Goose Lake - Red River, New Mexico

Today we took the 7-mile, 4wd road up to Goose Lake with friends from the RV Park, Charley, Chanda, Gary and Sandy. The road wasn't too bad and took about 1.25 hours to reach Goose Lake. We spotted some mountain goats on the ridge across the lake. We walked around a little and found a spot to have lunch. Y brought some leftover nuts to feed to the chipmunks. On the return trip, Y spotted a doe and fawn.

Goose Lake (elevation 11,500')

Mountain Goats on the far ridge.

The local "moochers"

Local flora

Alpacas - Mora, New Mexico

Our weekly excursion was to the Victory Ranch of Mora, to learn about and feed the alpacas. Alpacas are related to camels and llamas, and are raised for their fiber (fur). The fiber is very soft and warm, and is highly sought after for socks, gloves, coats and scarfs. The alpacas are very friendly and like to eat from your hands. They have no upper teeth, so you don't have to worry about them biting your hand. The alpacas are protected from predators by several Great Pyrenees dogs.

Rick sporting one of his favorite shirts.

Y and friend.

After leaving the Victory Ranch, we drove into town for some great Mexican food at one of our favorite restaurants in the area...Hatches. All meals are followed by a basket of freshly-made sopapillas...with honey of course!

Geocaching Frenzy - Eagle Nest, New Mexico

Today we went on a geocaching frenzy. We drove the Enchanted Circle (85-mile loop from Eagle Nest to Red River, Questa, Taos, Angel Fire back to Eagle Nest) and picked up 12 geocaches! One cache was placed by a clever person. It was designed as part of a gas meter. See pictures below.

Greenie Peak - Red River, New Mexico

Today, we took a ride up to one of our favorite spots...Greenie Peak (11,240'). The road was pretty good, although it requires 4wd and high clearance. From the top you can see Eagle Nest Lake and several of the surrounding peaks.

After Greenie Peak, we headed down toward Midnight Meadow. The road was fairly narrow and full of mud/water pits. One pit was about 2/3rds up the Jeep's wheels.

One of the meadows along the way.

We then headed over past Midnight Mine to pick up a geocache. We had to park the Jeep about a third of a mile from the location and hike the rest of the way. It was a very steep decent down to the location. That meant it would be a VERY steep incline on the way back. Once at the location of the geocache, the GPS pointed toward a steep hill...about 300' straight up! It was very difficult climbing up to the cache, but I made it. The hike back to the Jeep was similarly difficult. The 1/3 of a mile felt more like 2/3 of a mile...with the steep ascent.

View from the cache location. Notice the steep climb.

Cowboy Evening - Red River, New Mexico

This evening we, along with Jay & Joanne and others from the RV Park, drove up to Bobcat Pass for the Cowboy Evening. We enjoyed a great rib-eye steak, cowboy beans, corn-on-the-cob, potato, and biscuits...all cooked out on the grill and dutch ovens. Entertainment was provided by Dulcimer Dan and others. It turns out that Jay knew Dulcimer Dan a number of years ago, when Dan visited the music store Jay used to own in Albuquerque. Following dinner, Jerry was chosen to participate in the "stick horse" demonstration. He didn't win, but sure put on a show!

Joanne & Jay

Dulcimer Dan

Jerry with his trusty steed, Slow Poke

Golden Eagle RV Park Workcampers 2010

On another note, our water heater has developed a leak on the part of the tank that protrudes out for the pop-off valve. The water is dripping on the outside of the trailer. It is still usable, but had to order another one...OUCH!

3 Hour Tours - Eagle Nest, New Mexico

This week's tour was to the old town of Cimarron. We stopped at the recently-remodeled Saint James Hotel, known for the numerous gun battles that took place there, and the colorful celebrities who stayed there (such as Bat Masterson, Jesse James, Wild Bill Cody, Clay Allison, etc). We walked around town viewing some of the historic buildings, including the old jail. We returned to the hotel for a nice lunch in their dining room.

Enjoying lunch in the Saint James Hotel dining room / bar.

After the tour, we remained in Cimarron to find a few geocaches. One of the caches took us through the Philmont Scout Ranch and a great view of the Tooth of Time. Chris and I stood on the pinnacle of the mountain during our scout trek in 1993.


On Thursday, a group of us took a ride up to Cabresto Lake (outside of Questa). The ride consisted of about 10 miles of dusty gravel road, then 2 miles of 4x4 road. We ate lunch and enjoyed the serenity of the lake. We returned to the park just before the afternoon rainstorm.

Us with Charlene & Jerry and Chanda & Charlie

Today, Joanne and Jay are bringing their rig up to Eagle Nest for the weekend. We look forward to their visit.

Wedding Anniversary - Eagle Nest, New Mexico

Today we celebrate our
33rd Wedding Anniversary!

A lot had happened in 33 years: we pursued our careers, raised two great kids, retired, began our full-timing lifestyle, and now get to enjoy our grandkids (when we are not traveling).


We drove over to Angel Fire to search for a few geocaches (found 2 out of 3). The rain clouds began to form, so we headed home and cooked some steaks on the BBQ, before it started raining.

Catching Up - Eagle Nest, New Mexico

We have been keeping busy this past week...with more geocaching and the weekly tour excursion. This past Friday, we headed to Red River to explore the area and pick up a few geocaches. We took one of the forestry roads to the top of Old Red River Pass. We found one cache along the way and had a nice view of the valley. We took another forestry road that dead-ended at the Wheeler Peak trailhead. We found our last geocache of the day in a nearby meadow. Final count for the day...nine.

Views from Old Red River Pass.

Flora in the meadow at Wheeler Peak trailhead (Carson National Forest)

Our weekly tour was to Trinidad Colorado. There we boarded the city's free tour trolley. We drove around town learning about Trinidad's early history and viewing some of the historic homes and churches. We also stopped at the Mount San Rafael Hospital to view a ceramic historical mural created by Sister Augusta Zimmer in 1980. The mural depicts the history and buildings of Trinidad. The 28x12 foot mural was created and fired in many pieces, then attached to the wall of the hospital. At the end of the tour, we stopped for lunch at the Lucky Monkey...an historic ballroom built in the 1800s. On the drive home we found three geocaches between Raton and Cimarron.

Boarding the Trinidad Trolley.

A couple of the many historic homes in Trinidad.

The Mount San Rafael Hospital Mural (click to enlarge).

Our tour group at the Lucky Monkey.