When Am I Going to Be Warm?

I know that in January it may be chilly, but days on this trip have been downright cold. While in Dallas Sue and I went to the Nasher Sculpture Center. There was a terrific exhibit of designs for varied environments by the Heatherwick studio, a design company in England. We saw roll-up bridges, community halls which fit right in with their location, the new bus for London and many other structures. And...spun chairs. They were so much fun. I wore 5 layers of clothes. We went in to the museum and I took off 4 layers. We went back out and those 4 layers went back on before I got out the door.

As always, being in Dallas was fantastic. My cousins have a party on Christmas Eve with a Yankee Swap. It provides many laughs through the evening. I started with a French Press coffee pot, but that was soon gone. Next I picked up an Elvis Presley piggy bank, and that was taken away very quickly. Then I picked 2 dessert shooters, which I took home (to my RV parked in the driveway). Since I was heading next to New Mexico I might have gotten more use out of them if they were desert shooters. Leaving Dallas is always sad although I'm looking forward to whatever comes next. This time I delayed my departure by a day because of ice reports and highways closed.

I got as far as Abilene, and the traffic was stopped. They were pulling us off the road because the highway was still closed. At least 2 tractor trailers were involved, and there had been a fire. Once we got back on the highway you could see the damage caused by the icy roads. Tractor trailers and cars were by the side of the road or in the median, laying on their sides or their roofs. Cargo was spilled all over the place. It took me an extra day to get to Deming, NM. When I got there I had the dirtiest car with a cracked windshield.

I took a trip up to Silver City from Deming, and checked out Billy the Kid's cabin - well, not exactly.

But I was thinking Billy the Kid could have been robbing a stagecoach right where I was standing. Butch Cassidy hung out around here also. He and his gang worked at an area ranch. I wouldn't mind running into him, particularly if he resembled Paul Newman. I wonder if they have reenactments.

Silver City has some interesting quirks. At the information center I asked where Main St was. I had seen some pictures of it, and wanted to meander down the street. The gentleman pointed to a river called the Big Ditch. There was soil erosion, which increased to water coming up to the thresholds of some stores. Then in the early 20th century the water eroded the banks and the result was a 60 foot ditch. Even now there are some elevated sidewalks on other streets to keep the waters from entering the businesses.