Can You See Me Now? Christmas Music, Marina Walk, Outdoor Happy Hour

Elephant Butte Lake State Park, E.B., NM

We were up on Friday, Nov. 22^nd at 6:15 and downstairs. Where ever did the week go? While Bill made his coffee, I bided my time until it was light enough to go for my walk. It looked quite gray outside and indeed it was. The fog off in the distance was hovering over the rest of the park and yet it looked pretty and spooky the way it hung over the lake. Which way to walk today? The temperature is 36F/2C but completely calm.

It was a little spooky this morning when I went out for my walk

I'm sure this little guy thinks he is invisible
And he almost is except I saw him move there before he stopped

I didn’t have a route in mid, basically just going where my toes were pointed. I went to the lakeside first and took some pictures before cutting across the dunes and up towards the campsites. It is always slow walking in the sand but today even though some areas had solidified after the rains, others were softer. I had to be careful where I placed my feet, even more than I usually do.

To the right, looks like some sunshine may appear

When I was working, I used to hear horror stories of co-workers falling on ice or just tripping on ruts etc. It is so easy to do and I’ve always tried to make it a practice to slow down when my eyes want to check out the views around me. That’s what my photography (if I can be so bold as to call it that) does. It slows me down. BUT, as I age, I also am more aware of the path ahead of me.

This is the road down to the beach after a heavy rain

Looking to the north, you can't even see the lake

After falling a couple of years ago across asphalt at a rest stop and then Bob taking a tumble last week while walking Higgins, yup, we gotta be watchful. I’ve wanted to take a picture of this rig since our first day here but didn’t want to risk the owner seeing me. He was trying to be hidden, after all! So, at this time of the morning I could only assume he was still asleep so got as close as I was comfortable but still a fair distance away.

A camouflaged truck and 5th wheel trailer

The paint job seems to be working!

I didn't think I'd see the need for a grader here but they needed
it to clean the roads

And quite a few sink holes off the road sides

And through the washes

Back home, looking back at the lake, the fog was even heavier, looking more like a thick blanket covering the flock for the night. I made a tea, read some of our friend’s blog posts and perused other friends' stories on Facebook. 

With small trailers (or in some cases, NO trailers)
people can pay a minimal fee and boondock just anywhere

I need to make one clarification, while I’m thinking of it. I keep forgetting! I mentioned earlier in the week that this park is $14/night with full hookups. It isn’t full, only electric and water. There is a dump station at Loop Desert Cove that is very easy to access as we leave. I just wanted to clarify that.

Now look at the lake - it's out there

The lights you see as I look towards the beach
are not ufo's but our lights inside the Suite

Around 8:30, I had my shower and then rooted around under the bed to bring out something to work on. I have quite a few hobbies so what was I in the mood for? I decided I ‘might’, ‘possibly’, ‘perhaps’ feel like crocheting so I’ll start with that.  As you can tell, it wasn’t a very firm choice, yet. 

Do I feel like doing a crochet project?
apparently not.

Maybe cross stitch is more what I’m feeling. LOL Bill has moved on to his next book, King and Maxwell by David Baldacci, another good story with the same characters as in Simple Genius. He likes that flow, while having the players in his mind. Me too, come to think of it.

We had a good breakfast
I fried up the leftover sausage and onions from the other night
with our bacon and eggs

Around 9, the fog was noticeably cleared and I could see the lake clearly again. For a while, it seemed as if night was returning. Black fog, eh Daddy? Bill had switched our XM Sirius Radio to Channel 065 ‘Holly’ to put us (me?) a bit in the Christmas mood. One of my Blurkers also mentioned a few channels from which to choose. It is a lot easier than digging out the cd’s and continually changing them. We did not keep our 5-disc changer since the Suite had its own player.

And it cleared up nicely so I sat outside with my book

Look at that sky - no sign of any fog

The day for me consisted of sitting outside at the back of our site in the sun, inside playing online, a nice long walk down to the Marina, more outside sitting at the front of the site (following the sun, basically) and then we joined Bob and Jo-Anne (& Higgins) for Happy Hour. They had full sun on their patio so we sat outside. We haven't done that for a while. They’ve had a busy day with things back home and they filled us in on what they've been up to.

On my walk to the marina

A little fun along the way

making my way down there to the marina
This is about half way
I walked just under 6 miles total today

Starting to see more and more cacti

We chatted about plans, trailers, the weather, food and the park before returning home around 4:45pm.  When that sun dropped below the trees, it got chilly very quickly. I had ground beef thawing for supper and still hadn’t quite decided what to make. It will definitely be a surprise to both Bill and to me. As you’ve noticed there has been no other mention of the crocheting, well, I didn’t feel like doing it today after all. I was able to find enough otherwise to keep me busy.

This is a beautiful protected sand sculpture
Mrs. Ellie Phant

Boats at the marina

a little history for you buffs

At 5:30, I fried up the ground beef in bacon grease rather than olive oil. This was something we talked about at Happy Hour too. I added onions, garlic and oregano and when the meat was brown, I broke a handful of spaghetti noodles and crisscrossed them on top of the meat. Then the sauce was added to the middle, basically over top of everything. After 7 minutes on Manual, the noodles weren’t quite done so I cooked them for 4 more minutes with a 1-minute release. Perfect.

Another elephant sculpture up near the entrance
Such talent!

Invitation to use social media

There's my walking partner

I had some French loaf that I cut in half lengthwise, buttered and added grated cheddar before reheating it in the microwave. It was soft rather than toasty but with the cheese melted, it was the best I could do minus garlic. 

Happy Hour with Higgins

Stand off between Bill and Higgy
Notice the treat on Bill's shoe?

Supper was good and there is enough leftover spaghetti for another night with a salad on the side. For dessert, we had another piece of cheesecake and it was all very filling. After dishes, Bill went up to watch a Christmas movie and I watched Live PD downstairs and finished today’s post.

The sun dropped and so did the temperature
It's going to be another cool/cold night 34F

I took this from up on the hill behind Big Red

Jo-Anne, Bill, Bob and Higgins
down on their patio

This was a relatively quiet day. We didn’t have anything pressing going on and sometimes that makes for a great day. We were surprised with the turnout of the weather today and all 4 of us enjoyed being outside for a Happy Hour.

supper was good

 There were a couple of downers for today – one for some home issues for Bob that he's dealing with and the other for our good friends, back home. Our hearts are breaking for the news on the latter and there are no real supportive words other than ‘Continual prayers and hugs, George and Suzie. You are ever on our minds’.

Yum
good night y'all!

Thank you for your visit today.