How Did I Get So Lucky?

If you are my Facebook friend, you know that Cray and I are back in Iowa. I've asked myself a couple times why we returned to cold weather, but we are happy to see our family and friends. Plus, spring is happening here - soon enough I'll be complaining about the heat and humidity.

Our condo is rented until April 8, so we are technically not home yet. The camper is parked in Harvey, Iowa at my mom's "ranch." We could stay in her house, but we've bonded with the camper and are unwilling to admit our big adventure is over (for now). 

The title of this blog post reflects my thoughts surrounding our visit to Santa Fe and Taos and the great time we had with our friends there. I fell in love with the northern part of New Mexico and will return as soon as possible. For years my friend Steve, and his husband Jimmie, have traveled to the Santa Fe area. Their flawlessly decorated home resembles a Santa Fe art studio. Now, I understand their obsession.

     Steve and Jimmie at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.

We had planned to stay in the camper at our friends from Iowa who recently moved to Santa Fe, but Missy and Chasity convinced us to set-up camp in their studio next to the main house and I am so grateful they did! The previous owner was an artist and the studio came complete with a huge sunken hot tub, a walk in steam shower, a T.V. mounted over a gas fireplace, tons of natural light, and soothing views of their very private acreage. The house came with stunning yard art and even a Labyrinth for walking meditation. The only traffic on their dead end street was an occasional coyote and a lost UPS truck. Cray and I felt very blessed to have such generous friends.

                  The view from the studio after it snowed.

                                   The studio entrance.

Cray's known Missy since the early 1990's. I moved to Des Moines in 1991 and recalled seeing Missy, a local musician, out and about town. We have known them as a couple since 2008 and always said they were a great match. This trip was the first time we'd hung out with them for more any length of time and we had so much fun. 

I’ve made a list of the top things I loved about our visit with Missy and Chasity:

1. Spending free time with them lounging on their massive leather sectional, watching cooking shows, getting loved on by their five affectionate fur-babies, jibber-jabbering about life, and sight-seeing.

                              Missy and Chasity.

2. Eating delicious food. The night we arrived we had Missy's flavorful 16-hour-long smoked and perfectly seasoned pork butt, green chile coleslaw, baked beans, and Chasity's homemade dill potato salad. One morning Chasity made her famous biscuits and sausage gravy with green chiles - yes, they are in everything and we loved it.  The night before we left, Missy smoked two chickens, which I enjoyed with a side of Chasity's yummy leftover dill potato salad. We also ate out a few times during our sight-seeing expeditions.

Missy and Chasity were gracious and accommodating hosts. They didn't hesitate to have lunch with us at Cafe Fina where we met up with our new friend Lynn and her girlfriend Mary. Lynn was from Taos and Mary from Santa Fe. We had a great lunch and laughed a lot.  Missy loves green chile cheese burgers and ordered one at Cafe Fina (she said it was very good).  I ordered ricotta pancakes with fresh berries, home made whipped cream, and real maple syrup. I'm still dreaming about those "Cloud Cakes." 

                       Mary, Lynn, and I at Cafe Fina.

                                     Cloud cakes.

We took a rode trip to Madrid - a former mining town, turned ghost town, turned cool artist community - and dined at the historic Mine Shaft Tavern. Missy and Chasity had been there before and vouched for the food. Not surprisingly, Missy had a green chile cheese burger and declared it to be her favorite, or at least, that's what I remember. I neglected to take notes, so I could be wrong, but this I know for sure - we ate like queens our entire visit and Missy is a green chile cheese burger connoisseur and a master meat smoker. I don't know how she got all that meat in her pipe (dad joke alert).

3. Our friends are great tour guides. Missy knows the names of all the mountain ranges in the area. She knows all about the weather and is like a meteorologist. Chasity drove us everywhere and parallel parked like a pro. 

4. Missy and Chasity are down to earth women. They are comfortable to be around, easy to talk to, funny, witty, and smart. I wish we had spent more time together when we lived in the same county. They have fun hobbies, such as playing darts and drinking craft beers. They also have an RV and like to camp. Did I mention they have five dogs?

