Winter Home at Last - Picacho Peak, Arizona

We made it back to Picacho, Arizona this past Wednesday and have literally killed ourselves with cleaning out the RV, cleaning the winter home (our park model), grocery shopping, laundry - had 14 loads to do!!!, and getting reacquainted with our neighbors again.  Life is good.

First night home, sunset over Picacho Peak

Sunset over the Catalina Mountains of Tucson

Looking forward to the poppies blooming this next spring at Picacho

We were smarter this year than any of being on the road in the summer time with an RV - we staged the unpacking before we got back and therefore only had to move bundles of things from the RV/car into the house.  But, then you have to unpack the things you bring in - so smarter in the sense we got the RV done quicker than ever before.  Glad it's over.

Moonrise over our place in Picacho

We certainly enjoyed our summer on the road.  We have learned that we do not need to go back to Wyoming and visit that state again.  Been there, done it.  And the same with most of Montana.  That is one big state!  We are already talking about where we will head out to next summer.  Which will be Idaho, northern part of Washington and then move upwards into British Columbia and move across Canada until we get to western Montana.  We just hope that wildfires will not drive us away like it did this year.

When I look back to our trip - we traveled 3,482 miles, visited northern Arizona, eastern Utah, just about every city/town in Wyoming, visited most cities/town east of the Rocky Mountains in Montana, came down along the eastern slope of the Rockies and saw the eastern part of Colorado.  Don't ever have to go back through Dalhart, Texas EVER again, and saw parts of New Mexico we have always wanted to visit.  Our interests this summer was to pursue the Mountain Men rendezvous places which we saw a number of, to understand the Oregon and California Emigrant Trails which was truly amazing, saw 1800's Army forts - some were astounding in the impact to settling of the American West, learned so much more about Kit Carson and who he was.  Got to see some really spectacular places like the Beartooth Highway in Montana, Capitol Reef National Park in Utah, taking a boat ride at the Gates of the Mountains in Helena, Montana, seeing Bent's Old Fort in Colorado and visiting a wonderful little town of LaJunta Colorado, I fell in love with Wapiti Valley in far western Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park,  and towards the end of the trip - learned about the Santa Fe Trail and the impact of the Spanish and Mexicans on the American settlements while we were in New Mexico.  Good times.

Miss the Sinks Hole Canyon of the Wind River Mountains - Wyoming

Just breathtaking - Wind River Mountains

This winter we do not have any special plans.  Want to do some small remodeling within the home, and of course get to know our 3 grand girls again - they are growing so fast.

This will be the last post for awhile.  If we do something/go somewhere - will alert you that there is a post for you to see.  Thanks again for coming along on our journey.

Moonrise with Saguaro cactus - love winter in Arizona!

Moved Closer to Picacho, Arizona

We moved this morning from Deming, New Mexico to Benson, Arizona.  We have stayed in this town a number of times, like the area, and decided to visit a different RV park this time - we are at Cochise Terrace RV Park.  Sitting up above the town, very quiet, and this is a 55+ park with park models and set up similar to what we stay at in Picacho.  We are here for 2 nights, will get back to our winter home this Wednesday.

We want to clean the RV really well, sanitize the fresh water tank and clean out the black and gray water tanks before we get back.  We will use tomorrow to go through all the stuff we accumulated this summer and pack up as much as we can, will make our unloading at 'home' much more easier to have a lot of the things staged.

We left Deming this morning and it looked like a mass exodus from our campground.  Everyone we talked to were heading to Yuma or Mesa Arizona for the winter and they were holding still like us to make sure the weather was good.  After Hurricane Patricia came through Mexico, we got high winds from it afterward.  Just as well we sat still.

Bye bye Escapee campground and Deming

Weird to see - mountains WAY off in the distance 

You can always spot the FAA's Lorans

Mountains right before Benson - I think they are 'messy' looking 

We always pass the ghost town of Stein

The ride is quite boring traveling along Interstate 10.  Have driven along this road a number of times now and it is boring.  Got excited as we crossed into Arizona, began to feel like we were almost home.

Just like snow storms, have to learn how to drive in dust storms
all over again

To experience a dust storm is life altering.  Very scary!!

