Our recent trek to Georgia and back had us scouring RV forums for places to stop and sleep for the night. We didn’t have the luxury of spending a few days in each stopping point; our drive was mission oriented. The drive from Arizona to Georgia then back again needed to be done at a pace much more than leisure.
Boy did we get lucky. Every single park we stopped at, some arriving after dark and departing before sunrise, was a sheer delight. When we called each park we explained our purpose, that we could only stop for the night and we might be arriving after hours. Every single time we were met with kindness. Arriving after they closed wasn’t an issue at all. At all but one park we were greeted by an employee that seemed to be waiting just for us. That one park that didn’t have a fresh face at the door can’t be singled out negatively because we arrived well after bedtime. Mark is so happy on these long drive days that I’m comfortable driving the coach. Not skinny downtown one-way streets comfortable yet, but I’m totally good cruising down the highway and pulling into a gas station. I am an expert on driving through road construction because I haven’t had a drive yet without it.
Las Cruces, NM was our last overnight stop on the way back from Georgia. It had good reviews and ample pull-through spaces. We scoped it out as we drove along I-10 heading east and yep, it would be just fine.
We didn’t have a reservation, I called a couple hours before to check for availability. We really wanted a pull-through so we didn’t have to disconnect the Jeep but I didn’t want to be greedy. We arrived close to 5 and were greeted like old friends, even saving a pull-through spot for us. We wanted to eat dinner at a place close enough to walk, we needed to get our steps in after the long drive and they happily suggested a few. I’m telling you, these two get an A+ in the hospitality department.
This place is perfect for a stopover night but also would serve well as a jumping off point to explore the area. There is lots to do in the southern portion of New Mexico. High on my list would be a pecan festival, there were so many pecan orchards. Pecan pie, pralines, ice cream, toffee, need I go on?
The office is part of a larger building with sitting areas, meeting and activity rooms and a nice patio with lots of umbrella dressed tables. We were offered pass-codes for the fitness area, laundry facilities and hot tub. Those codes will have to wait for a return trip.
Our site was 139, close to the office. The spaces are kind of close together, not jammed in but not the huge amount of room we had at The Vineyards in Fredericksburg. I know a lot of room matters to some people, as long as we can comfortably get the slides out and sit outside our coach, we don’t care. After setting up, we walked to a Mexican place just up the street. We made it in time for happy hour and had a nice meal. Once back, it was basketball time. The weather was delightfully chilly so we sat outside and watched our team play. Several people were getting in their evening walk and stopped to check the score.
We were leaving early the next morning and pulled in the front slides before we went to bed. The back two go in pretty fast and we didn’t want to be too loud for too long before pulling out.
Our trek to Georgia and back was almost done. It was a fast trip getting there, we had a great time followed by a fast trip back. As we drove the last stretch, we talked about how fun it was. How lucky we are, really.