More Morphy, please: Morphy Lake State Park, New Mexico

I left the comforts of girl-camping (exactly like boy-camping, but with girls and it smells better) and headed off to Morphy Lake State Park for the night. This is a beautiful spot, with a maximum 18-foot rig restriction. What's the point of having the tiniest rig if you don't flaunt your privilege?

Morphy Lake sits in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. TRIVIA QUESTION: In which popular TV series does the main character mention the Sangre de Cristos, and what city is s/he in when s/he mentions them?

I'm feeling restless and at loose ends (are you a string? I'm a frayed knot!) with the feeling of not being where I want to be, and not wanting to be where I am. It's a head thing, and I can deal with it. You can look at the pictures and see that if I don't want to be there, it's a problem with my bean.

Morphy Lake is at 8000 feet, and there are wildlife dangers. Other tent campers looked at me and said "I don't have to run faster than the ______, I just have to run faster than that orange cast." One guy walked past and said "Whoa! You're doin' this hardcore!"

Chipmunks present an unrecognized hazard in the wilderness. I had half a dozen of them working me at all times in the crepuscular hours. One fat one danced and shimmied, and while I pointed and laughed, the other five took my dinner and my paperback. I stood up to stop them, and one took my chair.

DO not say "AW!" This is not cute.

I wondered what to do with my food, but they all retired before nightfall. I got up this morning to silence and relaxed, until they all emerged from Hell at one time.

I texted a friend last night and told him of my woe. He said "Have fun with them!" and I replied YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

When one is restless and at loose ends, naturally one goes to Taos. But, THEN where does one go?

Anna Whack National Wildlife Refuge, Texas

Marshy Brady was the cute one.

We spent our first night on the prairie - WOWZERS can it storm here!  The volunteers here agreed that it was scarypants last night, which made me feel less like a pansy.  Everyone considered running for the community center except for those newcomers who didn't know about a community center.

We hold no grudges agains the Prairie, though, because it's awesome here.  And, if you're sick and tired of Judy's crisp, breathtaking, professional-grade wildlife photography, boy howdy! have you come to the right blog.

We rolled in yesterday, and Judy had a spot picked out for us.  We have a front-row view of the horizon.  I love horizons.

Solstice Sun.  

Judy, Emma and their rig.  Does the motorhome have a name, Judy?

Crawfish nest?  The heck, Texas?

Two of us are not Judy.  None of us are Emma.

Prairie seashell.  I blame Ike.

I took this picture!  I'm so proud, and I hope you see this one before you see Judy's.

Snow Geese and the Seven Other Geese

The rarely-captured Blogger

Her Weapon of Choice

This?  Not a toilet.

Safety First:  only look at the sun when reflected in a marsh.

She aims!  She shoots!  She SCORES!

We got to see some parts of Anahuac (ANa whack) National Wildlife Refuge that are only open to staff and volunteers.  Cool!   Judy knows every bird who has ever napped, snapped, or flapped on the Refuge.

Galveston Bay

Judy invited us to stay on for Christmas dinner, and we accepted with grateful hearts and drooly mouths.

Go Annie! It's your birthday!

She turned the Big Four Five today,which she read somewhere is the Fudge birthday. Someone needs to get control of Wikipedia.

We're at a hunting camp in Georgia, where it is cicada season. Hunters everywhere, but their guns are so tiny! Really, we're alone on a great remote road. These bugs have been underground for thirteen years, long enough to be closeted. Be out, loud, and proud, you guys! I'll sleep when you're ... done talking. We drove up to I-20 to get some quiet.

But, guess who is nocturnal! And loves hunting camps! And can sing all night! And is looking for love! [Not a men's choir.] A whipoorwill. It would be great if the cicadas kept the birds awake all day, so we could ALL sleep tonight.

Some sputtering from the Duck just as we settled into our spot. Why would that start suddenly? Chugging and coughing. Ideas? We're a couple of miles down a dusty road, but nothing different otherwise.
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[All obscenities are my own and are not the product of AutoCorrect.]

I hollered over at Jeana

I said "DON'T LOOK, JEANA!" but it was too late ...



We're ready for it!



I told you the problem with our thermostats, the problem where they don't work. The furnace runs like a well-oiled heating machine, but too often, too long, and too hot. Carolyn suggested pointing a vent at the thermostat, which isn't possible but put us on the right track. If we could localize the heat just around the sensor we could OVERPOWER IT WITH OUR SUPERIOR INTELLECT and cunning mastery of caps lock. Plus, festive, am I right? Maria and MaryGail were impressed with our minimalist decorating.

Still, Annie felt there must be a solution, a real fix, so she kept researching until she found another Bounder owner who resets his thermostats by removing, then replacing, the fuses labeled "ECC" (electronic climate control). She did that last night, and my job today (my only job) was to test it. With the bulbs unplugged, the furnace came on at 61° F (~18° C) and brought a bag lunch. I plugged them back in and they're working again to suppress the sensor. It's so cold in here I can't feel my nose. Success! So sleepy. I'll nap in this snow drift ...

In happier days, we put on this window stuff:




This was the next happy day:



Speaking of happy days, Ralph, I've been taking extra vitamin D for the past two winters to help my mood.



After and before photo

Lily wanted to go out seconds before she wanted to come in:




BREAKING unresolved news: the power just went out in the Duck, but not in the house. Inverter won't come on. GFCI keeps tripping, and I can't find the fault. I just know it's not mine.

Take a waddle on the wild side.

Lots of fun wildlife to be found here!

Linus


Honk Shoo!


Sage


Honk Who?



Sly-vester (picture by Carolyn)


Thomas (picture by Carolyn)


Pandora





No letters! I didn't name them, people - they come with their own ID. And, this is not the way we tether our animals ordinarily. This was a special circumstance.

And, speaking of wildlife ...



... Kathy and Jill (Internet names Rudy and Judy) came to visit Annie and Carolyn, and we were kindly invited to join them for a cookout. It was unavoidable. Guests would start pulling up next to the Duck, beans and buns would walk past laughing, and they all knew they didn't want to deal with our sad faces and big eyes staring out toward the campfire.

Jill and Kathy lived and traveled the US and Canada in a small truck camper for six months; they were hardcore! Great stories. We could tell by the glimmer in their eyes that they would do it again.

It is so peaceful here that we hate to go back to the house. I sleep very well in a background of peepers and rain on the roof, and birds are better than beeps for waking up to.