Sunday January 1^st is Day 87 of our winter journey. For the first time at City of Rocks, I have a morning campfire, as it seems an appropriate way to start the new year.

The location is not ideal, but it is the intent that counts, so I sit by my little fire sipping hot tea until the rain drives me in. Now, I know how to have a good campfire in the rain, but in an RV park (which the electric sites are) surrounded by $100,000 giant 5^th wheels and motor-homes, that is not the ideal place to have a good roaring campfire. And besides that, I can’t read or write in the rain.

I have only enough time for breakfast and then head to the Visitors Center for the planned New Year’s Day hike with a ranger. I join a very small group of hardy souls and off we go for a 2-mile hike in the rain. It was not a terrifically scenic hike, but it was fun.

Back at camp, I see how many of my projects I can do with the limited bytes per day: send an edited chapter to Ang, post a blog/photos on my website with a link on FB, post an older blog to the blogsite and twitter. Got that done with less than my daily allotment – hooray.

Toward sunset, Clifford goes for a walk in the rocks with me; I stay longer to eke out the last of the sunlight for photos.

We have nachos for dinner and I start reading a Tony Hillerman novel. A very good 1^st day of 2017.

Monday January 2^nd I am up in time to see very pretty sunrise colors.

As I walk in the rocks, I find several depressions in the rocks that have filled with water from the recent rains.

Today is an errand day, so we head to Silver City as soon as possible. Adobe Cafe, the bank, and Walmart are the only stops, so we are back at camp in time to enjoy the afternoon. After putting groceries and sundries away, I pick up the book I started reading last night and read the rest of the day, nearly missing a very vibrant sunset.

After taking a few photos, I finish reading the Tony Hillerman novel and start reading “The Last Juror” by John Grisham. Kind of a lazy day for me.