Escapees January-February 2024

camping chair chat

Escapees SKP Co-OpPark Recognized Founders

On October 25,2023, The Original Ranch SKP CoOp Park in Lakewood, New Mexico, began celebration of its 40th Anniversary and Roundup. The Roundup traditionally lasts fi vedays and is a celebration of food, friends, games and just plain old camaraderie. This years event kicked off with the unveiling of a plaque recognizing two of the Ranch’s founders and original leaseholders, Joe and Kay Peterson #1. The plaque is located on lot #74 with the date of June 1, 1983. It is mounted

the well-known and loved Margarita. And, I can say I did not get into travel expecting to fi nd the closest Walmart. The freedom of travel is to visit the home where the fi rst Margarita is touted to have been invented in Juarez, Mexico, or travel to my home state of Texas where we created the fi rst frozen Margarita, in Dallas. Or, maybe you can head to my birth place of Mississippi which is on the top 10 list for the most margarita-loving states. If you want to go where the most margarita-loving states are located, you might want to check out the list, just remember when you get there to not expect your hometown margarita. You can even take your enjoyment of something a step further. Not only did we discover a new margarita on our journey, we decided to make it from scratch. It was a prickly pear margarita. We found ourselves with tongs and a bucket twisting “tunas” (the burgundy buds on top of cacti) off plants in open Texas fi elds. We took them back to our RV, removed the thorns, and carved off the husk. Then, we blended the inside fruit and strained the seeds out, turning the juice into a magenta margarita. The greatest thing about traveling is to be a traveler intermingling with the locals, not traveling as a tourist looking for souvenirs and the comforts of home. And, what better way to experience an area than to fi nd the unique ingredients that bring everything together. Lucinda Belden159950

on a rock that will be permanently kept on the lot. Fellow Escapees are invited to visit our park and share this and other history associated with one of the oldest and best Escapees parks. Rick Sorensen #117488 and Photos by Alice Livesay #112687

Geohashing In addition to Geocaching (September/Oc tober issue) and Letterboxing, there is an other similar game called Geohashing. The idea is to get to a certain point at a certain time and meet whoever else shows up. The Website (https://geohashing.site/geohashing/Main_ Page) explains: “Everyday, an algorithm generates a random coordinate from stock market data. http://www. xkcd.com/426/ That coordinate can be applied to every 1°×1° latitude/longitude graticule in the world, giving

a point that might be in a fi eld, forest, city or even out at sea! Everyone in the world gets the same set of coordinates relative to their graticule. Each day, people try to get their nearest generated coordinate, for an adventure, to discover somewhere new, or to meet up with other geohashers.” Alfred Oxton #57888

21

January/February 2024 ESCAPEES Magazine