Snow

Ruins Road RV Park, Aztec, New Mexico, Oct 28, 2009

 

This is the snow-laden crabapple tree next to our motorhome.

Yes!! Snow!!  Time to head south!!

Talking Dog

Margaret sent me this.  Thanks, dear.

A guy is driving around the back woods of Montana and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house: ‘Talking Dog For Sale ‘ He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard.

The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there.

‘You talk?’ he asks.

‘Yep,’ the Lab replies.

After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says ‘So, what’s your story?’

The Lab looks up and says, ‘Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.’

‘I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running. But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.’

‘I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I’m just retired.’

The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.

‘Ten dollars,’ the guy says.

‘Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?’

‘Because he’s a liar. He never did any of that.

Cousin Mike’s Blog

My cousin Mike has just launched his own blog, Pater Familias, about the joys and trials of raising a child in the twenty-first century.  His little girl is only in first grade so he will have years of fathering to provide grist for his mill.

Mike and family moved from laid-back LA to suburban New Jersey last year.  If the culture shock of that hasn’t killed him, he might survive fatherhood. 

The Road To Ruins

We are in Aztec, New Mexico, home of the Aztec Ruins. And no, the ancient Aztecs did not build the ruins.  The ruins are of an ancient pueblo built by the natives in the 12th century. We also visited Salmon Ruins, just outside of Bloomfield, about 15 miles away.  Like the ruins we visited in Hovenweep, the peoples that built these villages were part of the culture that built the villages in Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon.  In addition to the ancient ruins, Salmon Ruins has the 19th century farmstead of the Salmon family, that settled next to the ruins and for which it is named.

Both the Aztec and Salmon Ruins allow you walk a prescribed trail through the site.  Many of the rooms have been back-filled to provide support for the walls and keep them from collapsing.  In the Aztec ruins the trail leads through a few rooms with the original ceilings and the very small connecting doorways.  It is hard to imagine living in them, they are so dark and bare.  The Aztec ruins has a great kiva that was rebuilt  from the in-ground remains and is very impressive.  The west outer wall of the pueblo has green lines not seen in other pueblos from the period.  Was it purely decorative? Or did it have a spiritual or cultural meaning?  Who knows?

The campground we are at is on Ruins Road, only a scant half mile from the Aztec ruins.  We originally planned to stay here a week, but the weather and the campground are so nice we decided to stay a month.  The cottonwoods are just brilliant right now, glowing in the autumn sunshine.  We have had a few rainy days, and the nights get frosty, but we aren’t complaining.

As usual, there are more pictures at  http://picasaweb.google.com/campory57104/

Take A Break

This was sent to me by Margaret.  I am a terrible parachutist.

Here something you all can do for fun……….

Daffy Duck Parachute Jump

Try not to spend all day at it…Click here: PARACHUTE JUMP