I guess it has been a few days since I have written anything on this blog – like a week.  We wrapped up our stay in Tucson by going to the opening night of the national touring company of Wicked.  We had decent seats well back in the hall and enjoyed the show a lot.  It has been some time since we have attended a big Broadway type musical and I guess I had forgotten how much fun they can be.  The performances were wonderful and the effects were grand.  I guess I wrote about this in a brief post on Google+ but did not distribute it beyond that media.  Apologies to those of you who have already read this.

We moved on first to Saguaro SKP Coop in Benson for three nights and then on to Las Cruces.  In Benson we took a couple of drives.  One day we made several stops along the San Pedro Riparian Reserve including a stop at Fairbanks town site, the Hereford Bridge and San Pedro House.  this is excellent birding territory and we saw many birds of many species.  AT San Pedro House they were all around the house and grounds and it was fun to eat our lunch while observing Gila Woodpeckers and Pyrrhuloxia among the doves and other birds.  We returned by way of Bisbee.  We have not been there in some time, but after a brief stop in old Bisbee and at the copper pit mines we drove on through back to Benson.

The next day I found an off road track for my new Garmin eTrek and we set out to Parker Canyon Lake to see what we could do on our own on this designated beginner level track.  Once we found the entry point it was a lot of fun for the first half of the track, but somewhere way back “there” the course on the GPS did not agree with any visible jeep track we could see.  We were almost a quarter mile off the track when Carol and I agreed that it was time to turn back and retrace our entry.  At this point we came a cross a lady hiker on the trail along.  I am not sure who was more startled.  I guess did not appear threatening and she walked over and chatted with us confirming our decision to turn back.  The return was as much fun as the entry climbing the steep rocky descents and ascending the steep rocky descents.  Our collection of off road pin striping is growing.  The rest of the track was a paved road through fort Huachuca – boring.

Las Cruces became our Pesach stop.  Monday night, first Seder, we were along on the coach.  Carol worked really hard to put out a beautiful table and meal and we spent a couple of hours following the “order” through to the end.  It is much easier with only two and no children getting tired, bored or as they grew asking way too many questions.  Second night we were invited to Leora Zeitlin and Stuart Kelter’s home along with many others and a broad age range from 10 to 8x.  We sang, we told stories, we covered most of the points of the Seder in some fashion and by midnight we were wrapping up.  I think Carol and I got back to the coach about 12:30.  It was indeed a grand Seder and we thank Leora and Stuart for including us in their family gathering.

All this time I had been following Rick Morgan on Google+ and reading his blogs.  As we arrived in Las Cruces I read that he and JoAnne, his wife, were near Alamogordo, about and hours drive.  I have always said, once I’m on the road what’s a couple of hundred miles. After an exchange of messages on Google+ and emails and then phone calls, we agree to meet at the White Sands Monument Visitor Center on Wednesday.  And it was so.  We watched the National parks film and since our Jeep is more spacious then their car and we have driven the road many times.  We all piled into the Jeep with lunches and cameras and other necessities and had a tour of the road, lunch way out in the dunes and a walk on the boardwalk and bit of a hike on the nature trail.  It was really grand for us to meet fellow RVers who have a similar lifestyle to ours.  I hope we will run into them on the road as we both stay healthy and have safe travels.

I have held back posting waiting to work on some pictures, but given the poor service we have here in Davis Mountain State Park, here are the words, the pics will follow.

We continued to wait at Tucson Lazy Days.  I finally sent a message to a Tiffin Rep at Lazy Days Tampa to ask what needed to be done to break the log jam.  That was the answer, within 30 minutes we had the authorizations needed.  However parts for some of the fixes were not readily available.  We said ENOUGH!!! do what you can and ship the parts to Tampa!  We are headed that way to visit Carol’s brother and we can get in a couple of days early and if the parts are there and if they actually communicate and set up the schedule, we should be in and out in a day and on to Fort Desoto.  Like I really believe it is going to happen, yeah sure!