5. They had five lovable and entertaining dogs. Four cardigan corgis and one pug. I learned their names quickly and their different personalities. The dogs eventually got more use to us coming in and out of their home, but they hated it when Cray showed up with her dorky stocking cap on. Five dogs make good watchdogs, but you couldn't always discern what they were barking at. Did a leaf fall off a tree? Did a bird fly past the window? Or maybe, Tux, the mischievous pug, started it all just to get a rise out of the pack and then sit back and look all innocent.

                          Tux sitting on Chasity’s lap.

6. Chasity is a small town Iowa girl just like me. You can leave a small hometown, but the small town "personality traits" never leave you. When a person grows up in a small town they are innately friendly and welcoming, because growing up they knew everyone, and everyone looked after each other. Maybe, it's the ever-changing Iowa weather, but I think people from small towns adjust to new situations easier than most people. Their sense of loyalty is stronger and home is wherever they hang their hat. I sensed all those qualities in Chasity. Plus, she grew up in an area of Iowa where I spent a lot of time at auctions with my dad as a kid. Those happy memories made me like her even more. Oh, and she can be feisty. You don't mess with small town Iowa girls.

We also took a day trip to Taos and picked up Lynn who showed us around. We drove the low road to Taos, which ran along the Rio Grande and through a narrow canyon. The drive was beautiful. We didn't encounter any fallen racks, but we did laugh about the beware of falling rocks signs. Missy and Chasity call them "pooping rock" signs for obvious reasons. 

Lynn gave us a whirlwind tour of her county cottage with a million dollar view of the mountains. We drove to a the colorful village of Arroyo Seco where we wandered through the shops and stopped for lunch. Before we left Arroyo Sec Lynn insisted we stop at Taos Cow, renowned for it's award winning ice cream. Missy and I were the only ones that had room for ice cream  - who doesn't have room for ice cream? I chose a scoop of their “Chocolate Rio Grande” a delicious chocolate ice cream with pinon nuts, pecans, and dark chocolate chunks. No wonder I gained weight on our vacation.

We left Arroyo Seco and drove to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge; the tenth highest bridge in the United States. Yes, it was spectacular and very high. 

                       Lynn took this fun photo of us.

 

We traveled back to Taos and Lynn showed us the historic Taos Plaza. She pointed out the cute casita where she used to live downtown. I'd been searching for a turquoise ring every since we got to Missy and Chasity's place.  I was on a mission and everyone joined in. Missy and Chasity took us to several places to look at rings and Lynn did, too. We didn't have much time to shop in Taos (we needed to get back to Santa Fe and let the dogs out), but I did manage to buy a ring there. It was sad to say goodbye to Lynn, but who knows, maybe she'll pull her cute little "Scotty" trailer to Iowa sometime!

 Lynn’s cute little camper at Quartzsite.

        One of the turquoise rings I bought in New Mexico.  

The day came when we had to leave. Our time in Northern New Mexico was way too short. There were still so many things we wanted to do. Missy and Chasity said we are welcomed back anytime. They may regret that when we show up with a u-haul. ;-)

Before we returned to Iowa, we stopped at the cool city of Hot Springs, Arkansas to visit my Aunt Linda. She has lived there for 43 years, so it wasn’t our first time there, but I have yet to hit the historic bath houses with the hot spring water that the town is named after!

My Aunt Linda and I. She is my dad’s sister and we grew up next to each other in Harvey, Iowa. 

A photo from 1967. My pretty mom has her left hand on my brother Mike and her right hand on my brother Kirk. I am the little blond girl with the white T-shirt. My aunt Linda is in the background. My dad is standing on the left with his hook in his pocket.

We toured the Garvan Woodland Gardens in the beautiful Ouachita Mountains and the tulips were in full boom.

                       I love Cray’s big smile.

                     Aunt Linda and her little dog Missy.

I forgot to mention how much fun we had playing dominoes and Farkle with Aunt Linda. She had so many goodies for us to eat, including a delicious dessert she made from scratch. 

Fortunately, we were able to park our camper on a lot near her because she asked the owner and of course he said yes because everyone loves my Aunt Linda. She was the hostess with the mostest. 

Ruby and Missy got along great. Ruby has met so many nice dogs on her big adventure. Sad to say, the blog “Ruby Hits the Road” has come to a close. Well, at least until Ruby’s next big adventure, that is. 

