Page, AZ - Roswell, NM
Our first sunny morning in Page, AZ, and we both wake up not feeling well on Monday. It (whatever "it" is) doesn't go away until evening so we sleep most of the day.
Staying at home gives us time to figure out what is our best next move. Bill's mom is still in rehab, and has decided it's time to move into assisted living when she is released. This is a huge relief for the whole family, as at 91 years old her needs have changed quite a bit in the last few months.
Rather than Bill flying to Roswell to make temporary arrangements that would still require us spending a few weeks there "eventually", we decide it's best to turn south once again and take care of everything now, and together.
So close to a new state for us, but Utah will have to wait awhile. I'm sure it will still be there when we're ready.
Arriving in Flagstaff mid-day on Tuesday we stay at Black Bart's again. Although not a place we particularly like, it is easy and reasonable, and we know how everything works. This time we take advantage of the steakhouse and live entertainment on site, leaving the Jeep hooked up.
Our sights are on Holbrook, AZ, but with high winds in the forecast we push on through to Gallup, NM. We're still cleaning the dirt out of crevices in the motorhome from our last time in Holbrook. If nothing else, maybe the dirt will be a different color in Gallup!
I'm pleasantly surprised by the nice USA RV Park in Gallup. Long, level gravel sites with a few trees, FHUs, and far enough from the interstate to avoid road noise. Very nice staff, clean and convenient. The municipal airport is nearby so there is small plane noise periodically. On this Wednesday the park fills completely not long after dark! The sites are long, but not wide, and it's "snug" when every space is full.
We think about staying another night, but again the predicted winds over the weekend have us up and on the road early. Instead of Albuquerque, we opt for a new route, taking us southeast, picking up Hwy 25 in Las Lunas. Hwy 6 is a pretty two-lane road with minimal traffic, but the first 15 miles through the Hopi Reservation are washboard rough!
At Socorro, NM, we stop for the night. All the RV parks here are some guy's name: Tom's, Luis's - we stay at Casey's place. It's a beauty salon with an RV park as well.....a first for us! Several permanents and a few other travelers have crowded into the FHU rows so we take a W/E site and have the whole row to ourselves. Unlike Gallup, this park doesn't see another arrival while we're here.
Since it's Cinco de Mayo we decide to go out for margaritas. We stop at three Mexican restaurants - each one a bit weirder than the one before - and find no margaritas! Finally we find success at El Rancho Family Restaurant and Lounge.
Remember "lounges"? Dark paneling, brass-tack furniture, red leather bar, gold-vein mirrors, wrought iron sconces......yep, that's where we celebrate May 5th! And the margaritas are delicious, as is the food.
We love this crazy life :-)
Friday morning the sun is bright and there's a slight breeze. We're heading for the cute little town of Capitan, NM, in the mountains east of Ruidoso.
The lava flows near Carrizozo are spectacular - tall, rugged, shiny black. The large valley is beautiful with green trees, and grass-covered fields. It looks so different here from other places we've been in New Mexico.
A few miles before Capitan, Bill checks the weather which is still predicting high winds for the next three days. We've been fortunate missing the worst of it by getting out early and then parking before it gets too bad. It's only 10:00 - with 90 more miles to Roswell, shouldn't we just push through and not have to worry about it?
We should.
In Capitan our decision is validated when a street fair has the entrance to the RV park blocked, with a major detour. We're not supposed to stay here this time.
20+ mph crosswinds welcome us about 15 miles from Roswell, and with the end of the trip so close it's very manageable. By the time we're set up back at Town and Country RV Park, the winds have increased, with gusts that rock the house. Dust turns the sky brown, which then turns gray, and just enough rain falls to turn the dirt on our home into a custom impressionism masterpiece :-(
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| Humphreys Peak welcomes us back with a new mantle of snow |
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| Casual entertainment from our serving staff - talented kids! |
I'm pleasantly surprised by the nice USA RV Park in Gallup. Long, level gravel sites with a few trees, FHUs, and far enough from the interstate to avoid road noise. Very nice staff, clean and convenient. The municipal airport is nearby so there is small plane noise periodically. On this Wednesday the park fills completely not long after dark! The sites are long, but not wide, and it's "snug" when every space is full.
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| Historic downtown has a series of lovely murals |
At Socorro, NM, we stop for the night. All the RV parks here are some guy's name: Tom's, Luis's - we stay at Casey's place. It's a beauty salon with an RV park as well.....a first for us! Several permanents and a few other travelers have crowded into the FHU rows so we take a W/E site and have the whole row to ourselves. Unlike Gallup, this park doesn't see another arrival while we're here.
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| We're not here for the view (from our front door) |
Remember "lounges"? Dark paneling, brass-tack furniture, red leather bar, gold-vein mirrors, wrought iron sconces......yep, that's where we celebrate May 5th! And the margaritas are delicious, as is the food.
We love this crazy life :-)
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| The Lounge |
The lava flows near Carrizozo are spectacular - tall, rugged, shiny black. The large valley is beautiful with green trees, and grass-covered fields. It looks so different here from other places we've been in New Mexico.
