Into the mountains

We love fresh air and mountain scenery, so we've been looking forward to getting into that type of environment.

Yesterday, we drove through some beautiful mountain passes almost as high as 10,000'. Because it was a Sunday, there were a few other people out and about... but still not what you would call busy.

Capulin Volcano Hike and Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge

Woke up early again yesterday morning after another restless sleep due to the high winds overnight. We had already decided that we would get on the road right away and do enough driving to let Sherman's engine warm things up a little bit.

It was only a few miles to the Capulin Volcano where the entrance road was open as far as the visitors center, but the center itself was closed as was the road up to the top of the volcano.

In to New Mexico

We've been in "old" Mexico many times, but we really haven't spent much time in "New" Mexico. Mostly because much of the more interesting parts of New Mexico are at elevation and so of course it's just too cold in the winter. And normally, we would be back in Canada by this time of year.

So, this is giving us a good opportunity to spend some decent weather months in this part of the world.

3 states at the same time!

Beautiful morning for a bike ride.

Denise and Bob don't have bicycles with them (yet!) so they decided to do the 9 mile (15 km) return walk to the "3 corners" where Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico meet. Ruth and I left after they did because we were doing it by bicycle... with a plan to get there about the same time.

Hike to the highest point in Oklahoma... and another change of plans!

(Just getting caught up after a day without internet access. This is the second post today. You may have missed the one posted earlier at https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2020/05/in-to-oklahoma.html)

We got up at sunrise around 7:00am Wednesday morning, and hit the Black Mesa trail a few minutes after 8:00am.

We are in the far northwest corner of Oklahoma, only a couple of miles from both Colorado and New Mexico. The trail leads up to the highest point in Oklahoma, which is located only a few hundred yards from the New Mexico border.

In to Oklahoma

We left Dumas, Texas at 9:00am Tueday morning. We were headed for the Black Mesa Nature Preserve in Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma panhandle is a narrow strip of land in the middle of nowhere. We honestly weren't expecting much from our destination, and in actual fact it was a bit of a detour from our planned route going up through Kansas and Nebraska. But sometimes things happen for a reason.

Back on the road!

It felt great to get back on the road again. Sherman was raring to go, and we headed out of the ranch right at 9:00am yesterday morning.

Big thanks to Joy, Tracy, Arin and the family for letting us stay there! We look forward to a return visit in the future.

Yesterday at happy hour we had a guest...

We enjoyed our 11 night stay at the ranch, but even when we like a place there comes a time when you have to leave. We are now headed up into the Oklahoma panhandle, and then Kansas.

We celebrated on Saturday night. Not sure what we were celebrating, but who needs a reason? We had bought some nice rib eye steaks, and the four of us used the dining room table to have a nice dinner!

April Expenses

Well, looking at our expenses for the month of April... it's obvious that we're not in Mexico anymore!

But really, if it weren't for the fairly big repair bill, we would have had not a bad month. Given that things are pretty expensive here (compared to Mexico), and we have to add on approximately 40% to everything we buy here because of the weak Canadian dollar.

We spent $1,597 CAD ($1,133 USD) plus the repair bill. For a total of $3,649 CAD ($2,590 USD).

"But it's a dry heat" they said...

This part of Texas is having a bit of a heat wave. The forecast high yesterday was 99F (37C), and I think it pretty much got there. Kinda strange when it was only about three weeks ago they were below freezing with snow flurries!

"But it's a dry heat" they said. And that's true. But it's still frickin' hot!

Heading for Kansas

We are still at the ranch here in Texas, and will be for a couple more days. Our plan was to wait things out until May 1st (today) and re-evaluate, given that many of the individual states are coming out with varied plans for reopening things like state park campgrounds.

Texas state park campgrounds remain closed, however the parks have re-opened for day use. Interestingly, the two states directly above us, Oklahoma and Kansas, have never closed their state park camping areas.

I've been looking at Sri Lanka as a possible destination

Yesterday, I mentioned that we would like to travel somewhere different next winter. Despite the current world situation, I'm still optimistic that will happen. I've been looking at Sri Lanka as a possible destination.

Sri Lanka is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, southeast of India. Population of around 22 million. It had a growing tourism business up until 2019 when terrorists scared everyone away and tourism was only just starting to pick up as things had returned to normal again over the last year.

Mexico next winter?

Just a lazy day here at the ranch yesterday. I spent some time getting my new phone set up and figuring out how everything works. Not that much different from the 3 year old Samsung, but certainly a few new bells and whistles.

It was too hot and windy to do any painting, but it has cooled off a bit today so we should be able to get back at it again.

How to Plan Your First Cruise

Going on a cruise is an exciting adventure enjoyed by everyone from honeymooners to families and retirees. More and more millennials are discovering the joys of cruising as the Cruise Travel Report indicated in 2018 - the percentage of this generation that stated they "definitely will" book a cruise for their next trip increased from 63 to 70 percent over the previous year.

For those who'd like to try cruising for the first time, planning can be a challenge, simply because there are so many options to choose from, like where do you want to sail, which cruise line should you travel on, which room to choose, and so on. There's a lot you need to know in order to make the best decisions, but these tips can help you plan the trip of your dreams.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Ruth and I went out for a bike ride before it got too hot or too windy. We ended up doing the same route we had done the other day, but in reverse. Again, only about 6.5 miles (10.5 kms) but enough to get some exercise. As we are now trying to get out on the bikes more regularly we will up the distance.

It's been pretty warm the last few days though, and windy. Highs around 86F (30C) and it's supposed to get even warmer than that later on this week.