Wind!

We've been spending a bit more time at home than we like. Paul's been down with a cold, but he's feeling much better. Our big hinderance to enjoying all Santa Fe has to offer is the wind. Actually, we've been not-so-affectionately referring to it as "friggin' wind". Mother Nature has served up another day of 30-40 mph sustained winds with gusts over 50 mph. So, we've pulled in our windward slide once more. Yep. Just in case we weren't feeling cooped up enough, we've made our small house even smaller!

With all this time at home, we're catching up on our reading and such. As I was perusing a couple of my favorite RV forums, I learned that "nobody" visits New Mexico in April, especially early April. Why? Because of the friggin' wind!

Nothing like finding a helpful piece of information after you need it!

But, wait! Believe it, or not, I do consider the weather when we plot out possible destinations. One of my favorite tools is Weather Underground's Trip Planner. Just type in a place and up to two weeks of dates you want to visit and you get a nifty summary of weather history.

Let's revisit Santa Fe from April 1st through the 15th.

According to the Trip Planner, the average high is 63 degrees and the average low is 33. That's a bit cooler than we like. But, that's OK because the sun shines all the time. There's a 0% chance of a "Cloudy Day". There's a 25% chance of a "Precipitation Day", but when stuff does fall from the sky it doesn't amount to much. And, what about the wind? There's a 39% chance of having a "Windy Day" where the wind blows more than 10 mph. Now, we can all deal with 10 mph winds. Can't we? What about "Friggin' Windy Days"? According to Trip Planner, the wind blows between 3 and 22 mph this time of year. That's not too bad. Is it?

I guess the gray clouds, blowing dust and tumbling tumbleweeds I'm seeing here in Santa Fe today are above average!

It reminds me of a phrase that was part of the vocabulary of work for Paul and me.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Ain't that the truth!

Clean!

Today's calmer winds were all we needed to get moving on our monster cleaning project. The day-long affair involved cleaning every - and we mean every - interior surface in our rolling home. Though we're exhausted, we're enjoying the payoff of today's team effort: Everything sparkles! And, the place smells great. We're trying not to think about how short-lived this condition is sure to be.

We put a previously little-used tool through its paces today, and are quite pleased with the results. Our moose came with a central vacuum system, but we never really used it. It's not that we never vacuum, mind you. We have a nifty lightweight Eureka that does such a great job, so we never had any reason to open the box with all of the central vac parts. The only part of the built-in system we've used is the "crumb catcher" under the kitchen cabinet. Now, that thing is handy! We just sweep everything in that general direction, give the switch a tap with a toe and the crumbs disappear.

One 90-something degree day in Alpine a couple of weeks ago we decided to give the central vac a try. The Eureka generates a goodly amount of heat, so it was time to try a different solution. I pulled out all of the parts and put them together while Paul stepped outside. Just as I got ready to plug the contraption into its magic outlet, I heard Paul yell, "Stop! Stop! Stop!"

In a microsecond, I flashed back to our walkthrough when we took delivery of our new moose almost 18 months ago. I remembered our trusty guide showing us where the central vac "box" where all the dirt goes was in the basement and telling us their was one bag in there and we'd need to get more. Of course, we never put vac bags on our shopping list. Actually, we had never even opened the "box". Apparently, Paul had the same thought moments earlier and decided to check and see if a year-and-a-half of crumb catching had filled our one and only bag.

I brought my plugging in efforts to a halt as Paul stepped in the door. In his hand was a clear plastic bag containing three central vac bags and an instruction manual. (Of all the instruction manuals that came with this moose, we never really missed that one.)

Paul started with the good news. We didn't just have one bag. We had three. The bad news? Our disappearing kitchen crumbs had piled up in the "box", which had obviously never been prepped for delivery.

We shared a laugh and Paul took a few minutes to clean up the mess and install our first bag. A mere 18 months after we moved in, our central vac was good to go.

Now we're wondering what else we've yet to discover about this not-so-new house. Meanwhile, we have its great big outside to clean.

Can't wait!

Dust!

After four months of hanging in Texas, we've finally found our way out of our big ol' adopted home state. We spent a few days in Carlsbad, then made the climb to Santa Fe. When we pulled into our park on Friday evening, we were right behind friends Gene and Anne, whom we met back in Kerrville. What a pleasant surprise! We spent yesterday with them doing a quick tour of Old Town Santa Fe. We're so glad we get to spend a month here. This is definitely a place to "feast"!

Today's weather was warned about for days. So, we expected it to be windy. The entire state of New Mexico, along with much of the nation's midsection, was placed under a High Wind Advisory. Here in Santa Fe, sustained winds were expected to be 30 to 40 mph. Gusts were anticipated to be as high as 60 mph. And, since we're sitting in the high desert, blowing dust was included in the warning.

