Tim and I
finally left the Phoenix area on March 5, but it seemed to take forever to put
the “big city” in the rearview mirror. I
was so happy to finally get through the hour of non-stop traffic and head for
the hills. Once we left the eastern
suburbs, it was a beautiful drive over the mountains. Wildflowers were blooming alongside the
roads, and I couldn’t get enough of the hillsides carpeted with yellow poppies.
The stretch of Route 60 between Phoenix and Globe is known as the Gila-Pinal Scenic Road, and the Superstition Mountains were the most prominent landmark on the first part of the drive. Silver and copper mines dotted the mountains on the way to Miami (not Florida) and Globe, and we enjoyed the road as it twisted and wound its way up and down the mountain.
Leaving the Big City Behind |
On the Way to Globe, AZ |
Poppies Galore |
Our
destination for the evening was Roper Lake State Park near Safford,
Arizona. As soon as we pulled into the
campground, I felt I could breathe once again, and I let out a big sigh of
relief. Roper Lake is a lovely park, and
we had one of the best sites in the campground.
Our site had an unbelievable amount of space, especially behind us. It was so nice to be back in a “natural” park. Even Kitty seemed happier. Tim and I walked down to the lake and spent
some time exploring the park.
A Fabulous Site at Roper Lake State Park |
Roper Lake State Park |
We stayed at Roper Lake State Park only one night and left the
next morning for Silver City, New Mexico.
Because we drive a small RV, we are able to travel roads that are not
suited to larger RVs. And that’s exactly
the type of road we took toward Silver City. Route 78 is a narrow, winding road up and over
the mountains, with hairpin curves that opened up to incredible views. I love to drive this type of road.
A Great Drive with Great Views |
Following Tim into New Mexico |
We arrived in New Mexico to much cooler temperatures and checked
back in to the Rose Valley RV Ranch on March 6.
We lucked out with another great campsite, with lots of room and
privacy. We were really looking forward
to the week we had reserved there.
Kitty Worked Hard While We Were at Rose Valley RV Ranch |
Where did
the week go? It seemed that we did very little resting, and
very little touring. Since we had played
tourist on our last visit to Silver City, we welcomed the time to just be
homebodies. It wasn’t an exciting week,
but we caught up on some chores and errands and spend quite a bit of time
planning our Alaska trip. Rose Valley
was a perfect place to do what we needed to do, including haircuts and laundry.
We did take time to explore more of downtown
Silver City where we found a popular coffee shop that serves sinful deserts. Silver City is often listed as one of the
best small towns in America, and the town has done a very good job of preserving
and reusing its historic buildings.
Downtown Silver City, New Mexico |
While we were
at Rose Valley, Tim spoke with his good friends Ruth and Lou who live in
Albuquerque and discovered that they would be in Deming, New Mexico, on the day
we were scheduled to leave Silver City.
What a coincidence that we were just fifty miles away. Although we had planned to see them in
Albuquerque, we quickly decided that it would be fun to also spend time with
them in Deming.
Why
Deming? Ruth and Lou were there to
attend the 50th Annual Rockhound Roundup, a gem and mineral
show. Neither Tim nor I had ever been to
a rock show and had no idea that there were so many avid rock collectors. The show was huge, and Tim and I actually had
a lot of fun. Some of the rocks were
gorgeous. With visions of Lucille Ball and
“The Long, Long Trailer” in the back of our minds, we resisted making any
purchases. Rocks and RVs just don’t mix!
With
plans to meet Ruth and Lou in Albuquerque in a few days, Tim and I left Deming
with a “must-see” on our itinerary – Hatch, New Mexico. Hatch is the self-proclaimed chile capital of
the world and is known for green chile.
Although March is far from chile season, we were able to purchase frozen
green chile, as well as various salsas.
The highlight, however, was Sparky’s, a local institution that has quite
the following.
Sparky’s
is not just a restaurant, but a roadside attraction, and is known for its world
famous chile cheeseburger. Tim and I
braved the line that snaked its way out past the front door and ordered green chile
cheeseburgers, of course, with barbeque and a strawberry milkshake to enjoy
later. We loved the atmosphere, as well
as the food, and found Sparky’s a perfect local place to eat. For us, sampling restaurants like Sparky’s is
an essential part of traveling.
Sparky's, Hatch, New Mexico |
Our overnight
stop on the way to Albuquerque was Elephant Butte State Park. We followed the advice of several bloggers
and found a lovely campsite with a water view and lots of space in the north
end of the park. We paid for one night
and settled in. It was very windy the
day we arrived, but the next day was wonderful, with very little wind. Tim and I decided to stay for another night,
so we walked down to the pay station and paid for one more night. That’s when the drama began.
A Heavenly Site at Elephant Butte State Park, While It Lasted |
The volunteer
camp host came by and told us we couldn’t stay in our site for another
night. Say What? Apparently, you can only stay in a
reservation site for one night, which is not how we interpreted the signs. By then it was 2:30 pm, and we didn’t want to
move. The campground was virtually
empty, and all of the waterfront sites, except two, were vacant. The host, however, said we had to move to one
farther away. I was incredulous. I understand rules (if fact, I spent my
career enforcing rules), but this one made no sense. The host was very insistent, and I got very
angry and decided I didn’t want to stay since we had to pack up anyway. Poor Tim.
He had to remain the calm one and deal with the host.
About ten
minutes later while I was inside packing the RV, the host came back and looked
at our permit once again and began to write notes in his book. Tim went out, and the host told him that we
owed ten dollars for the car. Toads (or
towed vehicles) are not charged a separate fee, and we honestly believed that our
car would be considered a toad. I guess
not. Now Tim was upset and said he was not
going to pay since we had already paid fourteen dollars that we would be forfeiting
since we were leaving. The host
reluctantly said that would cover the ten dollar charge.
The final
straw was when the host asked Tim, “You aren’t planning to stay at any other
state parks, are you?” Tim, not
surprisingly, interpreted this to mean that we would be blackballed from staying at all New Mexico parks.
What an awful experience! I
cannot tell you the last time I was that angry. Perhaps we were wrong in not interpreting the
rules correctly, but I still cannot believe how the host handled the situation.
We left
the state park as soon as we could and moved to a private campground farther
north. The campground was a bit funky,
but the owner was great, and we were happy to give him our money and be some place where we felt
comfortable. It took me a long time,
however, to just let go of the anger.
The next
day we left for Albuquerque and stopped for lunch at Buckhorn Tavern in San
Antonio, New Mexico. Here we once again ordered
green chile cheeseburgers. These were even better than the ones at Sparky’s. The owner-chef sat and talked with us, and we
learned that he had bested Food Network’s Bobby Flay in a 2009 throwdown. Buckhorn Tavern is another restaurant that perfectly
captures the local flavor and cuisine.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We love hearing from you and reading your comments.
To leave a comment, type what you'd like to say and then click on the arrow next to "Comment as:". You can select "Anonymous" if you'd like. Finally, click "Publish." That's it.