Happy New Year From Jerry and Gloria

Winter has arrived in New Mexico. Albuquerque is shoveling more snow than any time in history. Our temperature today is only 35. However the sunrises continue to be terrific, and the sky is alive with reddish, purple clouds nearly every evening. All of this can be viewed from the windows of our trailer. The City of Rocks State Park has to be one of God's great masterpieces.
Jerry has completed his rattlesnake slideshow, and now the park manager has asked him to do one on the Mysteries of the Moon. This one should be aided by the fabulous full moons we enjoy at the park. The one in the photo was the way we saw it over Table Mountain from our bedroom window. For a better view, click on the photo. See you back here in 2007.

Christmas Day at City of Rocks

It Iwas a warm, sunny Christmas day at City of Rocks State Park. We began it with a hike through the magnificent rock formations. Later we went to the home of Robert, one of the rangers whose residence is on the grounds. Robert and his wife, Jodi, have three lovely children. Since we were missing our own kids and our grandchildren, it was fun being with Robert Jr., Derek and Victoria. Our other host family, Linda and Doug, were there, as was the Park Manager, Ken. Linda loves to cook, and she did a great job with trukey and dressing. Jodi fixed a couple of Mexican dishes, and Gloria provided a salad and dessert.

New Assingments at City of Rocks

We have now been hosting at City of Rocks State Park in NM for two months. We have had NO rain during that time. The nights can get down to below freezing, but we have gorgeous sunrises and sunsets with daytime temps getting to the mid-sixties. We continue to enjoy our half-day assignments. Gloria is still the cheerful, welcoming vistor center hostess, and Jerry has graduated from trash collector and weed whacker to PowerPoint guru. The Campground Manager first asked him to develop a presentation on rattlesnakes. That turned out so well that he has been assigned two more slide shows: Mysteries of the Moon and The Desert Grocery Store.

To help prepare the rattlesnake slides, we visited the Rattlesnake Musuem last weekend in Albuquerque. Jerry got still another job. He will also prepare a PowerPoint presentation for the Museum in exchange for some information and assistance from the Museum Director. Ironically, Jerry loathes snakes, but his appreciation for them is growing. We took the scenic route along the Mimbres River, through the Black Range and over the Emory Pass. There are few if any businesses in the little villages along the way. We did "strike it rich" in Hillsboro, population 150. What a neat little town! Real cowboys hang out there, and we loved the General Store Cafe. The steak and eggs brunch and breakfast burrito were without equal. It's just a friendly little place with western antiques hanging on the wall and one waitress who is old enough to remember when the antiques had functional relevance. All this was set off buy a wonderful glowing open flame stove. They even have a 1916 newspaper highlighting Pancho Villas raid on Columbus, NM.

In Albuquerque, we stayed in VIP quarters at Kirtland Air Force Base, did some Christmas shopping and walked the River of Lights extravaganza one evening .

Thanksgiving In Virginia

We flew home to Virginia for Thanksgiving and to keep several routine medical/dental appointments. When we arrived we discovered that the furnace fan needed replacing, the Celica battery was fully discharged, the computer in the office crashed, and we had unexpected company. Fortunately the company was Gloria's niece, who is great fun and most tolerant. When things are not as expected, she can always fall back on her Masters Degree in Divinity. The good news concerning challenges is that we are into time mastery. That notwithstanding, Jerry stood in line for 3 1/2 hours, beginning at 5:00 a.m. on "black Friday" to get a great buy on a new computer. Then it took another couple of days to get all the progams loaded and functioning.

On a much brighter note, we were able to have lunch or dinner with six different couples at various times. They are all dear friends whom we have known for years. It was so good to see them! For Thanksgiving dinner, we grilled salmon which Jerry had caught and shipped home from Alaska. We were delighted to share it with three of our children, their spouses and their children. Mark, Christal & Ethan; Coutney, Josh & Althea; and Robin & Samuel were with us. Regrettably, Alejandro, Robin's husband was in Colombia, his home country, taking care of his coffee business. Also sharing in the festivities were Josh's parents, Allen and Suzanne. The three children had a great time playing together, and little Ethan, our youngest grandchild, held his own wth the bigger kids.