Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Hello dear readers and TAT enviers. ( I made up that word; but yesterday NH made up "majoritally," so I figured I might.) This morning we woke up to the raucous chirping and strange calling of the loudest birds short of a Thai village-worth of roosters at 4:00 in the morning. I have never heard song birds so loud. Apparently the patch of trees under which we camped in the RV park is the main stop for every single bird that migrates to Canada.
NH was stressed about the transmission fluid leak, so we got ready pretty quickly and took the Jeep to a car-wash in town (Boise City, Oklahoma) to remove one of the skid plates and wash the affected areas. During the washing process (I was trying to be helpful, doing things like handing the 5/8 wrench, etc.), NH discovered that the problem was not a transmission fluid leak--the transmission fluid was merely low. The leak was oil, coming from an old O ring between the oil filter and the engine mount (or some such area). This was very encouraging. Still, we couldn't find anyone in town who would be able to replace the O ring before 2:00. We ended up handing off the Jeep to Red & Son's Service and walking around town for a few hours.
We stopped by Radio Shack first, and as interested as NH was in all the things there, I won't elaborate. I found it a little dull. We walked over a mile across town to the Cimarron Heritage Center Museum, recommended to us by Billie Mayo yesterday.
The Heritage Center is so full of local artifacts, antiques, and histories that we could hardly take it all in. Cimarron County seems to have had ample cooperation in recieving items for the museum, as well as several very interesting histories. My favorite was of a lady settler whose family ran out of money just before harvest, so her husband and oldest son left to work back east while she harvested, with a corn knife, and shucked the entire crop of corn, meanwhile doing laundry, ironing and cooking (for $1/week) for local bachelors and providing lodging and food for new settlers passing through.
Another local event worth noting was the accidental bombing of Boise City during World War II. Due to the inexperience of a flight navigator, six practice bombs were dropped in and just outside of town. Fortunately, no one was hurt and property damage was pretty minimal.
NH enjoyed the antique tractors, although we were disappointed to find that none were in as good condition as the antique cars. Most of the cars were in very impressive condition. We also saw something by way of a classic travel trailer in very reasonable condition which I will say no more about. You can see the pictures when we get back, Mark.
We left the museum well past lunch time and made it to the Yellow Horse Eatery a little before they closed at 2:00. Good food, nice relaxed atmosphere. By the time we finished eating, the Jeep was done (early), and we refilled the suspension airbags, replaced the skid plate, picked up a few last supplies, and were on our way. Oh, and I also got unreasonably angry with NH regarding the perceived loss of some rubber-bands, but I won't dwell on it (insert sheepish look here).
We finished out Oklahoma within an hour or so, and NH was excited to get to New Mexico, as he'd never been there before. I'd only been in the state once before, and not in that part, so I was interested, too, but I mentioned to NH that it would probably look much like the tip of Oklahoma's panhandle, and like the southeastern corner of Colorado. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Seriously, within five miles of crossing the border into New Mexico, not only did the terrain change as a result of not being cultivated into wheat fields, but the entire ecosystem changed. Different plants and weeds grew by the side of the road. Cacti appeared. More antelope, and the deer changed from white tailed to mule deer, just like that. Crazy!
We enjoyed the different terrain of New Mexico, and from our conversation with Mrs. Mayo yesterday, I gather that this year has seen more moisture than most years, and is therefore much greener than normal. So much the better. New Mexico showed us slightly greened fields, and an abundance of beautiful wild flowers and cacti in bloom.
The trail through New Mexico is only 60 miles long, so we soon turned up a switchback, drove up a mountain, and entered Colorado. Again, terrain change. No more desert. Grasslands and ranch. Strangest thing I've seen in a while!
We drove as far as Trinidad, and we are spending the night in a Bed and Breakfast near the historic downtown. This is my first B&B experience, and it's very nice so far. We went to a park downtown to cook our supper (quinoa and portabello pilaf and fresh corn, avocado, and tomato salad...mmmmmm), since we didn't want the food to go to waste while we spent more money eating at a restaurant. Plus, we had a view of the river and a cool breeze.
Thanks to our faithful readers. We'll get more tomorrow or the next day.
Posted by EHenson at 9:07 PM