Pecos SKP Tra Park

After leaving Abilene we headed off to Pecos. Birthplace of the rodeo. We left early and had a nice travel day. It took us till about 1:30. We had stopped for a sandwich and to check the car about noon, so we could just set up when we stopped. Some friends of ours, Bobbi and Jim, and Leslie and Bill, had just been here before us. Through reading her blog we know sort of what to expect. The folks are very nice, but the park isn't much. The plan was to stay only a couple of nights.
When the office opened at 3:00 we went over and did the check in thing. Of course at SKP parks you don't pay till you leave, so they just took our info and sight number. The laundry is located in the office building, and as we were leaving someone stopped us to talk. The more we talked the more folks came in. Barb, one of the workers here, finally said we should all go to lunch the next day(yesterday). Everyone thought it was a great idea. The consensus was we would go to Alfredo's. So that's what 10 of us did. It's not much to look at, but the food is good, and you get a lot for your money. Tom and I both had the Mexican Plate with 1 taco 1 tamale, 1enchilada with red sauce, beans and rice. We were well pleased. The plate was only $6.95. They also start you off with this great salsa and chips. It was great. Hot, but great. My tongue hurt when we left. The food itself was not spicy, but that salsa sure was. They kept filling our drinks, too. If we were to stay another couple of days we would probably go again. At 7:00 we all met to play some Farkle. No one knew how to play, so Tom and I taught them. We played till around 9. Then called it a day. Nothing like and Escapees Park to meet great people.
Today we did the West of the Pecos Museum. It housed in the old hotel and saloon. There are even bullet holes in the wall and plaques that tell you where folks were shot. The whole history of the town and surrounding area is within the walls of the museum. They have so much stuff in there you could go back several times and still miss somethings. There are old clothes, furniture, doctors' office rooms, barber room, and off course the bridal suite. In the saloon this animated bartender talks about things that happened here in Pecos in the early days. From then on you are on your own. Lots of saddles, and western gear, kitchen tools, old pulpits from churches. You name it, it's in there. There is even an accounts receivable book from the mercantile. We really had a good time looking through the old place. Not a bad way to spend the morning.
After we came home for a sandwich we headed out for the park and zoo. Zoo, I use the term loosely. What a poor excuse for a zoo. It had peacocks and pea hens. 2 ostriches, 2 buffalo, 3 long horn cows, donkeys, and goats. That's it. So much for our trip to the zoo. Once there we found out we could have walked from the park. It sits right behind us.
There is an old train station that will house the Rodeo Hall of Fame, but it not open yet. I guess it's a work in progress. Pecos reminded us both of old route 66. It's a lot like Tucumcari New Mexico. There are so many old abandon gas stations and eateries along business 20. Buildings right out of the 50's. You can tell Pecos has seen better days. They are trying to build up downtown again, but there is a lot of work to be done. It's a great place to stay for a day or two. I suppose it gets quite busy during rodeo.
We have been having some very high winds. Last night we were rocking in the bed. It woke us up several times. Now today it is cooler, but very nice and sunny. Tomorrow we head out for the Ranch. It's another SKP Park, so we will be with friends again. If you aren't friends when you get there, you are when you leave. I hope the weather cooperates with us and the winds don't blow too hard. It's only about 2 hours away, so it'll be a short trip. I'm glad we stopped here. The home of Pecos Bill.