Travel Journal October 2008

On Nov. 5th we left Caballo and drove to Deming where Renée had another follow-up appointment on her detached

retina. All appeared to be in order and she received a new prescription. We then drove on to Pancho Villa State

Park in Columbus where we stayed until November 12th. While there Renée received the results and good news

that her potassium levels had finally been brought under control.

Tillie and Lobo’s friend “Puddles” (Chihuahua-Dachshund mix) were again at the park. Tillie had starter motor

problems on her car and Chuck spent several hours finding and correcting the problem. On Nov. 7th Tillie

accompanied us to Palomas where she and Renée had their new eyeglass prescriptions filled. We then had lunch at

the Pink Store (see photos).

During this week at Pancho Villa, we met a 60 year old black lady, who was living with her white male friend in a small

Scamp trailer. They had a young female puppy called Gracious. Lobo and Gracious were quite interested in each

other and through this relationship, we saw each other frequently and had many conversations. The woman’s name is

Sandra and her friend is Pete/Michael. Most call him Pete but Sandra calls him Michael. Sandra has a learning

disability (her own description) and for some other reasons (medical?) receives compensation from social security.

However she is quite intelligent with many interests and very creative. We will meet her again and the story will

continue.

The days in Columbus were sunny but sometimes cold and windy with freezing temperatures at night. When we

arrived, a group from Silver City was having a celebration at the group shelter over the weekend but by Sunday it

had emptied out and it was more to our liking. On Tuesday we went back to Palomas with Tillie and picked up our

new glasses, followed by another visit to the Pink Store Restaurant.

On November 12th we moved to Leasburg Dam State Park near Las Cruces, where we once again found our favorite

site (#8) was unoccupied. Since we knew we would be there for a while, we were quite happy about it. On the next

morning Chuck had his appointment with the ENT specialist and had the operation scheduled for the 19th to correct

his deviated septum. The first night following the operation was quite uncomfortable since he was not allowed to lie

down, and had to sleep in a sitting position. The bandages had to be changed every couple of hours since the

bleeding and drainage continued until the following day when the packing was removed.

On the following morning Lobo also had an appointment concerning whether his Lyme disease was in remission. They

did not allow either one of us in the examination room with him and when they tried to take blood for tests, he

totally flipped out, peeing and crapping all over the vet and her assistant. They then determined that he would have

to be sedated but since they were not equipped for it at the small clinic, he would have to be scheduled for a later

time at the main clinic. After this experience, Lobo was quite shook up but finally settled down a little when we got

back to the camp site. A few days after we had arrived there, Neil and Jeanie parked nearby with Red, a four year

old Rhodesian Ridgeback male and Mollie, a six year old mixture. Red and Mollie played with Lobo every day, were

very good neighbors and had a calming effect on him after his ordeal at the vet clinic. But then a few days later on

the 23rd he had what we suspect to have been a minor stroke that caused him to “drag” his left front leg for

several days.

Our friends, Bea and Phil Shapiro in Tucson, AZ had invited us for Thanksgiving so on the 26th we left the RV in

Leasburg and drove to Tucson. On the way we ran into rain, the first we had seen for months. It was also much

cooler (almost cold) in Tucson.

Thanksgiving at the Shapiro’s is always a culinary treat. Bea and Phil have quite a reputation when it comes to

entertaining and Thanksgiving was no exception. Both grown children (Danielle and Isaac), as well as Phil’s mother,

brother, niece and other relatives were there. Fifteen adults, two children and Lobo enjoyed the traditional turkey

and trimmings (see photos).

On the 30th we drove back to New Mexico, stopping by the commissary at Davis-Monthan AFB to stock up on

German Christmas specialties such as Lebkuchen, Spekulatius, Stollen etc. As we arrived back in Las Cruces we

saw a service station with diesel for $2.10 a gallon, the cheapest we had seen for several years!

Dezember 2008

On Dec. 1st Chuck had the follow up appointment with the ENT doctor and found out that a second operation would

be necessary to correct the collapsed cartilage that has been contributing to his nasal problems. This will probably

occur in February.

