Sunday, October 6, 2024
Company and conversation were lively yesterday, Saturday 5th,
here at the Rio Rancho, NM home of Evelyn and David, my sister and
brother-in-law. Monty, the 10-year-old Havanese dog that Evelyn and David had
been caring for, was one happy boy today!
Having arrived here last Friday afternoon, I woke up to a pleasant [Saturday]
morning of coffee and muffins with Ev and David. The annual hot air balloon
festival was going on in Albuquerque and, despite the morning haze, we could
see a few balloons in the distance.
Around mid-morning [still on Saturday, yesterday], I got to work on my
laptop, aiming to finish Blog #4 and publish it on my blogsite before Monty’s
owners arrived later in the day. I managed to achieve that just in the nick of
time!
Lesley and Mike, both in their 70s, are British, as is David. Evelyn had
previously told me that their accents, once they talk amongst themselves, are rather
difficult for her to follow. Lesley, I could lipread a little bit. Mike, not at
all! Nevertheless, it was a fun evening – together, Lesley and Ev prepared a
British snack called “Sausage Rolls,” which turned out to be very good! Ev also
made a beef stew for dinner, and that was very good, too!
Conversation was, as I said, lively and also very interesting. Since I often
have trouble lipreading David as well, his efforts at fingerspelling words to me,
have improved significantly. He fingerspelled bits and pieces of the
conversation as the evening went on and Ev, an excellent ASL signer herself,
interpreted most everything else. Soon as I felt ready to go to bed, I took a
few minutes to send off my Blog #4 via email, then said my goodnights.
Today – Sunday – we had more coffee/muffins and then Lesley, Mike, and
Monty left for the drive back to their home in Prescott, AZ. Around 10:30 am, I
said my goodbyes to Ev and David and headed out for the three-hour drive on
I-25S to Caballo, NM.
As far as interstates go, today’s drive on I-25 was OK. It was a
straightforward southern route through a mostly desert landscape. I arrived
around 2:30 pm at the Caballo Lake State Park, in Caballo. Since the lake was to
the east of my campsite, today’s sunset was behind me. I took the pictures
below at different times –
Caballo Lake, 2:45 pm…
6:26 pm…
6:39 pm
This is my final night, of this truck camper trip, in New Mexico.
Tomorrow, I cross into Arizona…and gain an hour!
Monday, October 7, 2024
Anticipating a four-hour drive today, I left Caballo Lake State Park at
9:30 am (8:30 am Arizona time). I drove on I-25S for a few miles and then
connected to Rt. 26W to Deming, NM. Getting gas there I then got on I-10W towards
Benson, AZ. Having driven on the I-10 interstate a number of times before, I expected
to see the usual desert scenery, the gradual appearance of assorted cacti, and
the repetitive “what-to-do-in-a-dust-storm” alert signs in New Mexico.
At Benson, I followed printed directions, and the GPS, to the Harvest
Host “Forever
Home Donkey Rescue & Sanctuary,” which is located within a rural mountainous area,
about 13 miles north of downtown Benson. Veering off the comfortable familiarity
and ease of I-10, and driving along on the paved two lanes of Pomerene and Cascabel
Roads, I soon turned into a narrow dirt road for the rest of the way. Because
of the washes within this region, there were a good number of dips in the road
and “Do Not
Enter When Flooded” warning signs. Monsoon season in Arizona ended in September, so thank
goodness for that!
Road to the sanctuary.
A wash at the left.
Turning into the dirt road.
Getting there…
Since there are free-roaming donkeys on this property, the sign on the
gate, when I arrived, instructed me to open and then close/latch the gate after
entry. I did that, looked around the dirt area for a spot to park, made my
selection near some trees, set up the camper (no hookups provided here) and
called my spot “home.” Retrieving my camp chair from the truck, I sat outside
to wait for the host to come and greet me. After waiting for a while, I decided
to walk up to several of the nearby structures and see if I might get
somebody’s attention. I walked by and stopped to visit the “Rainbow Bridge”
burial grounds and read the markers placed there. [I learned later that deceased
donkeys are indeed buried here on the property; they use a backhoe to dig out
deep graves.]
Burial grounds.
A memorial plaque…
Another…
Not wanting to venture too much further, I went back to my camper…and
waited. I did see a couple of donkeys…and donkey dung, a lot of which was close
to my camper.
