Look at things through the eyes of a child
My first impression of the Campground - a dusty parking lot with full-hook ups. Miranda’s first impression of the campground - lots of fun things to do: swinging, swimming, playing The Adam’s Family pinball game, playing ping-pong with Data, safely exploring her surroundings, hanging out with new friends, ...her list went on.
Laundry doesn’t always have to be a chore
During our 4 night stay, I spent a bit of time in the laundry room. While washing the first couple of loads, I sat and talked with a Vietnam vet who is full-time traveling with his wife.
We talked about their recent trip to the Philippines. While there he spoke with witnesses of the Baatan Death March of WWII (we were introduced to this event while in Mobile).
To an outsider, our conversation probably seemed quite disjointed. And it was. This gentleman suffers from PTDS and several times our talk brought him to tears—something he cannot control. When I noted this happening, I would change the direction of our conversation. I felt honored that he shared some of his life and tears with me.
Another day I spoke with a woman who is here with her husband. They work in NM during the winter and return to MT for the summer. It was refreshing to here someone speak so freely about her faith.
Flexibility is the word
Back in Mission, Mike and his Dad replaced a major part on our microwave/convection oven. We had tested the microwave feature while there, but didn’t test the oven portion until this stop.
Neither the convection nor the 1/2 time cooking feature work.
We discovered this while trying to bake Pilsbury cinnamon rolls. What were we to do? The kids told me we couldn’t just throw them away; that would be wasteful. I had to come up with a solution and fast. ;) The electric skillet and some oil came to the rescue. YUM!
The deep frying method was okay for this time, but isn’t a long term answer. And, replacing the expensive oven isn’t an option right now, either. So, we picked up a toaster oven. I can’t bake breads or some casserole dishes, but the kids can make their favorite tortilla pizzas.
And, because we can use it to toast, the 2 sliced toaster was put below with the larger baking pans. We will donate these things with our bag of outgrown clothing once we find a Goodwill or thrift store (Carlsbad does not seem to have any).
Meeting up with online friends is fun
We’ve already experienced this a few times on our trip (Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas), but it was nice to be reminded of this while spending time with the Leonard family.
The Caverns
Awe-inspiring. Other-worldly. Wow.
Excellent pictures!
Hmmmm - Am I seeing this right? The Leonard family is full-time in a popup? Please tell me they have a blog, too…
Yes! Sorry, I should have linked to it: http://www.mudakiller.com/. They are in a pop-up for a while, then will be going to Serbia for a bit, then coming back and getting into a bigger trailer.
Thanks for the info! I’m always amazed at the variety of things that pull people toward full-timing - and the different ways they do it.
Hi Mike we are headed for Carlsbad tomorrow just was wondering where you stayed and would you recommend it. We found a real gem we are at Davis Mountain State Park incredible spot with full hookups. Breanna stated you are going to be in Arizona for a couple of weeks will you have any free time? We are headed to NM then Arizona and the Grand Canyon probably next week sometime. Look forward to hearing from you Warren
Hey Warren -
The question is do you want a nice campsite, or to be closer to the caverns? ;)
We stayed at the Carlsbad RV Park - it’s a Passport park, about 20 miles from the Caverns, and runs ~$19/night on the Passport rate.
It’s really just a gravel lot with hookups (ex KOA by the look of it), but it was quiet, everything worked, and the staff was nice. The kids liked the pool, swings, gameroom etc.
Don’t stay at the park right at the base of the Caverns - it really looked bad.
We had friends stay at a state park further out - but it looked like quite a longer drive to the Caverns.
We’re in Phoenix until at least April 13, but for 2 weeks of that we’ll be running our classes so Crissa and I will be quite busy with that.
Catching up on your travels. That pop up of theirs looks remarkably similar to our ‘95 Jayco. Can’t imagine living on ours full time with 5, not to mention pulling it full time with a minivan. More power to them.
It’s only temporary for them—not that it isn’t still more hardcore than I’d like to be.
But they plan a trip to Serbia, then when coming back after that plan to get into a bigger RV.