Dust Storms - No Thank You!
From Bisbee and Tombstone we drove East on I-10 and saw several signs for dust storms as we entered New Mexico. Not just the normal “BLOWING DUST AREA” signs – we’re talking serious dust storm signs with instructions! “ZERO VISIBILITY IS POSSIBLE”, “DUST STORMS MAY EXIST”, “IN A DUST STORM”, “PULL OFF ROADWAY’, “FEET OFF BRAKE”, and “STAY BUCKLED” – these signs were repeated several times along the highway. The wind was blowing hard, and we found ourselves super thankful for the rain the last couple of days. We were driving through miles of vast flat land with pockets of standing water – I imagine those areas of standing water are typically sand that can stir up and create the dense dust storms indicated by the signs. Not something we want to experience!
Boondocking near Gage, NM
We found a great boondocking spot just south of Gage, New Mexico on BLM land. Gage is an unincorporated community with a gas station, little store and a Dairy Queen. We checked the maps, a couple of times actually, and found a dirt road with a great pull-off spot. We had the place to ourselves and it was quiet even though there was an active quarry about a mile away. We’re trying to boondock more on this second leg of our Winter Getaway and have found some really beautiful places to stay.
Chores in Las Cruces - Come on down!
We stayed two nights at the Hacienda RV Park to do laundry, take hot showers and fill up on water. It was also time for Birdie to get her oil changed and tires rotated so we spent a couple hours in the waiting room watching old re-runs of The Price is Right with Bob Barker – we played along and made pricing guesses. It was fun to see legacy products and the 70’s clothing and hairstyles of the contestants! The wind and rain finally stopped so we found a park to throw some discs and let Ninja roll in the grass.
Van travel isn’t always glamorous and the weather doesn’t always cooperate, but we try to make the most of every day and activity because we are completely blessed to be on this grand adventure! Tomorrow we’ll head to White Sands National Park!
