I'm tired. Tired and I don't think I have any left in me, to give my company

[CITIZEN F16]

White Sands.... I know it well. We took our engagement photos there. (About 2 months after our wedding...LOL)

My Mom lives in Las Cruces, so we get out there often.
It is typically a jump off point for other destinations in N.M.

While there we hike Soledad Canyon, Dripping Springs, and other trails.
View attachment 347467 White Sands

View attachment 347468 SoleDad Canyon

View attachment 347469 Gila Cliff Dwellings

I am confused, who is the lady in the picture? I thought you said you were recently divorced?

 

[david n]

I am confused, who is the lady in the picture? I thought you said you were recently divorced?

That's the new and improved model....................

 

[CITIZEN F16]

I am confused, who is the lady in the picture? I thought you said you were recently divorced?

That's the new and improved model....................

She is hotter than a two dollar pistol, and Doug wants us to feel sorry for him? I think we have been duped. If hanging with her is what he does when he is bumming, what does he do when things are good? Lucky bastard! I think he slipped on a piece of dog crap and landed in a bowl of cherries. No more sympathy from me for Doug.

 

[CarbideBob]

I am confused, who is the lady in the picture? I thought you said you were recently divorced?

I think even asking this on the open net is rather distasteful and a lack of decorum.

 

[doug925]

Citizen F16,
No harm/ no foul.
I divorced in 2015, and remarried 12/31/2020

Thank you. She is way hotter than my level should pull! lol


I am LMAO at the 'new and improved' and 'Mk1/ Mk2' comments!

This will be the second day in a row I leave work....HAPPY!

Doug.

 

[doug925]

I know religion is "officially" verboten here, but........it DOES make a difference. In fact, it can change your life. For me, a Christianity that doesn't radically change the way I respond and think isn't worth having.

Just my $0.02

Chipsplitter,

I am not religious in the denomination sense. Too many atrocities have been done in the name of one religion or other.
I even considered myself an agnostic for most of my life.
Until.... I was going through divorce.

A customer was in my office at the time, and I was an emotional mess. (Burying myself in work was not an option for me at the time)
In my raw, emotional state, he asked if I would pray with him.
I did.
It helped.

The very next day, in a REALLY BAD place, I prayed again.
This time asking for strength and inner peace.
The relief was immediate! From that day forward, I have not considered myself agnostic.

Doug.

 

[mattthemuppet]

sounds like a fabulous break. Carlsbad is cool and Ruidoso is beautiful, would love to go back there. I really wanted to go to White Sands range but we hadn't gotten our Green Cards at that point, so figured we'd err on the side of caution and skip it.

It's easy to forget how important taking a break and spending time with family is. Even if it's only for a few days, seeing some new sights and being somewhere different can make a big difference.

 

[ChipSplitter]

Chipsplitter,

I am not religious in the denomination sense. Too many atrocities have been done in the name of one religion or other.
I even considered myself an agnostic for most of my life.
Until.... I was going through divorce.

A customer was in my office at the time, and I was an emotional mess. (Burying myself in work was not an option for me at the time)
In my raw, emotional state, he asked if I would pray with him.
I did.
It helped.

The very next day, in a REALLY BAD place, I prayed again.
This time asking for strength and inner peace.
The relief was immediate! From that day forward, I have not considered myself agnostic.

Doug.

I really believe God draws people to himself through many means (2 Peter 3:9). For me it usually is by reaching the end of my rope.

As far as atrocities, just remember that it was NOT so in the beginning. The early church (before AD 300) would be scandalized at what has been done in the name of Christ over the centuries. They literally lived out "Love your enemies; do good to those who despitefully use you and persecute you". Needless to say, it was very different from today's conventional "Christianity".

 

[Bobw]

sounds like a fabulous break. Carlsbad is ???? and Ruidoso is beautiful,

Ruidoso is a weird little place. I've lived out here for over 20 years and I spent zero time there until last summer. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and then we went back in the fall, and we were going to go over Easter weekend, but I was tied up on the east coast, and thankfully I was due to the fires.

Weird place, they roll up the carpet at like 5pm.. 7 on the weekends, even when there is a big biker rally in town. It just completely shuts down, and its a TOURIST town. Bars, restaurants, liquor stores, shops. They just close up. EARLY!!!! I think the casino pays them, nothing going on in town, have to go to the casino, which we did not.

Took my better half fishing up there this past summer for the first time in her life.. Her first fish EVER, a 3.5lb Golden Rainbow. And I got one too, same size, different sex, hatchery fish, they snip the tails on all the big ones which makes the fight kind of weak.

Cool place though. Every cottage has a hot tub. We stayed right in the middle of town on the river. Did a lot of hot tub time. Lot of wild life. This pic was off the porch of the cottage we stayed in this summer.

Been a weird year for me, I'm trying to get back in the groove. I have a dentist appointment on Thursday,
and I think I'm taking Friday off and heading up to Ruidoso to do some old man trout fishing at Grindstone.
Its just little over an hour and a half from the house, and the last time I rolled up there I got 42mpg, so I don't
care how much gas is... I'm going fishing.

