Monday, March 10, 2003
The Ranch SKP Co-op, Lakewood, NM - Mar 7-10
This is another Escapees Co-op, similar to the one in Benson, only smaller and less managed. We took an instant liking to the laid-back lifestyle here, and though the setting is not nearly as scenic as Benson, it is well-situated between Doug's Dad in Tucson and Willie's parents in Mississippi. When our travels bring us back West, we will almost certainly stay here longer, to see if we want to get a lot at The Ranch rather than Benson.
The Ranch is near Carlsbad, NM, most famous for the Caverns (27 miles away) but with attractions of its own. The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park is a botanical gardens emphasizing the Chihuahuan Desert. We actually only went to the Visitor Center, which, in the Recurring Themes Dept, has one of the Painted Ponies from a 2001 public art project. This concept was first tried in Chicago, where local artists were provided cows to paint. Although we never saw the Chicago cows, we saw similar projects with bears in Knoxville, TN, and geese in Longmont, CO. Boulder, CO is rumored to be starting one with prairie dogs. Unfortunately for us, we chose Sunday to go on the Trail of the Painted Ponies, not realizing that most were on display in private businesses, and that most private businesses in Carlsbad are closed on Sundays. We were able to see a few -- hopefully they will still be on display on our return visit.
We also drove by The Flume, a section of a concrete aqueduct (Civilization improvement requiring Construction) fed by and crossing the Pecos River, hence the name "The River that Crosses Itself."
On our last day here, we went on a picnic with about 20 other Escapees to Sitting Bull Falls, which is fed by a natural spring at the top of the falls. It was wonderful being able to spend more time with and getting to know some of the Co-op members better. It really felt like we fit in there.
One drawback to SE New Mexico is the NPR station. NPR provides a certain continuity for fulltimers, especially for news. When it comes to music, most NPR stations play classical or jazz. The format here is best described as "Beautiful Music" which can be a little disorienting -- one does not expect 101 Strings or Ray Coniff on NPR.
The Ranch is near Carlsbad, NM, most famous for the Caverns (27 miles away) but with attractions of its own. The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park is a botanical gardens emphasizing the Chihuahuan Desert. We actually only went to the Visitor Center, which, in the Recurring Themes Dept, has one of the Painted Ponies from a 2001 public art project. This concept was first tried in Chicago, where local artists were provided cows to paint. Although we never saw the Chicago cows, we saw similar projects with bears in Knoxville, TN, and geese in Longmont, CO. Boulder, CO is rumored to be starting one with prairie dogs. Unfortunately for us, we chose Sunday to go on the Trail of the Painted Ponies, not realizing that most were on display in private businesses, and that most private businesses in Carlsbad are closed on Sundays. We were able to see a few -- hopefully they will still be on display on our return visit.We also drove by The Flume, a section of a concrete aqueduct (Civilization improvement requiring Construction) fed by and crossing the Pecos River, hence the name "The River that Crosses Itself."
On our last day here, we went on a picnic with about 20 other Escapees to Sitting Bull Falls, which is fed by a natural spring at the top of the falls. It was wonderful being able to spend more time with and getting to know some of the Co-op members better. It really felt like we fit in there.One drawback to SE New Mexico is the NPR station. NPR provides a certain continuity for fulltimers, especially for news. When it comes to music, most NPR stations play classical or jazz. The format here is best described as "Beautiful Music" which can be a little disorienting -- one does not expect 101 Strings or Ray Coniff on NPR.
# posted by Doug and Willie @ 5:02 PM 