Eventually, Suzanne Velasquez, the director of this
sanctuary, came by and apologized that she didn’t see me until just now. She
gave me their informative materials, pointed out where the donkeys’ pens were, told
me to walk around freely, the evening feeding time is around 4:00 pm. And then,
while we were talking, the owners – John and Tish Hiestand – arrived and were
making their way through the gate. So, I’ve now met the folks who run this
place and care for the donkeys.
During my stay, I learned a great deal about the donkeys who reside at
this sanctuary. When I finally approached the pens, just before the evening
feeding time, several donkeys came right up to me. To keep flies away from
their eyes, they had on “fly masks.” One donkey in particular (name: Muchacho) took
a special interest in me…or maybe it was my iPhone, which, in my hand, probably
looked edible. He kept butting into me, prompting me to pet him every time...not
that I minded!
Muchacho.
Curious, and a bit wary, too.
Muchacho, butting into me!
Different sizes.
Handsome, even up close!
Muchacho, again!
The donkeys love the attention…and the gentle touch.
Evening feeding.
Suzanne, tossing the hay.
The things I learned –
* Established by John and Tish, the sanctuary became an ALL VOLUNTEER 501(c)(3) Nonprofit in 2020. This is their
website - www.foreverhomedonkeyrescue.com.
* The donkeys are all rescues. They had been abused, neglected, no longer
wanted.
* As of my visit, there are 32 donkeys living out their lives here. Six
are female. All are “fixed.” No breeding is done here.
* The donkeys are of different ages. Some arrived
with injuries. Some require specific medications and foods over their lifetimes.
* There are size differences, too – Miniature, Standard, Large Standard,
and Mammoth. Suzanne introduced me to a Mammoth donkey. He was, she said, 56”
high at the shoulder. By comparison, I’m 60” tall.
* Some of the donkeys in their care died naturally – age, disease. Others
arrived with severe injuries that couldn’t be treated humanely. They were euthanized.
* The organization has foster and adoption programs. Potential owners are
carefully evaluated and scrutinized. Some donkeys are transferred to other
sanctuaries if space is an issue at this sanctuary.
Watching John (age 84) and Tish (age 81) do the physical work of caring
for these donkeys – luring them with carrots into their pens, filling their
buckets with feed and hay, preparing their medications -- I asked Suzanne about
the future. She said that the organization, being a non-profit, has a board of
directors; she is personally committed and dedicated to the donkeys, she lives
on the property, as do John and Tish; she will take over when John/Tish are no
longer able to.
Suzanne let me know that around 9:00 pm the donkeys would be let out of
their pens and are free to roam around the fenced property. Since my camper is right
there in the open, I might have visitors, she said. With no shore power
available, I decided to leave my camper’s interior lights off and turn on the
exterior docking lights (powered by the camper’s batteries). Those exterior lights
enabled me to see the ground outside both my dinette windows and the rear door.
Aware of other critters that live around these rugged environs -- coyotes,
javelinas, rattlesnakes – I stayed inside the camper and, not seeing anything
out the windows, went to bed at 9:30 pm.
Panoramic photo of the sunset.
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Up with the sunrise, I looked out the rear door and swore to myself
that those hoof prints on the dirt around the camper were not there yesterday. “Is that fresh dung
over there, too?” – I wondered. Ohhh, them donkeys – it’s so easy to become enamored with
them! Those sweet souls, they are funny, smart, personable, endearing…and while
their trauma is forever seared in their memories, they are also a true lesson
in forgiveness.
Around 7:00 am, a husband-wife volunteer couple – Mike and Kim –
arrived. Everybody was rounding up and coaxing the donkeys into their pens…including
me. John gave me a carrot and Kim gave me an “animal cracker” cookie. “Just hold out your
palm,” Kim said, “…and lead your donkey into his pen.” The feel of that muzzle, gently
searching for the treats was…well, gentle and soft...and, without question,
appreciative, too.
I spent that morning visiting all of the donkeys while they waited for
their hay and feed. Mike assisted with the morning feeding and Kim focused on
cleaning the water buckets in all 32 pens. That job took her pretty much all
morning -- she was still at it when I later said good-bye to her. Just before I
left at around 10:30 am, I purchased some clothing items from their gift shop
and also left a donation check.
This is one impatient donkey! He brays while waiting for the hay cart to come around to his pen.
And this one is being very patient!
