In Loving Memory

 

 

The love of my life and best friend, Nancy Louise Sallee, passed away this morning.

She was undergoing a medical procedure at the Mountain View Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico when she had a heart attack. The medical staff was unable to revive her.

Her final wish was to be cremated and buried with her late husband, William Benchley.

Nancy and I had a great life together. We traveled to many parts of the country together during the eight years we were married.

Goodbye, Nancy. I will always love you.

Deming, New Mexico

 

After two weeks on the road, we finally made it to our winter destination. We are staying at the LoW-HI RV Ranch in Deming, NM.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

After an early start yesterday, we made it into Albuquerque in the early afternoon. The winds were forecast to be high again, but we made it over Raton Pass before they became very strong. Last night we had dinner with my daughter Evon and granddaughter McKenzie and her boyfriend. We may stay at the Enchanted Trails RV Park in Albuquerque until next Monday.

Winds

 

After a 7-hour drive, we made it into Trinidad yesterday. This was supposed to be just a one-night stop. But we have strong winds today. I don't feel comfortable pulling a 20 thousand pound trailer over Raton Pass down to Albuquerque. The winds here are at a study 20 MPH gusting to 40. In Raton, they are 35 MPH. So we are going to opt into staying put today and heading out Wednesday morning.

Trinidad, Colorado

 

Today is day 7 of our 6-month winter trip. Today's destination is Trinidad, Colorado. Trinidad has a colorful history and some colorful characters.

Trinidad was first explored by Spanish and Mexican traders, who liked its proximity to the Santa Fe Trail. It was founded in 1862 soon after coal was discovered in the region.

In the 1880s Trinidad became home to a number of well-known people, including Bat Masterson along with his kid brother, James, who served as marshal and deputy marshal, in the spring of 1881. A year later, following the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, Wyatt Earp joined his old friend, Masterson, to Trinidad to cool his heels. Even Billy the Kid spent time near Trinidad. In the early 1900s, Trinidad became nationally known for having the first woman sports editor of a newspaper, Ina Eloise Young. Her expertise was in baseball, and in 1908 she was the only woman sportswriter to cover the World Series.

In recent times, Trinidad was dubbed the "Sex Change Capital of the World", because a local doctor had an international reputation for performing sex reassignment surgery. In 2015 Trinidad started to experience a new boom due to the marijuana industry. The town raised $4.4 million in tax revenue from $44 million in annual marijuana sales, about 5.13% of the state's total sales.