Extra-Long Labor Day Weekend

With much regret, my mom and her two sisters finally decided to sell my grandparent's home in Ramah, New Mexico. It was a very hard decision for them. Letting go of something you love is hard.

I drove my parents and my sister, Alicia, to Ramah on Thursday afternoon, September 3. We stopped in Snowflake to eat yummy Mexican food. I am happy to announce that I drove the speed limit and did not commit a felony this time.

On Friday, we drove an hour to Grants, New Mexico to reserve a U-Haul trailer, grocery shop, and eat MORE yummy Mexican food at El Cafecito. They have the best stuffed sopapillas on the planet.

When we returned home, we started boxing up whatever treasures were left in the house. Alicia and I climbed in the attic to make sure there wasn't buried treasure up there. I did find a green glass "I Dream of Jeannie" bottle underneath the attic floorboards that no one remembers seeing (some relic from the 60s or 70s). There was nothing else but really old mason jars that Grandma used to can with and a saw. As kids, we used to LOVE the attic. There were so many treasures stored up there and it was a little scary. In the kitchen, I discovered some cookbooks and loose recipes. I started typing up Grandma's hand written recipes.

On Saturday, Alicia and I went to the Farmer's Market and bought fresh veggies. Soon, a massive rain/hail storm moved in. I have never seen anything like it! You could barely see across the street.

The hail covered the lawn and looked like snow. The lightning and thunder was crazy! I went outside to pick up some of the hail and just as I bent over, the thunder cracked and I about had a heart attack. I hopped up and moved into the house real quick.

After it was all over, the valley had flooded. First, we tried to drive up to the lake. We stopped at the bridge. Usually, there is no water running, but today, it was running big time. We tried to drive to the lake, but the roads were washed out. We made it to the dam's spillway and it was overflowing. We got out to take pictures and got covered in mud. Oops!

Then, we drove up to the Circle N to get a better view of the valley. All the fields were flooded.

On Sunday, we went to church and enjoyed testimony meeting. One older lady got up and along with her testimony, apologized for praying for it to rain. She said she should have been more specific on the amount. It was funny. Alicia made her famous trailer trash chicken stuffing cassarole for Sunday dinner and it was yummy!

On Labor Day, Alicia and I hiked El Morro. I love that hike. I love the pool, the historical inscriptions (some date from the 1500s), the rock formations, the sandstone path at the top, and the Indian ruins. I love knowing that Grandpa helped build that National Park in the 1930s. I hate the switchbacks and the 7,000 feet elevation. We were huffing and puffing. But we had a GREAT time. It was such a nice day.

After the hike, Alicia and I drove around taking pictures of the Higantes . . .

. . . the Indian ruins on the way to Timber Lake . . .
. . . the town . . .
. . . and the house.

We were able to drive up to the lake and take pictures. On the way to the lake is the old rock house my mother was born in. It belonged to my great-grandfather.
The roads were a mess, but we made it, and boy, was it worth it.
That evening, my second cousin, Kathy Dally and her husband, invited us up for a yummy dinner. They are now living in my grandma's twin sister's house (about four houses down). It was fun visiting with them and playing Mexican Train.

On Tuesday, Dad and I drove to Grants and back to pick up the U-Haul trailer. We loaded up the trailer and headed back to Scottsdale. Of course, we had to stop in Snowflake again to eat yummy Mexican food. Also, I couldn't drive over 55 MPH with the trailer, so there was no chance of me getting a ticket or commiting a felony. We made it home safely and unloaded the trailer.

It was a great weekend spent with family and reminiscing of fun times spent at my grandparent's home in New Mexico. I'm going to miss going there.