Rockin’-n-Rollin’, Our Course of Travel Planned, “What Was I Thinking” and Followed By A Pusher.

Our Location today is Elephant Butte State Park, New Mexico, U.S.A. 

As mentioned in Last Night’s Blog we were expecting High Winds for this area today. After posting the Blog and getting ready to shut the Computer for the night the last thing I did was to recheck the Weather Forecast. They had changed their report from 35 to up to 45 MPH Wind Gusts.  

Last Night's Forecast. Wind Gusts underlined with red.

We both slept fairly sound and were not surprised to wake before the Sun had risen to the sounds of the Wind hitting the side of our trailer. Knowing there was nothing we could do about it we simply rolled over for a few more minutes of sleep  

By 7:45 MDST there was no more ignoring the Wind as it sounded like someone trying to break into the trailer through the wall. Having tied down our Slide Toppers before dark last evening, they were barely making any noise. Having cereal for breakfast we nearly had to time each spoonful between the Wind Gusts because the Trailer was being Shaken with such force. 

This morning's forecast. Wind underlined in red

As soon as we were on the Computers the first thing I did was to check The Weather Network. Under normal conditions we can have High Winds and The Weather Network will report it after the fact but not today. By 8:20 this morning they were already showing Wind Gusts of 50 MPH. 

National Weather Service Map.
We're in the large blue block in New Mexico indicating Severe Wind.

Looking outside towards the lake you could barely see its outline from our site. We watched a Road Runner with his head and tail bent by the wind pointed in the same direction and only moving a few feet at a time before having to stop and quickly scan his surroundings. Looking at the rear of the truck the Tow Brush looked like the truck was heading down the road.  

Just Leftovers.

We simply resigned ourselves to catching up on our reading before having lunch. Kathy did a great job of using up the last of the Jell-O, finishing the Salad we started the other day and more of the Meatloaf she made the other day. In other words, it was a day of Leftovers. 

You can see the Towing Brush blowing in the wind today.
Picture taken through the window.

After working together to wash and dry the Dishes we started looking at where we’ll be stopping up the road. There are a few too many places to stop in the short time we still have before we have to be back in Ontario but Kathy did find a few that we will take in this trip. We spent hours going over the Map then using Map-Quest to get Distances and Time of Travel. After the next two stops, we did not set in stone any other places that we have to go to. Our travel will depend on the Weather and how we are feeling. 

While we were trying to accomplish that we were amazed to see that there were people pulling out of their sites to hit the road and we were still getting slammed with those 50 MPH Wind Gusts. It would not be until around 5:00 this afternoon that there was a noticeable decrease in the Wind. 

Being that it is Friday we decided to go out for Fish and Chips. A quick check On-line told us the name of the restaurant we wanted to go to and its address. So now we make a quick dash to the truck to avoid the blowing dust. This is where we had a Big Surprise in other words “What Was I Thinking?” Having been careful in all the other Dust Storms this winter to keep the windows in the truck closed but because yesterday was actually warm I had cracked the windows slightly to let the heat out. If heat can go out, Blowing Sand can come in. There is sand all over the inside of the truck. Glad I brought the Shop-Vac because we need it. 

Wonder how this RVer felt about the wind.

Having looked where the restaurant was and recognizing where the street was on the map I simply started driving towards Truth or Consequences. Everything was going well. I found Date Street and we were headed for the Eight Hundred Block when it changed to Main Street which is a One-Way and the numbers were getting too low. Turning around heading the opposite way you end up on Broadway Street, which is also a One-Way until the numbers are again too low. Turning around we were on Main Street again running in a circle. Luckily, I had suggested we bring the GPS just in case.  In five minutes we were at our destination. Somewhere the numbers start at zero in the middle of town and work their way up at both ends. 

The place was packed but we were able to get a table right away. Our waiter took our order for our drinks and by the time he returned we gave our order. The Décor was nicely done and it was very clean and well maintained. Within minutes we had our tasty Cole Slaw and then we waited and waited and waited. On our way in we’d seen a sign saying “Help Wanted” in the front window. This establishment could easily seat a hundred people but they only had three Waiters and a Hostess that were busy serving everyone. With this being Friday evening lots of people had the same idea to eat out. They could have had at least three more waiters to work that many people. When we finally got our meals it was well presented, tasty and reasonably priced. We’ll definitely go back in the future and hopefully they’ll have their Staffing Issue resolved. 

On our return trip to Elephant Butte State Park we noticed a Diesel Pusher with his four way flashers on, stopped in the left turn lane so we cautiously drove by. The next thing we know is that Pusher was soon nearly behind us. We turned into the State Park, he turned into the State Park. We passed through the closed Registration Booth and went around the Round-About. He momentarily stopped at the closed Registration Booth and slowly negotiated the Round-About. To say he had the Pedal to the Metal to follow where we were going would be an understatement. Seconds after we were parked at our site he drove by and found an empty site in the row below us. Either he needed someplace to stay or he need someone to guide him into the park and when he saw how our truck is set up he realized we're RVers.  

With the weather changes happening here we’ll have to play it by ear to see what we will be doing. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy! 

It’s about time.

Krackers 

A fine line by Mark Twain 

The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.