NM Ranch Life

December 25, 2020

Howdy folks!

Just checking in with everyone now that we're settled in out here in New Mexico. We left Lewisburg, PA, Saturday night at 8pm and rolled in here in San Jose, NM, on Tuesday afternoon at about 3:30pm local time. Erin was in her car and I rented a mini-van that you could fold all the seats down flat for storage. Erin had our four cats and three dogs in her car, plus a little bit of luggage. We squeezed everything else into the mini-van and hauled ass to get here...1915 miles in just under 70 hours. We made good time initially, but then Lake Erie started hurling snow at us as we crossed into Ohio, so we pulled off at a rest area and spent the night. The next time we drove all day and made it through St. Louis, MO, parking for the night at a rest area in Wentzville, MO. Then, the following day, we made it all the way to the Kansas/Colorado line, spending the night there, before finally putting the hammer down to finish up the last leg of the trip on Tuesday.

And, what did we find when we got here? Quite simply, we found heaven on earth, or as the locals say, "Cielo en revers." There are the most beautiful, rugged landscapes here, where the high plains rise up to the southern spur of the Rockies: part desert, part mountains, part plains and all entirely mesmerizing. We took a ranching job as caretakers, helping our new friend, Kim, run her 275 acre ranch with 10 rescued wild mustangs, a German Shepherd puppy, a new house under construction, and miles of fences to tend and mend. Just four days into it, we feel like we've been here for months, that our cross-country trip was half a year ago and that our former life in Pennsylvania occurred years and years ago. The sun hasn't stopped shining since we've been here and it's been close to 60F half of the days that we've been here. It gets cold as soon as the sun goes down, even down into the teens, but then bounces back up at least into the 30Fs or 40Fs during the day, if not the 50Fs.

I've been running the dogs all throughout the day and they can barely keep their eyes open. The cats are loving life, basking in the sun and mainly staying up in the loft where the dogs can't reach them. Erin and I can't keep the shit-eating grins off of our faces and every moment of every day validates the choice that we made to come out here. There's an enclosed garden with seven raised beds in it that Erin can't wait to get her hands in and there are lots of elk, deer and bear for me to hunt...in short, life is good!

I spent yesterday taking photos around the ranch and have chosen a bunch to share with everyone. The first shot is the path that goes up along our cottage and heads up to the barn; the next is our stack of firewood(my first day's job...taking a cord of wood in the driveway and stacking it up nice); next a picture of our front stoop; then the loft that the cats can't get enough of; two shots of the new house that Kim is building; a shot of our house from the driveway; then a shot of Kim's house from across the pond; then a shot of the solar bank with the new construction in the background; next shot is Kim's Boot Hill, where all of her pets are buried...we dug up our five cats and two dogs that we buried at our house over the last 22 years and she was gracious enough to allow us to bury them here with her critters; a shot of Erin out on walkabout; then a shot of the landscape; next some of the flint and amazing variety of stones that are littered everywhere all over the ground; then a view back behind us of one of the horse troughs; there is not only stone and flint everywhere, but Indian relics everywhere, like this; another shot of the landscape; the morning sun hitting Rowe Mesa which reaches to 7600' compared to our 6200'; me breaking in my new Western hat that I got on our trip last year; a mechanical windmill that supplies water for the pond...the only water on the mountain and a magnet for all the animals in the area; three of the cats lounging upstairs, safe from the dogs who like to annoy them; dog camp next to the stove...I'm sleeping down with them since they won't go up the tight, Betsy Ross stairs, and they have fallen in love with the heat of a wood stove; our three dogs showing off their bird dog skills; then them rallying around Mama; our other cat Jackie soaking up the sun; one of the many laid paths here with Rui checking it out; Rui and Willow playing; all three rough-housing; Rui taking in the view; and finally Rui and Willow heading back up the drive.

Be well, one and all, and you've got to come out and see us!