Day 21-Monday, 19 Jan 09-Las Cruces, NM to Tuscon, Arizona
Photos: Our picturesque lunch stop today.
It was a glorious day to be on the road and the further west we went…the warmer it got! I performed 2 ‘rights of summer’….I shaved my legs this morning in preparation for shorts and I had to turn on the van’s air conditioner! Summer has officially arrived for us!
We went down to have coffee with our Roadtrek compatriots and ended up talking non-stop with them for 2 hours. They have a newer RT that is a real beauty and the extra couple of feet in length makes a major difference. We’ll be looking at those not long after we get home. Mel and Heather are from Kansas City, although she was born and raised in Canada, and it was amazing how much we had in common. They were such a wonderful couple and we look forward to meeting them again, either on the road or at a future rally event.
We got back onto I-10 and headed for Deming, New Mexico. Once again, the entire 200+ drive to Tuscon was through a valley; the Langford Mts on one side and the Victoria Mts on the other. It was a spectacular drive with the closer mountains being clean and clear and the further mountains & hills in blues and mauves—absolutely glorious! We passed through the Continental Divide which was only marked by a sign and the ‘Continental Divide Café’…there’s not much along that highway.
While Wayne snoozed, I enjoyed the drive…if the van had ‘auto pilot’ I could have snoozed as well as the highway was straight with few turns. As I breezed past Gary, NM, I glanced at the off-ramp and realized (too late) that Gary is a ghost town called the Shakespeare Ghost Town. Another big photo-op missed and no other off-ramp close enough to go back; however, I’m hoping we’ll be spending more time in NM on the return trip and noting all of these little haunts that I’d like to visit.
The second missed op was the Texas Canyon (even though we’d just crossed the state line to Arizona) which is a very short strip marked by gigantic boulders that balance on one another in a way that boggles the mind! I seem to recall we hit it on Hwy 40 last year but it’s the kind of place that requires at least an hour’s stop to photograph properly. I’d be a bit nervous to wander through the rocks as I’m betting there are signs warning people about snakes.
Wayne had looked through the RV bible (Woodall’s) and found an advertisement for an RV Resort in Tuscon which also rents house trailers and park model homes. We have pulled in for the night, as they also do 1-night rentals and will meet with the lady in the morning who manages the rental properties.
This is a HUGE park…I’d guess 1000+ trailer, RV, and park model homes and Wayne is currently out doing his 2nd recce to see how to get from Point A to Point B before being declared officially MIA. Like the park we visited last year, there are no end of conveniences here, from a small hotel to community centre, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, clubs for everything from woodworking to quilting and everything in between. It’s quite a complex. If we do decide to stay for a couple of weeks, we’ll use the van to visit points of interest in the area. If we enjoy the ‘life’, we’ll probably look for a similar place in the Phoenix area to stay for a few weeks. As I had said previously, we both love being on the road and seeing new things but after a few weeks of doing it, I especially need a door, somewhere, that I can close behind me for a short while and Wayne needs to be able to get up early without living in fear that he wakes me up. This may be the place!
There is no on-site internet service but apparently a couple of hot-spots where wireless is available so I’ll send from there. Until tomorrow, hug and kisses to all. xx Please keep Carmel in your thoughts—she starts round 2 today.
We went down to have coffee with our Roadtrek compatriots and ended up talking non-stop with them for 2 hours. They have a newer RT that is a real beauty and the extra couple of feet in length makes a major difference. We’ll be looking at those not long after we get home. Mel and Heather are from Kansas City, although she was born and raised in Canada, and it was amazing how much we had in common. They were such a wonderful couple and we look forward to meeting them again, either on the road or at a future rally event.
We got back onto I-10 and headed for Deming, New Mexico. Once again, the entire 200+ drive to Tuscon was through a valley; the Langford Mts on one side and the Victoria Mts on the other. It was a spectacular drive with the closer mountains being clean and clear and the further mountains & hills in blues and mauves—absolutely glorious! We passed through the Continental Divide which was only marked by a sign and the ‘Continental Divide Café’…there’s not much along that highway.
While Wayne snoozed, I enjoyed the drive…if the van had ‘auto pilot’ I could have snoozed as well as the highway was straight with few turns. As I breezed past Gary, NM, I glanced at the off-ramp and realized (too late) that Gary is a ghost town called the Shakespeare Ghost Town. Another big photo-op missed and no other off-ramp close enough to go back; however, I’m hoping we’ll be spending more time in NM on the return trip and noting all of these little haunts that I’d like to visit.
The second missed op was the Texas Canyon (even though we’d just crossed the state line to Arizona) which is a very short strip marked by gigantic boulders that balance on one another in a way that boggles the mind! I seem to recall we hit it on Hwy 40 last year but it’s the kind of place that requires at least an hour’s stop to photograph properly. I’d be a bit nervous to wander through the rocks as I’m betting there are signs warning people about snakes.
Wayne had looked through the RV bible (Woodall’s) and found an advertisement for an RV Resort in Tuscon which also rents house trailers and park model homes. We have pulled in for the night, as they also do 1-night rentals and will meet with the lady in the morning who manages the rental properties.
This is a HUGE park…I’d guess 1000+ trailer, RV, and park model homes and Wayne is currently out doing his 2nd recce to see how to get from Point A to Point B before being declared officially MIA. Like the park we visited last year, there are no end of conveniences here, from a small hotel to community centre, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, clubs for everything from woodworking to quilting and everything in between. It’s quite a complex. If we do decide to stay for a couple of weeks, we’ll use the van to visit points of interest in the area. If we enjoy the ‘life’, we’ll probably look for a similar place in the Phoenix area to stay for a few weeks. As I had said previously, we both love being on the road and seeing new things but after a few weeks of doing it, I especially need a door, somewhere, that I can close behind me for a short while and Wayne needs to be able to get up early without living in fear that he wakes me up. This may be the place!
There is no on-site internet service but apparently a couple of hot-spots where wireless is available so I’ll send from there. Until tomorrow, hug and kisses to all. xx Please keep Carmel in your thoughts—she starts round 2 today.
posted by Lynne @ 6:40 PM
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