Elephant Butte Lake State Park Oct. 2011

The park entrance with the visitor center on the far left.

 We arrived at Elephant Butte State Park on Oct. 9.  After a uneventful trip (except for a small tire problem) and 1720 miles, we finally were able to see where we were going to spend our first winter on the road. When we took the position here, the only thing we really knew was that we would be working at the visitor's center and that we would be provided with a full hook up site for working 12 hours a week  each. As it turns out, when you work at the visitor's center you collect entrance fees, camping fees, and answer questions. Unlike Michigan State Parks, here they have annual daily permits, annual camping permits, daily entrance fees and three different types of camping, all with their own different fees. The lake is really down due to the drought that has been going on.  They say it's down about 30 feet and just by looking

Would you like fries with that?

 around the shoreline you can see where the high water mark was. Rattle Snake Island is not an island right now.  The view from our site is fantastic and the weather could not be any better. The nights go down to around 40 and the days have been up in the high 70's to mid 80's every day.                                                                             

 

Our site in Quail Run.

 Our site is located in the Quail Run campground. They have four

 full hook-up areas that have water and electric hookups. Quail Run, Desert Cove,  Lions Beach and South Monticello. They also have developed areas that have shared water and a shelter but no electric, then there are primitive sites which is anywhere you can park a trailer, motor home or put up a tent with no hook ups. With primitive camping you can park down on the beach or in the desert, but there is a lot of soft sand so you could be looking for a tow truck if you're not careful.

The wildlife is plentiful.  These pictures were taken right outside our door and next to our patio. There are quail, bunny rabbits, jack rabbits (really big jack rabbits) several different birds, kangaroo rats and coyotes. Late at night the sky is full of stars and the sounds of the coyotes can be heard all around.

The elephants head. the trunk is on the left.

The elephants butt.

 The lake is named after a butte that looks like an elephant. The more I see it the more it looks like an elephant, but at first you sort of need to squint, tilt your head and hold your mouth just right. The lake has three different marinas and they're all very busy. There is a boat ramp that is crowded on weekends and the fishing is supposed to be good. The lake has white bass, black bass, small mouth bass, walleye and pan fish.

Elephant Butte Lake.

Elephant Butte.

                                                                     We have been here for two weeks now and are enjoying it. All of the other volunteers are very nice as well as all of the rangers and park staff. Holly and I have adopted a hiking trail and been spending some time cutting back brush, filling wash outs and rearranging rocks. More on that later.

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

 We have arrived!!!  On Saturday we finally made it to New Mexico. Since I wanted to stop at Camping World in Albuquerque, we decided to spend the night and then head down to Elephant Butte on Sunday. What a great decision that turned out to be. It just happened to be the final weekend for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Sunday morning was to be the big launch of the week.  We were up at 5 a.m. to head out to the park and ride to the balloon field.  When we arrived we were amazed at what was before our eyes.

 Right there in front of us was a wonderful, beautiful, amazing sea of designs and colors beyond your wildest dreams. There were balloons of all sizes, shapes and colors. There were balloons everywhere you looked...some were just leaving the ground, some were just starting to be inflated and some were just laid  out waiting for that first blast of hot air to set them free.

 It was amazing to see all of these balloons and their crews making order out of controlled chaos. The balloons were all so close together and fighting for space, yet they all managed to be inflated and launched without any problems. Sometimes, one at a time would rise into the air and at other times they would rise in groups of four or more. We arrived at the field around 7 a.m. and by 8:30 they were all in the air. We heard someone say that there was over 500 balloons and that was easy to believe. The launch started with a single balloon that had the American flag attached to it. After that the balloons were launched by the launch directors to make sure it was done as safe as possible.

 As you can see in the pictures, there were some rather unique and very large balloons. The poor cow was inflated but never left the ground, but it was a very happy and contented cow nonetheless!

As the morning went on more and more balloons were launched and it was amazing how the pilots were able to stay in the area by moving up or down in the air currents.  The sky started to look like it was decorated with hundreds of multicolored jewels hung on invisible strings.

This balloon was huge . It took quite a long time to get it inflated and it was such a sight to see when it finally lifted off the ground and up into the sky. You can get a size perspective by looking at the size of basket beneath the balloon.

We took over 80 photos and these are only a few of them.

Lest they be forgotten, there were balloons to help us remember.

I would like to say one more time that it was a wonderful sight to see. We were so glad to be able to be there and see all of the bee-utiful balloons.

Bound for New Mexico

Wednesday, October 5th:  Well, it started out as a normal trip for us. We had a late start, but had barely made it around the block before we had to go back to the house because I forgot something. We were all the way to Holland when we remembered that we forgot to go to the bank.  After finding a bank, we were on the road for good.  This time we made it all the way to the southern end of Illinois before we stopped for the night.

