Hell’s Half Acre

We’re probably the only family that would do this, but today we drove 250 miles (roundtrip) to go to Target. Yes, the ONLY reason for the drive was to get Sissy somthing that only Target could give her. She loves Polly Pocket dolls and we found no stores in the Chama area that stocked those dolls. So, off we headed to Farmington. I thought it would be a pretty drive; the Atlas shows it as a scenic drive and it was pretty in a desert sort of way. We loved the rock formations but it was really apparent that we much prefer the mountains. I’m really glad we didn’t come down here to camp at Navajo Dam because it is so much prettier where we are (Cumbres Pass). After being in the mountains it seemed somewhat depressing seeing all the desert and scrub, mile after mile after mile. We’re definitely in the right place.

We’ve decided to stay at Cumbres, boondocking, until we’re forced to dump or decide to move to
Elk Creek (Conejos River area of Colorado). We figured that while the San Juans (a bit north of Durango) would be gorgeous, we would probably be surrounded by campers this weekend (if we got a space) and we are really enjoying the peace and solitude of the area we’re currently boondocking in.

Farmington is the largest town for miles and miles and the only town with something other than a supermarket for some 125 miles (around). We came down about 5000 feet to Farmington and while it was 95F when we arrived, we were quite comfortable. It was hot, but the dry heat is just nowhere as noticable as the sticky humidity with 95F of heat. There are four towns in this 125 mile distance; Dulce, Chama, Bloomfield and Farmington. I guess you’re really remote when you have to drive 125 miles to a Target.

We bought lots of stuff at Target for Sissy (and the other kids) and hit Golden Corral afterwards. Ever since visiting Wisconsin last summer and experiencing the buffet style dinners at Golden Corral, the kids have been overwhelmed with excitement whenever we find one out West. As luck would have it, we found a Golden Corral in Farmington and stuffed ourselves silly. Everyone was starving when we entered and stuffed when we left. Jesee, who normally exists solely on leafy greens and sugar, ate 3 full plates of food. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him eat so much. Once the kids were filled up they were raring to go; put food in them and you’ve got 4 rocket engines ready to burn fuel, so off we headed to the local mall. We managed to spend another $13,000 there; both boys got much needed sandals (we’ll see if $20 new sandals will last longer than $2 thriftstore sandals) and we bought Eragon 2 when the boys almost lost their minds after seeing it in the bookstore. Hope Farmington appreciates our boost to the local economy.

We’re now headed back to Chama and the Cumbres Pass; it is 9pm and we have about 2 hours of driving to get there. I’ll try to post this when we get to Chama at one of the free Wifi hotspot in town. Thanks, John for your birthday wishes for Sissy; I read her your email and she is wondering where she met you. She is certain you’ve met. Pictures are from hiking along the Continental Divide trail. Course, starting as high as we are, you really don’t do any climbing…

An interesting note. When we came into Chama a few days ago, diesel was 2.68/gallon. Today we when left for Farmington it was 2.86. Tonight, coming back from Farmington, it is 3.04. We might not be able to afford to leave Chama.