Blogs from Clayton, New Mexico, United States, North America

Driving West on US Hwy 64 I made a stop at a picnic area East of Des Moines, New Mexico to view Capulin Volcano. (Note: A week before I called the New Mexico Department of Transportation; and they told me that the New Mexico rest areas and picnic areas are free legal camps, but visitors can not put up tents or other structures.) I drove on to the Town of Capulin, and then drove North on New Mexico Hwy 325 to Capulin Volcano National Monument. At the visitors center they charged a $20 entry fee. Instead I showed them my senior park pass and a photo ID, and I was good to go for free. The narrow road spiraled up the volcano to the parking lot at the low spot on the crater rim. From the ... read more

Clayton Lake State Park, Clayton, New Mexico We knew we were in no shape to drive all the way home yesterday. It would have been a long grueling 450 mile trip and we would have arrived to face the mountain road and docking the trailer at dusk. That didn't seem either fun or safe, so we decided to do a fairly long driving day and then a short one today, getting us in at a decent hour in the afternoon. We took Interstate 40 west to Amarillo and stopped for lunch at one of the many steakhouses lining the frontage road. When in the Texas panhandle, you eat steak, of course, so I had a steak dinner for lunch. We ate on the patio and were able to bring the girls with us - it was ... read more

TOM KETCHUM Tom bore a striking physical resemblance to Black Jack Will Christian. Both men were outlaws operating in the Arizona and New Mexico Territories at the same time. Tom was sometimes mistaken for Will until the appellation “Black Jack” got itself attached to Tom’s name also. It was not a thing that Tom cared much for; he preferred to be feared and respected for his own misdeeds. As bad men go Will Christian was the case-hardened, spit-in-your-eye, genuine article. Tom was the sort of bonehead who relied upon his menacing persona rather than an organized plan where some sort of criminal activity was concerned. Consequently Tom rarely met with grand success. The booty he took was generally such a disappointment that he disliked giving the outlaws who rode with him a ... read more

The drive to Colorado’s western slopes at the start of Labor Day Weekend was scenic with valleys, meadows and mountains. Our visit with the Williams' included a wonderful daylong trip to see the wild mustangs of Northwestern Colorado, a farmer's market in Steamboat Springs, driving through the canyons and along the mountain ridges of Rocky Mountain National Park and fishing and camping at Wolford Lake. While it rained our first day, the weather was cool (middle 30's overnight and in the 70's during the day) and clear and sunny most of the time. The fellowship and sharing of memories of past SMART musters added to the marvelous culinary delights. We've noticed that every farm house has an RV trailer or motor-home and the outdoors life of hiking, biking and hunting is ever present. Colorado has great ... read more