Meandering the Country

Carlsbad, NM March 20-25, 2022 Aliens are even at the Carlsbad KOA! I’ve always heard March winds bring April showers which, in turn, bring May flowers. Well, the winds that blow in these deserts surely must bring some mighty good flowers!  Along the roads there are signs alerting you to zero visibility, to pull over, have your lights off, and keep your foot off the brake when the dust storms start blowing!  Well, the afternoon of our arrival, the winds started blowing!  We were so thankful we had gotten an earlier-than-normal start and were off the road before we encountered the fierce winds!   The wind storm continued into our first full day in Carlsbad, so we stayed hunkered in the RV and got some “real life” chores accomplished.  To keep the camper lighter in weight, they use lighter weight materials in construction.  This includes the base of a storage compartment we use as our “library”.  I’m certain the base would have easily supported a bl...

March 13 - 20, 2022 New Mexico is the “Land of Enchantment” and the Las Cruces area did not disappoint us!  Our first day in Las Cruces took us to the visitor center where we were given tons of leads to area attractions, local restaurants and nearby parks.  Conveniently located a few blocks from the visitor center is the Mesquite Street Historic District.  Equipped with a walking map from the visitor center, we spent a bit of time strolling the history-filled, original neighborhood of Las Cruces.  We walked past the home of Santa Rosa Rico who was a lone survivor of a wagon train massacre!  In addition to the many other homes (one of which Billy the Kid hid out in for a while), we found “The Long Adobe” that served as the town’s bordello.  Our last stop was at Klein Park.  This is the spot where in 1848, after the town had been plotted out (using a crude rawhide rope), people gathered under a cottonwood tree and drew lots from a hat to determine which ...

February 27 - March 13 During our two weeks in Tucson, AZ, we called Tucson/Lazydays KOA Resort “home”.  This definitely took the blue-ribbon prize for a great resort!  They had us hooked with the fresh donuts and coffee on Fat Tuesday, but for good measure, they threw in Wednesday morning socials with pastries, bagels, coffee and mimosas, group bike rides on the “Loop” Thursday mornings, live music at the restaurant located in the campground (BBQ Rush), Sunday morning blueberry pancakes and sausage breakfast… Yes, Dick and I were putty in their hands!  The Chuck Huckelberry Loop is 137 miles of trail encircling Tucson!  In case the Sonoran Desert and surrounding mountains weren’t enough beauty, they have scattered more than four dozen sculptures, tileworks, and art along the trail.  We didn’t come close to making it around the entire loop, but we did enjoy both biking and strolling on this wonderful resource!  On our first weekend at the park, we were ente...