Update: My ear is
still plugged and it appears I’ll have to get used to the difference it makes
in hearing my own voice when I talk. Hearing
is slightly off, too.
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Woke up at 7 a.m…..alarm had been set for 7:45, so I got up
to turn it off. My phone told me that
sometime during the night the temperature had gotten down to 36o. Whoa!!
Pushed the refresh button so quickly that I didn’t see what time that
had been, but I needed to know if I was going to freeze my butt off on the walk
to the bathroom. Refreshing it showed
that it was already up to 46o….and it turned out that making that
walk could wait and I crawled back into the warmth of the bed. J
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The Carlsbad campground has a huge game room next to the
office, with lots of tables, a TV, a foosball table, an aquarium and access to
both the laundry room and bathrooms right across the hallway…and the best
internet signal in camp. This morning I wandered up to get online and a news
talk show was on the huge screen TV and it wasn’t on quiet. A man and his son
were sitting at a table nearby so it was headphones and iPod to the
rescue! After a bit, I looked around and
realized that I was alone in the room.
Went over to the TV, located the volume buttons and pushed ‘volume
down’. Oh, gracious, the volume
increased….now what? Try it again…yep,
it’s getting louder. Thinking that maybe
the buttons were confused, I pushed the ‘volume up’ and the screen went to
static. Decided my best course of action
at that point was simply to push the power button….thankfully, the screen went
dark. Let someone who understands the
whacked out controls deal with it. J
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This is the land of open range cattle which necessitates the
use of cattle guards. Arizona had some
but New Mexico has taken it to a whole different level. With all the open range we’ve ridden through,
Thursday was the first time I saw cattle near or on the road. One was approaching from the left and
stepping on the road as Kim passed it and because I had slowed down, it managed
to get between us. It stopped in the
road and watched me…I stopped in the road and watched it. It finally meandered all the way across so I
could continue on my way. Anyway, all
these cattle guards that we’ve bumped our way across made me wonder who pays
for the installation, especially since they’re on public roads…the farmer or
the county. And who maintains them? I
found numerous sites about installing cattle guards on private property but
nothing about public roads. I’m
assuming the burden of paying for a cattle guard falls upon the rancher/farmer
but it seems like there would be rules and regulations about using them on
public roads.
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We were going to leave today but extended our stay another
day. We had no concrete idea of where
we’re heading next other than to Texas.
Well, Texas is a mighty big state and last night my little bitty phone
screen was the best we could do to see our options. Decided that seeing a map on the computer
screen would be much more helpful and of course, we needed to go to the
clubhouse area between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. to get a good signal. So we leave tomorrow unless we still haven’t
figured out where to go. J
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Saw a green advertising ‘air dancer’ adorned with the word
‘Marijuana’ outside a building in Carlsbad the other day. In the four or five times we’ve driven past
there since that day, we’ve not seen the air dancer… but the place does have a
sign advertising that it sells ‘pharmaceuticals’. Got me curious as to the laws in New Mexico
governing the use of marijuana. So I
consulted Google, the one with all the answers….found these two sites:
http://statelaws.findlaw.com/ Maybe
you’ve been seeing the news that a few states, including our northern neighbor
Colorado, have recently legalized recreational
marijuana use. And maybe you’re wondering if New Mexico is next. The answer is
not quite yet. Despite Colorado’s legalization efforts and some in-state
decriminalization support, the Land of Enchantment still prohibits marijuana
possession, except for medical use. This is a basic overview of New Mexico’s
marijuana laws.
www.mpp.org
New Mexico is one of 28 states (plus D.C.) that have removed criminal
penalties for the medical use of marijuana. As of June 2016, there were over
26,568 registered patients served by 35 licensed nonprofit
producers. There are also 5,865 active personal production licenses.
So the other night, when the Brothers and their neighbors
were filling our corner of the campground with the aroma of the magic weed,
maybe it was for medicinal purposes. But,
maybe not, as they were from Louisiana, where there is no medicinal law as of
yet. J
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Took a ride today just to ride, no particular destination, no
sight to see. However, Kim’s eyes were
really having a hard time with the sun today…his corneas are scarred and
sometimes the bright sunlight causes his eyes to water, close and sends a pain
right through his head. His helmet
visor, along with his glasses, just wasn’t doing the job of cutting the sun
enough. We were going to cut the ride
short, no sense in him riding with his eyes watering and/or closed. Before
packing it in, he wanted to try one more thing…buy a pair of cheap sunglasses. Proved
to be just the ticket, so we decided to ride, in reverse, one of the roads we
had ridden on Thursday, the windy day. It
turned out to be a very pleasant ride….cheap sunglasses to the rescue!!
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We had been back to the camp about 3 minutes when one of the
guys from next door came over…
Neighbor: So, I just
have to ask…what is that over there? Is
that a telescope or a periscope? Isn’t a
periscope on a submarine?
Kim: That’s a telescope and yes, a periscope is on a
sub.
Neighbor: I knew I was right…I knew it!! (walking
back over to his friends) I was right, it’s
a telescope...it’s not a periscope, you idiot.
But he did have to ask….. J
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In the course of our travels around the area, we seen roadside
signs warning not to drive drunk along with a picture and name. When I saw the first one I thought it was just
a personal memorial, but then we saw probably 5 or 6 more…all with different
names. Seemed like more than a personal family memorial at that point. But we questioned whether those pictured were
victims or a drunk driver that had been killed. So I googled it and found this
on amhistory.si.edu:
The New
Mexico DWI Memorial Sign Program is one of the oldest programs of its type in
the nation. How did it begin?
In 1998, the New Mexico Department of
Transportation (NMDOT) established an alcohol related crash victim memorial
sign program that publicly memorializes DWI (driving while intoxicated) victims.
The program applies only to the installation of signs alongside state highways
and is only for persons killed by drunk drivers. Deceased drunk drivers are not
eligible.
There are DWI Programs in all 33 counties
in New Mexico. Upon a request by the family or friends of a DWI crash victim,
the Eddy County DWI Program submits applications for DWI Memorial Signs to
NMDOT for review. Should all of the criteria be met and the application
approved the Eddy County DWI Program purchases, manages, and maintains the DWI
Memorial Signs in Eddy County. These signs are installed by employees of the
NMDOT Carlsbad and Artesia Patrol Yards.
The signs that your agency donated to the
National Museum of American History are compelling reminders of the unfair
risks posed by intoxicated drivers. What is special about the Eddy County DWI
Memorial Sign Program?
To increase the effectiveness of the signs,
the Eddy County DWI Program requested and received permission to place a
picture of the victim on each sign. The sign program was created to get
attention and help people relate to the message. We have found that to put a
face with a name personalizes the message and delivers a greater impact on the
motoring public. The signs serve as stark reminders of the high cost of DWI and
reinforce the message that anyone can be the victim of an impaired driver.
When the DWI Memorial Signs become
weathered and faded by the sun, or need replacing for any reason, new signs are
purchased. The replaced signs are first offered to family or friends of the
victim. They are not discarded or destroyed by the Eddy County DWI Program out
of respect for the deceased.
Today we found two signs on opposite sides of the highway, each with a
different name. Same accident, two
deaths?
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Rode 101 miles today
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