041230-Lordsburg, NM

041230-Lordsburg, NM

It’s a beautiful Thursday morning, as compared to the wet and windy Wednesday morning we experienced yesterday. That was the main reason we opted to stay put in Green Valley for one more day.

The sky is blue, white puffy clouds are up high, and the temp is a comfortable 64. Lordsburg, NM here we come.

First we make a quick stop at the local Wal-Mart for some supplies – including a lightweight but powerful upright, bag less vacuum cleaner to combat Peter’s shedding problem. It’s on sale fort 34 bucks and it looks like a winner.

As we are checking out, Peter reminds me that we are getting low on dog food – but Wal-Mart doesn’t carry his brand, so we’ll have to make another stop at a Petsmart in the area. If I don’t, he’ll nag me all day until I do and I don’t need that.

The people at Petsmart are very nice and transport two 20-pound bags out to the beast. Peter seems pleased and relieved now.

We’ve got about 200 miles to cover, but the road is good and the traffic light, so I think we’ll make good time without any trouble.

After a couple of hours, we notice up ahead the formation of very large gray clouds hovering over the road and desert like a squadron of galactic space battleships waiting for the command to attack earth. The weather report for tomorrow did not mention rain, although it is predicted for the day after.
They do not seem to be moving, but that can change at any time.

As we scan the radio waves, we are faced with the choices of country western, preacher bob, and thankfully NPR.

As I have mentioned before, I am using an old laptop computer for my GPS and it sits on the “doghouse” (which is the hump between the two front seat where the engine compartment is). This is the same place that Peter sometimes likes to sit. Every once in awhile, I catch Peter trying to retrieve his email from the computer but his nails keep catching on the keys and popping them off. Since I don’t do much tying on this laptop it is not too much of a problem, but if I had to use it for word processing, I’d have a tough time with some of the keys gone left only with little buttons and no idea what they are. I wonder if they make special keyboards for dogs.

We roll into Lordsburg with a half full gas tank, but we stop and fill up so we can get a quick get-away in the morning. The main street is about 4 blocks long, with 4 gas stations, a couple of motels, a few fast food stores (KFC, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, etc) and one regular restaurant called the Kranberry Family Restaurant. We take a chance.

Inside is neat and clean, and a few tables away from us are a couple of policemen having dinner.

We opt for the Thursday special – BBQ beef, with salad, beans and cornbread. Peter gives his OK. It was actually a good meal.

The RVPark is about 3 blocks away and we check in for the night. All we want is a place to plug in – no point hooking up a sewer or water connection for one night.

The park is mostly gravel and dirt roads which do not agree with the wheels on my walker or Peter. However he does have his own personal tree just outside the door so that seems to placate him a little.

I start putting away our purchases and assemble the vacuum. It seems to work well, although Peter hates the noise. I’ll have to wait till we settle in one park for a few days so I can remove the carpet runners and give it a good cleaning. Peter nudges me to go out, and fortunately the weather is getting warmer, so neither of us mind.

We’ll turn in early, so we get a fresh start in the morning without rushing.

041229- Southwest-3

041229- Southwest-3

Since leaving Picacho Peak, we had traveled about 100 miles to Green valley, AZ, which is about 40 miles south of Tucson.

Some friends that we had met last year on returning from Mexico, Barry and Maureen, have family that live nearby: Maureen’s sister Marilyn and her husband Buck.

As we settled in our space, Barry informed us that we were invited to dinner at Marilyn’s and Buck’s that evening.

This was just the first of many delicious meals and fun times we enjoyed there. Peter was on his best behavior and even though Marilyn and Buck had two cats locked in the bedroom, he remained calm.

Last year, I had learned how to play a domino game called Mexican Train with this group and it tends to become obsessive. I fully anticipated a session of Mexican Train as soon as the dinner table was cleared, but lo and behold, Barry had forgotten to bring the game from his motorhome. As a substitute, Buck appeared with a jar full of pennies and a deck of cards and poker night began. We had lots of fun.

Just prior to arriving at the RVP, Barry had stopped at Camping World to buy some special toilet paper (that does not clog sewer systems), and somehow wound up next door at a huge Motorhome dealership – to be brief – he bought a new motorhome. While it will take about a week to get it prepped as well as move everything out of his old motorhome to the new one, you can imagine his excitement as he told us the story of his negotiations and acquisition of a good deal.

The next evening, Christmas Eve was spent at Marilyn’s and Buck’s and after dinner, this time remembered, Mexican Train was the order of business and we played well into the late evening.
Christmas day lunch was followed by a marathon game of “Train” that finally broke up after about 5 hours.

