the toilet. I had put some things on the closed seat and they got sprayed (as I said, LOTS of pressure!). I’ll figure out a routine. 🙂

Finally, there is a little terrace, but the space has not been maintained. There is a defunct hot tub out there, showing that this could be a very sweet bit of outdoor space if it is ever restored.

Patio doors lead to what could be a really nice space.

All in all, I really like this apartment. I don’t know if I could live here long-term, but it is going to be a blessing for the week!

Love the raftered ceilings.

My only real complaint with the space is that the front door is really not that secure. The owner really needs to invest in a better door and lock. But perhaps this is a neighbourhood where there aren’t too many crime concerns. I really don’t know.

T or C seems very quiet so far and a little desolate. Some folks might be wondering why I chose to be here since there really isn’t much to do besides the hot springs. That’s the whole point. I’m on a work, not exploration, break, like I was in Pocatello. There is little out there to tempt me! I am going to checkout the ‘downtown’ district and one or two museums soon as I get a handle on my workload, but I’m glad to be somewhere quiet where I can work and not be bothered. I love that the grocery store is literally across the store and I’ll head over in a bit to get some more food. I’m glad I made the effort last night to get a few things so I was able to breakfast without going out.

So that’s the scoop. And now, I must get typing!

April 28, 2015 by Rae

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

The Gila (hee-la) Cliff Dwellings were used as shelter by humans for thousands of years. In the late 1200s, they were used by the Mogollon peoples, who built homes with property masonry within the natural cave walls.

Think on that for a second.

As many of you know, I majored in medieval history, with a focus on the Scottish Wars of Independence, the ‘Braveheart’ era of the late 1200s. While all of that was going on across the pond, the Native American peoples of the American Southwest were building structures that exist to this day. Like Casa Grande, the Gila Cliff Dwellings have shattered my view of world history.

One of the main reasons I was so eager to visit the Gila Cliff Dwellings is that unlike Montezuma Castle, you can actually go inside the dwellings!

I made it! What a drive!

When you arrive at the end of highway 15, you have to turn left for the dwellings. Silly me, I went straight to check out the visitors centre, where I was told I should end with them and their little museum rather than start. Okay, back to my truck I went.

It was a bit more of a drive to get to the trailhead for the dwellings. There, a park ranger gave me the spiel about only bringing water and not touching the walls, as well as giving me a map and info about the trail.

The access fee is $3 (exact change only), that you put in an envelope that you slide into a box, or you can put your info and parks pass number on a card and put that into the box.

It’s about a mile round trip to the dwellings and there is quite a bit of ascent and descent over rough terrain. You need to be moderately fit and nimble to get up there.

The walk takes you through a narrow canyon to a view point where…

Bridge at the trailhead.

Over a river that was the lifeblood of the region.

Starting to climb.

The cliffs in the area all look like they were carved by people.

Another of several bridges.

More stairs.

… you turn around and, boom, there are the dwellings!

First glimpse of the dwellings!

Yet more stairs.

Still more stairs.

Lots o’ stairs.

Oh!

The caves were naturally carved out of the cliff faces.

Signs of human inhabitants.

This would have been a kitchen.

Incredible. Medieval-era ruins in North America of comparable construction!

Incredible. Medieval-era ruins in North America and of comparable construction!

The walls didn’t go to the top to let the smoke out.

Prickly stuff. 🙂

Corn was grown up here.

Coming to the cave where you can actually go in.

More stairs!

Climbing up into a massive room.

The room was so large it didn’t feel claustrophobic at all.

Looking down into a room.

Signs of construction everywhere.

The soot stained ceiling dates back thousands of years, to well before the Mogollon people.

They used stones, mortar, and wood for construction.

More stairs!

Coming into another room from the last staircase.

This is the staircase you have to go down to leave the dwelling.

You can climb this ladder to look over a wall.

There were several rooms within the cave.

The quality of construction is amazing.

There was a guide at the end of the dwelling who had tons of information. She pointed out glyphs, hand prints, and other bits of interest. One thing that was really interesting is a huge slab of stone that predates the Mogollons that fell from the ceiling. The Mogollons built around it, but you know the stone fell before their time because the underside of it is black with soot and it sits above a grinding stone that you can just barely see underneath it.

Can you see the little glyph painted in red? There were lots of those all around the cave.

This corn is SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS OLD.

To leave the dwelling, you can either go back to the entrance and take the stairs, or you can go down a ladder.

This is the ladder you can take to exit, just like the cliff dwellers would have done.

I did the ladder. It wasn’t scary since it was well secured to the cliff face. But the rungs were far apart and slippery, so I took my time.

What a vista.

More construction.

Spiny lizard posing for me.

Looking back at the ladder.

Steep climb down!

After I was reunited with my keys and had a small picnic, I went back to the visitors’ centre to view some artifacts and watch a movie. I learned a lot about the history of the region, but there’s a lot of conjecture since looters and raiders didn’t leave a lot behind to tell us the story of this place.

One compelling bit of info is that there are no burial grounds or trash piles around the dwellings. This speaks to them being places of transition and temporary housing, more than being a permanent settlement.

Another interesting fact is that there was no war around this time, or at least no evidence of it. People died young of infection. They ground the corn with stone, stone got in their food and wore down their teeth, their teeth got abscesses and the infections spread. Something like only two out every eighteen people lived to age twenty.

Essentially a medieval artifact…

Visiting the Gila Cliff Dwellings takes effort because of the long and difficult drive there, but they are very much worth the detour. I am so glad I was able to visit them!

