Chasing aliens

 June 5, 2025

Spring River RV - site 12

Roswell, New Mexico

Dad decided he needed a haircut so he headed out this morning in search of a barber with an empty chair.  It took him a couple of stops, but he had success.

Momma and Pam went in search of aliens this morning.  A friend of Pam's told her she needed to stop by McDonald's before leaving the area.

I was told they light up the spaceship at night.

The inside was unusual as well.  On the floor was a changing message.

That spaceship must have carried quite a few aliens, as they were posted at the drive thru as well as the entrance.

So it appears the USPS treats everyone alike with their lousy service.

  

Momma has had numerous issues trying to receive packages over the years and this time it was Pam's turn.  Her package was not at this RV park waiting for her so she has been trying to locate it.  Upon investigation, it appears the package was last seen in some Florida city that Pam had never heard of before.  That's certainly a long way from New Mexico!  Way to go USPS.

Momma and Pam spent the morning shopping, including a stop at

the quilt shop just down the road from the park.

Dad decided to recharge the water softener when he returned to me.  I kept bugging him to finish up and take me to the dog park before the day warmed up too much.  I guess I shouldn't have rushed him because there was a surprise...and not a good one....waiting for us when we came back from the dog park. I'm certain one of those aliens snuck over to our rig and turned one of the valves.  Surely Dad would never fail to get one of the valves totally closed. And have you guessed the surprise?  It wasn't quite an indoor swimming pool as most of the water on the floor stayed in the bathroom area.  But it did seep down on the inside step and was encroaching toward the bedroom.  And then there was the water that ran into the floor vents and added unwanted water in the bay.  Needless to say, Dad was pretty busy the rest of the morning and right past coffee break time.  Momma and Pam returned in time to start a load of towels in the washing machine and watch the fans Dad had set up spin. I'll bet Dad wishes he had decided to go shopping with the gals this morning. 

 Oh well.....making memories!!

I'm Chloe 

UFO's

 June 4, 2025

Spring River RV - site 12

Roswell, NM

We decided on a no frills RV Park that is a Passport America campground for our stay while we visit with the aliens. 

Momma said this park reminds her of the stay in White Horse on the way to Alaska.  Just a big lot with rigs parked side by side, although this campground is missing the car wash that the Yukon park had.  But it is also missing the higher per night cost as we are paying $20 a night.

We had made our reservations together under one name (very informal process) but as it turned out, we aren't side by side.  Pam is about as far away as you can get being at the end of the 'L'.

I'm pleased to be closer than Pam to the nice grassy dog park.

Whew! Just finished a game of ball with Dad.

There is a cute little office on site but it is not always manned. 

With the park being at 99% capacity, (unlike every other half empty campground so far) I guess the gal doesn't feel a need to sit in the office all day.  She is very easy to reach by phone and had nice packets ready for us when we arrived with loads of local information including the See Roswell App.  Our instructions were to call when we were getting close so she would be sure to be there.  And please call if you need anything or have any questions.  Seems to work.

Pam has some neighbors on her end of the park who offered info and warnings....beware of the wind and your awning!

Would you believe Dad fired up the fireplace this morning?  It was 61 degrees outside which meant a tad on the cool side inside.  I think he had a chill after our morning walk....even with his light jacket.  Today we will barely make it to 80 degrees but the rest of the week is forecast for reaching 90.

So the two-legged headed out this morning to the UFO Museum.  

Tales of the 1947 incident pushed Roswell to a high level of tourism.

Hey, wait a minute.  I KNOW that alien.  She plays ball with me!!

Even the car wash had aliens

Here's a unique guy standing post outside the bakery.

He's made from tires.

Very creative art work!  

There was even more local art work on display and for sale at the shop on Main Street.  And yes, Momma purchased a treasure or two.

Sometimes I wish I was a human...like tonight.  I could have joined the two-legged at Cattle Baron for dinner.  Momma said the salad bar was huge and well stocked with lots of variety.  

Everyone decided prime rib sounded good.  When Dad received his plate, he debated whether he should try to revive it or dig in and gobble it down.

It wasn't a tough decision.  He cleaned his plate and enjoyed every bite.

I'm Chloe

On the road to New Mexico

 June 3, 2025

Spring River RV Park site 12

Roswell, NM

The landscape is certainly different from what we are accustomed to in Florida.  Miles of flat fields as far as the eye can see. 

The trip today from Big Spring, Texas began with an abundance of oil pumps on both sides of the highway.....the majority of them in operation.  

Slowly moving up an down on one end while the other end rotates in a circular motion. 

Then the scenery changed a bit adding fields stacked with round hay bales and long lines of irrigation equipment with fewer oil pumps.

Dad was watching his fuel gauge zipping quickly toward the empty mark.  We were traveling in a strong headwind so we were only registering 8.4 mpg rather than our usual 10.5 - 11 mpg. That low number is definitely a first for us.  Pam phoned with a bit of panic in her voice.  She had never seen her gauge drop so quickly and was thinking she had an 'issue' that needed addressing.  With everything so flat and treeless, she didn't even realize it was just a wind issue. 

Crossing the border into New Mexico made it a challenge for Momma to snap a pic of the state border sign as the road texture changed with a bump that rocked the camera and shifted the viewpoint.  It's a good thing the photo program has great editing capabilities.

Our rest break was also a refuel break as we still had about 70 miles to go and the tank was getting low.  Tatum, New Mexico had a nice, roomy fuel/truck stop that participates in the Open Road program so fuel was only $2.80.  That made Dad smile.