The volunteers, Kim and Mike.
This is Jasper. I had mentioned that the eyes are my favorite facial feature. Kim took off his fly mask so I could see his eyes.
I didn’t ask what Cisco’s story is. It is reassuring to know – not only for me but for Cisco, too – that he is safe and much loved...right here, right now.
Returning to Benson, I got some lunch and then after about five miles on
I-10W I took Rt. 90S towards Sierra Vista, AZ. Per the directions, I then got
on Rt. 92E and, spotting the sign, turned into a rough farm/ranch dirt road to another
Harvest Host location – “Double G Alpacas.” This is my 8th Harvest Host overnight
stay since I became a member in 2022, and my last one of this truck camper trip.
My 2:00 pm arrival was pretty much a repeat of yesterday – park and wait
for the host to greet me. Again, I walked around, hoping someone would notice
me. Again, seeing four-legged mammals, I strolled over to take a look, but,
again, didn’t venture too far. Best to heed the host’s instructions to wait for
the tour that they will give me. Within the fenced area, I did see a small
gathering of alpacas who were watching me with interest; three male angora
goats, who were sort of interested in my presence; and two sleeping dogs who
showed zero interest in me. There was also a nearby coop with chickens of
assorted colors.
The three male Anorga Goats, kept separate from the females.
My first glimpse of Alpacas. They watched me move about. The dog wasn't interested.
Finally, LeRoy, the owner/host approached and after confirming that I
was with Harvest Host, he then showed me where I could set up my camper (again,
no hookups). I did that and then met up with him later for the tour. Little did
I know, having never seen alpacas before, much less touched them, I was in for
quite an education! And, bless his heart, LeRoy used the speech-to-text feature
on his mobile device to tell me all about the alpacas and answer my many
questions. He forwarded that thread to my email and agreed that I could quote
his comments for my blog. His comments are provided below in italics (with some
editing corrections due to speech mispronouncing). [Note: The comments
in blue brackets are mine.]
Alpacas
naturally do not bite. Alpacas do not like their heads being touched. You can
pet their lower neck or back. Just not on the head.
We
breed and show our Alpacas. We are trying to make a name for ourselves
nationally so that we can sell the offspring.
Llamas
are much taller and weigh about four hundred - 600 pounds. Llamas are pack
animals like horses.
Are
fiber animals like sheep; We process their hair and make yarn.
No
hoof, their feet are like a dog's paw. They walk on a pad. Humming [LeRoy’s reply to my
question about sounds they make.] No teeth on top, only bottom teeth. Alpacas
have 3 stomachs.
There
is no season for alpacas. We can breed them any time. Like humans. The
gestation is three hundred and fifty-five days...11.5 months.
All
camelids spit however alpacas are least likely to spit at humans; Not like
llamas. Or camels.
They
are very very gentle. She [LeRoy’s mother] can go inside [their pens]. I can go inside. It’s
not a problem insurance will not allow us to let every [other people in.]
[We] separate them by temperament;
Every pen has an alpha; You have 2 alphas together, they fight all day.
I
would like to point out the Gray one with the all-white face. His name is Man
of Steel. He has eight first place ribbons and is a three-time champion. Every
time the first-place ribbon, we can charge more for the alpaca. [Pertaining to stud
service.]
Judging
is confirmation and fiber quality. Similar to dog shows. The judges do touch
them, but they don't care if they have hay on them, it's okay.
Because
they have control of their bowels, it is possible to train an alpaca, house
train.
They
are a very smart animal and you can train them like a dog. They all go in one
spot and we collect…And it's very very good for your garden. [Noticing neat piles
of their poop, I asked about that; suggest readers Google for pictures of alpaca
poop.]
We
have had alpacas for twelve years but as a business about seven years. I'm
giving you a tour today same as I would a group.
When
they lay down with their legs under them, we call it cushing.
They
know when they're pregnant because they will not let the male mount them after
they are pregnant. It's very difficult to determine when they're pregnant… [I was asking how they know
if an alpaca is pregnant, if there are obvious signs with their belly, their
teats…]
We
determine the breeding and we can calculate the day they will be due. [I asked how they
know which male fathered which baby.]
We
processed the fiber and turned it into yarn if you like I'll give you a
demonstration.
Normally
takes about thirty minutes but because of the language maybe longer. [This comment from LeRoy
made me laugh!]
We will go to the studio for the demo.
