Sunshine for our Last Day, Walks, Laundry, Dinner with Friends and BigFoot

Elephant Butte Lake State Park, NM

On Sunday, Dec. 1^st we woke early but didn’t stay awake for long. We didn’t get out of bed until 6:30. It was a bitter cold morning, only 27F/-2C but again with no wind, I took a chance and went for my walk. The sun rose gloriously on our last day here. I won’t say my last morning walk because I’m hoping for one more tomorrow.

I couldn't decide which one I liked best

Needless to say, I enjoyed the walk but my fingers were very chilled. I had my walking stick so at one point, I slipped my hand through the loop of the strap and dragged it so my hand could be in my pocket. My hoods from two hoodies were up the whole time. Brr. It was just over a mile this morning but I’ll get out again after lunch to add to that. I have a good system going now and hate to break it.

There is something about the way the sun covers the desert
with it's orange blanket

We finished our first hot drink and then I went up and sorted laundry. My oh my! It has been 2 ½ weeks since we did it last. We’ve stretched the limit with wearing our jeans and tops longer than usual but that bag was so full it will take 3 loads. We drove into T or C and there were only 2 people at the 'Laundry on Third' at 8:15 when we arrived. Bill helped load the washers and then he drove to Walmart for more light clips. He is on a mission with Christmas the goal!

Well, hello there, chubby quail

I had taken my laptop along so I was able to sit and use their free fast wifi to read all the blogs I’d missed. Since I finished Blow Fly last night, I didn’t have a book on the go and getting into a new one with the distractions of a laundromat is never a good move for me. I had 5 of our books to drop off and they had a shelf for exchanges. Bill returned on time to transfer clothes to the dryers. Jamie, if you’re reading this, I must report that this laundromat is very clean. 😊 You know how picky I am!

Nice clean floors and machines

There are lots of machines although probably 2/7 washers were ‘out of order’ and 7/20 dryers were ‘out of order’. The dryer we used didn’t have a sign but we lost $ each time. The gal who cleans was on ‘duty’ in a separate locked room (hint hint, ha ha) and she helped us get our .50¢ back before Bill soon lost it again. No worries, we didn’t bother her again, we know what that is like. I’m glad we went when we did as by the time we were folding our clothes at 9:30, it was filled up. I'm pleased that  you look after your machines back home and rarely are they out of order for long.

Signage is important and it kind of
puts some onus on customers

Back home, it was time to eat something. I guess the activity made me hungry today. We had one last pkg of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls so I preheated the oven and by the time it had finished, the rolls were also done. Huh? They were good and since I could only eat two, I saved the other two for another morning. Bill read a few chapters of his book before washing the dishes. Did I tell you what he is reading? Postcard Killer by J.P. I know it’s a good one, I’ve marked it **** indicating better than good. He is enjoying it from how quickly he is getting through it.

Truth or Consequences have begun putting Christmas
decorations up now that Thanksgiving is over

With the clothes put away, all we really had to do today was pack up a few things. It won’t take me long inside nor him outside. I joined him with my next book. Swimsuit by James Patterson, I forgot I had it up under the bed. After a chapter or two, I realized that I didn’t want to sit still so went up and packed things away off the dresser for our move. Around 1:30 we walked up to Snob Hill and chatted with Bob and Jo-Anne a bit about their day yesterday, the trip tomorrow and our plans for supper.

After checking out the menu I showed them, we’re pleased they will be joining us. It will be a nice ‘last night’ meal here, together. We only stayed for about half an hour, enough to get snuggles with Higgins and a face wash and then walked down the hill home. Bill put the string of outdoor lights, the patio mat and the Weber Q away. It only got used once but that was just how it worked out with winds, coolness and rain. I don’t mind, we’ll use it enough over the winter.

I'm not sure how these 4 got in a collage together
but 2 are of the drive home from the mat and two are from my walk this afternoon

I felt that I needed a nibble so had a couple of cheese strings, some pepperoni and a satsuma orange. I still have a few left from New Orleans. That hit the spot. When Bill finished outside and came indoors, I knew he’d be watching his movies so after my snack, I found the Holiday music channel on the tv and read a couple more chapters with tunes in the background. At one point, our friend, Keith, from back home noticed I was online and waved on FB Messenger.

Last bench selfie this year

We chatted for a bit and hope that on a trip down here in January, our paths cross. We’re going to do everything we can to make that happen! He’s looking forward to some ‘dune’ running. For lack of a better word. 😊 After saying s’long to him, I went for my walk. I only needed a hoody and my vest. That sun was beautiful and quite warm at 3. I had two painted rocks in my pocket so found a place for each of those on the trail behind Desert Cove and worked my way up to the playground.

Walking down from Snob Hill to our site

No sign of Jack other than his footprints

Back home, I got washed and changed my top before sitting with my book again. Bob and Jo-Anne were picking us up at 5. I plugged Bill’s Christmas lights in over our chairs and will be able to see how they look from outside when we come home. 

This beautiful Prevost bus had us all craning our necks for a look

The BigFoot restaurant is small and quaint. Half the room is the well-stocked bar if you like beer, ale, stout, cider and wine. No fancy drinks but that’s okay. The rest of the space had 3 tables and 3 booths. The menu was loaded with lots of nice choices for entrees and appetizers. I ordered hot tea and Bill had a glass of wine.

He looks menacing in this light, doesn't he?

But inside, it is small and personal

It has been a while since I’ve had a stir fry so I ordered a chicken one with fried rice and an egg roll. It was delicious and I took my time and ate the whole thing. 

My chicken stirfry, fried rice and egg roll
No, I didn't use the chopsticks, I was hungry!

Everyone was pleased with their meal choice and a doggy bag wasn’t necessary. Bob and Bill ordered German chocolate cake for sharing but it didn’t appeal to me plus I’d had enough food anyway. We drove home, boy it gets dark quick! It was 6:30 when they dropped us off and our lights look very nice. We just need more!

And Bill's Captain Combo
crab cake, breaded calamari, hush puppies, salad, clam strips and waffle fries
looked delicious

Bill had the pvr set up to record Madame Secretary at 8:30 MT so I was able to watch whatever I wanted downstairs. He said there was a new Hallmark movie that he wanted to watch upstairs so, I sat to finish my post and relax for the remainder of the evening. This was a really nice day. Sunshine, laundry got done, a couple of great walks and dinner out with friends.  I hope you aren’t bored with all the Elephant Butte Lake pictures. Starting tomorrow, different scenery for all of us.

This little guy in a pen inside the door was a show stealer
and he hardly lifted his head for the photo
Such a cutie!
Good night from Elephant Butte!

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