Another Adventure on Day Three

 Clovis, New Mexico (way too many pics again)

Last evening was awful for noise. I'm not sure if it's because I'm thinking of quieter stays ahead or what, but, it really ticked me off. On Saturday, Apr. 4th we were all up by 6:45.

Good morning!

At least the showoffs were done by 10:45, just before store closing so it wasn't too long after that we dropped off to sleep. Bill did a lot of driving so was asleep quickly, as was Mr. Leroy Jethro Gibbs.🥰

Cameras never do the views justice.
Bottom picture is the Organ Mountains
in - where else? Organ.

I packed a cooler, Bill had his cereal, made our drinks and we were on the road by 7:45. A stop for fuel at a nearby Maverick using our Mudflap app for us typed up at $5.35/gal. Pathetic, yes, but better than it has been (over 6$).

Nope, not snow, but white sands.
White Sands Missile Range

We got on I-10E easily and although a strong crosswind this morning again, we are grateful it isn't a headwind. The Suite handled it well. The day was warm already, 66F/16C, so no complaints! Gibbs took Miss Piggy with him in the truck today and has settled down within 15 minutes. 

He just can't go to sleep. 💕

Not sure that is the reason or if it is the 'sleepy' pill we gave him but something is working.  Duh! Shouldn't have spoke because he was still up and down much of the ride. 🤣

This is US70E, a drive through
a forest that we love to take.

We traveled through Las Cruces and at Exit 144 we caught I-25N and then Exit 6 back on to US70E. The Organ Mountains were quite jagged, different than most we've seen. We love this drive, great highway, through Alamogordo through Tularosa to 6000' elevation. 

Then, at Roswell, we turn 
onto US70N and we get a very boring
drive for 90 minutes.

Feels like northern Ontario, kind of like our Provincial parks, just lovely. However, it all comes to an end and we are soon on a different section of US70N. After we turned at Roswell, it is a long, straight, smooth highway, with flatlands and pastures on both sides. Puts you to sleep.

We finally came to 
Elida, a small town, with a sense of
humour.
Bathroom humour.

On this highway for 90 minutes and no Rest Areas so once we reached Elida (population: 166) we stopped at a Valero fuel station just for a pit stop and to stretch our legs AND to wake up! By this time, we were only 45 minutes from our destination so I messaged the host of Windrush Alpacas, near Clovis.

Portales, NM

With great instructions, we drove in
and parked before Ric even got out there.

With his wife, Rosemary, away, Ric waited until we got parked as directed and walked over for introductions. What a nice man and a great host. 

Feeding the animals was fun.
They are so gentle taking it from our palms.

He told us about the family animals, gave us some alpacas treats and some people treats and left us to set up. Gibbs wasn't sure about those big animals so chose to return back to safety.

Pens for the boys and pens for the girls.
Separate. No hanky panky anymore.

We had a nice spot on a quiet rode.
I checked out their store and knew I'd
buy something rather than donate.

I walked around myself and fed the brave ones a few snacks, took pictures and perused their small but lovely farm store. Oh, I'll definitely be buying some product before we leave! Bill had a much-needed snooze before Ric messaged that he was doing chores and we were invited to join.

It was comical watching these two
share the food dish.

Bill gets acquainted with Sabre
and Ric feeds him.

Of course! Ric fed the alpacas alfalfa, Sabre, the 32 yr. old horse, his special tummy food, the cat his food and all the hens and roosters too. I don't think we were too helpful, well, Bill helped with the wheelbarrow and food barrels, I just fed the sweet alpacas and took pictures. Too many! It was fun except for when Bill got spit at by a 'testy teenager'. I tried not to laugh, honest!😂

I learned a fair bit about alpacas,
Ric was interesting to listen to
and he's very proud of his farm.
This one on the left is Raign, he's 75% blind
in this eye and completely in the other. 
They are so soft, due for shearing in a week
or so. Really thick fibre/wool.

Ric and Rosemary have been doing this for 28 years and have had over 100 animals. They stopped breeding 10 years ago, realizing that if they lived 20 years, well.......you do the math. They are in their 70's. Then we went into the store and as is appropriate when staying at a H H, you spend or donate. I spent. 😊

The sounds around here are plentiful, but natural, and the winds were non-existent so I opened windows. It was a beautiful afternoon, some light clouds and 66F/16C. The nights are cool, probably 39F/4 or 5C (yikes!) but we have propane so will sleep well.

I love how they followed Ric for their
special treat of alfalfa.
They only get it in the evening.
These are the boys.
Oh and some hens and roosters.

