When we started planning our summer 2017 trip, we planned to get to Maine in August and thought we would go back to the Florida Keys after that. Then our friends Robert and Angela talked about getting together in Taos, NM for the Big Barn Dance on September 7-9. We thought that would be fun and we also decided we would meet them in Santa Fé, NM for the Burning of the Zozobra on September 1.

We planned our trip as far as Maine, but we didn’t make any plans after that. We think it’s time to start heading west. We’ll make plans on the way.

Fishkill, NY

Our passenger side side-view mirror is coming loose. It hasn’t been right since we bought the RV. We tried fixing it once, but the screws keep loosening.

We stop at a rest area, tighten the screws for the mirror, and have lunch. We drive some more and stop at a TA travel center to make plans for the night.  We decide on Cracker Barrel in Fishkill, NY. We have dinner there.

Hubbard, OH

We get up early and make coffee using the propane stove. We have breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

We get on the road. Around noon, we stop at a Flying J in Milton, PA. We fill the gas tank ($152), dump the black and gray water ($10) and fill the fresh water tank. We park in the RV parking area and eat lunch.

We get back on the road, and drive to the Flying J in Hubbard, OH. We park in the RV area for the night.

Terre Haute, IN

We get up and get on the road. The passenger side mirror still keeps coming loose and we are afraid we are going to lose it. We stop at a rest area and tie it with a string.

At 3:30, we stop in Terre Haute, IN, get gas and park at Cracker Barrel for the night. We have dinner at Cracker Barrel.

We have driven for three days straight, stopping at two Cracker Barrels and a Flying J. We want to stay at a campground for a few days. We make reservations in Branson, MO.

Branson, MO

We drive to Lakeside RV Park in Branson, MO. This is a nice county campground, right on Lake Taneycomo. It’s a close walk to the mall and parks and there is a free trolley that takes us downtown.

We walk to Bass Pro Shop and then stop at a couple of bars and restaurants for drinks and appetizers. We have gotten used to the cooler Maine weather and it feels very hot here.

Day 2

We look at the screws holding the passenger side mirror. We decide we need a drill and some hardware to fix it. We also need groceries. We take a Uber to Lowes in Hollister ($12).

We buy some things at Lowes and walk across the street to a grocery store.

We buy our groceries and try to get a Uber. Nothing is available. We try Lyft. Nothing there either. We call Loop Taxi. She tells us it will be 20-30 minutes. The driver shows up 20 minutes later. There is no A/C in the back seat. It is very hot. He takes us back to the RV park ($12).

We put our groceries away and take a walk on the path, but it is too hot. We walk back through the mall, stopping in air-conditioned stores and restaurants, to cool off, along the way.

Day 3

We cook bacon, eggs and grits outside and have Bloody Mary’s.

After that we take the free trolley downtown. It is another hot day. We go into several shops. We have lunch at Clockers Cafe (good food, but service is slow) and take the trolley back to the RV park.

Day 4

Branson, MO is known for its shows. We look at schedules to see what is available. There is not much going on and we don’t see anything going on today that interests us.

We do laundry at the campground.

Today there is a solar eclipse. We should see 98% of a total eclipse from this location. We are ready. Yesterday we purchased solar eclipse glasses for $2 each, from a man in the mall.

We watch the solar eclipse from our campsite. Afterwards, we walk to a Mexican restaurant and an Irish bar.

Day 5

We dump our black water and gray water and fill our fresh water tank. We get on the road.

The hardware we bought to fix the mirror did not work out. It is now very loose. We call Bob Hurley RV. They are booked for weeks, but they will look at our mirror if we stop in. We stop and they put in longer screws. They don’t charge us a cent.

Midwest City, OK

We drive to the Elks lodge in Midwest City, OK. There are already two class A campers. We park  beside one and use our 30 amp extension cord to plug into power.  A travel trailer comes in after us and gets the last outlet.

We go into the lodge. They have hamburgers tonight. We have drinks and dinner and meet some really nice people. It costs $53, including tip and $15 for the site.