Although there was no snow, the weather had turned decidedly cold, low 30’s at night and high 40’s to 50 daytime. While it looked pleasant out, blue skies and high white clouds, we bundled up and actually had to use our propane furnace in the evenings because our small electric room heater was just not able to drive the cold away.

Peter had started shedding the day we left and has not stopped but seems to be lessening. Most of the Beast looks like a cashmere sweater so it is very frustrating trying to clean it all up. Will have to wait until he’s finished.

The park has a strict PET WALK ONLY area for their relief, and while Peter usually is able to ignore these rules, I thought it best to explain to him that we should not cause any trouble.

The Pet Walk was a few blocks away, so thank god for the bat mobile. My knees are getting more troublesome, especially since Vioxx got recalled, so long walks in cold weather was not conducive to Peter’s urgency needs. Most of the time, many people commented that it appeared that Peter was pulling the Bat mobile.

The last couple of days have been warmer, in the 60s and even 70s.


Today was supposed to be a travel day but the weather has turned foul – the same storm that has and is terrorizing Los Angeles – so we opted to delay and leave tomorrow.

Rain and thunderstorms were predicted as well as wind gust up to 30 Miles per Hour. Not the kind of weather I want to be driving in. Tomorrow’s prediction is clear and partly cloudy – sounds good to us.

We expect to be in Las Cruces, NM for New Years Eve, but I have no idea what it will be like.

After that, a lot of driving across west Texas to San Antonio, thru very open and boring terrain with no cell phone or internet service.

Happy holidays and a great New Year to everyone.

AZ-Dec04

041217-southwest2

041217-southwest2

Hi friends,

It’s the17th of December and that means we’ve been away only 11 days but it seems like forever.

We have not gone very far in the terms of miles but in attitude and lifestyle we have gone the maximum. We are in Picacho, AZ, between phoenix and Tucson, nestled against the mountains.

The park is only half full so there’s plenty of breathing space and we’ve met some nice people, locals and travelers.

The cook is quite good and she saves some leftovers for peter, as if he needs it.
Many of you may ask how it is possible to do almost nothing and enjoy it – I have some specific people in mind and you know who you are; The answer is – you just have to let it happen and see if you like it. There is no rat race, alarm clocks, sirens, traffic, rush hour, crime, or even loud noises to ruin the peacefulness.

Television is limited to a channel or two if reception is good and there is a lending library full of old books that someone must have read at one time but by how many is the true question.

There is always someone around to talk to or get a kind welcome from.

Remembering my adage about plans and changes - I may be in for some changes and rethinking this lifestyle. We have been accustomed to hopping from place to place every few days. After our last stay at the place we had 3 free nights and a sales pitch, I went on the Internet and found some campsite memberships for resale.
THE original one I got pitched was about $8,000.
Turns out, I can get almost the same package for about $900.
There are a good number of high-grade parks that would only cost me $6 /nite with a max of 14-21 day visit. Some others are not more than $10/nite. This will tend to have me spend longer visits at a time at sites that are more upscale vacation sites.
I am waiting for the final papers and membership card to arrive – 3-6 days and then replan the rest of my trip.

So far, we will be in Arizona over Christmas with friends, and may be in Las Cruces over NEW Years, and venture into Texas in January, giving us plenty of time to get to New Orleans by Jan 28th.

The weather has been beautiful, but the overnight temps get down in the 40’s.
We keep warm.

Peter has been shedding – I think he automatically starts whatever day we leave.
He has made lots of friends and I even caught him giving out autographs when he thought I wasn’t looking. I think he's starting a fan club.

Till next time,

041214-Southern Arizona

041214-Southern Arizona

The drive to Yuma was easy and scenic. There is such a difference between driving in the city and cruising along on the open road.

Regardless of how many miles of mountains or cactus or endless fields I see, it does not get boring. With a bright sunny day and miles of highway ahead, Peter and I just take it all in and let it energize us. It doesn’t matter where we are heading or coming from; whether we’ve been there before or going someplace new – it’s the thrill of the journey not the destination.


A small RVP that we found on a prior trip had space for us and we were happy to get a slot along side the pool.
Yuma is probably the warmest area of the state and this week it was warmer than usual – in otherwise – really nice.

After hooking up, we strolled across the street to an Applebee’s and had a delicious steak dinner. Peter urged me to get the larger size because he was pretty hungry, and it’s a good thing I did because he was.

I have to keep reminding myself that there are time zones and as we head east we lose an hour of precious morning sleep.

There is no cable hook up so we read and listen to NPR radio, which I have found to be quite informative and entertaining.

The next day was picture perfect weather so we took out the Batmobile and roamed the neighborhood, checked out local stores and gave Peter a good workout.

