Reserve, NM

October 5, 2010
Reserve CAN be found on a New Mexico map! Look way left, just before the AZ border, about midway between I-40 and I-10. A few facts: it is the county seat for Catron County, the least densely populated one of New Mexico, which I think is really saying something! Reserve has about 400 folks, a pretty fair grocery/general store, several restaurants, a filling station, bank, and a smattering of county and US government buildings. It sits in the Gila National Forest at about 6000 ft. elevation.

Why are we here? Visiting with some long-time friends who are "ranch sitting" for some of their friends and we were invited along for fun, mainly ours. We are sharing the beautiful landscape with 3 dogs, 3 chickens, a few cattle and horses, and a bunch of elk, bear, birds, and all the other creatures of the forest. it is quite serene! There is nothing quite like getting a free week just for knowing the right people!

We just went on our first ever ATV ride. Russell did an excellent job of driving the rugged mountain path and I held on for dear life. Since I had also never ridden a motorcycle, this was a really new experience for me. Russell loved the thrill of reliving his motorcycle days in college.

I'll play a little catch-up for a minute. We really enjoyed the scenic route on US 90, we even got an unexpected detour through Ft. Davis, one of our favorite places. We got to spend 3 days back at Las Cruces, and a special visit from nephew Michael and his family, Stephanie and Parker. We were really enjoying a mild Las Cruces evening until the mosquitoes attacked and drove us inside very quickly. There was a mad relay to bring in the food and then all was well again. Our next stop was Silver City, a very cool small city in the foothills.

The plan is to hang around this western New Mexico area, maybe even slip over the border to Arizona, and soak up as much enchantment as we can.