October everywhere - liminal advertising

October (from the Greek okt, meaning "seafood with tentacles" and the German ober, meaning "so over it") means we are tired of the clingy, hot days of summer. It's a month of thresholds; friends are leaving and friends are returning. Auf wiedersehen! Hasta la vista, Baby! and Welcome home!

Elephant Butte Lake

A dear old friend came through town unexpectedly, and we enjoyed each other's company for a while. This is the sort of enchantment one can expect in New Mexico. 

I was happy to lunch with friends, old and new, when Barbara from Me and My Dog ... rolled into town and also introduced me to another full-timer.

The pleasure was all mine when I met a new friend from San Francisco who also loves to make jewelry. I shared my borrowed studio with her for an afternoon.

Not bats.

John Vardo

... and then there was one.

Rocket Inn. Good place to stay in T or C.

Sweeties I'm with now:

Things I Like: 

Polarr photo editing. Works offline on my Chromebook. It also offers an Android app. The free edition is more than I need, and it offers tutorials. 

Daniel A. Brown (Into the Wild Blue). His work makes me forget to breathe. You can also see selected pieces at The Ranch at Taos gallery.

"The Beauty of God"

Stories I Omitted:

Bonnie, the Angry Great Dane (ends well).

Stuff even duller than what I included.

Would you rent out your RV?

A lovely young woman from RVshare approached me to write about their services. Everyone knows you can rent an RV, but what about renting yours out?*

I conducted a straw poll with a group of women RVers: would you rent out your RV? A large majority said "no, even if it's not my home," but a few said they would definitely consider it. Maybe your rig sits around most of the year. Maybe you're making painful payments on the RV that is sitting still. Insurance is heavily involved. Rigs older than 15 years aren't eligible. 

Anyway, research for yourself. I have no experience with this company, but Gaby at RVshare dot com was able to answer all my questions, including "would you rent out your own RV to strangers?" [She does.]

* I'm not making any money from this inquiry, and I'm not promoting the company. ETA: I became an affiliate 7/12/2017, so technically I probably am now, sorta, promoting them. All else applies, especially ... Do your own due diligence. Do not drink while doing research. If research lasts longer than four hours, turn off your computer, grab a beverage, and head out to your RV (this is almost always preferable to seeing your doctor).

Summer is glaring at me through other people's double-paned windows. It's hotter than a tin roof everywhere, except on an actual tin roof, where it is hotter. Because I live right, I have been enjoying cool houses and cold drinks with warm pets.

It's true: I have been restless. I have threatened to run away from home and responsibility, and I do it, too, until I get just outside responsibility's front door.

Monsoon has not yet begun, despite early promises. The virga you see in the clouds is evidence that humidity hasn't yet reached appropriate proportions. When it does, the virga will turn to actual ground-drenching rain. I hope I haven't blinded you with science.

Elephant Butte dam.
Dam what?
Dam the lake.
Why should I dam the lake? I like it.

I hoped to give you some perspective about the level of the lake. The Rio Grande downstream has been flowing high for months. We like that.

Families have been moving, more or less continuously, down the river in flotillas. I began to fear they were refugees from Colorado seeking asylum in the Gulf of Mexico, and so I've been throwing food and bottled water at them. They seem surprisingly ungrateful.

Can you see the elephant, or just its butte?

Thunderhead lying.

I heard there was a spot in New Mexico that had nine inches of snow on the ground yesterday. It may or may not be accessible by Prius.

Nothing to say, and all day to say it. (Florida to Albuquerque)

I spent two weeks in Florida; improbably I managed to take not one photograph. My mom asked me to come out to help with a health issue, but within a week she had already resolved it. That left me pretty free to socialize with new friends, old friends, "new" relatives, and long-lost family.

This is not family. It's just a cleverly-positioned photo.
[Bo and Danny]

Have you done any of the DNA testing available? I just did 23andMe. I like genealogy, and this has given me more hours of fun than a Slinky. The service provides levels of privacy (I chose None: My Life is an Open Blog), and you can contact people who share DNA with you. Not like Craigslist - this is wholesome fun, buddy.

A new cousin threw her husband and three kids in the van and drove for three hours to meet us. She was adopted, and we were the first genetic relatives she had met. It was lovely and poignant.

Chica and her tongue.

People drove for hours to see me. That gets me in the feels. I was painfully social for a solid week, but each meeting was so rich that it was worth this introvert's discomfort.

I spent my birthday at the edge of the continent with my best friend from high school, Tammy. We have the rare friendship that picks up where we leave it off. 

This is not me at the beach.
[Rio Grande rafters in Truth or Consequences.]

I still travel lately, but at the end of the trip I sleep inside. Today I'm in Albuquerque, in a house with seven remotes next to the TV. Thank goodness I have internet. Tomorrow I'll be in TorC with a book.

Elephant Butte Lake from the other side. No, the other side.

Water levels in Elephant Butte are 14 feet higher than this time last year. These two shots are not comparative - they were taken the same evening.

Truth or Consequences is a snowbird destination, so by June things are pretty quiet. The bookstore, which serves as a social hub, is closed for four months. Friends have left for their northern homes (mostly Minnesota). The odd traveler is from Wisconsin, and I miss her.

Q: Why did this guy have to move along?
A: He was parked in a toad-away zone.

New friends Luanne, Lisa, and Sandy met me for lunch to talk about their RVing launch plans. I see from Facebook that Luanne finally got beyond the Florida state line! It doesn't matter which state it is, your hometown exerts gravitational pull that can keep you immobile for a lifetime.

Mew West.
[Willow]

My cousin, Joe, and I figured out we last saw each other 50 years ago. We hadn't changed a bit.

There is nothing to report about travel, love, or finances. Still, there's a fecundity of mind and spirit, I hope. I'm gestating great things, and not just that botfly larva under my hat.

Tucson, AZ to the New Mexico frontier in 30 days.

Janice and I were invited to care for two sweet doglets, Thelma and Louise, who live in the suburbs of Tucson; we accepted! As cities go, Tucson is a good one. The doglets were good ones, too. Their mom wanted to visit the Himalayas while resting her mind about the pups and her home. This is where Janice and I excel.

Thelma, looking more nervous than was warranted.

I have been in Tucson when I didn't eat at Govinda's, but those times filled me with regret. I was having no remorse this trip.

It was a rare treat to be in the Old Pueblo at the same time as Brenda and Karin. Thanks for making time to break naan with us!

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When the time came to leave town, we picked the most direct route back to Datil. That included breakfast in Mammoth, a town we agreed felt pretty interesting. Bookmark that for later exploration.

El Capitan Pass, AZ

Salt River Canyon was previously only a cautionary tale to me. But, traveling in a small car eliminates a lot of preparation that big-riggers must make. We just jauntily happened upon it.

Salt River Canyon. Photographer is a little terrified.

My lovely assistant, Janice, models the canyon.

The last time I felt such surprise and wonder was my first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. This one is pretty darn grand, too.

By the time we hit Springerville, snow plow operators seemed to know something we didn't. Later, we knew it, too.

Yesterday, I had fun working at the Datil food pantry. Food pantries do an amazing job of feeding people, but it's not easy, and food pantries are usually scrambling to meet expenses. Volunteers who run them are always looking for a way to stretch a dollar.

Now, we're relaxing in the cabin in Datil, discussing and Googling important topics:

• How are pasta and egg noodles different?
• What is the mailing address for the geographic center of the contiguous United States?
• Is "spatchcock" a sexually-transmitted disease?

Between us, we finessed three propane heaters into full functionality, so we're doing well in the winter temperatures. When the Sun isn't hidden, we get extra solar gain. Solar is everything.