Oh, the rocks!

Day Ten, April 21, Are you still traveling with us? this is our down day – no traveling ... staying in place at the Hidden Valley RV Park,Tijeras, New Mexico, next to Albuquerque ...

Another cold morning, another night of gathering up blankets. I should anticipate the nights getting very cold by now. The day started icy, but by the afternoon walk I was able to shed the sweat shirt under my jacket, the scarf and gloves. Happy day!

This park is bigger than I first thought. It is divided into about three sections, separated by hills and rocks and tree-like things. We thought we would hire a taxi to take us to Old Town Albuquerque, but after checking prices ($65.00 one way for the 15-mile trip) we decided to stay in camp. I napped. Good choice.

After a nap, we took a second walk and met a fellow-camper from Arizona. We asked some directions to the federal parks. I got information on the small flat cactus we are seeing everywhere. You can buy them at the grocery store, scrape off the long thorns, then scrape off the smaller ones underneath the long ones. Boil the cactus and then cup open, scraping out the white insides. Apparently there isn’t a lot of flavor to it. It makes good jelly I am told. If we run across some at a grocery store I will have to give it a try. Maybe I should google cactus recipes.

Today is not nearly so windy ... Here is a picture of the path we walked on. It basically circled the camp, and a misc. scene. It is very pretty here. Soooo many rocks, be still my heart!

Kim arrives around noon tomorrow. We will have to decide if we want to head toward Arizona or stay another night. I wouldn’t mind spending a day in Santa Fe before we leave, or following the Turquoise Trail up the highway a bit.

We can figure it out when Kim gets here. She leaves from Columbus, Ohio at 4 a.m., so I expect she will be tired. Most likely we will spend a quiet day here and figure out where to go on Monday. So that is it.

I saw a neat sign in a camper window and may go back and ask permission to take a picture of it. The sign said “Today is a Gift.” Isn’t that the truth?

God does not owe me this four-week vacation, nor this warm motor home, nor the finances to do it. I am blessed and know it. Regina