The Road to Frying Pan and Other Adventures

Thanksgiving

We've had a couple of beautiful days ahead of the lousy weather we're having now (overcast, rain, cold, with little improvement in sight).  Two days ago we took an excursion to a canyon I hadn't visited...Frying Pan.  Why is it called Frying Pan?  No one seems to know.  Local lore says a woodcutting party from Fort Cummings was ambushed here by the Apaches with loss of all soldiers.

On the way to Frying Pan, there is a grave site which is supposedly a little girl who died out here in the wilderness.  

l to r:  Gilbert, Steve, me, Mike

Mike and Gilbert at Frying Pan

When returned to the Hitchhiker, I released the dogs and they ran to the back ramp and up to the stoop.  When I got to the ramp, I saw they had run right by a (probably young) coon-tailed rattlesnake (Rattlesnakes) lying on the bottom plank of the ramp.  Oooooo dear....I was wearing boots so I scooted past it and secured the dogs on the porch.  Mike encouraged the snake to move on.

Mike and Gilbert discuss the world situation.

And on another wildlife front, I have caught four or five mice in the rig in the past month.  It's getting chilly and they are all hunting for someplace warm and dry for the winter.  One of the guys in the next court has caught probably a dozen.  



We had planned to gather up the mavericks today to go to a local truck stop for an elegant Thanksgiving feast.  With rain, rain, rain starting early this morning, the ranch road is a bog.  At the last big rain, one of the park residents slid off the road into a ditch and needed help to get back out. Another consideration is that the local mud turns into concrete when it dries.  It takes a minimum of $3 at the local car wash to blast it off, sometimes a lot more.  So we are enjoying a quiet day at home.  Looks like pizza tonight.  

Tomorrow the mavericks are going to Palomas, Mexico, for margaritas and lunch and a little light shopping.  It's a fun day and we can't ride the desert anyway.

I have ordered a HAM radio for the Honda, as communication in the desert is iffy.  Wireless phones work someplaces and not others.  One of the guys here set up the HAM repeater and monitors traffic.  It's gotten a lot of people out of bad situations, as they can call back to the ranch for help.  And it's always helpful for drivers to be able to contact each other on the move.

Muppet and Bella

Camp Cody and Coyote Canyon

Wyatt and Michelle came over to Hidden Valley Ranch Sunday morning to take another desert ride before they left for Albuquerque.  

Just outside the gates of the ranch a mile or so is what is left of Camp Cody.

Camp Cody NM 1

Camp Cody 2

There is very little except for the lines of rocks which outlined different areas and the lanes through the camp.  There is also an old concrete stock trough, probably used to water the cavalry horses.

There's a high point which Wyatt and Michelle climbed.  Michelle found several partial skeletons of small animals so something lives in the rocks which hunts...

Monday we took a short ride to Coyote Canyon, a couple of miles from the ranch.  At this time of year, the good riding days are going to get scarce but this one was beautiful.   It was warm, sunny, and almost no wind, a rarity at this time of the year.

Coyote Canyon

It may be several weeks before a new post...things are very quiet on the ranch now.

Miscellaneous

Sunday night, October 25

Well, the excitement in the park today was watching the local medical helicopter circle over us three times before landing in an open space northeast of the clubhouse.  One of the owner's twin sons took a turn too fast and overturned the four-seater side-by-side with other kids on board.  One of the girls had a pin in her pelvis from an earlier car accident and the other kids landed on her, re-injuring her.  

Talked to the park owner this morning and she was scheduled for surgery today (Tuesday).  That's one of the down sides to living out here.  If you need emergency medical help, it comes from the sky with a VERY BIG price tag.  Someone said the minimum is $60K and may be more if they have to take you to El Paso instead of Las Cruces.  

Moral to this story:  Don't do stupid stuff and drive SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY.

Sunday, 8 November

Well, we are facing the last of the consistently beautiful weather.  The photo below was taken last Sunday at the top of Switchback.  Clear, warm, sunny....gorgeous.  Today is pretty but windy and chilly.

l to r:  Mike, Steve, Nancy, with Lola, Muppet, and Josie.

Wyatt and Michelle came down from Albuquerque and we ran the trails yesterday.  See photos below:

The Shooting Lesson

Wyatt and Michelle

Wyatt and Michelle take off in the Honda.