Not Our Intention

Do you play cards?  We are not TV watchers, I’ve never been and Michael was never much of a TV fan either.  The internet feeds us what news we want to see and provides us entertainment if needed.  I grew up in a non-card playing family, Michael learned to play poker at about the age of six!!  Over the years I’ve learned a few cards games but have never been really good at playing cards.  Almost every evening we will play a couple hands of cribbage with Michael usually winning—not really but it sure seems as if he is always winning! When talking to Nat the other night I asked him if he knew any other two handed card games—he came up with a list—Nat is a champion card player!  So last night Michael tried to teach me to play Pitch—I think I am getting it, I think I am getting it????  I did win one game and the cowboy won one game so I must be doing something right??

Last night while playing cards we decided to move on, heading down to the Carlsbad Caverns area.  We would appreciate any advice you guys might have as to what cave tours are must sees! 

Michael spent a lot of time last night researching boondocking spots plus the BLM ranger who stopped by yesterday afternoon gave us some good advice.  We were all set to head to an area about 8-10 miles from the Cavern gates.  We used the Sanidump app to find a dump station in Carlsbad plus a place to take on water—we were set.

We woke to dense, heavy fog—yep, fog in the desert!

And 39 degrees outside, 57 degrees inside our rig.  Our rig is heated with a HydroHot system located right under our bed—the dang thing sounds like a freight train when it kicks on—really obnoxious!  So, when boondocking we don’t use the HydroHot system and neither of us is comfortable leaving the propane blue flame heater going all night. 

With that said, it is cold in our rig at night—we sleep comfortably under fleece sheets, blanket and a quilt I made with wool batting.  Emmi on the other hand is a cold natured little dog—she gets cold.  She sleeps in a snuggly little bed at the foot of our bed and I cover her with a fleece blanket—still she gets cold.  This normally isn’t a problem—she gets cold, she wiggles, I wake and cover her back up, we both go back to sleep. 

Now she gets cold, wiggles, starts coughing, needs to go outside (3am this morning) and continues to cough until the cough medicine kicks in.  By this time I am good and awake.  Emmi is still coughing and it will be two weeks Wednesday that this all started.

Today as we were traveling to Carlsbad I placed a call to Dr. Simpson, the veterinarian at CSU to ask if she had any more suggestions or if it was possible to give Emmi more of the cough/pain meds.  I have started giving Emmi honey to supplement the narcotic cough meds.  Dr. Simpson feels it is still possible to get Emmi back to the quality of life she had before this barking episode started the cough but it may take some time.  She wants us to have Emmi rechecked and perhaps have the vet give us another course of prednisone.  We have an appointment with a veterinarian in Artesia tomorrow morning. 

So, on the way to Carlsbad while I am on the phone with Dr. Simpson I spot a sign that says, “The Ranch, An Escapee Park” and an arrow pointing to the left.  I point with my hand, the cowboy sees the sign and nods.  I get off the phone, get out my Escapee book and sure enough—there is a park in a little tiny community of Lakewood, New Mexico—for future reference. 

Then the cowboy throws me a curve ball—would I rather go to the Escapee park and have full hookups so we could run an electric heater at night to keep Emmi warmer?????  I call the park, yes they have openings and the cowboy takes the big pink bus and trailer into a very wide U-turn on the highway!  We arrive to a most enthusiastic welcome—this park claims to be the friendliest Escapee park in the system. 

Then the fun starts—the manager’s husband, Doug, leads us toward our site and at one of the turns my driver realizes he can’t make the turn.  Doug said, “let’s unhook the trailer and you can then use my truck to put the trailer on the lot.”  Nope, the cowboy goes all the way around the outside of the park and BACKS down our street and into the site.  At the little happy hour gathering tonight almost every person we met said, “oh you’re the guy who backed all the WAY down the street.”  One guy came up to Michael and said, “you must be the guy who backed that trailer all the way down the street, I want to shake your hand!”  Friendly, welcoming place!! 

It was our intention to boondock but we love our Emmi and want her to get back to her normal, playful, energetic self.  She wants to play with her toys so badly but any little activity brings on a fit of honking, gagging, coughing!  We love boondocking, solitude, sunsets, quiet, letting Emmi run loose but here we sit with all our lights on, the washer/dryer running and the microwave going because we want Emmi to get better. 

There used to be a basketball in this bay—hasn’t been one there in a long time but this little dog has a VERY long memory!! 

Please, if anyone has any Carlsbad Cavern suggestions, let us know!  One of the couples at the happy hour told us about a candle light cave tour happening this coming weekend—that’s a possibility!