On the road

XM Radio Direct TV 862 World Zone. Enjoying our XM radio via Direct TV on our in-motion satellite.

Hike to the Rio Grande.
This trail head is 20 miles north of Taos. What a hike! Humbling. These were my last wishes on our hike out. Linda brought a nice lunch and we had that on the floor of the gorge. A nice day out. On the way back we took a 5-mile drive into the D.H.Lawrence Ranch. Incredibly remote. Those sides of the wooded mountains you see in the pictures that surround the vast valley…that’s where we were. Sorry to bore you all with our slides — here are pictures. The cows were about the only wildlife we saw.

Bravo and our Ray of Light, Ray Wiger.
Bravo — a nice bistro not far from where we are. Highly recommended by us. We met Ray there in the bar in the middle of an afternoon. This guy is in his mid 40s, has worked his entire life for the National Park Service, 3 to 6 months at a park at a time, and had so many great ideas for places to go. At 20, he rode across the country on a bike along with his Dad who was on a moped. Made headlines he said. They were heros at Sturgis. He has settled down in Taos and does wire mesh sculpture. Do a google search for some examples. Nice and interesting.

Lee and Carol. Our Taos Valley RV park hosts. Had dinner with them. Very nice people. Pictures to come.

Work. Have to. The scenery is fantastic.

We went to the Taos Plaza to see my flamenco friend Catalina Del Rio Fernandez and her students perform. Most of her students were quite young and charming! See all pics here.

I was invited to perform Friday night at the Taos Community Auditorium as part of the Taos Flamenco Festival 2007. Good thing I brought my shoes. It was a last minute invitation from Catalina. She picked me up so I could practice at her house. All went well until I was getting into her car…it was raining and her driveway was slippery mud. I slipped and lacerated my right leg on the door. Needless to say, I was not able to dance that evening. Did somebody say “break a leg”?

Here are some groovey, no-flash pics that Jim took at the show.

Love from the crippled gypsy.

After a brief overnite stay at the Clayton, NM KOA, we reached our destination for the next two weeks, Taos, NM on July 14, 2007. Staying at the Taos Valley RV Park is right on the edge of town. It’s a great location if you want to visit the Plaza and galleries. We have been tripping the 50 amp breaker every day since we have arrived. We think it is the park’s outdated electrical. We are compromising by reducing the amount of electricity that we use, such as running only one ac. It’s gets pretty hot in this can during the day. Jim has become close pals with Lee, a work camper staying here with his wife Carol. They live most of the year at an RV Park in Mexico. They have developed quite a relationship during heated conversations about our electric usage.

We are still getting rain! It rains every afternoon around 6:00pm. It doesn’t last long and everything dries rapidly. The storm clouds in the mountains are breathtaking.

We plan on going to Santa Fe this Friday to see Jaquelin and her gallery. I will upload some pics soon.

Missing all,

Linda

Just returned from my (mostly) daily walk, going around High Point RV park here in Enid. We pulled in late last night, had a heck of a time getting this thing parked. Had to run over some decorative grass. Sorry. This thing is huge in a small place. And it rained on us. It’s not my kind of usual thought, but it seems we are being punished for doing this. In the last two months that we’ve had this bus, I’d guess we’ve been in rain 40 out of those 60 days. Seems there’s a road block at every turn. My frustration is showing.

This rv park is not the kind of place you’d want to take your gal. Avoid a park that calls itself a combination mobile home and rv park. The neighborhood won’t be nice.

I’ve come to appreciate asphalt driveways and concrete pads. Gravel might be ok, but chat is really dirty.

Better times are on the way. I just know it. My attitude will improve. I just know it.

Jim

After numerous delays, repairs, and good-bye parties, we have finally hit-the-road and are heading West. Our first destination is to reach Enid, OK before Jim falls asleep. I am having pangs of separation from my son Evan, Kit & Kat (the kitties) and all of my dear friends and family. What will I do without all near? I will cherish the richness and happiness that all have brought to my life and will be anxious to see all again very soon. But, in the meantime, we will be learning so much during our days traveling and experiencing new places.

A little catching up on our past 4 weeks:

Our home on wheels has a new foundation, thanks to a new set of tires put on in Ft. Worth around the end of June. We spent 6 days just South of DFW Airport in the Prevost Car lot getting serviced and rained on every day. Had several good visits with sister Diane, who made the huge trek from Plano 3 times to our rig. Got the best haircut from Natalie in Las Colinas before meeting Amy and Rodney at the Smirnoff Center for a gay pride benefit concert with Cyndi Lauper, Deborah Harry and Rosie O’Donnell. Amy and Rodney spent the night on the bus, then we all drove to Denton the next morning for breakfast with Papaw and Judy. Papaw was seeing Geckos…

Here are some pics

Back to Tulsa for another 3 days at Tulsa RV. They could not figure out why our new satellite receivers were not functioning properly. Jim finally solved the mystery by reading instructions…I am so proud!

Our last night at Tulsa RV we had an unwanted visitor around 1:00am. He knocked on our door and when Jim peeked out he saw a redneck looking dude in the bed of a pickup truck that was parked in front of our bus. Jim honked our freight train horn and the guy was out of there like a streak of lightening. {Jim is my hero and he honks a big horn}. The next morning we discovered how incredibly stupid this would-be burglar was. He tried to break in our Jeep with a crowbar, trying all four doors without success. Did about $3,000 worth of damage to the doors when all he had to do was break the glass, which is what he did to the back window of the pickup truck! Geez, dumb burglars.

Stayed at the Tulsa Fairgrounds RV Park for 8 nights. Had a couple of great bike rides with Becky, had several warm and fuzzy visits with Amy, Evan and Brigid, Becky & Pat, Steve & Athena, Ralph & Steph, and a short and sweet visit from Rita.

Evan had 4 impacted wisdom teeth extracted Monday morning. He is doing fine now and not very swollen, but Monday was rough. He was very brave through the pain and has a loving nurse by his side (sweet and loving Brigid).

Last night was spent with Becky, Steve and Athena at The A Bar in Brookside listening to Chris Campbell, Jim Sweeney and Jon Glazer on the patio. A perfect ending to our time in Tulsa.

Love to all!
Gypsy Linda