The Last Leg

David and I first visited Heron Lake in 1975.  Pristine and beautiful, we remember watching an enormous sailboat cruise past our campsite.  Although drought and Albuquerque's water needs have drastically reduced this lake, it is still lovely.

Heron Lake, New Mexico

We camped at Heron, enjoying a relatively mild evening, strolling for elusive geodes and watching the sunset.  With storm clouds brewing, however, we headed into the camper as rain began to fall.  Thunderstorms kept the rig rocking most of the night, but morning brought sunshine and a herd of five buck, a doe, and fawn near our campsite.

Newfound friends from the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers & Photographers group (rmowp.org) live in Taos and invited us for brunch Tuesday morning.  We had planned to shower here at Heron Lake, however, we discovered that the park had already closed the showers for the winter.  Again, we are on a quest to find a place to clean up.

On our drive from Heron Lake into Taos, we had extra time to dilly-dally.  We took Rox on a hike along the rim of the Rio Grande Gorge, knowing that the next several days would be hard driving.  The wind blew fiercely and had a bite to it... proof positive that we were in for a cold night.

Rio Grande Gorge near Taos, New Mexico

Taos caters to a different style of folks than those of us who camp primitively.  We ended up in a commercial campground so that we could shower before meeting our friends.  Early in the morning, our propane tank ran dry.  We decided to wait until daylight to change it out.  As a result, we awoke to a bone-chilling temperature of 34 degrees inside the camper.

We had a wonderful time visiting our friends, then headed east to Texas.  By Tucumcari, we decided to cash it in for the night.  We found no campgrounds less than $40 and ended up staying in a $48 Motel 6.

The three of us slept restlessly.  At 3:30 a.m. mountain time, David was whispering, "Are you awake?"

We found our morning coffee fix in Amarillo.  We made it home before five o'clock.

It felt like a sudden end to the trip, but home felt warm, wonderful, and palatial.  We noticed that both of us were humming, "Ain't it good to be back home again."

We will sleep in our own bed tonight.  Roxanne is already in her favorite position, belly up against the front door.  All is well.