Nothing much to write about the last few days, we’ve spent most of the time either looking for fifth wheels or looking at neighborhoods around the Phoenix area. We have found some fifth wheels that we liked but we are not quite ready to buy yet; at least we now have some ideas about what we want in one, and also some more information about owning and towing one since they are different than the trailer. We also found some decent areas in and around Phoenix that may be a possibility for a base for us. The houses here are very reasonably priced and the neighbourhoods seem well maintained. It would take a lot more research before I would want to commit to settling here, and do I really want to live in the middle of a desert with all the dust and the temperatures? We are going to keep looking as we make our way back around the US but we can’t rule Phoenix out completely.
While we have been here we also got to spend some time with some new friends which has been great, hopefully we’ll get to meet up along the road someplace and thank god for Facebook.

Mike: It's just another big city and hotter than hell in the summer! Let's move on!

On the road today for a few hours heading further south to Apache Junction, Arizona. The drive wasn’t long but was mostly along the freeway. While we were driving I looked up the park we were heading to. We already knew that it was a senior park which meant that one of us had to be over 60, but when I was reading about the park I learned that the other half of the couple had to be 45+ and well I’m not there yet. So when we got just down the road from the front gate mike pulled into a gas station and made me get in the trailer while he drove into the park. As it turned out there was no one manning the front entrance when we checked in so we were safe; I’m going to have to keep a low profile for the next few days in case they ask us to leave.
Since there was nobody in the office Mike checked the notice board for check in info and found a short list of spaces that we could park in. We drove around and checked them out and finally found one that will work for the few days that we are here. This is a little bit different than the parks we usually stay at, ok a lot different. I think this is the first one of this kind that I’ve stayed at, there are more permanent mobile homes than anything else with some RV’s scattered in between them. It seems that all the old people from the north of the US and Canada come here for the cold 6 months of the year then close up the mobile homes and head back home for the summer. It’ll be ok for now but it’s not really anyplace I’d want to spend any length of time.

Mike: This a senior mobile home park and were just "trailer trash"!

The drive we were going to take yesterday we did today instead. We started out driving through Cottonwood and
through to Clarkdale. Cottonwood is quite a busy little town with lots of shopping, Clarkdale not so much, but it did have a park. We continued on through Clarkdale and made our way up the hill to Jerome, which is always a cool place to visit. We pretty much just passed through it today though as there were so many people visiting it was impossible to park anywhere. From Jerome we took a beautiful scenic drive to Sedona. The views in this area are fantastic with all the red clay; my pictures are not so fantastic. We stopped in Sedona and had lunch before heading back to Cottonwood and the laundromat. I spent a couple of hours doing laundry while Mike went shopping for man things.

Mike: Man buy man toys and woman go to river to wash clothes! Ugh!

We had originally decided that we would take a drive around the area today but I didn’t want to go anywhere so we stayed home and did chores. We actually got a bunch of stuff done that we have been putting off cos neither one of us really wanted to do it, the main one being cleaning the dead bugs off the front of the trailer. It was super dirty and it was really hard to chip all the dead bodies off but we did it and it looks so much better. We also cleared out all the storage areas and cleaned some other bits and pieces. It was not the most fun way to spend the day but we got a lot done so it was a very productive one.

Mike: Fun day on the ole' homestead. We had a mass funeral.

It’s Thanksgiving again. We got up this morning and took a walk around the preserve; Mike even came for a walk with me. It’s still cold here, the wind is a little hard on the ears, but it’s so much warmer than in New Mexico. We stopped by the store to get a laundry card but they wanted us to pay two whole dollars just for the card; we didn’t get one so we have to head into town sometime on the next few days to find a laundry.
We spent most of this Thanksgiving cooking, both food to eat for dinner and beans for the next few weeks; it was such a nice day that Mike decided to cook outside. This evening we had a nice meal with tofurky, stuffing and all the trimmings, and there’s lots of left overs for tomorrow.

Mike: Was that a Tofurky or a Turducken? What's a Tofurky?

