Road Trip To Albuquerque
As I wrote in yesterday’s blog, I wasn’t sure if we could get out of Show Low Campground because the weekend storm had made the roads so soft. But with very high winds predicted for today, we decided to give it a try.
Dee, the new campground manager, and I walked over the soft patches, and he suggested that if I kept well to the left side, where it was a bit firmer, he thought I could make it.
So after Miss Terry did the final proofing of the new issue of the Gypsy Journal and I made the necessary corrections, I fired the bus up and unplugged the electric cable, while Terry quickly secured things inside. Then I gave our PressurePro system a quick scan to be sure our tires were properly inflated, and we made ready to pull out.
As I approached the soft section of roadway, I did as Dee suggested and kept well to the left, made a running start at it and sailed right through. At one spot I felt the right rear wheels trying to bog down, but I maintained steady pressure on the throttle and got through just fine. After a quick stop at the dump station to empty our waste tank, I filled our fresh water tank and pulled out of the campground.
My daughter Tiffany had come over to see us off, and she rode in the passenger seat for the short distance I had to go to a place where Terry could pull the van up behind us to hook it up. I don’t know what I did, maybe it was the huge windshield right in front of her, or sitting so high off the ground, but when I swung into the parking area at the lake to hook up, the poor kid turned green and about lost her cookies.
Speaking of Tiffany, my little girl turns 27 today, and I really wish we could have been there to help her celebrate. Happy birthday, Tiffany. No father in the world could love a daughter as much as I do you, or be more proud than I am of you. You’re a wonderful young woman, and every minute I spend with you is a treasure I hold deep in my heart.
We were on the road at 1:30 p.m. and had a good run north to Holbrook, where we got on Interstate 40 and scooted east past the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, where brilliantly colored sandstone formations delight the eye.
Just before we crossed into New Mexico, a beautiful 1947 Cadillac cruised past us. I wondered if it was somebody exploring old Route 66 in a classic car, and I recalled the trips Terry and I had taken over the Mother Road in our vintage Corvette years ago.
We had that rarest of all phenomena for RVers, a tailwind, that hopefully helped our fuel mileage just a tiny bit, as we passed Gallup and Grants, and several Indian casinos stretched out along Interstate 40. We stopped at the Dancing Eagle Casino for fuel, and recalled a night we spend boondocking in their parking lot a couple of years ago.
We’re not much into gambling, but in our travels, we have spent the night in several Indian casino parking lots across the country. We appreciate the free boondocking opportunity, if they have a truck stop the fuel is usually cheaper, and we’ve found that their buffets are a good place to have dinner after a long day on the road.
We made it into Albuquerque about 6:30 and pulled onto the State Fairgrounds, where our pals Mac McCoy from Fire and Life Safety, and Al Hesselbart from the RV Hall of Fame Museum greeted us. As soon as we were parked and had the van unhooked, the four of us headed to the local Golden Corral for dinner. We’ll be helping Al and Mac out at their booths at The Rally for the next few days.
This is Affinity’s big annual soiree, and we’ve never attended one of their events. Affinity is to the RV world what Wal-Mart is to the retail world, less the benefit of free overnight parking. They seem to have their fingers in every pie in the industry, and we’re interested to see how the rally goes.
One final thing before I sign off. I got an e-mail from a lady whose husband is an RV technician in Nixa, Missouri, asking me if I thought RVers these days are keeping present RVs and maintaining them to conserve their money, or taking advantage of the current soft market to upgrade to a new (or newer) unit. I asked about this in a couple of my seminars at recent rallies, and the greatest majority, almost unanimously, said they are hanging onto what they have and investing in maintenance and upkeep. How about you? Post a comment below and let us know your thoughts on this.
Thought For The Day – Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
