After experiencing some really cold weather conditions in New Mexico our pre-purchased flight tickets would have us calling a new state our hub for the next few months. Arizona would be our destination for a bit and we would learn that Phoenix PHX in particular is a great little airport that is really easy to get in and out of quickly.
On this trip we would have an additional guest named Shannon which is Eduardo’s girlfriend and navigator. Over the trip I would learn that Shannon is just as quick witted as her counterpart which made for a great addition on the trip.
Day 1 Thursday – We left a bit earlier than usual in order to make sure we got through TSA and the lines with our additional passenger. As we flew into Albuquerque for the last time for a while we talked about the fun parts of New Mexico we had been given a chance to see on previous trips. It was time to move onto another state but we did discuss how we did not give ourselves enough time in New Mexico to explore and that maybe at least 4-5 months in one state may be better for the future trips. We made our way to the storage lot to pick up our vehicles and made our way to a local casino to grab a meal before turning in for the night as we camped in the parking lot.
Day 2 Friday – I woke up early around 5:30 and headed to get groceries and even had time for a quick shower at the local truck stop. Later I met up with the crew and we started making our way down the road. We ended up pulling off the road near Socorro, New Mexico to check out the Very Large Array. Signs posted warned of trespassing so we were very mindful to obey the signs.
As we made our way further down the road the weather started getting colder and Abel’s 1985 VW Vanagon named Libby started to have problems with the fuel system running rich. We pulled off the road so that Abel could make an adjustment.
Pretty soon it was apparent that Libby was not going to make our travel to Arizona easy without more stops along the way. We gathered some plastic and some earth magnets to create a makeshift cover to shield the super cold weather from keeping Libby from running correctly.
As the day carried on we took it easy and did not push our speeds much so we began to lose daylight. We made our way into a camp spot that Eduardo found in doing some research a few weeks before. The spot was called Cosmic Campground and on most nights it is know for being extremely dark and a great spot for viewing the stars. We found that the campground was empty so we had our choice of camp spots for a soon to be freezing night lol. After a quick meal of Bratwurst and a nice warm fire we called it a night and tried to stay warm in what would be freezing temperatures.
Day 3 Saturday – I awoke to my windshield being covered in frost which I would have to scrap off by hand. Brrrrrrr!!!
We were starving as we headed out toward the next spot and thankfully we found a wonderful spot called the Alma Grill which in all seriousness has to be the best meal we had on the trip.
Nothing like a good breakfast to start the day, I had the country fried steak and eggs but was a bit jealous of the other plates at the table.
With full bellies we made our way onto the open road again and as luck would have it we would see some of the most beautiful views we had seen all weekend as we entered into Arizona.
Pitch black nighttime caught us and we made our way through the darkness to Oak Flat Campground in Miami, Arizona. We were very lucky to find a spot we could squeeze all three vehicles into but we made it work. A steak dinner and some awesome roasted corn was our meal for the evening. Another cold night, great.
Day 4 Sunday – We took a few pictures and made our way across a washed over small dirt road on our way out of camp.
Arriving into Phoenix, Arizona we stopped off for a quick shower and had plenty of time to get to our new storage spot only to find out they had in fact over booked our spots. In a mad scramble like you can’t believe we all found spots to store our vehicles with just an hour to spare before our flight home. It is always interesting lol!
Total Trip Hours: 72 – ROAM72 – Join the ROAM
VanUnity 