Dusty Grind through New Mexico

I woke up early and opened all of the blinds so I could watch the sun come up over the boulders to the east. This is such a unique little spot that I wanted to savor the fact that I managed to stumble across it without any other campers. Cali was able to go free range and roam about all she wanted. I sat out in the morning sun enjoying a bowl of cereal and sipping a hot mug of tea.

When it got too warm, I moved the chair into the shade of a giant boulder and sat behind its protection and strummed a few songs on the guitar. Hawks circled above and several smaller birds came by to see what was up in the arroyo. A small songbird kept inching closer deciding whether he liked my tune or not. An occasional car would pass through carrying an equestrian or one of the ranch staff but the air was still and a deep quietness pervaded the clearing.

I got a small fright when I turned to call Cali and she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. In her fragile old age she would be easy coyote bait although a rather stringy meal with not much meat on the bone🍖. I found her scratching around a log on the far side of the rocks. She has been very active and showing interest in her surroundings so far on the trip. She’s been having issues with eating again though, some days she does well and today she just had no interest in anything I had to offer be it dog food or human fare.

Skinny Girl

I figured to get started on the road around 11:00, so I began cleaning up and prepping to drive. We took a final walk around then went to retract the leveling jacks. The motor on the right rear jack kept whirring and wouldn’t shut off. I looked underneath and noticed that the pin that activates the solenoid to stop the motor was bent and couldn’t completely retract. I thought the sensor was all one unit and that I’d have to disable the levelers. I called Bigfoot and left a message with the technician then crawled under the rig with wrenches and pliers to see about straightening the pin. A few minutes later they returned the call and he was saying to remove the faceplate of the system and disable it until I get home. Hey, I’m not going home! I asked if they didn’t have a dealer who could replace the sensor unit. His reply was that the sensor was separate from a small nail like pin that only cost a few dollars. If that’s the case, can I just pull the pin and hammer it straight? He said go for it so that’s what I did. In 20 minutes I was back to full functionality and heading out the gate of the Triangle T.

Newly straightened pin

I was getting a late start and wasn’t that into driving so I set my sights on a shorter drive to a small campground in Deming, New Mexico about 2 1/2 hours to the east. I put the RV on cruise control and sat back watching the dust devils whirl past. No offense to southern New Mexico, but it is a pretty bleak and inhospitable place. When we neared Deming, I could see no reason to stop there so I decided to continue on to Las Cruces where there was an RV “resort”, not my favorite style but I’m on a mission. Upon reaching Las Cruces, it had even less appeal than Deming so I reset my goal to El Paso and worked my way through the traffic of Las Cruces and ended up in a gravel KOA in Anthony, Texas. I was just done driving and this is kind of in the country outside of El Paso proper, so I figured it would be better than staying in the city. The camp has maybe 125 sites and they are pretty full. Not a bush or tree on the property. There’s only one little bath house at the far entrance for the entire park. Good thing I cleared out the shower so I’m totally self contained.

Across New Mexico in one shot. A three state day

It’s like an RV sales lot. Can you spot Wilson among the inventory?

There he is!

Kicked on the A/C for Cali then we hiked around the scrub dodging rattlesnakes. Ate a salad while talking to PJ and mostly hibernated inside except for a walk around the camp perimeter as the sun went down. Been running the fan to dampen the outside noises. Hoping for a decent sleep and maybe some more interesting options tomorrow.