Flying "J" Ranch Chuckwagon Dinner and Show

 After returning from the Trinity Site the other day, we hooked up with friends, Chuck and Sharon, for dinner. Of course this wasn't just any ordinary dinner, it was a Chuckwagon dinner and show, up in the mountain town of Ruidoso, NM.

 The dinner and show take place at the Flying "J" Ranch. They have set the place up as an old western town, with plenty to keep you entertained while waiting for dinner to be served. There are several shops with all kinds of goodies for sale.

 And this is what happens when you tell Sheryl she can't buy anything from the shops!!!

 Sheryl found this original RV, needs alittle work, but all in all not bad.

 There is also a gunfight in the street to keep you entertained. Best part is, they add alot of comedy into all their routines, which helped make for a fun evening.

 Our friends Chuck and Sharon.

 After dinner, the show began, it was interesting to see, the same folks who worked the shops and served dinner were also the entertainment. We were pleasantly surprised at how good they could all sing and perform.

Even Granny came out for a surprise performance!!!

We had a great time, of course after the fact it dawned on me, I was so hungry, I forgot to take pics of the dinner. The dinner was served Chuckwagon style on old metal plates and drinks in tin cups. The brisket was so tender you could cut it with your fork, plus beans (I got an extra helping just for Sheryl.....lol) fire baked potato, biscuits, rustic applesauce and cake........yummy!!!

We got home around 10:00 after the hour or so drive down the mountain. It sure made for a looooong day after getting up at 5:00 for the Trinity Tour, but we had a great day. Again, if you are ever over this way in southern NM, check out the dinner, it's a great time and great dinner.

So, until next time, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!

Trinity Site Visit

 Oct 1st, was the second of only two tours per year of the Trinity Site (site of the first nuclear explosion in 1945) in central New Mexico. I toured the site a couple of years ago, however Sheryl had not had the chance yet, until now. There are two ways to get out to the site which is located on the White Sands Missile Range. First is to drive to the main gate area and then drive out to the site. For those of us in the Alamogordo area, the Chamber of Commence arranges with the Army to convoy across the missile range, thus cutting 50 miles off the drive. That is the route we took this year, we all met at the local High School, approx 75 vehicles and headed out at 8:00.

 Once in a while the convoy would have to stop or slow down for various reasons, so Sheryl jumped out to snap this shot. The drive was approx 70 miles across the missile range to the Trinity Site. There is photography allowed on the way to the site, so no pics of the vast expanse of the range.

 We arrived at the site around 10:00. Once you arrive it is a 1/4 mile walk from the outer fence line to the inner fence and the actual site. At the outer fence there are a couple of displays and various goodies for sale.

 The site itself contains the monument, a small patch of preserved area under cover (which you can not see) and a example of one of the bombs dropped on Japan.

The monument marks ground zero, the exact spot of the device when exploded. The device was placed on a tower approx 100 feet high (which was vaporized during the explosion) to simulate the above ground detonation when dropped from a plane.

 Around the fence line there are several pictures depicting life at the base camp and the testing itself.

 You can also take a 2 mile bus ride out to the McDonald Ranch House where the scientist assembled the Plutonium Core for placement in the bomb. There are also several displays in the Ranch House explaining the process and what went on there.

At the Ranch House, there are other out buildings you can explore (stable, windmill and bunk house). It was a good tour and I was glad we were in the area so Sheryl could see it. The site is located way out on the missile range and in the proverbial "middle of nowhere". It was a good but long day and we had a great time together. I highly recommend the tour if you are ever down this way. There is really not alot to it, except the feeling of visiting such a place that shaped history forever.

Our day wasn't over yet, we met up with some friends for a Chuck Wagon Dinner and Show up in the mountains, but we'll save that for the next post as this ones long enough already.

Take Care and we'll see you back here soon.

Happy Birthday To Sheryl

Happy Birthday to my lovely young bride. This birthday is very special to both of us as it marks a new chapter in our lives for various reasons we will keep to ourselves. But I will say they are very good reasons.

 

 The day started with giving Sheryl her gift. She had seen this purse at the gift shop here at the RV park when we first pulled and fell in love with it. So a week later I just knew it would be the perfect gift for her birthday.

 Next, it was what to do for the day??? We decided to head up into the mountains for the day and escape the desert heat. Our first thought was lunch in the mountain town of Ruidoso at one of our favorite little lunch spots.

 Well on our way up the mountains, Sheryl said she wanted to check out the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino that everyone here brags about. We both had our reservations about what it would be like, however we decided to check it out. One thing I must say is, we were very pleasantly surprised. The resort is beautiful and is situated on a clear mountain lake. They had a Sunday Brunch going at the Buffet, but we both said that would be such a waste for the cost as we both don't eat that much. We found the other restaurant in the resort and had a great breakfast there.