For supper, we planned simple. Weiners and beans and Bill had one of the host's cookies. Tomorrow we will be connected to power so a more elaborate (😂) meal will be in order. Today was not as long a day and it was nice to arrive before darkness descended. 

The girls follow him too.
Bottom picture is the sassy teen that
spit at Bill.
Hey! He was warned!

Such a beautiful sunset as we said goodnight and walked back to the Suite where Gibbs was waiting. I'll get out an extra blanket for our bed, good grief! 2 days ago we couldn't get cool, tonight, I'll need my new alpalca bed socks!! It was a great day.

And a lovely sunset here
in Clovis, New Mexico.
Good night!

Thank you for your visit.

Moving On, Windy Start

 Walmart, Deming, New Mexico

On Good Friday, April 3rd we were all up and moving by 7. I felt great again.  Bill had his shower at 6:30. I discovered a small hole in our feather duvet last night and that explains the feathers that have been floating around lately.  Lol

Good morning from Yuma Lakes Rv Resort
I walked the garbage up and my 'taxi Suite'
came and picked me up.
Notice the dust blowing, it was really windy there!
There is a nice lake at the entrance to
the park.

When I last washed the cover, I left it off because it was added weight that we didn't want. While Bill showered I took the duvet outside and shook it, then vacuumed the bedroom. I stitched up the hole and we put the cover back on. 

I showered and we were ready to leave before 8:30. The winds had picked up considerably within the last hour so traveling could be a concern. Once on I-8E a warning regarding an Exhaust System Fault. 🥺 See Bill's post here for better detail.

Saguaros are my favourite
cactus, so seeing so many on the
hillside always makes me happy.

Bill always keeps things on Black Beauty and the Suite in the best mechanical running order as possible so this was a concern. We turned back since we were only 10 miles out and wanted to be close to a Ford dealer if needed. He checked his gauges and added a wee bit of Def before we moved on. 

I didn't do too bad at getting close ups
as we moved down the interstate.
Some comical and some majestic
in their stature.

No more warnings so we caught I-8E again. The wind was from NE so a bit of a head wind but not noticeable other than perhaps our mileage. They died off by 11 am and our temperatures hovered around 73F/20C all day. Kind of perfect, right?

Gibbs sat for most of the day and watched
but laid down once we hit NM.
Smart doggie!

We met our good friends, Ken and Nancy, at Denny's in Eloy for lunch at 12:30. As usual, a quick but nice catchup before passing ways until fall. On the road again before 2. Tuscon was busy we enough for mid-afternoon on a holiday but construction was not an issue. 

My breakfast quesadilla, with avocado
and extra bacon, was delicious.
With leftovers!

Good friends - and we meet again.

As soon as I say that, we had a slow down for 20 minutes due to lane closures but we never really stopped. A good chance to open windows for fresh air. We've not used the a/c once, just the defrost feature. 🤗 This was the most comfortable ride I've had on a hot day.

Usually, the prettiest overpasses are
in New Mexico, but these
are in Arizona.

At 5:15 we stopped at a Rest Area just shy of crossing the New Mexico state line. What a difference in the road!! Beautiful! We still had another hour + to go. 

My second favourite cactus.
I've never seen so many Ocotillo in bloom
at the same time!

I chatted on text with Renae and yes, I miss the ladies already. There are good things ahead for us and I'm looking forward to our home country arrival but I still miss them back there. 💕 

At our Rest Area
Gibbs did his business, had a big
drink and waited for ...who else?
Daddy.

Gibbs has been a good little traveler today but he still doesn't lay down for more than a few brief minutes at a time. Silly guy. He'll sleep well tonight. Once we crossed into NM, he seemed to agree about the roads and lay down more for our last stretch.

Arriving in New Mexico around
5:30.

Looking out behind us, I
caught a pretty sky, albeit cloudy.
The sunset was taken from the passenger
side, into his outside driver's mirror.

We found our spot in the Walmart parking lot in Deming, NM on E. Pine St. arriving by 6:45. We weren't keen on buying supper at the nearby Wendy's tonight so made ourselves a sandwich and that was enough. I made egg salad sandwiches for the trip tomorrow and Bill and I walked inside the store for 5 items.

Top right hand picture.....my view of the TARS
(can you even see it?)
I copied the other 2 photos for those
who have never seen one.
I'd love to be standing beside it!!!

In and out and back to relax for what's left of the evening. This was a good day and I took way too many pictures. The result of that is that you get a lot of collages from our day. 

A beautiful sky tonight.

A spot for the night in a NOISY
Walmart parking lot. It's like a playground for drivers with
loud vehicles.
TG the store closed at 11 pm.
Good night from Deming, NM

Thank you for following along. We're happy to have you!