Rockhound State Park, Kartchner Caverns in Benson, Gila Bend, Quartzsite, Arizona

Another view from Rockhound State Park in Deming New Mexico.  Our views were spectacular with good clear weather. The campground is about 4500 feet elevation and this year we experienced one night of 18 degrees--dry camping. Quite cold, and our coldest night to date in Lady Blue; but we were happy to have our furnace working great. Deming is about 12 miles ahead to the right.

We headed west on Interstate Route 10 and made an overnight stop in Willcox, Arizona at Grande Vista Campground, a Passport America campground.  For those unfamiliar with Passport, we have belonged to Passport America for a number of years. It costs $40 per year and gives you access to many campgrounds in each state for a 50% discount. In this case , it cost $23 for the night instead of $46 for a full hookup.  Passport usually pays for itself many times over during the year.  
From Willcox, home of Rex Allen( a western singer who recorded many early records in the late 1940's and early 1950's. He then was in movies as the clean cut Arizona Cowboy similar to Roy Rogers)we headed west to Benson, Arizona and Kartchner Caverns Campground--one of our favorites. 

A link to the Rex Allen info on Wikipedia

 The video above is a section of Route 10 just before descending from 5,000 feet to Benson.  We always like seeing the unusual rock formations, Note a few "balanced boulders" on the right.

The campsites at Kartchner are large and mostly well separated with beautiful mountain views.

From the campground, a short walk to the Visitors Center. Lots of information on the caverns, tickets for the cavern tours, and great displays on the cavern discovered in the 1970's and one of the best preserved caverns in America.

A great view from the Foothills Loop Trail looking east, southeast. 

Above are some of the Native American grinding stones in the park. They date from 4800 B.C. to A.D. 300.  We placed one of our hiking sticks next to them for perspective.

The video above is from one of the high points on the Foothills Loop Trail. You can see some traffic passing by on Route 90 including one trailer truck. Some of the points in the far distance ahead are--left to right--Cochise Stronghold, Tombstone, Arizona; and Bisbee, Arizona.

Bruce taking a break on the Footlhills Loop.

The Foothills Loop goes around the mounds that reflect the different rooms in the caverns below ground. One --the Throne Room--is below ground on the left.

Above is one of the new models of Tent Camper from Opus. 
This was on display outside the main RV tent.
If you are wondering why we show these different RVs, first we have no plans of trading or changing Lady Blue!!!!
But we know we have some friends and family who have interests in tent trailers, trailers, camping products, and even motorhomes. Plus we always like to see what is happening in the industry.

We saw one at Kartchner Cavern being used. A unique thing about these is that they set up on their own with an onboard air system.

Some points about this camper.
Very high road clearance.
Two water tanks and room to carry two 5 gallon water containers.
On demand water heater.
Slide out kitchen seen above.
Lots of other things that can be added.
The very first picture above shows a rack that is permanently attached to the trailer. It has assist for raising and lowering on the roof, and can carry lots of your stuff.
Below is the website link and below that is a video.

Website for Opus Campers

We came across another interesting blog back in the early Fall. But we had so many pictures and places for the blog issues that it had to wait until now.  The following Episode of Go North, an adventure of Mortons on the Move blog, was fascinating to us because it goes right into the Lance Camper factory to see the process of creating the largest Lance Pickup Camper.   A quick overview of the Mortons is---They met at college in Michigan and joined the corporate race . Tom was Electrical Engineering and Caitlin was Business Management. We are posting a link to their backstory below. Short version is that after several years of climbing the ladder, the demands and stress began to affect Tom's health and neither one was happy. In the link you can see how they gave up the corporate life and became full time RVers.  And have been for 5 years now.
Weblink "About Us" from "On the Move" dropdown menu on the Mortons on the Move Webpage
The episode video below is from their trip to Alaska , sponsored by Lance, Truma on demand hot water, and other RV manufacturers.
There are 17 episodes in all. This video is about 20 minutes long. Sometimes on Youtube , commercials interrupt the videos. The video ends when the new camper is on the new truck .
We remember when truck campers were either an improved pickup truck cap for the bed, or a basic wood frame perhaps covered with siding. Didn't expect anything inside either--just bring your tent camping equipment with you-campstove,maybe a camper's kitchen, and your sleeping bags
Note to Somerset people. We think Caitlin could be a twin for Lisa who was a bartender at Magoni's for a while and now owns a Vegan Bakery in Fall River. Great person who welcomed just about everyone with hugs when they arrived.

