Yesterday we left Sierra Vista AZ, planning to stop overnight at a rest area Vic found on line. The place had several 5 star ratings from previous visitors. We arrived to find most of the RV and truck parking spots filled by compact cars. Grrr!! Mind you there were plenty of car spaces. A security guard was walking around doing absolutely nothing. We decided to keep going and ended up driving 430 miles that day. It might be a new record. We ended up at a totally forgettable RV park for the night. Didn’t unhook, just left early in the morning.
Today’s stop is called Pecan Valley RV Park. We love it and may stay a few days. Spaces are all pull throughs, ginormous sites, quiet, only about 6 campers. It feels like we are in a park – a very nice and well taken care of park. The owner has chickens and fresh eggs are available.
First thing you seeOur spotChristmas decorations!Chicken CoopGeneral StoreNesting chickens Chickens and goats! This goat has bunny ears
We’ve enjoyed our 3 weeks here in Sierra Vista, AZ. Tomorrow morning we start our journey across the south on I-10 towards Florida. We love the birding opportunities there and we want to visit friends and family on the east coast.
Our first stop will be to see our friends Margo and Davey in TX.
Second stop is Clerbrook in Clermont, FL.
After a couple of months in FL we are heading up the coast visiting friends and family along the way. We’ll be in NH for the annual family reunion in July! I missed it last year so I am super excited about being there this year.
One day we ended up in the town of Patagonia. Initially we stopped for the grassy park (for Zoe). The town was so cute we walked around looking at stuff and found two bushes overgrown with lantana. Butterflies were all over these bushes. We had a lot of fun getting shots of them.
FYI to anyone that wants to send me a Christmas card.
I rented a TEMPORARY post office box. This address is good for at least through December and most probably through January.
Sally Mann/Victor Turnage
P. O. Box 1181
Sierra Vista, AZ 85636
We would love to hear from you !!!
Yesterday we scouted a couple of birding places. First was San Pedro House. It’s a huge preserve with a house converted to a gift shop as the entrance. We walked one of the trails and saw a hawk and a Tarantula, got pics of neither. Then we walked around the house exterior and watched the birds in the trees and on the feeders.
Next stop was Ramsey Canyon, a small cozy area just outside an Inn. Wild turkeys walked through the area. We saw woodpeckers and a titmouse.
Gorgeous treesBird watching areaGoldfishPainted Red StartYellow eyed JuncoBlack PhoebeWild Turkey Turkey and Deer who photobombed who? Haha
There is at least one more wildlife area within 20 miles and a few more wildlife areas further away.
We are enjoying this base, the town, and all it has to offer. The temps are perfect – highs in the 60’s and lows in the 30’s. It’s been a while since we had so much fun birding. Especially we are seeing birds we haven’t seen before.
We left Carrizozo on Monday and stayed one night in Deming NM at a family run RV park ($25/night). It’s not fancy but it is well maintained. Bonus there is a Mexican restaurant next to it. The same person owns it all.
Where they cook the foodPart of the really cute interior
The owner is Wayne. He’s 90. His friend (brother?) is Henry, he’s about 85.
It’s pronounced Wachooka.
Very very nice RV park. We chose it because it’s a military base, reasonable price ($450/month) including power and it’s a great area for wildlife. We plugged in. Why not, the power is included so we are using their power for heat instead of buying propane.
Morning walkThat’s the office behind us with a huge laundry room
We’ll likely be here for two months. There is no mail service here.
We got on the road Friday morning, the day after Thanksgiving. Our first night was in a tiny (about 15 sites) campground in Mosquera NM. There were hookups but the whole thing was on a dirt lot. Yeah lots of ambiance lol. There was an equestrian school next door and horses boarded on two sides of us. Across the street was a community of single family houses each on a half acre. Only two are occupied, the rest under construction. Two more sections were staked out so it would be at least 30 houses when done. Beyond the construction most of the rest of the town was either dilapidated or abandoned. Two blocks over was a street with at least 10 businesses, all appearing to be operational. Strange place to say the least.
Back on the road … We were looking for a rest stop and made do with a pull off. I had the key in the door of the camper when a sudden microburst grabbed the door and flung me onto the pavement. Flat on my back. Knocked the wind out of me but I didn’t lose consciousness. My elbow was scraped and I had a headache for a couple of hours. Don’t worry family I am fine! Seriously I am fine!!
Second (last) night we stayed at Carrizozo, NM, an actual real campground. It’s called Valley of Fires Recreation Area. It was formed by a lava flow 5,000 years ago.
We’ve stayed here before. There’s a fun boardwalk/trail.
It was extremely windy all night long, finally calming down about 5 am. The camper was rocking!!
Thus campground has become overrun with these lethal stickers called goathead stickers. They have so many sharp edges the only way to get them off is with tweezers or scissors. Miserable little buggers and they are hard for Zoe to deal with. If she steps on one she comes to a dead stop and waits for me to take care of it.
Malpais nature trail
Waaay in the distance you can see the trail. The landscape was very interesting.
TrailPlants growing in the lava rock Crazy texture
It was a very enjoyable walk, less than a mile round trip. The beginning was downhill for 1/4 mile, no big deal until you walk back up. 😫
We are resting today. Two more days of travel starting tomorrow.
We will celebrate the holiday with Dawn, Vic’s daughter. It turned out neither of them was excited about eating turkey so we each picked our favorite part of the meal. Dawn picked deviled eggs, Vic chose stuffing and I picked pumpkin pie. I’m also making chicken enchiladas because those 3 things do not make a meal.
We are leaving Friday Nov 28, heading to Tucson AZ. There’s a military base in Sierra Vista called Camp Alachua. It will take us 4 days of driving plus a couple of extra days for when we stop 2 nights instead of just one.
Starting Saturday the 29th here in Pueblo West the temps will be dipping well below 20 degrees at night. One night it’s supposed to be 13 below. We said Nope, time to move on.
Dawn will be fine in her camper. Her friend Calvin put up insulated skirting (covers the open area underneath the camper) which helps significantly with keeping the heat in. She’s also getting a large container of propane which will give her a steady reliable source of propane so she’s not having to refill the regular size tanks. The company will come by weekly and “top off” her supply.
We moved sites. One opened up near us we liked better, mainly the trees on this one don’t block the afternoon sun which is essential to power our solar. With the sun low on the horizon these days we need every minute of solar.
Our current site # is 34.
It’s getting cold here. It went down to 22 last night. Brrr 🥶
There is horse boarding here. One guy in a camper has a horse and in a separate enclosure a goat named Linus.
Hello dear friends and family. We are still here at Camp Hale in Colorado Springs. A couple of dermatology appointments turned into a couple more so here we still are following up as necessary.
As you all remember Vic’s daughter lives in this area. She decided she would like to live in a camper like we do so Vic scoured the internet and found the perfect one for her. It’s in a town called Thornton CO, we’ll pick it up on Thursday and take it to Pueblo West Campground. Pueblo West is about 35 minutes from here. After much searching Vic found the campground. He and I drove out there last week and thought it was so great we decided to move there ourselves so we’ll be neighbors with her. The spot we reserved for ourselves is available Nov 4.
Bonus … we can get mail and packages there!
Pueblo West Campground
Site 84
480 E. McCullough Blvd
Pueblo, Colorado 81007
We aren’t keeping this site year round but this address will be good until mid December.
We have been talking about domiciling here in Colorado. I think we can use the campground for an address. The vehicle registration fees are reasonable. We’ll see how that goes.
We are enjoying the fall colors.
Vine turned red on a pine tree
That’s all the news for now. Stay safe everyone. XO
livingthedreamwithsallyandvic/wp-admin 