TOUR AMERICA 2019: DEMING, NEW MEXICO – LAND OF ENCHANTMENT

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It: Dream Catcher RV Park, Deming, New Mexico

Oct 1, 2019

Temperature 79

The Columbus Story – The Pancho Villa Raid

What a difference a day makes. Today was overcast and cool. A perfect day to go sight-seeing since there would be no sun beating down on us. We had a quick breakfast of pancakes, juice and coffee, and then we were off.

This was our destination for the day.

as well as, The Columbus Museum.

We knew little about Columbus, even less about Pancho Villa’s raid on this small New Mexico town on the US-Mexican border. That is why we went. We wanted to discover and learn.

In 1891 the Village of Columbus was established near the Mexican border. It was originally supposed to be called Columbia but the request was denied because of the numerous amount of requests for that name due to the Columbia Exposition. However, Mr. Bailey who had originally applied for the post office of that name reapplied under the name of Columbus, after his home town of Columbus, Ohio. That name was accepted at the Post Office Dept and on June 18, 1891 the new post office was opened and Columbus, New Mexico was established.

In 1902 the railroad came to town. Due to the homestead act many came by railroad to Columbus eager to set up new homes. Those who settled here used the railroad as it was their vital form of transportation.

By early 1916, Columbus was a flourishing frontier town. There was a 12 grade school, three hotels, one bank, two general stores, one grocery store, two drugstores, one hardware, two churches, a lumber yard, a blacksmith shop, restaurants, a Ford automobile dealership, a newspaper, and a Coca-Cola bottling plant.

By 1912 the army established camps along the border because of the unrest in Mexico. Their Army Camp at Columbus was just south of the depot and was later renamed Camp Furlong. With the establishment of the camp railroad traffic increased to ten trains a day.

Image result for camp at columbus new mexico

The peaceful life of this small frontier town was changed forever on March 9, 1916. On that date at 4:12 am , Pancho Villa’s six hundred bandits raided Columbus and the Army”s Camp at Columbus.

They came from several directions and the fight centered around the business district, the army camp, and the stables.

The Army and the townspeople were caught by surprise. One of the first to sound the alarm was

During the raid some were able to flee.

Practically every business was broken into and looted.

One of their major targets was the Ravel Brothers general store. Though it could never be proved, they believed that they had cheated them in an arms deal. The store was looted but not burned and the Ravel Brothers escaped unharmed.

By 7:30 am it was over. The raiders had retreated back over the border with American troops in pursuit.

But the damage had been done.

And lives had been lost.

The American response was swift.

Today there is still much debate as to why?

There were others who thought that there was much more to the raid.

That concludes our day of learning and discovery. We were thrilled to have this opportunity to again immerse ourselves in yet another piece of American history. We hope you enjoyed learning along with us.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement. It was a perfect day from sunrise to sunset. Once again we got to do it our way, hand in hand, traveling along, singing our song.

Thanks again for coming along with us. We always enjoy your company and your comments. Catch your tomorrow.

These are the voyages of Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers. Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

See you on down the road!

TOUR AMERICA 2019: DEMING, NEW MEXICO – LAND OF ENCHANTMENT

business card

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It: Dream Catcher RV Park, Deming, New Mexico

September 30, 2019

Temperature 86

Observations About Life On The Road

Ah, what another beautiful morning. I awoke without a care in the world and a sense of all is right with the world. Amazing what a great night’s sleep can do for you.

We sure do need to update our business card. It’s just the two of us now so we need to change that line. Perhaps we should also include our personal email addresses. We’re going to be working on over the next couple of days or so.

I sat myself down today and I said self: What have you learned so far about the full time RV life?

I’ve put together a list of sorts, sorry if you don’t like reading and just like pictures, all I have to offer today is a list. My thoughts, not in any order, but my own humble observations after almost two years of living on the road.