While waiting, we got together with Marjorie and Larry Aleamoni.  She and I went to #1 School and then Monroe High together some years ago.  We became reacquainted at the reunion in 2010 and decided to see if we could get the four of us together for a day.  We met at Good Egg for lunch along with their son Aran and then went on to have a lovely day together and finished with dinner at Shlomo and Vito, how’s that for a mix?  It was fine Deli.  As we walked around their house Carol spotted a faded, discolored family reunion picture and offered to scan it and prepare a reconstruction of what it might have looked like 40 years ago.  She used to do a lot of that work so it was fun for her to do a nice restoration.

We shopped.  This is a rarity for us, I seldom shop, I buy.  Carol seldom shops because very few stores carry clothes that will fit her.  Who wears a Petite 0?  She found stores that carry clothes that fit!  She shopped and she bought.  Thank you Margie for the guidance.

We decided that we would stay through Wednesday night and leave regardless of the need for more work.  the campground was filling with attendees at a rally we might have joined had we known we were going to be there.  But by the time it became clear there was no room and the rally would overlap the beginning of Pesach.  Carol found out that the National Touring Company for Wicked would open on Wednesday night.  We got tickets, way back but good seats nonetheless.  It has been a long time since we have attended a big Broadway Musical.  It was a lot of fun.  The performances were wonderful and the set and staging were positively mind blowing.  I know, where have we been? this show has been around and this is the fourth National Touring Company.  We loved it!  We also had a very nice dinner at Casa Vicente, we both had a selection of Tapas and the timing was perfect for the show.

Wednesday Afternoon before the show we came back to see where the coach would be setup for the night.  There was no longer any room in the campground, not even in the overflow areas.  Katrina promised us that we would be given a spot behind a service bay with water and electric and although not ideal it would work fine for us.  We are not permitted to drive our coach in the service area so we waited for a driver.  The driver was Kat and she is the manager of the parking in the service area.  When she learned that we were just staying for the night and wanted to leave on our own schedule in the morning, she put our coach in the line up with the for sale coaches with water and electric.  She said, “if security asks any questions just tell them Kat put us there.”  There were no questions and we returned from Wicked to our cozy home in line with many coaches that were going to be open to the public for sale the next day.  We determined to be gone before they opened the sales floor.

We were, and we are now happily settled into Saguaro SKP Coop in Benson, just 45 minutes east of Lazy Days and happy to be clear of the mobs.  The coyotes are sounding in the distance so it must be time to save and post for the night.  Next post I will try to remember to tell where we are going and when, as if we know.

The day after my last post we drove north to Florence where Dean Cross and Jane Eccelstone have been wintering.  After they visited with us in Tucson on Thursday they invited us to come and join them on a Jeep ride in the back country on Monday.  We drove up and met them and three other Jeeps (well two Jeeps and a Suzuki).  There were some double takes as Dean and I drove up, our Jeeps are almost identical Cherry Red four door Rubicons.  

After a short highway drive we turned off onto a dirt road and finally reached a turn off onto a lesser road and pulled up in a wide spot to air down the tires to 15 psi for traction and comfort.  I would love to describe the next four hours in detail, but will spare my readers and my fingers.  At one point as we made a switch back turn I saw our leader about to climb a cliff wall.  Carol said “there is no way we can drive up that” I engaged 4 L and the lockers on both my axles  (real traction aids)  and we drove up the incline on dirt and stone without a hesitation.  I felt like I was lying on my back and the only way I could see forward was to lean out the window and stare ahead.  I memorized the route before beginning the ascent.  After one of these, the road turned 90 degrees right and I just had to keep going straight until the hood came down enough to see.  On one climb the Suzuki had to back off the grade and find an alternate route after he made it to within 10 feet of the top.

As we were leaving the area Dean and Jane called to us that there was a hill we needed to play on.  I drove over and stopped and Carol and I got out.  Once again she said “there is no way to drive down that cliff and how do we get out if we do”.  We watched as Dean and Jane descended straight down the cliff face.  Not to be left behind, I once again engaged all my tools and drove down the cliff face, no more than 60 degrees, made the loop at the bottom and followed them right back up to the parking lot. Damn that Jeep is fun!  Carol says the Jeep is a mountain goat.

