Relaxation Done - Driving into Arizona

 

The Enchanted Trails RV Park is a very friendly (starts with owners and staff) and one of our favorite Commercial RV Parks.  If it only had grass...but at 5,400 feet in the dessert like atmosphere, it just isn't feasible.

Many of the RV Campsites have some sort of vegetation separating it from neighbors.

Our visit did include a couple of hiccups.  First, the wind blew from around 9 am till 9 pm each day...with some gust up in the 30 mph range (see flag above).  Second, there are some fires which brought smoke into the valley, despite the winds which should have blown it out again.  Its just that the smoke kept coming in that it looked like it stayed.  Last, it was a bit cold on Tuesday and Wednesday nights...down in the lower 30's.  But the sun was out each day, and had it not been for the wind, it would have felt very comfortable during the day.

We got on the road about 7:45 with another sunny morning, and lots of trucks and traffic on both sides of the road...just can't see them on our side right now.

I have always enjoyed driving I-40 through New Mexico.  The scenery seems to change as the miles go by, some of it in the distance, some of it pretty close.

After perhaps 15 miles on the road, all of the sudden our GPS/CD/DVD/Radio goes out on us.  What it says on the screen is, "DC Offset Error" in the upper left  and "Protect" in the middle. My first thought was our alternator is kicking out too much juice...but my cigarette connection voltage reader showed a 13.9 to 14.9 reading, depending if I put our headlights on, turned up the heater fan, and stuff like that. 

Do you know how many times I still looked down at the GPS to see how our progress is coming.  Can you say, "Dave is ADDICTED to the GPS in the Motorhome!"

We start just about every day of our driving listening to Alabama's "Angels Among Us: Hymns & Gospel Favorites" CD.  (Been doing this since 2014)  Now it is all silent...even the EVIL, I mean, "The Nice GPS LADY" who tells you that your exit is coming, or it is time to merge when two freeways merge together, or who...and this happens a lot, tells you to get back on the pathway (because the Highway has been upgraded and although I am driving on the new highway, she thinks I am driving in a field or something like that)...even she is silent.  I miss her already.

Meanwhile, we keep driving and enjoy the scenery.  There was one 'quick' stop along an exit (coffee does that to you), and I used that time to do a quick search on our "DC Offset Error"   "Protect" error.  One YouTube shows a guy taking the unit out, unplugging it, and plugging it back in to fix the error.  My first thought was "Why can't I just disconnect the battery and achieve the same result.?"  The second YouTube did exactly that...so I figured that when I got to Flying J to put 46 gallons of gas ($180 worth) I would disconnect the battery while the gas flowed in (and the $$$$$ flowed out of the credit card).

GREAT!  It worked!!!!   So off we go, guided by the most wonderful female voice in any GPS, and...less than 5 miles down the road....it went out again!  Darn that evil voice...it is gone again!!!!

So we continue to enjoy the scenery, we scoot through Gallup, and quickly coming to the end of New Mexico.

The Navajo have set up a nice "last stop in New Mexico" including places to get all sorts of Indian Jewelry, Food, Clothing, and such.

The two pictures above are of the same 'Rock'.  They have even included fake animals up on the rock...makes a very interesting scene.

Above is the same rock but from a different view.

And then it all comes to an end and into Arizona we come.  The thing is...I like driving through Arizona too.  😉

All the while I am thinking about the GPS problem.  In one of the YouTubes the guy said he was unsure WHY you get the error, but his research said that it could be a speaker wire shorting, it could be a power line acting up...seems there could be a lot of reasons.  So as we came to the first decent Truck Stop, I stop and rest the GPS again by disconnecting the battery.  This time, we are going to ONLY use the GPS portion...no CD, no Radio, nothing else.  

And it works for the next twenty miles.  So I chance the radio...and it works.  So I chance the thumb drive through the USB, and it works.  So we think it is the CD player that is causing this...will wait until we get to my sisters to worry about it any further.

With only 1,100 miles left from the Enchanted Trails RV Park to Citrus Heights where my sister lives, we decided to keep our drives down to the 250-300 mile mark.  Our destination today was the Meteor Crater RV Park about 15 miles east of Winslow.  This is another park we have stopped at a few times, and is typically quiet.  Suppose to drop into the lower 30's by morning, but we are prepared for it with only electricity hooked up.  Tomorrow we should just be into California, with 560 miles left to go after that.

To Meteor Crater RV Park, Liking These Short Travel Days

We got away from the Enchanted RV Park at 7:40 am.  Taking a frontage road for nearly 5 miles and we finally get onto I-40, and for a moment, I wonder if we are in another state.

