Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   Tucson Metropolitan Ministries Family Services

Oct 11, 2019

Temperature 96 degrees

Travel Day

2 am in the morning I shot out of bed like a bullet out of a rifle.  What in the world just slammed into us?  I grabbed a flashlight, slipped on a sweatshirt, opened the door, if I had not had a tight grip on it, it would have been ripped out of my hands.

The wind was howling, and I mean howling.  I walked all around and nothing.  I went back in and then I realized what was making all the racket, the slide topper on the bedroom slide and the two vent covers.  Not to mention even with jacks down we were rocking every time a huge gust of wind hit us.

I checked my phone for weather alerts and there it was:  wind alert, 25 to 35 mph, gusting to 40 mph plus until Friday morning at 10 am.  Just great.  Nothing to do but try and get some sleep since we were due to move out on Friday morning.

Come Friday morning and conditions were just as bad.  There was no way I was going to attempt driving in these conditions.  We’ll just have to wait it out.  Around 9 am things began to calm down.  Time to give it a try.

Our first stop was for propane at

Tanked topped off it was time to try Route 10.  Within a few minutes and we were on the road

Thankfully, the wind had almost completely died down and so driving was not a problem.  The road was in good condition, traffic was light, and so we rolled on.

Hey, look what we found – our train!  The tracks ran alongside Route 10 for miles so we got to see more than one.  These are the same tracks and the same train that pass the Escapees Park.

Next stop was for fuel.  I picked this stop because they had dedicated RV fuel lanes.  It makes life at the pumps so much easier.  Fuel tank topped off, and a cinnamon roll for each of us and we were back rolling again.

Of course we couldn’t leave this area without a few more pictures of the mountains that had surrounded us for the last four weeks.

Here’s one for you, can you see the face in the mountain?

Under the heading of silly signs.  Really?  Bike riders on Route 10.  I guess anything is possible in these parts.

In due time we saw a most welcome sign.  A new state to add to our state map.  We’re adding them one by one.

This sign, though, was not so welcomed by either of us.  It was a warning for high winds and dust storms.  The latter we encountered once or twice but not so severe that we had to stop.

Now what is one to do if they do encounter a severe wind or dust storm?

Now I know.

A little further down the road we found this most interesting rock.  Look close, it’s called Fraggle Rock.  Remember this group? They were a fun-loving group of furry subterranean creatures  – Red, Gobo, Wembley, Boober, Mokey and Uncle Travelling Matt – that encouraged and emphasized diversity among all.

This wasn’t the only interesting part of this trip.  We had been to City Of The Rocks but when we pulled into this rest area we though we had taken a wrong turn and were right back there again.

Take a look.

Of course no trip in this part of the country would be complete without a mountain to go over.   Like these

So up we go

and as we all know what goes up has to eventually go down.  That is Benson, AZ off in the distance.

We also saw more than mountains, and dust storms, and rocks.  Barbara was able to take pictures of a pecan grove alongside the road.  Pecans are big in this part of the country.

She was also able to take some pictures of art on various overpasses that we came to

Once we entered Tucson we stopped one more time for fuel.  Dedicated RV fuel lanes here also.  Whenever Graybeard is going to sit idle for a few weeks or more I always try to have the tank as full as possible and I add Stabill to the tank as well.  A plus at this stop is the Subway subs we snagged for lunch.

Coming out of the station Barbara finally saw the cactus she had been on the hunt for since we arrived in this part of the country.

Time now to find our new home.  Here it is.  There are two forty foot rigs off to the left.  Would you believe we have one more rig to get in here?  Its a TT and it is supposed to go on my passenger side.  This is going to be most interesting tomorrow.  Can’t complain, we have FHU, 50 amp, and it was easy to get level.  A big bonus, the sun is not on the refrigerator side.  Yippee!  Home for the next three weeks.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  It started off with the strongest winds we had witnessed to date in this part of the country.  Winds which thankfully died down once we were on the road.  The trip was an easy and uneventful one.  Route 10 for the most part is in good condition.  We had no issues finding our new home.  We are now settled in for the duration.  Life is good.

