Northeast Highlands

January 10, 2021

Howdy everyone!

I just got dinner in the slow cooker and am finally sitting down to write again. Sundays were traditionally 'jammy days' for us back when we owned the feed mill and always worked Saturdays, so other than relaxing and looking after the dogs, my one duty was to work my slow cooker magic and make something for us to eat. So, today is 'South of the Border Casserole.' Just a little ground beef, onions and garlic matched up to poblano chiles, roasted green chiles, corn, tomatoes, salsa, oregano and black pepper, sandwiched in the crockpot between layers of corn tortillas and hot pepper jack cheese...it's already filling our place with a wonderful smell!

As for us, we're settling in more and more and relaxing into our role here. In exchange for rent and utilities, we have to take care of the horses and keep Kim's house clean...that is a Godsend! Not only has that given us a place to land in a uniquely beautiful spot, but it takes the burden of paying for housing off of our shoulders. Plus, once things get rolling, we have the chance to earn a stipend and some pay here for doing extra things above and beyond the required work. We haven't crossed that bridge yet, but are eager to see what work we can find as we still have the taxman wanting a little more money out of us and a few pesky CC bills that need to be knocked out. In the meantime, we're exploring what part-time work options there are around here and we seem to have the pick of the litter by being hardworking East Coasters who aren't dumb, incapable and/or alcoholics. We'll see where that leads us in the future, but in the meantime we are enjoying ranch life and are loathe to even leave the property.

It snowed overnight, but not as much as we had thought we might get. The storm is now barnstorming across Texas and heading East with lots of rain and snow, but we just got an inch or two and it has already melted quite a bit. Our district here, if you will, is called the Northeast Highlands, but we are on the far, western edge of that and closely border the Pecos and Eastern Slope - Sangre de Cristos districts. It seems that the Rockies trap snow on the western side of them, but that it takes a bit of room for storms to expand and push out east of them...we're right where all that comes together and seem to miss a lot of the weather, for better or worse. Still, it was great to go out this morning and take a walk with the dogs and enjoy the land actually being wet and snowy instead of so dry and dusty.

As for the specific area that we are in, it is quite a crossroads and has quite an interesting history. We are east of the Pecos River and, as the crow flies, probably forty miles from its headwaters to our north. Of course, before European contact, this was all Indian land, but not all the tribes that you would normally think of. The Navajos came from the far north and are most closely related linguistically to the tribes of Alaska and western Canada. They appeared on the scene around 1500. The Comanche, too, used to be part of the Shoshone tribe far to the northwest of here and broke off from them around 1700, pushed east through the Rockies, found the horse and soon became Lords of the Southern Plains. We are in the heart of what was considered, at least in the 1800s, the Comancheria, and they were feared by all as horse warriors, but also served as a conduit and traded extensively with other groups and tribes...especially crossing the mountains to what is now Santa Fe, on the Rio Grande, and brought lots of trade goods to all of the Pueblo tribes. In time, they were bordered to the west by New Mexico(just west of the Pecos); to the north by the Cheyenne and Arapaho(across the Arkansas River); to the east and southeast by Texas; and to the south by the Apaches and, further on, Mexico. This land where I'm writing right now was part of Spain until 1821; part of Mexico from then until 1836, when Texas declared itself a free country from Mexico; part of the sovereign nation of Texas from then until 1845; and then finally after the Mexican-American War, became part of the US in 1848...it really makes your head spin to be at such a crossroads of history!

On New Year's Day, last week, we took a spin to scope out the far northcentral area around Taos that we had initially been focused on...and, boy, are we glad that we didn't move to that area! Taos in the summer is sleepy and quiet and very beautiful, but in the winter all we saw were out-of-state plates, with everybody riding your ass and just about running you off the road to get to one of the half-dozen ski slopes in the area. Town was packed, with maskless people everywhere, and from what we read in the paper, it's a constant source of tension between the locals and the tourists. This is nothing unique around the planet, with areas that desperately need the money that tourists bring, but also totally resenting the people that bring it. On top of that, by keeping up with the weather, Taos and its environs are easily 5-10+ degrees colder at night than where we're at, so we truly seem to be sitting at a wonderful spot. Still, we are fond of the town, and stopped at a little taqueria to get some handmade Mexican food before striking east towards Cimarron. The drive in between the two was immensely beautiful, but even in the middle of the afternoon, it was cold, windy and barely above 20F when we got up on top. Once we started heading back down towards Cimarron, it grew increasingly rocky with some very dramatic cliffs that I can only imagine are inhabited by Rocky Mountain Sheep, but once we pushed through those high, rocky walls, Cimarron was burnt, bare and completely devoid of life. So, we pushed southeast from there to get back on I-25 so that we could zip back down to Las Vegas to get some groceries and then head home. Since then, we've been busy taking care of the horses, trying to organize the tool depot, cleaning Kim's house and trying to make our place feel a little more like home while we await our Mayflower truck's arrival in the next few days so that we can finally have some furniture, dishes, books, CDs, the rest of our clothes, etc., and all of that good stuff!

Now for some pictures! The first two are of the old Aztec Mill in Cimarron that was also the headquarters for the Ute & Apache agencies (I've got a thing for feed mills for some reason!). Next a shot heading out of Cimarron towards the interstate where we clearly were back on the Plains. The next two shots are of Hermit's Peak, which towers over Las Vegas, not far from us...the first shot is from up in the mountains behind it, the second from the highway just above Las Vegas. The next shot if from behind Hermit's Peak, too, but instead of looking to the southeast towards it, we're looking straight east out towards the Plains. Next is my homemade speed limit sign that I made for Kim. She wanted some metal signs that we are awaiting quotes and mock-ups for, so in the meantime I made one out of a political sign's base with a pizza box, markers and tape. Next is today's meal cooking on the stove before I got it into the slow cooker. Then a shot looking east from Las Vegas out onto the Plains...vega is Spanish for meadow, so you get the idea of how it got its name. Next, a shot of us coming into Taos from the south with New Mexico's highest peak looming above. Then, an old 17th century wagon that rests along the driveway...one of the many, cool antiques that Kim has out here. Next, Willow bird-doggin' it, looking for critters with Starvation Peak looming in the background. Next, Ela and Willow actually standing still, back from one of their huge, half-mile wide loops. The next two shots are from the hilltops just north of the buildings here, but this time looking west towards Santa Fe and north to the Sangre de Cristos. Then, a shot of Rowe Mesa that looms over the ranch with a touch of snow on the ground. Next, Rui on the same hilltop helping me try to keep track or where the girls are at. Another shot, then, from the same hilltop, but this time looking over the horse pastures towards Starvation Peak. Next, another old wagon relic along the driveway. And, finally, an action shot of Willow charging me, just like me and Erin, having the time of her life!

Be good, everyone.