Pumping up the Las Cruces economy

Saturday February 18^th

Pretty chilly again (36) but the sun was out and the world looked a whole lot better than yesterday. I decided to go over to the main building for a long hot shower and it sure felt good. Then had a little breakfast and coffee and headed over to WalMart for some groceries and a few other necessities. When I got back Cathey said that the gas bottle must have gone dry because there was no hot water. I switched the bottles but then when I came in to purge the gas line, I saw that the water heater switch was turned off, so I turned it on and the heater started up right away. So now I don’t know if that gas bottle is empty or not.

Cathey didn’t care to go anywhere yet, so I headed over to Tractor Supply Co. and found a few things that I couldn’t live without. Then drove over to Mesilla Valley Mall and spent some time at the Barnes and Noble. I had to invest in a N.M. map book again since we left the one we bought a couple of years ago, at home.

When I returned Cathey was ready for a late lunch or early dinner (about 4:30) so we spun up the GPS and it took us to Red Lobster. (Only in America can you trust seafood in the middle of the desert). We had a fine dinner and retired to our collapsible Casa.

Margaritaville of New Mexico

Friday February 17th
Well, for a place that is supposed to have 355 days of sunshine, we just happened to hit upon a n overcast day with some intermittent rain. It was pretty chilly when we got up; if we could have seen the Organ Mountains to the north, we would have seen new snow on them. First item of business was to get the rent paid so I went over to the office and got that taken care of and then sat in the lounge with my notebook and took care of some emails. The wi-fi works a little better over there but still not very fast.
I asked the folks at the office where we could find an Orthopedic clinic and they sent me to one about six blocks away although I had to drive by it three times before I found it. Once there I explained to the lady at the appointment desk that we wanted a cast removed, we had a DVD with x-ray pictures and once I had their FAX number I could have additional records faxed to them from Sheboygan. They would not set up an appointment until they had the records. Then I called the Sheboygan Clinic and asked them to fax the records, and that’s all that got done today towards getting Cathey’s cast removed.
Went to a Mexican restaurant in Mesilla for a late lunch. The food was great but we both had gas problems later. About 4pm we went over to the main building to do laundry and once we got the clothes loaded I went out to the lobby area with the laptop again. About 4:30 they set up a cart with margaritas and a few minutes later people started filtering in for the free booze. I had to get up out of my chair for the first one but after that they kept coming around with refills. After the third one, I decided I had better tend to the laundry and escaped. Cathey didn’t follow my lead so she had to walk home by herself. But she did meet some nice people from Puyallup, WA.
Later went out for pizza about a block away at a place called the Luna Rossa Winery and Pizzaria. The wine was over priced but pizza was good.

Miles and Miles and Miles of Texas

Thursday February 16^th

We did a few shortcuts last night in setting up the trailer so once we had a quick breakfast we were able to get on the road by 8:45. First gas stop was Colorado City near Big Spring, TX. I fueled up at a Stripes station where there was limited room to get out of the pump area and I ended up hitting the trailer rear bumper on a concrete bollard. It didn’t seem to hurt the bollard, but I have some reconstructive surgery to do on the bumper. The bumper is a hollow square metal tube where the sewer hose is stored during transit. So I might have a problem getting to the sewer hose but I can still get at it from the other end.

We saw miles and miles and miles of Texas and probably a million oil wells. It looks like the economy is doing quite well in the “oil patch;” we saw a lot of signs posted for help wanted. We stopped in Odessa and I used the bathroom and got a sandwich but there were so many people coming and going, that I didn’t even try to get gas.

We stayed focused on getting miles put behind us and with the help of gaining an hour by getting to Mountain Time Zone, we made it to Las Cruces, N.M by about 6:30pm. We had to setup in the dark and then were going to go out for supper but neither of us had enough pep to go anywhere.

Wednesday February 15^th

I made oatmeal for breakfast for the first time in the trailer; I thought it turned out OK, but I did see my other half putting some salt in it. It took us longer than I thought it would to get packed up and get everything stowed; of course this is the first time. We will get the time whittled down after we do it a few times.

