Hello from Lakewood, NM

written November 18, 2014

Wow, what a wonderful two weeks we have just spent in Hobbs, NM. We met, worked, and played with nine other Care-A-Vanners (RV'ers who spend 2 weeks at a time on a Habitat for Humanity build). We also got the chance to meet and work with the new owners of both of the houses we worked on. New owners, Anita and Victoria, are the hardest working and most deserving ladies we have had the pleasure to meet. Each new Habitat owner has to put in 500 hours of "sweat equity", plus many other strict requirements.  This takes working not only on their home but others as well. When we started, Anita's house was already under roof, but Victoria's was only a dream. On Anita's home we Care-a-Vanners insulated, hung dry wall, spackled, primed and painted (the entire inside of a four bedroom house) three coats, built and installed shelves in all the closets, hung kitchen cabinets, tiled floors, and did a lot of cleaning up. 

fields of cotton

After the first Saturday when Victoria left, her house was just bare ground with some plumbing pipes sticking out. The second Saturday morning when Victoria arrived to do a day's work, she found “her house” sitting there waiting on her. The concrete floor was poured and finished, all outside and inside walls set and the outside sheathing almost done. She stood at the curb and tears welled up. Julie walked up to her and asked her if she would like to see the inside. Asking Royce, our construction manager (and overall nice guy), he said “sure”, so Victoria and her two young teenage children entered with another Care-a-Vanner Jean and Julie. They showed Victoria and her children just where each of their bedrooms were and then the bathrooms, kitchen, and living area. Dry eyes were not to be found. We felt very privileged to be able to be part of this Habitat for Humanity build. Our hearts were touched by the families we were helping realize the dream of home ownership.

HFH houses we worked on

sheathing Victoria's house

Victoria and 2 of her children

Jim painting the closet

 

Care-a-Vanner Crew and Anita in front

It was not all work, although some days it seemed like it. We did manage to get in a few real Tex-Mex meals! Care-A-Vanners do not work on Sundays and Mondays, so we were able to do some sightseeing. Southeastern New Mexico is flat, and I mean flat. You can see objects many miles away, so while driving around you really don't see anything different from what you have been seeing from where ever you are in town. Oil was discovered in the Hobbs area in the 1920's so everything is oil, every business has something to do with the production of oil or the transportation of it, or the feeding and lodging of those associated with it. Pipe, well heads, derricks, jacks, drills and anything else you can imagine laying around everywhere. During our drive we did observe things for sale at an abandoned corner service station that you don't see everyday. We are in cowboy country!

saddles for sale on the corner !

note Care-a-Vanner's truck red and local's truck white

Oil wells, cotton, tumbleweeds, and white pick-up trucks! That's about all. Oh, did I mention white pick-up trucks? The Ford dealer's inventory (sorry no picture), on the corner where we made a turned each morning on our way to the build, consisted of pick-up trucks and pick-up trucks and pick-up trucks. And ninety nine percent of them were white!!! Julie says that is because of the heat, I say it is just boring. Can you imagine coming out of a bar after a few hours of “fellowship” and trying to find your white pick-up truck?

new well alongside highway

pump jacks everywhere!

a very long convoy of drilling rig equipment trucks

The short trip from Hobbs to Lakewood (94 miles) on Sunday was very interesting. Being from the Midwest I was totally amazed by the local sights out here. In the seventy miles we saw lots and lots of “Pump Jacks” working oil and gas wells. New well drilling. Cotton fields. Potash mines. A convoy of thirty some trucks (white with blue trim) was going from one well drilling site to a new one, pretty cool to see. Between Hobbs and Carlsbad (73 miles) there is not one other town, not a bar, filling station, or Stop-n-Rob, just open range for as far as the eye could see!!  Actually, there were only three roads that veered off and one crossroad! Quite an interesting drive for a country boy from the Midwest, where there is at least a crossroad every mile or so.

While here in Lakewood, population 4 (no kidding, two "houses" and a POST OFFICE (open two hours a day)! (Google map it and you will see that Jim tells true) we plan on resting, and doing a little “Touroning" (a tourist who seems like a moron to the locals). We will be going to Roswell to see If any of Julie's relatives (high pitched doo doo doo dooing here) are there, venture over to White Sands and Alamogordo via a New Mexican scenic highway, and then Carlsbad National Park and Caverns. And did I mention we hope to rest.

Most of you are experiencing a brutal early winter blast. Well, to stay warm

we decided to go to the Southwest for the winter, and we have had to live

through the blast right along with you. On Sunday while we were setting up

it started snowing and then the temp dropped to 14 during the night!!!!

Guess we should have gone Southwester!!

bbbrrrrr

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