Amarillo, TX

We drive to Amarillo Ranch RV Park. We pay for two nights and make reservations for the limo to Big Texan Steak Ranch and Brewery. This is a nice RV park. It is right off of I-40 and has nice big pull-through sites.

The limo picks us up and takes us to the restaurant. We have some great craft beer and delicious steak dinner. We have to pass on the 72 ounce challenge (free, if you eat everything in an hour).

Day 2

We call Enterprise at 10:30 to rent a car. They say they will pick us up at 12:00. At 12:10 I call back and they tell me they don’t have a compact and I will have to pay extra. I argue and they agree not to charge me more. They say they will pick us up at 12:30.

We get the car and drive to Pony Express (good lunch), in Canyon for burritos. Then we go to Palo Duro State Park ($10). We drive around and check out the campgrounds. We plan to take the RV here tomorrow.

We drive back to Amarillo and drive to the 6th street historic district. We are not impressed, so we go back to the RV park.

We look for a place to go for dinner. We call Tyler’s Barbeque. They stay open until they run out. We go right there and have some awesome barbecue.

We drive to the liquor store and then to Walmart for groceries and gas.

Day 3

We drop off the rental car and get a ride back to the RV park ($61). It has rained, and the hiking trails at Palo Duro are closed. So we will go somewhere else.

Logan, NM

We drive to Ute Lake State Park, in Logan, NM. Our Garmin RV 770-LMT-S GPS gets confused and routes us way out-of-the-way. We have to look on the website to get directions to the campground.

This is a nice state park on Lake Ute. We pay for two nights and find a nice site in the Yucca Campground. It is Friday night and the campground is busy. Most people here have boats.

Day 2

We take the bikes down and notice a flat tire on my bike. Fran’s handle bars have rubbed a hole in the tire and inner tube while on the bike rack.

I patch it and we go for a bike ride around the park. One of the park employees tells us about a nice trail in the Logan Park Campground. Our pass is good in either campground, so me move the RV there. We find a nice back-in site with a lake view.

We get set up and take the bikes down. The patched tire is flat again.

We walk to the trail, and go a ways, but it is too hot to continue. We decide to wait until early the next morning, when it is not so hot.

Day 3

We get up at 7:00 and walk the nature trail. It is very nice.

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Bikes are allowed on the trail, but we don’t think it would be doable for us.

After a nice hike, we fill the freshwater tank to 2/3 and drive to Yucca Campground dump station. We dump black and gray water and get on the road.

Cochiti Area, NM

We drive to Cochiti Area Campground. This is an Army Corps of Engineers Campground. We pay $30 for three nights, with our senior access pass. This is a beautiful campground. We have water, electric, a covered picnic table and a great view.

Day 2

We work on the RV, fixing the head vent and seal. We re-patch the bike tire, but it still has a slow leak. We walk to the boat ramp and back. It is a pretty steep climb.

Day 3

We get up at 6:15 to get an early start visiting Kasha Katuwe Tent Rocks, but it is too cold. We wait around until 8:00 and drive the RV to the national monument. We get to the gate and show our Senior Access Pass to get in free. We pay $5 donation anyway.

We park the RV in the RV parking area and walk up the Slot Canyon Trail. We come back down using the Cave Loop Trail. Very Nice! My FitBit says we walked 11,889 steps for 5.76 miles. We should have brought some snacks.

We get back to the RV and It is 94°F. We make lunch and eat outside, while the RV cools off. We should have left some windows open.

We stop and fill up with gas on the way back.

Los Alamos, NM

We get up early, fill the freshwater tank, dump the black and gray water and leave the campground by 7:30. We drive to the White Rock Visitor Center in Los Alamos, NM. We park the RV using leveling blocks. We plug-in to 30 amp service, put a credit card in the machine and print a one-day parking pass for $20.

This is a nice place to park our RV for $20 a night. We have a good view, its wide enough for our slide-out and steps and we have electric. There is also a dump station and potable water available.

People are not allowed to take their own vehicles to Bandelier National Monument. We get on the shuttle to the national monument. The shuttle makes a stop at the park campground and takes us to the park entrance. We show our Senior Access Pass to get free admission.

