Chica’s New Friends

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Chica loves to meet new friends…

When we arrived at Rockhound SP Chica was very anxious to meet her new friends. I had been telling her all about them so she was really happy when she actually got to meet them.

There was Sophie and Elvis the kittens we had heard so much about from Jim and Gayle’s blog Life’s Little Adventures. Chica only got a chance to meet Sophie when Jim brought her out one day. She only got to see Elvis through the screen door. Here is a pic of Jim and Sophie.

Chica was very excited about meeting her new “cat friend”.

Lots of new friends…

Besides Sophie and Elvis she also go to meet Debbie’s very fun loving dogs Elliot and Rupert. She had lots of fun going on walks with them. In this pic she and Elliot are discussing their favorite dog food.

Plus don’t forget Katie owned by Barbara of Me and My Dog and My RV fame Katie is also a Chihuahua just like Chica, but she is larger and Chica has to look up to her (just like everyone else). Here are a couple of pics of all the gang including Elliot, Rupert, Katie, Sophie and Chica.

We have now moved to Elephant Butte where we will spend the next couple of days. Chica misses her friends as you can see from the next couple of pics.

She is going to miss all her friends, but soon she will be meeting up with Sadie when Jimbo meets up with John and Linda to head north to Canada. This is a pic of Sadie at Quartzsite.

Chica and I would like to thank all our friends we camped with at Rockhound State Park. We both had a wonderful time. We are both looking forward to seeing you again.

One last hike before heading north

The day prior to leaving Jim, Gayle and myself all want on a hike out in the desert. It was a couple miles past where we hiked the first time. It was a neat spot. We even found some flowers. It is amazing how beautiful plants grow where there is absolutely NO water.

Jim and Gayle led the way as we climbed next to a wash. They are very experienced hikers and it took a lot to keep up with them.

We didn’t make it to the top but had some terrific views nevertheless.

This next rock formation looked like an elephant.

Off to Elephant Butte State Park

We took off Monday and stopped at Elephant Butte State Park at the South Monticello campground. I have been here many times in the past and never tire of the beautiful here. I took a couple of pics to show you.

I was only going to stay there one night but changed my mind and stayed two instead. I am glad I did as the wind was blowing pretty good and wouldn’t really have wanted to drive in it.

Next stop Albuquerque

I will be heading to Albuquerque tomorrow and staying at the Enchanted Trails RV Park just west of the city. I have an appointment at the Apple Store on Thursday and I hope they can fix my phone at that time. On Friday I will have my interview with Amazon for next winters job.

Getting Ready for Winter in Northern Nevada

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Jim Melvin

Extend-A-Stay

I moved from Deming, NM up to the Enchanted Trails RV Park just west of Albuquerque, NM on I 40. The main reason I stopped there was to get an Extend-A-Stay propane connection installed. I wanted to be able to hook-up my propane barbeque and also be able to attach an extra propane bottle (5 or 10 gallon) to give me more propane in the winter months. I will especially need it this winter when I am workamping at Amazon which is in Fernley, NV. It has been known to snow there but I am sure it will be rather cold.

I always go to R&L Enterprises that is located within the park at Enchanted Trails RV Park. Ask for Randy and you will get someone who not only knows all about propane but doesn’t charge much for his labor. He only charged me $20 to install all the parts and I had the gas lines made to my specs. He is located in the trailer on the right as you enter the Enchanted Trails RV Park. This is a couple of pics of the installed parts. It is the gold tee.

Barbeque Hook-up

I can now hook up a external propane tank and I can also run my barbeque directly off of it, thus elemenating the need to purchase the small propane tanks I was presently using. This shows the barbeque already hooked up to the propane tank. Those propane tanks cost about $5.12 for two tanks and they did not last very long.

Pelonis Heater – Model HF-0003

On the way to Albuquerque I stopped at the Ace Hardware Store in Socorro, NM where I purchased 2 Pelonis Electric Heaters Model HF-0003. They are on sale for $12.99 thru Oct 30. They are very portable and extremely easy to operate. I heard about these thru the lifewithalazydazerv yahoo group. At $12.99 each I decided to purchase 2 of them as I will be in cold weather this winter as I previously mentioned. I will place one in the front of the rig and one in the rear. It has 3 power settings of 600, 900, 1500 watts. There is also a fan setting that runs with the heat off. This heater has a thermostat control knob which can be adjusted anywhere from minimum to maximum. I tested mine on the 900 watts setting with about medium heat. It takes about 8 amps for that setting. I was amazed at the amount of heat it produces. It almost got too hot. The nice thing is that it is extremely quiet. Here is a pic of one.

