Field Trip to Southwest New Mexico

I just returned from my long anticipated 2 day outing with the OASIS ("enriching the lives of mature adults") group. I was part of a group of 25 women and 6 men ranging in age from my inexperienced 56 to a very young and vigorous 92. We went on a historical tour of southwestern New Mexico and we all had a great time. I learned alot about this beautiful state in which I've lived but haven't even begun to explore. And I met some very interesting people including a gentleman who served as a B-17 pilot during WWII. I asked, he didn't know my dad.

We left Albuquerque at 8 am on a huge tourbus with TV screens and potty to go. (I'm embarrassed to admit that I was one of only 3 people who used that stinky on board toilet. It is designated as emergency use only and I guess I've been blessed with one of the smallest, most easily irritated bladders around.) We drove south to Socorro and then west through Magdelena, a mining and cattle shipping town and onto the plains of St. Augustin, Horse Springs, Aragon, Datil. Along the way we stopped at the VLA (very large array. click on the link and read about this amazing technology in the middle of nowhere) I have included some pictures of it in the slideshow.

We headed south again ending our day in Reserve, which is the Catron County seat. Catron county is huge, almost 7000 sq. miles, yet has a total population of only 3600 people. There are far more heads of cattle than people in the beautiful part of the state. Reserve has a population of only 374 but one of those people is Bill, the man who's courting me and who serves as county manager. I had a great time meeting half the town's folks within the first half hour there but especially enjoyed having dinner at Bill's pastor's house. I felt very comfortable with them and we had lots in common and lots to talk about.

My tour left the next morning and we headed south to the WS ranch near Alma which is rich in history. The ranch owners demonstrated some horse and cow maneuvers and delighted some of the guests to a wrangling, branding, and castration show. Needless to say, I did not watch this. I was very interested in the little cemetery on a hill on the ranch in which some of the US Army Cavalry are buried after being massacred by the Apache. The ranchers delighted us with stories, cowboy poetry and a fabulous BBQ lunch.

We then went to the beautiful Catwalk National Recreation Trail and enjoyed a 2 mile hike along a historic mining waterway. We drove north again and stopped at Quemado Lake.

We continued north through the Malpais National Monument and Conservation Area which is a stunning volcanic mountain range. We drove up through Grants and then east on I40 back to Albuquerque.

I am reminded again what an beautiful state this is and how awesomely gracious our God is in sharing His creation with us. My traveling friends told me of so much more there is to see in this quadrant of the state. I'll be more than happy to take another field trip with my new silver haired friends.