After airing the tires back up we had some time to chat and agreed we will see Dean and Jane in the same place next year.  We drove back to Lazy Days for dinner and some rest.  For the most part we have been hanging around the Lazy Days Campground reading, cleaning and sometimes chatting with neighbors.  The tech had fixed the red signal but left us without use of the dvd.  Rather than wait for him to get to it, I opened the wall of the cabinet, located the hdmi distributor and was able to see that it had four output cables and no input.  I located the input, plugged it in and once I demonstrated that everything was working for the moment, I closed it back up.  So far so good.  We used my handiwork  to watch Glenngary Glen Ross.  When it came out I swore I would not see it.  I was right!! It is a fine movie with great actors at their peak, the story is not one for anyone who has spent a life in sales.  It is way too painful and I swear I knew some of those guys in my office at one time or another.

We continue to wait, the temperatures have soared into the 90’s.  We have a date to get together with Marjorie and Larry Aleamoni this Sunday.  Marjorie is a high school classmate of mine.  We last saw each other at the 50th reunion a couple of years ago.   Carol and I are looking forward to this.

Oh, one other exciting stop.  We went to the Etherton Gallery to see the exhibits.  It is a photography gallery and when we mentioned that Carol was a VSW Alumna, Terry Etherton responded that Nathan Lyons had just been in Tucson and had spent some time in the hospital, flu.  It is amazing, how many people we get to talk with when we talk about Carol’s relationship to VSW.  She spoke to Joan today and Nathan is well.

It looks like we will not get out of here until late in the week, maybe even that is wishful thinking.  There are parts to be ordered and approvals for warranty work to be received and who knows what else.  Fortunately there is plenty to do here so boredom will not be an issue.

Thursday night we went to Temple of Music and Arts for a performance by local talent of Neil Simon’s “Sunshine Boys.”  It has plenty of laughs and I think they extracted the maximum from it.  We had sore sides as we walked out.  The “Temple” is in bad shape, there are large chunks out of the plaster proscenium and that was just the most visual sign  of lack of funds for the venue.  Friday night we went to Temple Emanuel for Shabbat Services. The people were warm and the young Assistant Rabbi gave an emotional talk about the mistreatment of women and non orthodox in Israel.  There was no news, but it needs to be told and retold.

Saturday Jane and Dean came to Tucson in their 2010 Jeep that is in all appearances identical to ours plus some dings from serious offroading.  We never moved off the campground area and had lunch together in Lazy Days restaurant.  When the time for them to drive back to Florence approached They suggested that on Monday we drive to Florence and go “Jeeping” with them and another couple.  This will give us a chance to try out what we can expect to do with this toy of ours in company with friends who have much more experience – and equipment = should someone need to be pulled out of trouble.  We leave at 8 AM for the 90 minute drive to get there.

After they left we searched, for some reasonable  entertainment and Carol found that Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Jazz Band were playing on the AU Campus and there were tickets. The performance was phenomenal and we really enjoyed the show and the people.  The weekly alternative paper has been a great source of things to do here as it is in Rochester – go City!!

Today, Sunday, Carol finally got to attack her need to keep things clean, two weeks boondocking in the desert do not offer power to run the vacuum or water to wash floors with.  The interior of the coach is shining. The laundry hamper is empty for the first time since we arrived in Yuma.  The exterior will be clean before we leave here.

Our tech, Bob, got the satallite Red signal for the front TV working, it is fine.  In the process it appears that the HDMI cable for the DVD has been disconnected.  We could not watch the movie we had been looking forward to – that is why I have the time to write this now.  I suspect Bob will not be thrilled when he returns to work on Tuesday – his crew works Tuesday through Saturday.

Until we have new adventures or move on, which ever comes first!

Shortly after we set up in the gravel pit I climbed on the roof to erect the new photo voltaic panels to maximize the input.  Carol came up to give me a hand.  As soon as Carol tried to lift the first panel we undid I discovered that the panel had been put up backwards.  all the electrical connections are at one end, that end has to be at the pivot end of the panel or I would need extra long cables.  The other panel had the electrical connections at the other (correct for my set up) end.  We put that one up and the electrical flow to the batteries really did improve.  Called Solar Bill and he was not a lot of help, we were already 70 miles away and he had no helpers anywhere near us.  The task would be up to me, if I could find an assistant willing to work on the roof with me.  Carol does not have the strength to assist me in this project.