The
goats are angora goats. We shear them twice a year and use their fiber to make
yarn. The fiber is called mohair. We have 12 acres total. We have eight acres
fenced in on this side of the street and four acres across the street.
At our first pen, LeRoy called this alpaca over to greet me. As she came straight towards me, I stared at her…she was so gorgeous! She immediately made eye contact with me.
I initially thought she was eating a blade of grass. She was playing with it, LeRoy said.
Another beauty – long neck and all! They all have names but I’m not remembering them.
The feet – just like a dog’s paws. LeRoy said he does not hear them when they walk. That prompted me to ask what sounds they make. They hum, he said.
A cat (Milo, because of the “M” marking on his head) and an alpaca. Our 4-legged friends are often a lesson in tolerance and acceptance of each other.
Earlier,
Martha, LeRoy’s mother had been filling up the water buckets around the pens. That
was her job, she said. On the way to the studio for the demo, she came by in
her golf cart and gave me three small potatoes and two tomatoes. “She gets
food from a food bank so she's sharing it with you today,” LeRoy said. We
got to talking about her role with “Double G Alpacas” and she told me how much
she loved what they were doing here, using the correct ASL sign for “love” –
the arms crossed over the chest. I looked at Martha and made a comment about
how that sign is exactly right. Oh, my gosh, the look on her face – the memories
and emotions were obvious -- she smiled and told me that she used to work at
the Deaf School in Illinois. Her husband, too, LeRoy’s father, who is no longer
with us. I told her I went to the Indiana School for the Deaf and I remember the
football and basketball games we played against that “other ISD team.” Martha
nodded and I thought to myself – “What a small, small, small world we live
in!”
That
was a fascinating “alpacas tour” and I very much appreciated the opportunity to
learn so much about this species. They have such beautiful faces. They look
right at you, eye to eye, with curiosity, interest, and intelligence. Their fiber
(or fleece) is soft, so soft, and I had to press down a little bit to finally
feel the surface of their skin. LeRoy said they will shear that fiber (sheep
produce wool) – in the spring. From the fiber they collect, they implement a
process to make yarn.
LeRoy
took me over to the studio. Martha hung out with us there and I soon met Paula,
LeRoy’s wife. There I learned that LeRoy’s last name is German and the “Double
G” refers to his parents (“German and German”). When they started this business,
it became confusing when people thought the alpacas were from Germany. “Double
G” was the solution and the family business is still going strong -- their
breeding program, stud service, alpaca shows, art shows, and sales of their hand-made
products. Their website: DoubleGAlpacasAz.com. Check out their video –
it’s captioned.
For
the “yarn” demo, we got off to a funny start with LeRoy’s “speech to text”
approach. He decided to abandon that and start writing on my notebook – four pages
worth! I’ll share his spoken comments (unedited)…
I
grew up in Galesburg, Illinois, but I spent 22 years in the military and
retired at fort huachuca.
So
I currently work as a contractor for the army on the fort.
I'm
a software developer by day a Alpacas rancher at night.
I
want to show you how we create yarn from alpaca hair.
We
will try the best we can.
Felting
during washing is very bad.
I
do appreciate your patience.
This is from our garden
She
is growing cotton. Cotton and seed. Different plants from different seeds.
We
are getting side tracked with the… [We started laughing here because we kept veering off to other
topics – the cotton, our personal backgrounds, etc.]
The
pictures below correspond with what LeRoy was telling or showing me…
I’m holding the stem of an opened cotton boll. LeRoy’s wife Paula, grows cotton (LeRoy took me outside to see what the cotton bushes look like) and I could feel how sharp those hardened boll edges are. I asked Paula if she had a good supply of band aids in her house, to which she held out her bandaged fingers!
Paula sorting out her tub of picked cotton by color.
Cotton has seeds. From that one cotton piece (bottom right), LeRoy picked out six seeds (two at bottom left).
Here LeRoy is writing about the four steps to process alpaca fiber -- Bottom
right is the shorn fiber after it has been washed. He wrote: “1st
washing warm water mild soap…we use Dawn dish soap. Alpaca hair is water resistant.
Also hair is hollow. If you agitate it will Felt.” The
hair at the top has been separated. LeRoy wrote that “To make yarn, we need
individual hair. So we need to separate the hairs. We have a tool that helps us.
It’s called a picker.”
