Just Past Albuquerque… Will this Day Never End?

We set our alarms for 6 am. Rise and shine, the early bird gets the worm, etc. etc. etc… George had trouble sleeping and so he got up about 4am and emptied the black and grey tanks, hoping to make the day easier.

At 6am it is 5 degrees—there is nothing that is going to make this day any easier.

In the middle of the night, George realized that he needed to get on the roof of the 5^th wheel and not only brush the snow off the slides; but he will need chip off the inch thick ice that is under the snow.  If he doesn't get the ice off the slides, they very likely will not close and if they do close; the ice that is left could easily destroy the slide seals.

So, without any concern for his own life… he climbs up on the snow packed 5^th wheel roof.  I am always so concerned that he is going to fall off that roof.  Today it is even worse because I know it is slick up there.  But if I am honest, I am a little concerned that the chipping of the ice will put a hole in the top of the slides.  In the end, there are no holes and he remains upright—cold, but no worse for the wear.

He comes in freezing, but we still feel like the right decision is to continue breaking camp and move forward to warmer climates.

After warming up a little, George heads out to start removing the Styrofoam skirting that he had placed around the bottom of the 5^th wheel for insulation.  We made a large pile of the Styrofoam sheets, it is so windy the only real help I can be is to chase Styrofoam sheets.  We were happy to learn there is a single dad staying at the campground that could not afford skirting and so he will be blessed by having this.

In the process of removing the Styrofoam, a piece of the already cracked wheel fender breaks off the Redwood.  That would have made me swear for a week—George however, was frustrated but didn’t lose control.  I love that man!

The freezing temperatures make everything take longer—so George is miserable, but we need to keep pressing forward.  Two hours later we are finally on the road.

I say it a lot, but… it’s all part of our journey.  Stuff takes longer if we wait too long to leave the cold weather.  Stuff will get broke.  Things break if you live in a "sticks-n-bricks" house or a house on wheels.

We decided not to make a campground reservation, that way we are not locked into how far we will travel.   Once we are on the road, I start looking at our options.  I look at Wal-Mart’s, Truck Stops, State Parks and Passports campgrounds.  When we are just planning to stop to sleep, we do not care about scenery or campground amenities.  We found a little campground 30 miles past Albuquerque which we decide would be a good place to stop.  With our Passport membership, it is only $20/night—which is a good price.

Since we have been unsuccessful so far getting propane, we decided we would try once we were on the road.

We stopped at 2 difference truck stops/gas stations to get propane; they both trade out bottles, but do not sell propane by the gallon.

It’s New Year’s Eve and so we are having a hard time even finding places that are open.  (Frankly, we both forgot the date.)

After calling, I found a U-Haul dealer in the middle of Albuquerque that sells propane.  I called the store directly to make sure: “Yes, we absolutely sell propane by the gallon.”

Wanting to make sure our rig will fit in their parking lot, I call the store a 2^nd time.  I confirm with the store that they have plenty of room for our RV and tell them we are coming from out of town and want to make sure we will be able to get in their parking lot when we come to get propane today—and I again mention we are on our way.  The guy on the phone just didn’t sound like he had it all together, so we pulled into a Wal-Mart parking lot, unhooked the jeep and drove the jeep across town to the U-Haul store.   We pull into the lane to get the propane; the guy walks out and says… “Yea we have propane, but I’m not certified to fill tanks.”  Are you kidding me!!!  There was not a spiritual thought in my head at this point.  I’m thinking, “Slap, punch or kick?”  This guy is getting one of them!

After deciding you can’t fix “stupid”, we go back to the 5^th wheel and head out to Belen for the night.  We’ll try this again tomorrow.

Please, God, let tomorrow be a better day.