A while later Dan and Beverly Armstrong, with whom we had been in touch, appeared with their motorhome and parked along side.  After a lengthy exchange of greetings based on our not having seen each other for over a year, Dan noticed my panels and asked the obvious question.  It was hot and we had other places to go so I said we should put off the roof work till the sun was a bit lower.  So after a ride to Bard to get some dates and fresh ground peanut butter, Dan got out his tools to add to mine and we ascended to the roof.  After about 30 minutes we had the rear panel turned around so I could point both at the sun.  Once again the meter should greater improvement in electron flow.  This left me needing to buy one new tool, a 7/16 box end wrench.  Carol and I drove to the Yuma Proving Grounds PX and found a very nice set for a reasonable price.  While there she found a mini Cuisinart and when I price checked, it was 20% less then the best price on Amazon.  Deal!

Wednesday Dan and Beverly left for Yuma Elks Lodge and we puttered around the camp site until we decided to take a ride to Mitry Lake and the PX.  We were planning on moving to the Yuma Elks on Friday because there were several events we thought we might attend in Yuma and the 30 miles drive back and forth gets old, especially after dark.  Thursday we decided to go ahead and move.  We had been checking the Host Sites several times a day looking for a Host to buy our permit from.  Never did find one present.  For that matter we saw no one authorized to issue the permit until we were filling the freshwater tank prior to departure.  He could not sell the permit we needed so we said “sorry” and left.

The Yuma Elks Lodge camping area is on sand with no hookups and developed in a day when RVs did not have slide out rooms.  It felt tighter than we are usually parked for a large Rally.  Actually I almost walked into the side of Dan’s slide room when avoiding my own slide room.  The location is really convenient being in the center of town.  The hospital is across the street and its helicopter landing area was right on the street.  We are given to understand that the Elks Lodge has sold its land to the hospital and will be moving farther out of the center of town and may not have RV space in its new location.

While in Yuma we drove up past YPG to Martinez Lake with Beverly and Dan and took a day trip on the Colorado River with Yuma River Tours on their smaller jet boat.  The skipper said the river was relatively high and thus we only spent half the time crossing from side to side to stay in the channel and avoid the sandbars.  Given that the jet boat has a very shallow draft this gives a clue as to how little water is permitted this far down the river below  Hoover Dam, most of the water in the river is spoken for by farmers in California’s Central Valley.  We enjoyed a tour of Norton’s Landing, a remnant of the steamboat era when it served as a wood lot supplying wood to the passing steamboats.  Today it is a campsite for city children to learn about the “wilderness.”  The 15 foot or more climb from the dock to the high ground where we picnicked is a reminder of how deep the river once was, the terrace where we sat was just barely above water before the dams were built.

Our other activities while in Yuma included a trip to Los Algadones in Mexico.  With a good referral Carol and I chose to have our teeth cleaned there.  Cash, $25 each got the job done.  The report is that there are 450 dentists in Los Algadones, a sort walk over the border from the Quechan parking lot about 16 miles from Yuma.  We also bought some more tequila. Carol had a $7 haircut and we had a lovely lunch before getting in line to wait a bit over an hour to cross back into the US.  This day they had four line open for ICE instead of the two the last time we crossed and waited over 2 1/2 hours in the sun to inch our way to the border.  Sequester may increase the length of the line and do further damage to the economy of this lively Mexican town, but that is almost politics, someplace I try not to go.

Although we were a day’s drive from Tucson, where we needed to be, the morning of the 6th, we left on Monday the 4th with intention of stopping in Sells, AZ for the night.  The reported parking area was not really large enough to suggest it would be reasonable for us to stay the night.  We moved on with reports of boondocking locations along 86 near Kitt’s Peak Observatory (well the road to the observatory).  We found one right on 86 next to the turn off and spent some time orienting the coach and disconnecting the car so we could go to the observatory.  As soon as we turned onto the road in the Jeep we learned two important facts: the road is closed from 4 PM to 9 AM unless you have a reservation for a tour and star party, we had neither; there was a very large flat dirt area just off that road, outside the gate, that called to us.  We moved the coach in there and had a quiet, dark night out of earshot of trains and most traffic.  In the morning we were joined by another coach bound to the west from Lazy Days in Tucson who was having engine heat problems.  After exchanging names and basic biographic data, we left them there cooling their engine.  We saw them again at Lazy Days as we were checking out where to go for our appointment in the morning.  We got to spend the night in the Service Overflow lot, plenty of asphalt, electric hookups and a chain link fence.  The price was right so I was not complaining.

