Ramblings from the Road: 12/14/13

It’s that time again.

I dusted off my typewriter and splashed some ink onto the ribbon. I am ready to hit the road on an epic multi-year camping trip.

But first a pop quiz - Jeopardy style.

The answer is Cleon Dion.

Is the correct question:

A. What are the names of the two winter storms that stranded me for a few days near the New Mexico/Texas border and left me freezing in my tent?

B. What is the name of the reclusive brother of the Canadian gal who sang that Titanic song?

C. What are the names of the two winter storms that stranded me for a few days near the New Mexico/Texas border while I was warm and dry in my new trailer?

Yep. That would be C.

I will show you detailed pics of the trailer later but I want to get caught up on what has transpired so far.

I headed east in early December with the goal of visiting Gulf Coast and Florida campgrounds this winter, then following spring north to Maine.

I picked up a new gps because my old one stopped talking to me and enjoyed giving wrong directions.

If you are familiar with Southern California, I am heading to the 91 via the 241 toll road. That blue splotch is Irvine Lake.

I spent the night at Joshua Tree NP and witnessed a nice sunset.

After reading for a bit, I headed out early the next day hoping to reach New Mexico.

Which I did after playing tag with several semi’s.

Rockhound SP is just south of Deming NM. The sites are large and set on a terraced hillside giving views of the desert and town.

The rock collecting is supposed to be good here, hence the name, but I left the next morning bound for Bottomless Lakes SP near Roswell NM.

I headed northeast from Las Cruces to Alamogordo and then up and over the mountains.

5500 feet.

7600 feet.

I started noticing snow on the ground.

The campground is at only 3500 feet so I figured there would be no issues.

The road into the campground wasn’t bad at all.

I plugged in the trailer, turned on the heater, and went to bed. It only snowed a bit overnight.

The problem was the cold. Cleon provided the snow and then Dion kept the temps down in the teens for 3 days. The roads were way to icy to drive on. Finally by last Sunday the mercury rose to 40 degrees and I skedaddled.

The campground itself was nice. I was here last in 2010 when I visited all the New Mexico SP’s.

I stayed in site number 12 this time. Here is what it looks like in October.

And one of the lakes.

I had planned to head east from here and visit campgrounds around Dallas/Fort Worth but Dion was still toying with that area so I headed southeast and stopped at Monahans Sandhills SP near Pecos, Texas.

This small campground is on the edge of a 200 mile stretch of shifting sand that reaches west into New Mexico. You can rent saucers and go sliding down them if you so desire.

I was still chilly so I finally cooked something on the stove in the trailer. Chili. I thought it was appropriate.

I made my next stop at Seminole Canyon.

This 46 site state park is situated near the confluence of the Pecos and Rio Grande rivers.

There is great hiking in this area with ranger-led tours down to the river.

The pamphlet says “Everything here bites, scratches, or stings.”

Cool.

Hey, if you are not living on the edge you are just taking up space.

I headed east to a campground near San Antonio where I will be staying until the day after Christmas. I need some time to finalize my itinerary and get the trailer properly set up. There are also a half dozen state parks I want to check out in this area.

It’s a Thousand Trails spot so it has wi-fi, laundry, etc. It also has a TON of deer.

This one peeked in while I was writing this so I had to grab my camera real quick.

OK, now I am all caught up.

On to the trailer.

I have been looking into getting a trailer for several years. On long camping trips there is a high probability that you will run into inclement weather.

Trust me on that one.

I needed a dry place to sleep and work. The hard part was finding one that fit into my Element’s towing capacity of 1500 pounds. It is rated higher in other countries but I wanted to be safe.

I looked at pop-ups, A-frame trailers like the Aliner, and even large teardrops. I liked the idea of having a ready made bed with no set up needed so that ruled out the first two types. A teardrop is just a bed on wheels and I needed more interior room, so that narrowed my choices down to the fiberglass eggs like the Scamp, Burro, Casita, etc.

I finally found a Scamp that fit the bill.

It is a base model (2003) with the options I wanted and none of the extras that add weight. No A/C, no fridge (just an icebox), no built-in heater, and no bathroom.

It has a screen door.