A Day At Home

Friends refer to our trip as a vacation, but it's really our way of life these days. So today was just like a typical day at home. We found a WalMart in town so I got a hair cut and Ken did the groceries. We try and plan groceries for 3-4 days at a time. This seems to work well for us. We can fit a weeks worth of food in the fridge if we need to.

It's partially cloudy and 70ish. We had lunch and Ken waxed the other side of the coach. I watched the New Orleans Saints & Arizona Cardinals football game and then watched the Colts play the Ravens.

Dinner was pork chops, sweet potatoes, and applesauce. After dinner we went for a walk around the park.

It was a quiet day, but felt like a normal day at home.

Wings Over Wilcox

Last night we had a beautiful sunset and woke up this morning to another gorgeous day.

Rolling up I10 W we stopped at the visitor center just past Wilcox. We talked with a man who RV'd full time for 10 years and he gave us a lot of good information. We learned that the Wings of Wilcox festival was going on. This is a weekend festival that celebrates the migration of the Sandhill Cranes. They identified 33 different species of Sandhill's this weekend. Some come from as far as Siberia! We found out that these are the cranes we have been seeing in all the fields along the road.

Across from the visitor center was Stouts Cider Mill. Boy did it smell good so in we went. We had cider and bought apple turnovers (pies were too big - 10lbs of apples in one pie). We couldn't have fit it in the fridge....

Tumbling along we entered Texas Canyon. The sides of the canyon look down on us and provide a spectacular view. Tons of rocks are perched on top of one another in a blancing act along the side of the road. Ken says they look like Lone Ranger rocks. Small trees are growing out of some of them and the whole area is very rugged. Further on the Saguaro Cactus start to appear on the floor of the vallies and canyons along with Prickly Pear. I hope we get to see some desert blooms, but we are a little early.

Rolling into the Tuscon area we decided to stop for lunch... the adventure today was Omars Hi-Way Chef. This was okay, but typical truck stop food. I think we will stick with Wendy's!

We arrived at the Los Colinas RV Resort in Casa Grande. This is a little garden in the desert for snowbirds. Most of the license plates were from the mid-west. The part is nice and they settled us into our spot. It's in the 70's here and we are enjoying the southwest winter weather.

Of course we had to go check out the surroundings so we took a short ride. There really isn't much around so we headed back and went to Eva's Mexican for dinner. It was right across the street from the RV resort and had excellent Margarita's and yummy Fajitas.

Back at camp it is very quiet here, wateched TV and called it a night.

NOTE:

The RV Resorts are nice but they are really for "snowbirds" and folks who are staying for a month or more. There are no firepits or tables to eat outdoors. The folks are friendly and there are alot of activities if you are staying long enough.

Land of Legends

Sunny, cool, and crisp as we go exploring today. We meander down Business Rte 10 into Bowie. This is almost a ghost town. The buildings and homes are very beaten down and it looks like the residents are just trying to hang on. There is a huge farm with a sign "Pecans, Walnuts, and Wine". Too bad they weren't open and everything is harvested.

We saw a sign for Ft Bowie National Historic Site so off we went down this road with no name. The road to Ft Bowie passed through the Pecan and Walnut trees on both sides in perfect rows with the Dos Cabezas Mountain range rising up behind them. Soon the road to turns to gravel as we wind our way up and through Apache Pass. A brilliant red Cardinal flew across the road in front of us but we didn't see any other wildlife. We know they are there because we saw Coyote tracks along the side of the road. We pulled into the historic site and found ourselves in the "Land of Legends". Fort Bowie was a US Army Post in the 1800's. The walls are well preserved and we learn the story of the bitter conflict between the Chiricahua Apaches and the United States military. Fort Bowie and Apache Pass were the focal point of military operations for more than 30 years. Eventually the Apache resistance was finally crushed at Fort Bowie, resulting in the surrender of Geronimo in 1886 and the banishment of the Chiricahuas to Florida and Alabama. This ended the Indian wars in the United States.

Moving on we stopped to enjoy the views over the Sulfur Springs Valley which had a mix of clouds, sun, and rain showers over Cochise Head Mountain (8113'). The road ended at Route 186 and turning North we set our sights on the town of Wilcox. Continuing through the valley we marvelled at the expanse of land here.

Wilcox is a hidden treasure of the "old west". A few businesses and restaurants. The historic "Old Town" section brings you back to the days of the singing cowboy like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. You can visit the Marty Robbins and Rex Allen Museums. Rex Allen was born in Wilcox in 1920. He starred in 19 movies between 1950 and 1954. He is considered the last of the Silver Screen Cowboys. We had lunch at Big Tex's BBQ located in an old railroad caboose. After lunch we drove back to camp.

We hung out at camp waxing the coach, doing mail, and relaxing. Ken talked with the "old timer" that owns the park. He moved out here from Vermont!

Dinner was an experiment..... Chicken Cordon Bleu. Yeah it came out really good.

Nice sunset over the mountains. The temperature really drops when the sun goes down. We are running the furnace at night still.

This area has great history and we had to pass on some things like the Chiricahua National Monument due to time, but depending on our schedule next winter we just might come back and revisit this area again.

A Mule-dozer...

