Landing Gear Down......who is this guy?

Today's drive was about 4 hours, covering 130 miles. Yeah, I know. I drive slow so I  can sight see. And today I pulled over for some pictures to share.

Looking west from US285, 60 miles north of Santa Fe, NM

Looking east at snow-capped mountains from same location.

Most of the drive was through a portion of the Carson National Forest and included a large expanse known as the Taos Plateau. These pictures were taken in this area. Once we are settled in, I plan to drive back down there for more exploration. Signs posted alone the route warned of elk crossing areas and wildlife viewing areas. The vistas are so broad that it would be a great area for binoculars, spotting scope or a telephoto lense.  

It's a gray evening in Mogote Meadow. My smart phone altimeter says we are at 8062 feet above sea level and the temperature now (7:30 PM) is 56 degrees. Forecast low tonight is 39 degrees.

We arrived here about 1:00 this afternoon and found that we are the only guests in the park at the moment. There are a handful of trailers here, but Mark (the park owner) said their owners store them here during the off season. He is expecting some of their owners in the next few weeks.

Looking out our door

Future Neighbors

Home is where you park it.

 The first greeting we got upon arrival turned out to be from a homeless fellow who would very much like to move in with us. So far he has remained nameless, but he's extremely well mannered and friendly. Mark said he showed up a few days ago and has been waiting for me. I told him the Mobil White House is full!!

He who shall remain nameless.

 


We spent the afternoon getting our trailer set-up, getting WiFi connections, scanning for over-the-air TV stations (none found) and so on. The WiFi has a 26 character alpha-numeric passcode. That's a pain when it has to go into my laptop, cell phone and Roku. Fortunately, Netflix are working via Roku. Now I need to get my satellite TV lined up before I miss too many episodes of Revolution.

We made a run into Antonito (population 873) to pick up some groceries. There is a "Home Town Grocery", two mexican restaraunts, a liquor store and a Presbyterian Church on Main Street. What else do you need?

Then we made a run about 15 miles up-river (Conejos River) into the Rio Grand National Forest. The river looks good and I found several places to access it near the highway. We'll get some pictures over the next few days when the sky is clearer. I plan to engage a fishing guide within the weeks to kick start my fishing here. There is a fly shop that has a guide service sign out front about a quarter of a mile up the road from our RV park.

Did you notice I didn't ask "Does anyone want a good dog?"