The Fiesta Parade and More

Hi Everyone,  

I truly hope you had a wonderful weekend.  Before I get into how grand ours was, I want to try to answer a question that was asked of me.  I was asked what made us choose New Mexico for our home, and what we love most about being here.  First of all, is that the beauty of the landscape is almost too much to put into words.  If someone had said years ago, that I would come to love the desert for it's beauty, I might have told them they were out of their minds!  To just pass through this area quickly, one can miss much of what is here.  It takes time to see all there is; and all this beauty changes with each passing day.  But it's not just the scenery, which could be enough for some people.  For us it was also the people.  People here are kind, friendly and generous.  They trust others, not like in some areas where people are suspicious and afraid of each other.  The people here have welcomed us, and reached out to us.  The people at the lovely First Baptist Church greet us with joy and friendship every week when we come in. 
 

I took this picture Saturday morning from the parking lot of the A&B Drive-in across the street, before the parade began.


Janice McCravey, the owner/manager of this RV park, Arrey RV Park, is incredible.  
I am sorry this is not a good picture of Janice, who is a beautiful person and has become a good friend to us.  I promise I will get a better picture of her for the next blog posting.

When we chat and I tell her whatever I've been having a problem with, she gets on her smart phone, and looks up whatever it is I need help with.  Maybe I could do the same thing on my computer (since we don't have smart phones) but SHE does it because she wants to help us out, and sometimes she knows better than I would, just where to look for something.  This RV park is not the biggest park around, but it IS the friendliest!  In the evening, residents sit around together and swap stories, and just enjoy the congeniality of being together. We have pot luck dinners at least once a month, so that gives us a chance to meet and enjoy the company of campers who are passing through too.  Janice and her daughter, and Jerry are working very hard to get this park cleaned up and they are doing a great job!  The previous manager had some unfortunate health issues and was not able to do all that was needed to keep this place in great shape; but changes are happening, and this is a great RV park to visit.  


Now for the pictures and stories about the Fiesta Day Parade.  We are told that the Fiesta is the biggest event of the year in TorC.  The parade is well attended, and enthusiastically supported.

Our friend Ric is watching from in front of the church.  He is the one in the blue shirt and the drill instructor's hat.

 The local and area law enforcement take part in the parade, as do all of the fire departments from around the area.

 How cute is that?  As you can see, on the right is our own local truck.

Young men and women of the local ROTC proudly marched by.

We have not had the opportunity to meet this lady, but she looks like she could be quite a personality!

I kept this picture full sized so you can see that the girls are in poodle skirts and the boys are in jeans and white tee shirts.  Since this Fiesta began back in the 1950's, I think maybe that's the reason for the outfits. 

This lovely young lady is the Fiesta Queen.  She seemed like a delightful person as she smiled and waved to one and all.

After her came the Hatch Valley Chile Queen, appropriately wearing a red hot chili colored dress!

Here comes Doc Holiday and a colorful local lady!

This float was from the Geronimo Museum in TorC and shows local attire from the earlier days of this area.

I don't know the name of this group of riders, but they sure did look good.

As you must know, this is a desert and brush fires are an ever-present danger, so the parade included Smokey the Bear and a forest ranger in a cute antique vehicle.  Below is a float from    the New Mexico State Veterans Home.
 
I guess everybody wants to get into the party!  And it really WAS a party.

This cute float was from one of the local hot springs, called The Pelican Spa, here in TorC.

This group of ladies are from the Red Hat Society in Elephant Butte, having a grand time for themselves!  We got a real kick out of the remote control car from Fast Stop, below..........and it was 
so fast that it took me several tries to catch a picture of it scooting around in the street!

This was the Shriner's Train.  They help support the Shriner's Hospitals for children. 

 I'm not sure who sponsored this van, but they were celebrating "WHATEVER" on their vehicle.

 This float was celebrating the "turtle ascension", and New Year's eve as they yelled, "Think Snow".

This group wanted to encourage everyone to recycle and not fill up our landfill with reusable materials.

This was the lone rider at the end of the parade.  It was a wonderful parade, and a town full of joyful people, happy to celebrate all they are thankful for.  It was fantastic to be there with all of them.
It was a real blessing to be here for this, and a real blessing to live here among so many wonderful people.  Our friend John Deimer sent us some wonderful pictures today, and the email ended with a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Many of you may have already read it but I would like to close with it.

"I am thankful for small mercies.  I compared notes with one of my friends who expects everything of the universe, and is disappointed when anything is less than the best, and I found that I begin at the other extreme, expecting nothing, and am always full of thanks for moderate goods.”
 Ralph  Waldo Emerson