But then the rocks of New Mexico show up again, and get very close to the roadway.

By now we are between Grants and Gallop New Mexico.

I always enjoy this area of New Mexico.

It is also here that we finally hit the Continental Divide...at an elevation of 7,300 feet.  The good thing about I-40 is that you never hit a long climb...the climb takes place from when you go over the Mississippi River at about 300 feet, and until you hit the Divide at 7,300 feet.

And we come to the New Mexico - Arizona border.

And we get our first surprise of the day...the Rest Area here is closed...you can see the orange sign under the blue Rest Area sign to the far left says "Closed".  Ouch!  Really was counting on that rest area, and the views of the rocky cliffs that surrond it is realy amazing.  Although the Rest Area was closed, the Indian Relics Shops seemed to be open....but we drove on.

There are many places in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico that sell Indian stuff.

Our original plans had us stopping at Winslow, but when I called the RV Park there I did not get an answer.  Called Meteor Crater RV Park about 25 miles further west, and they had space.  We stayed her a couple of times before, so check in was very easy...but at $45 a night it is the most costly park we have stayed in since leaving.  We traveled around 270 miles today.

The site is nice, no neighbors crowding us, but the weather was HOT HOT HOT, with no shade despite the trees on both sides.

As the sun sets to the west, we will continue to head that way tomorrow, probably reaching the California Border...where it will be even hotter.

From Phoenix to ….

Top of the Hill RV Park, near Boerne, Texas

We left Phoenix by 5:15 am, and it was still dark.  As we got south of Phoenix, the sun was coming up, and we were surprised at the inversion layer…much like we saw over Phoenix.  Stopped at a Walmart in Casa Grande to get eggs and spinach for our morning omelets, and to feed Skruffy at 7:30.  As a diabetic dog, she eats 12 hours apart.  In California that is 7 am and 7 pm.  In Florida we are shooting for 9 am and 9 pm…so we adjusted her to 7:30 when we got to Arizona (which is 6:30 California time), and 8:30 now that we are in Central time, and when we get to Eastern Time, it will be easy to got 9 and 9.

I “wonder” if any of my faithful blog readers remember this view from “their” new home?  

Southeaster Arizona had clear blue skies…and wonderful landscape.

Here is one way to “see” America…but you only get to see views from the rails…

New Mexico had nice blue skies too…

…until you get to town of another one of my blog followers.  But hey, I don’t think it is Las Cruces’ fault…I think much of the smog come up from the south where regulations are not nearly as strong as their are in the states.

And finally Texas…

…where 530 miles later, and a nights sleep in Van Horn, here we are.

So wait…what happened to 500+ miles of “scenery”?  Well, as we headed to Van Horn, it was getting dark.  This morning we left Van Horn at 5:45 am.  JUST as it was starting to have what would be a very pretty sunrise, we hit a fog/cloud bank.  For a bit I thought I was driving between San Francisco and Sacramento, the fog was that thick…well, almost that thick.  Then the temps dropped to as low as 27.  Ice built up on the mirrors, on the wipers, and the tire sensors went crazy with the cold weather.  Thankfully, the road was not slippery…but one never knows so speeds were kept to around 55 most of the way today.  What should have been a 6 1/2 hour trip, took well over 8.  Notice in the pictures above that the car is still hooked up, the slide is “in”, and we only have our electric plugged in.

   

   

So we have completed 1,700 of our 3,000 mile trip back home.  We will be here in Boerne (pronounced “Burney”) for two nights.  It is New Year’s Eve tonight, and we sure did not want to be out on the road very late…getting here after 2:00 was late enough.  It may or may not snow and/or have icy rain tonight, so I we decided to stay for two nights.  Tomorrow I will add water to our water tank, empty our holding tanks, and put everything back away except the electrical hookup.  We had the slide out for awhile today, but with possible ice, I did not want to have problems pulling it in tomorrow or Tuesday.  I also lowered the antenna to where I just get a clear picture…but low enough that I can drive if absolutely needed in case the ice is heavier than predicted. Tuesday we plan to have a late breakfast with my brother Jim and wife Carol in San Antonio, and then off we go…hoping that this is the worse of the weather…it is bound to be the coldest with temps hitting the low 20’s, perhaps the teens while we are here.  But we are staying warm with our DeLonghi radiant heater, and the motorhome’s propane heater periodically coming on and off.

Note:  Why the "...." in the title?  Because Marcia would not let me say Hell  😉