Getting our service work done will take some time as it may be Monday before they can get clearance from Tiffin to do what needs to be done.  We decided to stay in the campground at a 50% discount for service customers and enjoy the blessings of full hookups (FHU).  While waiting for them to release the coach to us for the night we drove to Sabino Canyon National Forest for a bit of a hike to shake the rust out of our legs.  It felt good.  For those who are interested the list of stuff needing work is long, but keeps getting shorter as some items are intermittent, they have happened once or are not happening now.  Harder to diagnose and fix what isn’t broken.  Even the front TV has been regularly working with the red signal on satellite for the past two nights.  None of the items are really show stoppers, just mostly annoyances.

We meet with Jane and Dean on Saturday, they are driving down from Florence where they have spent much of the winter.  Not sure what else we will get to, but there are a couple of plays we may take in while we are here.  I’ll let you all know when that has happened.

We stopped in Quartszite again.  Q, as we call it, is located at the junction of US 95 and I 10 also AZ 95 goes out of Q to the north to Parker and Lake Havasu, to the south is Yuma.  Q has a collection of RV service companies and swap meets AKA Flee Markets.  Lots of vendors selling almost anything except the thing you are looking for much of the time.

We came here because this is the best place to get photo voltaic solar installed (photo voltaic is direct to electricity, thermal makes hot something, usually water).  We had shopped a bit on our way through to LA and knew we were going to Solar Bill to get what we needed.  We pulled the coach into his shop as planned and immediately began discussing what would actually fit and what we really wanted as opposed to the package we had agreed to a week previous.  Hmm, shop? think an old corrugated shed with a couple of shipping containers for inventory.  Most of the work area is open air and the major concession to keeping things neat and clean is a selection of carpeting tacked down on the ground to keep the sand dust down.  On the other hand the sun shines most days and rain is seldom an issue.  For the RVers reading this we installed two 210 W panels on the roof an MPPT controller from Blue Sky and just because I am a gadget guy the remote is the IPN Pro which gives me more information about the state of my batteries and the charging system than I know what to do with.  Of course to get that information required significant extra wiring and then a fair amount of learning curve for me to start getting the information and then figure out what it means.  This took a couple of calls back to Bill of Solar bill and eventually to the manufacturer for some serious tech questions.  Four days later it is working fine and I have useful information about the state of the batteries.

After that work, we took the Jeep and drove to Parker AZ, about 90 miles north.  With a little research we found Lily’s Mexican and had a delightful meal, typical Mexican but very well prepared and nicely served.  If you find a way to pass though Parker, it is worth the stop.  We decided to travel up the west side of the Colorado River, that must be back in California, to Parker Dam and we were shocked at how BLM has developed the river bank for 16 miles with campground after day use area after campground.  Many dirt tracks lead off to the west and I was tempted, not having a map, or usable GPS or any self rescue equipment it seemed foolish so we didn’t.  A stop at Rock House Visitor center brought us in contact with a garrulous volunteer ranger who told us more than we could absorb about the area.  We retained two things a road past the dam up to Havasu Palms and The Desert Bar.  We took the road up past the Dam and when we saw several vehicles stopped at a dirt road entrance, I stopped and asked a young father with his wife and kids if it was appropriate to take a Jeep up that road.  He assured me it was and that he had been doing it for 40 years (I guess he counted time in the womb).  He gave us directions for an interesting loop with a steep climb and a rocky wash and stuff.  The first turn was 4 miles up the dirt side road to Havasu Palms.  At two miles we saw a turn that met his description but there were two more miles to go.  From 3.5 to 6 miles in we saw no usable turn.  We decided the better part of valor was to stick to the “main” road and tour Havasu Palms before returning to the dam.  The place was interesting, it is a cluster of manufactured homes on cliffs above the river, the views are gorgeous.  It is 7 miles up a barely improved dirt road (Dan, Malena, better than Hungrytown Hollow, but 7 miles) and then miles of paved back road to get to the Dam and over into AZ where it is another 10 miles to any kind of shopping, like for food.

