Arizona or Bust!

I didn't feel like testing the sleep number mattress, so I slept on the fold out couch.  It is also an air mattress, but more of the old fashioned type.  It has the mattress padding, and an internal air bag.  You blow it up with a pump that plugs into the 110V outlet.  I guess you have to blow it up with your breath, if you are boondocking.

It sleeps rather hard!  At first I didn't have it up high enough, and I sagged to the bottom with my bottom.  But then after a couple of hours of that and a back ache, I blew it up some more with my breath.  Now it was quite hard, and I went to sleep until about 6:30.

By that time, the traffic began to be heavy in front of the RV park, so I was up again.  I never did hear the train during the night, so perhaps its a daylight track.  I never went into the bathrooms or any of the other facilities, so the park was fine.  A gravel lot with hookups.

As we were leaving, at about 10 AM the park owner was out front on the bunkhouse porch waving us goodbye.  A nice touch.

We got started driving, and made it over the mountain range West of Alamogordo in short order.  This is a steep incline when coming from the East, but the Cummins diesel shifted back to high gear from the double overdrive (6th back to 4th) and pulled like a trooper.  We never slowed below 50 miles per hour, but the throttle was floored.

We had to drive right thru downtown Las Cruces as there is no interstate connection between US 70 and I 10, without going South on I 25 and then coming back North again.  That is way out of the way.

Once on I 10 we kept on keeping on!  The miles seemed to fade into the rear view mirror.  Before we knew it we were in Arizona.  I did a wave at Al and Kelly when we went over the highway to Douglas, as they are somewhere South of there.  They couldn't have been too far away, as Mexico is only about 60 miles South.

We headed on, as it was almost 4 in the afternoon.  At Benson, we decided we had had enough, and headed into town.  This is where the Escapee park is located here outside of Tucson.  We have been members for about a year now, so that's where we are parked for tonight.  I bought two nights, since I am tired of the relentless driving.  This is somewhat of a destination park, and has all the fellowship that the Escapee's are known for.

We arrived just as their happy hour was starting, but the office is in a different building than the clubhouse, and by the time we were on our spot and set up, the hour was over.

Tonight was poker and many other activities, but we were quite tired, and happy to sit and watch TV.

I have no idea what tomorrow will be, but lets hope its a lot slower.

Retired Rod

Onward to Tularosa, Nm

As I said last night, when the air mattress went down, we haven't seen the last of this.  And yes the mattress went flat in the night again last night.  It has a filler nipple that is fastened to a hose, which goes to a pump.  That is how it controls the air.  The sleep number!

But the pipe will not stay in the mattress.  So I called Tiffin this morning.  While I was driving out of Texas.  They will be shipping a whole new mattress assembly to their Western factory rep in the next few days and I will have to make arrangements to meet him somewhere in Arizona.

But in the meantime, I will have to attempt a repair to get me by.  The Tiffin guy suggested that I glue the spout in the mattress with GE Silicone Seal.  So this afternoon when we stopped for lunch, I glued it together, with the silicone.  I don't hold much faith in this solution, but I am doing as I was told before taking over with the more drastic measures.

So now since I was awake at 5:30 with a flat bed, I stayed up and got most of our stuff ready to go.  Loyce was sleeping on the couch, as I was trying to repair the bed.  But it wouldn't stay together, so we were both up.

We were on the road with complete breakfast before 9 AM.  That never happens, but it did.  We drove West on I 40 out of Texas and into New Mexico.  The flat lands of the Panhandle give way to the rolling hilly scrub brush, and you know you are into NM.

We headed South when we got to Santa Rosa on Hwy 54.  This goes up in altitude to about 7,000 feet but it is fairly gradual.  We drove for what seemed forever, finally making Carrizozo.  The land is quite beautiful but yet desolate.  When you get higher in altitude, the trees become almost all evergreens, but still dwarf trees, after being in the Northwest all summer.

We wore completely out as we arrived in Tularosa, and pulled into the Boot Hill RV Park.  This is where readers Al and Kelly of the Bayfield Bunch stayed when they came thru here last week.  Since they thought favorably of the joint, we will give it the try too.

The lady in the check in process was very nice, and the fellow that led us to our site, would have set up camp for us had we let him.  With the motorhome, we seldom use much of the camp's facilities, so to us it is a gravel parking area with hookups.  We are right along the highway, so the road noise is heavy.

And of course there is the train across the way, but it is farther away than our Oregon KOA experience, where it went in one bedroom window and out the other.

Tonight may be flat mattress time again, but I am going to open the couch just in case before I go to bed.  Loyce's half of the mattress seems to be fine.  So I am the only one with the sagging behiiind.

Sight Seeing in Amarillo

We were jolted awake about 1:30 last night by a loud explosion, and a blow torch sound that sounded like a giant propane water heater next to our bedroom window.  The noise turned out to be four miles away.

“A massive fireball with flames shooting 700 feet into the air erupted shortly after 1 this morning in Bushland, forcing the evacuation of residents, destroying at least one home, and lighting up the night sky for miles.