One of our first "to-dos" here in Santa Fe is to give the moose and squirrel a deep cleaning. Since leaving Kerrvile, we've been living in the land of dust. Try as we might to keep things clean, the dust always wins. To a naked eye, we've kept the place tidy enough. But, take a close look anywhere and you'll see dust. It's piling up in places we've never even thought to look. And, that's just the inside. We are a rolling testimony that Bullwinkle's exterior color scheme is the best dirt camouflage money can buy. Our moose is filthy, but he doesn't really look that bad! The squirrel is another story. Rocky is jet black. Or, he used to be. Now he's some shade of charcoal gray.

So, you get the idea. We really need to clean. Knowing that our second full day in Santa Fe was bringing high winds and blowing dust, we decided to hold off on that big chore until the weather literally blows through.

In our fulltiming life, we've never been in a dust storm. We had one dust in the wind day on our initial rental RV trip. It added a bit of novelty to our 10-day vacation. And, besides, it wasn't our RV. We didn't know enough to be terribly concerned.

Well, today, we get to put a big checkmark next to "Dust Storm" on our fulltiming agenda. All was extremely calm when we got up this morning. The high wind warning was scheduled to go into effect at 10AM. Before the appointed hour, Paul stored our outdoor stuff. Then, we waited.

The winds showed up right on schedule. We pulled our windward slide in about an hour later. It's the same slide that "popped" its topper in Kerrville, so we weren't taking any chances. Like kids who see lightning and count off the seconds until the thunder, we watched the dust come in from the southwest in waves and waited for them to sandblast the side of our 40-foot billboard. The cats slept through it all. And, of course, Paul was fine. Me? I kinda freaked.

Our scenic mountain view disappeared in a cloud of brown. The wind was constant. There were even a few raindrops thrown in to help the dirt stick to our vehicles. And, it went on for hours. Hours! Somewhere in there, Paul decided it might be a good idea for me to be in a big building where I couldn't hear or see the wind. Good call, Paul! We ventured out in the Jeep and did a little shopping. (And shopping is always good!) Getting out actually gave my rational mind time to convince the slightly crazy part of me that our 16-ton rolling home wasn't going anywhere. And, of course, it hasn't.

As the sun begins to set behind a cloud of dust, the winds have died down a bit. It's still pretty darn gusty out there. So, the slide will stay in for now. Things are supposed to be better tomorrow. We sure hope so.

Like I said, we have cleaning to do. And, you know what? It's amazing what happens when a motorhome spends a day surrounded by dust blowing in gale force winds. It gets even dustier. Really dusty!

By the looks of things around here, we'll be cleaning for awhile.

Tasting and Feasting

We love Davis Mountains State Park! It’s a state park with full hookups (50 amp and cable, too!) that will accommodate our 40-foot moose. Nestled in the mountains of West Texas, it’s very scenic. Sitting here at an altitude of 5,000 feet, it’s nice and cool. There are hiking trails just steps from our front door. There’s even a full-service restaurant on site that served us a mighty fine breakfast this morning. With our freshly purchased Texas Parks Annual Pass, we get all this for about $20 a night.

We may never leave.

We saw our new friends, and their welcome mat, off yesterday. Before they headed out toward Carlsbad, we enjoyed a tour of their rolling home over coffee and more laughter-filled conversation. We exchanged the names of “don’t miss” spots as well as places that can be easily passed up. Warren and Carol’s list of places to go in the next six months is long. With a goal to visit 49 states before they return home in September, they hope they’ll fill in their map. What they’re realizing is they are just scratching the surface.

“We have to remind ourselves that we’re just tasting the country on this trip,” Carol surmised. “We can’t be feasting on this go ‘round.”

Tasting and Feasting. What perfect words!

As “tasters”, these full-time travelers on a deadline have to make tough choices as they make their way. Though they are often tempted to linger in a spot they love, like this park, they know they must keep moving along. They are saving loads of great places to see later. And, although they’ve missed a lot in this first round, they have seen so much. They are, after all, on the journey of a lifetime. To spend a year on the road visiting 49 states is one of those things many folks dream about but only a few make real.

Now that we have these wonderful words, we see that our first year as fulltimers was definitely a “tasting” year. We saw a lot and didn’t linger long in any one spot. We weren’t on a deadline, per se. But, we weren’t sure how long we were going to pursue this nomadic lifestyle. We got a healthy, coast-to-coast and border-to-border taste of this wonderful country. And, it tasted great!

