Pages

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Heading Further East

After five nights at Quail Ridge we pulled out Thursday morning and continued our trek East. After two travel days we are presently, Friday (March 1, 2024), parked at the Walmart in Ft. Stockton, TX.  Thursday night we spent the night at the Las Cruces, NM Overlook Rest Area, or what we like to call it the Roadrunner Rest Area.

Looking out out door towards Las Cruces


Our last two days at Quail Ridge RV in Huachuca City, AZ

Tuesday, February 27. 2024

We had a surprise today when Kim and Ken, Journey with Ken and Kim, showed up for one night at Quail Ridge. Why is there story to tell but we did get in a last short visit for this winter and that was a great surprise for us. A picture would be nice to add here but again there is none. When ever I am enjoying the company of friends I just never think of a picture. Glad we got in one last visit Kim and Ken, be safe as you travel, and we are looking forward to the next time we cross paths. 

We made one last trip over to Tombstone.
Is that a snake in the clouds just over the hill in front of us.

We enjoyed a late lunch at Big Nose Kate's Saloon.
I tried a "I'm Your Huckleberry Margarita"
very tart and fun to try one time. 

Leaving Tombstone we continued south on AZ-80 then 
turned on to AZ-90 towards Sierra Vista. 
Another snake cloud?

Stopping in Sierra Vista we picked up an Amazon Order at a locker and then a few groceries at Fry's before heading back home. 


Wednesday, February 28, 2024.

Today Tom took care of filing our Income Tax and I drove over to Sierra Vista to do some last minute shopping. I was hoping to complete my shopping and miss the predicted rain that was coming our way. Except for a few drops here and there I did just that. That is until I was in the Jeep headed home then the sky opened up and it came down. I lucked out again as it was just sprinkling while we unloaded the purchases. Though it did rain more during the day.

I stopped to take some pictures of the sky before the 
rain came down.

Again I stopped to take a picture of what would usually be 
the Whetstone Mountains in front of me at this point. I 
could just barely make them out through the rain.
Bottom picture is what we usually see along here.

You have probably heard me mention how much I do love the Ocotillos we see out here so I did some research and found out that you can plant them in a pot. I have a feeling it needs to be a bigger one then this but I decided to try anyway. I also read it does not hurt the Ocotillo to take cuttings from it. 
These three cuttings are already losing their leaves but I did expect that to happen. So now we wait to see if they will root; from what I have read it can take several months. Fingerscrossed they do take root if not there is always next year to try again and maybe in a larger pot.



Thursday, February 29, 2024 (Traveling Day 1--244 Miles)

It was somewhat chilly as we finished packing up and pulled out of our site at Quail Ridge RV Park. Our first stop was to top off our propane tank. While that was happening I took the pictures below. We then hooked up the Jeep, (side note: it slipped right into tow mode) and Tom drove over to the office as I walked over to take care of the bill.

The second picture down is of the Stinger "B" parked in front
of the office while I walked over.

Today's ride started on AZ-90 going north and when we reached I-10 we turned right to continue our trek East.

The Whetstone Mountains are on our left as we travel north.

This was a surprise we have not seen this open in awhile.
They pretty much waved us through. They were looking in
the backseats of the cars in front of us. 

Another picture of the Whetstone Mountains.
\
After topping off the diesel tank we have merged
on to I-10 heading East. 

Coming up on one of my favorite parts of today's ride

the Texas Canyon.

These three vehicles, all towing, went speeding by us only
to slow down as we started into the canyon.

It is always amazing to drive through here and see how these large boulders are balanced on each other and stay up there. I take quite a few pictures every time we drive through this beautiful canyon. Today I looked for other things besides the precarious balance of the boulders if you do not see what I see that is okay. I hope you enjoy the pictures just the same.

This is honestly the first time I saw this heart outline.

You may have to click on this picture and enlarge it to see the
face towards the right of the center of the picture.

Again clicking and enlarging can you see the bird pretty much
in the center of the picture.

We pulled in to have lunch here and this was our view.

This was also in our view. I know what I see what do you see?

Lunch finished we are on our way.

This semi passed us and I just liked what was on the back of it.

Views of our ride. The upper right is in Wilcox.

We saw a lot of these guys today and I am not sure what they

are. At first I thought Century Plant but they also look a lot
 like a Joshua Tree on the bottom. 

Again I liked the look of this semi. I mean it has the name
Stagecoach on it and I think that is perfect for out here in the west.

