2/1/18 - Too Much Has Happened

Last month had more 'downs' than 'ups,' but we made it through, and things are looking better by the day. I lost motiviation for writing nearly altogether, as we suffered a family tragedy of our flighted companion Littlefoot leaving this world well before his tme. We're uncertain what exactly caused his ailment, and we did all that we could, but in the end, t wasn't enough. We laid him to rest beside a giant old cypress tree near a high bank of a river near Lake City, FL on January 4th. A rough start to the year for sure. We tried to enjoy ourselves in Panama City Beach, where we were lucky enough to meet up with Sarah's Aunt and Uncle before they headed farther South for warmer weather.

Unfortunately for us, the weather hasn't been very kind to us either. We froze on the shores of Biloxi and Gulfport, but tried to enjoy the cheaper camping and casinos, which were fun. We had to endure snow and ice in Louisiana of all places, which left us stuck for two days. While New Orleans was fun for a night, it cost a bit more than expected, and the icy layover in Baton Rouge didn't make for a great week. On top of this, I became ill with some sort of virus, which had me sweating with a fever for a few days. Thankfully it didn't last, though I had a persistent and painful ear infection for nearly 4 weeks of January, which even required a doctor visit and meds. Not fun.

We had a good time in Texas, which was a bit surprising. In Houston, we enjoyed touring the Space Center, and got to see Mission Control as well as the museum. We also got to check out the SkySpace at Rice University, a neat art installation dealing with lights on the sky. It was enjoyable and relaxing. We met up with Sarah's cousins as well, who were nice to see and catch up with.

Austin was even better, with a vibrant night life, good local breweries, and some decent live music. Sarah got to relish her first Coyote Ugly experience, something she has wanted to see since forever ago. We ended up staying at a great and safe walmart three nights in Austin, and got to know a few Uber drivers before heading west to check out the Rio Grande and Mexican border.

Unfortunately, this was more stressful than anticipated, as the border police apparently police the inside of the US more than the actual border (which they mostly use planes and radar for), and I'm not a fan of police interaction in the slightest. We've survived the stress of 5 checkpoints so far, but I'm sure there are more to come. Apparently when you are within 100 miles of the border, it's called a 'constitution exclusion zone,' meaning they can do what they want with you and you don't h ave much rights at all. It's pretty messed up if you ask me. It felt like it took forever to get out of Texas, which we were more than sick of even after just a week or so of being there.

In New Mexico, things really started to turn around. We hit up Roswell first, and checked out the UFO museum and the town. A good chunk of the town was closed since it was a Sunday (arrived there late Saturday), so we had to settle for some chain food at Buffalo Wild wings, which was tasty at least. The UFO museum was neat, and priced right at $5, but it could use some updating for sure.

From Roswell, we headed up to Albuquerque, where we enjoyed three days. We checked out Old Town, got some great (new) Mexican food, and hit up three breweries (Marble Brewing, Bow and Arrow Brewing, and Tractor Brewing). We stayed on Rt. 66, which was kind of neat, as the place was very old but well maintained. It was neat being in a town with the mountains so close. We also checked out a few filming locations for Breaking Bad, and bought some blue rock candy as used on the show.

After ABQ, we headed south to check out White Sands National Park. It was a long drive, so we took a break for a night near Truth or Consequences, NM, by Elephant Butte state park. It was a pretty nice campground but very out in the middle-of-nowhere. The price was right. That night was the lunar event, the blue blood super moon eclipse, which I was lucky enough to see since we are in the right time zone, and I was able to hear my alarm for once. I got a few good shots before heading back to bed for an hour until I had to wake up for work. Now that we are in Mountain time, I have to start work at 7, which is certainly taking some getting used to. We enjoyed White sands the next day, where we did some dune sledding, took some cool pictures, and flew the drone around a bit.

We left the gypsum dunes around sunset and headed west to Faywood Hot Springs Resort, NM, where we had our own personal hot springs to enjoy just feet from our campsite. It was probably our favorite campground so far this year, and we enjoyed soaking up the mineral-rich water, which left our skin feeling smooth. We stayed well into the next day, and hopped in a few more hot springs before heading west some more towards Arizona. And yes, the water was very hot, so much so that they have to cool it off a bit to prevent people from literally cooking in it. We met a few cool people in the pools, but since we got there a bit late, most people left or went to sleep a bit after we hopped in, which was fine with us.

With some luck and determination, February will be a great month that blows January out of the water. Good riddance January. We just arrived in Arizona, and are excited to see the sights of Tuscon, Phoenix, Sedona, Grand Canyon, etc. :)