Back in Hemet, California

Our site, # 584, at Golden Village Palms, the same site we had for 5 months last winter.

 We are back Hemet for a month.  We usually drive 100-250 miles a day when we change locations, but we decided to head back to Hemet a day early.  We left Deming, New Mexico and drove past Gila Bend, Arizona, which was our projected next stop.  I kept driving and drove through the entire state of Arizona, stopping for one night in Blyth, California, 502 miles later.  That is the longest stretch we've ever driven.  We are back in Hemet for both of us to see our doctors, take in a few TV shows in L.A. and spend a good deal of time in the 3 pools and 3 hot tubs.  It was 91 when we arrived yesterday and could hit 100 degrees today.  Today will be laundry day, as we have neglected that chore for two weeks.  The blog will slow down some, as it should be a restful month overall. 

Deming, New Mexico

We are still in Deming and today we started today at the Deming-Luna Mimbres Museum.  We had read about this museum on Trip Advisor and everyone who has gone there raved about it.  It in fact is a great museum.  Part of the museum is about the Mimbres Indians who inhabited the area that is now western New Mexico and eastern Arizona.  They had a great Mimbres area showing weapons, household tools, arrowheads, tools, and lots of pottery.  Also in the museum are rooms of quilts, dolls, (including one found by an American at the Hiroshima bomb site) a cowboy exhibit, a Bataan display and displays about liquor bottles, rocks and geodes, military, an art gallery, the Bessie May room which had all the antique furniture owned by Bessie May.  There was a transportation wing with all sorts of vehicles, the old jail, period shops, and Indian crafts.  Upstairs, which is under renovation, has just as many exhibits.  We stopped for lunch and then headed north.
Next stop was 30 miles north to The City of Rocks State Park.  It is called a "city" because these they say that the rocks resemble buildings and there are walkways, which they call streets or alleys. Just think, in the middle of the arid desert there are all of these huge boulders and rocks.  How did they get here?  Then, an ocean that is no longer within a thousand miles, carved these rocks.  Amazing!

                                                                                   The Deming Luna-Mimbres Museum

A fully stocked Chuckwagon

Thunder Eggs

Geodes

                                                                        

Suzie, brought back from the Hiroshima Bomb site

Raggedy Ann and Andy

Snow White and the 7 dwarfs

A beautiful New Mexico inspired quilt

Debbie with a hand carved clock

Mimbres pottery (when the bottom wears out from stirring, it was discarded

The Mimbres really took the time to decorate every bowl

Mimbres bows and arrows

The Mimbres Indians also made beautiful baskets

                                                                                                     The City of Rocks

What does that look like to you?

How does that rock sit there and not fall over?

See the picnic table under the balanced rock

Debbie coming down the trail

It just sits up there

The trail upward

I could not squeeze through.

A desert cactus

This was a great park

                                                                         

LowHi RV Park, Deming, New Mexico

We are in Deming, New Mexico at LowHi RV Park.  LoWHi is the headquarters for Loners on Wheels,  (LoW) a club for those widows, widowers and singles to travel the country by themselves or in groups.  Anyone can stay here, so we are.  It is a great campground with great people.  On our first night we attended a potluck dinner and got to make several new friends.  It is a large campground with everything but a pool or hot tub.
On our second day we drove to La Mesilla, a nice town with a lot of Spanish influence.  Plenty of adobe style homes, Mexican restaurants, plenty of quaint shops, and a nice town square.  At the head of the square is the Basilica of San Albino.  Debbie purchased a new shirt and I got 2 pair of jeans, and we both indulged in some chocolate at The Chocolate Lady. We ate at the only Italian restaurant around, owned by John Pullaro, born in New York City, but grew up and owned 3 restaurants in Ybor City/Tampa, our former home.  We had a nice visit with him.
We are now heading back toward Hemet, California for a month, then 6 weeks in Mesa, Arizona, (while we fly out and back to New York and to Tampa for the holidays) and then back to Hemet for three months. While in Hemet, Debbie already has us set up to visit two or three TV shows, The Doctors on 10/19, The Talk on 10/31, and hopefully The Ellen Show prior to 3/31/13.  Debbie has been trying for over a year to get Ellen tickets.

Our campsite at LowHi

The view out our back window

Shops along the town square in La Mesilla

The Basilica San Albino

TWO YEARS ON THE ROAD = 21 STATES VISITED

  

                                                                                      

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta - The Morning Launch!

It is a cold Sunday morning, 37 degrees, but we are at the Balloon Fiesta.  We had Breakfast Burritos (eggs, bacon, cheese and potatoes) inside a tortilla, yum!  The coffee warmed us up a bit, but Debbie could never shake the cold weather.  538 balloons went up.  Once again, we can't show you them all, but we did post our favorites.  This is one of those things that you must put on your bucket list. 

The Ascension begins

The Creamland Cow

Humpty Dumpty

One strange dude

Ladybug

ELVIS was here!

Horton the Elephant

A Carousel

Wells Fargo's giant Stagecoach

Zebra

Winking Cat

Super FWR (from Canada)

A very happy Frog

A Penguin on vacation

Darth Vader

The Lion King

A Gargoyle

The backside of the Astronaut balloon and Tweety Bird

Panda

The tallest balloon at the Fiesta- THE HAPPY CACTUS

Cold, Bundled up, but very happy!