Thanks for coming along with us today.  We always enjoy your company and your comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   Dream Catcher RV Park, Deming, New Mexico

Oct 10, 2019

Temperature 81 degrees

Hatch – Chile Capital of the World

Sparky’s Restaurant

We had one more spot we wanted to visit before we left this area.  Well, actually two spots but more about about that later.

We were up early and on the road by 9 am.  We had a ride of about 55 minutes to our destination.  Hence, our early start.

One thing about traveling in this area, between point A and point B there is usually nothing but rough, rugged, desolate landscape.  It was no different on this trip.  Occasionally, here and there the odd item would pop up and we’ll get to them in a few minutes.

Soon enough we were at the first of our two destinations.

Hatch, New Mexico is a quaint and interesting little town tucked in along the Interstate 25 corridor and the Rio Grande River in south central New Mexico.   It’s not a big town by any means.  Here’s main street looking south,

and this is main street looking north.

Hatch has a history of being raided, abandoned, reclaimed, abandoned again, and finally settled for good. The village of Hatch wasn’t incorporated officially until 1928, and has since grown into a major player in the growing of chile, especially green chile.  Hence, it’s title as The Chile Capital of the World.  You really don’t have to look hard to find any number of roadside shops that sell chile peppers.

The smoking hot ones.

Everywhere you look, in every way possible you are reminded you are in chile land.

While in Hatch we decided to stop here first to see what we could discover about the town.

 

A nice little garden off to one side of the museum.

Come on, let’s go inside and see what we can find.  How about this, an eagle that met it’s end when it picked on some poor, little sheep.

A painting of Hatch in 1928.

Photos of the flood of 1921 which wiped out the town.

Two figures made from chile pods.

A very unique rock collection collected over many years by one couple from Hatch.

Some of the more unique rocks in this collection.

Anyone need a new TV in their RV?

I found this to be a very unique mural.

There’s much more to this small but very interesting museum but now we are going to move to the highlight of the day.  We’re going for lunch to Sparky’s. Proprietors Teako and Josie Nunn opened up shop in 2008.

They specialize in “Burgers, Barbecue, & Espresso,” but most people line up for their

This is their current menu

Here are some pictures from inside the restaurant.

Here is Sparky himself.

Who said pigs don’t fly?

Blast off

Keg man

Interesting

Halloween perhaps?

Mighty Mouse to the rescue

Now its

Yup, Green Chile Cheeseburgers and they are really that good

Of course when I found this I had to try it.  Trust me, it packs a punch

There is so much more inside to see and feast one’s eyes on but there is even more outside.  The Nunn’s started their acquisition of gargantuan pop culture figures from bygone decades in 2006. Teako purchased a Muffler Man bought to draw attention to their RV dealership.   He then found a small RV to put in his hand.

Within months of its opening, Sparky’s offered A&W Mama and Papa Burger statues on its roof,  a giant pig and chicken in its parking lot, fiberglass replicas of Colonel Sanders and Ronald McDonald on its sidewalk, and, off to one side, an Uncle Sam  towering 30 feet tall.

 

There’s more, weather report anyone?

Then there was this.  With gas going to close to $5 a gallon in California, take a look

Who, for instance, would have ever though what amazing sights would be in this small, obscure town in NM.  All one needs to do is slow down, open their eyes and what delights they will find.  We’re so glad and so fortunate to have had this opportunity to visit here.

Remember that odd thing I mentioned that pops up on the road from time to time?  Here’s a really unique solar farm.  These panels are huge, really huge.  And there are hundreds of them.  When we passed them on the way down they were all standing up

like this one.  Given their size its amazing to realize that they all rotate to follow the sun.

Hold on the day is not done yet.  We figured we’d go out in style and and have a pizza from

with an order of Honey Hot Barbecue Wings.  Oh they are hot and good.  I enjoyed each and every one of them.

Time to go.  It’s late and we have to pack since tomorrow is a travel day.  Hope you enjoyed your day with us.  We had a blast.

That was our day on The Road of Retirement.  We’ve had a wonderful time here in Deming.  So many new places discovered, so many new facts learned, so many wonderful places visited.  Add to that lots of time spent with friends old and new.  Who could ask for any more?

