After returning from Mexico we spent several days back in Tucson with Amy and the boys. We wanted to get back by Sunday so that we could watch Justin play an indoor, in-line hockey game. Think ice hockey with wheels and no ice :) We actually stayed an extra day because Mason wasn't feeling well and we wanted to help out a bit.
We left Tucson on 2/2 - Groundhog Day. At some point in time I will spend Groundhog day in Punxsutawney, PA and watch Phil to see if he sees his shadow or not. I will spend the rest of my time in that village watching Groundhog Day with Bill Murray and Andie McDowell. It's not that it's a favorite movie of mine, I just think it would be a cheesy thing to do and I like doing cheesy things :)
Thursday - Friday, February 2-3, 2017
......but I digress.....We leave Tucson and head to a place called Whitewater Draw State Wildlife Refuge. which is a wintering spot for Sandhill Cranes. Wilson and I are becoming quite the birdwatchers...Actually, we don't always know what we're looking at, but there is a sense of serenity while watching birds...plus the areas where we go are not developed which makes it even nicer.
At Whitewater Draw we are able to set up the camper and stay overnight, which is great since the best times to see the birds fly to the wetlands is sunrise and sunset. When we arrived most of the cranes had already flown in, even though sunset was still a while away. it was still nice to watch them as well as the many varieties of ducks and other birds. We woke up the next day in order to get on the path for sunrise. Sunrise was beautiful, but it was freaking cold, 25°. I stayed out as long as I could, but never really saw the mass exodus.
Leave Tucson 10:39am
Rte. I10E►80E►Davis Rd ►Follow signs - Whitewater Draw is on Coffman Rd
Arrive Whitewater Draw - 1:59pm
Miles Traveled - 109.8
Friday - Saturday, February 3-4. 2017
After an overnight at Whitewater Draw we head to Elephant Butt State Park ($8 w/o electric & water or $14/night with - we spent the $14). This is just a spot to overnight as we head to Socorro, NM. Elephant Butte did have some interesting sites, including a dam and a big rock that looks like an elephant if you look closely (hence the name). The rock is actually a Butte, which is defined as an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top.
Elephant Butte, NM is next door to Truth or Consequences, NM. Hot Springs was the original name for this spa community, but they changed their name to Truth or Consequences after it was announced that the game show would air their 10th anniversary show in the first town to change their name. The show would return year after year to broadcast from that town. T or C is not a booming town. In fact it's just one of many towns that we have been through that are clearly depressed. We tried to walk around town, but after visiting the Visitor Center it was clear there wasn't much to see. We then decided to do the next best thing...stop by a local watering hole to people watch. Of course there isn't a regular bar there, it was suggested we go to the bowling alley....we went to the grocery store instead :) There is a brewery coming soon which I think will be good for the downtown. To be fair although the feeling was a bit depressed there was a sense of life, a spark that I think at some point in the next decade may really take off.
Leave Whitewater Draw 7:38am
Rte. Coffman ►Bigby►191(what we thought was 191 but wasn't, but it's ok we ended up in the same spot)►80E►I10E
Arrive Elephant Butte SP - 2:10pm
Miles Traveled - 278.1
Crossed the Continental Divide at 11:29am between mile marker 51 & 52 on the 10 - elevation 4585'.
The Continental Divide is the spot separates the watersheds of the Pacific from those of the Atlantic. Basically water drops on the west side of this line eventually flow to the Pacific while those that drop on the east side flow to the Atlantic.
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