Return to the Scene of the Crime

It was a long 287 mile days drive thru Tucson, into the cactus and high dessert of New Mexico. The weather was clear and temps in the low 80s... perfect. The destination park was a familiar stop, Theresa recalled the nearby St Claire Winery that was visited in a past trip. There are a few incriminating pics of Kevin that were posted from that prior visit. Wonder if they remember him? The reservations for the park were made for 2 nights to allow time for mail from home to be received. Upon check in, Theresa asked if any mail had come in? The lady at the desk checked in the mail room and returned with the anticipated package... Yeah! And thank you Tasman Terry! 

After a quick RV set up, Theresa scoped out a hike for the following day in a nearby State Park. She also started working on the rest of the route to Florida calling parks along the route. She quickly discovered that parks near Austin as well as the Gulf coast were filling up! These were the places where more days were desired. This created a bit of urgency to get confirmed reservations for those locations. After several calls to 'Good Sams approved sites' resulted in 'no availability' she resorted to searching the KOA sites and found one east of Austin, a key stop for the team, that did have a pull thru site available. KOAs are usually pretty predictable and in OK condition, so that should work!

The next day it was off to hike in Rockhound State Park followed by an obligatory tasting at the Winery. The State Park was small and had 2+ shorter trails that circumvented a surrounding hill that boasted views of the Deming valley below as well as the snow dusted peaks of the Florida Mountains. The trails exited into a campground with 20 or so sites some with full hook up! It would definitely be a great alternative to the in town park that was currently home base. Kevin spent time watching one of the State Park Campers flying a remote controlled Glider from a location on BLM (Bureau of Land management) land. The glider had a wing span of over 7 ft and it floated effortlessly only to return to the cactus-dotted tundra for a quick battery change to regenerate the servos. 

The trio (Kevin, Theresa, Zin) returned to the car for the trip back to the Little Vineyard RV Park. The St Claire Winery just happened to be on the way back, was open, and serving sample tastings. The staff was not the same as 3 years ago, Kevin was relieved and did not reenact his previous exploits. Purchases were made, loaded into the RV, and sealed for safe keeping!

Supplies for the westward trip were acquired at the nearby Walmart, dinner was then prepared and consumed as the sun set. The next day would require an early start for the 220 miles and another time change as the route enters TX.