11/18/2021 - Benson, AZ

 Well, I hope my reservation rant didn’t offend anyone, but I needed to get it off my chest.

I left GUMO on Monday, simply because there were predicting high winds for Tuesday. When I fueled in Del Rio, TX I had calculated that I had enough fuel to get to GUMO and then take the direct route around El Paso and fuel just north of El Paso. Well, Sunset Reef Campground was 30 miles north of GUMO, which was a 60 miles round trip that I had not factored into my calculations. Also, there is a huge climb from the valley floor coming out of Van Horn to GUMO. 

The climb from Sunset Reef Campground isn’t that bad but it still burned more diesel than flat land driving. As I crested the peak passing GUMO, my low fuel light flicked on and off, not a good sign. I was over a hundred miles from El Paso and not much in the way of fuel stops along the way. Van Horn was 50 miles away, lots of fuel, but 50 miles out of my way and it would mean I’d be traveling I-10 through El Paso, rather than the scenic northern route which includes the bypass around El Paso. I turned and headed back to Van Horn and within minutes the low fuel light was fully on, no flickering. I made it to Van Horn, took on 85 gallons in a 100 gallon tank and was thankful I didn’t try to push it to El Paso. 

On a related note, I have owned the Moho for 11 years and never forget to replace the fuel cap after fueling. On this trip, I did it twice. The moho is now equipped with two brand new fuel caps. There are two fuel fills, one on each side the Moho, oh well, the caps were hard to find but cheap enough.

The rest of the drive to Deming was uneventful. El Paso has really grown, I-10 has more lanes than it did 10 years ago, so it wasn’t that bad getting through. I arrived at Dream Catcher RV Park, at 4pm, paid $16.99 for  two nights of dry camping and settled in. Deming hasn’t changed much, I visited my land, no change there, drank some wine at the local winery, of course now they charge for tastings, and bought two nice bottles of wine.

Wednesday, I headed west again for the final 175 miles to Benson, AZ and my new winter home. In May I bought a bare lot, 50amp full hook-up at the SKP Saguaro Co-Op, lot 294. Nancy & I spent a month in the park ten years ago. After getting settled onto the lot, I got to thinking that it looked familiar. After checking my journal, it turns out this is exactly the lot that we rented for a month, ten years ago. There are approximately 300 lots available for lease and I unknowingly leased the exact same one. The universe is strange.

                                                            My lot with morning sun

Yesterday I met my neighbors on the left, I met some more people at happy hour, including a guy who is an avid hiker and today I’m taking the tour. Friday and Saturday night there are live bands in the clubhouse, and a bunch of other stuff going on. I had forgotten how many activities this place has. 

I think I’ll be happy here.

Tight lines and safe travels.