Although I am not looking forward to cold weather I feel I am prepared for it and hopefully will be very comfortable inside my home on wheels no matter what the temperature is outside.

Taking Care of Business at Low-Hi RV Park

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Jim Melvin

Moving north to Deming, NM

I moved on to Low-Hi RV Park in Deming, NM in order to get a few things done. This is the LOW (Loners on Wheels) headquarters and I haved stayed here many times. Since I am a LOW member it only costs me $10 per night for electric/water. No too shabby !!!!!

Things to do but nothing got done…

I will be here for 5 nights. I got up Monday and headed to downtown Deming to get a haircut. I struck out there as it was closed on Monday. Then I was out of checks so went into Wells Fargo to get just a few until my check order catches up with me. The “Occupy” people were picketing the bank. I felt bad even going in there, but they have all my money for now. The lady who waited on me said they come 3 checks to a sheet and they cost $1 each. You have got to be kidding!!!! I turned around and walked out and decided I would use me debit card instead. These “Occupy” people have the right idea. The big banks are ripping off the little guy!

Nothing accomplished today but stopped at the grocery store for a few items including desert for the pot luck tonight. Monday is always pot luck night at the Low-Hi and you better bring an empty stomach. There is way too much food for any one person can eat. And so gooood too.

Tried to get into the 6:00pm card game but it was filled up so watched “Dancing with the Stars with Harry and Peter. I hadn’t seen it for some time so wasn’t familiar with any of the dancers.

Finally got a haircut

Tuesday I got up, made breakfast and headed down to the barber once again. Frank’s Barber Shop is a small shop that has been there long before the 70’s. Fernando took it over from his father Frank and told me how it was back in the hippy days of the 70’s when no one cut their hair. I usually go there everytime I am in Deming and need a hair cut. He really cut it short, but at least it will take a while to grown out again.

Finished up dental work

Drove down to Palomas, Mexico for my last visit with my dentist for a while. I got my permanent crown and then she cleaned my teeth. The total cost of the crown was $180 and another $30 for the cleaning. I go to the American Dental Care just in back of the Pink Store and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

North to Albuquerque

I really enjoyed spending a few days at the Low-Hi RV Park and caught up with many old friends and met a few new friends as well. It is a great central location for traveling in the Southwest. Tomorrow I head up to Albuquerque where I will have a valve put on my propane tank that will allow me to add an additional tank. Then I have a few days to get up to Fernley, NV where I will be workamping at Amazon’s warehouse.

Back On The Road Again

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Jim Melvin

Back in the saddle again..

I was parked at the Balloon Fiesta for 10 days. It was wonderful, but it is always good to be back on the road. I am headed south to meet up with the Escapees Chapter 21 Rally in Columbus, NM. I attended it for the first time last year and became a member of their Chapter. Since then I have also attended their winter rally in Parker, AZ. They are really a fun bunch of people.

Stopover at Elephant Butte

My first stop was going to be Elephant Butte State Park for one night. It is about half way between Albuquerque and Columbus. This is one of my favorite New Mexico state parks. I also met Annie and Rick down their who are headed to Deming. They had me over for a delicious dinner and we sat and talked at their campfire for many hours. It is always a great time when you can spend it with good friends. Thanks so much Annie and Rick for everything. In the morning we said our goodbyes. We will be getting back together in Quartzsite, AZ in January.

I first met Annie and Rick at the Balloon Fiesta last year and we have seen each other several times since then. That is what I love most about the fulltime RV lifestyle. You meet really great people and then connect with them again and again at other places. This happens a lot of the time with many different friends. It is always so much fun comparing notes on where each other has been and what we have done between our meetings.

Elephant Butte is looking very different then when I was last there. Much of the water has gone away from the point at South Monticello campgrounds. You can really see the results of the terrible draught that has hit southern New Mexico. Here is a pic of our campsites right on a bluff overlooking the Rio Grande at sunrise. Annie and Rick’s rig is on the left with mine on the right.

Finally meeting RVSue and Crew

While there I had read RVSue and Crew’s blog and Sue had mentioned that she had been staying at Elephant Butte as well only in a different campground. I thought I would make an attempt at locating her and the crew on my way out of the area. I figured that I could easily spot her Casita and the PTV(Perfect Tow Vehicle). I managed to drive thru all the electric sites available near the marina. I was just about ready to give up, thinking she may have moved down the road, when I finally spotted them in the last electric site area.

