A Day on the Rez

Back to the story of Kim's and my anniversary trip....














On our last day in Ruidoso, we took a trip to the Apache Reservation. They have the Inn of the Mountain Gods there, with a casino. I had never been to a casino before, so was totally dazzled by the whole Resort. The entrance to the resort is accented by the most impressive bigger than life sculptures of the mountain gods (I presume). The lobby was huge and at one end was a wall of glass that looked out on the golf course, lake, and the beautiful Sierra Blanca mountain. In that area was a split staircase, leading down to the exit doors and a restaurant. In the middle of that split was a fountain that was shaped like an Apache basket.
Kim took me into the casino and we did a tour of the room, with him showing me the tables and slots. He pulled out a fifty, which is his gambling limit, and showed me how it was done. We went from machine to machine with the paper token it gives you, until the 50 was gone. I pulled a twenty from my wallet and started playing with it. After it was gone, I decided I wanted to play some more and hit the ATM machine. Kim left with my purse to sit in the lobby and wait for me. I played 40 more dollars and won 30. When I was through with that, I decided that I wasn't impressed with gambling and cashed out. I went to the gift shop and bought a tshirt and a pair of riding goggles for Kim. That's the whole part and parcel of my gambling experience. I could take it or leave it, and really know of better ways to spend my money. But it was fun trying it for the first time.
Monday morning we loaded up, locked up the cabin, and took the south route home. We went past the resort and through the reservation to the Cloudcroft turnoff. We ended up kicking ourselves for not taking that route on the bike. It was exquisitely beautiful with the mountains and pines. Bits of fog hung on in places and it was drizzling most of the way. On the way out of the mountains, we stopped at a couple of roadside stands where I bought apples, apple and cherry ciders, and a jar of mountain honey.
We got to Artesia just in time for lunch, which we shared with Kim's old friend, Tim. Great little mexican food place called La Fonda. On our way up to Ruidoso, we spent thursday night in Hobbs visiting with Tim and his wife, Susan. We had a great time catching up with them. Kim and Tim went to high school together, then lived together for a while after graduating. Kim and I were witnesses at Tim and Susan's wedding. We all lost touch a couple of decades ago, so it was wonderful to meet up with them again. We were going to have lunch with both of them on the way back, but Tim called and said he was out on a job, so we met him in Artesia.
To catch everyone up.....Kim has been gone on jobs for about 3 weeks now. He headed to West Virginia for some jobs, then Pennsylvania for one, then the past week in Wyoming. We are counting on him being home for Thanksgiving.