TOM and Mary from Spokane were a couple we met on our Mexican Caravan and they had given us a pass for a free 3 nite stay at a Park they belong to in Casa Grande – of course I had to go to a sales pitch but it was painless and even interesting. I might have even joined if they made me one more offer.

One afternoon, Tom drove us to an ancient Indian ruins site in Casa Grande and when Peter saw it he denied any responsibility for it.

Tom and his friend Bud tried to fix my cigarette lighter problem, but things went from bad to worse and my batteries were being drained and lights not working.

We did manage to leave OK and when we got to our next RVP, I asked the manager for a good mobile mechanic and he gave me the # of Bug’s RV.

The next day, Bug showed up, diagnosed the problem as a burnt out converter, and in 30 minutes he had it replaced and the beast was whole again and all was good.

The best part, besides not having to drive to a dealer and spend all day there was that his bill was $25 for labor (1/2 hour), and the cost of the new unit ($250). Wouldn’t happen in Loa Angeles for sure.

We are currently in a park I have been to before and liked and is nicely priced at $20/nite.
They have a nice pool area, hot tub, and they cook meals almost every day.

You are probably curious how peter likes it here. Well, the last time he was here he got an education about cactus. Guess what – he got another one today.

It really wasn’t his fault – he walked under a cactus plant branch and a pod with lots of needles stuck to the top of head. I tried to pull it off but it was like trying to grab a porcupine. - Ouch. The plan was to get him back to the beast so I could remove it with a tool, but we didn’t get very far before he decided to take matters into his own hands (or paws) and he reached up with a paw to knock the pod off. Of course all that did was get him a paw full of needles and so his next plan was to pick them out with his teeth, resulting with a nose and lips full of needles.

It was one of those times I wish I had my camera and after it was all over, I realized I did have my new cell phone camera but forgot. I have to keep up with the technology.

Now he was mad and I was very frustrated, because he didn’t want to go anyplace and there was nothing I could do.

2 maintenance men came to the rescue with a pair of pliers and lots of patience. Getting out the first few went well, but then Peter got unruly when he saw the pliers coming at him, so they had to sneak up from behind to get the needles in his nose.

We got almost all of them, with the exception of one in his paw and two in his lower lip, which is covered by his upper lip – I will have to figure out what to do. So far they don’t seem to be bothering him.

We spent the rest of the day around the pool taking in the sun. I am going to extend our stay a few more days.

Our plans change from day to day as I talk to people about what to see and where to go, so if you’ve got any suggestions – spill it.

SO far, we will see Tucson, Tombstone, Green Valley, Las Cruces, SAN Antonio, Corpus Christi, Houston and New Orleans.

Oh, another nice plus – gas at $1.79.

041207- New Chapter

041207- New Chapter

Well, as Willie Nelson sings – The Highway Guys are “ On the road Again”.

With the help of my nephew Kurt, we (mostly he) loaded up the beast with clothing and provisions.

Wit a departure date of Sunday, Dec 5th called on account of rain, we actually hit the road on Monday the 6th.

Our final destination is New Orleans, Jan 29th, for the start of Madi Gras. We are signed up for an 11 day rally (a group tour}, which will get us reserved seating at all of the parades and feed us at various local restaurants. Of course there will be the usually historic tours and the unavoidable riverboat ride.

We got an early start, headed east on the interstate ten. As is my custom, I don’t consider the officialbeginning of a trip until I see my first Wal-Mart. This time is was about ½ hour out of town. They are getting closer all the time.

Our day’s end plan was Bob’s in Indio. Unfortunately they were booked – I figured “no way” on a Monday – Wrong!!!
However, they had another site just a mile away that has space and it was quite nice. Concrete roads, grass aprons and level sites. Did have to back in but had help from the staff.

Our first sunset in the desert was pretty and a nice form of welcome for our first night. The temp got down to about the high 40’s but we had our heater and sweats to keep us warm.

The morning was warm , in the 70’s for the day, and we got to work organizing and stowing all the stuff Kurt loaded onboard. Of course, Peter supervised the work.

I could tell he was getting restless from inactivity – when I work, he stays tattered to the Beast, so I unpacked the Bat Mobile and we took an exploratory run around the entire park. It was just what the doctor order for Peter – he pooped 3 times.

Speaking of doctoring, we both have been sneezing – for Peter it may be allergies, but I think I am coming down with a cold or the Flu. At least all the OTC drugs like Drixoral, nasal strips, and Alka-Seltzer plus wont go to waste.

Being smarter now, I called ahead for reservation in Yuma for Wednesday and Thursday nights.

S&P