I’ve learned from a noted editor of an online RV newsletter that we don’t live in an RV, we live in an LV. Difference? A RV is a recreational vehiclet hat most people use to go on vacation, they use it for a short period of time and then return home. An LV or living vehicle is what we full timer’s call home and live in 365 days a year. Now how about that!
that it is possible for two people to make any size and type of house – including an LV – a home, all it takes is a good deal of love, patience, cooperation, and especially the willingness to forgive and forget as often as necessary.
that what makes this so much fun is being together, together going places we’ve never been before, and together seeing things that we may never see again
that this lifestyle is as much about the journey as it is the destination
that there is no one right rig, remember the old saying, different strokes for different folks. We’ve met couples living full time in sixteen foot travel trailers, another couple living in a twenty nine foot class C, others in all sizes of class A rigs, others will have nothing less than a forty five foot diesel pusher. The important thing is, they’re all out there living their dream
that you have to decide for yourself what you’re comfortable with in terms of where you call home. Some will never stay anywhere other than a private resort with full hookups and all the amenities. Others like living off the grid. Some prefer state parks. Others National Parks. Some prefer a mixture of all of the above. Find what is right for you and don’t worry about what others are doing.
that doing with less is not an issue, but actually gives one a sense of freedom. It’s amazing what you can do without, those things in the past that you had to have to make your life complete gradually fade and are no longer important nor necessary
that regular monthly maintenance of your rig is a must. You have to keep after everything from front to back, from top to bottom. You can’t wait to go home to fix it, you are home wherever you are parked so do it now
that even with monthly maintenance things are going to bust, break, go hay wire and just down right fail at the wrong time. You’re also from time to time going to find funny pieces of plastic and what not on the floor and wonder, What is this? Trust me in time you will discover what broke and left behind that little piece of plastic!
that you have to take the good with the bad, you have to roll with the punches, take it as it comes, don’t live in fear of what if rather when things go south just take a deep breath, relax, and either noodle it through or find someone who can help you fix it
that you can’t control the weather nor can anyone else for that matter. But you do have a choice, too cold, then either bring out some extra blankets or turn around and go south again. Too hot, either turn on the AC or go north or maybe find a place at a higher elevation where it is cooler. You get the idea
that you get what you give. Treat people as you want to be treated. Approach even a stranger with a smile and almost always you will get a smile back
that buying and wearing t-shirts from places you’ve been is a great way to start a conversation
that people are fun to talk to, so don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with someone you never met. You’d be amazed at what you’ll learn
that as someone once said, there are no strangers in this world, only friends waiting to be discovered
that there’s nothing wrong with just sitting still from time to time. As we’re coning to learn, one doesn’t always need to be on the go. Sometimes it’s worth it to just plan some down time
that the USA is an absolutely amazing and beautiful land. From sea to shining sea it is full of fascinating and wonderful places and people. Around every corner is something or someone new just waiting to be discovered. There is no better way to find this out than being on the road
that no matter what is in front of you, you need not fear for always waiting for you around the next corner is the God of our faith. He doesn’t necessarily make life easier for us, but He does make it possible to get through no matter what comes our way if we only trust and obey

There you have it. I’m sure I’m missing a few observations but the above I consider to be the most important. So what do you think? Want to try it? It’s not for everyone but for those of us who are doing it, there’s no better way to live each day to the fullest.

Thanks for joining us today on The Road of Retirement. We always enjoy having you with us and reading your comments. Catch you tomorrow.

See you on down the road!

TOUR AMERICA 2019: DEMING, NEW MEXICO – LAND OF ENCHANTMENT

Places We Have Called Home In 019

Home Is Where We Park It: Dream Catcher RV Park, Deming, New Mexico

September 29, 2019

Temperature 84

The Last Couple of Days

Not much going on lately. I’ve found a new book and got myself immersed in it.

Yesterday we started the day with breakfast in the Activity Center. This time it was Omelettes made to order. I had ham, cheese, onions, green peppers and salsa in mine. Oh it was so very good. I definitely qualified for the clean plate club. A hash brown, some juice and a cup of coffee and breakfast was complete. All this for the princely sum of five dollars!

Back home the rest of the day was spent updating Windows 10 on my computer. When I started it I honestly thought it would take no more than an hour or two. Believe it or not it took over 6 hours to finish. Thus, the only thing to do was break out my new book and settle back and read.

Today we gathered again at Robert’s and Adriene’s rig for Sunday Worship

There was coffee and munchies for those who had not had breakfast.

There was praise music which we all enjoyed.

Today the message was brought to us by Robert.

It was a great way to begin the morning.

A little later in the day the group decided to go to Marie’s

for Sunday Brunch

Gathered together in our own private room. Once again we had a good turn-out. I guess you could say we all like to eat!

The Buffet Table. There was a little bit of everything to suit everyone’s taste. There was salad, Italian dishes, fish, American dishes and of course desert.

