Moving on

I'll be back.  (Said with a deep German-ish accent)

This park is a keeper.  Nothing spectacular, just pleasant (I've used that word a lot, I know.)  It's a candidate for the "just go live for a while" list. For the first time, I've had some good conversations with fellow campers: my next door neighbor with the big white dog, who's full-timing in a little Casitas travel trailer.  Navy vet, originally from Colorado.  A guy from up near Taos.  And the usual polite nods to people out walking their dogs.

There are a couple of other nearby NM parks I want to check out on this trip... so today I'm headed up to Leasburg Dam north of Las Cruces for a couple of  nights.  It's lower and flatter with a nearby canal -- I did make a reservation and I'll have electricity over there.  The fact that I could get a reservation suggests that it's not as sought-after.  I'll write a review for Campendium, and cross-post here for y'all, whoever you are!

Here's where I'm headed. My reserved campsite is circled:

Photo from Google Earth

After that, I don't know.  I need to be back in Tucson Tuesday afternoon for an appointment.

The pancakes were delicious:

I'm enjoying this cooking thing.  Had soup and salad and fresh-baked crescent rolls for dinner last night.  And just a taste of gelato.

It takes a while to get into the rhythm of living in the rig.  Quicker now that I have some experience.  I've stopped checking the battery every 5 minutes ... I shouldn't say this "out loud" but I now know how long I can go and that my regular use pattern in the evening is sustainable without using the generator.  Gotta say how smug I am watching the little solar panel pump juice into the batteries.  I'd like to get some more batteries and more solar ...

I'll stop in Deming on the way over to Leasburg Dam to pick up some stuff I didn't pack, despite all those lists!  Would you believe that the only soap I have is some of that foamy hand-washing soap? And no towels of any kind?  And no broom!?

More later from Leasburg St Park.

Where I am now

That's my site.

32°11'12" N
107°36'43" W

4600 ft elevation

Here's a wider view of the whole area:

From now on I'm going to try to remember to post similar information about places I stay.

Brrrr

The tricky part is that my little catalytic heater Buddy has decided not to light up.  It's about as cold as it's gonna get for the night, and I'm fine in my sweats, so not big problem.  It would be nice to have that as an option, again ... gonna work on that later.  When it's warmer. I was wondering what to have for breakfast ... something hot sounds like a good idea. Maybe pancakes, now that I'm on this cooking binge.  The cookies were delicious.

Dessert

I said I was going to cook more. This is the first product of the oven. I'd read that RV ovens take a lonooog time to come to temperature, but this was pretty quick. 

Another day here and then a short drive over to Leasburg Dam state park for a couple of days. Water!

 C

Outside Deming, New Mexico

Rockhound State Park. Arrived at noon. All sites with electric were full. So I'm boondocking. No charge cuz I have a NM annual pass. 

It's a more than pleasant quiet place.  My neighbor is from Colorado. He has a giant white fluff ball of a dog named. Moose. 

Gonna be chilly tonight!

Outtahere tomorrow!

I'm almost done packing things and putting them in the rig. Maybe it's just because the weather is so pleasant, but I'm actually enjoying this getting-ready-to-go process. I'm experimenting with sleeping arrangements this trip: the couch isn't long enough for me to stretch out, but since I never sleep that way, perhaps this is worth a shot. The area over the cab is biggest, but climbing up and down is a nuisance. I've been converting the "dinette" into a sleeping area, which is comfortable and doesn't involve climbing around. But it does involve some awkward fiddling with the table and benches.  We'll see.

Headed out ...

I don't think the flowers will look like this just yet ... 

At last.  Headed first for Rockhound State Park near Deming, leaving Tuesday. I only have a week or so right now, so I may just hunker down there for a few days and collect rocks. (They let you!)   There's a couple more NM state parks nearby: one is down near the border: Pancho Villa, and the other I've been to before, City of Rocks.  Pancho Villa looks and sounds pretty unattractive; I guess the major appeal is that it's 3 miles from the border and walking across and back is simple and fast.  City of Rocks is cool!

I have my bright shiny new New Mexico state parks sticker, which means that I can dry camp for "free" at any of the NM parks, and a site with electricity is $4.  These parks are all part of the NM online reservation system, but only a fraction of the RV sites are available through the system.  The rest are all first-come-first-served. I talked to the manager at Rockhound, and he said it's a busy time of year for them. I plan to arrive about mid-day, and in the worst case I'll spend one night in a "dry" site and then move over to one with electricity.  If I want.  It's sunny and warm over there right now, just like it is here in Tucson, so the little solar panel will probably do a good job of keeping the lights on and the electronics humming.

Image lifted from Bucks' web site

The Beast went in to Buck's for an oil change and general pre-trip checkover.  The big bad news is it needs new ball joints before longer trips this summer.

Cost at Buck's will be about $1000, and then an alignment at one of the few places in Tucson that can do alignments for RV's.  Oh, well: what are income tax refunds for, anyway?

It's things like this that make me glad I have a mechanic I trust. I've said it before: these guys have been in business here for years and years.  They have a solid reputation, and I trust that when they say something needs doing, I do it.  This piece of maintenance should help me get more miles on the tires: I'm expecting that a new set of tires will be one of the major expenses in the next couple years. Yeah, ouch!

I've been making lists.  Actually, making up a whole sheaf of departure checklists, so I can avoid forgetting something.  Yeah, right.  Well, it's been a way to amuse myself while I wait for a long enough stretch of free time to get away.

Next bulletin should be from over there.  And I'll tell you what I forgot.