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Published: November 27th 2013
Evening in Tucson
This was the view from our campsite as we waited for the repairs to the new RV. We were antsy to get going, but it sure was pretty.Well, it was finally time to leave Tucson and get on home. New TV cabinet looks great, we understand the slides and levelers and how to use, and we are getting anxious to get going. So on Saturday, we drove to the maintenance office and "all" they needed to do was put a hitch on to match our car. OPPS! They were supposed to have come an measured it during the week but never did. So now, at noon on Saturday (shops out west seem to close at noon) we learn they do NOT have the appropriate size hitch. This was the first real screwup by Lazydays. But it kept us from leaving. So back to the campground (at a reduced rate) and wait until Monday. Not happy campers....literally.
First thing Monday morning I go to a trailer company recommended by several other places and they have a 10" drop hitch. We need 12" but this is the best they have. Turns out they don't even make a 12" drop. Price is $180. I go back to Lazydays and report this and they tell me they have been checking and found a 10" drop---same place. We take the RV in,
Moving in
Trish worked hard putting everything away inside. We are about ready to start back home. they mount the hitch, check the wiring and we are ready to roll. I have to pay and then discover the hitch is $210. Seems they add a service fee. If I had known that, I'd have bought it myself and saved $30. But at last we are off! Headed home.
First stop was NM in Deming for the night. Nice little campground in the desert with great views of the stars and quiet. Next day we headed from Las Cruces up through the White Sands Missile Range to Alamagordo and then over the mountains through Apache country to Roswell. The drive through that section of NM was beautiful...good roads, great scenery and pleasant. Roswell was one of the stops we really wanted to make and though in too late to see anything that day, we would take a bit of time the next to visit.
In the morning we visited the Roswell UFO museum and were surprised with the great documentation and background provided. Whether you believe or not, SOMETHING happened here and it appears that SOMEONE or SOME GROUP wanted to cover up what it was. There were just too many stories of people being summoned
White Sands, NM
This is in the middle of the White Sands Missile Range. Some of our earliest rocket tests were done in this area and just north is where the first A-Bomb was detonated. to a meeting, coming home and finding their home/garage/shed had been entered and the only thing missing was any writing, picture, or artifact they reportedly had related to the incident. Forget the hokey statues and hyperbole in SciFi movies....The truth IS out there.
The town has really capitalized on the hype and though over 60 years ago, it still draws in visitors and gives the town a real persona. We wandered the streets for a bit, checked out a couple of "gift" shops and finally go back to the campground and headed on for Texas and home. From Roswell, we headed to Brownsville, TX where the town has a county park with pool, basketball courts, frisbee golf, and...a small campground with water and electric for free. What a great offering from the town! We found the donation box and left some money on our way out, but how nice to find a reasonably level site with electricity and water and quiet. It was so much better than a WalMart.
The next day was a LONG haul across Texas to the Dallas area. We followed state routes to avoid high traffic on Interstates. It was flat, boring, and lots
Remnant of the Cold War
Couldn't see any old silos, but this is pretty barren territory and ideal for locating missiles. of oil wells and cattle farms. Traffic north of Fort Worth and Dallas was relatively light, but as night approached, we still had not found a reasonable place to stay. We stopped at a Walmart to pick up some supplies and while there I asked if there were any RV parks close by. Amazing...there was one only 1/2 mile away. With good directions, we headed there in the waning moments of daylight. Turns out it is a mobile home park with RV spaces on the back of the property right along the edge of the 6 lane highway. There is only one way in to the spot and when we finally found it and set up, it was, as expected, noisy. We endured the night there, but at over $20, we should have stayed at the WalMart for free; at least there we would have been further from the road.