I wonder if they keep their secret recipes in here.

Home again it was time for football. It used to be NHRA Drag Racing but Fox pulled the plug on FS1 with Dish so that’s no more. I never much liked the Fox Channel and now I have even more reason to detest them. If they fell off the face of the earth I won’t weep one bit for them.

I also had a chance this afternoon to catch up on what’s happening with Dennis, a good friend of mine. Every few months we touch base by telephone. I always look forward to and enjoy our conversations, and this call was no different. I’m looking forward to getting back together when we’re in Florida again.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement. It was a great day in every way. I’ll take these days and treasure each and every one of them. Soon enough we’ll be having to get up Monday through Thursday and go to work. Volunteer work, but work nonetheless. Now, that’s going to be different for sure!

Thanks for checking in with us today. We always enjoy your company and your comments. Catch you tomorrow.

See you on down the road!

TOUR AMERICA 2019: DEMING, NEW MEXICO – LAND OF ENCHANTMENT

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It: Dream Catcher RV Park, Deming, New Mexico

September 27, 2019

Temperature 79

Deming Luna Mimbres Museum and Custom House – Deming and the Railroad

Well, we needed the heat again this morning. Just a tad on the cool side but not bad. Days have been really nice, low 80’s with a strong Southwest wind blowing straight through Graybeard. The past two days there’s been no need for the AC.

This afternoon all the weather warnings were screaming. The sky began to get black. Then the rain came. Straight at us from the front. The wind howled and we rocked. I would hate to think how bad it would have been if we had been sideways to it. Fifteen minutes later it was all over. The sun came back out and that’s the way the day finished.

Let’s finish up our tour of the Deming Museum and the Custom House.

Deming (although it really had no name at this point in time) was once located on the US-Mexico border and was once an important port of entry on the border. Hence the need for a custom house.

The Customs office as it might have looked.

All of this changed with the Gadsden Land Purchase of 1853. It assigned to the US 30,000 acres of Northern Mexico, now southern Arizona and New Mexico, for a payment of $10 million dollars. It was prompted in part by those who wanted to establish a second transcontinental railroad which would pass through this territory. The Treaty was secured by the US Minister to Mexico, John Gadsden.

Deming was formally founded in November 1881. Named for Mary Deming Crocker, wife of a railroad magnate of the Southern Pacific Railway system,

it was the result of railroad expansion to the West. The Southern Pacific, building toward the Pacific coast, reached this point in late 1881, and made preparations for the construction of a round house and repair shops. This activity furnished the incentive for the erection of a city of tents and shanties. Six months later, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe completed its junction with the Southern Pacific at Deming, thus assuring Deming a prominence in the Southern part of New Mexico.

The early station.

One of the problems for those who traveled by train in the early days was the food, more to the point the lack of it. Food was only available at different stops but it was of poor quality. In addition, the stops were so short no one really had time to eat. Into the gap stepped Fred Harvey and his Harvey Girls.

Fred Harvey resolved to make mealtime a pleasant experience. The Santa Fe Railroad accepted his proposal and a Harvey House (a restaurant owned by Fred Harvey) sprang up at every Santa Fe station. He would staff his restaurants with women of high caliber who were called Harvey Girls. He drew up rigid qualifications each Harvey Girl had to meet. Each girl was between the age of 18 and 30. Each girl went through 6 weeks of intensive training in social skills, in poise, and in culinary skills.

Their uniform.

A Harvey Girl who served at the Deming Harvey House.

The Harvey Girl,s workplace was an elegant dining room. Spotless tablecloths and fine china were on the tables. Only the freshest food was served brought in continually by the railroad. When the train was about a mile from the station the engineer would blow the whistle and the first course was put on the table. Sixteen people could be served in twenty five minutes.

Artifacts recovered when the Harvey House in Deming was closed.

We’ll call it for tonight. Tomorrow we’ll pick up Deming’s history at WW I and move on to the present. Stay tuned there is much more to come. As for the railroad, we can definitely testify to the fact that it is still alive and well in Deming. Numerous freight trains rumble through every day like clockwork. There is also an Amtrack train that makes a stop here.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement. It was another great day spent in one another’s company, napping, reading, taking care of bills, and getting caught up on other odds and ends. The blog continues with much more to come tomorrow.

Thanks for joining us again today. We always enjoy your company and your comments. Catch you tomorrow.

See you on down the road!