Day 17 -- August 15, 2021
"The Mountains are Calling and I must Go" is a sign we see in Eagle Nest NM.
They did, and we came!
And wake to 49 degrees.
We will hate to leave this view, as we plan to turn southeast today, our week's stay having ended. The high is predicted to be only 60, but with low humidity and when the sun comes out, it doesn't feel so cold.
We see low lying clouds produced by the lake effect over Eagle Nest Lake, but thankfully no fog for our travel. Yesterday it burned off by 10a.
Then we read the weather forecast from SpaceCityWeather.com:
"Tropical Storm Grace
For our purposes, Grace is the storm of more interest, although the forecast is highlyuncertain. As of 8am CT on Sunday morning, Grace is rather disorganized and barely a tropical storm. Its center is south of Puerto Rico and likely to move onshore Hispaniola (which is two countries, the Dominican Republic and Haiti) during the next 24 hours. After a devastating earthquake on Saturday the last thing Haiti needs is a tropical storm, but that is nonetheless what is coming on Monday."
One of the forecasters, Eric Berger, shows a model of the possible tracks Grace could take, and says it is very early to make a clear prediction. The last sentence in his weather blog gets my attention:
"The bottom line is that we're in the middle of August, and this is a time of year when we are always watching the tropics keenly. Any time there is the possibility of a low-pressure center entering the Gulf of Mexico during August we need to monitor it. And we will. But for now the overall chance that Grace becomes a serious and direct threat to Texas remains fairly low.
We'll have a full update on Houston's weather and the tropics on Monday morning."
Well, Eric, Herb and I can't wait until Monday morning. We pay by the week here at Angel Nest RV Retreat, so I hasten across the courtyard to the office to see if they have taken reservations for our space, since we told them we would leave today. We would not want to get back into the path of a hurricane, so we may as well stay here for a while.
The office is not open yet, but we hear voices, and back in the club room we are fortunate to find Steve, the park owner, who says he can find out. In my panic I tell him that we found the office door locked. He reminds me that he is the owner and has a key. I laugh hysterically and say, "Duh." He then takes us into the office and finds the reservation book clear! Yay. So we give him a check for another week.
Relaxing from my panic, we take an early morning walk, and head downhill on Marina Way toward the State Park, enjoying the cool temperature and lovely view of the Rocky Mountains, yellow flowers, and another couple of ravens. Yes, Bruce, we tell the ravens, "Hello." Then I hear that strange squeaky sound, and look down to see another marmot. I'm lucky to get a photo before he scurries down his hole. He is a little hard to see in the photo, blending in with the ground, but is to the left side of his hole.
Did I say it was a cool morning? Herb takes a photo of me wearing a fleece jacket in front of another of my favorite trees -- the blue spruce.
The hard packed rock walking trail behind the Visitor Center is bordered by large rocks, leading around to picnic pavilions and what looks to be small quaking aspen bushes and more lovely and taller yellow flowers.
We double back toward the marina to see if we really do see a pelican. When we lived in Port Isabel, we had white pelicans migrate through in January, but I don't really think any come to New Mexico.
The bird is too far away, and my phone camera has zoomed all it can. I wish I had my Nikon now. So we just enjoy the scenery closer to us.
It rains off and on all day, but we have a really good roof on Sweet Georgia Brown, and don't need to go out again. Maybe the sun will shine tomorrow.
Willie of Sweet Georgia Brown
and of Walldog and Willie
August 15, 2021
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