Roaming Map, Right.....

Monday, December 19, 2016

Aguirre Springs, NM to Quartzsite, AZ



... and a great view it is, 

(Aguirre Springs, NM)
Ok, so since the drive up along the Rio Grande was sorta mixed, not really exciting news, I had to pick up mail in El Paso, TX.  

(Aguirre Springs, NM)
I had, in the past, simply looked up internet USPS in the city and find one outside of the main downtown area, to avoid traffic.  So I chose one right on the route...

(Aguirre Springs, NM)
Went in to pick it up, asked for the mail and was greeted with a "We don't accept mail deliveries here?"...  Huh?? WTF, you're a Post Office Annex right?, "Nope" "Contracted"...
"..so what happens to mail when it arrives.."
"Oh, well, we send it back, refuse it"..



Sigh, lessons learned and now had to wait for it to be sent back to South Dakota and then resent...   To make a short story long, mail never left El Paso, but was sent to the main PO at the Airport.  Learned that AFTER calling all around  for several days.  Some "General Deliveries" are sent directly to the main Post Office unless website states on the actual PO location site "General Delivery"...

So, while waiting, stayed 4 nights at Aguirre Springs campgrounds, just above White Sands city, NM.  Very nice and great views.



Came in at night, sigh, just never learn, after trying to find the right road to get on to get outta Las Cruces, NM.



Narrow road to campground, then one way, with no turn around point.  Limited on the length.  Since I didn't have the Buggy Trailer anymore, wasn't too much of a problem but didn't want to get caught where I couldn't go or turn around so grabbed the first one that looked decent, room with a view...


Actually it was a great view.  City of White Sands was just below off to the south.



Next day walked the other campsites and saw maybe one or two that looked ok.



 Upper circle was good and large, but also crowded on weekends and noisy, so mine worked out well.



Great view and nice table area, was a good look all around....



Only draw back was that there was a hiking trail right across at the same spot and peeps would park or think I was the camp host by asking where to pay for the spots.. heheh, "well, right here, cash only"... tempting... so it got a little busy on the weekend.



Also, had a little visitor wandering around..



I've never seen one out in the wilds...  just moseying around..



Got a little fed up with the mail thing and thought it was going to be "Returned" to SD so moved on over to Elephant Butte, NM and requested mail be resent to there.



Met up with a fellow RV'er through RVillage, website for RVers, enroute to the "Q", Quartzsite, AZ, George B, and another Full Timer there, had a few fires and BBQs... nice.



Meanwhile, back to the Mail, tracking showed, never left El Paso, TX.   Had to call, no answer from PO and hung up on, called the USPS help desk who was able get an answer confirming it was still there and wouldn't be "Returned" for 30-days.. I could just picture driving down there, 2-hrs, and find they "Just Returned it", so I had about 10-days left to pick it up.



Finally located mail, down at El Paso airport, left Elephant Butte,




down to El Paso, then over to the City of Rocks.



Met George there and checked out the place.  I came in at night, see going to El Paso, 4-hour drive, and not lit at all.



Entrance was blocked so you had to pay up front for the site.



Sigh, Com'n mann, how do you know if any sites are available and which site, dry or w/water and power to pay for.  Pay booth is about a1/2 mile from main building.



Drove around the loop looking for George at night, ended up driving down a "Trail" heheh hard to see at night, but finally got situated.



Hiked around the Rocks, interesting to be sure.



Stayed 2 nights,




then heading for LoW-Hi Ranch, NM, Escapees side club for Loners on Wheels - Hi (I guess as in Hello).



Stayed there 2 nights and headed out to





the Kartchner Caverns SP, AZ - Bat Caves...



taking a long route along the border.  Nice drive it was.. 2 lanes but nice views.



Kartchner was ok, nice campgrounds, nothing special though, fairly well separated.  They apparently have two tours, apx $23 each.  I dunno, just seems expensive to do, so didn't do it.



I took pics of pics... for affect.

(These were all over the place)

( I can HEAR you)
Camping was $25 and fees were adding up, so stayed one night and left.




Heading toward the Painted Rocks, Petroglyphs, AZ. BLM so it was cheaper.



 Dry camping which is fine.  Stayed one night, George met up with one or two fellow-ette campers and we left the next day.  I didn't bother seeing the Petroglyphs as I consider it pretty much the birth of "Graffiti", just doesn't do anything for me.



Big solar area nearby, looked impressive..



We were planning on stopping again, in Yuma BLM, but got tied and wanted to hit the "Q" ASAP.  Thanksgiving was the next day.



Landed in Dome Rock, Quartzsite, AZ and was good for 14 days free.  Turkey Day  was the next day and wanted to be set in by then.



We stayed there for the 14-days, was going to move down to Yuma, but then heard it's not really nice to go to, so just found a spot in the LTVA (Long Term Visitors Area).  Pricing is $180 for a 7-month period and $40 for a two week time.



The only real advantage is that they have "Dump n Fill" stations and trash bins.  Those can be  a problem at times as in where do you "Dump" trash.. the local Waste facility is only open Sun-Wed, 10-2pm weird hours..



 So figuring apx $9 for a Dump N Fill in town (2 dumps), Pit Stop, it worked out ok.  George was planning on staying around till Mar/Apr and got the $180 pass. I was planning on hitting the road to Death Valley for Christmas so just needed the 2-week plan.



Currently at the LTVA and heading out in a few days Christmas In Death Valley...
Stay tuned...


Cheers....




4 comments:

  1. Sure are a rolling stone dude. Seems like you're learning a lot about what the best and most economical way to go, an stay. Also all the mail stuff . You could write a book, or a blog, oh it is a blog. Never Mind. Hang some hummingbird feeders out in Death Valley an get the big lense out why don, cha? Happy trails Franco

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  2. Hey frank, do you use gps apps on your phone? Recently discovered avenza maps and Gaia gps. And to make maps caltopo . Be awesome to check out the spots around you.

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  3. Thanks Rich, good idea, maybe I'll start a Blog... Oh wait.. time for a beer... I keep threatening to get out the Big Boy's camera for stars, so just might. Took some of the super moon over at Elephant's Butt.. err, Butte... some came out ok, most not.. we'll see... see ya on the trails, slowly making way back to PNW... will advise if you're up for camping.. cheers..

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  4. Avenza, yup to all of them and more... used it for Nav when I had the buggy... used a Table, Samsung II or something... works well if you have the maps... Google works too... sigh, so many maps, so little time... Orxy or something like that is good too..
    But I have my Nefarious Arch Nemesis, Ms "Garmin" that keeps me on my toes... especially when "Dumped" out in the middle of nowhere... heheh, a more than common occurrence..
    fun

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