RV Adventures

We have been hanging out along highway I-10 for the past couple of weeks.  It wasn’t until Roadtrippers.com (a website that identifies fun things to see along your route) sent me an email this morning with The Best of Everything along I-10 that I realized this highway went from coast to coast.  Well, we have traveled most of I-10 and seen its attractions in the Southwest.  Still, I think we have some more exploring to do!  More on I-10 later….

After the RV Rally in Phoenix, we weren’t able to get into the campground near my Dad the first night.  So we paid a quick visit to the Gilbert Ray Campground in Tucson Mountain Park.  We stayed there last year when Janelle was with us.  Its charm for us has not diminished.

Our camping spot at Tucson Mountain Park…tucked in among the cacti.

I went for a hike and decided to play with some of the photo features on my new phone.

Sunrise. Notice the hood on the Jeep is up (bottom right corner). That is to discourage Pack Rats from chewing the engine wiring at night.

Jim and I then headed a bit south and spent a week camped near my Dad in Green Valley, Arizona.  We got to hit all our favorite spots to eat.  Watch out for 2 for 1 Margarita Day at Wisdom’s Cafe in Tumacacori…it’s an experience!

Yummy…but lethal.

A stopover in Green Valley always seems to entail some sort of RV Improvement project.  Having my Dad and his tools nearby is a big plus.  This time we were running Ethernet cables under the floor…a real improvement to having them taped to the floor.

My Dad helping to pull Ethernet cables under the floor of the RV.  Our entertainment setup is now complete!  It’s 2017 technology in a 2004 RV.

While we were enjoying the warm weather, Rochester was getting walloped with first a windstorm that knocked out power for many (us included), followed by 26″ of snow.  I didn’t make any friends by texting images like these below.  But still, I would like to acknowledge Dave P. and Mary Ellen for keeping an eye on the house for us during both events.

Sunset from, of all places, the grocery store parking lot!

My favorite pool and hot tub in Green Valley. Time it right and you have the whole thing to yourself.

90 degrees…but it’s a dry heat!

While at my Dad’s, I took over my Mom’s sewing space (with her sewing machine that I inherited) and finished a quilt top. 

The colored fabric is from a charm pack I picked up a few years ago. I used a picture I found on the Internet for inspiration for this modern quilt.

I also experienced a downpour while in Green Valley.  That NEVER happens…at least not while I’m there.  So I took the opportunity to shoot a video of the rain. I wanted to see if there was any water running down the wash near my Dad’s house.  I really need to slow down my panning \ when I shoot video.  Anyway, here it is for what it is worth.  If you can’t click on the video below, use this link:   https://youtu.be/jQ6PQghK5L4

While in Phoenix at the FMCA Rally the previous week, we realized that there was an Escapees RV Club Rally in Tucson during our second week while at Dad’s.  We were both curious as to how an Escapees Rally would differ from an FMCA Rally. Still, I wanted to hang with Dad, so we decided Jim would attend the rally that week by himself.  Why not?  It was fairly close.  And our new friends from the Phoenix Rally would be there.  Done!

Welcome to the Pima County Fairgrounds.  What does it take to join two cypress trees together like this?

In the main hall at the rally was a map for people to “pin” where they were from.

IFoundAQuiltedHeart.com  The one day I was at the rally, I spotted a piece of fabric in a shrub. You know me…FABRIC!!!  I grabbed at it and this is what I found….a quilted heart to keep!  Some quilter’s are spreading hearts all over the world!  What a cool idea!

I joined the group on the last night for dinner. These are our new BFFs from Maine and Texas.

The view from the outside patio at dinner.

So how did this rally compare?  At this Escapees Rally, officially called an Escapade, there was ONLY 900 RVs (compared to 2200 at the FMCA rally)  And whereas FMCA only takes motorhomes, Escapees lets anyone join.  Thus, the crowd was younger and there were some families.  The emphasis here was more on having fun then education.  Both organizations have their strong points.

I should point out that during both rallys, we didn’t have any hookups.  Our solar panels served us very well!  If the sun was out, our lithium ion batteries were at 100% by the end of the day.  The new power system we put in the past two years was worth the investment. 

Solar Panels at the rear of our roof

After three weeks of non-stop activities, we departed my Dad’s and the Tucson area, along I-10 of course.  We once again spotted this long line of locomotives on a side rail.  Jim calculated there must be 3 1/2 miles of locomotives just parked end-to-end.  We did a bit of research this morning and found out they are mothballed Union Pacific locomotives, just waiting to be put back into service.  The desert is the perfect environment for them…they won’t rust!  Oh, the things you will see!

Yellow Union Pacific locomotives, end to end, for miles.

I borrowed this satellite image from google maps. There they are, all the locomotives lined up!

Anyway, we were out to find some quiet time after all those rallys.  We knew just where to go…Rusty’s RV Ranch in Rodeo, New Mexico.  It’s just over the Arizona state line, so the drive wasn’t all that far.  We stayed here last year and LOVED it!  With a 50% off rate (thank you Passport America Discount Club), we stayed three nights.  We never even unhooked the Jeep, we just sat and enjoyed the scenery, the stars, and the hot tub.

We took the back road from Tucson to Rodeo, New Mexico, across the Sierra Vista Valley.

Rusty’s RV Ranch. Our favorite things are this hot tub and the view.

This was the view out the RV window at sunrise.

The rig in the picture below intrigued me. So one afternoon I walked over and talked to the gentleman.  He is an amateur astro-photographer who was staying at Rusty’s RV Ranch for 6 weeks.  Because Rusty’s is a dark skies park (no outside lights allowed), it is excellent for astronomers. Since it was a lenghty stay for them, Tom had his ham radio set up, complete with an antenna.  There was a weather station mounted on his RV.  Plus his telescope/camera rig sitting on the patio that he controlled from the inside the toy-hauler bay of his 5th wheel.  AND, his wife had her sewing table and machine set up right next to the telescope control desk (they let us in to see it all).  And of course, she also had all the fabric to go with the sewing machine.  Wow, these people really take their hobbies with them!  And I thought we were bad…nope!

A stargazer.  Note the colorful image on the pack of their 5th wheel…

This is what the decal on the back of the RV said.  “I’ve got a telescope and I know how to use it.”.

After three days at Rusty’s, with our batteries recharged (both ours and the RV’s) it is now time to head back eastward. 

The Border Patrol down here is everywhere.  And since we took a small state highway from Rodeo, NM to El Paso, TX, we were only 2 miles from the International Border at times.  The Border Patrol was everywhere.

Get ready to climb.

A typical border control inspection station…right in the middle of I-10.

Not only were we close to Mexico (we are the blue dot just north of the border), at one point my Verizon Phone hopped onto a Mexican Cell Phone tower!

After driving all day yesterday and getting through El Paso, Texas (HATE their highways), we are now in Van Horn, Texas.  There isn’t much here, other than another 50% off campground that looks like a gravel parking lot, but has cable TV and decent WiFi.  We are staying just west of the nasty weather that roared through Texas the past two days.  So, we’ll catch up on some work (like writing this blog) and grocery shopping.  Tomorrow we head out to Seminole State Park.  Janelle is driving over from Central Texas to join us for a long weekend of hiking and playing in the desert.

This campground is not glamorous, but at $12.50 per night for full hooks (electric, water and sewer) AND cable TV and decent WiFi, we’ll take it!

Till next time….