Durango, Colorado—June 20, 2024

We left Tucumcari, New Mexico yesterday morning and drove 160 miles northwest to the Agua Piedra State Park near Vadito, New Mexico, where we spent the night camping. It was only about 25 miles south of Taos, but it felt like it was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We were “boon-docking,” which is what seasoned RV aficionados call it when they are camping off the grid without water or electricity hookups. Actually, it sounds a lot more adventurous than it really is, because you still have a water tank, heat and air conditioning, and a generator for electric. I think RV people might be just a bit spoiled. The only thing that really bugged me was there was no Wi-Fi or cell service. Now that’s boon-docking.

When you camp in a state or national park, there is always a “Campground Host” near the entrance of every campground. (Just to be clear, they aren’t just standing there at the entrance, they are camped in a spot right by the entrance.). These are people who volunteer to camp in their own RV for the entire season in a designated campground and make sure the campers are paying for their campsites, and are not having wild parties or burning down the woods, etc. They also clean the bathrooms and campsites after use and so forth. In exchange for their volunteer work, they receive a free campsite, Wi-Fi, and water and electricity for the season. Most of them are retired people who like to travel and don’t mind a nomadic lifestyle. For instance, at Agua Piedra, the host, Carol, came by to check on us. Carol and her husband are originally from Atlanta. They sold their home and all of the contents and now live strictly in their RV. Yikes!

Since I was desperate to talk to someone, I quizzed Carol about where they have traveled and what kind of stuff they do on the road. She said that they spend summers out here in the mountains in the west where it’s cool, then go back south in the winters to visit family. When they drive back and forth, they stay at Love’s Travel Centers because, according to Carol, the truckers all stay there and it’s a safe environment. The showers are good too. I looked it up, and Love’s is quite a thing. For instance, the Cordele, Georgia Love’s has more than 40 RV sites, a splash pad, pavilions, a pickle ball court, fire pits, and more. Love’s has 65 locations across the US that cater to RV’s. Who knew? I would have liked to chat with Carol more, but she had important camp host duties to tend to.

Today we headed northwest once again to make the 160 mile trek to Durango, Colorado. On the way here we stopped at the Rio Grande Gorge State Park near Taos. I’m not sure we even knew it was along our route, but it looked cool so we stopped for bit.

So far, we have been eating at local restaurants rather than chain restaurants and it has been kind of fun. Some of the places look a bit sketchy from the outside, but if you are driving through a small town and see several cars at a place, those places tend to be one of the local hangouts. So far, we have eaten at The Arcade in Memphis (reportedly where Elvis ate), Del’s Restaurant and Kix on 66 in Tucumcari, and both last and least, the Elk Horn Cafe in Chama, New Mexico. The Elk Horn could use some paint, but the food was excellent. In full disclosure, I obviously did not take all of the following pictures, particularly the one with sepia color and deckled edges.

Tonight we are in a Vanna down by the river in Durango.