Cloudcroft, NM

On Sunday, I suddenly got the urge to wear a shawl (doesn't everyone, at some point?)  I pawed through my bins in our basement storage and pulled out a piece of fabric I had woven perhaps 12 years ago, but had never found a use for. After showing it to Linda and getting her encouragement for the project, I pinned it into a möbius shawl and tried it on to see how it looked. I liked it. Out came the sewing machine, and within 15 minutes my fabric was a shawl. It took another 45 minutes to twist the fringe, and it was done.

I'm quite happy with it, and it added a little extra warmth later in the day when Bob and I went to visit our friends, John and Joan for dinner. We had a lovely visit and a scrumptious dinner. And a walk, where we came upon this scene in the golden light of the early evening.

We asked our friends for ideas of what we could do on Monday and they suggested visiting Cloudcroft, a small village in NM about an hour and a half away from Las Cruces. Cloudcroft is within the Lincoln National Forest with an elevation of 8600 feet, and features cooler temperatures and beautiful scenery. 

So off we went. Bob, Auggie and I were in one car and Linda, Chuck, and their dog Tucker in another car. I was fascinated to see the change in topography in such a short time. 

The town itself is fairly small but chock full of interesting shops to visit. We strolled around doing far more looking than buying, and had a wonderful afternoon. We were prepared for cold temperatures; it can be 20 or more degrees cooler in Cloudcroft than in Las Cruces, but at least we saw no snow. One of the shopkeepers told us that they had flurries last week and they expect more snow any day. Cloudcroft is a popular summer destination, with temps in the 70s rather than 90s or higher. 

Today (Tuesday) we are heading to Williamsburg to visit our friends in at Desert Haven Animal Rescue. More on that visit in my next post!