Meeting Your RV While in the Field, New Beginnings at Picacho Peak

The adventure began on October 28, 2016 as we boldly left our home to go where everyone else goes.  The water department did not appear as planned, we had been told they would be out before noon.  Carol called and was told they do not turn off water on Fridays despite their making the appointment.  A short, pointed conversation between Carol and the Department resulted in her resending their email of the appointment and their grudging acknowledgment of their error.  They promised to come out Monday and do the deed.  I really have lost faith in our civil servants over the years and this just reinforces that thinking.  The Cameo pulls well behind the Cummin's, almost effortlessly compared to previous 5th wheels we have towed.  Fuel mileage averages 11 miles per gallon driving 65 miles per hour and being gentle when off cruise control.  Our first stop was in Deming New Mexico at the Dream Catcher RV Park.  This park is located just off I-10 and is an Escapee Park.  Inexpensive, friendly, excellent dog run and all sites are pull throughs it has been a favorite layover during our trips to the south of the New Mexico.  The plan had been to go to Tombstone for our anniversary and enjoy the wooden sidewalks, old school western bars and just enjoy ourselves before our commitment at Picacho.  Pulling into Dream Catcher was like returning to an old friend, we got the site we go to everytime, a plus and close to the dog run, important to our girls.  We unhooked and discovered our front landing gear was broken.  Needless to say we could not totally unhook and spent the night attached to the truck.  Deming is RV central for New Mexico but getting someone out on a Saturday was not going to happen.  I opened the front and began tinkering with the jacks and discovered a bolt had been sheered on the cross rod.  Further investigation revealed a sheet metal screw had been inserted in the sheered rod to make it work, probably at Pedata where we bought the rig, and it got it off their lot.  I reinserted the screw and presto, we had jacks again.  The problem looked like an easy fix, and we went to Ace Hardware to purchase the right size nut and bolt, problem solved we figured.  We left Dream Catcher feeling emboldened by the simple repair and decided to go to Voyager Resort in Tucson since we had spend more time in Deming than anticipated.  Voyager is a favorite of ours with great pizza, hot tubs, swimming pools and decent accomodations.  We had planned to celebrate our anniversary at their restaurant but it was closed due to a staffing shortage.  We went for a nice long walk with the pups and ended up deep in "No Dog Country" amidst the sea of park models lining the streets.  They actually have no dog areas and the gentleman in the golf cart showed us the quickest way out.  High drama in the Resort!  Our time ended at Voyager and we left for Picacho on the 1st of November.
Our arrival was like returning home, yes I remember that bush and they took the sign down we had put up and so on.  Folks seemed happy to see us, our co-hosts had pulled in the night before and it all seemed to be coming together.  It was good to see the Peak, it has a beautiful majesty to it.  We pulled in, lined up the rig and suddenly the landing gear began to give us the same problems.  I had purchased and extra nut and bolt so I inserted them and was able to complete the task.  The message was simple, there was more wrong with the jacks than I was able to diagnose.  We called the RV Repairman we knew from last year and when it was all said and done we bought a new set of landing gear plus installation.  Still our rig was valued quite a bit higher than what we paid so I felt OK with this except I do not have a lot of money to toss around.  The event allowed us to upgrade the front jacks to an independently adjustable system, which is very good for leveling. We got them installed and Jim, from Jim's Mobile RV came out and did the install several hundred dollars cheaper than competitors, I like that!  Our arrival at Picacho allowed us to languish about, unpack, set up and just relax if we wanted to.  The new hosts began talking like they wanted to be somewhere "else", did not like the noise the cart made as we make our rounds and felt burdened with Camp Host duties in general.  The long and short of it is they left just after Thanksgiving. A major search went up and someone was found and they arrived just a few days ago.
We decided to put a skirt on the front of the Cameo to put the bicycles under and store other things.  The wind causes some issues and we did have a very intense storm blow through causing the bicycles to be upended.  I am hoping to engineer a base using PVC pipes and somehow secure them to some large railroad ties we had sitting around at the Park.  I asked Jim, the RV Repairman to listen to our AC/Heat Pump which he did.  Jim advised the compressor was going out on the unit and we could not get parts as Carrier is no longer manufacturing for RVs.  Carol and I discussed it and decided to get the new AC with heat pump from Coleman.  Not cheap and hopefully the end of major repairs on this rig.  We will be doing this in January and thankfully we are not in need of air conditioning.

Campers seem to come in all flavors with some coming through that leave such a small footprint you barely know they were here.  There are others that could care less what they do and how they leave things.  It never ceases to amaze me the amount of ingeniuity I witness from folks in their camping endeavors.  One gentleman came through on a Harley, packed to the gills, set up a canvas tent and spent the night.  I went over to visit with him and he related this is his home, he has no other vehicle or domicile.  I was impressed and he was not a penniless drifter as staying here costs $30 per night.  He was living this life by choice at 64 years old and did have a storage unit in Yuma.  Claims to go north in the summer and reside in New Mexico and Arizona during the winter.  He explained his canvas tent holds heat and stands up better than ripstop nylon.  Another couple were touring with a two door Wrangler pulling a trailer.  The trailer extended upwards and made into a tent for a sleeping area leaving the lower portion for storage and a kitchen.  Huge million dollar motorhomes come through and camp next to folks in a tent.  Another couple did not want to build a campfire so they got a coffee can, put rows of cardboard in it and filled it with parafin.  They claim it makes for great heat and burns enough for them.  Another couple had a rebuilt 1952 trailer that he had redone the exterior and interior in a frame off restoration.  Such passion and enjoyment, I was in awe.  I have noticed a number of older trailers come through and each has a story similar to this.
Christmas is almost here.  The plan is for all volunteers to come to our rig and sit around a campfire on the Eve, perhaps hearing animals speak at midnight.  Carol and I got some stocking stuffers for each other and ham for Christmas dinner.  She has gone all out putting lights on the rig and the campsite.  We figure the big presents are tied up in the front landing gear and air conditioning which is fine.  Ariel and Grey Lady have adjusted well.  I take them on a long walk in the desert after dark which they absolutely love.  They are able to run free and sniff to their hearts content and I get to walk off Christmas Cookies.
I had best close this and get on to other things.  Have a very Merry Christmas.

 Our current front yard.

 Patagonia State Park, Lake and bridge with Carol on it!