Settling In

A bit more of lovely NM:
Cloudcroft: Kind of a southwestern New Hope or any other artsy-craftsy locale, this had some fun things for sale and made for a nice, low-key afternoon.
Bear Country: I honestly can't remember to what this relates, but we have pics of this banner. It is bear--as well as elk, deer, and mountain lion--country, after all.
Smokey Bear Museum: Outlines the history of Smokey. Includes the fact that an injured cub, initially named "Hotfoot Teddy," was rescued from a forest fire, renamed, and became the living symbol of Smokey. Mildly interesting.
Besides the activities I'm mentioned, we did a lot of walking, climbing, and driving. There are long distances between towns; it's such a big state and isn't heavily populated in the mountains, which is where Ruidoso is located--at 6900 feet elevation. Not so incidentally, on my first morning there, I awoke with a headache, very unusual for me. I took something and it went away, but later while we were traveling the walking path around the nearby golf course, I became short of breathe. What? I walk every day at Kimball and fairly briskly; that doesn't happen. AHA! I'm not used to the thinner air, which presumably gave me the headache and made me short of breath. Sure enough, I walked Kimball yesterday morning and had no problem at all.
Besides that: We had hamburgers one night and when I opened the catsup container, it spewed out forcefully over my plate, the rest of my food and down the top I was wearing. Also, we had lunch at the RV the day we went to White Sands. I started pulling off the foil covering a container of yogurt and it gushed out onto the ground. Yep, the high elevation did it.
Back home yesterday, I took a stab at emptying my suitcase, but still have some to do. Talked to my dear brother, Jim, several times, to thank him for the treasures he sent me: my father's birth*, baptism, and death certificates; his army discharge papers; my mother's birth and baptism certificates; and their wedding certificate.
Talked to Sailboat Sue, who welcomed me back, and returned Doris' call. I haven't been able to thank Suzanne next door for watering my ficus, as she hasn't been home. I got her a little something at White Sands and will try to catch up with her today.
Went to WinCo to restock and got a few things done on the computer. It'll take several more days to get back to par, but that's okay. I told Ellen I was on vacation for a week and now I feel I'm still on vacation, just in a different state. Lucky me!
Walked Kimball with no problem--thicker air.
* It always startles me when I remember he was born in the nineteenth century--1899.