Another cold morning greeted us, 31°. Walmart beckoned for a few items forgotten, bicycle tires aired, and we continued to “settle in” for the long haul. Needing some outdoor activity, several routes were driven in an attempt to find Casa Grande Mountain Park (a city park) in order to hike one of its several trails; no such luck as every route seemed to end with a dead end, flooded road, or never never land.

We opted to tour Casa Grande Ruins National Monument from which Casa Grande gets its name. The national monument consists of the ruins of multiple adobe structures surrounded by a compound wall constructed by the ancient people of the Hohokam period. These people farmed the Gila Valley in the early 13th century. Evidence strongly suggests that the ancient Sonoran Desert people who built the Casa Grande Also developed wide-scale irrigation farming and trade routes which lasted over a thousand years until about 1450 C.E. Casa Grande, aka the “big house”, refer to the largest structure on the site, which is what remains of of a four-story structure thought to have been abandoned by 1450. The large house consists of outer rooms, three stories high,  surrounding an inner structure, four stories high.

While the ruins were impressive, so were the cacti surrounding the compound—a photographer’s haven.

We awoke to very cold weather, at least for us, 27°. In addition a smattering of snow fell during the night, but did not affect road conditions. Though the forecast called for heavy winds again, we did not feel any, nor experience any problems. Snow covered the desert floor in many places, and the expanse of pecan orchards was mind boggling —pecan trees as far as the eye could see! Neither of us had ever seen even a tiny amount of pecan trees compared to these humongous orchards. Passing through Tucson, we turned northward and rolled into Palm Creek RV and Golf Resort in Casa Grande, AZ, our place of residence for the next couple of months. Coincidentally, we pulled into the check-in lane beside Steve and Mary Seitz, also from the Village. Apparently, we had traveled the same route at the same time since leaving AR.

Check-in was smooth, and we were escorted to the site, with Canadians on either side of us. Set-up was uneventful.

Why we (I) chose this to be our longest driving day is beyond logic—significant gain in elevation, over 4,000 feet, and 25 mph headwinds for the entire day.  Fortunately, we did not experience any heavy cross winds, though Kay did drive in freezing rain for several minutes. Again, taking turns driving, we made great progress on this western trip, covering 455 miles. Though the wind made driving difficult, we again took turns, and the day passed quickly; gas mileage was horrendous!

Surprisingly were the number of pecan orchards in West Texas, particularly considering the arid climate and near desert conditions. Acre upon acre of trees occupied the otherwise barren environment; most had been recently pruned. Neither Kay nor I had ever seen so many pecan trees! 

Near the end of the day, we crossed into mountain time zone, giving us another hour. We overnighted at Dreamcatcher RV Park in Deming, New Mexico. After setting up and socializing with other guests, Kay and I had a delicious Mexican meal.

Waiting until traffic somewhat abated in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, we departed Bluebonnet Cabins and RV Park at 8:40 AM. The drive on I-20 south of Dallas was relatively easy. Again taking turns driving the 321 miles, we arrived at Elite Cabins and RV Park in Sandy Springs, TX, at about 3:15 PM. The RV Park was dirt and gravel (available RV spaces are far and few between as oil and gas workers occupy most of them; this is in the Permian Basin). Regrettably, at least for me, there was hidden dog poop all over the place, and I stepped in some while unhooking the tow vehicle, tracking it onto mats, linoleum, and carpet—the next 30 minutes were spent cleaning shoes, mats, and the inside of the MH! A low rating is likely for this RV park.

It took two more carloads of “stuff” to complete packing the motorhome. After getting everything settled in the motorhome, we hooked up the tow car and discovered that we could not find the remote sensor for the auxiliary brake. After looking “everywhere” in the motorhome and the tow car, we could not find where I “hid” it. This necessitated another trip back to the house via the motorbike and tow vehicle, the narrow Hot Springs Village streets nevertheless, to see if I left it on the workbench—no such luck. Oh well, just another faux pas; we can travel without it.

The 285 mile drive was uneventful, and we pulled in to Bluebonnet RV Park and Terrell, TX, just after 4:30 PM. Kay and I shared driving duties as well as planning for rest breaks and overnight stops.

Christmas Day was anticlimactic; holiday festivities with family and friends occurred earlier in the week. Kay busily deconstructed Christmas decorations, while I worked on “information management” software and hardware. We took a break to exchange gifts with friends Pam and Don, and then continued packing away ornaments and trees. Late afternoon we drove to the motorhome storage bay with a load of stuff, mostly my computer and photographic gear. After installing the bike rack on the car, we could not find the lock key anywhere. We looked everywhere, and then out of desperation, looked in my bedside table drawer, and, low and behold, there it was. Christmas Day proved to be an exhausting day for us!