Benson, AZ

We arrived in Benson on Monday morning. We're staying at the Valley Vista RV resort which is an RPI Preferred resort.  It's very nice, and best of all it's only $14 per night!

We called Kathie and Cliff Sklenar who spend winters here (they have a park model at a resort close by), and spent a great day with them on Tuesday.   They picked us up and took us to their favorite breakfast spot.  Then they took us to an AFB in Tucson that has the "boneyard".  It is hundreds of mothballed Air Force planes that are parked.  They use them for spare parts, or can reinstate them very quickly when needed.

Then we drove over to Tombstone.  We walked around and had lunch at Big Nose Kate's Saloon.  A very enjoyable day!!  It was very good to see them and get to visit.

Grilling dinner

Our view out the front window

The boneyard

Wyatt Earp's house in Tombstone.  That's a statue of him in front.

We had fun!!

Harvest Hosts - Deming, New Mexico

On Sunday we left Las Cruces and drove the 60 miles to Deming to stay at a golf course there.  Thankfully it was a short trip - the wind was blowing 30 mph and blowing us all over the road!

Mike golfed in that wind, and I rode with him.  We left very early (6:30) Sunday morning to get to Benson before the wind.

The welcoming committee.  We parked right by the duck pond

Las Cruces, NM

After Junction, we stayed 1 night in Ft. Stockton at our usual spot (Fort Junction RV Park), and then drove to Las Cruces on Friday the 14th.   I wanted to stay 2 nights so we could go to White Sands National Monument.  The place we're staying is expensive - $50/night - but it's a really nice spot.  The prices will even out because we're doing another Harvest Host on Sunday night, and then 2 nights in Benson at an RPI park.

Today we did the loop drive at White Sands, and then went to Alamogordo to see the Space History Museum that Lee Ralston had recommended.  It was pretty cool - we enjoyed it.  A very nice day spent sightseeing!

Driving through El Paso to Las Cruces you can see the border fence and Ciudad Juarez just across the river.  That's why we never stay in El Paso!

Today was White Sands - it was pretty cool.  Lots of people bought saucers in the gift shop to slide down the sand - like snow!   The sand is really gypsum, and the water table is only 2-3 feet below the surface!

The Space History Museum had a lot of neat stuff - including a moon rock - but the static displays outside were neat.   Also, the first atomic bomb test was done in the White Sands desert.

This was used to test rockets before the space program really got started

This is an early SAM

This is a drone

Hill Country of Texas

On Saturday we drove from Canyon Lake to Junction.  We wanted to go through Luckenbach, so we took the backroads.  It's really beautiful around here.   We decided that we'd take a trip in the car back to Luckenbach on Sunday, so we just drove through.

We landed at the Above and Beyond Riverside RV park.  We have a great view of the Llano river out our front window.  The weather was pretty, but it's supposed to get cloudy and cooler over the next few days.  We're here for 3 nights to explore the Hill country.  We're going to drive back to Fredericksburg and Luckenbach on Sunday to explore, and then do some exploring to the South on Monday.

This park has great WiFi - but we don't have any cell service.  We even drove into town to try to call Livie for her birthday, but couldn't get any service there either.

Our spot overlooking the river

The view out of our front window

We had a great day on Sunday.  We took a different route into Fredericksburg/Luckenbach and it was a beautiful drive.  This is such a pretty area.  Pinon pines at the higher elevations, lots of live oaks, and rolling hills.

We went to Luckenbach first.  No one lives there anymore, the last resident went to a nursing home a couple of years ago.  In the 70's a man named Hondo Crouch bought the town for $30k.   He died in 1976, and the song by Willie and Waylon came out in 1977.   Now the town is a bar, gift shop, dance hall, and an outdoor music venue, with live music every afternoon.  They have a big Valentine's day bash planned for this weekend.

After Luckenbach we explored Fredericksburg.  We went to the Texas Rangers Heritage Center and looked around Fort Martin Scott.   We walked around downtown - a very cute town that was originally settled by Germans (as were most of the towns around here).  It turned out to be a beautifully sunny day, and we took another route home to see more of the pretty countryside.  Lots of sheep ranches around here!

The original post office is now a gift shop and the bar is behind it

The music venue

Mike bought a cowboy hat, and of course had to have a beer!

The dance hall, ready for Valentine's "Hug-In"

Texas Rangers Heritage Center

Texas Rangers Heritage Center

I really don't like selfies!

We're going to extend our stay for two more days; not because it's such a great RV park but because the weather is turning to crap and we don't want to drive to Fort Stockton in 25 mph headwinds and possible snow!

On Tuesday we drove to Kerrville to see the Western Heritage museum.  It was cold and rainy, so we really couldn't be outside seeing the sculptures, but enjoyed the paintings and historic items inside.  Lunch at Cracker Barrel, and it was a nice day.

One of the sculptures at the museum

Wednesday turned out to be sunny and pretty, although the wind was cold.  We drove over to the little 9 hole golf course here in Junction, and I caddied for Mike.  It was fun, and a great walk.  They were also having a sheep herding dog competition, and we watched that for a little bit.  One of the dogs reminded me of Lucky - I'm sure she was part herding collie!

The course wasn't in great shape, but it was a nice afternoon!

Harvest Hosts - Canyon Lake Texas

Harvest Hosts is a club for RVers that has breweries, wineries, museums, and golf courses on their list.  As an HH member, you can stay at one of the Hosts overnight - dry camping - and in return just patronize their business.

Friday, February 7th, was our first HH stay.   We chose the Lakeside Golf Club in Canyon Lake Texas because it was on the route, and only 100 miles from where we had stayed on Thursday night.

We got in around 11 am, and we were greeted like we were old friends.  All of the employees were so welcoming and friendly.   Lisa in the Pro shop in particular made us feel very welcome.  She showed us where to park, brought the golf cart out for Mike, and gave us a 15% discount on the golf!  We wanted to have lunch, so she brought us into the restaurant and introduced us as HH members, so they gave us a discount as well.

The weather was perfect - low 70s and sunny - and Mike enjoyed the round.  He hadn't been able to play in a month or so, so it was nice to get out.

After golf, we sat out enjoying the view of the course, watching the golfers go by.  The groundskeeper even stopped to introduce himself!

At dusk, the deer came out - white tails - and there were a bunch of them.  They came pretty close, and some kids that lived in the townhouse two doors down from the parking lot were feeding them.  They were practically tame!

We grilled a steak and baked potatoes, and the weather was so nice we were able to eat outside.

After supper, we went for a walk on the course, and Mike found about 100 golf balls.  He left them in little piles along the way, because he didn't need them.  A nice surprise for the Saturday morning golfers!!

Truly a great experience.  If all of the Hosts are this friendly and welcoming, this is going to be a great gig - stopovers along the route!!

Ready to go golf

The MH from the golf course

Our view of the #1 tee and fairway

We set up the grill on the view side of the rig!

Great supper!

And then all the deer came through - so fun to watch!! There were even a couple of bucks!

You can just make out his antlers

They're so cute when they prance

Another buck. I think he's looking at the girls