Thursday, October 6th:  We were up and on our way about 8 a.m.  No problems/no worries... that is until we stopped for the night in Oklahoma. Not a great RV park but you get what you pay for and we only spent $25. I  think we overpaid. As we set up I did a walk around the motor home and thought that the right rear tire looked soft. I was partly right.  The inside rear tire was soft. Well no big deal because we have GOOD SAM ROAD SERVICE.  I figured we'd watch the Tigers beat the Yankees and call Good Sam in the morning.

Friday, October 7th:  Called Good Sam's and talked to Freddy and explained that I needed someone to come out and take a look at the tire and repair it if needed. Well now it gets interesting, so pay attention.  Freddy said they could send someone out to (1) replace it with my spare, not an option due to the fact most motor homes have no spare. I do have a lug wrench but no jack and no spare. (2) They could sell me a tire over the phone and have someone come out and put it on, (I still haven't figured that one out), or (3) have someone come out and put air in it and I could take it somewhere to have it fixed. What the heck, why do I pay these people all that money for "stupid" answers. Well after this I just told him to send some one out to put air in it and thanks to Jeff (the service man that came out) he did put air in it after he found the leak.

I-40 RV Park Shamrock, TX.

Just before the storm in TX

All right... we are off... right into the wind. Now don't get me wrong, I can handle a little wind but this was not a little wind... this was a BIG WIND!  It was so strong that when we stopped and took the dogs out on their  long leashes it looked like we had dog kites. No, really, people kept coming up to find out where we bought them so they could get one, too. Well, after the morning start with the Bad Sam Road Service ( I am not done with them yet) and fighting the crosswinds all day, we made it to Shamrock, Texas. A nice park, the bathrooms and showers are clean.  It's still windy, but the sunset was nice. 

Saturday, October 8th:  We woke up to not just the wind but now we also have rain, thunder and lighnting.  We drove out of everything but the wind in about an hour but the wind was even stronger then the day before. The poor motor home stayed in 5th gear most of the time.  The only time it ever went into 6th was when a truck passed us and blocked the wind for a moment or two.  We finally made it to Albuquerque, N.M. and found a spot for the night. The first place we stopped at wanted $75 for one night, after I pulled myself up off the floor and asked her  "how much?" and she repeated $75 ( I thought that was what she said ), I told her I would stay at a Wal-Mart before I paid that much for a site. We did stay at a quaint little park (notice the quaint). They did have an outdoor sales area and we are trying to decide if we want to downsize a little.  See picture below.

Well that's all for this entry. I know that we don't have a lot of pictures, but we were traveling 8 and 9 hours a day and not stopping for pictures. I promise the next installment will have some great shots. I myself am amazed at what a good photographer I have become with a point and shoot camera. Until next time, keep shopping at Meijers and moving those trains. I need the retirement money every month.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Not sure about all of that chrome!!

Young State Park Part 2

Craft time with Grandma.

 Well here is part two as promised. We were able to get some of the kids to come visit even though it is a hike from home to get here. Brianna stopped by with a friend on the way home from Petoskey for a couple of hours. Wendy, Graysen and Heidi were able to stop up and spend a night with us. We went out on Lake Charlevoix with Jim and Terri.  The kids and Wendy went tubing and swimming.

Can you believe it is noon and they are still sleeping.

Krista, John, Chloe and Mikayla came up the next weekend and spent some time with us as well. We all went out with Jim and Terri on the boat again but it was too cold to go swimming.  We did take Mikayla out fishing and I do believe she caught more fish then I did. We let John be host for a day, but we had to take his vest away due to the fact that he was trying to throw everyone out of the park.

Super host.

John and Krista, after we took away John's vest.

Chloe's favorite Grandpa.

Heidi and Graysen, happy to be here!!!!

Chloe and Mikayla with their favorite Grandma.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Can you believe Jim let these three drive his boat?  What a brave man. Oh wait... is that a beer in his hand?  Now we understand!    

Holly and Terri  really enjoyed their time together. They had so much fun catching up and and picking on Jim and I.  We also had a chance to visit with our friend Mary who worked on Mackinac Island this summer.  Such a good time talking about those "remember when" moments.  

This was a great place for us to be first-time hosts. We had the chance to meet some nice people, the park staff was great, and we were able to visit with family and catch up with good friends. We want to thank Jim and Terri for entertaining us and our family, and for the great meals that Terri made.

Well this gets us caught up to the present. Even though we enjoyed our time at Young State Park, the trees are telling us it's time to get out of here and get on the road. We'll be home for a few days to take care of some business, repack the motor home for a different climate (we hope) and our next stop will be Elephant Butte, New Mexico. It just don't get no better then this.