Home From the Hills

Well, I had a wonderful few days on Route 66 crossing Arizona, though the Universe interrupted my trip more than once.  I'll post photos of the stops I made in later posts today, but for now, I'm back in Desert Hot Springs and here is why.

I spent a wonderful night in the Grand Canyon on the south rim. After two days exploring, I continued on my way, looking for a place to ride out the heatwave here in DHS.

I had connected with a couple of van dwelling ladies and hoped to camp at Flagstaff for a couple of weeks. But the morning I arrived, the Forest Service was doing controlled burns, and I drove into a big old cloud of smoke. With my MCS, I knew this wouldn't work for me, so I had to keep going.

Next hopeful camping spot was Walnut Canyon National Monument. There is dispersed camping there on one road immediately before entering the park. The camping spots were very full, and the ones remaining weren't too good for my van, as the roads into the spots were rutted quite deep. But I finally found one spot I could get into, then in about two hours, had to rush out.  I'll be darned if the smoke hadn't reached that place also...

I slept that night in the parking lot of the Twin Arrows Casino. Looking at my maps, I found a nice campground just past Gallup New Mexico.  In the pines, the weather was beautiful and cool and I was hopeful. HERE was a place I could stay for $2.50 a night for a couple of weeks.

I drove in and as I was picking up an envelope to register, I saw the sign, "CAMPGROUND CLOSES SEPTEMBER 17 AM."

WHAT???

Just then a car with a  "CAMPGROUND HOST" sign pulled up and stopped next to me.  There was a couple inside, and I asked the fellow, "Really?  They're closing tomorrow???"

He said sadly yes, and that I should probably follow him up to the next campground. He said, "The campground host here said he's locking up as soon as he collect the money tomorrow morning.  Last year he locked one camper in!"

I asked how the camper got OUT of the campground and he said he used bolt cutters on the lock.  WHOAH!

So I followed him up to McGaffey Campground, a beautiful spot in the pines with meadow views.  There was only one other camper besides myself and van dwellers in the area might want to make a note of this place. I'll definitely be returning next season to continue my Route 66 trip across New Mexico. The cost is $5 per night which is only $2.50 with the LifeTime Federal Pass.

Photos of that campground later.

Anyway, after that, I decided the Universe was telling me this wasn't the time to continue my trip. I was tired of driving every day, and with no place to settle in, I decided my trip was over and it was time to return to home base in Desert Hot Springs.  I will have this place to myself for 5-6 weeks, and will try to get some stock into my Etsy shops for the holiday season.

Sooooo.... that was mighty short trip, though it WAS fun.
I'll post photos later today.

Until then, stay cool, van dwellers, and Happy Trails!
Annie