Neat little town. SOUTHERN New Mexico, it should be miserable desert and hotter than hell, but its not, its way up in the mountains, 6800 feet or so. Kind of like Colorado, but not quite.

 

[Big B]

Ruidoso is a weird little place. I've lived out here for over 20 years and I spent zero time there until last summer. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and then we went back in the fall, and we were going to go over Easter weekend, but I was tied up on the east coast, and thankfully I was due to the fires.

Weird place, they roll up the carpet at like 5pm.. 7 on the weekends, even when there is a big biker rally in town. It just completely shuts down, and its a TOURIST town. Bars, restaurants, liquor stores, shops. They just close up. EARLY!!!! I think the casino pays them, nothing going on in town, have to go to the casino, which we did not.

Took my better half fishing up there this past summer for the first time in her life.. Her first fish EVER, a 3.5lb Golden Rainbow. And I got one too, same size, different sex, hatchery fish, they snip the tails on all the big ones which makes the fight kind of weak.

Cool place though. Every cottage has a hot tub. We stayed right in the middle of town on the river. Did a lot of hot tub time. Lot of wild life. This pic was off the porch of the cottage we stayed in this summer.

Been a weird year for me, I'm trying to get back in the groove. I have a dentist appointment on Thursday,
and I think I'm taking Friday off and heading up to Ruidoso to do some old man trout fishing at Grindstone.
Its just little over an hour and a half from the house, and the last time I rolled up there I got 42mpg, so I don't
care how much gas is... I'm going fishing.

Neat little town. SOUTHERN New Mexico, it should be miserable desert and hotter than hell, but its not, its way up in the mountains, 6800 feet or so. Kind of like Colorado, but not quite.

I've never been to Ruidoso but may take a trip up there yet before heading back to Michigan. Took a nice long drive through Hillsboro and the Gila National Forest and on to Silver City a few years ago. Beautiful area.

Still looking to get to Elephant Butte and White Sands. We're in Deming right now.

BTW, Glad to hear that you're feeling a little better about life again Doug. Good that you recognized the problem and took some steps to get it sorted out.

 

[Bobw]

Still looking to get to Elephant Butte and White Sands.

You better hurry up and get there before its GONE!!!

Used to be about 40 miles long, now its about 4.

 

[Freedommachine]

Chipsplitter,

I am not religious in the denomination sense. Too many atrocities have been done in the name of one religion or other.
I even considered myself an agnostic for most of my life.
Until.... I was going through divorce.

A customer was in my office at the time, and I was an emotional mess. (Burying myself in work was not an option for me at the time)
In my raw, emotional state, he asked if I would pray with him.
I did.
It helped.

The very next day, in a REALLY BAD place, I prayed again.
This time asking for strength and inner peace.
The relief was immediate! From that day forward, I have not considered myself agnostic.

Doug.

Doug,

If I may suggest two books that I have found benefit from in my life;

The first is; Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. (I will send it to you in book or audio form if you're interested)

During WW2, the BBC network hired C.S. Lewis to give a series of lectures broadcast to the British people explaining the fundamentals of Christianity in the most simple terms possible. It was later made into a very good, relatively short book.

The second is; '12 rules for life' written by a clinical psychologist, Dr. Jordan Peterson.

It is a deep dive down the rabbit hole of the human psyche teaching about things like spite, anger, pride, resentment, jealousy, anxiety; where these things come from and how they manifest in our lives.

I have found it to be extremely valuable knowledge for helping to keep things in proper balance.

He also has a popular YouTube channel where all of his lectures can be found for free.

 

[gbent]

This, too, shall pass.

 

[Big B]

You better hurry up and get there before its GONE!!!

Used to be about 40 miles long, now its about 4.

Is the wind blowing all of the white sand away or what's happening to it? Mining?

We took an Alaskan cruise about 10 years ago that included a glacier sighting. They cruised the ship up into a canyon and about the time we could see the glacier they turned it around and we were off. They probably have a lot of ships going in and out of there and it's one at a time please. I have a feeling that it may not be much longer and you won't see any glaciers from ships so I'm glad that we at least got to see one.

I was just looking at various routes from Deming to Michigan and those areas are pretty much right on the way to I-40 so we may check it out this year yet. How are the roads for towing a 7 ton fifth wheel? Are the locals going to hate me if I can't race through the mountains?

 

[Bobw]

Is the wind blowing all of the white sand away or what's happening to it? Mining?

We took an Alaskan cruise about 10 years ago that included a glacier sighting. They cruised the ship up into a canyon and about the time we could see the glacier they turned it around and we were off. They probably have a lot of ships going in and out of there and it's one at a time please. I have a feeling that it may not be much longer and you won't see any glaciers from ships so I'm glad that we at least got to see one.

I was just looking at various routes from Deming to Michigan and those areas are pretty much right on the way to I-40 so we may check it out this year yet. How are the roads for towing a 7 ton fifth wheel? Are the locals going to hate me if I can't race through the mountains?

Not White Sands.. Elephant Butte.