This morning was even colder than yesterday morning. When we left the park at around 8 o’clock the temperature in Serena was 19 degrees. Fortunately none of the hoses froze but there were plenty of little icicles hanging from the bottom of the trailer; it’s definitely a good time to be heading out of New Mexico and into the warmer weather of Arizona.
We headed south from Gallup and made our way to Cottonwood in Arizona. The drive wasn’t too bad and not too long, but the ‘scenery’ wasn’t very exciting and, as with travelling through Texas and New Mexico, it was almost like we weren’t moving because the landscape didn’t change, just lots and lots of desert.



Our surroundings changed quite dramatically right around the time we got to the turn off for Flagstaff, then there were trees in every direction as far as the eye could see. At this point we headed south proper on I17 and dropped around 3000 ft in elevation.





We got to the park just after noon and got checked in. The ranger on the gate wasn’t the most helpful of folk, he didn’t know the answer to any questions that Mike asked – just the kind of person to have checking people in! There was quite a long drive from the front gate to the actually RV spaces and the road was quite steep, but we managed to find a decent space with lots of room around it without too much trouble. The park itself is in a valley with mountains all around so it’s quite sheltered from the weather; I guess that’s why there are so many people who are staying here for the entire winter.

Mike: If you don't like your job, do something else.

Brrr, it was cold this morning, Serena had ice all over, thankfully we didn't have to get on the road too early as we only had a 2 1/2 hour drive to Gallup. It was a very quiet drive as Mike didn't want to talk very much as he was up most of the night cos he was poorly bad. He looked pretty rough this morning and getting hitched up was a much longer process than usual as he was on go slow. We finally got out of Tijeras just before nine and headed west along the I40, across the Continental Divide and into Gallup; we are now on the right side of the States where everything runs towards the Pacific!



We stopped only a couple of times and got to the campsite just after noon. It's an ok place for a stop over, clean and roomy spaces although it's going to be an extra cold one tonight, around 19 degrees. Mike did what he had to outside before showering and getting into bed. He's still there now, I should probably wake him as it's almost time to go to bed.

Mike: I got me a "tummy bug"!!

Off along the Turquoise Trail today which links Albuquerque with New Mexico and runs around 60 miles along route 14, passing through a number of small towns beginning with Tijeras and including Golden, Madrid, and Cerrillos. It is so named because of the turquoise mines that existed along its length that was first mined by the Pueblo people.
The drive was nice as the road was very quiet, but the towns we passed through were a little disappointing. The trail is supposed to be littered with artists studios and boutiques selling jewellery and such but we saw none of it. Perhaps because it is the off season but maybe because once again my expectations of a place were way too high; even during the summer I imagine that the junk and trashy neighbourhoods still exist. The views were amazing however, and even though the terrain is totally different than I am used to, in it’s own way it is very beautiful. I prefer somewhere more green but I can understand why people choose to live in this area.



At the end of the trail we arrived in Santa Fe which is a very upscale city – way outside our budget on all fronts. It was fun to wander around the city though, and after stopping at the visitor center we parked and walked to the plaza area which is kind of the center of the old town. There are lots of boutique type stores selling everything Indian, especially jewellery which I spent some time looking at but the prices were way too steep for us.
The architecture in this part of the states is also very different from anywhere I’ve been so far, everything is the same colour – sand. All the houses along the trail, and the buildings in the city itself are all quite square with flat rooves and no colour. Well I guess brown/beige is a colour, but there’s no Colour!





We ate at a restaurant recommended by the visitor center lady that is apparently a local hangout. It was Mexican but not really. I had bean burritos and Mike had enchiladas. We both had the red and green chilli, which is what New Mexico cuisine is known for, but our food came with garlic bread? I asked my favourite little Mexican chicky about the combination and she told me we were eating at a fake Mexican restaurant – I think I have to agree with her.

Mike: What's with Mexican food with no rice and beans?

We spent the day today in and around Albuquerque. The city is huge, and is situated in a basin with mountains on all sides, at least that’s how it seems. I think we must be finally getting back to civilization as we found a Trader Joe’s at last; I miss not having one just down the street. This place has every imaginable store that anyone could need in multiples; people who live here don’t have to travel far to get to anything, but I think it also services all the numerous outlying small towns, as there’s not another big city for many miles.
After spending the morning shopping we found another sign of a return to normality when we came across a Soup Plantation, so we had to stop there and eat. Afterwards we headed to the Old Town of Albuquerque and had a nice wander around. The Old Town is centered around a square that at this time of the year is really pretty as all the leaves on the trees are golden. Right on the plaza is the San Felipe de Neri Church, which was founded in 1706; the current structure dates from 1793. It is a really nice area to walk around, with narrow brick walkways even if it is a little touristy with bunches of stores selling all kinds of Indian crafts, and lots of chillies. As it’s out of season it was fairly quiet today, but I imagine it is crazy during the summer.