More views as we continue east.


Then we left Arizona behind and New Mexico's beauty
was in front of us.

I do like seeing windmills along the way.

I looked up just in time to see this sign and get the picture.

Today Tom steered the Stinger "B" pass six vehicles.
I think that is more then we passed our entire last Adventure...LOL

We can see Las Cruces ahead of us
;
and we are almost to what we hope will be our stop for the night.

Parked for the night.

We went around the circle twice then parked and waited. In no time the semi in front of us pulled out and we moved up. We then got out and took a walk and watched. Then as luck would have it a truck parked in the best spot, in our opinion, pulled out and Tom pulled into it and we are settled for the night.


Pictures I took while we walked and hoped the truck would move.

This is one of our favorite rest areas to stop in for the night. The views over looking Las Cruces are wonderful and it is always clean and fairly quiet. Plus, it is were the Roadrunner made out of "junk/recyclables" lives. 

It was a good travel day under beautiful blue skies and fluffy clouds. Most importantly it was an uneventful day and those are truly our favorite type of travel days.

I am going to stop for now, so the blog does not get to long, and will continue with Day 2 in the next blog. 

 


We are glad you stopped by!
If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

20 comments:

  1. A great catchup, Deb.
    We've talked about that rest area but have never got there. Would we be able to open our slides if we didn't get an outside spot?
    I saw the heart and the face but not the bird. 😁
    Anyway, continue to travel safe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is no angle parking for semis or RV's it is only outside spots. Tom and I think you would be able to open your bedroom slide up there if you decided to stop.

      Delete
  2. What do I see in the pic… two things, first a dolphin looking at me as it jumps from the waters and second a bird perched and looking around at some noise or movement. I did see the same things you mentioned in the other pics.
    We have enjoyed the walk around views at the RR rest area, although I don’t recall ever staying there.
    We were very happy to hear that all our missing neighbours had another visit together! There is something bittersweet in a quick unexpected visit after winter goodbyes have been already said but the visits are always welcome!
    Yeah Tom, good passing. Lol
    Safe travels !

    Deb

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first thing I saw, and the reason I took the picture, was the bird. When I put the picture on the blog is when I spotted the dolphin.
      We have stayed up there twice over the years. One other time we stopped and the wind was to much. There are some pretty views.
      It was certainly a nice surprise to see Kim and Ken again.

      Delete
  3. Used the RR rest area a few times, but never overnighted there.
    Love looking at all the shapes in the rocks and clouds.
    Glad your trip is not being affected by the weather.
    Stay Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is always amazing to me that we can all be looking at the same thing and see something totally different. I have always thought it was fun to spot the different shapes in the clouds and rocks.

      Delete
  4. We enjoyed our unscheduled visit with you guys… continued safe travels!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ocotillo is my favourite desert plant as well so I am really curious to see how your plantings do. If they work I may take a few cuttings and try and plant them in our site next year. Safe travels :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So far the cuttings seem to be solid in the dirt. and I am hoping they will root. From what I read, when I was looking for information about potting them, you really should not have a problem planting them in the ground. I have seen fences of Ocotillos where a couple of the branches are in the ground and have leaves.

      Delete
  6. Oops that above comment is from me. I hate how blogger makes me put my info in every time, it never used to do that.

    ReplyDelete
  7. People always say that's such a boring drive, but I just love it!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seriously I would not describe that drive as boring but then there are people that only see the desert as brown and boring. I hope I always keep my eyes open to the beauty.

      Delete
    2. Seriously I would not describe that drive as boring but then there are people that only see the desert as brown and boring. I hope I always keep my eyes open to the beauty.

      Delete
  8. I love the truck's back end! :) How cool you got too spend a little more time with Ken and Kim! Beautiful drive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am not surprised that you would like the truck's back end...:) It was nice to see them again.

      Delete
  9. Hope that Ocotillo is going to make it. Are you going to travel with it? Hope we are going to meet up somewhere sometime in the future. Safe driving!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope it is going to make it, also, and yes it is traveling with us. It would certainly be nice to cross paths in the future. Fingerscrossed it happens.

      Delete
  10. There certainly are some interesting sights as you drive across the country. Keep us posted on how your little cactus does, I hope it makes it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am giving it a little pep talk almost every day. I hope it roots. I am catching up on my blog reading and I am thinking we need to route so we can check out that Flora Bama Bar. There are a lot of interesting sites as we drive down our highways.

      Delete