On the 29th of December, Cynthia and I and the two cats headed south in the RV. Destination, Big Bend, Texas. Our first night we stayed south of Raton, NM, in the NRA Whittington center. The campground had a 360 degree view, and visiting deer.
On the 30th we continued south to Carlsbad New Mexico, and parked in front of my cousin Gemma's house. We went out to dinner at a local barbeque place. We enjoyed chatting with her. She is the only one of her siblings still living in Carlsbad; her mother resides in an assisted living facility.
On the 31st, we ran errands in the morning. One amusing thing was that the lady selling me propane asked me if I was kin to the family of the same name living in Carlsbad. When I said that I was, she explained that she was a distant relative. A small town. In a surprising coincidence, Gemma's two sisters, Rosemary and Sue, were also in town, so we met for lunch at the Trinity restaurant. This included their mother Madeline, and her brother Herb. I had not seen any of them in some years, so it was good to see them.
After lunch we headed south, to Davis Mountains State Park, where we set up camp as it was getting dark. I had researched the mass schedule, and learned that there would be mass that evening in nearby Fort Davis. The church was in excellent condition, after a recent restoration, and was more than 100 years old. The priest was lively, and from the Philippines. To our surprise, everyone was invited to a New Years Eve party in the church hall. We went, and enjoyed a long and informative conversation with Angela and her husband Glen. We learned that Fort Davis was a don't miss site, and that we should go to both the daytime and the nighttime tours at the McDonald Observatory. We did not make it to midnight.
On the 1st, we went on a guided hike in the state park, walking the old CCC road to the scenic overlook. There were about forty people on the hike. We celebrated the new year at the top, where our ranger provided us with sparkling cider. The elevation of the park is about 5000 feet.
In the afternoon, we toured the Indian Lodge, also built by the CCC, and recently restored. It was quite beautiful, in the Southwest style.
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