We had an awesome night last night. We met a couple from Florida who have a huge new Tiffin diesel pusher bus - which is another way of saying frickin’ nice new large camper, and towing a jeep. 45 foot camper towing a jeep, I guess they don't back up much. They were Mike and Corkey from near Key West and they travel in their RV for 5 months of the year. They too love the whole concept of Harvest Hosts and they stay frequently with them. We chatted for quite a while and after we parted ways we made a good supper. The evening cooled down nicely and we were both cold by morning. A great night's sleep.
Morning at the Vineyard, in the pistachio grove looking at the sunrise over the mountains
I made pancakes this morning and we pulled out of the pistachio grove at the vineyard just about 9:30 and headed toward Roswell to see if we could find any aliens. The road was a winding mountain pass road, but wide and gentle inclines. The scenery changed quickly and soon we left the dry desertlike floor of the basin and ascended into a Lincoln National Forest mountain range.
Beautiful road through the mountains
It was a spectacular change for the arid area we had been in. We chatted, Jason called and the Doodle kept going with its’ engine light on. The DEF light had not been on for a while so I wasn't too uptight about things. As theses thing go it is always on the final leg.. as we neared Roswell the DEF light came on and the warning was that I had 16 starts of the engine before complete lockout. I kept the engine running while I refueled. I know, I know, you are not supposed to do that but I did.
A drive-by shot of the museum
The most popular business in Roswell seems to be selling things with aliens on them. T-Shirts are in every store as are sock, belts, earrings, Christmas tree ornaments, key chains and original art.
It is amazing, aliens stand in front of just about every roadside store - some raising a beer, some smoking a joint and some just waving as we drive by. We stopped at the International UFO Museum and Research Center - the alien hot spot in Roswell, at least the most believable. We read all about the incident that took place in July of 1947. It is still unresolved. The first reports were that an alien ship and four bodies were recovered, then it turned into a weather balloon..I doubt if we will ever really know, and that is the fun of it all.
Carol makes friends easily. . .
They had lots of photographs of every incident, lots of saucers and eye witness accounts. It was a fun couple of hours wandering through the museum. I would highly recommend a visit if you are ever passing through Roswell, and only $3 for seniors. We walked in and out of the shops along Main Street, found the appropriate souvenirs and chatted with folks along the way. Harper was with us the whole time and a couple of the stores had puppies for Harper to sniff and 'chat' with.
City Hall, Roswell - it’s really a pretty little town.
We found a restaurant, Martins Capitol Cafe, and walked right in with Harper under my are, took a booth and never said anything to anyone about having a dog in their restaurant. Harper lay right down beside me and never made a peep. We had a great lunch, paid and went on our way. I don't know if they ever knew we had our little chiweenie with us.
An evening at home. . .
I was bit apprehensive about starting the Doodle but when I did it still said I had 16 starts, the countdown apparently didn't begin yet, and when I restarted again at the Rv park, the DEF light went out. Who knows what is going on with it. We will find out in five days if we can get to Albuquerque. But tonight we are hanging out at a very comfortable rv park. We are all hooked up and have air conditioning running inside, but as I am writing this I am sitting under a cottonwood tree with my computer on my lap, Carol is sitting next to me reading a novel and Harper in on the rug at the door keeping watch out for all the other puppies in the park.
