Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Travel

New Windshield for the RV

We encountered a minor glitch during our RV excursion to see the great eclipse in Waco Texas when a passing Big Rig Semi on a two-lane road threw up such a wind gust when passing in the opposite direction, that our windshield cracked from the shock. It did nothing to inhibit our travel plans, but became a greater concern since the crack size progressed as we got closer to home. I called the insurance company and fortunately, we were covered for a cracked/broken windshield.

Windshield Crack Getting Worse

Image: the windshield crack – pardon the reflections – click to enlarge.

After a couple of weeks waiting for the new glass to arrive, the new windshield got installed today and looks great. Due to some curing issues, we won’t be able to drive it home until tomorrow morning, so that will be the major issue for the day – getting the RV home and parking it in it’s usual slot up in the RV drive.

The new windshield

Image: the new windshield – click to enlarge.

Kudos to State Farm, RV Glass Express and Select Glass for a coordinated effort in getting the job done.

08 May 2024 by Notions Retirement Travel Wanderlust

Home, Sweet Home

Although we got home early, it is late now, so this will be brief; we had a good trip back home from Gila Bend today along the so-called “Phoenix Bypass” route, and that was the intent of going the way we did, to avoid the !*&%#^? Phoenix construction and traffic. It worked, although there was a lot of traffic for a Sunday. Anyway, we’re home.

We’re about to watch a movie and then climb into our own bed at home. G’nite!

21 Apr 2024 by Arizona Notions Travel Wanderlust

Gila Bend

We are in a really nice RV campground tonight. We have been blessed on this adventure to have stayed in many really nice RV parks. This park, the Sonoran Desert RV Park, is located in Gila Bend, AZ, and has a number of nice amenities. Our camp spot has it’s own fenced-in dog run, a concrete patio with charcoal grill and a propane “fire feature” where you can sit around and enjoy the warmth of a fire.

Tomorrow, we will be headed home. We are less than two hours from Wickenburg and expect to be home in the early afternoon. It has been quite the adventure and even though it has been enjoyable, we are now anxious to be home again.

20 Apr 2024 by Arizona Retirement Travel Wanderlust

Mountain View

Damsel and I walked down to the “scenic walk” area of the RV park here in Las Cruces to see what we could see. The view of the area from atop the Picacho Hills, west of Las Cruces proper, was very nice. I aimed my camera phone toward the rugged mountains we crossed getting here and got the (clickable) image above.

Those peaks are the so-called “Organ Mountains” which have this interesting appearance due to being formed by igneous, rather than sedimentary rocks. The organ name comes from some early notion that the peaks resemble a pipe organ.

Tomorrow morning, we head to the west again in continuation of the trek homeward. We shall (God willing) blog from Benson, AZ tomorrow evening.

18 Apr 2024 by Photography Retirement Travel Wanderlust

Las Cruces KOA —
  A Hilltop RV Park

We arrived at our campground today without incident. We drove straight through the planned route and stopped only once in Alamogordo to take on fuel.

We were pleasantly surprised that our campground RV park is elevated above the southwest end of the city of Las Cruces – actually a pretty big town in this region of New Mexico. In the image above, you can see our rig parked with the mountain ranges in the distance and the urban sprawl below.

Later this evening, Damsel and I took a walk down to the front of the park where there is an overlook of the area. I used my S23 Galaxy phone to photograph the city lights:

In the above image, you can dimly see the mountain range beyond the city we crossed coming here today. We also crossed the Rio Grande River, which flows through the area on its way to the Big Bend and thence to the Gulf of Mexico, where we were just a few days ago.

Click on either image to open the image viewer.

17 Apr 2024 by Notions Retirement Travel Wanderlust

Camping Carlsbad

We’re camped in Carlsbad, NM this evening, not to see the Caverns, but to just camp overnight. We wanted to make it to Artesia, which is another 20 minutes north of here, but the local RV campgrounds were (a) unavailable and (b) shabby, so we stopped at a nice, clean KOA on the north side of the Carlsbad area.

Tomorrow, we will continue to the west, eventually arriving at Las Cruces, NM for a couple of nights. We need to have a rest from the road, get a good shower, shave, etc. and plan the next phase of our return to the Arizona mansion.

16 Apr 2024 by Notions Travel Wanderlust

Camping — Waco, TX

We didn’t post about our campsite last night since the internet connection was almost non-existent. (Note to self: next trip get Starlink and bypass crappy internet service.) At any rate. we had a nice overnight at Abilene, TX last night.

Tonight and for the next few nights we are where we expect to view the total solar eclipse on Monday. We’re all settled in and relaxing after another tedious driving day with gusty crosswinds most of the way from Abilene to here.

The outlook for clear skies on Monday for the eclipse isn’t looking too good as of the current weather forecast; mostly cloudy and possible rain. We are optimistic that we will be able to see some of the totality with breaks in the clouds possible.

Damsel and I will be spending the weekend with our usual emphasis on dining, albeit on the road. The menu currently features entrees of Steak Salad (Filet Mignon, of course) and BBQ Country-style Pork Ribs. We hope y’all will eat as well this weekend.

05 Apr 2024 by Travel Wanderlust

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