Big Adventure 1 - Week 2
Boondocking is a different life. Since we are self-contained, we only have limited amounts of water, electricity and propane. If we run out of any, it sucks. So we ration everything that we do. Water is probably the biggest thing. Showers use up the most water, so we don’t get to take too many showers. We can’t wait to get to Erin’s house for Christmas. We’re going to shower twice a day!
Tuesday, Dec. 4
Texas is a big state. We have already been in Texas for 3 days and we are only halfway across it. The long, boring part is still ahead of us.
We stopped in Kerrville to go to a most amazing grocery store – HEB. It caters to the Hispanic taste. Many prepared foods at very reasonable prices. It was hard not to try one of everything. We found a very nice city park close by to have lunch and walk the dogs. The dogs travel so much better when they are tired.
We were going to have to stay in RV parks for the next two nights. The only thing good about RV parks is that you have electricity to make coffee, water to refill and a place to dump your tanks. We stayed in Sonora and got out the next morning as soon as we could.
Wednesday, Dec 5
200 miles later, we arrived by 2:00 in Van Horn, Texas. We broke the “2” rule again that day and didn’t spend 2 days.
Thursday, Dec. 6
We finally made it out of Texas! When we arrived in Las Cruces, NM, we went to another city park to walk the dogs. I was able to get my bike off the Ham and go for a bike ride – it was great.
We dined in the parking lot of a small, family taco restaurant in Las Cruces for supper. Local food is so much better. The one thing we really like about RVing is that we can stop most anywhere we want to eat and relax.
The Walmart in Las Cruces is rated five stars by RV Parky, so it was a no-brainer where to stay that night. It was starting to rain throughout the whole southwest that day, for the first time in a month. The incredible downpours crashing on the roof all night made it difficult to sleep.
Friday, Dec. 7
We woke to a wet and much cooler day. Carol and I walked to a McDonald’s for coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Egg and sausage McMuffins – hold the sausage.
It was going to rain more that day, so we took the dogs back to the same park for walks in the morning. We had a short drive to Deming, NM to stay at St. Clair Winery. Before we went to the winery, we stopped at the local Walmart for supplies. Carol found a coffee in a tea bag to try out. I sure hope the ladies like it.
Apple and brie paninis from the winery were our snacks for the late afternoon. In the evening, Carol and I walked over to the winery for a glass of wine and some local music. We had another crazy, rainy night.
Saturday, Dec. 8
Carol boiled water on the stove and soaked her new coffee bags. It was a hit! I don’t have to be coffee-boy anymore.
Before we departed, I approached another boondocker in the parking lot. Incredibly, he worked for Babcock & Wilcox in Barberton, Ohio! (That’s 3 miles away from our house in Norton for you out-of-town readers.)
We left the clouds in Deming and arrived at sunshine in Tucson, AZ. Tucson is beautiful! We went to the best city park ever. Acres of grass, a large pond with ducks and a kids train circling around, warm temperatures, a birthday party in every pavilion and a beautiful rose garden. We walked and sat by the pond in the sun. It was a good afternoon.
For supper we did curbside pickup at another Mexican restaurant, then went to buy gas at a Sam’s Club. While talking to the attendant, he told me we should spend the night in Sam’s parking lot. It was well lit and the price was right, so we did. As I was enjoying an after-dinner piece of dark chocolate, I broke a tooth. On a Sunday evening, there’s not much you can do about it. While Googling that night, I discovered that there is a do-it yourself, temporary tooth-filling product sold at Walgreens.
Sunday, Dec. 9
Off to Walgreens. Today, we headed to a Pima County campground just outside of Tucson – in the Saguaro Mountains. To get here was worth all of the driving. Saguaro cacti cover beautiful mountains, sunshine, warm temperatures, a great place to walk the dogs and quiet. It was perfect! We might spend a full week here.
In the afternoon, we took the driving tour through the west side of the Saguaro National Park. 
When we turned onto the dirt road of the loop, I questioned whether our 31 foot, 14000 pound RV should be on it. As the turns got sharper and the hills got steeper, I was wishing that the Ham had 4-wheel drive. One big bump brought pans, dishes and food flying all over the Ham. Lois wanted to pick things up, but my philosophy is that when things are on the floor, they can’t fall any further. The dogs liked my philosophy. The loop was worth the drive, but I was happy to be back on the pavement again.
The tooth-filling product worked well, except for a sharp piece of an old filling that was cutting into my tongue. Luckily, I had a small file in my toolbox. I can’t wait to bang my head or break a bone, so I can try brain or orthopedic surgery. After all, I have a full toolbox.
We get to shower tonight! See you next week.