04-08-25 Florida Key West Trip 3/27 – 6/30 2025 96 Days, 7986 Miles, 44 Stops

08 April 2025, Alamogordo/White Sands KOA Journey

 

Goodbyes took a bit by the time we hugged Kenny’s Family and thanked them for a fantastic time. Today’s destination is Alamogordo, New Mexico, to visit the White Sands National Park. It was a three-hour drive to the RV park. 

The drive was boring, consisting of desert sagebrush and cacti. We loved how the rig took the foothills. It was so much better than our last RV, which was gas. We arrived at the Alamogordo/White Sands KOA Journey in excellent time. The site was nice, with a clean BBQ, a table, and a bench swing. 

We only had today, so we quickly settled and drove to White Sands National Park. It was fifteen minutes from the KOA. We each took our own Jeeps just in case one of us wanted to leave earlier. 

Before we left town, a significant accident occurred. Both sides of the highway were closed, and we and all the diesel trucks had to make a considerable detour. It was about a couple of miles out of our way. 

Our first stop was the visitor center for passport stamps and to ask a ranger about the walks. Once confirmed, we decided to take the Dune Life Nature Trail. It was only a one-mile round trip. 

The trails are marked with metal stakes about three feet tall, so it’s easy to follow. The most surprising thing was that the sand is in the form of gypsum and remains cool. The sand is very white and you need sunglasses. I think the temperature was in the mid-eighties. It was very quiet out there and eerie. After this hike, it was too hot for me to do anything else. Jan and Ken decided to take another hike and we drove the rest of the way around the park. J&K also wanted to stay for the sunset. 

The road into town was still blocked and we had to take a short detour. We texted K&J to let them know. Once back in camp, Barry started the BBQ and cooked turkey burgers. They were so yummy! 

Ken and Jan decided not to stay for the sunset. Sand sledding is popular in White Sands, so Jan decided to try it. After eating, we had our daily meeting to discuss the next day’s travel route.

Visitor Center

White Sands NP  Brochure

Trail we took

View from the road of some of the dunes

Barry trucking along

Information stops

"Footsteps in the Sand"

Wonder what animals live under here?

Lonely Tree

Copyright © 2025 by Jacqueline Threet Henderson, Jacqueline's Jaunts. All rights reserved.

04-07-25 Florida Key West Trip 3/27 – 6/30 2025 96 Days, 7986 Miles, 44 Stops

07 April 2025, Silver City, New Mexico

We both slept well. Today was exploration day. We all jumped in our Jeeps and followed Kenny and Vicky to Pinos Altos. It’s an old mining town and is considered haunted. We were able to walk through the old museum and gift shop. What fun! Vicky talked The Buckhorn Restaurant into opening so we could walk through it. The staff was getting ready for dinner. The Opera house is next door; you can enter it from The Buckhorn. The community still uses it for plays. We would have loved to eat at The Buckhorn, but we had places to see! I posted many photos because I had a hard time deciding what not to include. 

Fort Bayard was the next place. Many of the buildings are still standing, but they are in a state of disrepair. There is one street with large homes for officers, and one house is set up for tours, but is closed today. There are still six or so standing. Kenny said the town is in the process of exploring ways to restore the area. The old movie theatre still shows movies on certain days of the month. What a great place this whole area would be if it were restored. 

Next to the fort is a National Military Cemetery. Vicky has family that is buried here. It is a beautiful cemetery and seems rather large. 

We planned a family BBQ, so we needed to return to Kenny’s. Barry and Ken BBQ’d chicken and tri-tip for everyone. I made a large macaroni salad, Jan made her mom’s beans, and a few loaves of garlic bread, and everyone else brought a few other items. There was a lot of food, and everything was delicious. There was nothing left of my macaroni salad. 

No Caption Needed

The Opera House

This is the museum and the gift store

The Bar and Dining Room inside the Buckhorn

Inside of the Opera House

One of the Dining Room Areas

Tables Inside the Bar 

The Opera House Stage

Back of the Opera House where the Bar is

Greeter by the Bathrooms

Copyright © 2025 by Jacqueline Threet Henderson, Jacqueline's Jaunts. All rights reserved.

2023-09-18 Monday, Oregon Trip to Visit Family and Friends

Ryan and Amanda’s

Steps – 2,390

We woke up to a smokey sky. Somewhat better today, but not much. Ryan was off to work early this morning; the kids had school, cleaned up the RV, and Barry cleaned up his BBQ today. I was on a few calls today and going through email. I played ball with the dogs. They wore me out!

Before Ryan got home from work, Amanda took Tucker to the pump track to ride his new bike. He said it took a little time to get used to it, but it felt great. From the photos Amanda took, he looked like he was enjoying himself. 

Addison spent part of the afternoon riding Josey. No barrel practicing, just for a ride. 

Ryan BBQed chicken on his Traeger, and it was delicious. We had everyone taste Aunt Reba’s BBQ sauce (see previous blogs).  They all agreed it was the best BBQ sauce they had. They couldn’t get enough. I informed him if they came to our Annual Griffin Christmas Dinner again, they would get some, but we did leave them some of ours. 

The sunset was beautiful tonight due to the smoke. Amanda and I sat on the porch to watch it. We also had a little green visitor on the front door. It was only about 1.5 inches, a tiny little guy. He was staying high to hide from the one chicken Amanda let out to roam for a bit. They love frogs; at least Amanda’s chickens do.

Another rousing game of Sequence, and this time, Ryan and Tucker lost...YEA. Barry and I won. I do not think Amanda was very happy. She is still trying to maintain her composure. Addison was very vocal about losing again. We couldn’t let Tucker and Ryan win again. 

BTW-Barry hates mosquitos, and they are eating him alive. 

Copyright © 2023 by Jacqueline Threet Henderson, Jacqueline's Jaunts. All rights reserved.