Month: October 2020

When last we left off, we were basking in the warm sunlight at the Questa Lodge and RV Resort in Questa, NM. Things took quite a turn thereafter, as we will see …

Oct 25-26 (Sunday, Monday): We left the Questa park around 8:30, embarking on a six-plus hour drive to the Mountain Meadows RV Park near Alamogordo, NM. Our original destination was going to be an RV Park 50 miles south of Albuquerque, which would have only been a three-hour drive. However, the weather forecast was for an arctic front descending into New Mexico Sunday afternoon and evening, with heavy snow through much of the state. So, we decided to hightail it further south in hopes of avoiding the type of weather we left home to avoid in the first place. The drive was very interesting as we passed through a wide variety of terrain – some long, straight segments through desert plains filled with scrub brush and small trees until we reached Taos, then a steady climb into the foothills of the adjacent mountains, then down through the lovely Rio Grande River gorge to more flat, scrubby desert leading to Santa Fe and eventually to the Mountain Meadows Park.

Since we spent most of the day driving, we didn’t do much more on Sunday than settle into our spot and watch the local TV weather reports confirming cold temperatures, rain, and snow in the northern region we had just vacated. The park was nice, with views of distant mountains to the east and west, but in marked contrast to our previous stops on the sojourn, it was essentially full to its 20-site capacity. There was a very clean building with laundry, shower, and restroom facilities, including automatic sanitizer machines (a nice touch for the Year of the Pandemic). And even though the park was fully occupied, everyone mostly stayed in their RVs, so I didn’t encounter anyone else on my trips to the restroom and shower.

On Monday morning, the weather was still pretty nice – temperatures in the upper fifties, but quite windy. We drove out of the park in the RV, leaving our electrical cord and welcome mat behind to signal that we were coming back that afternoon, and drove about 30 miles to the former White Sands National Monument. We were surprised to find out that it was designated as the 62^nd National Park in December of 2019, thus making it the newest in the nation — so new that all but one of the signs we saw still had the National Monument designation. The National Park comprises about half of a 275 square-mile section of the Tularosa Basin consisting entirely of glistening white gypsum sand dunes formed from an ancient seabed. We first stopped at the Visitor Center to buy a postcard (for a certain set of close relatives) and a tee-shirt (for me), though we could not actually go into the gift shop due to Covid restrictions. We then drove into the park on Dunes Drive, gaining free entry with my National Parks Senior Pass (all you old farts out there really should get one – it’s the best deal you’ll ever get) and made our way to the Dune Life Nature Trail. I’ve never seen anything like it, rolling dunes as far as you can see in all directions, shaped by the wind into beautiful formations and providing an ecosystem with a variety of sparsely placed trees and shrubs and dozens of small birds, mammals, and insects.

After our fascinating White Sands visit, we stopped at a kitschy gift shop near the RV Park that featured a statue claiming to be the world’s largest pistachio, where we bought some pistachios grown in the adjacent orchard (delicious), some caramel cashews (OK), and some pistachio infused wine (awful).

When we got back to the RV Park, we were surprised to find an enormous RV beginning to set up in our site. The park manager rushed over in her golf cart to explain that she had forgotten we were still staying overnight in her hurry to find a spot for two travelers who had been battling heavy snow to the north in Tucumcari and desperately needed a place to stay. But the situation was soon rectified as another site had opened up and the big rig moved to that spot and we settled back in. We soon realized that, while our electric cord was still in place, the welcome mat was nowhere to be found. It turned out that it had blown away in the wind and caught on the property fence line, and the manager’s husband had collected it during daily rounds. By this time, it was clear that the cold weather would soon be upon us, so we didn’t hook up to the site water supply, using the RV’s fresh water tank instead, and we didn’t extend the “bump out” on the side of the RV. We hunkered down for the night as first rain and then snow began pelting down, wondering if we would be able to safely drive to our next destination in the morning.

