A new chapter opens on our Cloudcroft experience; we've moved to the country. Specifically, we bought 4 1/2 acres out in Sixteen Springs, about 20 miles northeast of Cloudcroft. We now go to town less (we used to be right in town) and appreciate it more.
We put a tiny house on this parcel, and fixed up a hunting cabin that was already on it, so we could put our four kids on there and live here. It's taken a while to make it functional: get the washer to work, cut some trees that were a fire hazard, that kind of thing, and now, the rainy season appears to be upon us, and we can see if the whole thing can handle a little rain. A couple of nights ago, we were being teased with the first rain of the season. Apparently this is typical: February through June are incredibly dry, with only some teaser clouds coming by, but around the Fourth, the "monsoon" season starts; this year, a little early, apparently. I can't pretend to be an expert on the weather in the area.
But I will say this: we are lower than Cloudcroft, and further east. It is sunnier and drier, and a little bit warmer. It is still the mountains, but it is just far enough away to make it feel like Cloudcroft is over a few big hills.
Overall, we still like the area. Our kids are still in the school. Our mailing address is still Cloudcroft (though closer, geographically, to Mayhill). More later.
