Deming 4

 Another nice day at Hidden Valley Ranch.  We had a midday hike on some 44 wheeler trails outside the main gate, and then took off cross country after the trail petered out.  Had lunch under a Cottonwood tree and then followed the wash back to camp.  So Skye had a 3 mile off leash adventure.

We spent some time talking to one of the camp workers in the office.  She and her husband have been here for 26 years.  She does the morning shift in the office and he used to do a lot of carpentry and maintenance work here when he was healthy.  She said she’s 84 but doesn’t look it!

This evening we went with Roy, Tom, Carol and another couple from camp to go out for some fried cod and potato soup.  Tom has raved about the potato soup for a few days and Friday is their cod night.  I thoroughly enjoy it.  Carlene, not quite as much.

I’m quail hunting with Tom & Roy tomorrow.  Carlene & Skye are hiking.

Looking back towards camp

Saw these guys as we went out to eat.  There were at least 7, the others didn’t all show for a single photo.

Deming 3

 This was a fun day for everyone.  Andy went quail hunting with Roy and Tom and Tom’s friends Jerry and Smokey.  The 3 guys from the RV Park each have dogs, four between them.  So we had plenty of bird dogs, 5 hunters, miles of open land… but no birds.  We didn’t see a single quail.  We had fun, got some exercise, saw some scenery, and cattle.  The range land (State) is leased by ranchers who graze cattle on it.

Meanwhile Carlene and Skye had a long off leash walk in the wash again.  And after hunting all 3 of us had another off leash walk in the wash.  Each time it’s a slightly different part of the wash that gets explored.  So there is a little variation in scenery.

Not sure what we’re doing tomorrow.  We’ll find something.

Sunrise

Carlene & Skye’s morning walk:

The hunt, a lot of fun just watching the dogs work

The afternoon walk

Saw this buck at the front gate when driving back

He and 2 doe hang out around camp

Deming 2

Cool day.  It was in the 50s but with some wind.  I went with Tom and Roy on some errands in Deming in the morning and while I was gone Carlene and Skye had a long walk around the park and out in the dry wash. Despite yesterday’s rain the wash was still very dry. 

After lunch the 3 of us had another walk in the wash.  This time Skye was off leash and ran herself ragged. This evening she was ready to sleep right after supper. 

She found a stick!

Luckily Skye did not see this guy. Easier to hold her when she isn’t overly motivated to go get something. 

Hidden Valley Ranch RV camp, Deming, NM

 It was a Good day of traveling from Van Horn TX to Deming NM, around 230 miles.   It seems like pretty flat roads but I know it’s climbing most of the way. The Continental Divide is just a bit west of here.  That too looks flat this far south.  

Met up with Rancho Roy, he arrived yesterday. He was in the same rv place as us just a day before.  He left MA a week ago and tomorrow makes 3 weeks for us.  He is also going to EOT (the cowboy shoot in Phoenix). If you followed this blog last year he and Tom are two of the guys I went quail hunting with last year.  Might again this year!

BTW, anytime I use odd sounding names it is a cowboy alias, so you know it’s one of my Cowboy Action Shooting friends. 

Cell coverage here at the ranch is pretty slim. WiFi is good in the clubhouse but sporadic outside.  So I’ll go in there to post this. 

It’s remote because this is a working ranch that has a campground as a side business.  Many of the campers are permanent residents, more are here for the winter and most of those are here every winter.  People like us who come for a few days are a minority.  But many who started this way worked their way up in the time frame.

Various locations in west Texas and New Mexico:

Art work on a large scale.  Connex boxes

They take a decorative approach to overpasses out here 

Sleeping on my coat instead of her bed in the back seat of the truck

Enjoying a good scratch

Van Horn TX

 A pretty short day at 176 or so miles, 4 hours including a couple stops.  Once in town we got fuel, found some propane, got groceries.  The little store in Terlingua was pricey, that comes with being remote.  Once we get to the camp in Deming we won’t be coming back out for shopping either.  That 7 miles of gravel road doesn’t encourage impulse shopping.

I missed noting a couple wildlife sightings in BBNP. Down at the Rio Grande Village I saw a coyote rotting around in the brush.  Right at the parking area and not 50 yds from the camping.  But he was still being reclusive and not coming out n full view.  And a couple of days earlier we saw a deer just off the road in a fairly open area.  Not that there were any woods nearby.  It was a buck with a fair size rack, 6 points or more.  I still have not found out when deer shed out here.

Another short day tomorrow, about 230 to Deming.  All on I-10.  That’s about the only road crossing these parts.

Big Bend 6, Happy Birthday Skye!

 Today is Skye’s second birthday and she ended up having a pretty good day.

We were planning on a hike in the park, but it was cloudy, cool and a bit drizzly here.  Then we checked the forecast in the park, cooler, cloudy and rainy.  Well, 38 and rain didn’t cut it so we stayed here.  Carlene cleaned up the camper, I reorganized the rear storage, put some air in the tires, and a couple other things.  By then the sky had cleared so we went back out behind camp where we were a couple days ago so Skye could run free again.  That was a good time, we wandered a bit more, saw some good flowers etc. and very interesting rocks.  Walked out a ridge we had just looked at before.

When we got back to camp the neighbors we’d met the first night were outside watching football on the outdoor TV so we talked a while.

After supper Skye had her birthday dessert, a raw hamburger with 2 candles.  She really enjoyed that!

Off to Van Horn TX and Deming NM the next day.