It was late December now and we were itching to go! My cousins sold their spot in the Piney Woods of Texas in the town of Carthage ala "Bernie" fame or infamy I should say. With their summer house in Vancouver, WA, Arizona was closer and they decided to winter there. We would see them before they went to explore Quartzsite and Yuma. They were looking for a place to land and we would catch up them in Lake Havisu.
This would be a Route 66 trip!
The Grand Canyon, The Painted Desert, The Impact Crater, Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell, we were going to do all of it and more.
Off we went to chase the setting sun. First stop, Amarillo, TX
We arrived late and the next morning went to see The Cadillac Ranch which is very near I - 40.
I was taking pictures when Dave asked, " Where do you want me to stand?" I paused. "Why don't you lay on the ground, you know, like a crash victim!", I blurted.
A personal note here...... my Dear Dave is always up for anything, will do anything, and will say anything. But no cursing, he's known as Disney Dave. He wouldn't say poop if he had a mouth full.....
One time we were in the checkout line at Walmart and this toddler is wailing constantly taking heavy breaths and screaming relentlessly. Everyone is irritated. Everyone. It was late, too late to have small child up and he was screaming, "I want this, I want that, I waaaaant !!!!!!" Dave finally had enough and began crying and screaming just like the child. Well, let me tell you, the kid shut up and the parents snatched him up and left. That's Dave.
I snapped the picture. Dave hopped up and excitedly said, "This is going to be my thing!" "What is?" I said, confused. "You know "A Thing" dying is going to be "My Thing". "What?!", I said a little louder. "When we travel, I'm going to die in different places, the more funny and inappropriate, the better!" He explained with a grin.
"Oh. OK", I said flatly. I'm really not surprised...... but I'm wondering 🤔
With that, Dead Dave was born and it became his "Thing"
Dave's "Thing" was solidified when the Japanese tourists nearby were pointing and laughing and one by one began flopping on the ground taking pictures of each other.
True story.
Off to "The Land of Enchantment".........
New Mexico is beautiful and I had a very specific reason for spending the night in Albuquerque. A trailer. At Enchanted Trails RV Resort. This resort has a collection of vintage trailers that rent as overnight lodging and one of them was a 1956 Yellowstone two door, 23 feet.
I was thinking about buying a bigger trailer....
FOR SHAME!!!
We had just gotten all the bugs out of this one, I know. We had altered the garage for it to fit inside, I know. We loved our little trailer, I know. We risked life and limb to make all this happen! I KNOW!
I was getting really tired of setting up and breaking down the bed. Yep, that's it. The bed.
Remember what I said about the first trailer you have is not the one you keep. Well, that wasn't going to be me! Until, it was. I could have two trailers, I thought. Oh, but then we would have to choose..... I have met people that have as many as 17 trailers. Yes, you heard correctly. For one thing, we didn't have room for two. I have always wanted our trailer at the house so I could play in it anytime I wanted. So, I would be very careful, make a list of priorities and always remember that just like in life, in trailers, just because you go looking for something it doesn't mean you'll find it.
I had done my homework, narrowing the choices down to a Yellowstone or a Boles Aero, like these were available to be picked off some 60+ year old tree just because I was searching.
The Yellowstone at Enchanted Trails RV Resort was a beauty. For rent but not for sale ( I know, I asked ) which made our discussion about it pure conjecture. In the end Dave thought it too big and I admitted it might be too heavy. We haul with a Nissan Frontier, our second one, and did not want to upsize our tow vehicle. The Canned Ham shape was our favorite which limited our choices. The Boles Aero would be lighter with it's aluminum frame as opposed to the Yellowstone's wooden supports.
Our conversation about the possibilities evaporated the miles.
We drove through western New Mexico and it became really windy. I mean steady what felt like hurricane force winds. Nothing will suck gas faster than a truck towing a trailer, pull into a headwind going faster than you are well, the needle just drops.... quickly. Gas stations are few and far in between in that part of the country and we were dodging tumble weeds when we pulled in.
The wind was so forceful, it was twisting the roof over the tanks on its poles like a hula dancer in Hawaii.... We pushed hard against the doors to get out and the wind slammed them shut. Clinging to each other we shuffled leaning against the force of high velocity air into the building.
I rushed to the counter exclaiming, "The wind is so bad the roof over the pumps is likely to come down! It's dangerous!" Texting blue haired nose ring girl glances up bored saying, " It's aaaaaalllwaaaaayys liiiike thiiis....." and went back to fingering her phone.
Oh. Well. Okay. What did I know? I was new to these here parts.
We borrowed the facilities in the largest, tackiest, roadside gas station / tourist trap with more junk on display than the dime toss at the county fair.
Back into the kite flying night we trod leaning practically 45 degrees getting back in our vehicle. The next morning would find us in Winslow, Arizona.
We had lunch at The La Posada Hotel, a Harvey Hotel just like in the movie "The Harvey Girls" with Judy Garland! We took a wonderful trip to The Painted Desert where I took a picture that would find its way into the Tin Can Tourist's calendar.
Yes, we stood on the corner in Winslow, Arizona such a fine sight to see.....
The Impact Crater was very intriguing considering we had flown over several times but standing on the rim gives one a whole different perspective. It's one big hole in the ground!
And, Dave died.
We had dinner that night at a restaurant whose neon was way better than it's food.
Off to the Grand Canyon! We had traveled within 90 miles of it when we first brought Sprocket home. I saw the turn off sign by Flagstaff, AZ and it pulled at me. Dave saw my expression and said, "We'll be back soon with our trailer redone."
That was today!
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