LeRoy showed me the carding process (3rd step, no photo) for combing out the hairs so that they go in one direction. In this photo he is holding a piece of carded fiber. Pulling by hand creates a twist for the yarn. To go faster...
Spinning the fiber on a spinning wheel. The yarn accumulates on the bobbin.
Or, as LeRoy wrote, “People still use a drop spindle,” which is what he is holding here.
It
was very dark when we left the studio. LeRoy used his mobile’s flashlight to
walk me to my camper. Knowing that I’m not likely to see him tomorrow morning,
I gave him a hug and thanked him for such a great day and experience.
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
I spent the morning catching up on Blog #5, my final blog of this truck
camper trip. For the first time since starting this trip, because I didn’t have
any shore power hookup here, I activated the generator to recharge both my
laptop and iPhone. Before leaving, around late morning, I took one last look at
some of the alpacas and left an envelope with a $30.00 donation near the front
door. Then, going back the way I came, I got on I-10W towards Tucson, AZ. The
one excitement with that drive was approaching the Border Patrol checkpoint on
Rt. 90N. They waved me through.
I soon arrived and got my camper set up at Catalina State Park, located
just outside of Tucson. Settling in to do more work on the laptop, I found it
necessary to turn on the air conditioning. It was that hot here! Sitting
outside later, just as the sun set, I watched the flitting behavior of some
birds in the darkening sky. Bats, maybe?
Thursday, October 10, 2024
I had visitors today! Being the solo traveler that I am, it is rare for
me to have folks come visit me at my camper...and/or for me to visit anybody on
my travels.
Pre-arranged some time ago, I invited my long-time friend, Kathy
Fraychineaud, who lives in Tucson, to come by my camper today. She arrived
around 11:15 am with Brady, her little 11-year-old dog. A smart dog, this
one…he understands most everything Kathy signs to him! We sat outside in my two
camp chairs for a little while and then hopped in her car to go to lunch at a
nearby breakfast/brunch restaurant.
Back at the camper, we continued our visit outside. Since Kathy used to
do a lot of camping herself back in the day, she was interested in some of my
camper’s functions, including -- since I complain about it so much! -- the
“tank dumping” part. I was telling her about the “camper design” for this
process and how the angle of the sewer’s outlet differs from the designed
outlets for trailers, fifth wheels, motorhomes. As it happened there was a
Lance trailer (my camper is a Lance product, too), across the way and I decided
to go over there and ask the owner if we could see what his dumping apparatus
looks like. He was happy to comply and talk about it. “Jeez, the
conversations we RVers have!” I thought to myself. But it’s worth it if we learn
a thing or two.
The sun had set by the time Kathy and Brady left. Tonight is my last
night in Arizona.
With Kathy and Brady.
Friday, October 11, 2024
Back on I-10W, I drove for four hours through the Arizona desert to The
Cove RV Resort in Blythe, CA. I’ve been here several times -- it’s perfect for
the chores I have to do tomorrow morning. This time around, I selected a site
overlooking the California side of the Colorado River. Being that this is my
final night in the camper I started bagging my clothes, food, and other
essentials.
Saturday, October 12, 2024
First thing this morning, I took a picture of the sunrise on the Colorado River...
I then proceeded with relevant “closing the camper” tasks -- drained the
water from the kitchen and bathroom faucets first and then dumped the Black and
Gray water tanks. This is not a process to rush through, especially since
draining tanks does take time. After about 90 minutes, I was finished and
decided to walk down to the river to splash cool water on my arms and face. Back
on I-10W at 10:30 am I headed home to Palm Springs.The minute I arrived home, I turned off the camper’s fridge and closed
the two propane tanks. With no power source operating the fridge, it was OK for
me to park on my sloped driveway for easier unloading of both the camper and
truck. Taking my time with this task -– and taking frequent breaks inside my
cool condo -- I was able to finish by late afternoon. Laundry is on the
schedule tomorrow. The camper goes back to Galaxy Campers in Ontario, CA on
Monday.
Despite the earlier issues, just as I started this trip, with both the
fridge and the broken lever for the cabover vent window, I’m glad everything
went so well and all my pre-planning panned out satisfactorily. It’s always
good, via RV travel, to discover and learn about new things in and around our
beautiful country. Animals are always a highlight. They humble me.
It’s also always good to return home!
Total
days of travel - 33
Total miles
traveled – 3,035
