Happy New Year Everyone. We noticed our tailpipe was starting to rust a bit more than the last time we checked, so we decided to get it looked at in El Paso. The first muffler shop we went to had the door open but we couldn’t locate any humans. We tried three separate times to find someone but no luck so we drove into El Paso a little further and found a Midas. Back in the day Midas was strictly mufflers and exhaust issues . Today they do it all, tires, oil change and not so much in the muffler business. They lifted the van and took a look underneath at the exhaust and said it looked fine. The small hole was at the rear and not a concern at all. They brought us over too to take a look. Super nice guys. They said we would be fine for a while that everything looked good. Mercedes doesn’t give up the specs very easily for their exhaust system so we will probably take care of it when we get back to NY
We decided to go to the movies since we had a whole day to kill so we saw Housemaid which was really really good. So many twists and turns in the plot. And the ending was something we definitely didn’t see coming.
We decided to stay the night at the El Paso Cracker Barrel which we have been to in the past. We had dinner there and went to bed.
Next day we drove a couple of hours to Pancho Villa State Park which is in New Mexico right on the border of Mexico. We have been here before as well. It’s $20 for a non electric site and the place was empty. We had a nice day in the sun. This place is loaded with goat heads which were everywhere. I pulled a handful from our small rug in the van.
They are so pointy and sharp and definitely do not want to step on these if you’re barefoot. Ouch
From there we headed 45 minutes north to Rock Hound State Park. We did a nice loop trail and attempted to find some geode’s. Geodes are rocks that you crack open and find fancy colorful shiny glass like substance inside of them. This state park is famous for them and they allow you to take 15 pounds of rocks per person. We didn’t find or take any rocks but we did have a nice hike.
Next day we headed about an hour north to City of Rocks State Park. This place can easily become a National Park. The beauty of being nestled in the rocks is magnificent.
The hiking is awesome all. Lots of trails up and through these magnificent rocks. Lots of Indian Bread holes around as well.
About a mile down the road from this State Park is Faywood Hot Springs which we have been to a few times because Greg loves Hot springs. We have been moving slower than usual in our travels because our friends Barbara and Frank left NY on Dec 30th and are slowly catching up to us. They recently retired, sold their house on Long Island, bought a camper and hit the road just like we did six years ago. They are meeting up with us at Faywood Hot Springs. We arrived around noon check in time and it was pretty cold. We nestled into site 46 and they into site 5.
It was so nice having their camper on these two cold days and nights. They have been cranking their heat and keeping us all warm. Greg, Barbara and Frank have been enjoying the Hot Tubs. I would have taken more photos of that but they went into the clothing optional pools and there were naked people in there with them so no photos. We went on a nice hike up behind the facilities. But for the most part we just hung around and enjoyed each others company and each others food.
Last night the temperatures reached the low 30’s and snow was predicted. So thankful for really good sleeping bags and for our Diesel heater in the van cause that’s way too cold for me. Today we head to Bowie which is about two hours from here.
We headed out to spend a couple of days in BLM land in Bowie Texas at a place called Indian Bread Rock. Other than the wind and cold this place is really amazing. We had fires both nights to keep us warm and went on a hike among the rocks to the bread pots where the Indians would grind the mesquite to make flour to bake bread.
Next we headed out to spend a night in Tucson at a Harvest Host location at a place called Little Anthony’s Diner we had dinner there and also saw the show Belle of the Tombstone which was hysterical. All four of us loved this location. The food was amazing and the show was excellent. The only very bad thing that happened here is that Barbara and Franks electric bikes were stole off the bike rack in pure daylight in a very busy parking lot. Their bikes were secured with locks and straps and still were stolen. Their batteries and keys for the bikes were in the camper so pretty much those two bikes will be worthless to the thieves other than selling them for parts. It’s so frustrating when bad things happen to good people. They filed a police report and called their insurance company. Thats about all they could do in a crappy situation like this.
Today we are heading to the Cactus Forest for a couple of days. One of my favorite places. The Cactus there are so gigantic.
We really loved the Cactus Forest. Stayed a few nights then headed to Phoenix to buy some hiking shoes and a few other necessities. We had dinner at the Cracker Barrel but we decided to sleep in the Walmart Parking Lot. There were lots of other campers so it was a good night. It was Barbara and Franks first time boondocking in a public lot. They survived the night and are really getting the hang of full time camping. Next day headed out to Quartzsite Arizona and found a great spot in BLM land on Plomosa Road. We plan on staying here in Quartzsite for atleast 2 weeks.
It’s been so much fun camping with Barbara and Franks and Piper. Barbara likes to play games, Greg hates games plus Piper is such a good girl. She’s almost like a cat.
The next blog will be all about our adventures here in Quartzsite.
The Van Stops Here 