A few miles before Capitan, Bill checks the weather which is still predicting high winds for the next three days. We've been fortunate missing the worst of it by getting out early and then parking before it gets too bad. It's only 10:00 - with 90 more miles to Roswell, shouldn't we just push through and not have to worry about it?
We should.
In Capitan our decision is validated when a street fair has the entrance to the RV park blocked, with a major detour. We're not supposed to stay here this time.
20+ mph crosswinds welcome us about 15 miles from Roswell, and with the end of the trip so close it's very manageable. By the time we're set up back at Town and Country RV Park, the winds have increased, with gusts that rock the house. Dust turns the sky brown, which then turns gray, and just enough rain falls to turn the dirt on our home into a custom impressionism masterpiece :-(
We're glad we kept going each time, driving longer than our norm, and getting here a couple days early.
Our time here will be challenging and exciting and busy and quite a bit of work - but nothing is more important than family. It's where we need to be. It's what we need to be doing. Bill will see his mom on Mother's Day for the first time in decades.
Our time here will be challenging and exciting and busy and quite a bit of work - but nothing is more important than family. It's where we need to be. It's what we need to be doing. Bill will see his mom on Mother's Day for the first time in decades.
I'm sure Bill's Mom appreciates your efforts. And having everything settled in advance will be stress relieving for all of you.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely helps to have the time - and to be able to sleep in our own bed too!
DeleteHope all works out for Bill's mom. It's great she decided to go to assisted living on her own...not the case for us.
ReplyDeleteGood luck...
She probably waited a bit too long, but we're certainly relieved she has made the decision
DeleteTerry's mom went into assisted living last year. It's worked out great for her. Hope it does the same for Bill's mom.
ReplyDeleteWe don't travel in high winds either. It's best to be safe and stay off the roads.
I think she's going to really enjoy it. It's been easier knowing we can move when it's calm and then get off the roads when it picks up.
DeleteMy first thought when you mentioned "several permanents" at Casey's was that they were salon patrons..!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the transition! It's great she made the decision herself.
Too funny :-))) I remember perms, but it's sure been a long time since I've had one! We're really happy she is ready for the move now.
DeleteI know well the story of having to turn around and go back. Glad Bill gets to spend Mother's Day with her, I know she will love that. The idea of all that dirt blowing around is really discouraging me from anticipating AZ and NM. My whole family has asthma and other weak lung things. I have the least severe case but dust in the air is horrid. LOL at Beauty Salon & RV Park in a town in NM where the Mexican restaurants don't serve margaritas. Glad you finally found one. Wishing you luck in getting your MIL moved. I did that about 3 years ago and cleaning out the house was a MAJOR headache. But, glad she made the decision on her own. It will give you great peace of mind.
ReplyDeleteThought of you guys as we were having to move faster than usual too. Southeastern NM is notorious for dust storms because it's so dry - you can easily avoid this area. I'd say March and April are the worst for wind and just avoid them, but it's May and here we are with wind...... Oh the house - it will be a job for sure.
DeleteNice that you can make that decision. Being mobile is great for that isn't it? Nice Bill can be with his mom on MD. We hit some of those crazy winds too. I HATE wind. I'll take the heat, cold snow etc before wind. At least you still have some new routes you can take getting there to keep it interesting. Finally found the margaritas...success!
ReplyDeleteYep, wind is at the bottom of my list for weather! They might have been so good because they were so much work :-))))
DeleteHaha, we stayed in Socorro at one of those—ahem—RV Parks a few years ago. But ours didn't have a beauty salon! I'm looking for that one next time. Glad you guys found your margaritas for celebrating Cinco de Mayo! Hope all goes well with moving Bill's mom. As you said, family first -- and how sweet that Bill was able to be there for Mother's Day. Take good care of yourselves.
ReplyDeleteHehe - the salon was pretty busy too :-) Thanks Laurel, we will.
DeleteBeing mobile certainly has it's advantages. Yep-family first is our way of thinking too. In all the craziness of it all, be sure to take some time for yourselves too :-)
ReplyDeleteWe jump in on the house tomorrow - I'll set a nap alarm!!
DeleteThis is really cool, Jodee. No doubt, family comes first. And the great thing about a lounge is that the glasses are old enough, the labels have fallen off the bottom of them!
ReplyDeleteLOL! This is true, no labels or painted freezers in sight!!!
DeleteYes, we do take a lot of walks into the past as we travel small town America wiht this life:) Kind of fun!
ReplyDeleteGlad you were close enough to return to help Bill's mom:) Then again with a house on wheels we are never too far. It certainly will give the family the relief you all need with mom being in assisted living. I know when we helped move John's mother move into a beautiful facility, she and the family were able to finally relax. So nice that you are there to help:) Good luck with the move:)
We're glad (now that we're here) that we didn't go any further north. This way when we head to Colorado we can just keep going :-)))) Oh - we are hoping to be in PA early Fall, I'll have to find out where we should stay near Pittsburgh.
DeleteSending prayers that all goes well with Bill's mom. Sorry to hear you've had to put off your trip to Utah.. Maybe we can meet up when you come back through. Hugs and love to you three.
ReplyDeleteI laughed when we had to re-route.....figured you wouldn't be there until June anyway so we'd just have to come back!! Things are moving forward with the house and things but Mom going in for more tests today.
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