Apricity West 4

September 26, 2023 - Tuesday

Sometimes you have to sit back and see what happens. You can’t plan everything - right? My biggest disappointment was not getting all of us in the same room before leaving for the winter - games, practices and golf prohibited it from happening - up until the 11th hour! There were still games and practices so everyone didn’t arrive at the same time, but in the end we all sat at the same table.

September 27, 2023 - Wednesday

Loaded up final items to begin our journey to Arizona. We will have a few stops along the way to visit friends and family. Can’t believe this is my 4th year and Rich’s 16th making this trek.

 

Today’s leg of the trip is only 7 hours long, landing us in Erie, PA for the night. The scenery is beautiful in NY with the Hudson River, Erie Canal, train tracks, acres on end of vineyards and cornfields, and, yes, occasional splashes of bright red and orange foliage (my favorite).

September 28, 2023 - Thursday

Started out at 7am - passed through Ohio and Illinois to reach Cloverdale, Indiana on a rainy, messy day. Last year we were safely tucked between two tornadoes for the night - scary! Solar farms and grain fields replaced cornfields as we traveled into a new time zone (Central), now one hour behind EST. 

September 29, 2023 -  Friday

After a delicious dinner a la Kibbie, we went out on the deck to have champagne as we watched the shine of the full moon shimmer on the water. 

September 30, 2023 - Saturday

Missouri Forget-Me-Not Horse Rescue and Sanctuary was our destination today. The Founder, Connie was doing this work on her own in a small corner of what we witnessed today. Locals and authorities were dropping off horses that were abused, neglected, abandoned, blind, deformed, and starving. This guy is starving and had a stroke leaving his tongue hanging out.  

Blind:

She held a fundraiser on site as she had acquired so many rescue horses, she couldn’t keep up with the cost. It turns out a local wealthy 60 something man told her he would help her. He sure did - he donated $2.5 million for buildings, facilities and equipment starting the construction 4 years ago and finishing 2 years ago. All other donations go towards feed, farrier and veterinary care. At this time, there are:

 

202 horses (including Clydesdales, ponies, miniatures) - every one has a name!

400 horses adopted out

25 volunteers

160 acres 

Imagine trying to keep track of over 200 horses’ needs - grooming, shoes, medicine, training, and more. White eraser boards are hung in various strategic places as a reference for all, including volunteers who come in all different times and need to understand their role.

Liana was our guide to see all of the state of the art facilities added. Then she took us to the back pastures in an ATV - Rich was the gate man. He had to get out and open and close about 5 gates on the property to see it all:

 

8 designated pastures - including ponies, blind, no hay,

Outback pasture, Outpost pasture. 

You’ll see cows, chickens, ducks, cats, 2 peacocks, 1 pig, donkeys…

Lousy picture!

The ranch has evolved into the Unbridled Equestrian Center and the benefactor is there every Sunday from dawn to dusk doing whatever is needed. They have told him he doesn’t have to come to shovel sh*t. He responded, "I have been shoveling sh*t my whole career in the corporate world. This is nothing,"

After dinner and a pitcher of margaritas at El Caporal, we went to see a live show about the life of Patsy Cline:Back Where I Belong at the Main Street Music Hall. One very talented woman and her band sang her heart out for a full 90 minutes with a narrator telling the story. 

 

October 1, 2023 - Sunday

A do-nothing-day on the lake. After another delicious breakfast (French toast and sausage), we are resting up from all of the activities of yesterday. Just chillin’...

October 2, 2023 - Monday

Kibbie outdid herself this morning when she handed us our To-Go bag with breakfast sandwiches, PopTarts, cut-up apples, tuna salad on Kaiser rolls, carrots, celery, pickles - and to top it off brownies! We have so much fun when we visit them. And we are totally spoiled...

 

I had never seen this before, but it is 3 small beat up cars strung together being towed to Mexico for resale. 

Traveled 8 hours to the KOA in Elk City, OK where we have stayed before. I must say, they did a lot of work on improving the Oklahoma highways since we were here last year. A good night’s rest here and then on to Santa Rosa, NM.   

 

October 3, 2023 - Tuesday

Change of plans - it seemed too short a day to just go to Santa Rosa (5 hours), so we cancelled that reservation and made one in Alamogordo, NM adding about 4 hours to our day. It was very windy and very light on traffic.

The landscape was windmills, looooooong trains carrying coal with 3 pusher and 2 puller engines, cattle holding corals, granaries, round bails of hay, fields of millet, etc. Route 70 is a new road for us which keeps it interesting. Flat lands until it isn’t. Turns into hills and canyon and curvy roads leading into Ruidoso, NM which has numerous eateries, inns, colorful chachki shops, churches, auto shops and more. Leaving the town took us into the country revealing a ponderosa-like evergreen forest backdrop to a small casino. 

 

Entered another time zone - Mountain Time - putting us 2 hours behind EST. 

 

October 4, 2023 - Wednesday

Traveling through White Sands, NM looks like beach dunes for a brief time, then back to flatness with rugged mountains popping up along the horizon. One paved turnoff cuts through the brush and leads to the White Sands Missile Range.

After climbing up and over the mountain, the sprawling city of Las Cruces comes into view. 

We’ll have a brief stay in Deming before moseying on to Tucson to see Terri and Jim💕. 

Had a chance to talk to our friend, Dennis, only to find out he is moving into an apartment to his liking. Wishing him well…