We finally got rolling about 1045 and got all the way to the front gate of the RV park where they have a RV washing facility. I spent over two hours brushing and washing everything on the trailer including the roof. It looked pretty nice when I got done. All the side gutters get clogged up setting under the maple tree all summer, so there was a lot of gunk to wash out. I even unrolled the awning and cleaned it.

It was after 1pm when we pulled out of there, then stopped for gas and a few miles later stopped for lunch. So it was probably after 2pm before we actually put some serious miles on. We got around Fort Worth without event; once we got off of I-35W the traffic wasn’t too bad. We only made it as far as Abilene tonight and stopped about 6:30 at “The Abilene RV Park.” It’s right off of I-20 but the way the traffic sounds it’s not far enough off.

Tuesday February 14^th

The electric heater seems to be a great success; we left it on the low setting overnight and the furnace ran very little if at all. I got up at 5:15 and got on the internet long enough to get the blog posted and some other chores done and then went back to bed. Internet service at this RV park is not the best. The logon page was confusing so we couldn’t get on the first night. On Monday morning I went to the office and they gave me a sheet with instructions but mostly it’s too busy and you can’t get on in the evenings (but at 5am it’s available!).

We had set up with Reeves that we would take our Valentines out for dinner tonight. So Cathey had to get to a place to get her hair set for her big date! We found a walk-in place at the next exit toward Lewisville; I don’t think Cathey got what she wanted but her hair does have some curl in it!

Today was the day the cast was supposed to come off of Cathey’s arm so we called a local orthopedic clinic. The appointment desk was supposed to call us back but never did. By the time we were about to call there again we realized that we would either have to pursue the cast removal or laundry. Laundry won out, so the cast will remain on for a few more days. Nice laundry facility at this park and very clean as well.

When the laundry was done I went and washed the Suburban at the on-site car wash. Then I showered and got ready for my date. We went to a place called Texas Land & Cattle Company. The food was great, although Dan and Tricia said they thought the franchise in Austin was better.

Lewisville, TX

Monday February 13^th

Slept in this morning. Revived my love/hate relationship with the trailer shower; it works ok but you must shut off the water intermittently to preserve the hot water, otherwise you will finish with cold water.

We had planned to go to lunch with Dan and Tricia to a BBQ place so I just had an Orange for breakfast. They picked us up around noon and went toward Dallas about 6 or 8 miles to one of their favorite BBQ restaurants (Spring Creek BBQ). Food was great we all had the beef brisket and sides. Then we went over to Dan and Tricia’s trailer and met Sophie their little miniature Yorkshire Terrier. Their Fifth wheel trailer has slide outs on both sides of the rear part of the trailer so they have a very spacious living/dining area and a nice built in desk.

Made a brief foray out this afternoon to Super Target and bought a new ceramic electric heater to cut down on the LP gas usage. With the outdoor temperature in the 40’s the furnace seldom stops for more than a few minutes.

Texas, Finally

Sunday February 12^th

Skipped breakfast and got on the road by about 9:15. We figured we would get to Oklahoma City and find a breakfast place there. It ended up that we saw a sign for a Cracker Barrel Restaurant and went there. It was in Norman which is S of Oklahoma City. Great breakfast, but the stop took almost two hours because we had to wait to be seated and then waited to be served because they were missing cooks today. Talked to Dan while we were at the Cracker Barrel; he said we had about 150 miles to go to get to the Lewisville, TX area where they live. We stopped at the Texas welcome center at the OK/TX line and told them we wanted to stay near our friends in Lewisville but not any closer to Dallas than we had to get. They recommended the ‘Destiny Dallas’ RV park just off I-35 at exit 459. Sounded good to me so I called Dan and told him where we would be landing. Before we got set up Dan and Tricia showed up and Dan helped me finish setting up and get the water hooked up. We visited for a while and then went out to Chuy’s Mexican Restaurant. Food was great; it’s a new favorite for me.

We paid for three nights here. So we won’t be leaving until Wednesday. We will be visiting with Dan and Tricia and doing some shopping and doing laundry. There is big trailer/motor home washing facility near the entrance to this park so before we leave, I will be flushing the salt and road dirt off of the trailer and truck.