T-Plus 2 and Counting

At long last we are back on the road again heading east. We decided to do something we generally avoid doing when traveling in our RV; we drove after sunset, yes that's right at night. Not the most ideal conditions with the limited visibility and depth perception you get on the road at 65 mph. A shredded truck tire, miscellaneous debris or a stray animal on the road could really ruin the first leg of a trip after this extended delay. However, to make it to Texas in time to visit Karen's cousins and aunt, we needed to get back on the road as soon as possible.

The rig wasn't ready for travel on Sunday until around 6 PM and we originally hoped to get to Deming, New Mexico, spend one night there then drive the next day so we could have time to see the Carlsbad Caverns by Tuesday, February 28. So I drove Sunday night until 11 PM; 247 miles later we pulled into the Dream Catcher RV Park - Escapees Rainbow Park. We didn't disconnect from the truck but did decide to use the 50A electrical hook-up because it was forecast to get down to 25º F during the night. We turned on the electric heaters and hit the sack.

Slept great and got up at 9 AM. After making some coffee for the road we were out of the park by 9:30 AM. Stopped in Las Cruces, N.M. for more diesel fuel, then on to El Paso, Texas for breakfast at IHOP. We drove back into New Mexico and arrived at our BLM (Bureau of Land Mgt) campsite at the Chosa Campground back by 3 PM. The Chosa Campground is a maintained dry camping area. Camping is free and the camping limit is 14 days. The entire area is a large, square, gravel parking lot which makes it easy for leveling. Trash cans are available on site. There are no electric, water, or sewer hookups available so we were going to give our patched water tank its first boon docking field test. Best of all, it is 14 miles (23 minutes) from the Carlsbad Caverns National Park!

After pulling in we discovered another Alliance Avenue 32RLS rig from Florida at the campground. We pulled up and exchanged pleasantries with a nice young couple then parked nearby to set up our campsite. After getting settled, we grabbed some portable chairs and commenced with visiting our neighbors, Cody, Kayla and their two fur babies. We toured each others rigs, comparing notes on our travel experiences and talked about our unique equipment failures since we took ownership.

So, two days down since leaving Tucson and we still have a working freshwater tank with no leaks. Hallelujah! Tomorrow we get an early start for an 8:30 AM entry at Carlsbad Caverns..