We have an easy day of driving to Deming, NM. It’s here where a year ago we met up with our friends we met in Valdez, Alaska a bit under two years ago. Anna, who lives in Deming, and Scott and Dawn, from Wisconsin but have been full timing in their RV for a number of years now. This time we are only going to see Anna yet keep our distance. The day of our arrival is the first day of no seating in restaurants but take out is okay. We call our order into Anna who calls the Adobe Deli outside of Deming. She then picks it up and the three of us enjoy a good meal and catching up. Oh, if you are in the Deming area do have a meal at the Adobe Deli. It’s a bit different.
The next day we push on from Deming avoiding Interstates as much as possible. We did travel about 20 miles on them and we could finally get off. We headed west and south to Bisbee, AZ where we explore this old copper mining town turned artisan mecca. The old storefronts and homes are interesting so we spend a bit of time there including a takeout lunch. We find picnic tables in a downtown park and enjoy lunch. We push on looking for a place to call home for the night. We pull into a RV resort in Hauchaua, NM only to find the office closed. They maintain shorter hours now and close up at 3 and now it’s after 4. We head out towards the highway when a camp host catches us and welcomes us. It’s a quiet place with showers which we totally enjoy. The next morning, we are on our way once again.
Our destination for today is Pipe Organ Cactus National Monument in the southwestern part of Arizona. This requires us to travel through Tuscon where we have friends. We elect to not stop and visit.
The pandemic hitting the world has turned all upside down. It impacts all of us and current information and current best practices are evolving. A couple of days ago we went in a market and saw two individuals wearing masks. Now we see all cashiers have gloves. Most supermarkets have a good supply of most things but where’s the Charmin. As the news comes in we hear of park closures and great restrictions. California is closed, New York and others follow. State Parks are closing to camping and some National Parks are doing the same. Now we see some private campgrounds closing as well. On the road we feel safe. We are more isolated from others then most people in the USA. The social distancing while hiking or photographing is easy. Places we go are not at all crowded. As places close we continue to assess is it time to pull the plug on this trip and head home or do we continue? Heading home presents issues of where to sleep each night. The RV community includes many full timers. They don’t “live” anywhere but home is where their RV is parked. As long as there is a safe place to park, have a place to get potable water and dump stations to deposit wastewater things are generally okay. With places to camp closing it creates problems. If we decide to head home it will take a full week of travel. We need a place to dump and take on fresh water. Fuel is not an issue since we now use gloves when fueling. For the time being we are electing to stay with our camper and enjoy the beautiful outdoors.
We are booked for two nights at a RV Park in Ajo, NM about 30 miles north of Pipe Organ Cactus National Monument. It’s important to close any door you open since Javelinas frequent the park. Wells runs into eight of them on his way to a shower. Here we assess what is there to do in the National Monument. There’s a campground that is still open. The Visitor Center is closed and there are no Ranger lead programs. Somehow, Marsha is surviving but she does miss the programs. Once we see the park we realize there is lots to do here with hiking and photography so we make reservations for three days in the National Monument campground.
Seeing North America 