Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Wanderlust

Camping — Roswell, NM

Don’t let the sunshine (April) fool you about the weather here and on the drive from Albuquerque to Roswell; we had not-so-good weather most of the day until within a couple dozen miles of Roswell. We started out in the snow and drove through fog, sleet and gusty crosswinds along the route. We had a few light showers later in the trip along US 285 enroute to where we are now.

At any rate, we’re here and settled in for the night. We will be headed to Lubbock, Texas in the morning. We will be there for a couple of days as we continue to enjoy the trip to our eventual campsite where we are hoping for clear skies to enjoy the total solar eclipse.

01 Apr 2024 by Environment Retirement Travel Wanderlust

Camping — Albuquerque, NM

We arrived here at the American RV Resort which was only a short (less than 2 hours) drive over from Gallup. The road on I-40 was rough in many places and there were steady winds blowing laterally at 20 with gusts to 35 or so. Damsel took this photo of a 20 knot windsock along I-40 fully inflated.

We arrived and felt road weary from the trip. However, after a Grilled Hamburger, a cold beer and a hot shower, we had recovered from the semi-traumatic trip. We will be here all day on Easter Sunday, continuing to get right with Almighty God and the world in general.

30 Mar 2024 by Retirement Wanderlust

Camping — Gallup, NM

We are in Gallup tonight where the weather is very windy and cool (WSW@20G35 61°F). We are here on old Route 66, but not planning to do any sightseeing while camping.

We have a much better internet connection today. Still, this will be a short blog. We’re here for one night and will be spending Easter in Albuquerque. After that, we continue wandering down to Waco, TX, where we hope to have clear skies for the eclipse.

We will likely post again tomorrow when in Albuquerque.

29 Mar 2024 by Wanderlust

Camping — Monument Valley

We have a crappy internet connection so this will be short.

We’re in Monument Valley for a couple of days. We had an uneventful drive from Flagstaff and got here in time to check into the RV campground and get all hooked up to the utilities.

Stay tuned for more in a couple of days.

27 Mar 2024 by Photography Wanderlust

Camping – Flagstaff

Tonight, we’re in Flagstaff, AZ. Yes, there is light snow falling on our campsite. We got here this afternoon when it was still partly sunny, set up camp and ate lunch. When we went out to walk the dogs, it was snowing a little. That’s about when I took the (clickable) image above.

We had an uneventful trip, albeit there is still quite a bit of construction on AZ-74 and I-17. The traffic was generally light with the usual idiots mixed in with us sane folks.

We’re here in Flagstaff to relax a couple of days and will be departing Wednesday morning on our next leg of our vacation from retirement. The next stop is planned to be near Monument Valley. Stay tuned.

Update: 26 MAR 2024 — We had a little more snow overnight . . .

25 Mar 2024 by Environment Retirement Wanderlust

Sunset Clouds & Travel Preps

Damsel snapped this photo of an alto-cumulus cloud formation this evening. We were enjoying a bit of rest after a busy day (and busy week thus far) getting ready to roll in the motorhome for the Solar Eclipse in a couple of weeks.

We had to do quite a number of chores getting things organized and ready. The list includes shopping, preparing the RV holding tanks, stocking the fridge and pantry, washing the clothing, towels and sheets we keep in the RV and so forth.

I had one major item that needed attention; the latch on the door to the RV had been acting up and come to find out that it had a broken doodad inside of it which turned out to be a common failure for this type of RV door latch. I ordered a replacement latch which arrived today and installed it this afternoon. Suffice to say it was a little bit of a pain getting it done, but it is installed now and works fine.

We also did some food prep. We will be on the road on Easter Sunday and we pre-smoked our turkey breast dinner entrée today. It will be re-heated in the RV microwave on Easter.

We’re looking forward to the excursion and I’m sure all the preparation activities will have made the effort worth it in the end. We will report on our trip progress as we arrive at our various destinations.

20 Mar 2024 by Arizona Notions Wanderlust

Motorhome Maintenance:
  Eclipse Trip Looming

Tuesdays, usually, are the days that I routinely run the RV Engine up and the first Tuesday of the Month, I run the 6 KVA generator for a couple of tenths of an hour; all the above for ensuring that things are performing properly. I also ran the AC inverter for a while to check it out in case we have to be boondocking somewhere (i.e. no shore power or sewer/city water hookups available). I’m happy to say that everything seemed to function correctly.

Our plans for the excursion to the eclipse are still coming together; the only iron-clad plan is for the day of the eclipse when we will be in our already reserved camping spot. Damsel is still researching places to see and things to do in the American Southwest in order to plan a route to the eclipse site and beyond.

The next stages of prep (beyond route planning) include purging and sanitizing the RV holding tanks, making sure that all fluids and pressures are within spec and giving the big RV the bath it really needs. We will be doing those things over the next couple of weeks before launch day (exact date still TBD).

05 Mar 2024 by Retirement Travel Wanderlust

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