As we retraced to the south on AZ 95 headed back into Parker, we watched for Cienega Springs road to the Desert Bar.  It is only open noon to 6 Saturday and Sunday.  It was 3:30 Saturday as we turned up the road.  This road was interesting.  We saw lots of vehicles headed out. There were plenty still there when we arrived.  The band was playing music from the fifties and sixties and we had a chance to dance to three long numbers before they stopped playing at 5.  Back down the five miles to 95 and back to the coach for dinner.

After a number of stops on Monday we finally got to Senator Wash, but decided to set up camp in the Gavel Pit above the lake as the the lake is dry.  They may fill it while we are here, but this is our decision.  Something different.

On the way to Los Angeles we stopped over night first in Quartzite where we shopped for a solar setup for our coach.  Then we moved on to an Elks Lodge in Beaumont-Banning CA.  On the way we stopped at Chiriaco Summit on I 10.  We have driven by innumerable times and even stopped for fuel and lunch.  We had noted a collection of old tanks (the military kind) and a sign declaring this to be the General George Patton Museum.  We had time and decided to spend some of it in the museum ($4.50 for Seniors).  It is certainly a revelation and somehow tied into our previous history stop.  It turns out that just out of West Point Patton, then a Lieutenant accompanied Black Jack Pershing on his raid into Mexico tracking down Pancho Villas after his raid into the US (see previous post).  The museum is on the edge of the site of the Desert Training Center created by Patton to prepare for the war in North Africa.  My father was stationed in Banning, not far down the road and I suspect he had some training time in this locale.  Also there is a modern Desert Warfare Center that may even encompass some of the original land where our son Dan spent some miserable training time during his time in the service.

After a stay at the Elks Lodge in Beaumont we moved on across to the Los Angeles Basin and our reservation at Dockweiler RV Park.  We had secured five nights in the back row (of three) furthest from the beach.  Through President’s Day the place was fairly full.  Last night we returned after dinner to find our coach surrounded by empty slots and tonight there may be 6 or seven RVs in the 117 spaces.

For entertainment we went to see the Endeavor at the LA Science Museum.  This is not to be missed.  It comes on top of our recent visit to the Houston Space Center Control Room and it is very well set up even though they have not completed the permanent exhibit space.  The volunteer docent we ran into was full of information not included in the signs and was anxious to tell us everything we might want to know.  We also took in the 3D Imax movie Hubble which was well worth it.  Combining 3D and Imax is really mind blowing.

Sunday night Tal had a sleep over with a friend and Miriam, Yechiel, Carol and I went out to dinner, Thai, dairy, Kosher of course.  Afterwards, Yechiel suggested we look into the music scene on Sunset.  It appeared to be crowded and noisy.  We walked through the scene for an hour or so and finally stopped at Mirabelle for cocktails before calling it a night.

As I write there is a storm blowing around us.  We may have to deal with strong winds on the road tomorrow.  I do hope they blow themselves out before we get into the desert.  We are one those “high profile vehicles” that these warning are for.  And we have ventured into high winds in the past to our discomfort.  

We drove the 30 miles from City of Rocks to Dream Catcher RV in Deming to clear our holding tanks, get warm and decide where to got next.  First order of business was to make plans for service at Lazy Days in Tucson to take care of the rest of the warranty stuff that has accumulated.  After the call to service we were in a bit of a quandary  the soonest we could get in is March 6.  We know once they get to work there will be hold ups and we cannot plan our departure until we see the schedule.  When to go to LA?  We decided to see if an immediate run there would work for Yechiel and Miriam and for us as well.  Mapping software shows a hard two day trip and we have three days to arrive Friday afternoon. We tried to get into Malibu Beach RV, but all they had was a partial hookup site that is 42′ by 16′ barely room to open our slides.  Called Dockweiler RV under the LAX departure lanes and found a spot on the back row way down from the runway so we may be able to sleep.

We decided that there was no point on rolling today and we did want to drive down to Palomas just over the border from Columbus NM.  Palomas is a very quiet border town best known for the Pink Store.  We had been told to eat there.  We walked on by and found San Jose a couple of blocks from the border, they displayed an Escapee Badge by the door so we decided to give it a try.  We were the only customers when we entered and no one came while we were there.  The food was quite good and  I was embarrassed when the bill for two nice lunches came to $8.00 so I over tipped in compensation and we were out on the street for $11 total and quite satisfied.  We stopped by Pink Store and checked out the restaurant.  The prices were about double and the menu did not seem any different.   I did buy a liter of Tequila and a small bottle of vanilla.

