Valley of Fires, NM

I liked the name, so here we are, Valley of Fires Recreation Area. The campsites are on a ridge overlooking the lava field. We walked the paved 3/4 mile trail and did a little exploring off the trail on the jagged lava rocks.

Yesterday drove a 100 mile loop in the car. First stop was the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, even though Jim said no more rock art after Hueco Tanks. It was really fascinating because there were so many drawings (over 20,000) in a relatively small area. We decided those people must have been very bored so they carved pictures in rocks all day to kill time.

Jim thinks this one is Elvis

Our next stop was Mescalero and the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino. It is owned by the Mescalero Apaches and we stopped by to see the lobby of the Inn. There is a glass wall overlooking a lake and the snow capped mountains. Quite impressive. We also donated a few dollars to the Indians in the slots since we were there.

Our final stop was Ruidoso, a mountain resort town. It reminded us a little of Gatlinburg, TN, with all the shops, restaurants and cabins, only not quite as tacky. There is a nearby ski resort , national forest, and the casino is only a few miles away. It was one of the more prosperous smaller communities we’ve visited in New Mexico so far and looked like a nice place to spend some time.

As we were sitting in the car eating lunch on the side of a remote road, looking at a beautiful mountain view, listening to a Sting CD, I was struck with the magnitude of what we had done in the past year. There were so many times we had doubts about leaving Pensacola and the security of our jobs and running off in our motor home. The economy, the housing market, the stock market. I was so happy we didn’t let all that get in our way because we are truly enjoying life. And for a change, Jim agreed with me….