Oct 27-29 (Tuesday – Thursday): We arose Tuesday morning to find ourselves in a winter wonderland. The skylight was totally covered, and I had the brilliant idea to open it and see how deep the snow might be. I could only open the skylight a little bit, and Pat just shook her head as I was doused by a snow shower, but my educated guess was that there was an inch or two on top. I went outside to find the ground covered – again, maybe an inch or two – light snow still falling, and a five-inch drift across the RV’s windshield. I brushed the snow off the windshield and mirrors, went to the restroom, and came back to the RV ready to take off. In deference to Pat, I agreed to wait an hour or so to see how things developed. It was clear to me that she wanted to stay another night, and I almost agreed to call the manager and ask if we could. But the snow stopped, and the ground cover began to melt, and it looked much like a normal day in Minnesota, so there was no stopping me. Off we went toward the Wolf RV Park near Deming, NM.

The drive started off well, with mostly dry roads and little wind as we retraced our route to White Sands, acknowledging the new “National Park” sign as we passed by, and kept going west on I70. We experienced only intermittent snow flurries, and the temperature hovered around 34 degrees as we headed toward Las Cruces. But then we realized we were gradually going up as the highway reached the foothills of the Organ Mountains. Up and up we went, as the temperature went down and down and the snow began to intensify. We overtook some semi-trucks laboring up the grade, and I pulled around them in the left lane rather than slowing way down. I could feel some bad vibes coming from the passenger seat and quickly glanced over to see Pat with eyes closed, gripping the armrest tightly. I chuckled inwardly at her timidity as an SUV roared past me and I pulled out to pass yet another sluggish truck. The road began to curve as I slowly passed the semi and then realized the road was now completely covered in white. All bravado evaporated as I glanced at the dashboard and saw the temperature had dropped to 26 degrees, then looked back up to see the SUV fishtailing onto the left shoulder ahead. So maybe traveling wasn’t the very best idea of the day, after all? There we were, essentially stuck in the left lane on a snow-covered road with a potential spinout a hundred yards up the road.

Luckily, the SUV recovered, we passed the truck and eased back into the right lane, and I hung on for another five minutes as the road wiggled through the highest pass in the mountains and began to descend, once again becoming dry and safe. The temperature began to rise again as we drove downhill into Las Cruces, where we decided to pull off at a gas station and have lunch in the RV. By the time we were ready to start off once more, the snow was pelting down hard and I had to brush off my mirror again, but it eased off and the freeway was clear all the way to Deming. We did encounter a major slowdown where some jackknifed trucks were being cleared away, presumably from earlier in the morning, but otherwise the rest of the trip was uneventful.

We drove about 10 miles from Deming along a series of ever-smaller roads, drifted over with snow in several places, and finally a gravel road leading to the entrance gate of the Wolf RV Park, an adults-only campground with 33 RV sites and the tagline “Welcome to simple tranquility.” It was tranquil, all right, located in the middle of the desert about a mile away from I10, with only a few isolated buildings nearby. The manager was very clear that, if we were arriving from one of the “high-risk” states (including Minnesota and every other one except Hawaii, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine), we would need to self-quarantine at our site for up to 14 days – no going to town for groceries, no going to the laundry room, no walking around the park – just lock ourselves away. Hmmmmm. To our great good fortune, we were arriving from Alamogordo, New Mexico! (Interesting how the previous New Mexico park managers never brought this up, eh?) An hour after we were settled into our site, it began to snow. After dinner, I unhooked the water supply so our hose wouldn’t freeze as the low temperature dropped to 24 degrees. As I stepped out of the RV on Wednesday morning, I wondered if our 2,000-mile journey so far had all been a dream and we were really back in Minnesota.

But then it began to warm up. By Thursday afternoon it was in the 60s. As we strolled around the park and on the gravel roads in the surrounding desert, basking in the sunshine, I realized that the last few days had been nothing but a reminder of why we left Minnesota, just a brief winterlude, if you will. Our plan now is to stay at the Wolf RV Park until after Election Day (when we will hopefully have a decisive Biden/Harris victory and a Senate flip to celebrate) before heading west into Arizona.

