Moving again

With so much wind in the Deming area, we never did get to Pancho Villa State Park as we had hoped. But there is an Escapee Rally at that park in October, and we plan to be there. You know what they say: If you want to hear God laugh, make plans!

You hear so much about lousy service that it’s nice to brag about good service when you find it. Friday, before leaving Deming, we stopped in at the Steer-Safe company’s headquarters. Steer-Safe is a contraption made for trucks and motorhomes to help control steering, making driving safer and more comfortable. Five years ago when we were in Deming, we purchased a Steer-Safe and had it installed at this location. The technicians told us to stop by any time we were in the area to have it inspected and adjusted if necessary.

We pulled into their shop at 9:00am, they immediately checked for proper adjustment (it was perfect!), then dismantled the entire system and inspected each component before re‑installing and sending us on our way. There was no charge for this inspection. Had there been a problem, I have no doubt they’d have replaced necessary parts or even the entire product at no charge.

We do like that kind of service!

We continued east on I-10 from Deming to Las Cruces, stopping at a roadside rest area to rest and make a necessary phone call. While Suzy was on the phone, I wandered over to the eastern edge of the rest area and photographed this giant roadrunner. In the background are the Organ Mountains behind the outskirts of Las Cruces.


Closer inspection shows that the huge bird was made from trash! There were at least two computer keyboards, and lots of other recognizable and unrecognizable objects. The eyes were automobile headlamps. The white chest and underbody were layered with tennis shoe soles!
There was no sign mentioning the agency or artist that built it, no explanation at all. There it stood, and that was that.

At Las Cruces we turned north on US 70, into new country for us. US 70 cuts through the Army’s White Sands Missile Testing Range, then passes White Sands National Monument on the way to Alamogordo.

We stopped and fixed lunch near a “Scenic Historic Marker” proclaiming the Albert J. Fountain Murder Site. Colonel Fountain (a Civil War veteran) and his young son were “presumed” to have been murdered here on February 1, 1896, by their traveling companions. The companions had been indicted for cattle rustling, but were acquitted of the dual murder. What makes it interesting to us is that the bodies were never found. If the bodies were never found, how are they “presumed” to have been murdered? And if they were murdered, how does anyone figure that this was the site? No explanation was offered for either question.

Near the White Sands National Monument, we were stopped, along with all other traffic, at a Border Patrol checkpoint. After assuring the agent that we were both US citizens, we were on our way again.

Our base of operations in this area is Mountain Meadow RV Park, south of Tularosa, NM. It’s a small park, away from any highway or railroad noise. There is a nice laundry and shower facility, and the park provides WiFi for free, as well as barbecues for campers to use.

The yucca and a few cactuses are in bloom at the park, so we had to take some pictures.



Rosie is quite happy here at Mountain Meadow RV Park, sitting beside her "shade tree!" But she's always ready to take off again on the next leg of ... Our Life on Wheels.