<– Day 8 – Sun. Apr. 19th: Resting and Recovery | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 10 – Tue. Apr. 21st:  Another One Bites the Dust –>

I felt better today, but still sneezing and coughing quite a bit, so I laid low. However, Ann spent some time wandering around Alamogordo taking photos (good for her!). She even managed to wiggle her way onto private grounds to photograph a building used in several movies (Fred and Cindy tells us that usually NO ONE is allowed to go inside the gates). I hope to publish some of her photos on Wednesday.  We will most likely leave Tularosa on Wednesday.

I got a bit of good news. Ann and I will be the inaugural guests at Red River’s Bed and Breakfast in Fredericksburg, Texas (once the plague leaves me and we can make it there). Tomorrow I will nail down a date with James.

James runs the Red River Jeep Tours in Red River, NM, along with the Uncorked Wine Tour and now a bed and breakfast in Fredericksburg.

How about those bed lights!

<– Day 8 – Sun. Apr. 19th: Resting and Recovery | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 10 – Tue. Apr. 21st:  Another One Bites the Dust –>

<– Day 7 – Sat. Apr. 18th: No Scum Allowed | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 9 – Mon. Apr. 20th: Recovering from the Plague –>

I stuck to the bed on Sunday. I’m not terribly sick by any means, just semi-tortured by a continuous cough that won’t let me sleep or talk much without coughing. Hopefully with a day of rest, we’ll be ready to go by Tuesday.

On the positive side, I’ve had time to read a couple books. I’m particularly enjoying a book called Great Stagecoach Robberies of the Old West. As the title indicates, it is a history of major stagecoach robberies!

<– Day 7 – Sat. Apr. 18th: No Scum Allowed | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 9 – Mon. Apr. 20th: Recovering from the Plague –>

<– Day 6 – Fri. Apr. 17th: Art Fair in Alamogordo, NM | TRIP OVERVIEW | Day 8 – Sun. Apr. 19th: Resting and Recovery –>

Ann and her aunt Cindy with Smokey Bear in the background

I was feeling better Saturday morning, so rather than rest, Uncle Fred and Aunt Cindy joined Ann and I for a short road trip into New Mexico’s mountains to hunt down a former gold town called White Oaks.

Today we completed a grand circle through part of New Mexico.

The first hour of the trip consisted of flat New Mexican landscape and an even less interesting highway. However, the company kept that part of the journey interesting.

Sign in Carrizozo.

We stopped in the tiny town of Carrizozo to grab some Advil, as Fred has suffered a serious and life-threatening elbow injury at the hands of his grandchildren, whom Fred has discovered are now big enough to mob him and take him down. And by life-threatening elbow injury I mean the injury effects his dominant arm, thus it seriously curtails the ability for him to eat or drink with it (hence, threatens his way of life).

It turned out that the arm injury was a blessing for the rest of us, because as Cindy and I sat in the Jeep waiting for Ann and Fred to return, we spotted a donkey (or ass??) on top of a building a block away that was off the well-traveled highway. When Ann and Fred returned, we decided to investigate.

Donkeys on the roofs of both buildings in Carrizozo. There were also donkeys on the sidewalks. You might also recognize this area from the movie “The Book of Eli” which was filmed along this street, though there were facades added in certain areas.

More donkeys and other sculptures in a hidden alcove.

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