Authorities said a gas line ruptured at an El Paso Natural Gas pump station in the Prairie West subdivision. Potter County Sheriff Brian Thomas said it’s too early to determine what triggered the blast, which rattled windows miles away in Amarillo.
Thomas said at least two people were injured.”   (Copied without permission from Amarillo.com)

Needless to say we were awake for another couple of hours before we got back to sleep.  The night sky was lit up with the gas line that was burning out of control.  Sirens were wailing down the interstate as fire trucks and police roared by.


As all this was going on, and we were watching out the couch window of the coach, I was disassembling the sleep number bed.  My side of the mattress was completely flat and the air pump was running continually.

The top of the mattress had to be unzipped, and the tube that connects the air supply needed rerouted into the  air bag.  I pushed it back together.  There are no clamps or crimping devices, so I would bet that it will happen again. That bed is a $1200 option that now has gone flat in the middle of the night.  Sigh!

We weren’t up very early in the morning after our sleep interruption.  And our heads hurt from the disturbed sleep. But this is our day to see a few things here in the Amarillo area.

Cadillac Ranch   (Wikipedia)

Up close, these cars have about a half inch of paint on them.  Painted over and over with spray cans.  The cans are tossed everywhere on the ground, even though there is a dumpster right at the gate.  This is private ground.  Folks don’t care.

I found it interesting that this sight has actually changed once, as the old sight was getting too close to civilization.  They were dug up and moved a couple of miles farther West.


From there we drove South to Canyon, and then to Palo Duro State Park.

Palo Duro Canyon from the visitors center.



Once down the 10 % grade rock wall, the floor was made up from soft red  sandy material.



You drive thru the Red River as you wind thru the park.  The silt erosion gathers at the road crossings, and they have to clear it.





The colors and beauty at the bottom of the canyon are spectacular.



There is only one way down into the canyon and you retrace your drive to get back out.

The Cavalry and the Indians had quite a skirmish at the bottom of the canyon in the latter part of the 1800’s and the soldiers captured and killed the Indian’s horses.  Captured 1,400 and killed 1,000.

The Indians went back to their reservations afterward as they had no transportation or supplies to wage war.  A different time, I’m sure.

Retired Rod

Amarillo

It was getting quite dark when I headed out to take a picture of our site here in the Oasis RV Resort here in Amarillo, Texas.  We are at what Al of the Bayfield Bunch would call a high ender's park, with the nice concrete pads to park on.  You wouldn't want to get your wheels dirty now would you.  The pad is perfectly level, and did not require the jacks, but I put them down anyway because it helps stabilize the rig.  That keeps the shaking down when we waddle around inside.

This place is quite new, and many of the RV Dreamers have stayed here.  They have recommended the place, so we had to come see what all the hub bub was about.

Not only do we have Full Hook Up's, but even the laundry is supposed to be free.  We haven't checked that out yet.  Another nice feature is they do not care if you wash your rig.  We may have to take advantage of that if we have the time.

This place could command a big price, but they charge $20 a night.  This is an introductory price, but has been going on for some time.

A view back to the front of the park toward the office.

We were up fairly early this morning, and headed out of the KOA park by about 10 AM.  This time I did look to make sure of the time.  We rolled along at  65 miles an hour, not pushing too hard.  We knew that there was no problem with sites as we had called for a reservation and found we didn't need one.

I stopped at a Flying J to get some diesel and propane, but we had a little problem, as their propane hose was not long enough to reach the passenger side of the coach.  The pump was on the driver's side, and the guy told me to go turn around and come into the pump backwards.

But before I could get turned around, two more RV's were in line for the diesel pump.  Backwards suddenly wasn't an option.  The fellow suggested that the pump was on the curb side in Amarillo.  Well then!  I drove on to Amarillo.

After stopping in the rest area to make some lunch, we arrived at the Flying J in Amarillo.  This time the RV drive was curbed and quite narrow, and steep.  I drug the trailer jack post heavily getting into the driveway.  That's when I noticed the vent cover on the top of the utility trailer was gone.  Darn!

I had to go into the office 3 times to get someone to come pump the LP.  Meanwhile the RV's lined up behind me to get to the pump.  They didn't understand why I was just sitting there next to the LP tank and not pulling ahead to the diesel pump.  They honked their horns in dissatisfaction. Finally the LP guy came and filled our tank.  I pulled ahead and topped off the diesel tank as well.  The folks behind me were really glad to see me go!

Flying J is becoming almost impossible use for a fill up in any timely manner.  I do much better if I get inline with the semi trucks, but there is no LP in those islands.

We have a 30 gallon tank for LP, and filling it 80 percent gives you 24 gallons usable.  We have never put any gas in since we got the RV new, using it all summer on the initial tank.  We added 10 gallons today, which will take us into the park in Mesa full.  Arizona does not allow the LP truck to come and fill you rig in the park.  So it is necessary to drive the whole RV to get propane.  Breaking camp that way is not a good thing.

We paid for two nights here, and were told we could have the third night for free.  These folks really want your introductory visit to be memorable.

Retired Rod