A changeup yields a wonderful result!

When we left Albuquerque, we had planned an oil change in Amarillo at Speedco, our go to place to get regular oil and chassis service, and we really like the facility in Amarillo, then on for a visit with Kelly, Todd, and the grandkids and bee-line to Louisville for our tradition of Thanksgiving at Karen and Tom's farm.  But there have been big changes, and those plans have been altered.  Now we are planning to spend Thanksgiving with Kelly and Todd in Lubbock, so that left us with about two extra weeks.

Walker our nephew, Karen and Tom's son was going to be at a "school" for rodeo riding, really just saddle bronc and bareback.  He explained that the people that raise the bucking stock need a place to evaluate and give some experience to the horses, so they invite riders to come and for 3 days they ride to their heart's content or until they are so sore they can't go on....  It was being held in Artesia, a small town south of Roswell, NM, why not go see him ride?

We decided to try out Bottomless Lakes State Park about 15 miles east of Roswell.  It is definitely out in the middle of nowhere, but has a collection of sinkhole type lakes along the Pecos River drainage system.  

Did I say the middle of nowhere?

But the campground is very nice.  Wide open huge sites, and best of all, it is quiet, dark at night, and interesting.  

Our campsite

Not bad, huh?

Jan and I took Friday to explore around the park, take a hike, and then go down to Artesia, about 40 miles south on Saturday to see Walker.

We first drove around the park, half is low down by the lakes, but in the pictures you can see the escarpment that the lakes were formed from, so half the ride is on top with great views.

Looking down at Lea Lake.
That's us in the left foreground

After that we decided to take a nice 1 mile hike one way along the Bluff Trail, thinking that would climb up and over, but it actually went along the bottom and to several of the other lakes.  It was nice, easy walking and the temps were great, about 65.

The path

Mirror Lake

Some company along the way, "beep, beep"

A rare shot of the elusive photographer!

It is a nice place, not sure we'd come back here again, unless Walker is riding in Artesia again:)  So unfortunately Saturday arrived with overcast skies, temp of 42, and wind a blowing.  Off we went to Artesia.  We found the Eddy County Fairgrounds, and a bunch of huddled up, trying to keep warm, cowboys, and a frozen Walker.  He hadn't ridden yet, but said if it warmed up he would after lunch.  We froze and still has a wonderful time watching the activities.  They even had young kids around 8 years old riding little calves that bucked like mad, and lots of really tough, new, wild horses that really bucked like crazy, didn't even know a horse could do the stuff they were doing.  There was a pick up crew of 4 cowboys that were responsible for getting the rider, if he stayed on for the whole ride off, and then to catch the bronc, and get it safely back in the pen.  These guys were good, excellent in fact.  It was a treat to watch them work as a team, with horses that were amazing!

We took a break to warm up and grab lunch, came back, watched for awhile and then Walker's turn came up.  What a good job he did!  It was a treat to be there to see him ride.

Family time in Albuquerque!

We've been having a blast with family while we are here in Albuquerque.  It started off with a bang as we first picked up Viv, Jan's mom, then over to the airport to surprise her with Susan and Mary Beth; Jan, Nancy, and Karen's cousins at the airport and then on to Nancy and CT's we went.  Megan, our niece popped in with her 4 kids, who Jan and I hadn't seen in many moons.  Wow how time flies.  We had a wonderful reunion and a delicious dinner.  

The girls went shopping and walking around Old Town, went up to the crest on top of Sandia Mountain overlooking the city, and of course, we all ended up back at N&CT's for dinner again and more festivities.

View of Albuquerque from the crest

Later we all went up to Santa Fe to get those famous green chili cheeseburgers at Santa Fe Bite, and walked and shopped around the square in Santa Fe.  

Mary Beth, Nancy, Jan, and Susan helping Viv FaceTime
with her 91 year old brother Alf
Even folks our ages are consumed with technology, huh:)

It was so very nice getting together with family.  Jan and I certainly love our lifestyle, but one of the few drawbacks is that we can't really entertain more than a couple in our coach, and overnight stays are a real challenge.  On the good side though we can easily visit family and friends with low impact as we bring our home and bed with us:)

Karen was missed in the festivities, but she is busy, busy back at the farm right now.  We also went out and had a delicious dinner at El Brunos, one of our favorites in Albuquerque.  

Jan, Nancy, CT, Susan, Mary Beth, and Vivian
enjoying dinner at El Brunos

We bid good bye to Susan and Mary Beth Saturday morning.  Megan and Chip had us over to dinner, which Megan cooked and yes it was delicious!  Even dessert.  

Jan and I had several errands to do while here, Costco, Total Wine, her hair, detail the motorhome, we really like a service here that does it, grocery shopping, and a few other odds and ends.  We had yet another great dinner and get together with Nancy, CT, Wendy, and Gordon, we hadn't seen them in ages.  It was great to catch up!  We had lunch with Viv in her apartment to visit for the last time this trip.  Then met Nancy and CT for an early breakfast at the Range before we took off for the Roswell, NM area, and bid goodbye to Albuquerque for awhile.

Goodbye Albuquerque!