Knock-knock!

October 4, 2014: A knock at the door leads to a fabulous dinner.

Still in my pajamas, sipping a cup of coffee and giving some consideration to doing last night’s dinner dishes, there’s a knock at our door.  Jack and I look at each other – we don’t get many unannounced visitors when we haven’t even met our camp neighbors.  Jack opens the door and greets the gentleman standing at the foot of the steps. 

His name is Kevin and he’s from Albuquerque, here for the weekend with his wife and her parents.  This guy’s a big fan of Sprinter vans and RVs attached to Sprinter chassis, and just wanted to stop by have a little “Sprinter talk”.  The guys talk for a while, and before long Kevin’s inside our little abode for the big tour – which takes about 10 seconds (and that’s the long tour).  Nearly an hour later his wife, Lisa, comes by.  She says, “I knew if I found a Sprinter, I would find him inside.”  (She’s got him all figured out!)  Lisa gets the same 10 second tour.  Before going back to their campsite they invite us to stop by and see their Sprinter van. 

Our response, “We’d love to.  We’re on our way to Abiquiu, but will come by later in the day.”   

We hop in the Jeep and hit the road for the few mile trip south to Abiquiu.

Down through the red cliffs and lush Chama River Valley we come to the bustling Bode’s General Merchandise store.  A quick right and within a minute or so we’re in the middle of the village square of Abiquiu.  There’s not much here but a little enclave of buildings, homes, and the church.  Georgia O’Keeffe’s home and studio is here which I know you can tour, but we pass on that.  The church is beautiful and I want to get some pictures of it.

est. 1740

Santo Tomas El Apostl Roman Catholic Church established 1740.

“ . . . This is none other than the house of God, . . ”

“ . . . and this is the gate of heaven.” – Genesis 28:17

est. 1919

Bode’s has been around for 95 years!  Santo Tomas Church has a few more years of serving customers under its belt.  We wander up and down the aisles checking out the merchandise looking for something that we just can’t live without.  Shopping complete, we go through the checkout lane armed with a phone number and website on how to acquire a NM Fishing License.  We also walk away with a new stainless steel percolator coffee pot that should make our lives easier.  This should work nicely on the propane stove.

As we walk out the door we both know what’s next.  We must “feed the addiction”.

There’s a Frosty Cow across the parking lot.  Coffee pot stowed in the Jeep, we make a beeline for the ice cream shop.  $9.00 and four scoops of ice cream later we are sufficiently satisfied.  One of us comments about how easy – and cheap – it was to buy the humungous “Party Pail” of ice cream that fit so nicely into our big freezer in Frisco.  Man, those were the good ol’ days.  Right, the good ol’ days – last month.  It seems a lifetime ago.  (Sigh.)

We’ll have to contemplate our new “mini” freezer situation.  First and foremost, to see if it will keep ice cream frozen solid so we can store the luscious concoction (our last RV freezer did not).  And secondly, if we are willing to compromise meat space for ice cream space.  Maybe we can decrease our frozen vegetable consumption thereby increasing our ice cream consumption.  Now there’s a brainy idea.         

Filled with several hundred calories of ice cream we head for home.

We stop at a turnout and hike out to the edge of the cliff overlooking the Chama River and valley below, and mesas in the distance.  Did you feel that burn, Baby?  I think we walked off 10 calories – combined.

Back at Riana Campground we take a walk up to see the “other Sprinter” in the neighborhood. 

   

We are welcomed by Kevin and his father-in-law, Chuck.  Soon we meet Lisa’s mother, Diana.  After checking out the Sprinter and all the customizing Kevin has done we move onto Chuck and Diana’s Airstream.  They are all wonderful hosts and before long we are enjoying appetizers and beverages.  We are invited to stay for dinner.  We make a halfhearted attempt to decline, but are happy to spend the evening with this wonderful family.  Kevin and Lisa disappear for what seems only a short time when more food starts to appear.  Lisa is the "Kitchen Magician" with Kevin tending the grill just outside the van door.  How all these huge bowls and platters of food come out of that Sprinter van I simply do not understand.  Salad with homemade croutons, BBQ ribs, fabulous mashed potatoes, warm bread, Brussels sprouts in balsamic vinegar reduction.  It turns out Lisa is quite the Food Network junky and pulled out all the stops for this dinner.  Totally fabulous dinner!

After dinner more conversation ensues – family stories, adventures on the rivers and in the canyons of Utah, and more.  Chuck and Diana have four grown daughters, all very successful in their chosen careers.  Chuck tells some funny stories about how he “weeded out” a few unworthy suitors through the years, which is good for a few laughs at the expense of the dejected gentlemen.  Kevin?  Now, he’s a survivor!

We’ve had a very entertaining evening with these two couples.  What an extremely nice family from Albuquerque.  You just never know.  Perhaps our paths will cross again someday.  Until next time – be safe.

Santo Tomas