New Mexico (March 30-April 3, 2021)
“Parts of the plan were unplanned. That’s the plan. I mean, you don’t want to over-plan a plan.” - Count Olaf
After finally making our way out of Texas, Charley and I ended the month of March with a two-night stay at Leasburg Dam State Park just outside of Las Cruces, NM. This was one of the few occasions that we had a hole in our schedule and we didn’t even book this place until we got to Davis Mountains, our prior stop in Texas (and we had to make those reservations from the top of one of the mountains we hiked in order to get cell service). Our initial plan was to visit White Sands National Park near Las Cruces but the visitor’s center was closed and it was SUPER windy the day we were traveling through so we opted to skip White Sands. I was glad the drive was relatively short because the winds were coming directly at us and it felt like the Excursion had to work double-time just to make any headway. When we got into Las Cruces we took some time to get our laundry done and replenish our food supply. The laundromat was clean and had lots of available machines so we were able to finish it up quickly. Leasburg Dam was a no hookups stop (no electric, water, or sewer) and we planned to stay at two Harvest Host sites after Leesburg Dam so we knew we would be without hookups for four nights straight. We kept this in mind and planned easy meals that required little water or electricity when shopping in Las Cruces. Leasburg Dam proved to be an interesting stop. It’s right on the Rio Grande River but the funny thing is, to us at least, there was very little water in the Rio Grande, which literally means “Grand River”. We tried to visit the park’s visitor’s center to learn more about the river and the rest of the area but unfortunately, it was closed due to Covid. We spent most of our time there just reading and relaxing but did take a little walk around the park and tried hard to get a few photos of several desert jackrabbits hopping around. The views from our site there were beautiful and we enjoyed our time once the winds died down.
After leaving Leasburg Dam we headed only about an hour down the road to stay at a Harvest Hosts location. This time a winery, D.H. Lescombes Winery and Bistro, in Deming NM. When staying at a Harvest Hosts site it’s polite to patronize the business as a thank you for the free overnight parking so unfortunately, we HAD to try some wine. They had lots of wines to choose from so Charley and I both chose the “6 for 6” tasting, six one-ounce pours for $6. We were shocked when our server brought us all six (x2) at once! Thank goodness she brought us each a glass of water and some pretzels too. We worked through the samples slowly and after buying three bottles of our favorites, retreated to our camper in the parking lot for the night. It was about this point in our trip that our New York State plates really became a conversation starter. Not long after we settled in we heard a voice outside saying “knock-knock”. Turns out it was a couple from Ithaca wondering where in NY we are from. They now live in their camper full time and we had a good time chatting with them for a while. This Harvest Host was a very popular stop! We were one of 17 campers parked there that night.
Our next stop was again, only about an hour away, and another Harvest Hosts location. This one completely different! It was an authentic old mining town called Shakespeare Ghost Town outside Lordsburg, New Mexico. When we pulled in, there were two big motor homes that had spent the previous night there and one of the owners told us that the $7 per person tour was totally worth the price. She wasn’t kidding! Our guide Keith spent over two hours with us. We learned so much about the history of the town and silver mining in the area. It really was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. Before the day was over, two more RVers had pulled in, and again, one asked us where we were from in New York. This time the other RVer was born in Niagara Falls, had lived for many years in Syracuse, retired from emergency services (dispatch) there, and then relocated to Texas. I’ve come to the conclusion that RVers and Harvest Hosts members in particular are some of the nicest people there are. The other RVers there that night were a young couple who had sold all of their possessions and were two weeks into full-time RV living with their two preschool-aged sons. Just when I think Charley and I have gone out on a limb and have done something crazy….
When we left the Shakespeare Ghost Town we headed straight for Arizona (which we are loving!!) Part of me wishes we had seen more popular sites in New Mexico and part of me is thrilled that we didn’t. I think visiting lesser-known attractions adds to the charm of this trip and its people like our Shakespeare guide Keith (he was a character!) that I’ll remember for a long time.
