On The Road Home

John and I said a teary good-bye to Amy, Dave and the boys and hit the road for Brackettville.  Our first stop was McDonald's for some breakfast and then we headed out of town.  It snowed overnight and flurries were still coming down.  Fortunately we didn't have to travel over Wolf Creek Pass as chains were needed to travel that road this morning.  It was slow going until we reached Chama and then the roads began to clear along with the weather.  It was smooth sailing all the way to Carlsbad where we are spending the night.

Snowy roads to Chama

 

 

 Scenery north of Santa Fe

 Sanctuary of Pagosa Bible Church

where Dave is pastoring

Final Day of Thanksgiving Visit

This morning we attended the Pagosa Bible Church where Dave is the new pastor.   It was a special service today with the members sharing what they are thankful for along with much singing and a short message by Dave. 

The afternoon was spent watching football, playing games, and eating pizza.  We are all packed and ready to hit the road back south tomorrow morning.  Right now it's snowing so, hopefully. it won't last and we'll be able to travel.  We just need to get back over the mountains and further south into the warmer weather and we should be okay.

Busy Time In Pagosa Springs

Amy and Dave have been living in temporary housing the two months they've been here in Pagosa Springs, so Friday morning we all met up with their realtor and looked at a couple of houses.  They saw one they really liked that is in the process of being completely renovated and would be move-in ready.  The next step will be to talk to the realtor next week and decide if this is the house for them.  Since the weather was a little on the chilly side, we spent the rest of the day inside visiting and playing games.

Today was absolutely beautiful with clear skies--we could see the entire mountain range.  We took a walk around the neighborhood this morning and enjoyed the spectacular views.

 This is down the road from the house

Since it was such a clear day, Dave decided to take us for a ride out of town to see more of the area.  As we went up in elevation, we saw more snow along the road and in the fields.  We stopped several times to take some photos.

We returned to the house for lunch and an afternoon of football.  It was decided to take a break from the games and go into town to see the hot springs and resort located right in the middle of Pagosa Springs.  A little shopping followed and we picked up a couple Colorado mugs and pottery to remind us of this visit. 

The most amazing thing we saw was folks sitting at the outdoor tables in winter hats and coats while others were sunbathing right next to them.  The river running through the town is the San Juan River.

Happy Thanksgiving

The weather here in Pagosa Springs was overcast with a few snow flurries and we couldn't see the mountains at all until mid-afternoon when the clouds lifted a bit.  

Everyone enjoyed the delicious Thanksgiving dinner Amy prepared and then spent the afternoon vegging out watching football and playing card games.  Amy and Dave are looking for a new laptop, so it was decided to brave the crowds at Wal Mart this evening.  Unfortunately, the laptops were sold out, but I managed to get a great deal on a new Ipod Touch 6th Generation.  My grandson, Isaiah, has been busy setting it up and showing me how to operate it.  Tomorrow he's going to show me how to download music.

In Pagosa Springs

We were on the road once again by 7 a.m. after spending a restful night in Roswell.  The weather was a little overcast at times but all and all it was a good travel day.  This was our first time in New Mexico and I must say I thought the scenery was beautiful.

When we reached Santa Fe, we found snow along the sides of the road and more on the mountains.  John and I arrived at Amy's by 3 p.m. and spent the afternoon touring their temporary house and the town.  It was too dark to take pictures, so hopefully I'll be able to take some over the next several days.  On the downside, the weather forecast is calling for six inches of snow over the next few days.  It's definitely much colder here than in Texas but we brought our winter jackets, so we should be okay to venture outside.  This is the first time in many years that we'll be spending Thanksgiving with family and are looking forward to a fun day.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Roswell, New Mexico

John wanted to be on the road by 7 a.m. and we managed to leave the house right on time. Our first stop was McDonald's in Del Rio for a quick breakfast.  We drove through some misty rain, but by the time we reached Sanderson the skies were sunny and the weather was just beautiful.  For lunch we stopped at a DQ in Fort Stockton where we grabbed a couple of strawberry shakes and fries to eat on the road.  We had never been in this part of Texas before and found some of the scenery quit beautiful and other parts rather boring.  After crossing the New Mexico state line, we hit some traffic--mainly oil trucks and quite a few pickups.  This seems to be oil and gas country.  Our stopping place for the night was Roswell, NM.  We enjoyed some time in the hotel's hot tub and then went for supper at Applebee's.  Following a delicious meal, we walked around Target, did a little shopping, and called it a night.

Packing

Mondays mean wood carving for John and laundry for me.  It was a little warmer when we took our walk this morning and it turned out to be a very nice day.   John headed to wood carvers after breakfast and I got busy with changing bed linens and other laundry.

Most of my day was spent packing as we're leaving tomorrow morning for Pagosa Springs, CO to spend Thanksgiving with Amy's family.  We'll be gone for at least a week.  John played in a scramble this afternoon and his team came in second place.  Now there won't be any golfing until we get back here to the fort.  I think John will go through withdrawal.  We plan to take our time getting to Colorado and will spend one night on the road in Roswell, NM.  We looking forward to seeing some the country we haven't seen before.  Hopefully we'll have good roads and no snow.