I will update the blog one more time after we get back, summarizing the summer's travels.  Sad to see our summer adventure end but glad we are getting off the road.

Visit to Poncho Villa State Park, Columbus, New Mexico

We are just 30 miles from the border of Mexico, due south of us is Poncho Villa State Park where the State of New Mexico has set aside 60 acres as a commemoration of Villa's raid and as a gesture of goodwill between the US and Mexico.  Before dawn on March 9, 1916, Poncho Villa's troops raided the small town of Columbus, looting, setting fire to many buildings, terrorizing the town.  In answer to the raid, General Pershing and 10,000 troops descended on the town and with orders from President Wilson, to pursue and capture Villa.  Called the Punitive Expedition, Pershing spent 11 months in Mexico searching for him and his band, never capturing him.  By February 1917, orders came in to cease and the US troops returned to Columbus, New Mexico and retreated - just in time for the outbreak of World War 1 where Pershing and his troops were sent over seas.

Still disputed as to why Villa attacked

Villa in middle, Pershing on Right 1914

What is significant in this expedition is new airplanes were used as well as four-wheel drive vehicles for the first time.  And, Pershing was so taken with the mechanized vehicles that he ordered troops to quit using horses and mules, use only as command cars.  An armored truck called the Jeffery Quad was used by this army although it did not see any service during the Mexican campaign but did see service during World War 1.

The Dodge car used

The Jenny - very clumsy

Armored motor truck

Trucks

Training for Pershing and World War 1

The museum was quite impressive and supposedly there were 4 buildings left standing outside within the park, we only saw the headquarters building and also lift area where mechanical repairs were done to the vehicles.  Lots of history here, but for the small town, very depressing.  We did not see a grocery store, only one gas station, saw a post office, one Catina, the school, but wondered what people do for a living?

We leave Deming tomorrow morning and head towards Benson, Arizona.  We want to take the next 2 days to clean out and sterilize the water tanks and holding tanks.  Start sorting through our things and getting them ready to take off the RV once we get back to Picacho.  Sad our trip is over, but glad we are getting back.  It is getting a tidge cold at night but the days are very pleasant - 70.  Will post one more blog when we get back, summarizing this summer's doings.

Driving Loop North of Deming

We got in Monday afternoon here at Deming, New Mexico and for the next 3 days we have had thunderstorms and heavy rain.  The campground has flooded then dried out, then flooded again.  Tremendous lightning displays.  We just sat still inside, reading, playing on the computer, just being bored.  And listening to our skylight in the bathroom leak, drip, drip, drip.  Dave is on top of the RV right now caulking around the screws that hold it in place.  He said that the skylight is cracked where they tightened it down, will have to replace it.

Yesterday afternoon the skies cleared somewhat so we ventured north out of Deming to Silver City. Drove around a bit, then detoured to go to Fort Bayard, an Army fort built in 1866.  Very big, lots of buildings still standing.  Another fort, but this one is very different.  Served the southwest region from 1866 to 1899 when the Army did not need to protect the citizens any more since Geronimo surrendered and the Indians had been forced onto reservations, also the railroad had been built and travel was much faster and safer.  The fort became the Army's first tuberculosis sanatorium.  It also served as a medical rehabilitation hospital for WW1 and WW2.  German POWs were housed there.  A state of the art health facility was built just across from the sanatorium and the Fort was finally abandoned in 1965.  I really felt the ghosts here.  Very eerie.  Construction and maintenance was going on, not sure if they are just shoring up the buildings or what.  Much sadness.

I felt eyes watching me, haunted

Windows open, wondered if anyone was inside?

Very creepy

New facility opposite the old Fort Bayard

Silver City is known for their copper and silver mines, the largest called Chino Mine but originally called the Santa Rita Mine, we stopped and gawked at how huge it was.  An open pit mine for copper, was awesome to see but a bit unnerving to how the landscape is being torn apart.

Chino Mine - very, very big copper mine!

Continued our drive and went east bound over the Black Range of the Rocky Mountains.  Stopped in little towns, read some of the historical markers, then continued on through the mountains.  Absolutely beautiful scenery.  Saw campers tucked away in the the piñon and juniper forest.  Saw lots of ponderosa pines.  Jagged rocks.  Hiking trails that we did not do, the rain/snow was threatening.  Yep, saw snow from the last couple of days - we were over 9000 feet.  Crossed over the Emory Pass and dropped down into Hatch Valley.

