Welcome to my World

Welcome to the domain different--to paraphrase from New Mexico's capital city of Santa Fe which bills itself "The City Different." Perhaps this space is not completely unique but my world shapes what I write as well as many other facets of my life. The four Ds figure prominently but there are many other things as well. Here you will learn what makes me tick, what thrills and inspires me, experiences that impact my life and many other antidotes, vignettes and journal notes that set the paradigm for Dierdre O'Dare and her alter ego Gwynn Morgan and the fiction and poetry they write. I sell nothing here--just share with friends and others who may wander in. There will be pictures, poems, observations, rants on occasion and sometimes even jokes. Welcome to our world!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Another Day Trip

This past Sunday, Ginger and I hopped into Red Hot Mama about nine in the morning and took off for a day of sight-seeing and exploring. We took more back roads and did more walking this trip and I think that made it even more fun!

Our first stop was right here in Alamogordo since Gin had not yet had her morning walk and was a little fidgety. We pulled off on the east side of Florida Ave just before it runs into Highway 82 which goes up to Cloudcroft and over the mountains to eventually reach Artesia. Someone was once trying to build some kind of an amusement park there and I snapped a few pictures of the strange ruins left behind. Here is one; may share more later

 After that we headed on out on Highway 54 north, passing through Tularosa, "Tulie" to the locals, and toward Carrizozo, taking a side road out to the Three Rivers Petroglyph area, a National Recreation Site. I was dismayed to learn that dogs were not allowed on the trail so decided to forego a look at the ancient rock art until another time. Instead we drove on out the road that soon became gravel instead of paved and discovered a really neat place! It's a small chapel with an adjacent cemetery sitting at the foot of two conical hills, both topped with crosses and winding rugged trails making their way up to the peaks. It is clearly old and very picturesque. I do plan to go back but did snap a couple of pictures. Santa Nino means holy child in Spanish, a probable reference to Jesus. I think the rest says de Aturbia but not sure as the fence obscures the somewhat faded lettering.



From there we went back to the highway and on up to Carrizozo and then to the west a few miles to the Valley of Fires, another National Recreation Site with some very interesting lava flows from a relatively recent (perhaps historical times) eruption in the area.I stopped at the office to get my Senior Pass card which admits me to a wide range of Federal facilities, such as Forest Service and BLM recreation areas, National Parks and Monuments and these lesser sites too. We got out and walked a bit as they do allow dogs there (why the discrepancy I have no idea!) but the wind had come up and taken a sharp edge. It was a good 15-20 degrees cooler than down at Alamo! So we had a fast light lunch and went on our way.

Last we went back through Carrizozo and out on the same highway to the north a few miles and then took a county road that goes out to an old mining camp and now kind of outpost village called White Oaks. Again I want to go back but did get a photo of the beautiful old school house there. There are a few other picturesque buildings as well.

We then headed home but it had been a fine outing and driving slow on some narrow, winding and even unpaved roads took me back to many happy adventures from childhood on. It's always been something I enjoyed, whether sitting in the middle in Mom and Dad's first Jeep as a wee tyke or riding in my late husband's 1950s vintage GMC pickup when we were going together, mostly with my soon-to-be step daughter perched on my lap. It's just so neat to get off the beaten path and have some of the wonderful rural and remote country pretty much to yourself!

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