Here’s an updated map of the Sojourn thus far:

Still so far, so good. Stay tuned as the adventure continues …

OK, you can stop holding your collective breath now. On October 11, 2020, nearly two years after we departed on our first extended camping journey (Pat and Dave’s Excellent Adventure), I drove the RV away from its parking spot alongside the cabin in Grand Marais, MN, for another 6-month tour. Pat had left a few days earlier with the car, to collect trip stuff from the condo and get it ready for winter. Brian is once again staying at the cabin all winter, this time with his new dog, Pippin.

As some may remember, I documented the last winter trip in some detail through a series of twelve blog posts, each covering roughly a two-week period. That was great fun for me and even served a useful purpose by providing a record of the trip for posterity. Surprisingly, several readers told me they actually enjoyed the blog posts. Therefore, I’ll be doing the same thing again this time around: posting a series of articles with brief thumbnail sketches of where we’ve been and perhaps a few pithy observations about the joys and pitfalls of this nomadic existence, including the challenges presented by Covid-19. Here goes my first effort for 2020-21.

Oct 11-12 (Sunday, Monday): I took off at about 8:30 AM and drove to the Baker Park Reserve in Maple Plain, a suburb west of Minneapolis. After fighting the wind all the way, I settled into a nice campsite beneath a colorful maple tree for a two-night stay. I was gratified to find the campground only about 25% occupied, making it very easy to socially distance when not holed up in the RV. On Monday, I took the RV to the local Mercedes Sprinter dealer for 20,000-mile maintenance service ahead of the trip, to make sure the van was shipshape and ready to go. That evening, I decided for some reason to visit the web site of the Pine Lake State Park in Eldora, IA, where we had stayed both on the way south and when returning north during our Excellent Adventure. We had planned to go there again, in no small part due to the nice golf course next to the park. We hadn’t made a reservation and didn’t expect it to be busy, but I just thought I should check the status. Good thing I did, because the park is CLOSED for maintenance, so our trip almost got off to a not-so-great start. After a consultation by phone with Pat at the condo, I reserved a site at the Blue Mounds State Park in Luverne, MN, instead. We didn’t really want to go to Covid-challenged Iowa, anyway, nice golf course or not.

Oct 13-14 (Tuesday, Wednesday): I met Pat at her brother’s house in Minnetonka, MN at 10 AM, where we left the car in care of the in-laws for the duration of the trip. By the time we had loaded up all the stuff Pat brought along, I though the RV might burst at the seams. Somehow, we seem to have about twice as much as we did the last time, but we just piled all the excess on the bed and took off, vowing to reorganize once we got to the first campground. Again, I felt as though I was battling a ferocious wind all the way and felt exhausted when we arrived. Our campsite was very nice, located only a short walk from the very clean restroom and shower facilities. There were very few other campers at the park, bolstering our feeling of safety from the virus. On Wednesday, we took a hike to go visit the resident bison herd. Since they were hunkered down at the most remote spot possible, it ended up being a seven-mile trek (3.5 miles each way). Pat ended up with a blister from her new hiking boots, and my feet felt absolutely awful, but it was well worth it.

Oct 15-16 (Thursday, Friday): We motored off at about 10 AM and drove to the Platte River State Park near Louisville, NE. The drive was taxing, as the wind was again quite robust. We had tried to reserve a site on Wednesday, but were unable to do so because online reservations can only be made two or more days in advance. The Nebraska parks website indicated that walk-up sites might be available, so, feeling adventurous, we decided to give it a shot anyway. Along the way, we stopped at a HyVee near Omaha for groceries and were very pleased to find all of the patrons wearing masks and making an effort to distance in the store. But when we got to the Park, there were no sites available. Luckily, we did find a spot at the nearby Louisville State Recreation Area (one of only two sites available). Happy to have found a spot, we settled in to the better of the sites, though I was a bit disconcerted by the large number of campers in residence. However, we were able to avoid close contact with anyone else and enjoyed a pleasant walk along the nearby Platte River on Friday afternoon. I even met a friend in the woods along the way.

