Meet Zelda! Part 5

Wait!  Don't miss Part 4!

Toasting our last night 

of the new rig's maiden voyage.

Chris' brew is from Gnarly Barley,

located in Hammond, LA
(where Zelda was from)!

We were up before most of the campers at the San Antonio/Alamo KOA Holiday resort on this Tuesday morning, and we took quick showers and threw together breakfast before hitching up and getting back on the road once again.  It would be another long driving day for us - 550 miles (around 11 hours, with stops and whatnot) to El Paso - and we didn't want to be traveling far into the night (at least we got an hour back in West Texas).

At a rest area en route.

While we often used our own bathroom facilities,

it was so nice to get out of the truck,

dance around a bit, eat a snack, etc,

in an attempt to stave off the aches and pains

that come from a long trip.

Driving through El Paso -

that big X is on the

Juarez, Mexico side of the border

In planning this trip, we knew that because we'd still be learning about the new rig as we camped our way home, we wanted to ensure we had power hookups in most locations, as well as water and sewer, if possible.  That generally means RV parks/resorts (as opposed to campgrounds, free dispersed camping, or the like), which are great, but tend to get a bit costly after a while (they're still way less expensive than motels or hotels).  Attempting to save money on our last night, we turned to the folks at Campendium to see where others liked to stay in the greater El Paso area, and we ran into a great option: the parking lot at the Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino had 8 designated RV spots with power and water hookups, each for just $15 a night!  

Since you can't reserve ahead, we bookmarked a few backup options, too, but those didn't turn out to be necessary - there was more than enough room for us!  Although it's right across the state border from El Paso, Sunland Park was technically in New Mexico.

See?  Really close.

As we drove in, we were greeted by the security guard and escorted to the RV spots, of which only one was occupied.  We picked a spot about halfway down, set up, and per the guard's instructions, headed inside the casino itself to fill out the paperwork and pay our $15 fee.  While the perks were pretty sparse, the price couldn't be beat, and the guards patrolling the parking lot all night kept us feeling safe and sound.

Us and our one neighbor for the night

That's the on-site horse racing track

beyond my feet -

the ponies weren't running today,

but some of the Campendium reviews

said folks here in the winter could watch races

from atop their rigs!

The full moon through the camper door

I woke up pretty early on Wednesday morning - while the casino parking lot was quiet and all was calm, four nights of sleeping on the cheap mattress that came with Zelda had done a number on my hips and back, and I just couldn't get comfortable (we'd taken advantage of the WiFi at the casino the night before to order a new mattress from Nectar, which is MUCH better).  Before too long, Chris was awake, too, and we used our stove/oven to make another patented Olsen Adventure Breakfast:

A cheese and egg scramble featuring leftover boudin sausage

with English muffins and jelly from

the El Paso Fairfield Inn's breakfast spread.

There wasn't really a checkout process in the casino parking lot, so we packed up and slowly rolled away, just in case the guard came chasing us down for something we'd forgotten.  That didn't happen, and before long, we were back on the 10 (and in Texas once more), heading for a TA Travel Center in Las Cruces to use their dump station (there was supposed to be one near the stables at the casino/racetrack, but we never found it).

The sun starting to illuminate the nearby mountains

We finally made it out of Texas!

(I mean, technically, we made it out when we got to the casino,

but then we drove back into Texas to get on the 10).

We ate lunch (chicken salad wraps with Oreos) at the rest area in Lordsburg, New Mexico, which was fantastic - two great parking lots, easily accessible bathrooms, all the normal things that made a rest stop a success.  However, this rest stop was also part of an old ranch, complete with a visitor center and two extremely helpful docents who were so very, very willing to spend as much time as you might wish telling you about the location.  

It even had a series of picnic tables in separate rooms,

and a cute little courtyard with a fountain!

Post-lunch, it was back on the road and onto our final push home!  After a quick stop east of Tucson for a bit more gas, we headed through the CG, then into the Phoenix metro area.

Hooray!  Happy to back in State 48!

Look at that sky!

Once home, we spent some time getting the rig parked on our front pavers (that's where we plan to park it - we'll see how this goes), and then we headed to doggie daycare to pick up the monsters.  With everyone back together again, there was only one thing to do - apply our new state map!

We put this on the inside of our slide,

so hopefully, this will keep it nicer than the last one.

Three states down, 47 to go!

As always, the girls had an amazing time at JetPet...

...but they were even happier to be home!

Sacked out in the sun!

Although the drive was long and tiring, we're glad this trip worked out the way it did - as mentioned earlier, we got a great deal on the new rig, and we're really enjoying having Zelda as part of our family (we've already taken her camping again, so look for that on upcoming blogs).  Ultimately, the trip was uneventful and safe, which counts as a resounding success in our books!

Later!

Amy