The sand is all still there, I even saw some of it last Friday.. "Tourist Hack", if you want some white sand,
you can NOT take any from White Sands, they don't even sell it in the gift store, however just to the West of
the monument there is a pull off where the white sands spill out onto the highway, and you can grab some
there without getting arrested.

Easiest way out of here. Take 10 to 70.. 70 goes through Cruces, and its a pain in the ass, so keep heading
out 10, then go north on 25, exit 6 is for rte 70, takes the same amount of time, but adds a few miles.
Go up over the pass, and in about 45 minutes you will be at White Sands monument, its right after the checkpoint.

Then, take the bypass around Alamogordo, and follow 54. North to Santa Rosa.. You can take 70 out to 60, going
through Ruidoso, Roswell, and Clovis. But its a BORING ride, and you have to go through a bunch of towns with
a bunch of lights. Its also a pretty big climb up to Ruidoso, but its 2 lanes each way, so not that big of deal,
but it does get steep.

North on 54 is EASY driving and you can haul ass. 54 up that way is almost all brand new, mostly flat.
No big hills.. Elevation does get up there though. 6600 feet or so, but there are no real big hills, its gradual.
Once you leave Alamogordo, its 2 stop signs, one in Carizozo, and one in Vaughn(take a right), and you'll be on 40.. You also have to take a left in Vaughn, after the second gas station.

After leaving Vaughn, I like to take the left onto 219 towards Las Vegas, its a straight shot to 40 no lights, no traffic, no stop signs, whereas if you keep on 54 into Santa Rosa, you have to go through town, slow down, go through stop lights etc.

OKC and Tulsa, I don't take the bypasses, it seems to take FOREVER and there is a ton of tolls.
And as you coming out of Tulsa, you have to take an exit to stay on 44. I missed that last time
and ended up in the middle of nowhere.

In St Louis I like to take 270 to 252 to get around the city. That takes you up onto 70 or 55
and you're almost home.

You probably already know most of that, but its fresh in my head since I just did it again coming
back from the East coast.

 

[Ox]

"Check Point"?

What kind of checkpoint doo we have in the States - other than checking your passport for going in / out of Alabama of course.... ???


------------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

 

[Bobw]

"Check Point"?

What kind of checkpoint doo we have in the States - other than checking your passport for going in / out of Alabama of course.... ???


------------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Border Patrol checkpoint. I have one on the way to the shop also.

Everymorning, I leave New Mexico USA and drive north, staying in New Mexico USA, and
I have to stop at a Government Checkpoint and state my citizen ship. They have facial
recognition cameras and everything.. Once in a while they get a wild hair up their ass
and start asking a bunch of stupid questions. Like, where are you are going? The answer
is either "That a way".. or "Thats none of your G-damn business"..

Occasionally its "Can I search your trunk?". The answer is always NO..

Sometimes they have dogs that sniff your car..

They used to be manned by complete imbeciles, but over the years it seems they have gotten better
training, and the cameras have streamlined it a little bit.. I used to get in arguments with them
about once a week, not its not even once a year.

The last time they gave me a small problem was quite a while ago, I pulled in, and the Border
Patrol agent asked me where I was coming from. So I hung out my window and pointed backwards and
said "I'm coming from That Way", and then yelled "YOU JUST SAW ME PULL IN!!!!"...

And he pointed north and said "Let me guess, and you're going That Way"..

So I said, "Hey, You're pretty F'n Smart"..

In the past when they weren't so well trained, this is when the fun would start, vehicle surrounded,
lots of yelling "NO.. I am not pulling over to 'secondary', I'm F'n leaving".. Etc...

But this guy was nice and told me "Get the F' out of here".. "Thank You", and then as I was
pulling away he yelled "ASSHOLE"..

Good Times. You can get away with a lot more in New Mexico than you can in Arizon, Texas or Cali,
Border Patrol isn't deputized here, so they can't enforce any state or local laws. So the few times
Yosemite Sam has asked me for my license and registration and insurance, I simply say back.
"Nope, That's a state issue".

All kinds of fun.. There are a ton of videos on Youtube. Most of them are people looking for confrontation
to make a video. 99% of the time, when they ask "US citizen", you just say 'Yes' and you are on your way,
I don't get cranky until they start asking things that are none of their business. Which I guess takes
me back to the training aspect, they used to ask intrusive questions to see how nervous you were, now
they are better at asking stupid questions that aren't so intrusive. "Cool little car, what kind of mileage
does it get" is one I was asked recently.. I don't mind that so much.

 

[Yan Wo]

... 99% of the time, when they ask "US citizen", you just say 'Yes' and you are on your way ...

What happens if you answer "Si," or "Da?"

 

[Big B]

"Check Point"?

What kind of checkpoint doo we have in the States - other than checking your passport for going in / out of Alabama of course.... ???


------------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Also "agricultural" checkpoints. There's one near Needles California and some border ones like the one we went through today between Columbus and Deming, NM. But I've got blue eyes so I just get waved through most of the time.

 

[john.k]

Yep ,if ya got blue eyes,they know ya aint a fruitfly.