We walked back over the border with no wait, no one was in front of us so figuring out where to walk was a bit of an issue.  We decided to stop in Columbus at the museum, every small town has a museum.  It had railroad tracks and a caboose and a lot of railroad memorabilia on the outside.  The docent (didn’t get his name) greeted us and offered to show us a video of the towns history.  We agreed.  We were mesmerized, who knew we had landed in the one place in the United States where Pancho Villa had invaded and been driven off in 1909.  The first Army Air Corp base was built there and the entire fleet, eight planes were based there.  There were also 10,000 men staged there in the event of an attack.  I will not regale you with the entire story, needless to say Pancho Villa’s troops managed to cross the border unnoticed, between two guard posts and start attacking Columbus.  Two US officers got there troops engaged and managed to set up a cross fire that devastated Villa’s soldiers and drove them back across the border.  The story doesn’t end there, but for Columbus it does.

We will be rolling in the morning

Well I guess it has been a while.  We stopped here first in January 2003 for two nights on our way west.  Then in March 2004 we stopped overnight on our way east.  Since then we have stayed in Las Cruces NM about an hour and a half east to visit with Leora and Stuart and their family.  As we planned our route last week we realized that Leora would be off with Amalia who is auditioning for music schools.  We decided to bypass Las Cruces and City of Rocks seemed like a logical place to head for, at least for a day or two.

On the way from Big Bend we thought we would head for Davis Mountain State Park, but it was 26 miles out of the way (52 miles round trip) for no really good reason.  When we got to Marfa, we stopped and thought about what really made sense.  It was only 3 PM Central and we were heading west into Mountain time where it was 2 PM.  We decided to keep rolling and drove 75 miles west to Van Horn TX.  This place makes Fort Stockton look like a thriving metropolis, but there was a KOA with all the facilities we needed.  We pulled in and ran laundry and cleaned up everything.  This was the first time we had electricity, water and a sewer connection in a week.  In the morning we took on some fresh water and ran one more load of laundry before setting out on I 10.  we thought we would head for Deming NM, but decided, as we fueled in Anthony TX, that City of Rocks might be fun.

Pulling out of the Flying J, almost immediately we pulled into the New Mexico Welcome Center where we picked up some tourist information.  As I browsed, while Carol drove, I noted that Silver City just 40 miles from City of Rocks, was having a Chocolate Fantasia Day on Saturday.  Since we planned on visiting Silver City in any event this meant that most of the shops and Galleries would be open.  We pulled into City of Rocks and found no available electric connection so we wandered around the circuit to find a likely spot to dry camp.

City of Rocks is the result of a volcano hundreds of thousands of years ago.  It is a magma extrusion in the middle of a plain,  With the passage of time the extrusion has shrunk and split and the top cover has eroded (don’t take my geology as accurate, but it gives the idea).  What remains is a bunch of rock towers with lanes like streets between them sticking up in the middle of the plain.  Our site is tucked into the rocks.  The temperatures in Big Bend are still in the 80’s day time. Ttoday we woke to wind and 42 degrees.  That is as warm as we saw all day.  We spent the morning in the coach and left for Silver City at 11:30 or so.  We drove through strong winds and what, at first, I interpreted as a dust storm until it started leaving wet on the windshield.  It came nowhere near the east coast storm but it was a bit shocking to see snow starting to accumulate on the rocks and shoulders of the road.  We found our way into the center of Historic Silver City where most of the galleries and shops are.  After parking we stopped at the first gallery we came to and learned that the Chocolate was all by tickets, of course, and the tickets had all sold out several days before our arrival.  This saved us from sampling up to 20 chocolates in the course of the day.  Many people had bags with them to accumulate the chocolates for consumption at a later time.  We were guided to lunch at Diane’s which was wonderful with local product and a varied veggie menu and of course wonderful green chile.  We wandered through many galleries and then did some food shopping on our way back to the coach.

At 8:30, as I write, we are not sure we will stay here another day.  We will look at our fresh water and holding tanks in the morning after showering before we decide to cross that bridge, also the weather may have some say.