In our second year, especially the second half of Year Two, we are happily feasting. Our three-month stay in Kerrville provided us a chance to enjoy everything Texas Hill Country has to offer. We could imagine what it might be like to live there. In fact, we started to feel like we did! Just about a year ago, we scooted across West Texas in two days. This year we’re taking three weeks! By feasting in West Texas we were able to happily discover Davis Mountains State Park and add it to our very flexible itinerary. With plans to spend the next five months in basically two states, we think this is a great change of pace.

Right now, 2012 is shaping up to be another “tasting” year. With possible plans to go from the Gulf Coast to Alaska and down the West Coast, we won’t linger...much. Of course, all plans are subject to change. But, we love the idea of cycling between times of “tasting” and “feasting”.

We’re just hoping to avoid gaining any unwanted pounds in the process!

Welcome Mat

At last, we’ve beat the heat! We left our sizzling site in Lajitas at sunrise and made a beeline in two key directions: North and Up. Here we sit enjoying our high altitude perch at Davis Mountains State Park. It’s lots cooler. And, we’re very happy about that. We are so looking forward to spending the next five days exploring this beautiful area, and the next five nights admiring the stars. There are lots of them around here.

We had a very special delivery to make today. A couple of days ago, our neighbors in Lajitas, Warren and Carol, left a door mat at their campsite. They sent us an email as they were en route to Fort Davis asking us if the mat was still there, and if we would mind picking it up for them until we could meet again. As soon as we received the message we took a look. The mat was, indeed, still there. So, Paul ventured out in the scorching heat and stowed it away.

We weren’t sure when or where we would meet up with these good folks again. They are about six months into a one-year journey across the US with their teenage daughter. They’re on a deadline, so they’re moving pretty fast. But, it turns out they fell in love with this park and decided to stay an extra couple of days. So, this would be the place to deliver the mat.

Now, for the record, we have left more than one door mat at more than one campground. We’re not talking dozens. More like two. Maybe three. Each time we’ve left one somewhere we just chalk it up to experience and buy another. We were taken that our new friends were willing to wait for their door mat. To ordinary eyes, this plain rectangle of rubber with capital letters that spell out WELCOME isn’t much. But, it was obvious to us that to these folks it must be something special. We were happy to make the delivery.

In our effort to leave the Big Bend area as early as possible to escape the heat, we arrived at the park three hours before check-in. Turns out the two sites we had to choose from were still occupied. And, one of those was our new friends awaiting their mat. The park employee who checked us in got a chuckle from our story. We could almost hear her explaining to her family over dinner tonight: “These people came up from Big Bend to deliver a door mat.” It does sound a little crazy.

With nothing but time on our hands, we unhooked the Jeep, tossed in the mat and set out to make the delivery. The happy recipients offered us lunch, which we happily accepted. They had decided to spend an extra night but had to move to a water and electric site because the full hook-up area is full. We went to the office and made arrangements to take our friends' site and the park employee said we could keep our moose parked at the entry as long as wanted. That way, nobody was in a hurry.

We so enjoyed getting to know this very special family over lunch. The laughter and stories flowed. Over tasty barbeque sandwiches we learned the significance of the door mat. It has welcomed visitors to each of their homes for the last 30 years! They were so grateful to have it back. We were extra pleased to have made this very special delivery.

About mid-afternoon, we decided to begin the big motorhome shuffle. They made their move and so did we. After we were all settled, they came back to their old site and we visited some more. They are really wonderful people. We’re so glad to know them and look forward to seeing them down the road again.

Their daughter gave us an extra helpful hint about their old site. She explained that somehow, magically, in this wi-fi less park she had was able to snag a public wifi signal from the nearby camp lodge. Once we were settled, I fired up the laptop and saw the very signal. With no cell service or wifi, we were all set to rough it for the next five days. The surprise addition of wifi at our site was the sugar on top of a delightful day.

Tomorrow, our new friends will head north. We wish them wonderful adventures and safe and trouble-free miles. And, we’re finding ourselves smiling that they’ll continue welcoming guests into their rolling home with their trusty door mat.

You’re so welcome!

It's HOT!

We have a knack for visiting places during unseasonable, usually record-breaking, weather. And, Big Bend is no exception. It's flippin' hot!!! Down here on the banks of the Rio Grande it gets pretty darn toasty, of course. But, not usually this early. Our arrival apparently gave Mother Nature the all clear to heat up the place.

Alpine was a pleasant 64 degrees when we left mid-morning yesterday. As we made our descent on the two-hour drive the sun was blazing and the temperatures were on the rise. By the time we pulled into Maverick Ranch RV Park here in Lajitas the mercury had reached the mid-80s.

We pulled into our site with amazing views and started setting up. As soon as we had power I turned on the AC. For a few blissful minutes the polar air filled the moose. Then, in an instant, there was nothing. No AC. No power.

Ugh.

Our neighbors were in the same situation. Turns out many of the sites had lost juice. Park management assured us they were on the case and would keep us posted. When the temperature inside the moose hit 85 degrees (which didn't take long) we fired up the generator. And, our neighbors did the same. With the gennie runnin' and the AC hummin' we sat and waited. We put a pause on our setup in case we had to move. An hour or so later the park manager came by and gave us a big thumbs up. Power had been restored.

It was over 90 degrees outside when we were back on park power. We finished our setup and kept every shade drawn. Bullwinkle felt like a cave, except it was hot! With the moose's nose pointed south and our patio side on the west, there was no shade to be had, even with both of our awnings out. As much as we would have loved to get outside and explore, we cocooned in the moose and kept a watchful eye on our indoor/outdoor thermometer. At cocktail time the inside temperature was 81 degrees, and on our patio it was 105!

Nobody in our house was very happy.

We've never been so happy to see the sun go down! As soon as it dropped behind the mountains, we popped outside to enjoy the steadily cooling temperatures. When things got comfortable, Paul fired up the grill and we sat down to dinner about 10. Now, we like to eat late. But, not that late!

After dinner, cooler heads prevailed and we hatched a game plan. With brutally hot and sunny days in the forecast for the duration of our stay, we needed to turn our moose around. If we could point to the north, the IMAX windshield would avoid direct sun. And, if our patio faced east, we could make our own much-needed shade. During the cool mornings we could be free to get out early, explore and make it home by early-afternoon to check on the kitties who should be OK until then if the power fails again. We went to bed to the sound of the AC still humming and hopes for a better day today.

This morning, Paul went to the office and worked his magic. Just after noon, the park manager came by with our new site assignment. You've never seen two people ready an RV for travel so quickly! We had slides in, jacks up and engine running before we shut off the AC and unplugged from our soon-to-be-former site. Two minutes later the moose was one row and three sites over, pointing north. Just like we wanted! First things first, Paul plugged Bullwinkle into his new home and the AC was humming once again.

We spent the afternoon making plans for several upcoming early morning outings to the park while we watched the first "real" day of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Of course, our AC has hummed continuously, and thankfully we've had no interruption in power. We have a few shades open and while it's still warm in here, it's much less cave-like and more comfortable. Our patio is well shaded and is looking like an inviting spot to sit and enjoy a cold one soon. I just checked the thermometer. It's only 92 degrees out there.

Good thing we have plenty of ice!

Do the Math

Now that we're a few days into Daylight Savings Time, here's a reminder. If you haven't changed your smoke detector batteries this week, do it now. We didn't do it on Sunday. And, guess what happened very early Monday morning?

Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.

That's right. We got the "middle of the night" reminder! There's nothing like a groggy search for a 9V battery at 3:00 a.m.!

With fresh batteries installed, we'll be heading to Big Bend later this morning. And, yes, we're taking the moose. That's the answer to one of the most common questions around the park this week. It seems most folks here make Big Bend a big day trip. And, we're talking BIG day trip! Most do the 300-plus mile round trip just once during their stay. So, although it's a very full day, it hardly seems worth the trouble of packing up the RV. But, we're looking forward to doing some hiking and exploring. And, heck, we have the time. We're going to take it! So, we're going in the coach.

Paul was in the laundry yesterday when another camper asked if we had been to Big Bend. He explained that we were heading out today. And, yes, we were taking the motorhome. The fellow camper replied that he thought the parks down there were too expensive. So, he was planning to make three day trips from here.

To each his own!

As he put the laundry away, Paul started to do the math.

If you stay at this park a week, the nightly rate is $29. If you spend three nights at the closest RV park to Big Bend, it's $27 a night. So, that's a wash.

It's 84 miles between the two RV parks. We paid $3.79 (gasp!) for diesel the other day. And, our moose gets about 9 mpg. So, our 168-mile round-trip will cost us 19 gallons of fuel valued at $72.

Much more of this fancy math is going to depress me!

But, what about the day tripper? Make that 168-mile trip three times and that's another 504 miles on your odometer. Let's assume you're driving a toad that gets 25 mpg using gas, for which we paid $3.59 (gasp!) a gallon here in Alpine. What will those three long days of driving cost you? You guessed it: $72!

And that money just gets everybody to Big Bend National Park! How much time and money you can spend driving around that 1,250 square-mile expanse is anybody's guess.

So, in terms of cash, it's pretty much a wash. But, with your RV parked just outside of this big national park, the daytripper would save about four hours a day. Two extra days of driving means at least eight extra hours.

What will we do with our "extra" eight hours at Big Bend? Stay tuned!