Permanent SAG: April 2022

We left Brownsville, Texas, on Sunday, April 3rd. Our plan was to leave at 9a, but that immediately changed when Fulton decided to make a break for it. We spent half an hour just chasing after him.

The 4 Seasons manager met us at our trailer so he could open the back gate for us to get out. Saved a lot of effort by just being able to pull forward and out. He voiced the opinion that our trailer tires were a little low and suggested we check the air one more time. Hats off to his quote of the day: Better safe than sorry. Thanks, D!

Our dear friend S made a point of stopping while she was out walking her dog Penny. She hugged us goodbye and let us know she'd be praying for our safe travels. Thanks, S, you have no idea how much that means to us. There's nothing better than to know you're being covered in prayers.

Our first day on the road passed without incident -- well, the dead javelina and wild goat herd were a little out of the ordinary. We drove 540 miles; 9.5 hours from Brownsville to Iraan, Texas, a small town off I-10W.

We first heard about Iraan last year on the Park4Night app. Iraan has a population of only 1,281, but it has a beautiful city park. It is the perfect place to dry dock: secluded, dark, and very quiet. Funnily enough, just like last year, neither consort nor I slept well.

Here's an interesting little fact. Iraan is an amalgamation of Ira and Ann Yates, the owners of the ranchland upon which the town was built. ~Wikipedia

We were up early on day two of our three-day trip after an unsuccessful good night's rest. We left Iraan before 9a headed toward El Paso with a final destination of Deming, New Mexico.

Let me just say here that if you're wanting to go on a scenic drive, you will not find it anywhere between San Antonio and El Paso, Texas. I would say there is nothing to look at, but that's not entirely true. There are beautiful hills, mountains, plateaus, and plains. Consort and I both find the geography of west Texas quite beautiful. We passed the time practicing karaoke.

We drove 405 miles on day two, 7.5 hours, ending the day at Deming, New Mexico. Deming is kind of out in the middle of nowhere, 100 miles northwest of El Paso and 200 miles east of Tucson. Deming is home to West New Mexico University and a Walmart parking lot that is a beehive of activity. 18-wheelers and RV's begin to fill the parking lot between four and five in the afternoon. The 18-wheelers come and go, and never shut down. No matter how many motorhomes, fifth wheels, trailers, campers, and Tow Boys you count before you call it a night, there will be half a dozen more in the morning. It is busy and noisy. And again like last year, we left the windows open and slept like babies!

Fulton snuggled up with his travel buddy, Lamb Chop

Fulton absolutely HATES going for these long rides in the truck. He wears a harness which is attached to a leash which is attached to the seatbelt. His movement in the truck is limited. We learned, after our first ride in the truck with the kitty, how necessary it is to limit the cat's movements. The driver especially appreciates this. As soon as Fulton is loaded in the truck, he slides down between the seat and the door in an incredibly small spot. He seldom comes out from this hidey hole until we stop.

On day two, Fulton again delayed our start time. We were ready to load the animals and could not find Fulton anywhere. We had been in and out of the trailer numerous times getting things ready. Fulton is a wiley cat and has been known to zip out of the trailer without being seen. I searched the trailer looking carefully in all the cabinets. Consort walked the perimeter of the trailer. Nothing. We checked under the slides in the living room, we checked behind the slides, and once more through all the cabinets. About the moment I was starting to panic, consort found the mangy moggy hiding under an ottoman. I'm sure he was laughing as he watched us search the trailer. But we found him. Humans: 2; Feline: 0.

On day three, we drove from Deming, New Mexico, to Tucson, Arizonia, and then on to Apache Junction. We take this route to avoid any mountain driving -- but that's another story for another day. The trip from Deming to Apache Junction took six hours, 290 miles. We arrived at our destination, Sunhaven RV Park in the early afternoon.

Last year when parked here at Sunhaven, we had a lovely pull-through site directly across from a small park and gazebo. Unfortunately, even though we called in February, this year the site was already booked and we ended up in a much smaller spot at the opposite end of the park.

Consort and I have been in some very tight spots before (both with and without the fifth wheel), but this site takes it to a whole new level. In the picture above, you can see the black cap for the septic system. Notice the tire tracks right next to it in the gravel. Those are the tracks consort made edging the trailer into place.

We are wedged between a permanent shed with an attached awning on one side of the trailer, and the electric meter, water connections, and septic on the other. There is a neighbor just on the other side of our utilities. Above are two pictures. On the left you'll see the living room slide open. The awning over the slide is flat against the inside edge of the permanent structure. The picture on the right shows the view looking down the side of the trailer. We pulled back just far enough to have room for the bedroom slide to open.

But not quite enough room for this bin to open. Consort has to kneel down and look up under the door of the bin to find what he needs. There are mere inches on either side of us. At one point, the maintenance man and his helper were advising consort on backing in. All of a sudden, the helper is shouting for us to stop. She ran around to the passenger window and started apologizing. She said she just ripped our roof off.

We thought she was kidding.

She directed consort a little too close to the permanent structure. It caught the edge of the fifth wheel roof and just kind of peeled the metal back in a couple of places. It's nothing major and management here will take care of all costs.

Consort pulled forward without doing any further damage. We fired up the walkie-talkies. I got out and directed consort into the slot. He backed in without any problems at all. The man's skills and our ability to work as a team never cease to amaze me.

Yes, it's a tight spot, but it does have a covered patio!

We're parked here through May 5th. Our friends from Flagstaff have just arrived. After a year of short trips in their RV, they decided to sell their house and belongings and become full-time RV'ers. I think champagne is on the menu for the afternoon. Next week, when they take off to begin their new adventure, we'll have three weeks to spend with my brother and SIL. We're really happy to be here. We LOVE Arizonia!

We have a gorgeous backyard. All gravel and ten-foot-high Oleanders in white, pink, and red. A perfect place for the kitty to play. (I'll upload a picture of the backyard and roof damage another time. I cannot currently get ANYTHING to upload!!!!!)

In one corner of the Oleanders, there's a back gate. The maintenance guy, George, gave us the code to go in and out. George tells us if you head out the back gate, just a hundred feet or so across the way is the Dog Run Saloon. They're supposed to have great food and adult beverages with little umbrellas in them. I'll let you know.

There is no cable. No problem, we seldom watch anything on cable.

There is no WiFi. No worries. We've got it under control.

Bad cell phone reception. What?? Intolerable!!