Middle of Nowhere Affirmed

 Do you ever get done with the holidays and sort of wish that you could crawl in a hole and ignore the world for a few days? Well, lucky for me, and my family, we have the perfect "hole" to crawl into. Enter Lordsburg, New Mexico, the affirmed "Middle of Nowhere."

I don't mean this in any derogatory way. Truly. It really is wonderful to have a place to go that is slower, quieter, less demanding...And BONUS, my kids all slept well, every night of the three nights we were there. (I feel like I've arrived!)
A few months ago, as an incentive to Jacob to do his daily reading and homework consistently and without complaining, Rus promised a trip to Lordsburg to go coyote hunting. Jacob came through (barely...oh the trauma of nightly homework), and Rus came through, too. Rus' dad has a trap line for trapping coyotes, and Jacob and Rus were delighted to go Monday morning to help set up the trap line. They also did a little coyote hunting, albeit unsuccessfully, but had a great time. Jacob is his father's son, to be sure.
The next day, not wanting to leave the rest of us out of the fun, Rus and his dad took us to inspect the trap line (no coyotes), do a little geocaching, visit a [dry] lake, and roast hot dogs on an open fire, all made possible by miles and miles [and miles] of beautiful back country.
The geocaching was a huge hit.

 It had more than a little to do with the fact that Roger made these geocaches and they were filled with things each of the kids loved - an arrowhead for Jacob, plastic dinosaurs for Beau, frog key chain for Bekah, a necklace for Marianne...

I will freely admit that I knew (and still) know nothing about trap lines. When we went out to see if we'd trapped anything, Roger would point to a cow pie and say, "See the dirt next to that? That's where the trap is." It could have all been a ruse, really. I didn't see a single trap, just a lot of dirt and cow pies..

 "The trap is right there!" Riiiight... Whatever excuse you boys need to spend hours in the great outdoors...

 After the geocaching and mystic trap line, Roger and Rus promised the kids they could go play at a lake. "You kids can go as far as you want into the lake!"
Then he took them here:

 I guess that when it rains hard in Lordsburg, this dry lake bed fills up with water...but the other 364 days of the year it looks like this: Dry, endless, and actually sparsely beautiful, in my opinion. Grandpa had us doing a little hitchhiking here...

At first sight you may think this picture is washed out...but it's not. There's just nothing there...

 

 

 After the lake and miles and miles of more driving,
(passing this windmill...)

we found ourselves in Granite Gap, a rocky area that Rus prefaced with this: "If it doesn't have thorns, it's a rock." True, true...The kids loved climbing on the rocks and creating their own little kingdoms defended by yucca stalks.

Handsome Beau, King of the Rocks:

*Side note here - Rus decided to educate our children on Star Wars on this trip. They watched all six in the last five days. AND THEY LOVED IT. Rus is very proud. I'm breaking up light saber fights...*
Roger and Rus made a fire and we roasted hot dogs, chowed down on chips and chips ahoy and sodas. Low brow chow. Then we went bear hunting with Jacob's BB gun - man, the kids love plinking around with that little gun...(Rus in this case qualifies as a "kid") And then we drove home. Miles and miles of more backcountry. Rus and his dad avoid the freeway like it's the plague.
I also sewed a pillow top on this trip - a cute little thing that was paper pieced and Louise was kind enough to help me with. I ran, but it was a "vacation" sort of run in that I was able to go in the middle of the day. (Also it should be noted that it's the first time I have run looking over my shoulder to be sure a wild roaming bull didn't decide to test my sprinting abilities.) And I started a book...I don't think I've sat down and read a book for months. And I napped. (I'm not really a napper). It really was a great vacation. I love Roger and Louise. I love how they spiritually lead their family, taking real time to sit and talk and even preach about what's important. I am truly blessed with such wonderful second parents. (Even if they live in the middle of nowhere and at times define redneck, or "country"...)