Oct 17-18 (Saturday, Sunday): We hit the road around 10 AM Saturday, this time having an easier drive without much wind as we made our way to the Webster State Park near Stockton, KS. Shortly before arrival at the Park, we stopped for fuel at Mac’s Kwik Stop in Phillipsburg, KS. After filling the RV, I went into the store to pay, wearing my mask, and had to wait while a maskless customer chatted with the masked cashier. The customer felt a need to ask why the cashier was wearing a mask, and my Spidey sense told me to stay far, far away until he left the store, already feeling a bit jittery about traveling through Trump territory. But, when we got to the Park, I was quite relieved to find that the site we had reserved was totally isolated from other human beings. Anxieties thus suitably calmed, this Finnish introvert was able to relax before our next foray onto the highways. On Sunday, we took a nice, 4-mile hike on a trail that wound along the reservoir adjacent to the Park and through the undulating terrain, featuring prairie grasses, small shrubs and trees, and multiple limestone (I think) bluffs and outcroppings.

Oct 19-21 (Monday-Wednesday): As we were leaving Wednesday morning, I decided to stop at a bait and tackle store within the park to ask if they could fill the RV propane tank. I went inside (wearing my mask, of course) where the maskless proprietress told me they only carried small propane tanks. I hightailed it back to the camper. As we drove along a series of generally straight and narrow roads through the flat prairie lands toward Colorado, I couldn’t help but reflect on the fact that 67% of the people I had close encounters with in Kansas weren’t wearing masks, seemingly validating the stereotype about red state residents. When we eventually crossed the state line, we were greeted by a large sign stating that masks are required in all public places in Colorado, which again bolstered my confidence in the safety of our sojourn. We stopped in the town of Lamar, CO, for the propane fill we couldn’t get earlier, plus diesel fuel, groceries, and some comfort beverages made from grapes and barley. Of the roughly one hundred people we encountered there, 98% were wearing masks, significantly better than in Kansas. But I also realized that we had travelled through the entire state of Kansas, including two nights’ lodging, and only had close encounters with three people! Once again in a good state of mind about what we are doing, we motored off to the John Martin Reservoir State Park.

The John Martin Reservoir was created by damming up the Arkansas River back in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The park was very nice, and our site was at least a sand wedge shot away from any other campers. We spent three relaxing days there, walking along a trail around the small lake (Lake Hasty) downstream of the huge dam, observing wildlife (a flock of turkeys roaming the park, some killdeer along the shore, a host of ducklike birds swimming in the lake, and several flocks of sandhill cranes flying south), listening to the sweet serenade of coyotes or wolves at night, and even doing laundry in the nice park facilities. And we did all of this without coming within 50 yards of another human being, except for the masked park ranger when we checked in on Wednesday.

Oct 22-25 (Thursday-Saturday): At 10 AM Thursday, we headed off toward New Mexico. For the first part of the trip, the drive was easy and wind-free as we drove through the high plains along very straight roads. We did encounter some wind as our route wound along a pass through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, reaching an elevation close to 9,000 ft, but the scenery was beautiful and there were very few white-knuckle moments. Our destination, the Questa Lodge and RV Park, proved to be a very pleasant, six-acre property with 40 RV sites (as well as several cabins), nestled at 7461 ft. elevation among the surrounding hills and mountains. The campground was only about half full, so we again had plenty of separation from the other campers, virtually all of whom kept to themselves at their own sites. We spent some time walking around, enjoying the small river and duck pond, and even broke out our bikes for the first time to ride to a nearby convenience store for supplies. The campground also had very good Wi-Fi service, affording an opportunity to make this inaugural post as well as to watch some TV with our streaming service.

All in all, we’re off to a good start, my only regret being no opportunity for golf so far (but I’m sure I’ll remedy that before too long). Stay tuned as the adventure continues …

Here’s a map of our progress so far: