Today’s episode wraps up some scenes from White Sands and Saguaro National Park. There have been many interesting sites since getting into NM & AZ, and a few of those moments are in this episode. Enjoy!

 

 GAC Episode 33 - New Mexico and Arizona [7:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today I took a ride out to the Sonora Desert Museum.  Several friends have suggested I check it out, so I did.  And it was a good trip.

Most of the museum is outdoors.  Plants and animals are available for viewing, and park workers are stationed throughout giving information on the exhibits.

Entering the museum I got to see a very small falcon.  Of course I don’t remember the name now, but I did get a nice photo of it (I’m sure somebody will give me the name). 

Along the walk through there were many other animal exhibits, up close and personal.  Shortly after entering there was also a Screech Owl, but the crowd was a little thick for a good photo.  Several school groups were in for the morning, and the kids were having a good time checking everything out.

While making my way through I also had the opportunity to see my first Ocelot.  While the informational posting said they’re more uncommon in the area, they can still be found in some desert regions.  Pretty cool.  Too bad this one was sleeping.

Overall, the park was a nice experience.  I was surprised how many people were out for the day enjoying the park as well.  Even the ride in was pleasant, and close to another national park entrance.

Yesterday was the Airstream Dealer day.  Well, only part of the day was spent at Oasis RV.

Oasis took me in on time.  Had a scheduled appointment at 9, and they were ready for me.  Glad I only had a few items to get done.  The oven needed to be fixed, and the bearings needed to be repacked after all this travel.  Plus I wanted the dealership to replace one tire.

Last year I had a flat (remember).  And had a new tire put on while on the road.  Not the same brand as the rest of my tires.  And it wore down a lot faster than my other tires. So, we’d decided to put my spare on, and put the other wearing tire under the Airstream as my spare.  That’s where the trouble came in.

Shortly into the work on my trailer one of the service people came to see me.  The spare that I’d purchased last year at another Airstream dealer was the wrong size completely!  Surprising.  I walked out to look.  Sure enough, the spare that was provided last year was a 14, and my tires were 16’s.  Plus, my tire rims have 6 lug holes, the spare provided had only 5.  So, had I needed the tire it would have been useless.

So I had to purchase a new tire as well.  While waiting I called Marty’s USRV in MA, and told them about the problem.  Marty’s went through their records and agreed that the error was made.  So I was compensated $200 from Marty’s.  That was good.  Too bad the new rim and tire here cost $340.  Ah well, could have been worse.

I suppose that when you have work done, double check everything folks.  Unfortunately, when I purchased my spare the first time I never saw it.  The techs put it under my trailer into the spare carrying area.  I looked under the trailer and saw there was a tire there.  But I didn’t verify it was the right size.  Honestly, I didn’t think I needed to.  But hey, mix ups happen, and now I’ve learned.

In under 3 hours Oasis was done with my trailer.  The oven is now fixed.  The wheels have been serviced, and I now have the right sized spare.

If you’re ever in the Tucson area and need service, I would recomend Oasis.  They were very efficient, on time, and pleasant to deal with.  And their prices were reasonable.  Even with the addition of a new tire, the price didn’t break the bank.

Once I got back I tested out the stove.  Tater tots were toasted, and they were good.  :)  Looks like the pipe that fed my pilot actually broke due to vibration on the road.  Didn’t realize there was that much vibration in the trailer while traveling.

After a busy morning I took a ride over to Saguaro National Park.  I’m only 10 miles away from it, so something I wasn’t going to miss.  The park is a desert park, and it quite lovely.

The park has several hiking trails within it, but primarily most folks visit it by driving the 8 mile loop through it.  Along the ride there are many pull offs and informational signs about the park.  Of course, the park is named for the saguaro cactus.

Until this week I’d never seen one of these plants up close and personal.  Only on TV and in magazines.  Definitely interesting, and better seen in person!

The park itself hosts many plants you won’t see many other places.  Many trees, shrubs, and animals that live in the Sonoran Desert.  It’s worth the trip, even if you only intend on driving the loop road.  But there’s more to do beyond driving it.

On my tour through Saguaro National Park this morning I saw many people out enjoying the park.  Several people were creating paintings at one pull off.  Another location I stopped into had several hikers getting ready for a mid-morning hike along one of the park’s longer trails.  And I came across many cyclists riding the loop through the park.  The hills in the park must make for fun rides!

Since I’ll be in the Tucson area for the rest of this week I’ll be sure to return to Saguaro again.  I think next time I’ll bring a day pack and walk further along one of the park trails.  There’s always more to see away from the road.

The blog got over looked yesterday.  It’ll happen from time to time, but no more mult-month sabbaticals.

By 7 a.m. I was hitched up and ready to leave Las Cruces.  It’s definitely a nice town, and will be kept in mind as a relocation option.  But you don’t pick the first thing you see, right?  So it was time to move on and see more.

The drive to Tucson wasn’t very long.  Only 265 miles.  A short jump compared to last week’s driving to get out here.  I doubt there will be more big rides in my near future.  The big push was essentially to get out of the cold, and get to the areas I’m considering as a new home base.

Riding across New Mexico and Arizona for the morning was pretty easy going.  As I got into Arizona I found mountain ranges on either side.  I also went through one more border patrol check point right outside of Las Cruces.  There was a sign up that over 19,000 lbs of illegal drugs had been seized.  Now I understand the check points even more.

Not too far out of Tucson I stopped at one final rest area because it was pretty.  Interesting rock formations all around.  Take a look.

I’d already picked a campground prior to getting to Tucson.  Rich & Eleanor are in the Tucson area, and the park they’re staying at sounded nice, so I called ahead.  Good thing I did too.  When I got in and registered another person called in, only to be told they were full.  Timing is everything.

This morning has been busy.  Spent a good deal of time on Monster.com looking into wireless positions in the West.  Coming up pretty dry unfortunately.  Clear Wire has many openings in Vegas, and I’m hoping to hear back from them.  They’re a fixed wireless broadband company.  What does that mean?  They bring a wireless router / repeater to your location, and you get broadband over the air.  Pretty slick setup.  I’d been trained on similar equipment in 2002, and it’s pretty easy to work with.

After a few hours of internet job hunting I took a ride over to Oasis RV.  They’re the local Airstream dealer.  I have several items to get done there, so I went to see about an appointment.  Amazingly enough they were able to schedule me in tomorrow.  What’s getting done?

• Repack the bearings, check alignment, etc.
• Fix the oven.
• 1 new tire (the spare that had been used last March is wearing quickly).

While there I looked around at some of their new inventory.  One item caught my attention, as I’d never seen one like it.  Not a 19 footer, and not a 22 either.  Airstream has something new inbetween.  Single axle too.

The interior was pretty slick.  The bedroom area, which is in the front, looked way too small.  Definitely a trailer for one.  Sure, you could fit two, and put two more in the dinette area.  But really, to move around in a comfy fashion, it’s a single person’s trailer.  I shot some video as well, so maybe I’ll pop up a “quickie” podcast shortly.

Now the blog is all caught up.  I’m thinking about taking a look at a National Park that is right up the road.  So I’ll be posting more photos in the near future.

On the health front….  Had a pretty bad rash on my face the past few months.  It seems to be disappating rapidly now.  Just a little left on one eyelid.  And I haven’t been having fever flare ups in the past two weeks.  Nice to be normalizing.  Here’s looking forward to the continuation in the right direction!

Yesterday I never got around to really posting about my trip out to White Sands. Instead I spent the afternoon looking at the pilot connection more on my oven. Then I went around through all the cabinets, under the sink, closets, etc., looking for loose screws and the like. Need to check them more often, as I think a good deal of vibration occurs in the trailer while towing.

Now, on to White Sands….

Early in the day I decided to take a ride to White Sands. Only a little over 40 miles from where I’m staying, White Sands National Monument sounded like a must see destination. And since I’m in the area, why not?

The ride took me past the Aquirre Springs Campground that I’d visited the other day. After passing over the Organ mountains I continued on into the flats. Both sides of the road are part of the White Sands Missle test range. Didn’t see any missles being tested during my trip though. That would have been pretty cool if I did see one.

As I approached the national monument the road was diverted. A little metal roofed station was off to the right of the highway, and all vehicles were being directed in. A border patrol agent took a look in each vehicle after stopping them first. When it came to my turn I was asked where I was going, if I was a citizen, and he looked around the truck quickly. That was all. Pretty interesting though.

There weren’t many people out at White Sands. It was actually pretty cold. I know, it’s not snowing here, so can’t be too cold. But I set out into the dunes with my Smart Wool cap, and my smart wool gloves (I’m a fan of Smart Wool).

I only spent about an hour at White Sands. The chill was a bit much. And I wasn’t personally “wowed” while visiting. The park is pretty, and the dunes are very interesting. But I couldn’t help thinking back to the Great Sand Dunes National Park visit I’d had last year. The scene there seemed to really make an impression. Between the back drop, and the height of the dunes there, I guess I was expecting something similar at White Sands. You can click the link above to see those entries.

Still, an interesting visit over all. Got some decent video while at White Sands too, and I’ll work on a podcast down the road.  It was a fun drive out, and I’d recomend that folks visit if they’re in the area for sure.  Also, check out the Great Sand Dunes if you have the chance too. 
Today there’s more of a chill in the air.  Only heading for the 60’s today (brrrr).

Just finished up lunch, but not the lunch I had intended.

About an hour ago I got ready to light the pilot of my oven. Funny, this time it wouldn’t light.

The oven area is hard to look around in. You’ve got to get down on your knees and reach way in to light the pilot on my particular oven. It’s an Amana.

Well, when I looked under where I light the pilot I saw this:

Where I wrote Broken Line in the image is the actual gas line that goes to the pilot lighting area. To the right of this little line is a brass knob looking thing which is where the line should be attached. How it broke (it looks like it severed very cleanly) is beyond me. Gave Rich Luhr a call to see if he’d ever heard of such a thing, and he hadn’t.

So, I tried contacting Oasis RV Center in Tucson (my next stop). They’re the Airstream dealer in that area. Only open until noon on Saturday, so I just missed them. They do have a web form to request service, so I did that at least. We’ll see what they think.

If any other RV owners have ever had the actual metal line in their oven break, let me know. I’m really curious what caused it, and how it can be fixed.

Day 3 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  And I still haven’t reset my internal clock when it comes to waking up.  So, this morning at 3:30 local time I was sitting in bed saying, “Go back to sleep, go back to sleep.”  Ah well, in time I’ll adjust.

Since I got such a jump on the day I had the opportunity to see an excellent sunrise for sure.  The photos you see here are not retouched, edited, etc.  They’re exactly what this morning’s sunrise looked like. 

After my sunrise photos I took a ride out to White Sands National Monument.  I’ll write more about that in a later post.  I’ll tell you this much…. Early morning in the desert can be extremely cold.  Glad I had my hat and gloves from last week’s trip handy in the truck.  It was cold!  Ok, not as cold as it is in New England this morning……  :D  Sorry, had to get the dig in to family. 

While this episode includes more driving footage, I hope viewers will find it interesting. Most of today was spent unwinding from the recent cross country trip to New Mexico. Grocery shopping and an oil change were the big to-do’s today. But while I waited for my appointment at the local Nissan dealership I decided to take the opportunity to visit the Organ Mountains.

Today I drove to Aguirre Springs Campground. How did I learn about this out of the way spot? Simple. Last year I’d picked up, “Adventures on America’s Public Lands.” It’s a wonderful guide book from the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management. Many spots not listed anywhere else can be found in this book, including a few sites in the Organ Mountains.

Entering the area I noticed one sign that I’ll pass along to all visitors. The sign recomended not coming in with anything longer than a 23 foot trailer. After driving into the camping area, and seeing the sharp turns first hand, I completely agree with the sign!

I’m also looking forward to visiting Dripping Springs in the same area, and the White Sands National Monument. So be sure to check back for those podcasts. So far I’m enjoying the Las Cruces area. It has a good deal to offer.

 

 GAC Episode 32 - Las Cruces to the Organ Mountains [9:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m currently waiting for a podcast to finish compressing.  But while I wait I thought I’d pop up a few photos from today’s look around the Las Cruces area.

The details from today will be included in the podcast post, so just check back again. 

Want to see more?  Watch Episode 32……