Mike: Umm! Salad at Soup Plantation!




We didn’t start heading home till after the sun had started going down and the sunset was just beautiful, like the mountains were on fire.

On to the next place today, heading north to Tijeras, which is just east of Albuquerque. We drove out of the park to the entrance and after telling us to turn left, Nell proceeded to tell us to drive 232 miles; not a nice number to hear at 7.45 in the morning but off we went. We drove on the 285 the whole way to the I40 and in driving 232 miles we only passed through three towns, and one of those was just a wide spot in the road. One of the towns we did pass through was Roswell, and although we kept our eyes on the skies, we didn’t see any UFOs. Again there wasn’t much to look at besides oil pumps, brown foliage and rusted out cars, and, to add to the long distance we had to travel, it was super windy almost the whole drive. Mike had to wrestle to keep the truck and trailer on the road especially when the lorries blew past us.



I wasn’t looking forward to getting to this park as some of the reviews I’d read had stated that it was awful, but when we got here it seems ok. I think I’d be a bit peeved if we were spending $40 a night to stay here, but since we aren’t spending anything I have nothing to complain about; it’s clean and quiet and in the area that we are in there are only 3 other RV’s. The wind seems to have dropped off now too which is good, although I think with a clear sky it’s going to be a little chilly tonight – good job we have a working heater!

Mike: Talk about wind! WOW!

We left the trailer earlyish and drove south almost 20 miles to get to Carlsbad Caverns which are in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. After entering the park we had to drive 7 miles to the visitor center and the road was eerily quiet; I guess there are not too many folks coming to Carlsbad at this time of the year which is good for us. The views from hill that the visitor center sits on were amazing, we could see miles and for miles there was nothing just wide open space with the Guadalupe Mountains in the distance.






Mike had booked a ranger guided tour and so we headed 750 feet down in an elevator to meet up with the ranger. There were only 14 people on our tour, which was a big enough number; I’m glad it wasn’t a full tour of 55. We did the King’s Palace Tour which took us to the deepest part of the cave that is open to the public, and we saw the most magnificent formations.
The caverns, unlike most limestone caves were created as a result of sulfuric acid which was formed when hydrogen sulfide gas rose from thousands of feet below the surface and mixed with the water table. Over millions of years, the mountain rose and the ground water drained, leaving behind the caverns that we got to see today. The caverns were initially explored by a 16 year old cowboy named Jim White and it was he who gave the different rooms and formations of the caverns their names, such as Queen's Chamber, Papoose Room, Rock of Ages, and Fairyland. Many of the names he gave to the first rooms and formations he discovered where such as Devil’s Spring and Bottomless Pit, maybe because he thought he was descending into hell, but as he explored further the names given became less hellish and more complimentary.
The tour we took lasted about an hour and a half and we saw some amazing formations; the pictures I took definitely do not do them justice. It was really breathtaking and the pics do not show the splendour or vastness of the caverns. While we were in one of the rooms the ranger turned out all the lights and the darkness was indescribable; with no light filtering from anywhere it was impossible to see anything. Even your own hand in front of your face when you knew it was right there couldn’t be seen; definitely not a place I’d want to be without a torch!
After the ranger led tour finished we got to visit the Big Room and all the areas off that and to see more fantastic formations. The detour to Carlsbad was definitely worthwhile just to see this place; the Carlsbad Caverns are amazing.

Mike: This is the third time in my life I have been here and each time it's more
spectacular than I remember the last time. Truly one of the wonders of the world!!!




















This afternoon we drove back into Carlsbad to get lunch and stopped at a Mexican restaurant called Rojas (not Roger’s as Nell thought). Mike ordered enchiladas and was asked by the waiter whether he wanted them flat or rolled. Who knew there was such a thing as flat enchiladas!