Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Wind Pumps, a Roadrunner and more dune driving...

 An issue-free day as it pertained with Mariko!

She and I drove out of the Hot Well Dunes Campground area and meandered northward, eventually finding four wind pumps while exploring trails as we found them.





Driving along Tanque Road (Spanish word for Tank)
Never did find the tank...


Aermotor is still in business it turns out.
These things are pricey!

Got back to the campsite around 1PM, had a light lunch and just hung out at the campsite listening to podcasts, relaxing and for about 30 minutes, following a visitor to the campsite:



As you might have assumed, the zoom feature of the camera came in real handy since I couldn't really get too close to this fellow without it moving away into the brush.

Drove out again on Mariko into the nearby dunes less than a quarter mile from the campsite and parked her on top of a dune to wait for the golden hour and sunset.






Not many clouds so didn't hang out after the sun set behind the nearby mountain range.  Besides, didn't really want to find my way through the dunes in the dark!  Got back to the URRV with no issues and ended the day with a nice meal and a beer.  Ah.

The only negative?  A couple of campers showed up in the late afternoon, luckily setting up way away from me; however, the site host and I were treated to a couple of the ATVs the new campers brought....ripping up and down the access road in the darkness.  Never mind the 10 mph speed limit eh?

Oh well.  The weekend approaches and this is expected.  I think I'll be staying a few more days, and displace on Monday perhaps.

8 comments:

SonjaM said...

Meep meep! Is this the famous roadrunner? Awesome zoom shot, Dom.

The air looks extra crisp that day.

redlegsrides said...

I think it was a cousin SonjaM! Air quality was good as you saw....not too hot and not windy.

Oz said...

Love the roadrunner. Growing up on a big farm in Texas I saw roadrunner frequently. Not so much anymore. The windmills are great, they make for good photos.

Coop a.k.a. Coopdway said...

Like Sonja, all I can think of is...
A big wooden crate, ACME on the side and a big red bomb.....maybe a parachute on a good day.

CCjon said...

Appears that many of those windmills also had solar panels, for...? Any idea why?

redlegsrides said...

Thanks Oz.... I find them iconic symbols of the West

redlegsrides said...

No coyotes spotted yet Coop!

redlegsrides said...

I believe, that some of the windmills are no longer operational, and solar panels now power batteries that run electric pumps.