Scribble World Travel Blog

Truth Or Consequences and Elephante Butte Dam

We spent last night in our van by Elephante Butte State Park near Truth Or Consequences, NM.  The star gazing was excellent, and we could clearly see the Milky Way because there were hardly any lights around.  The exception being the lights near the park’s bathroom, which served as a magnet for all the bugs, beatles, and other creepy crawly things of the area.

This morning I went for a walk along the Rio Grande, reading some of the informational signs that were on the path in English and Spanish-about snakes, measuring the river’s depth and other such things.

We drove a short distance from the park to see the Elephante Butte Dam and Power Plant and learned that the dam can hold more than 2 million acre feet of water.  It’s 1,674 feet long and 301 feet high-rather an impressive site!  We pulled off the road and walked around to see it from different angles.  As part of the Rio Grande Project, the dam helps provide power and irrigation to Western Texas and south central New Mexico.

Summer Storm In Arizona

Monsoon season is fast approaching and we got our first taste of it tonight watching a beautiful Tucson sunset followed by a good rain and some thunder and lightning.  It was fun trying to capture a picture of the lightning, but challenging-so sporadic, you almost have to be psychic to know when and where to snap your photo.  Hopefully in the upcoming weeks, we’ll get some more good practice.

Chris is holding onto Paws with one hand which is rather a challenge-Paws is a big boy, around 22 pounds last time we weighed him. The bathroom scale was one of the many items we sold last October before setting off on our van travels across the country.  Some things are not missed! :) Paws is a cat, by the way, not a dog.

We’re on the lookout for a good cat sitter right now, so we can go do some more traveling. During the colder months we could take them with us most places, but with 100 plus degree weather, that is no longer an option.  It’s bizarre though, ever since we stopped traveling, they’ve been yowling a lot-especially at night when we’re trying to sleep. I think I need to get more Feliway-the synthesized cat pheremones that are supposed to be calming.

You wouldn’t think so, but the cats actually really liked the traveling lifestyle-I suppose because the van was kind of cozy with lots of great hiding places and comfortable perches-kind of a kitty palace in a way-just the right size to make them feel like kings.  Plus there were windows all around, so they were getting the royal view to all kinds of interesting activity.  The apartment is probably a bit dull by way of comparison.  Ever since we took Paw’s ratty old collar off him, it’s become his favorite toy. He’ll carry it around in his mouth like a dog bone and yowl until we throw it for him.

We’ve been adding more movie reviews, and Chris has been working on some new guitar lessons and is anxious for some feedback.  He was also playing some fun “Chinese” music to go along with my “virtual trip to China” entry.  He doesn’t think it’s very good, but I like it and I’m trying to get him to put it up.

Oh, I got my 19 momme silk duvet cover and silk filled comforter-it is dreamy to say the least, so soft and smooth.  Wish I could afford to give one to everyone as a Christmas gift.

Virtual China

While it may not have been possible for me to physically be in China this week, I saw no point in letting bygones be bygones-so I opted for a virtual Chinese experience instead. How did I go about this amazing feat you’re probably asking yourselves….well, I can’t give away all my secrets…but my first stop didn’t even involve leaving the coziness of my kneeling Yoga-Chair.

The fascinating world of E-Bay transported me all the way to the sights and sounds of the tempting Shanghai Silk Marketplace where I learned all about momme weight-(the official measuring system for a fabric so fine) as well as the many varieties and lusters to choose from.  I found, what I believe, will make a most luxurious silk filled comforter topped with a 19 momme Charmeuse duvet cover.  I am ecstatically and impatiently awaiting it’s arrival.

To make my Chinese trip even more authentic, I found an Asian Market in Tucson, called Grant Stone.  There were enough varieties of tea to fill a whole aisle. I’m experimenting with two kinds I’ve never had before-one is called Gohyah tea which comes from a bitter melon.  The information that came with it is mostly in Chinese, but it states that it is good for the liver, bile, and digestion among other things.  I gave Chris some the day after he’d had a few beers and wasn’t feeling so hot.  He didn’t like the taste too much, but it seemed to make him feel better.  I kind of liked it, it’s an unusual taste, unlike any other herb I’ve tried.

I’m also trying Hawthorn tea for the first time. It has a nice mildly sweet berry flavor, and according to my herb book, Hawthorn tea has been taken as a heart tonic and to enhance circulation.  I also found an old favorite, a box of Gunpowder tea, also from Shanghai.  I’m going to attempt to make my own version of a boba tea (bubble tea) drink with it.

Add to that list some yummy hot and sour soup and it wasn’t half bad for a virtual trip! 

My Hong Kong Wish…

I want to go to Hong Kong.

I feel like Dorothy on the Wizard of Oz, only I’m tapping my shoes together chanting “There’s no place like Hong Kong…there’s no place like Hong Kong…” If there’s anyone rich out there with oodles and oodles of extra cash looking for something to do with it, how does a non-tax-deductible “charitable”  donation sound? Pretty please with whip cream and a cherry on top??

Catnip For The Cats, But What’s Next For Us?

June has begun, the weather is great, the pool is warm, and now we find ourselves contemplating where the road will take us next.  We haven’t been to Mexico in a while, a day of shopping and exploring sounds fun, but I keep thinking about the movie we just watched called Border Town.  Scary!  As tourists we never seem to hear about that side of things. 

Meanwhile, there are other interesting possibilities-hot springs, waterfalls, hiking, Oregon, Colorado, Canada, China, Australia, Costa Rica, Thailand?

Trader Joes sells these delicious freeze dried fruits from Thailand.  I am quite infatuated with them- freeze dried mangosteen, freeze dried banana slices (they’re really sweet and nummy-lots of thin little slices), rambutan, mango, pineapple slices….I’m on the look out for a place that sells them in larger quanties to save some bucks.  They seem like the perfect snack.  I love how they start out so lightweight and airy, the coolest texture on the tongue.

Anyway, I was looking into a flight and hotel deal to China the other day. The advertised price was just $899 for 10 days.  But then in the fine print there were all these extra possible fees, so I’m not sure the price quoted was all that accurate.  By the time I added up all the possible extras it was quite a bit more.  I’ll have to get more organized and research what all these fees actually mean…like when it says “up to $200″…that’s rather vague. 

Life is a bit disorganized right now.  We’re slowly but surely being re-integrated back into society more or less-you know, re-buying those things most people take for granted.  Our living room has pretty much been turned into a storage facility for boxes and packaging materials. We don’t want to get rid of them for a while in case we need to return something.  It’s amazing how much stuff we’ve re-accumulated in just under 2 months though-from desks to dishes…  We’re striving to keep our load light but things don’t always go according to plan. 

I bought some fresh organic catnip for Ox and Paws which they loved! Today has been a fun day, it felt like my birthday because I got 5 packages in the mail!  I have new healthy herbs to make tea with, a printer, a free beach bag from a credit institution for spending so much darn money, and my mom was wonderful enough to send some love in the form of some kitchenwares and my beloved ol’ foot massager (I gave it to her when we hit the road and wasn’t expecting to ever see it again, so it’s an unexpected treat).   

Life is good.  I do miss the road though and I hate how much gas prices are now.  Chris was looking at these plans the other day for building a device that uses water to somehow extend the life of your fuel.  If it works, that sure would be awesome!