On we went after resting and recovering an extra day. The planned oil change had to wait because the place had not time until the day after and Peter was eager to travel further.
The day started out grey and the landscape was looking drab. It also was the first real travel day with our new rig. How would it go?
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| a grey morning in Colorado |
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| road sign: watch out for bear crossing |
First: our dog Dixie did not like this at all, she went into full panic mode. Panting and shivering all over for hours. After a break she did not want to go back in but with a little coaxing she was back inside. Myself was a little apprehensive as well, had it been over ten years that we drove around with a similar outfit. Most of the day I was tense and watching out for difficult situations.
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| endles roads |
But we got through the day and stopped some miles before reaching Albuquerque. Last year I had learned from fellow campers that Casinos allow overnight parking for reasonable prices.
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| Black Mesa Casino's camping lot |
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| Peter and Dixie relaxing after a long day |
We tried "Black Mesa Casino" and had two options. $15 for electrical sides and $10 for dry camping (no hook up). That was good enough for us and we had a very quiet night far away from the noisy Casino building.
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| very intensive rainbow over the mesa |
Today we drove through New Mexico and into Arizona. Our plan was to get close to the Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook, AZ. The wind was strong and near Gallup NM we got into a rain shower.
Keeping the rig straight on the road was the task. Those big 18-wheelers were pushing a wall of air ahead while passing by. But after a while I was able to relax a little and take some photos.
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| landscape around Gallup, NM |
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| Laguna, NM |
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| A rest stop wb, near the Arizona border |
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| Holbrook, AZ, street view |
Around 3pm we reached our destination, a small place called "Chrystal Forest Museum and Gift Store", right at the entrance to the National Park.
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| One of two funny decorations on the parking lot: a car gone flat with a heavy load of petrified rocks in the trunk |
There are a few camping spaces available, some for free, some with electric for $25/night. Here we have planned to stay two nights and explore three different attractions in the area: "The Petrified Forest", "The Painted Desert" and the "Meteor Crater Natural Landmark". The first two we had seen already once before, about 24 years ago, together with Peter's late mom, a long time ago in 2000.
And how was Dixie doing? Same thing as yesterday. A lot of panting all day long. After we had sat up camp and got the vehicle off the trailer Dixie stayed contentedly in her beloved van until sunset.
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| Dixie exhausted |
After that time she finally was ready to get back in with us in the motorhome and
fell into a exhausted sleep.
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German translation
Für unsere angeschlagene Gesundheit war es doch gut gewesen noch einen extra Tag geruht zu haben. Trotzdem war unser erster Reisetag mit dem neuen Wohnmobil für mich anstrengend. Wie würde es sich fahren lassen? Für Photos hatte ich wenig Zeit da meine Aufmerksamkeit auf alle möglichen Gefahren eingestellt war. Unser Hund Dixie war auch überhaupt nicht mit dem neuen Gefährt einverstanden, sie versank gleich in einer Panikattacke, das arme Viech. Die Nacht verbrachten wir auf einem primitiven Campground eines Casinos in der Nähe on Albuquerque, NM. Heute ging es, bei starkem Seitenwind, dann weiter bis zum nächsten Ziel in Arizona. Hier waren wir schon einmal vor 20 Jahren mit JP`s Mutter gewesen. Damals besuchten wir den (Versteinerten Wald) Petrified Forest und die (Bunte Wüste) Painted Desert. Das wollen wir morgen wiederholen und uns ausserdem noch den (Meteoriten Krater) Meteor Crater Natural Landmark ansehen.
Die nächsten zwei Nächte werden wir deshalb hier auf einem winzigen Campground neben dem Museum und Geschenkeladen verbringen.