We walk around the park, taking a self-guided tour. What an awesome place.

We take the shuttle back to the RV and walk to the Pig and Fig Cafe for craft beer and tapas. Great food, but the place is empty.

Santa Fé, NM

We leave the parking lot at 9:40 and head to Santa Fé. We stop at Walmart for provisions. Then we drive to Los Sueños de Santa Fé RV Resort and Campground.

We have an un-level site and it takes us an hour to get level. We have lunch, cool-down and try to re-level. The leveling jacks will not retract.

Robert and Angela show up. We walk to Wild Wings for dinner. Angela does not have her ID and they will not serve her a beer.

Day 2

We call Action RV and ask about the leveling jacks. They are busy today, but say I should check the hydraulic fluid and fuses. After looking in the manual, we check the fluid and it is empty. (The manual says you should check it when the leveling jacks are up.)

We decide not to mess with the leveling jacks anymore today and take a Uber to the Plaza with Robert and Angela. We go to the Shed for margaritas and food. After that, we go to the Thunderbird Bar & Grill for beer and tequila. We take a Uber back to the RV park ($16).

We walk to the Mobile station and Target to buy some ATF fluid. We will add fluid and try to retract the leveling jacks tomorrow.

We take a Uber to the plaza with Robert and Angela. Zozobra is an alcohol-free event. so we will have drinks beforehand. We go to La Fonda roof-top for margaritas. Then we go to Thunderbird Bar & Grill. We meet Greg “Dog” and his son. We know “Dog” from the marina. Small world.

At 8:00, we walk to Fort Marcy Park, for Burning of the Zozobra. We have tickets to the premium viewing area. It is a great view.

We had planned to get some food here, but it is crowded and it’s hard to move around.

The show is awesome. Everyone is leaving at the same time and we don’t move very fast. We try to find a place to eat in the plaza, but everything is closed.

We call a Uber and go to Applebee’s near the RV park. The Uber fee is x3.6 and costs us $76.  We go to Applebee’s. It is crowded, but there are few choices. We get seated and order wine. Our server is clueless. It must be her first night. We are hungry and try to order food first, but she says she can’t take our food order before our drink order. The bartender comes to our table and we get a bottle of Pinot Grigio. Then we order food. We eat and walk back to the RV park.

Day 3

We add ATF fluid to the hydraulic jacks. We start the engine, reset the alarm and the jacks retract. We move to a more level site.

We go to Robert and Angela’s RV, have mimosas, and watch college football on the outside TV.

We take a Uber to the plaza and walk to La Nueva Cafe for green chilli beer and lunch. Very good. We go to Casa Chimayo and La Fonda for drinks. We end up at Thunderbird for drinks and frito pie, and watch Bama beat FSU.

We take a Uber back to the RV park ($25) and have some wine with Robert and Angela.

Day 4

We are going to drive to Pagosa Springs, to stay at Robert and Angela before the Big Barn Dance. We try to retract the leveling jacks, but they don’t come up.

I walk to the Mobile station and buy some more ATF. We pour it in and try again, but they still will not come up.

We get the owner’s manual and follow the procedure to manually retract the jacks. The instructions are not 100% clear, but we figure it out and get them all up. The problem is not the fluid, because it overflows when we raise the last two jacks. We remove the fuse so they will not try to go back down.

We try to pull away, but we get an alarm that the jacks are down. We can’t find a way to shut off the alarm, so we unplug the control panel. We drive to Robert and Angela’s.

Pagosa Springs, CO

We park the RV in the driveway. We stay in Robert and Angela’s spare bedroom.

Day 2

We need to get our leveling jacks repaired, but today is Labor Day and the repair shops are closed. Robert and Angela say we can stay with them in Taos if we can’t get the jacks fixed.

We take a hike with Robert and Angela.

Day 3

We call a couple of RV repair places, but everyone is booked for one to three weeks out. But there is a more urgent matter at hand…

A Category 4 storm is headed towards the Florida Keys. Our plans change, but we do make it to the Big Barn Dance in Taos. You can read more in my Hurricane Irma Blog post.