On the road for the 5th day since leaving Tucson, we got to Texarkana and then started across Arkansas. The roads here were winding and had lots of trees and green fields. But a review of available campground showed a paucity of reasonable places close to our route. Finally,
Outskirts of Roswell, NM
EVERY one cashes in on the crash of 1947. we pulled into ElDorado and headed for the one campground that had a decent review. It was getting dark and when we go in, there appeared to be only one space left, all others being taken by semi-permanent residents. Trish tried to level the RV, but it was so rocky and uneven that she couldn't find a reasonable spot. A young lady in the spot next to the one we were trying to get set up in advised us there was a nicer campground about 3 miles away. She even called them for us and they had one spot open...(that should have been my clue.) We drove there and by now it was dark. After pulling in, we looked for the site and finally realized it was off far away from anything, there was no bath house available, and we would be parked in mud...all for $25. With that, we pulled out, drove a mile down the road, and opted to stay at the WalMart for the night. That actually turned out to be a reasonable choice--level, dry, quiet and free.
Day 6 of the odyssey home saw us cross the Mississippi River at Greenville and then traverse Mississippi
Roswell UFO Museum
Although the hokum draws folks in, after reading the reports of that time....well, the truth is out there...somewhere. almost to Columbus. There Trish had made the decision we would camp at a Corps of Engineers campsite (feeling my previous 2 choices had been less than stellar, which was true.) We bounced down some back roads (and I'm hearing Dueling Banjos in my head) and came to the campground. It turned out to be well laid out, easy to get in and out, and a lovely ending to the trip. We even had good TV reception and after a relaxing meal, enjoyed a hot shower and then headed to bed. The Corps of Engineers has wonderful sites and we made a plan then to check out others close by for camping in the warmer weather this next spring.
We were only a short hop from Alabama and could have made it home that day, but wanted to stop in Double Springs and see our friends, Dennis and Ellen. Ellen was my boss at the Army in 2000 and again in 2004 when we returned from Japan. She had been instrumental in helping us decide on Alabama as a retirement home and we loved going over and spending time with them. We got to their place about noon and
Flat...dry...boring
Heading across Texas, it is as flat as Kansas and just as boring. Only difference was we didn't have the winds this time. after showing them the RV, had a wonderful time catching up on the previous summer, sharing pictures of Kim's wedding and talking about our trip our west and Dennis's book, due to be published before Christmas. They were disappointed we wouldn't stay in the house, but we wanted to stay in the coach and be with Slinky, who was still feeling a bet apprehensive about the new rig, though getting better. So after a restful night and great breakfast, we finally said good-by and drove the 90 minutes home.
We pulled into the yard at home, noting the change in color of the trees, loss of leaves, and the fact that the fields had been mowed and large rounds of hay were now in the fields. We got the heat turned on in the house, and began unloading the RV. What was supposed to have been a 5-6 week trip had become an 8 week adventure, with angst over the government shut-down causing us to not see some parks and retracing our steps to go see others. In the process, we found problems with the old RV that caused us to reconsider and then buy a new "used" RV,
Crossing the Mississippi
Heading into Greenville, MS from Arkansas, we crossed Old Man River. It IS an impressive sight. We've seen it this year from up north in Wisconsin to down near Vicksburg. which took an extra week to get the paperwork and technical work squared away. A quick check shows we drove over 5,200 miles on this trip and saw 7 different sets of friends plus Aunt Dosia and Greta (the original purpose of the trip), spent WAY more than expected on gifts and mementos (but we did complete all our Christmas shopping) and came away with a greater appreciation for this country.
Will we go back or do it again? Probably not the same way. There are places we still want to see, and next time we'll hopefully spend more time in one place and really get into it. The problem seems to be figuring a way to get from here to there without spending 2 days in flat, windy Kansas or Texas. We'll see. For now, we are happy to be home and have Kim, Kris and Autumn coming to visit for Thanksgiving.
(Note: They are here now. They get to spend a week. Huzzah!!!)
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Deborah
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Welcome Home!
As usual your blog is very entertaining. I enjoyed the passage regarding Roswell, NM. A very dear friend of ours comes from there and she also has "stories" from the 1950's and 60's. She was a young mother then and a military wife as well. Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful adventures. Happy Thanksgiving John and Trish!