The first week of December was filled with pre-Christmas activities. On December seventh we departed

Leasburg Dam State Park and drove to Las Cruces, spending the night at the Sunland RV Center parking lot and the

following morning leavong the RV there to have our Christmas present installed. We bought ourselves a fully

automatic awning for the RV. It was a very stormy day and when we returned to pick up the RV, we were informed

that the weather had hindered the installation and it would not be ready on time. As closing time drew near and

they still were not ready, we informed them that it had to be ready that evening since we had an appointment for

Lobo the following morning in Alamogordo (65 miles away). That meant they had to work overtime. It was already

dark when they finished and we left for Holloman Air Force Base, where we spent the night at the campground we

had spent the winter in 2005-2006. The following morning we dropped Lobo off at the vet clinic and moved the RV

to Oliver Lee State Park. Lobo’s friends, Red and Mollie, had also moved there a few days earlier and we thought it

would be nice for him since he enjoyed their company so much at Leasburg. But the situation was quite different

than we had expected. When we returned to pick up Lobo, he was happy to see us but as we put him in the truck, he

fell asleep immediately. As we arrived back at the camp site we saw that he wasn’t doing very well. He did not

want to eat and the following morning continued to be very lethargic. Red and Mollie came to visit him twice and

even though they came into the RV to his bed, he barely took notice of them. The following day he was a little

better and in the evening had a little food. His lab reports showed all readings to be in the normal range and his

Lyme disease appeared to again be in remission, but his condition did not reflect the good reports.

On December 12th we left Oliver Lee and headed through Alamogordo north to Carrizozo (see travel route) then

west to the Valley of Fires (see photos), where we spent three days at the Bureau of Land Management

campground. We had a spectacular view of Sierra Blanca and the hill behind our camp site served as an excellent

protection from the winds that began right after we arrived and continued at varying levels while we were there.

The first day the wind was so strong that we didn’t leave the RV. Lobo gradually got better. He began to eat a

little and we were able to give him his medications, which include a pain pill to alleviate his severe arthritis. On the

14th we braved the wind and drove to Carrizozo to see the sights, which turned out to be only a museum that was

closed. Back at the Valley of Fires we took the walking tour through the lava fields (see photos). Lobo even felt

good enough to join us! As it began to get dark, we drove back to Carrizozo and had a Mexican combination meal for

supper at the Four Winds Restaurant.

The following day we hooked up and drove westward to San Antonio, NM where Chuck found a diamond studded

gold Wittnauer watch in the “Owl Bar & Grill” parking lot. We left our phone number at the restaurant but so far no

one has called to claim it. It appears we are now the proud owners of an expensive watch that doesn’t fit our

tastes. To claim it you have to identify the distinguishing characteristics!

We had our usual Green Chile cheeseburgers at the “Owl” and then drove to Percha Dam State Park on the Rio

Grande south of Truth or Consequences. We spent two nights there, and then drove to Rockhound State Park near

Deming. The park was full except for a reservation-only spot that was vacant for one night and happened to be

directly across from Tillie and Puddles, who would be staying there until shortly after Christmas. We left the

following morning for Columbus and as we arrived at Pancho Villa State Park, our favorite spot was open.

As it turned out, Sandra was also at the park. Lobo found her two sites away from us. We can now continue her

story from November (above) and share our Christmas story.

Since we last had seen Sandra and Pete they had separated. Pete had moved his tiny camper to a piece of land

which he had recently purchased about 6 miles from the park. Sandra stayed behind at Pancho Villa State Park and

was taken in by a family who does volunteer work at the park. As volunteers they can camp at any NM State Park

for as long as their volunteer services are needed and they do not have to adhere to the 3 week continuous camping

limit that is imposed on other campers. (Actually, this three week limit is handled rather loosely by most park

rangers if one asks for an extension.) The family she was staying with lent her a tent and she was staying at their

campsite because she had no money to pay for her own campsite. Pete still came by to check on her every now and

then but they didn’t get back together again. Sandra bought the old tent for $ 15.00 from the people she was

staying with and got an annual pass for NM state parks so she could move to a campsite of her own and the people

wouldn’t get into trouble for doubling up on their campsite.

Before Sandra moved into Pete’s tiny camper with him, she lived in Columbus in a small house she rented.

Apparently the financial support of $ 600.00 a month which she gets from social security was not enough to make

ends meet. She put her few belongings into storage and she was going to travel with Pete. But things didn’t quite

work out that way and with night temperatures below freezing, as well as winds strong enough to tear a hole into

her tent, she found herself homeless in a tent with a few household items and a borrowed air mattress and sleeping

bag. She does not own a car and has to bum rides off people she knows in town or neighbors at the campground.

Sometimes Pete stops by to give her a ride to town.

Sandra was definitely totally broke. She had hardly any food in her tent and was drinking hot water out of a

thermos all day instead of tea or coffee. We invited her over for dinner a few times and always shared our fresh

baked bread with her whenever Renée baked (two or three times a week). We also gave her a bag of clothes we

had intended for the Salvation Army or Goodwill and on some evenings we invited her over so she could keep warm

until bedtime. She does have a small electric heater and a heating pad to keep warm while sleeping. On windy nights

we offered our couch to her but she insisted she could manage in the tent.

