2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 135

Day 135, Monday, March 2, 2026 - City of Rocks State Park, Faywood, NM - 185.6 Miles, 4,629.5 Miles for the Trip.

49°F overnight, 59°F for my morning walk, 84°F at noon on the road, and the high for the day at City of Rocks was 83°F.

I climbed out of bed after my 7:00 eye drops (I usually go back to sleep for an hour or so) and called the Long Beach Conservation area in Wainfleet, Ontario to make reservations for the Guidos & me for the July Bolerama rally (today is the first day for reservations). I didn't get to talk to anyone but left a message. I hope we get the sites we asked for since some of them are pretty bad. All are either dry or 15 amp electric sites, with a few sharing a single 15 amp receptacle. I couldn't get back to sleep so I started an early day with lots of on line reading.

After packing up I headed out of Roper Lake at 10:00. The plan was to go through Silver City, NM to get to the City of Rocks State Park, but my GPS kept insisting that I go to Lordsburg to Deming to City of Rocks. I thought I fooled it, but soon discovered that I was 12 miles from Lordsburg so I followed the GPS.

I'm in site E6, an electric & water site since my favorite dry site #1 was already booked. Needed 2 1/2" side to side & 1/2" raise on the tongue. I don't plan on going anywhere so I left the truck attached. The site has a fire ring/grill & a picnic table with a large shade structure covering it. The site is fine gravel. Three nights at $35.00 per night plus a $10.00 reservation fee.

Site E6

I thought about setting out the hummingbird feeder and discovered that I left it at Roper Lake. Could be worse - after setting up I discovered a Jackery 100 watt solar panel against the wall around the picnic table. I told the hosts but they don't have a way to contact the previous folks in the site so it depends on how far they get before they find it missing to determine if it is worth coming back for it. I did discover that it makes a great wind screen for the grill, but I'll leave it in case the owner comes back for it.

City of Rocks is a pretty park. Here is a quick photo of some of the rocks. I'll probably do some more over the next two days.

Dinner was a grilled cheese brat & a salad.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 134

Day 134, Sunday, March 1, 2026 - Roper Lake State Park, Stafford, AZ , Day 2 - 0 Miles, 4,443.9 Miles for the Trip.

51°F overnight, 61°F for my morning walk, 80°F at noon, and the high for the day was 87°F.

A warm night although it cooled off towards morning. After my walk & breakfast I read on line for a bit. I set up my Starlink Mini since, while AT&T looked fast, at times it slowed to a crawl, and Verizon kept dropping my internet radio stations. Starlink - 195Mbps down & 67Mbps up. A first for me - I set it up, went to the alignment section of the app and it said it was perfect. Good guess!

A little before noon I headed to the Station Laundromat in Stafford, about a 6 mile drive. Clean, only 3X and up front loader washers and large dryers. $7.00 for a load in a 3X washer & $.25 per 4 minutes to dry. 40 minutes dried the washer load. Very little seating; I dug out one of my camp chairs and sat outside under the open roof. On the way back I stopped at a Walmart for milk & stuff. 

Back at the trailer I put the food away as well as the washing, then did my monthly update on my retirement & banking spreadsheets. After that it was sitting outside in the shade reading. While the hummingbird feeder is down a 1/2", I haven't seen one.

Around 4:30 I headed to the bathroom for a shower. 2 stalls, one disabled. I used the one with a 5" entry lip. A shelf well out of the way of the shower but both shower & drying area are the same room & level - no shower curtain. A low volume 3" shower head with adjustable water, plenty of hot water. Only one hook in the room. 3/4 of the floor gets wet but clothes on the bench stay dry. Overall, a B-.

Back at the trailer the sun was down enough to enjoy sitting out & reading until dinner.

Dinner was a Healthy Choice Sweet Sesame Chicken Bowl.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 133

Day 133, Saturday, February 28, 2026 - Roper Lake State Park, Stafford, AZ - 137.5 Miles, 4,443.9 Miles for the Trip.

56°F overnight, 62°F for my morning walk, 82°F at noon on the road, and the high for the day was 87°F.

I took my time getting out of the park since I only had 130 miles to Roper Lake. Most of the drive was on I 10 with the last 30 miles on US 191. I arrived at Roper Lake around 1:15, checked in and headed to site 22. I'm in a water & electric back in site on asphalt for 2nights with a shaded picnic table and a combined fire pit/grill. $51.80 per night including a $3.60 reservation fee. 1/2" off side to side & I dropped the tongue 3". After hooking up the utilities i fired up the AC. 80°F in the trailer.

Site 22

The view outside my front window (if I had one) includes the first snow covered mountains I've seen in awhile. I checked AT&T's internet speed - 32.67Mbps down and 1.32Mbps up. 

A Bit of Snow

I put out the hummingbird feeder, but so far, no takers. I sat outside and read until dinner.

Dinner was a Saffron Road Chicken Tikka Masala Bowl.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 132

Day 132, Friday, February 27, 2026 - Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson, AZ, Day 4 - 0 Miles, 4,306.4 Miles for the Trip.

54°F overnight, 60°F for my morning walk, 76°F at noon, and the high for the day was 90°F.

After my morning walk I turned on the AC since the trailer hit 79°F and sat outside in the shade reading. I finished The Final Twist by Jeffery Deaver, one of his Shaw series which have not been one of my favorites of his books, then started C. J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station (The Company Wars #1). 

While sitting outside I was able to catch a couple of hummingbirds fighting (at least I assume they were fighting). Also had a visit by a Gila Woodpecker sitting on a cactus. It likes to wake me up in the morning tapping on the cover of the campground electrical box outside my window. Very loud! You have to look closely at the hummingbird fight - they blend in well with the background. A couple more photos at today's LakeshoreImages page.

The Winner!

After that it was back to reading, chasing the shade around the trailer. 

Dinner was Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 131

Day 131, Thursday, February 26, 2026 - Gilbert Ray Campground, Tucson, AZ, Day 3 - 0 Miles, 4,306.4 Miles for the Trip.

57°F overnight, 63°F for my morning walk, 80°F at noon, and the high for the day was 86°F.

I shut of the AC, opened some windows and turned on the MAXX fan just after dinner when it got down to 75°F outside & inside the trailer. While the Houghton is much quieter than my old Domestic AC, it is nice to have the quiet of the MAXX fan.

I spent the morning sitting outside reading. I finished Dana Stabenow's A Taint In The Blood, so I'm back on the Kindle, reading The Final Twist by Jeffery Deaver. 

After lunch I headed to the post office to mail a birthday card. The closest post office was in an Ace Hardware store, one of the largest I've seen, and only 4.5 miles from the campground. 

After I got back to the trailer I sat outside in the shade and read. 

Around 3:00 I headed into the trailer for a shower. It is only fair to rate it - at best, a C-. No shelf or drying room (unless you consider the rest of the trailer as the drying area), and a very small shower room with a toilet in the middle. Plenty of hot water but you do need to wipe down the entire thing after showering. As I said, a C- at best.

Back outside in the shade.

Dinner was a Healthy Choice Chicken Lo Mein Bowl.

Until Next Time -