Take the long way home.

I spent three weeks, seven months, and two hours at the Datil cabin this fall. There's a weird time-wrinkle there, maybe because I spend days at a time reading odd things (besides this blog) and hearing elk bugle. 

The above pictures were happening simultaneously. A rainbow at the last possible moment of the day.

Not-elk

Also not-elk. I call her Janice.

We headed out to Pie Town, and this time we enjoyed Pie Town Cafe. Now that Pie-O-Neer is serving only pie, it's good to have a real-food option. Open Friday - Monday.

Not much merc at the Merc 'n' Tile.

I allow other people to pun when it's their turn.

Pot of gold - a fresh cup of coffee enjoyed in a mountain cabin. 

Then it was time to face reality, or a New Mexico facsimile, and return to Truth or Consequences to pet-sit. Not a bad sort of reality, if I have to face some. Route 25 at 75 m.p.h. was not the sort of reality I was in the mood for, so I took the "shortcut" down Route 1 from Socorro. As my dad used to say, "I don't mind a shortcut, if it doesn't take too much longer."

Bridge over Nogal Canyon, as seen from Nogal Canyon. 

This is not a Datil tarantula

The morning I left the cabin I saw the season's first tarantula, looking for love in whatever places it wants. Mountain tarantulas are a lot smaller than the Lowlanders. Tarantulas are several years old before they make the autumn Journey of Courtship. If you see him out and about, give him a break; he's waited a long time for the chance to get lucky.

A different perspective: Elephant Butte Lake from the east side.

Soon I'll be headed north to Taos for frolicking fun: four fuzzy feline friends (and their two devoted servants). A quick break, and then we're headed for a brand-new adventure that I'll try to enhance, embroider, and embellish for your reading "pleasure."

What I Did on Your Summer Vacation.

My friend, Betty, asked if I was going to write the blog anymore. She also registered a complaint about the poor quality of the nothing she had been seeing here recently. 

Rainbow over Albuquerque.

I'm pleased to spend a lot of time with animals, but enough about my friends (RIM SHOT). 

Rosie and Little Ann.

And enjoying other people's art.

And sprucing up my cabin, with my girlfriend's help. 

I met my lovely daughter-in-law this week! She's married to my lovely son!

Nina and Phil. 

We took them into the Gila Mountains...

Guess where?

Emory Pass

... and Truth or Consequences...

A Little Slice of Heaven, Truth or Consequences, NM. It used to be Brazen Fox, which used to be Happy Belly Deli.

We did the Monticello/Winston/Chloride trail...

After being told I can't get there, I have become obsessed with Monument Park.

...and the Datil trip, of course.

I brought them so they could picture where I do nothing.

One last scenic stop...

Sunset over Rio Grande, Elephant Butte, NM.

My mysterious side.

We enjoyed Nina and Phil and their youthful energy. I once had youth, but not energy.

They're still traveling home this morning, after so many delays that it could be amusing if they weren't so tired. They are currently disillusioned with United Airlines, unless UA does something amazing to make up for this trip. Your move, United!

I'll be home* for Christmas (*wherever that is)

My five weeks in Truth or Consequences was satisfying, as it usually is. I lived happily in three homes this time, and found a near-perfect balance between solitude and pleasant company. Betty says T or C is my second home, and I suppose that feels true.

Whoa there, cowboy. Didn't you see the hydrant?

One of these guys had a hearty breakfast at Maria's.

I was able to meet up with a couple of RVing friends this time. David, who runs the Facebook groups Staying Warm for RVers and Prius Camping, blew through town and we met up to compare strategies. 

He uses some techniques that I haven't tried and might, and some that I haven't tried and won't. He has fashioned an actual kitchen which is clever and functional (Yeti cooler, induction "hot"plate, and a small pressure cooker). I admired this set-up, and then asked myself, "If you don't cook in a house with running water, gas stovetop and dishwasher, do you think you'll cook in the front seat of Spud?" I replied sheepishly, and so that's an innovation for another (life)time.

David is very enthused with his life in his Prius, and that revived some of my old enthusiasm for Spud-living. I lost a lot of that mojo in August's microburst, and I can feel it returning.

Later that day, I met up with PleinGuy (David), whose art is available here. We enjoyed dinner at BellaLuca, where I learned he has lived in unconventional and fascinating ways. He generously gave me a giclée of one of his paintings, which couldn't be more perfect for my cabin. Also, it has allowed me to say "giclée" a few times.

Lots of you revel in the season's merriment, and lots of you hunker down until it's over. I guess I've done my share of both lately. If you're a hunkerer, relax knowing it's almost done! And if you're a reveler, it's almost here!

At first I was afraid, I was petrified: Survival and joy in an off-grid cabin (Datil, NM)

Sometime recently, I newly knew that life could be cozy and comfortable, and not just survival. That's when I started loading Spud up with cozy and comfortable things I had found along the way. It also changed the way I looked at what I already had. 

You know how, when you move into a new place, you don't feel at-home until you do "that thing"? We all have that thing, and sometimes we just stumble upon it by accidentally doing it, and then feeling comfortable. I learned a while ago that books are that thing for me.

Before: that naked hearth made me cold just looking at it.

After: that thing

Of course, even before there's that thing, there's THAT thing. The first thing I realized experientially was that I needed a bed. Now, my bed has a curtain-friend. Good for afternoon naps without sun in my eyes, and fully-lit nights when the moon is an invader.

Uncovered windows at night undo me. Nevermind that anyone standing on my deck and looking in would need to have brought provisions, a bedroll, night-vision glasses, a strong stomach, and a GPS. Now they can just stay home, thanks to curtains.

I was going to wait until I had cleaned up, but we only have so many years.

It got cold here a few nights ago. Thank goodness that's over!

My head.

Flickers are beautiful, inquisitive, and relentless. I call this one "Opportunity," because he just keeps knocking.

There was a Hallowe'en festival in town, and Betty and I attended. 

Amigita being as scary as she ever gets. She's a service dog.

Somehow I walked out the door and up a mountain. I know, it confused me, too. Just when I thought I knew who I was.

Spud Ranch

Horse Mountain? When the locals argue, I simply refuse to learn until they come to consensus. 

When a half is really a quarter, and vice versa.

I got out my old Magellan GPS, and discovered that the cabin is right at 7800'; I had previously gotten the notion it was 7500', but no. This sparked some friendly competition between myself and everyone else in the neighborhood, now that we all know I'm above them. Mostly they've been good sports, even with my attitude of altitude.