Episode 2 is at the Lance Factory.
There are 15 other episodes.

A view along the road , Route 8, to Gila Bend, Arizona

A picture of Jan at Lady Blue with a number of the other Lazy Daze units on LTVA in Quartzsite, Arizona

Just a slight hint of how great the pot luck supper was. Among other items--Lasagne Rollups, a Pear and Pomegranate featured salad, Turkey Meatloaf, Mac and Cheese topped with a wonderful flavored chicken, Apple Crisp, Kale and Sweet Potato kind of salad, and Beans,Onion, and Rice from an Insta-Pot.
Oh yes----followed by a fire circle.

Just happened to have this wonderful sunset behind the outline of a Class A  motorhome in Gila Bend KOA Journey.

Into Southern Arkansas, west to Texas, and into New Mexico

Out of Lake Chicot State Park on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi, we follow U.S. Highway 82. This heads west in southern Arkansas to Crossett Harbor RV Park. A nice park with good separation.  Originally built by the Army Corps of Engineer , it is now maintained as a county park within the Felsental National Wildlife Refuge, within a mile of Lake Jack Lee. Very casual. The host came by the next morning to collect $16 cash for the previous night(with senior discount)

Continuing on US Highway 82 to the nice little town of Magnolia and Magnolia RV Park. A small private campground . We were welcomed by the work hosts and had a great conversation.  Their laundry facilities were one of the cleanest we have ever seen. 

Also, for any RVers on this route, they offer a 15% Escapee discount.

Good separation with long , clean sites. Behind the row on the right is a small pond with a few other sites on the other side of the pond.

Our next move takes us northwest on US Highway 82 to Texarkana, around ,and into Texas on US Highway 59 south.
An easy stop at Rocky Point Corps of Engineer Park on Wright Patman Lake. See Lady Blue across the way?

A beautiful view from our site.  The first day , we saw a large flock of white pelicans.  They quickly moved away before a picture could be taken, but this is a big lake for bird migration.

A very short distance further south on US Highway 59 is Lake O' the Pines and Buckhorn Creek Park, another Corps park. These two parks were $13 and $16 per night with the National Parks Senior Pass.

The campground was fairly quiet. However, most of these parks fill up on weekends.  Camping is still very popular this time of year. Lady Blue likes her spot on the lake.

As an example. This is the deck right alongside a double RV site at Buckhorn. Double site means room for two RVs. In this case one in front of the other in a pull through site. Each unit has its own electric and water hookup. Not bad for $16 each per night, seniors.

Needing to find a post office we headed into Jefferson, Texas. A small town , but quite nice. Above is an old store (outpost) with a handy early 1900's station wagon. Note the wooden spoke wheels.Known as Port Jefferson, it is on the Big Cypress River where riverboats used to haul cotton and other products to New Orleans. Port Jefferson was the largest port in Texas in the 1800's.

Jefferson, Texas Website--History page

While some Texas homes copy the old styles with columns and wide porches(for mint julep?), this one is a real historic home--fence and all.

Which brings us to one of our all time favorite campgrounds, Rayburn Corps of Engineer Park in Broaddus, Texas.  About 22 miles off of US Highway 96, it is quite a ways off the beaten path, but worth the trip.  Jan took the picture above from our site.

This campground was unavailable(full) for Thanksgiving, but now there are just three units with lots of room.

Back out to US Highway 96 and south to Jasper. Then west on US Highway 190.  This is another favorite Corps park, Sandy Creek on BA Steinhagen Lake. The lake is quite high this year, but Lady Blue thinks that is okay!!

