So, you're thinking: Did Joan dump your ass and you went middle age crazy and bought a sports car?
Really, that's what you were thinking? Odds are pretty good I'm not going to live to be 134 years old, so middle age is way back in the rear view mirror. I've had sports cars - I like my Vespa. And, no, Joan didn't dump my ass. I'm a freakin' delight to be around.
We kinda slept in this morning; made easier by the fact that we were right on the border between Central and Mountain Time Zones. Almost like "falling back" again. We survived the night at the campground, cleaned up, had breakfast, and hit the road. It got down to 33º (the temperature when we got up); around 3,700' elevation. The morning light as we drove west...
The next RV "challenge" is driving through El Paso. It is about 38 miles of lane-changing crazy-ass drivers. I talk about our part of Texas having bad drivers, but this is non-stop lane swapping - it feels like a game of Frogger on acid. As we got close, you could see the smog...
Most of that is coming from Juarez, across the river from El Paso. El Paso has a population of around 800,000; Juarez is 1.3 million. Mexico doesn't have the EPA standards like the US, so the light wind today didn't do any favors for El Paso.
There has been on-going road construction for the past decade, and the eastern end of El Paso has benefited from new traffic flow...
I was able to do 60mph through most of the city. We both marveled at the lane changing happening all around us. It seems that the new sport is driving in the fast lane (4 lane to the left), then at the last possible moment: crossing 4 lanes of traffic to make an exit. We saw it multiple times.
Our standard stop once past El Paso is the Flying J at Exit 0. That exit has built up a lot, and there are many fueling options, but Flying J has RV lanes that are handy for us. Today, though, both RV lanes were occupied (one with a guy buying propane, the other looked like someone parked a stock trailer there)... but the regular fuel area (for cars and pickups) was nearly empty. We pulled into an end pump and fueled up with no wait. Since we knew we weren't going as far today, Joan suggested we go into the Denny's connected with Flying J and have a real sit-down lunch. Nice break.
Back to the rig and onto I-10 going west...
Welcome to New Mexico. It is an impressive sign spanning the Interstate. In the past, we have stayed in Deming, NM, but it is early and we'd like to get further. Joan checked for campgrounds at the western end of New Mexico or western Arizona, and found us a Passport America affiliated park in Bowie, AZ. We called and got a reservation for tonight.
This is what I think of when driving across southern New Mexico. Last year, we were caught in a white-out situation with a dust storm that was downright creepy.
But, today it was blue skies and very little wind. Climbing out of Las Cruces, you get to high desert that is around 4,300 elevation that runs across the state...
It never got above 60º, with the humidity at 30% - we could both feel the effects of the dry desert air. It will take a while for our sinuses to get used to this. Yes, we are drinking plenty of water.
We stopped at a truck stop in Lordsburg - didn't need fuel, but it is time for that "separation" in the title. Last year, we got stopped twice in Arizona due to our double towing. Even though I had checked it with the AZ DOT, apparently the AZ Highway Patrol wasn't in on that memo. No, I didn't get a ticket, but we decided to break up our circus train and not have the hassle of getting stopped for no reason this time around.
It takes a few minutes to: block the trailer tires, disconnect the car from coach, pull the coach forward, unhook the trailer from the car, move the car out from between, back the coach to the trailer and hook it up (after taking the tow bar off the back of the coach), check lights... and we're off again, driving separate.
We use our phones and Airpods to stay in contact. Decent cell coverage along this route, so this works for us. I can no longer get the "All CR-V channel" on my dash infotainment center - it is now "there's a trailer right behind us" channel. This is my view of the CR-V...
The terrain gets more mountainous in this stretch...
Rufus took the co-pilot seat and curled up for a nap...
"We're gonna miss Momma, aren't we?" he said; "This seat is comfortable, though. Let me know if you need a break and want me to drive." He's helpful like that.
Making it a 3-state day...
30 miles later, we pulled into the RV park, co-located with a Fresh Jerky store. The lady at the counter was friendly and helpful; she had a site held for us that comfortably holds the coach, trailer, and CR-V...
It is level. There is a train track that you can see from the site, but I am told they don't blow their whistle at night. Joan put the awning out - a sure sign that there is no wind. Not having a headwind helps with the fuel mileage... and without the car between the motorhome and the trailer (which acts as a drag-chute with that gap in height), it feels like I am driving a sports car. Well, a sporty coach.
This is pretty much out in the boonies, and the only TV station we can pull in on our powered antenna is Mexican. We may have to listen to music and have conversation tonight. I will take this over last night's "campground" any day. ;-)
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