I was smiling when the coffee was made and the treats arrived.

Dad had fresh apple cake in his left hand and mini dog treats in his right hand.  I kept trying to send him a subliminal message to send that left hand to me as well but......at least I got treats.

The station was located just as we entered Tatum.  As we rode through the town, Momma was able to capture some photos of interesting metal work signage.

There was welcome sign as you entered Tatum that matched this sign as we exited.

 Passing a Metal Works Art studio helped explain all the metal work.  Further down the road, the entrance to ranches were embellished the ranch name in similar metal work.  It appears that the metal work business is prospering.  

As we neared Roswell, the scenery took on more interest.

This photo was taken as we were approaching Bottomless Lake State Park.

It looked like we made really great travel time...until you take into consideration that we just jumped into Mountain Time. At least we are easing into the time zones as we spent quite a bit of time in the central time zone. It's not like boarding a plane from the eastern time zone and getting off in central time and demanding your body adjusts to a two hour difference immediately.  

It really doesn't make all that much difference to me as I eat when I'm hungry and sleep when I'm tired.  I really don't care what time the news comes on.  Ooops!  They missed tuning in again tonight.  Guess you'll have to read the headlines.  

I'm Chloe

Last day in Texas

 June 2, 2025

Texas RV Park of Big Spring site B

Big Spring, Texas

It's hot and windy....and it's a warm wind, not a cool breeze.  A good day to catch up on chores, especially seeing it is a Monday and points of interest in the area are closed.

Pam finally located a replacement tire first thing this morning.  Now she is ready to roll once again with her new tire in place and the spare tucked away.

As you can see, the overnight sites come with privacy fencing.

Well, maybe not total privacy...as the fence isn't all that tall.

Howdy neighbor

This morning Momma and Dad went shopping and I am happy to report that not only was Dad smiling when they returned, but so was I.  They had been discussing restocking Dad's coffee cupboard and ordering on-line when low and behold, they found exactly what they needed right on the shelf in Walmart.  This store sells Tim Horton brand coffee.   Now keeping Dad in coffee is a good thing because coffee break always involves cookie bone treats for me.  But what really put me in a happy state was my new toy.  

And of course what goes great with coffee?  How about the fresh apple cake Momma baked?

Come on Dad.  You need to share with me.  Just look at these sad, begging eyes that you can't say no to.

Tomorrow we will be hitting the highway once again as we slowly move in a north westerly direction.

We will be departing Texas and stopping for about three nights in Roswell, New Mexico.

And the summer adventure continues....... Momma, let's mark my map on the wall for my Texas stay.

I'm Chloe

L O N G E R than planned travel day

 June 1, 2025

Texas RV Park of Big Springs site B

Big Spring, Texas

Summer has definitely arrived.  This is the warmest...okay, lets call it what it is...... hottest... day we have experienced so far.  It made it over the 90 mark and climbed to 94.  Whew!!  Took quite a while to cool down the 5er as we were a good six hours plus on the road today.  In fact, the AC unit hasn't quit running since our arrival!

No we didn't plan on our trip taking that long.  We had a little over 200 miles to travel and with a break tossed in, we were planning on four hours.  Is there some sort of law that says, "On your longer travel days, always add an extra two hours for guaranteed mishaps"

The ride began with great scenery as we traveled up and down the rolling hills, in between the rock cuts.

The sun was shining.  The sky was a gorgeous blue.  Traffic was light.  It was one of those perfect days to be on the road.

And then.....

Pam, 'The Shadow' called to say she was receiving some wacky info from her tire monitor.

Time for a side of the road tire change.  The good thing was, it was on the passenger side so they were working away from the traffic side.

Momma said she thought it was a pretty place to stop amongst the wild flowers. 

Then, after mounting the spare, the tire gauge showed only 59 pounds...no where near 80.  So on up the road we traveled locating a nice large pull of area where Dad could start his generator to enable the air compressor to add some air....but wait...there is plenty of air in that tire.  The tire gauge was faulty.  Pam, toss that gauge in the trash.

With just under 200 miles left to travel, it was decided not to chance our luck and pick up a spare tire.  A google search for tire shops in Junction, Texas showed two shops open on Sunday.  

Hmmmm????? GPS says, 'You have arrived!'  There isn't a tire shop in site...so we called the number for the shop only to get a recording.  On to shop number two which didn't even have a website listed....and as we approached the neighborhood and saw a stack on tires outside a shack, we just continued to roll by. I doubt they would have even had a tire, if anyone felt brave enough to stop and ask.

The landscape flattened out as we traveled further northwest. 

We have left hill country with the picturesque rock cuts in our rear view mirror.

When we hit the midway stop for our travels and stopped for a coffee break, Pam called a Firestone shop in San Angelo about 40 miles ahead.  "Yes, our store on Knickerbocker Road has your size tire in stock.....four of them showing on the inventory."

I'm sure someone is in trouble at that store.  They couldn't even put their hands on one of the tires shown on their inventory list.  Maybe I should have written 'trouble' with a capital T.  

'Would you like us to remount the bad tire that shows separation back on the rim?'

Well, luck rode the rest of the way with us and we arrived safely without a usable spare tire for Pam.

This campground's office is closed on Sundays so the owner left us an envelope as promised with our site assignment and a map. Momma took the envelope for Sharon Mine.  Now that's a new one!! Usually, if they are going to change the name, they add an 's' and turn it into Himes.

It was well after 4pm by the time we were set up.  But fortunately for me, there was still time to chase my ball after dinner.  I was ready to stretch out a tad after a day of riding.

I'm Chloe