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Published: March 10th 2017
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We sure loved that little campground in Mayhill NM, but when the sun went down, it got cold. We had gotten spoiled, I guess, but the reason it was so green there was that it was at almost 7000' -- and it cools off up there at night. I put our ventless propane heater on, but it was acting oddly. The blue flame, usually silent, was pulsing and making an odd noise. Worse, it would only do that for maybe 5 minutes, and then it would just go out. So I gave up on it, and turned it off. I stayed up for a bit after Cathy turned in, and I could feel it getting colder in the trailer. Still, it was 57F when I headed for the bunk -- not too bad. I awoke later in the night, and now, it was COLD. I was OK all bundled up, but down at the bottom of the bed, my feet were cold, I knew I would have to get up and put on some socks. While up, I decided to try the heater again, but it just would not stay lit. I checked the thermometer in the galley, and it read
39F now -- a bit chilly. Nothing for it but to climb back in bed, pull the covers over my head, and try to sleep until it warmed up again.
Of course, that was a fool's hope. It was still colder when I got up at 6:30. It was clear though, and getting lighter, so soon it would really begin to warm. I dressed in everything I had handy, and took a look out the window -- there was a mule deer looking right at me about 15' away. There were lots of them out there, and they only took off when I opened the door. They are fun to watch. They look similar to our whitetails, but they move differently. They have a springing motion when they run, more like an antelope, interesting.
I rigged up my fly rod and tried to entice one of the trout (browns and rainbows, I was told) in the little stream next to where we were camped, but no luck. I had seen one the night before, and spotted a couple of rises. Cathy came out, hoping, I'm sure, to record my success - but no dice. After that we got
ready to leave. Among all the other features of this great little camp, they had a LP gas refill station, so I filled up the one tank we had been using (we have two) for the entire trip. It still wasn't empty, but Jimmy the manager topped it up for us.
Then we headed down the road to Cloudcroft NM. There's a ski mountain there, but when we drove by it was clear that, even at almost 9000', skiing was done for the 2016/17 season. There was some snow left, but not enough for operations to continue. There was even a bit of white to be found elsewhere, in shady areas it could be seen here and there. I was a bit apprehensive as we passed the town proper. There is a truck inspection area for tractor trailers, and they are not allowed to attempt the coming down grade unless everything is in tip-top shape. The decent from this point is 4000' in 16 miles, with the average grade near 6%. After our brake problems of yesterday, this information was certainly putting a knot in my sphincter. The top section is very twisty too, with a speed limit of
only 35 mph. As soon as we started down we could see, off to the west and far below, the famous White Sands. I cycled the brakes to keep them cool as possible, and I rolled a bit more balance onto the trailer brakes as well. We took our time, and didn't worry about pissing off those caught behind us. After 20 minutes or so, we bottomed out and stopped to fuel up at a nearby service station. Cathy was alarmed that you could detect a burning smell from our brakes, but I was not, they had been given a real work out and had done their job admirably. To paraphrase Martha Stewart -- "When motoring in the mountains, brakes are a good thing!"
After that we skirted around Alamagordo and headed to the White Sands National Monument, and another variation of desert. We drove the loop trail there through the blazing glare of the gypsum dunes. We got out for a bit of exploration, and after walking a few steps I thought to myself "Man, I should have worn my sunglasses!" only then to realize -- I WAS wearing my sunglasses... It was interesting to hike around there. The east sides (downwind) of the dunes were steep, with very loose sand, hard to climb. The west sides had a gentler slope, and were more firm. The tops of the dunes were flat, and very hard, almost like pavement. Anywhere, if you worked your feet down even a few inches, the sand felt cool and damp. We sat on a towel in the pleasant warmth and had a light snack. Then it was back on the road, past the White Sands Missile Range, and on to Las Cruses, then onto I10 west for a bit. At Deming we headed back onto secondary roads, heading north and west to Silver City, where we landed at the Rose Valley RV Ranch. Here, we have climbed up again into a land of greenery and trees -- the west sure can be confusing. We're going to do two nights here, to rest a bit and see the sights. This campground is a big place, well run and nice, if almost a bit too cute?
After this it will be up into the Gila National Forest for a couple days, then up north to tour Santa Fe. At that point, I'm afraid, we will be pointing our noses back east -- the snow is going at home, and it's time to get back to work.
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