On Christmas Eve morning Sandra was scheduled for a colonoscopy and endoscopy in Las Cruces. So she would not

have to recuperate from the procedure in a windblown tent in freezing nighttime temperatures Pete had promised

to bring his camper over so she could sleep in it. Since he was therefore going to be around on Christmas day and

we had invited Sandra for Christmas dinner, we extended the invitation to him as well. --- This is the background

story to our Christmas story.

Now for the Christmas story:

Every year for Christmas the Morton family has a big family reunion Christmas party in early December in Kentucky

and instead of exchanging gifts they support a needy family through a local agency. In the past we also participated

but this year the deadline for the contributions was moved up and it was already too late by the time we

remembered it. Chuck came up with the idea of finding a needy person or family in New Mexico instead to give the

$100 to we usually sent to Kentucky.

Christmas was getting closer and closer and we had not found anybody. Then we heard Sandra’s story and decided

that was need enough! However, we did not want to give Sandra the money directly. So we came up with the

following idea: we put together a food basket which we decorated festively, enclosed a card with the $ 100.00

cash in it and the card only said:”Merry Christmas from Santa”. After Sandra was picked up by Social Services for

her trip to the gastroenterologist in Las Cruces, Renée sneaked in her tent and put the basket on a lawn chair.

When Social Services dropped Sandra off around 3 PM, Renée watched from the window as she was entering the

tent. She came out after a long while and sat down in a lawn chair in the sun. Renée waited a while, and then went

over to inquire how the colonoscopy had gone. She showed Renée the printout of the results (all well except for a

small diverticulum in the colon) and then she asked Renée if we had seen anyone go into her tent. Renée replied:

“No, but I did see a fat guy with a white beard and red suit buzz around in the vicinity of your tent”. She looked at

Renée pensively and said: “I wish I could play Santa Claus some day”. She understood that we wanted to remain

“anonymous”. Thus, all that needed to be said, had been said. Meanwhile, Pete had arrived with the camper and

Sandra didn’t have to sleep in the tent on that cold and windy night.

On Christmas Day the two of them came over to our RV to enjoy with us, a German Christmas dinner, consisting of

roasted goose, red cabbage and potato dumplings; three things neither one of them had ever tasted before. They

seemed to enjoy it a lot and Sandra asked if she could have the recipes. We had also prepared some American

staples, such as stuffing and cranberry sauce as well as corn bread because Sandra had mentioned during the

course of a conversation about home made bread that she really liked corn bread. For dessert we had “Rote

Grütze” (mixed berries prepared in a vanilla sauce) poured on vanilla ice cream with whipped cream on top. A

munchies tray with all the typical German Christmas goodies didn’t get ignored either.

Before they left we fixed up a plate with leftovers for Sandra to take along.

And thus ends our Christmas story.

On the day after Christmas we had to take Lobo for an emergency visit to a vet. On Christmas evening, he suddenly

became weak, could barely walk but would not lie down, refused to eat and panted and breathed with difficulty.

On the following morning he had to be helped out of the RV, barely walked across to where he took a small crap,

walked back and stood while shifting his weight from one side to the other but never lying down. A little later he

went out again, with assistance, and when he came back, he laid down outside and slept all day without moving. It

was extremely cold and with a heavy wind but he never moved. We had hoped that he would sleep himself well but

that was not the case. When he awoke, he was not any better so we called an emergency vet in Deming and drove

30 miles through a snow storm to the clinic. Blood was taken for tests and he was running a fever. He was given an

injection which, after about an hour or so, helped him enough that he ate a little when fed by hand and he then laid

down on his side. The following morning he was back to the way he was before the visit to the vet. We called the

vet and he met us at the clinic again. We spoke about whether it was time to say goodbye and put him out of his

misery. He gave Lobo an injection and a prescription of the same NSAID in pill form to keep his fever down and

relieve his obvious pain. At first he recovered a bit but on the 28th he laid in the same position on the floor all day

long without moving. We were certain that it was a death watch. We talked with each other about whether the time

had come to put him out of his misery. As if he had heard us, he suddenly woke and tried to get up, so we helped him

outside. He went to his favorite spot, did his business, came back and drank a lot of water, looked at his food, took

the disguised pills out of his bowl and ate them, then ate his food. He then lay back down and slept again. He

gradually improved and when his friend Puddles returned to Pancho Villa, he was close to his old self again. We

know that he probably won’t be with us much longer, but right now he appears to be doing a lot better.

On New Year’s eve Renée had a severe back ache and after supper, she rested on the couch to relieve the pain. At

11:20 PM she awoke, just in time for us to wish each other a Happy New Year and within a few minutes after

midnight, we were in bed and sound asleep.

And that’s how 2008 ended.

To be continued…