Steep, sharp turns

They were not kidding!  10 mpg

Dad looking left to right, Mom telling kids to pay attention, teaching the kids
how to cross a road without getting hit

Stopped in Hatch to see the town a bit more closely, having blown on through this past Monday.  Went into Sparkey's for lunch and had their famous chili hamburger while Dave had chicken breast smothered in their famous chili sauce.  Delicious but we paid for it later that night!  Did a quick stop at one of the places that you can buy chili this and chili that and talked with the owner, they were frantically putting orders together to go out that day for Albuquerque, Socorro, and Colorado.  Good for them.

Anything chili you need, you can find it

If you look closely, see peppers peeking through

Sparkey's - great food!

Found out that Deming is the world's largest producer of green chili pepper products (sauces, powders, etc.) and the country's largest for jalapeño peppers.  We will be making a visit to BorderProducts in the next couple of days to see if they have an outlet store.  The town of Hatch grows the peppers and Deming processes them.  Semi tractor trails loaded with chilis, see them peaking out of the crates, into and out of town all day/night.  Now it makes sense!

Jogged Down to Deming, New Mexico

Really bad storm came in during the night, had warnings out for lightning strikes - a watch to get your livestock to safety.  Wow, the sky lighting up at times!!  Thank goodness the storm was done by 5am, still had the warning out till 8am but we felt we were okay in traveling.  No problems hooking up, got on the road by 9:15am which is average for us.  We only had to travel 155 miles but the time traveling went fast.

This truck whizzed by us, had a helicopter on a trailer behind him

Traveled down Interstate 25 south, past the town of Truth or Consequences. Originally named Hot Springs, the city changed its name to Truth or Consequences, the title of a popular NBC Radio program. In 1950, Ralph Edwards, the host of the radio quiz show Truth or Consequences, announced that he would air the program from the first town that renamed itself after the show; Hot Springs won the honor.   Passed two reservoirs - Elephant Butte and Caballo - looked like lots of water in them.

Passed the marker for the El Camino Real

Amazing deep canyons

So steep  they have wind warnings for gusts thru them

Loran markers out in the middle of nowhere

Heading towards Truth or Consequences, Elephant Butte in background

Elephant Butte Reservoir

Another steep canyon

Crossed the Rio Grande

We crossed over the Rio Grande a few times, then said goodbye to it (and the El Camino Real) in Hatch.  The town of Hatch is known for chili peppers and boy, everyone was selling them, drying them in all kinds of places, cute little town.  It was in Hatch we left I25 and took the cutoff to Deming by following NM26 south and west.  Eliminated 48 miles off the trip.  Very large cow farms, and then  a big solar (wind) farm.  Then wide open nothingness with huge mountains looming around.

Caballo Reservoir

Old Bob's Big Boy - now Sparkey's in town of Hatch

Chilis drying on roof, and for sale hanging

Bins of chilis,  drying on ground and roof

Chilis everywhere!

Well, well.  Gassing up in Hatch

Not much of the Rio Grande left

Got here to the Dream Catcher RV Park in Deming.  This is an Escapee owned park, very inexpensive for members which we are, and pretty empty of RVers which surprised us.  Met a neighbor RVer and they have a permanent site and come to the park for a month every February and November, use this park as a resting area and then they either head back to Ohio near Cincinnati for the summer or stay here from Ohio in late fall on their way to Quartzite, Arizona for the winter.  Grace and Buddy liked them right away, they have 8 !!! cats of which 5 are usually on leashes tied up outside.  Or they are walking a couple of them.

Feel like we are back in AZ - border patrol stations

Police/Border Patrol with binocs - looking up hill we just passed. 

Big wind farms

Will stay a bit, bad weather predicted for next couple of days.  We are near the Mexican border but will not venture there.  And about 260 miles yet to Picacho, Arizona and our winter home.  Had a great experience yesterday at Peppers Grocery Store in town.  Maybe there were 12 Caucasians in the store, the rest were either New Mexico residents or from Mexico.  Very similar to our experience in McAllen, Texas - the store clerk would look at you and know to speak English or Spanish.