Rolling out of Truth or Consequences it's sunny and 40ish. We are following the Rio Grande River down I25 S to Route 26 W towards Deming, New Mexico. The views along the river are gorgeous as it runs along the base of the Caballo Mountains. We are seeing traces of snow on the ground (what's that doing here???). The valley landscape is changing to farm land on our right. We are seeing large groves of trees, and we learn they are pecan trees. Unfortunately they are bare now. There are alot of the gray cranes feeding in the empty fields.

We turned onto Rte 26 W going through Hatch, New Mexico. Hatch is known for it's chilli's. Lots of places like Chilli Willi's and the Pepper Pot line the main street. Passing through the Las Uvas Valley we see huge farms. They are both dairy and chilli farms (quite a combination!). There were numerous birds sitting on the fences along the roadway. We think some of them were Yellow Warblers. There's lots of tumble weed, cactus, and yucca along the way. The Cookes Range rose up just off to our right. Their rounded tops tower over the valley floor. As we look left the small Sierra de las Uvas Range looms. These are very jagged peaks with snowy tops and are partially hidden in the haze. We stopped in Deming at the Sunrise Kitchen for a late breakfast. It was good and the Honey Oat Bran muffins were terrific.

It's still early so we move on toward Lordsburg. We are back on Interstate 10 W. Unfortunately we have to take the Interstates to get to Quartzite on the 19th. Crossing the Animas Valley there are railroad tracks running parrallel with the highway. We passed a train with 111 flat bed cars. Each car was carrying 2 and 3 freight boxes on each one.

The Arizona border is close now. We found the Mountain View Campground in our Passport America book and decided to give them a try. We pulled into the campground and no one was around. (They were closed until 4PM.). This will be an adventure - not many campers, mule tied to an old bulldozer, and the railroad tracks right beside us... beautiful mountain views though. So we selected a site that we liked. About 4ish we walked up to the office and the "old timer" at the desk greeted us. When we said we were members of Passport America he said "of course you are, that's the only way you would find us ". This is a place that has been made almost obsolete due to the interstate and larger RV resorts. It's quiet here and we watched the mountains turn pink with the sunset, then to sillouettes and finally disappear as it got dark.

We'll be here today and tomorrow. I think we will go exploring tomorrow.

Off On A New Adventure

With the car packed to the roof we drove to Malcoms to set up the coach. We loaded up the pantry and fridge with the perishables, hung up clothes, made the bed, and we were ready to go about 1PM.

Traveling down Interstate 25 S we are in high desert country. Now it seems real and being on the road feels like home. A few miles out of Albuquerque we spotted a flock of gray cranes in a field. We're not sure what kind they are as they were pretty far off the road. The Manzano Mountains and Rio Grand Valley are on our left in a sunny haze while plateaus, buttes, and arroyos are on the right.

We drive through the Sevelleta Wildlife Refuge and into Socorro. Part of the Wildlife Refuge is a waterfowl management area. We saw hundreds of white birds flying over a wetland. In front of us there are really high snow covered peaks in the distance. They are outlined in the haze of the sun. It is beautiful today and must be almost 60 degrees.

Stopping at the Acomilla Rest Area we learned this is where the Apache used to attack the Spanish. This was a narrow passage along the Rio Grande River and is part of the famous Camino Real. From 1598 to 1882 this was a 1600 mile trade route between Mexico City, Mexico and Santa Fe, New Mexico. A supply wagon train would arrive in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and the missions area every three years from Mexico City bringing clothing, sugar, tobacco, animals and anything considered valuable trade. Today this route is known as Interstate 25.

Movin on we passed by Mulligan Gulch and through Nogal Canyon. The foothills are now rolling up to the San Mateo Mountains. The landscape constantly changes from flat valley to climbing plateaus and the scenery is magnificent even though the winter colors of brown, beige, and dried sage covers the ground.

We have arrived in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico and decide to make this our stop for the night. We fed the coach and then found the RJ RV Park and got the last site. We are up on a hill overlooking the town and it has a nice view. We went off to WalMart (yes there is one here....) and did some grocery shopping. We had dinner at the La Cocina Restaurant. The food was good and the Margaritas were terrific. They were made with a white mexican wine instead of Tequilla and they were really good!

We put the groceries away and just relaxed. It was a nice drive today and we are glad to be back on the road.

Tomorrow we will head out again. Our first key destination is Quartzite, Arizona for the FMCA Rally.

Coach Preparation

This morning we are off to Malcom's where we stored our RV. We need to arrange to get the coach summerized and washed. They will get the batteries charged up, checked the tire pressure, filled the water tanks, and moved it into a heated bay so it will stay clean until we pick it up. They have taken really good care of us and we plan on coming back at the end of this trip to store it again. We picked up the car (which was stored also) and headed back to the house.

All the perishable food and toilletries were boxed up and stored at Dorothy & Al's so we just have to pack it all in the car on Tuesday morning.

The weather at home has been really cold (single digits), but it's in the teens here also at night. Brrr....

We'll spend the next few days trip planning and checking routes up the west coast.

Get Ready! - Here we go....

We left Bradford this afternoon for Albuquerque, New Mexico where we stored the RV for the holidays. It was an uneventful flight and Dorothy and Al (Ken's sister and bother-in-law) met us at the airport. We will spend the next few days visiting while we prep the RV. Then we'll take off on Tuesday, January 12.

Dorothy & Al have been wonderful hosts letting us store stuff at their house and helping us to find our way around town. We can't thank them enough.