Ruby is Homesick.

Actually, I'm the one who is homesick. Ruby is happy wherever we are, but I miss our family, friends, and king size bed. All the natural wonders in the world can't compare to hugs from the grand-kids. But, I am getting ahead of myself. This trip is not over yet. 

    Benson, Arizona KOA. 

After leaving Utah we picked up the camper and made our way slowly back to New Mexico. We spent a couple nights camping in Picacho and then headed to Benson, Arizona. Our new friends from Tuscon, Deb and Billie, drove down to see us. Billie bought us lunch at her favorite Mexican restaurant in Benson. We waited an hour for an outdoor table  - one of the must-haves when traveling with a dog - and the food was definitely worth the wait. I'm still dreaming about it.

    Big plate, big flavor.

   The venue is small and the food is authentic.

On the edge of Tombstone is Boot Hill Cemetery. Ruby couldn’t go in so Cray waited while I took the self-guides tour. The handout they provided with the names of the deceased and how they died was worth the $7 admission fee. 

Ruby accompanied us to Tombstone, which is a short drive from Benson. It was spring break and the historic Old West city was full of families. I loved the Bird Cage Theatre and it's wild history. The Theatre opened in 1881 and ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year until it closed in 1889. Imagine trying to staff that business! Plus, you could get shot, considering the 140 supposed bullet holes in the walls and ceilings. The Bird Cage was also a brothel. Employment for women was very limited and if you didn't have a father, brother, or husband to support you, there were plenty of men willing to pay you. Survival can make a person do things they'd never conceive of normally.

   Ruby wanted her photo taken in front of the theatre.

My brother, Mike, would appreciate that the Bird Cage is also remembered for the longest poker game in history. To play gamblers had to pay $1000. The poker game was played non-stop for eight years!

  It all happened at this table. Those chairs sure look uncomfortable!

After Tombstone we drove to a nearby old mining town of Bisbee for lunch. Bisbee is known as the best hippie town in Arizona, so of course we had to see it. We were able to bring Ruby with us into the bar for lunch. I guess it really was a hippie town!

   These ladies were enjoying a cocktail with their lunch.

 

     A cool photo of Bisbee.

We returned to Las Cruces where our big adventure began last October. We hung out with friends, played games, and ate delicious food. Driving away was bittersweet, but the Organ Mountains will always welcome us back.

           Liliane entertaining us with her cool ukulele.

Ruby Goes to Utah.

Our longtime pals from Minnesota, Julie and Ellen, rented a cozy mountain cabin in Utah solely for the purpose of spending time with us and exploring the area together. At first I hesitated at the invitation. After-all, we left Iowa to avoid the snow, but I do love an adventure and I love our friends, so I was quickly all in. 

Duck Creek Village, Utah is a a sleepy mountain resort community reached by traveling on scenic mountain highways. There are only two ways in and out of Duck Creek and we traveled both routes. Ellen graciously did all the driving in their rented SUV, her Minnesota winter driving skills were frequently put to the test on snow covered winding roads. Even on a clear day, the summit of Cedar Mountain, with an elevation of 10,000 feet, is a challenging drive. I could barely look out the window without my heart dropping. I felt safe and secure with Ellen behind the wheel!

We were the first to arrive at the cabin. Thank goodness we had four-wheel drive. I would not attempt climbing the slushy-muddy-snowy steep mountain roads without it. Julie and Ellen made it to the cabin before dark, and at the start of the snowfall. We hadn't seen our friends since August, 2021. Beautiful mountain snowflakes fell nonstop for the first two days giving us an excuse to play games and catch up. 

Duck Creek Village is centrally located a little over one hour from both National Parks we planned to visit: Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. Julie and Ellen did their homework and had a comprehensive list of potential and must-do activities. They flew into Las Vegas, picked up their rental car, and filled it with groceries for the week. The time, effort, and money they put into planning the trip was greatly  appreciated...Crayola and I felt very blessed to have such generous and thoughtful friends. We had a blast.

We are making our way back to Iowa via a southern route that includes a visit to my sweet Aunt Linda in Hot Springs, Arkansas. We’ll be home by April first and that’s no joke. 🥰