Truth or Consequences?

18^th -22nd Feb

Monday was President’s Day – a national holiday to commemorate Presidents Washington and Lincoln’s birthday which were in February.  We stopped at a Rest Halt Area on the I-25 were coffee and other refreshments, including popcorn, were being served by a couple of very chatty Vietnam Veterans for a donation to the local Veterans Charity.  They recommended a visit to the Veterans Museum at Truth or Consequences.

Truth or Consequences – yes that is the name of the town!  It used to be called Hot Springs but then named themselves after the TV programme back in 1950; which gave it some free publicity and refreshed interest in the natural hot springs.

We visited the Veterans Museum where we saw the original Vietnam memorial of the Black Wall of Names which is three-quarters the size of the one we have seen in Washington DC.  This original one was “mobile” and travelled around the country for a time until finally becoming a permanent fixture here at T or C.  The Museum covered all the major conflicts the USA have been involved with and included an unusual collection of military buttons and their histories.

Elephant Butte Island (note water level)

We stayed in Elephant Butte, a town a couple of miles from T or C.  A huge lake/reservoir was created here in the 1920s when the first Dam to collect the waters from the Rio Grande was built.  The recent years of drought has reduced the lake so much it is now down to 15%.  We could walk 300 yds down to the water’s edge from where the shoreline should have been.  Most of the dam at the southern end was exposed and the Rio Grande was a trickle.   An agreement was made years ago whereby New Mexico would give Texas water.  The two States have been to court over the matter.



Elephant Butte Dam

A cold front and high winds were the weather for the week so we didn’t get to do as much as we had hoped such as boating and fishing, although the sun was always shining.  There were many bigger boats losing business as they couldn’t go out on the waters.

Friday we enjoyed the Hot Springs in T or C – sat in the tubs next to the river overlooking the mountains.  There were some large carp in this part of the river waiting to be fed.  We also joined the camp site for a cheese and wine evening and learnt a dice game called “Left, Right or Centre”.

We then went out for a meal to celebrate our 22^nd wedding anniversary on 22^nd of Feb ie 22, 22, 2!