Lots of things to do in Livingston, Texas. Pick up mail, renew passports, rotate tires, and finally pick up a library card.
Even though our address is in Livingston, Escapees RV Club,we had to be at the library in person to sign up for a card. With the card, we can now access all kinds of books on an App called Overdrive. We know----For some of you Overdrive is old news. First book was John Grisham's The Rooster Bar.
Had to add these pictures.  Our northern camping family never get a chance to see these. Why, you ask? Because campgrounds up north close(mostly)around Columbus Day and it's too cold.
Above and following are some of the Christmas decorations that campers bring with them to highlight the holidays.  Most of these are lighted. Some have continuous air supply and mechanical parts.

You have it!! Two penguins roasting fish-not S'Mores-over the fire.

Santa just caught a fish from his Santa boat with motor.

Of course, this is from Bass Pro Shops.

My favorite is Santa's Fish Taco Truck.

Santa and Mrs. Claus on a swinging swing.

Frosty---and mouse that pops out of the hat--mechanized.

Another mechanized. Santa pops out of the outhouse. Snow on the roof, toilet paper outside.  We did laugh, but probably not a choice for our lawn.

Something we never saw before. Right outside the post office in Livingston is this Patron Grill.  Note the thatched roof outdoor dining to the left. For those who do not know Patron(like we did not), it is a brand of Tequila. In the mural , the man is harvesting some Blue Agave which will become tequila. Some interesting info at the following website Patron Tequila Website. You will be asked to enter your birthdate.  This is common on many liquor websites.

From Livingston, we head south to Conroe for some shopping and then west on State Route 105 to Brenham and then north on State Route 36 to Somerville Lake and Yegua Corps of Engineer Campground.  Jan loves her view from Lady Blue.

From Yegua we head north on State Route 36 to Rockdale and one of our favorite restaurants Corona's. West on US Highway 79 to Taylor, north on State Route 95 to Granger Lake and Wilson H Fox Corps of Engineer Campground.  

Just one night and we are heading west again on State Route 29 through Georgetown. We quickly realize--because we go from no traffic to lots of traffic---that we are close to Austin now. But we continue through to US Highway 281 south to US Highway 290 west into Fredericksburg.  

It just so happened that we had just picked up mail including Christmas cards, and discovered that Adonia ,from North of Highland Campground days, had moved to Comfort, Texas , just south of Fredericksburg. We had a great day in Frederickburg, including a wonderful BBQ lunch.  So nice to see her after a number of years.

Still love the preserved 1800's look of the main street. Also , the many connections to the old German heritage here.  Every year we return to Frederickburg, we note more and more vineyards. We are not familiar with the different wines, but maybe next time we will try. 

From Fredericksburg, it is a long travel into New Mexico. We do enjoy a stop at South Llano State Park in Junction Texas. And, of course, that is close to Cooper's BBQ. The website takes you to the homepage for Cooper's. This picture is pretty much what you see when you come into the line. A server carves up your order. Coopers BBQ

Junction connects us to US Interstate 10 and west.  From here the travel is mostly desert, 80 miles per hour, and watch out for high winds. We usually stop in Fort Stockton and Van Horn before heading around El Paso on Route 395. That rejoins Route10 into Las Cruces, New Mexico. We enjoy staying at Hacienda which allows us to walk into the Old Town of Mesilla.

Mesilla was much quieter this year . Mostly because we arrived after the holidays.  Small shops offer local artists works, jewelry, chocolate, tourist things, and the old square.  
One favorite stop for many visitors is La Posta Restaurant De Mesilla.  The website has many pages, including the history. A stop on the Butterfield Stage Line. Each room is highly decorated.
La Posta Website
If you wait on the homepage it will scroll through some of the pictures of the interior and historic pictures. The history page here is interesting as well.

An entrance gate to an old Mesilla home.

On our Mesilla walk , great views of the Organ Mountains.

This year we stop at St. Clair winery(still on the walk). Except now it is called DH Lescombes. While you can just do a wine tasting, the winery serves some excellent food.  Jan had Schnitzel and Bruce had a wonderful spicy Asian Pasta with Shrimp.
Following is the menu page from the restaurant.
Menu page from DH Lescombes Website

From Las Cruces and Mesilla to Deming, New Mexico and Rockhound State Park.  Views of the Florida Mountains from our campground.