Solo life on 30 amps - Living full time in an RV: February 7th through February 14th, 2022 - Week Six

Destination number: 83/163/21

Hi there everyone, well, I can't believe that Remi and I have completed 6 whole weeks on the road, it just doesn't seem possible. The run from Gallup to Edgewood New Mexico, (just east of Albuquerque) went very uneventful. Though it was a chilly morning, the motorhome fired right up just like always! We arrived into Edgewood and found a campground that was pretty snowy. The location is very pretty! The RV park is on a slight slope which can make shimming the RV to level a little exciting, especially in muddy soil, but the views out the windows are to die for!

They had a couple of great dog parks here. This one is almost half the length of a football field so Remi could really get her "Run" on!

While setting up camp, I managed to set off the car alarm and I couldn't figure it out. It turned out I just had tripped the panic button. But, I had to call the factory alarm rep for him to tell me that. I felt like such an idiot. :-(

As normal, this was another work week for me, but, Wednesday was my birthday and once i was done with a couple of meetings in the morning, I took the afternoon off to run some errands, do a little exploring and treat myself to some dinner. Our first erand was to get Remi her vaccinations at a local veterinarian recommended to me by a friend!

Next, I didn't realize that Petroglyphs National Monument was right in the Middle of Albuquerque. Actualy, Albuquerque has kind of expanded around the park. This was a wonderful hiking opportunity for Remi and I to see some amazing petroglyphs in several canyons. There are four areas to hike in. Two of them allow dogs so of course those were the ones that Remi and I explored. She has been such a wonderful dog, and she is so patient, so every opportunity I get, i try to include her in every outing that I can. You will notice in the first petroglyph, the image of an alien being. Well as you will see by the marker, it is not graffiti, it actually dates back to the days of the other petroglyphs on the surrounding rocks.

After the hike at the Petroglyphs National Monument, I then headed to BJ's Brew house for a prime-rib dinner, a Roy Rogers and a Pazuki for dessert. The portions were huge, so I saved a little over half of the dinner to enjoy another day. The Roy Rogers and the Pazuki however were enjoyed in their entirety! :-)

It's been an emotionally tough week: Celebrating my birthday by myself was a bit of a drag, but it's the price you pay for living on the road. For the first time in my life being told to shelter in place due to a pair of shooters in the area. In all the decades in So-cal and Nor-cal, and the first time it happens is in New Mexico! Really? Then there was being accused of being a "Pinko Communist who should go back where I came from" simply because my dog is spayed and I'm from California. And then to top it all off being told I'm a "Right wing nut job who is a racist white supremacist" simply because I work for a law enforcement agency and that I see value in what that organization does. :-( I seriously thought about heading back to California a couple times this week. (Oh well, I'm now in Texas... this should be interesting. )

I had a software upgrade to do this weekend that was supposed to run from 5:00 PM on Friday through 5:00 PM on Saturday. The evening of the upgrade didn't go well and it had to be abandoned due to lack of support from the vendor. So, on Saturday, I took the opportunity to go check out a local dog rescue "Watermelon Mountain Ranch" rescue, the largest no-kill rescue in New Mexico. They were very nice people at the Rescue, but because I had not made an appointment, and because they were doing orientations, they didn't really have time to talk to me.

After visiting the Rescue, I then went to their Thrift store and Adoption center called "Going to the Cats and Dogs" where they had some very cool stuff including a shirt that I had to have. Hey Rick, they didn't charge enough for their shirts either! ;-)

In the way back to camp, I stopped to explore the National Nuclear Science and History Museum. Being someone who was always interested in Aviation and Rockets, it seemed like a place I should check out. But, I forgot how much I dislike nuclear energy, or more specifically, the waste and danger from it.

The definite highlight of this stop on my trip was White Sands National Monument. A friend of mine in Wisconsin suggested this stop to me and I'm so glad that she did. I was awe struck that at one time, this area was under water and teaming with aquatic life. And it is from that aquatic life and the gypsum rock around it, after breaking down over the centuries, rendered such a beautiful place. It reminded me so much of a snow park in many ways.