Labor Day Racing, Ruidoso Downs, NM

[Wingnut]

Went to the races as planned, now I'm sunburnt & beat tired, my back started giving me grief again... I must have done something to it yesterday. Here are some shots taken at the racetrack, I included shots of overflow parking, some of those rigs had plates from Wyoming & Montana. I took that shot of the racing board (TV screen) because one poor horse was named 'Seedsandstemsagain'---that's just wrong, lol. I thought I lost my Bolle sunglasses at the end of the day, but thankfully I found 'em in the car this morning. Here are some photos for y'all, I had a pretty good time even though the printed racing program was entirely Greek to me. I still haven't checked my tickets for the big race... it really wasn't any different from the other races, except maybe in length, and the fact that the horses had to qualify for the race.

 

[Patchouli]

Always wondered what that area looked like. Driving through southern NM at night doesn’t give a good view. (Wait, is that southern NM)? Glad you had a good time.

 

[Wingnut]

Round #2 of photos, Ruidoso Downs, I actually have a couple of racing pics in this group, lol. Patchouli, the last two shots were taken on the drive home, just wanted to share the view of rush hour traffic, lol.

 

[Wingnut]

I'm throwing in a few pics of the printed racing program, just so y'all can see how complicated it was... only a betting fool could figure it all out, I didn't even bother trying, I was just there to watch the horses run, lol.

 

[zoomzoom]

I've only played the ponies once. It wasn't anywhere near the mumbo jumbo that's on those papers.
Your overflow parking looks like events in my town. Pickups and maybe a couple SUV's.

 

[Wingnut]

Haha, I hear ya... I took one look at the program and said to heck with it, I didn't go to the track to rack my brain over facts & figures, lol. I'm sure that gobbledygook means something to somebody, but I ain't that person, lol. Patchouli, I never did answer your question: Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs are in 'south central' New Mexico, and they lie at roughly 7000' elevation, which means they are above the (lower) wood line. Very pretty country up there, my home lies much lower at roughly 4340' elevation, and the trees thin out once you drop below 6000' or so. Those driving shots were taken after I had dropped most of the way down into the Tularosa Basin, where Alamogordo is located.

There are many beautiful mountain ranges in New Mexico, I like the Sacramento Mountains which tower above my home to the east, but the Elk Mountains to the west and the Brazos Cliffs up north near Chama are really nice, I wouldn't mind living there if I had more money. The ranges up by Santa Fe and Taos are pretty, but that area is already too full of locals, tourists, artistic types, et al. If I had funds to buy rural property in New Mexico and build a castle in the wilds, I'd probably do it in the Elk Mountains, I think some of them rise above 11,000' elevation, and they are chockablock with wildlife because the population density is extremely low. I think Catron County is the least-populated county in NM, but don't quote me, lol.

For a while, I was interested in buying property in Catron County, over between Quemado, NM, and Springerville, AZ. It was a very pretty lot up around 7000' elevation, with plenty of trees---not so many tall pines, more like pinyon pines and juniper, maybe some cedar. Clear skies at night with a million stars overhead. Community wells for water, and plenty of clean fresh mountain air... not a bad place to live, but there were some restrictions. When I first asked about the lot, the sellers told me that one could live year-round in an RV, so that's what I planned to do, rather than buying another home, but later I was told that one could only live in an RV for six months out of the year, which killed the deal. I also looked at a home up near Chama, very beautiful country up there at the northern end of the state, but the deal fell through...