After getting up around 4am for nine straight days to crew at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, it felt good to sleep in past 7am on Monday. We took our time preparing to move on from The Vineyard where we’ve been since September 30th. In 12 days of dry camping, we used less than four gallons of water a day. But then again, we were away for 7 hours a day, only prepared meals a few times, and had access to showers at the community clubhouse.

We paid up at the office and said our good-byes to Larry and Ruth, then pulled out around 1:30pm. It was a short hop back to High Desert RV Park west of Albuquerque on I-40. We decided to go back there as it is fairly inexpensive and I would be able to dump and flush our tanks thoroughly and fill with known good fresh water before heading to Arizona.

After we set up, I took a shower. But I had a problem – the shower head was cracked and leaking. By the time I finished my shower, the crack had opened up and was spraying water all over.

The next morning, Donna went for a walk while I took care of the tanks and fresh water. Then we pulled out and went directly to Camping World across I-40 from the RV park. I knew I could find a new Oxygenics shower head for less money online, but we needed it now. I like the Oxygenics because it uses less water than most shower heads and still provides a good spray. Camping World had the shower head in stock so I bought it and we hit the road.

Our route took us about 60 miles west on I-40, then south on NM117. This took us through the Malpais National Monument and the Acoma Indian Reservation and across the Continental Divide. There were many interesting looking bluffs and rock formations. Donna amused herself by taking a few windshield view photos with my smartphone. At one point, we pulled off at a scenic viewpoint – a large lot with vault toilets.

Donna wanted to hike to the arch rock formation but I vetoed the idea. I wasn’t dressed for hiking and by the time I changed my clothes and shoes, made the hike and got into comfortable driving clothes again we would have burned up an hour. I wanted to keep moving knowing that we might encounter a change of plans along the way and it could be a long day. We wanted to find one of several boondocking sites Donna had researched.

High desert rock formation

View from roadside lot with trail to rock arch

Another view from the roadside lot

Highway 117 undulates – the surface contnually dips and rises over what are essentially ripples with an interval of a few seconds. At some point, Ozark got carsick from all the motion. We stopped in Quemado and Donna took Ozark out of her crate to clean up. This is the first time that has happened.

While we were driving, I heard a loud thunk from the rear of the coach. Donna went back to see what fell. She said it looked like the shower head came completely apart and was lying on the floor of the shower.

Once we hit US60 and headed west, we were on familiar ground. Donna and I traveled this route in 2005 when we rode from Mesa, Arizona to Datil, New Mexico with a group of Moto Guzzi riders. Donna and I had Moto Guzzi touring motorcycles before we switched to BMWs.

Once we were in Arizona, we climbed the White Mountains and crossed the Cerro Montoso Summit at 7,550 feet above sea level. We also gained an hour when we crossed the state line.

Rolling down that long, lonesome highway

Do you remember the show “Then Came Bronson”

We discussed our options for the night and settled on Scott Reservoir Campground near Show Low, Arizona. This is a National Forest campground in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest that allows up to five nights of free camping. You must camp in a designated site – there are 15 sites with tables and fire rings – and there aren’t any hook-ups, but you can’t beat free. And the air here smells of the pine trees all around.

Pulling into the narrow dirt road from Porter Mountain Road (map) was a little scary. I didn’t know what I was getting into and hoped I would be able to get turned around. We followed the washboard surface for about half a mile, then found a turnaround. It wasn’t big enough and I had to jockey back and forth a few times before I could complete the turn. There was a large tree in the center of the turnaround and I scraped the left rear of our coach against branches. I hope the scratches will buff out!

We backed into a large, fairly level site and were set up in no time. I was surprised to find a Verizon 4G signal with full bars! I went to the back and looked at the shower head. I found the source of the loud thunk. It wasn’t the shower head – it was the handle that turns on the shower and regulates the hot/cold water flow. The set screw had backed out and the handle fell off. Next I found that I had misdiagnosed the Oxygenics shower head problem. I didn’t need a new shower head – the crack was in the fitting on the hose connecting to it. I could have bought a new hose for a third of the price of a new Oxygenics shower head kit. Doh!

I re-installed the shower handle with thread locker on the set screw and replaced the shower hose while Donna set off on her second walk of the day. She hiked a trail around the lake and then, when the lakeside trail petered out, followed a horse trail she found that led to a road that intersected with the road we came in on.

Ozark was feeling much better after we settled in – I believe it was the constant up and down on NM117 that made her queasy.

Ozark feeling better and playing

Although it was in the upper 70s when we arrived yesterday, it’s cool this morning. Our current elevation of 6,700 feet above sea level means cool nights. It’s 47 degrees outside as I type this and a cool 59 degrees in the coach. It felt good to sleep under a comforter with the windows open. The day will warm quickly under clear skies to the mid 70s. We’ve decided to spend another night here before we go to Payson for a few days to wait out the heat wave in Phoenix. We’re hoping things cool down there and we can move to Mesa by the end of the week.

Enjoying peace and quiet in our free site