 We were lucky and scored a window seat with views of the lake and mountains.

 After lunch it was still pretty early so a Sunday drive through the mountains was in order. We drove through Ruidoso, but decided not to stop as it is just one big tourist trap (we hate places like that) and just spent time driving and enjoying the scenery.

 As we were coming down out of the mountains I remembered hearing about a small ghost town a few miles away. Ok, well more than just a few miles, but still in the same area as things go, so off we went. Upon arriving we were a bit disappointed, the town was there, however several of the buildings and homes had been bought and were being renovated. Most had no trespassing signs out so we could only look from afar.

 One that still had some public access was the old School House built in the late 1800s.

 There was this old safe on display outside, the sign says it was blown open during a robbery.

 As this was a mining boom town in its day, the wealthy town folk, built some beautiful homes out here in the middle of the desert mountains. After that it was just the ride home. All toll, our Sunday drive consisted of 150 miles of beautiful scenery and great company.

I leave you with this parting shot of just what this duck thought about having his picture taken. We had a great day together and looking forward to many more during our travels as Sheryl's back gets better and stronger.
Ok, that's it for now and keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours.

Eagle Ranch Pistachio's

 I know, I'm a bit behind in this post, but as I said before, dang if that life thing just didn't throw a monkey wrench in the works. Good news is, we beat life back and are on our way to living and loving it again. Ok, on to the post. We visited the Eagle Ranch Pistachio farm a couple of days after visiting the other one. I must say this one was a much better experience. The farm offers a tour as well as wine tastings and much nicer facility.

 During the tour, we learned, there is a male tree and a female tree. The male tree is larger and the branches point upward (typical male...lol) The female tree is smaller and the branches naturally point downward from the weight of the pistachios. The male tree are planted along the prevailing wind edge of the grove, so the wind can pollinate the female trees. We also learned the pistachio nuts are covered by a soft spongy membrane, this membrane allow the nuts shell to split open when its ripe and time to pick. So the nut splits on its own, and we all thought it split during the roasting process.....ahhhhh how Mother Nature has her way of fooling us.

 As with all modern plants the pistachios are first processed by machine.

 However, the final process is done by human eye, by these hard working ladies who have a keen eye for the bad ones that slip by. Below are some of my favorite pics from the day.

It was a good day, we did have to leave early as part of the tour included the final processing. In this processing room, the chili dust used to flavor the nuts was just unbearable for both of us to breath and affected us for a while after we left.
If all goes well, we should be headed out on the road again in just under 3 weeks......woooo hooooo!!! We ave a few places we want to see before we leave, so we'll be hitting those soon. Take Care and Keep Lovin Your Life as we do Ours......see ya next time.

Organ, NM.

 Organ, NM. is located east of Las Cruces at he foot of the mountain range separating it from the White Sands Missile Range. The small town started as a mining community in 1883 before drying up. It hosted military personnel during the Atom Bomb testing days, as the testing wore down, so did the little it. The town now stands empty along Hwy 70, you may just see it as a few abandoned buildings and annoying drop in the speed limit as you pass by. Here are a few pictures I stopped to take the other day. Enjoy.

Stop and check out some of the old abandoned towns during your travels, and relive a small piece of American History.
Take Care and remember to Love Your Life everyday!!!

Ole Glory and a Trip to the Mountains

 Ever since we bought the 5th wheel, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to mount a flag on her. As I have said before, sometimes the simplest solutions avaid me, then one day I'll have that Ah Ha moment!!  Well this week that Ah Ha moment came around, simply drilled and mounted the flag pole holder to the Kingpin box.

 A couple of metal screws and it's solid as a rock. Ole Glory's mount has even been tested pretty good, as we've had some pretty windy days lately as some cool fronts have been pushing through. I must say, I love the way the flag looks flying in the breeze mounted on the front of the rig!!!

 This week I also had some business to take care of over in Las Cruces, NM., so while I was there I thought I'd do a little exploring in the Dona Ana Mountains. The mountain lie just northeast of Las Cruces, between the White Sand Missle Range and I-25. The mountains are public land belonging to the BLM.

 I have been to the mountains before with the Jeep, but that was much farther north. I have never been to the southern area so that was this days adventure. I was ony out for a couple of hours and manly stuck to the easier trails as I was alone.

 All the trails out here are actually pretty easy, no real tech rock crawling reqired. What makes them give you alittle pucker factor is they can be very very steep both up and down as well as alittle sidways. I'll leave those for a later trip when I have some other folks around.

I love the vastness of the west, you can lose yourself for days out here and never see another sole, it's great when you just need to get away from it all. I must say ole Red performed very well out there, she's not the Jeep by any means, just have to get used to the stiff suspention and light rear end.

Just a quick update, it's been a crazy week or so as life hit us square in the face again, but we're fighting the good fight and thats all we can do.

Take Care and see ya next time.