Where is Jack, Day 34?

Well, today was an exciting day. After our "dust tornado" (which is what the news was calling it), we had thunder storms most of the night and rain. There wasn't much wind after the initial burst, though, so it was no big deal.  Still, Nancy got up at 4:30, and again was not feeling well. She was determined, however, that it wasn't going to ruin her day.

Princess and Wilson decided that they wanted to go up and look at Cimarron Park where they planned to dry dock. Nancy and Deb wanted to do the Enchanted Circle.  They stopped at the Visitor Center and Nancy asked one of the Native American women behind the counter if she knew what to do for altitude sickness. Oddly enough, she said she had heard that life savers helped. We just kind of laughed and went on. Deb had given her a Prilosec earlier which was helping a bit (made us think of Lizzie). We found out that driving conditions on the circle were okay so we were on our way. Wilson and Princess followed Nancy, Deb, and me.

Nancy had already decided that she was going to stay at the campground we're in for another day, and then discovered that there was a park belonging to the CampClub that she belongs to, and it was only $16 and had water and electric and it was located up by Eagles Nest which is on the Enchanted Circle. We all headed out to get the real scoop to see what the campgrounds were like. The ladies stopped in Angel Fire for lunch before heading out to the park. We were uneasy with the people staying there so I knew that we probably were not going to camp there, but Nancy wasn't sure about how everyone else felt. Deb feels the cold so she was interested in how much colder it was up there than Taos. Tucker, Teddy, and I got to run and get rid of some of our energy by playing ball on the campground road, then we left.

This time we followed Wilson. We lagged behind a bit and then came across her standing still. She had sighted a bear. At that moment, Nancy knew we definitely weren't going to stay up there (and she had the nerve to blame it on my mouth). Wilson and Princess went on back and Deb and I continued on the circle. It's a beautiful ride.

Rich always wanted to see a bear in the wild, and for some reason he never got to see one. Nancy's feelings were mixed. She hated that she got to see one and he didn't, but sometimes I feel as though he and Lizzie are with us, and maybe he didn't miss it after all.

Nancy said to Deb, "I wouldn't be surprised if Wilson and Princess changed their minds about camping with Tucker and Teddy after seeing the bear." We were later to find out that she was right.

A little while later, we came across a beaver dam. Nancy has a thing about beavers. She took three pictures; one must have picked up the reflection from the sky. The picture is untouched so we couldn't figure out why it would turn out so differently with the same setting son the camera--uh, that would be automatic.

We enjoyed the rest of the drive. At one point we were at 86 or 8900 feet above sea level, but it didn't bother Nancy.  We went up and down quite a few times. The mountains were covered with snow. The Enchanted Circle goes around the highest mountain in New Mexico; Wheeler Mountain. Nancy thinks she'd even like to do it, again.  Tomorrow, she wants to go to see the Gorge Bridge, and when she gets up to Angel Fire, again, she's going to stop in to the DAV Memorial. Nancy has a feeling that it has become more commercialized since Dr. Westphal died, but wants to see for herself.  She said she doesn't want to stay long because it makes her feel sad, but she'd like to pay her respects.

When we got back to Taos, Deb and Nancy stopped at Walmart to check to see if they had a little buddy heater for Deb's camper. They didn't, but they did have life savers. Nancy and Deb both had one, and I think it might have helped Nancy to feel a bit better (probably mind over matter).

We returned to our campground to find out that Princess hadn't been feeling good. Deb grilled delicious steaks on the grill, Princess brought over her beans and it was warm enough for them to enjoy dinner outside (you'd think they'd share with their four-legged friends). They gabbed for a while before it started to get a little chilly. Everyone was tired from such a full day. Nancy is feeling better than she has in a while.

She's trying to decide what we're going to do before we get to Las Vegas on the 10th. If she continues to feel well, we'll probably hang around Chama and Durango for a while, and then head south.  We have to look at a map and decide.