Every vacation needs a vacation from the vacation to take a breather, do chores, and explore spontaneously. Today, we decided not to do a Volksmarch.
Instead, in the morning, Bob trained for the Deadwood Marathon that he will run on June 5 in Deadwood, South Dakota. Throughout our time in Roswell and Ruidoso, Bob has been running miles at a high elevation (in addition to our walks) so he will be ready to run the marathon.
First thing this morning, I looked out our living room window and found eight deer eating water shoots off one of the trees in the RV park!
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| Deer next to our RV. |
When you're walking, running, or riding your bike, you tend to pile up laundry quickly. I did six loads of laundry. There are only two washers and two dryers in the laundry room at the RV park, so it took me about three hours.
In the afternoon, we drove to the Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino so Bob could see it. I had been there before. The place was almost deserted on this Monday afternoon. We walked through the casino and out to the lake. It's a beautiful setting!
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| The Medicine Basket fountain in the lobby. |
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| The view of Mescalero Lake (Reservoir) from the lobby at Inn of the Mountain Gods. |
We walked along the lake and saw where the zip line crosses the lake to the landing zone next to the casino. It was another very windy, cold day.
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| The fountain at Mescalero Lake. |
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| Bob took a photo of me on the balcony overlooking the lake. |
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| Bob at the base of the Medicine Basket Fountain in the casino lobby. |
The circle drive at the entrance to the Inn of the Mountain Gods goes around four bronze, 15' tall, crown dancer sculptures created by Mescalero Apache artist Frederick Peso. The Crown Dancers are Gahe or mountain spirits. Apaches believe that Usen, the Creator, sent Gahe to the Apache to teach them to live in harmony.
In the sculpture, the four masked dancers represent the directions: north, south, east, and west. Dancers determine what symbols to put on their crowns which often honor nature. Many crowns include eagle feathers because the eagle is sacred to the Apache, and the Apache cross to signify the four sacred directions. The dancers are not allowed to talk to one another, so they communicate with their sticks during the dance.
Crown Dancers play an important role in many Apache ceremonies such as the Sunrise Ceremony which commemorates the growth of a girl to womanhood. The dance is also performed in healing ceremonies and as a social dance.
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| Crown Dancer Sculptures at the entrance to the Inn of the Mountain Gods. |
We learned something, saw beautiful scenery, and enjoyed each other's company. Even though we walked through the slot machine area, we chose not to gamble. Although Bob was tempted a little by the Sports Book.
That was our easy peasy day (and my short blog).
I was blown away with the size of that basket. From the top, it just looks like a nice basket. From below it looks monstrously huge. I can just imagine the ceremony and all the gala outfits that the Apache use in the ceremony to commerate the beginning of womanhood. I love how you describe the dancers. You can see how windy it is from the spray on the fountain in the lake.
ReplyDeleteHow far to your campground? Did the Inn look really cool to stay in?
I have to brag a touch. Our RV had a washer/dryer that I used almost daily and the year we had our 5th wheeler, I was doing laundry at campgrounds and commercial laundries and Tom wasn't excited to help, so I was stuck. I know you can get washer/dryers in 5th wheelers, but ours didn't have them. We also tend to move around a lot more often and felt that 5th wheelers were more practical for a week or more's stay somewhere, especially with Tom liking his A/C.
Hi DJ,
DeleteFrom the campground to the Inn of the Mountain Gods was about 10 minutes to drive. The inn was very pretty, but some reviews said it could use an update.
Our 5th wheel has a closet for an upright washer/dryer in our bathroom, BUT when we were looking for a 5th wheel, we wanted a storage closet for the kitty litter box. The washer/dryer closet is perfect.
I don't mind doing our laundry in laundromats because I go and get it all done at once. Sometimes, when I'm washing sheets, towels, etc., I do six loads at once in a commercial laundromat. It's just so much more efficient to be able to use a number of washers at once!
We love our 5th wheel. It's a 2003 that we bought used in 2011. It's still going strong, but starting to need bigger repairs.
You make great conversation on these comments. LOL.
Susan