April 28, 2015 by Rae

Silver City, NM, to Truth or Consequences, NM

The day was rather full, so I am going to give the Gila cliff dwellings their own post.

I left the motel around 10:00 this morning and my truck was really not happy about having been left out in the cold all night! She was making a whining sound that was very easy to anthropomorphize as her reprimanding me for taking her away from the heat! It only took about a half a mile for the engine to warm up and the noise to go away. I wasn’t worried. 🙂

I headed a ways out of town to meet up with reader Ed! Ed has been a long-time commenter and route planning helper. How wonderful to end up in the same place like this! He was staying at a nice little RV park tucked away at the end of a gravel road and I got lots of attention and cuddles from his beautiful and sweet dog. Ed and I had a nice chat and then it was time for me to go since I had about five hours of driving to do today, on top of visiting the cliff dwellings.

By the time I’d filled up and hit highway 15, it was just past 11:30. My ETA for the cliff dwellings was 1:30 and I planned to be back on the road by 3:00 to get to T or C by about 6:00.

It’s only about 75KM/45Mi to the cliff dwellings, but the road is very sinuous. Larger RVs are told to avoid the section between Silver City and the junction with highway 35 and instead take 35, then continue on 15. This is good advice. All of highway 15 would be a nightmare in an RV, but the first section was exceptionally challenging!

I was sure the two hours travel time the signs indicated was exaggerated, but it really wasn’t! It was a fun drive with a standard, but I would have hated it if I was driving something large as the drive is one hair pin turn after another. The road takes you through ponderosa pine and Douglas fir forest before taking you high up into the mountains to see sweeping vistas.

You then descend into the valley where the cliff dwellings are located. My new brakes got a workout even though I engine braked as much as I could!

I allotted exactly the right amount of time to visit the cliff dwellings and the visitors’ centre. The next post will have all the details!

I do have to share a bonehead move that almost spoiled my visit. I was coming out of the caves when I had a weird niggle about my truck keys. I emptied out my purse and had to admit that I didn’t have them. Never mind getting a locksmith all the way out there, just think of how much stuff I had in the truck!

I suspected that I had left them at the counter where you have to pay or fill out your pass information. That was more likely than the keys having fallen out along my walk. So I swiftly made my way back down to the entrance and there they were, stuck on an information post and being minded by a ranger! Oy!

I went to grab them and he said, “Woah, how do I know those are yours?” I actually thought he was serious and went to pull out my truck registration and he burst out laughing. A lady he was talking to said, “I don’t think anyone but the owners of those keys would be so glad to see them!”

There was a similar incident on the way down in the fall and after it happened, I thought that I really should get a chain or lanyard and wear them around my neck when I’m traveling like this. Lesson learned and I will buy a lanyard!

But all was well that ended well and I was able to get back on the road by 3:00, with my ETA being just shy of 6:00. No, I wasn’t rushed, I just demonstrated commendable time management skills and was lucky that nothing happened to delay me! 🙂

It was slooow going to T or C. I only had about 175KM/109Mi to go, but it took three hours! It was just more of the same twistiness and up and down all the way to I-25. There was a really long downhill stretch with steep curves where I just stuck the truck in first gear and slow poked my way down, pulling over for the speedy Gonzalezes less worried about burning out their brakes.

Can you see how one side of the payment is pink and the other is grey?

The entire hillside was ravaged by forest fire.

Approaching I-25. That’s the kind of camper I want, one with off-road capability!

I was surprise that the highway doesn’t go through T or C.

It was a short drive off I-25 to my apartment in T or C, which I found without any problems. I’d been told that a key would be left for me in a certain spot and it was there.

The apartment is advertised as ‘quirky’ and it certainly is. I’ll post pictures tomorrow. It has a large bedroom, a combination kitchen/living/dining room, and a wet room with a toilet and shower. The kitchen has a really cute gas stove and is pretty well equipped, but there’s no toaster, microwave, or sharp knives! The neighbourhood feels a little desolate and there’s a surprising amount of traffic, but I think that will go down as it gets later. So far, I like it. We’ll see how I feel after a few days! It’s going to be cool tonight and I’m going to see how useful the heater is.

There is barely any cell service here and I can’t get data to work. 🙁 BUT there’s wifi! Happy surprise!!!

I was beat when I got in, so the first priority was food. There’s a grocery store across the street (!), so I went in to get something with which to make dinner and breakfast. I’ll do a better shop tomorrow when I’m not so exhausted and can think up a menu. I came in and made up hash browns, Polish sausage, and a red pepper, a pretty decent meal, although I should have bought some oil to keep the food from sticking to the pan. I used water to steam the meal instead, more healthy, but not as tasty. I have tons of leftovers, so I’m try the meal again with a little cheese . 🙂

I treated myself to not only English muffins but a jar of peanut butter for my breakfasts this week. And when I say a jar of peanut butter, I mean the kind with sugar and oil in it, not the all natural kind I normal eat, like Jiffy or Squirrel brand. I haven’t had that in ages and ages. But I did have all natural peanut butter a few times this winter, courtesy of the peanut vendor by the police station on Isla. (For those of you who are paying attention, I’ll toast the English muffins in the pan!)

The last few nights of little sleep are catching up with me. I’m going to do the dwellings post, then call it a night. I have heaps of work to do by Friday night, so I doubt I’ll get out to see much of T or C until the weekend.

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A Life By Design

"Sometimes in life, we reach to a right place by departing from a wrong port with a wrong ship!" ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

New Mexico

Cozy

Typing

My Quirky Truth or Consequences Apartment

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

Silver City, NM, to Truth or Consequences, NM