ON THE ROAD AGAIN! 1 Month of Full Time RVing! Arizona, New Mexico and TV Show Interview - Oh My!!
Thank you to Main Street RV(Apache Junction, AZ) for getting Lyf Uninterrupted back on the road again! They did a phenomenal job of getting our rig done quickly when others told us 1-2 weeks! Pete and family - you are wonderful!
Once we were back on the road, we landed on the Mogollon Rim to soak up the pine tree smells and cool breezes. We stayed on national forest service land which meant the price per night was FREE!! We had an awesome campsite and soon found out we were staying on a celebrity site!
Stay tuned to Youtube for the video on where we stayed. Hint, we put out the whiskey for his men and beer for his horses (wink).
The Mogollon Rim never disappoints. We had temps in the low to mid 70's and practically the whole campsite area to ourselves for 5 days. We were tucked in behind a group of trees and could barely hear our closest neighbor. On Saturday, we visited two of the three lakes (Woods Canyon and Willow Springs) and went for ice cream at the Rim Resort store. The quiet time allowed us to get a couple of videos created including our 1 Month of Full Time RVing: https://youtu.be/N--9i7L1mBc and a product demo and review of one of our favorite RV accessories -the Pop Up Pit: https://youtu.be/5IKYQC3EskY Because this fire pit sits up higher than a normal campsite fire, it kept us much warmer and was at a perfect height to cook s'mores! Yum! (I know..... not on the keto diet (sad face then happy face). If you're interested, you can get a 15% discount by using code BSJLU19 at firesideoutdoor.com.
We left the Mogollon Rim and headed to our first unknown destination of Bluewater Lake near Grants, NM. However, we found ourselves taking an impromptu detour of the Petrified Forest National Park. There are two sections of the park - the Painted Desert and The Forest. We only had time to check out the Painted Desert and it was GORGEOUS. The whole trail is about 28 miles one way and the cost is about $20 per vehicle. If you go, plan to spend the day as there is a LOT to see and many trails you can take to get up close and personal. Seeing the Painted Desert, to us, was as magical as seeing the Grand Canyon, and just as surreal.
Stay tuned for an upcoming video on our tour of the Petrified Forest National Park.
We left the Petrified Forest on our way to Bluewater Lake State Park. When we arrived, we found most of the sites to be remarkably un-level and the park to be quite tight to maneuver our 35' Class A. The park itself was set in a beautiful setting among trees on the side of the lake. We highly recommend this park for smaller rigs, tents and the like. Because the sites were so un-level and we planned to stay for a few days, we ended up leaving and forfeiting our nightly fee. Forgetting that NM was an hour ahead of AZ, we were now burning daylight as we struggled to find another camping spot. We recalled seeing a billboard ad for Bar S RV park. Rookie mistake in not allowing a time buffer in case we had to move to Plan B. Our 3 hour trip ended up being 6 hours and we just squeaked in before nightfall. Ugh!
Bar S RV Park, just outside Grants, New Mexico, was a nice park but quite noisy. Trains ran close to the park almost every hour. The Good Sam guide pointed out that the park is in the "Quiet Train Zone", but we soon found out that only meant the engineer couldn't blow the horn in the vicinity. We didn't need a horn as we were already rocked by the vibrations and sound of the train on the tracks. Yikes!
On a positive note, the price was pretty cheap for full hook ups ($18 per night) and they had a fenced in dog run. Lucy and Rikki loved that!
We made a day- trip to Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave. What an awesome walk along the trails. We happened to pick a day where the weather forecast was "iffy" and just as we ended the trail, the rain came pouring down. Along the walk, we saw lava flow, twisted trees, sinkholes, caves and of course, a volcano. Entrance fees were $12 per person and well worth it! It's a beautiful trail through the desert and forest area.
Ancient Ice!
Twisted Wood
Next stop on our journey was Santa Fe, NM. We had heard about Cochiti Lake State Park from another Full Time RV'ing family so we made reservations there for a week. So much to see in and around Santa Fe that we knew we needed the extra time. Plus, the park was near a lake! Nightly fees at this state park were $20, but we have the America the Beautiful pass so only $10 per night for water and electric. I must say the wifi here is fantastic as well. We can see the cell tower from our window.
We're working on a campsite review of Cochiti which will be up on YouTube in a few weeks.
On the day after we arrived, we got a second chance to record an interview for a national, emmy-award winning TV show. Our rig looked like a makeshift TV studio for a couple of hours. It was great fun and the producer kept the interview lighthearted and fun. Can't wait to see what they put together on RV life.
We spent a couple of days touring theSanta Fe Plazaand visiting threevery old churches. They were magnificent! We walked theSanta Fe River Parkand shopped the arts and crafts booths in the plaza square. The weather was perfect!
On another day, we hiked the Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. "WOW" is all we could say throughout the park. There are two trails with one being ADA accessible and the other requiring a 600 foot climb over rocks and slick trail. We opted for the more challenging one. Of course! We were rewarded with some of the most amazing views and sights we've ever seen. A must do if you're in the area. Access fee is $5 per vehicle but we happened to visit on a Free day. Lucky us!
The remaining days were spent enjoying the amenities around Cochiti Lake. They have a boat ramp/dock and picnic area, along with a really nice swimming beach area and walking paths.
As this week draws to a close, we'll be packing up and heading to our next destination in NM with plans to be in CO, hopefully, by Father's Day. We're starting to look forward to some cooler weather - somewhere! All in all, NM was a big surprise for us!
We enjoyed the beauty of the red rocks, the expansive terrain, the quaintness of Santa Fe and the national monuments all around us. There were many more we just didn't have time to see. Next Time!