Thanks for joining us today and this month.  We’ve enjoyed your company and your comments.  Catch you tomorrow after we get to our new home.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before

See you on down the road!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   Dream Catcher RV Park, Deming, New Mexico

Oct 9, 2019

Temperature 80 degrees

The Devil Is In The Details

Ah, a good’s night sleep and a wonderful breakfast.  Scrambled egg and cheese on a roll, steak on the side, a glass of juice and a cup of coffee got the day off to a great start.

Time is winding down and so it’s time to get things in order.  With that in mind I went to work today.

I started by checking and adjusting air pressure in all of our tires.  Just before we leave I’ll check them one more time.

Then I decided to polish the wheels, front and back.

Next on the list was cleaning all the windows, passenger and driver’s side.

I followed up by polishing anything shiny, in essence the few pieces of chrome that are on Graybeard.

Next, both mirror heads once again needed to be tightened.  For whatever reason they always seem to come loose about every few months.  This time I backed the set screws out completely and then gave them a shot of Blue Locktight.

Finally, I went under the hood.  Engine Oil, transmission, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid all levels were spot on.

Tomorrow we’ll be out and about so I don’t know how much more I’ll get done.  I need to get the inside packed up and I’ll get it done.  I also need to get a few more things done on the outside.  All in good time.  Come Friday morning we’ll be ready to go.  Count on it.

Day by day we continue on down The Road of Retirement.  We’ve enjoying each and every moment of every new day that the good Lord gives us.  Well, I just saw the weather report.  We’ll be OK but some of those about an hour north of us will be in the 30’s tomorrow morning.  Wow!

Thanks again for checking in.  We always appreciate your company and comments.  Catch you tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before

See you on down the road!

 

 

Places We Have Called Home In 2019

Home Is Where We Park It:   Dream Catcher RV Park, Deming, New Mexico

Oct 8, 2019

Temperature 71 degrees

Deming Luna Mimbres Museum  – The Last Pictures

One would think with the number of days that I’ve missed in posting a blog that we must be awful busy.  Honestly, not really.  Instead, the internet has been a bit wonky and I’ve been a bit lazy.  We’re just enjoying our last few days before our world is turned upside down the end of this week.

So what have we been doing?  We’ve played a lot of Mexican Train.

We’ve done research on possible sights of interest in Tucson and Phoenix using Roadside America.

I’ve also updated our link regarding places we have stayed.  I realized I was missing two stops, and that I had not included details and pictures for several links.  The link is now up-to-date.

OK, let’s now finish up our visit to the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum.  There are a number of pictures that I took that I would still like to share with you.  Let’s get started.  We’re going to stroll down the streets of pioneer Deming and take a look at some of the early shops.

Can you remember prices like this?

The Beauty Shop

How about that hair dryer to the right!

Livery Stable.

Gem Grocery.

Don’t think we can get that ice box in Greybeard.

Mahoney’s Hardware.

Something for everyone.

Barber Shop

Dentist

Some pictures from the Art Room.

The mountains in this area are absolutely breathtaking and majestic.  Also, a bit heart stopping when you have to go over them in an RV!

Amazing what some people can do with two horse shoes and some wire.

An overview of the 2nd floor.

A collection of two thousand bells, some of them hundreds of years old.

Anyone want a tamale?

I thought that this mural was so well done.  It’s a mural of the 1918 Clubhouse for Spanish speaking soldiers on the east side of Deming; the courthouse park Gazebo; and, the old Mission Cafe (picture above) that was popular during WW II with the personal at Bombardier School at Deming Air Field.

The artist who painted it was Patricia Luchsinger-Lack.  She graduated from Deming High School in 1977, and was voted Women Artist of the Year in 1984-1985.

One last exhibit which I found so interesting.

That brings us to the end of our tour of the Museum.  A fascinating place full of all kinds of interesting exhibits and artifacts.  Definitely a place worth visiting if one is ever in this area.

We continue to travel along on The Road of Retirement.  We’re still doing it our way traveling along, hand in hand, singing our song.  We have one more place we are going to try and visit before we leave here.  There are lots, and lots of other places we’re not going to make it to.  To think when we first arrived here we honestly believed there was nothing to see and nothing to do.  How wrong we were!

Thanks for coming along with us.  We always appreciate your company and your comments.  Keep checking in with us and we’ll continue to share our journey with you.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s two intrepid travelers.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have never been before

See you on down the road!