Goodbye, Caballo! Mooooo!
Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. . . These two are always together.
I wake up intending to leave Riverside Campground before noon.
The crew and I get a late start on our morning walk. It’s already eight o’clock by the time I have a cup a tea and breakfast. Bridget and Spike go back to sleep. They continue sleeping while I get online, answer emails and blog comments, and wander around cyberspace.
I call Chip at Baker’s RV service. He’s back from his elk-hunting trip. We schedule the installation of my Olympian Wave 3 propane heater for next Thursday. I tell him I’ll be sure to be back at Elephant Butte on that day.
The crew wakes up, we take another walk, and before I know it, it’s almost eleven! Where did the time go? I have got to take a shower and wash my hair before we leave. Finally, around 12:30, we hit the road and head south for Leasburg Dam State Park.
Sometimes I do things that don’t make a whole lot of sense.
At least I know they don’t make sense while I’m doing them. Why do I head south when I have to be north of Caballo next Thursday? I’ll tell you why. Impulse. That’s all. No logic. Maybe all this travelling around has me unable to stay in one area for too long. All I know is I have the urge to go somewhere new, to roll over some asphalt, to move on! To add to my poor decision-making, I’m going to arrive at Leasburg on a Friday afternoon at the start of a holiday weekend.
What the heck! We’re going!
We arrive in mid-afternoon. The park’s landscape is desert. It’s well-cared for with several, rock-lined walking trails. I drive into the electric loop, scanning the campsites for one that’s available. I find one that’s empty, pull in, set up the dog pen, put the crew in it, and start filling out the pay form. I go out to the campsite marker to get the site number . . . Oh no! It’s reserved for three days starting tomorrow! Darn!
I pack up the dog pen and the crew, and pull out of the site.
I find another site that isn’t reserved and set up. I could make a phone call and reserve this site for the weekend, but I don’t want to pay the ten dollar fee. Maybe I’m being cantankerous, but I don’t feel like reserving a site I’m already sitting in. I’ll take my chances that we won’t be booted out tomorrow. If we have to move, big deal, we move.
The late afternoon sun shines across a curved walkway.
My first mishap!
After supper the crew and I go out to look around. Our site is nice. The Casita sits on a perfectly level concrete pad. Well, I had placed my damp towel from this morning’s shower on the picnic table to dry out. I walk over to get it, and when I turn back toward the Casita, my foot catches on the edge of the concrete pad, and down I go . . . as my father used to say . . .bless his soul . . . “ass over teakettle.”
Ow! Right on my knee! Boy, does that hurt!
I sit on the concrete and suffer for a moment. I realize I’m okay. No harm done. In fact I start to feel pretty good that I can take a tumble like that on concrete and not break anything!
I’m glad we came here, even if we have to turn around and go back north in a few days.
A circular place to gather in front of an outdoor fireplace.
Tomorrow the crew and I will explore our new home. There’s a cactus garden here with indentification markers. Maybe I’ll learn the names of cacti. We can walk some of the well-marked trails in and around the campground. I’ll take some photos. There’s always something special about a new backyard!
Somebody's tired. It's time to go home.
rvsue
rvsue and her canine crew 