If any of you have been following either her blog or mine you probably know that I am usually about 1-2 days behind her. She started out in the northern New Mexico state parks and made her way south, just as I did. In meeting her it was like we were old friends even though we had never met. Plus I got to meet Spike and Bridget her 2 rat terriers who were very friendly to me.

I did get a picture of her with her crew, but she asked that I not post it so I will abide by her wishes. Next time we meet Sue I want a picture!

I did take several pics of the marina area at Elephant Butte.

Tooth problems…

Then it was on to Columbus for the Chapter 21 Rally, where I stayed at Poncho Villa SP. I had already made an appointment with my dentist Dr. Karla. When visiting my family last August, I had chipped a back tooth and was afraid I would lose the entire tooth causing a lot of pain. I was very careful eating on one side. Dr Karla examined my tooth and came to the conclusion that the tooth was still entact, but I would need a crown. I walked across the border and she prepped my tooth for the crown and then gave me a temporary tooth. I am to return in a week for the permanent tooth and to also have my teeth cleaned.

Chapter 21 Breakfast and Meeting

Chapter 21 conducted their business meeting shortly after breakfast and then held a raffle. I won Microsoft Streets and Trips 2011 and a bottle of Chardonnay. Not too shabby!!!!

Crossing the border

Today a group of us walked across the border to go to the Pink Store for dinner and shopping. I have been there before and always enjoy the food and the great margaritas. Today when we got to the border the kids had just gotten off their school buses. They were really cute and all around us.

Meeting a new friend

Dan came to the rally to get ideas about what rig to buy and how people lived the fulltiming lifestyle. He didn’t own an RV yet but was planning to purchase in the next couple of months. I showed him my rv and several others showed them theirs so he had lots of ideas. He and I went on a walk from the Pink Store to the park in Palomas, Mexico.

Shopping and Dining at The Pink Store

Today was our day to meet at The Pink Store and get our fill of shopping and dining. The food was delicious and we all had a great time as you can tell from the following pics.

A mariachi band entertained us while we were dining. The food was great and everyone enjoyed themselves. It was the perfect ending to a great rally.

I will probably travel up to Deming, NM for a few days until I return to the dentist for my crown and cleaning next week. Maybe I can find some friends up at the Low-Hi RV park where all the singles meet.

percha dam state park

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Jim Melvin

After City of Rocks I decided to go back to the singles campground (LowHi RV Ranch) for a couple of days. They have a potluck every Monday so I stopped at the Walmart Superstore and picked up a few items on the way. I decided to stay there 2 nights so I could get in on the boisterous card games both nights. I hadn’t been in the park more than an hour and I had people greeting me. That sure is a nice feeling.

The potluck was delicious and the card games on both nights were very loud and fun. During the day I cleaned up my rig and loaded up on supplies for the next 1 ½ weeks. I am planning on staying in state parks with no hook-ups until I fly back to CA to spend Thanksgiving with my family.

I know $11.15 per night doesn’t seem like a lot of money but when I am paying nothing it seems like a lot. I shouldn’t have to pay any more for campsites between now and my flight on 11/24.

The next day I headed out to Percha Dam State Park. It was only a short drive of about 70+ miles. Again they have both hook-ups and non-hook-ups and I opted for the later. I found one site that looked pretty good and had lots of afternoon sun. The next morning I got up and noticed that the sun was blocked by the trees. So I moved my rig and settled in.

Here is a pic of the dam. There is hardly any water running through it now. (Be sure to double click on all pics to enlarge.)

There is a Sand Crane Festival going on further north of here in a few weeks and the sand cranes are going through this area one flock after another. I took a couple pics of the flocks. It was really neat.

It got very cold up there at night. The temperature was in the low 40’s. I was able to stay quite warm because of 3 things.

1.) I dressed in layers (including long underwear) to sleep and had lots of covers.

2.) I also block off the cab of the RV.

3.) My trusty furnace (I set it to 55).

The cab is not insulated and can let in a lot of either cold or hot air. I used 2 blankets as you can see.

I took daily hikes while there. This pic is of a chili pepper field.

While I was hiking down this road a truck passed me and kept on going to the end. He later drove into the campgrounds and caught up with me. He was very excited since he had seen a Golden Eagle near the end of the road. Both Golden Eagle and Bald Eagle are common to these parts.

I liked this park very much, but decided to continue heading north to end up in Albuquerque by 11/24 for my flight out to California..

Jimbo's Journeys

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