Our First Work Week

Before we started our work week, we relaxed and enjoyed a real NASCAR race, for the first time in weeks, it was almost like Daytona Day with Nachos but minus the Margaritas this time. So appreciative that things are coming back, not as quickly as we would like, but slowly will have to do.

The weather is very strange here…one night the water froze and we had no water for a few hours, but then the next few days the temperatures skyrocketed to the 80s…then plummeted back to the highs in the 60s…lots of rain and wonderful thunderstorms…but no snow…strange! We are not complaining, we are loving this entire experience.

We had two extensive training days and they were interesting, loads of information about the company, just enough information about the wine making process and then experiencing tastings ourselves. Yep, you heard me, tasting wines and getting paid for it. Could life be any better?

We then got two days off and we spent it deep cleaning Maggie to get ALL the desert dust out so I can breathe better. Allergies are still threatening us, but I am able to take my antihistamines every other day and at times every 3 days, so it’s getting better. If it wasn’t for all that’s going on, I probably wouldn’t even be on any by now, but I don’t want to take the chance of a cough or sneeze…people are too weird and take it the wrong way.

It’s going to take some time getting used to our schedules, the hours are second shifts and we are early risers, but we will learn to stay up later so we can sleep in later as the summer begins.

We are working 5 days a week with 40+ hours, just how we like it and after just a few days we are in the wine groove. Yes, we are on our feet ALL SHIFT, but what a fun way to spend our time. People are happy to do the few things we HAVE to do to abide the restrictions. We DO NOT like wearing the masks, but if that allows us to continue to serve tastes then so be it, but we are both getting the newest disease “maskne” from wearing them…ugh!

We hardly see any masks on guests nor are they social distancing which we believe should not be necessary anymore anyway. The real numbers should speak for themselves…not the media, but there are still some people who believe in the worse…so be it and they should stay home, wear masks and/or distance themselves. As for us we have never fed into the hysteria and do not plan to start now, so we are going about living our lives without all these hysteria driven restrictions.

Our country is dividing, and we are both saddened that we are losing friendships over this because some people just do not know how to be civil. We live in the Land of the Free where our military has fought hard to keep it that way for us. So, if you feel you need to stay home…then please do…if you feel you need to wear a mask and social distance…then please do…that is your choice, but please do not be rude to us, call us names, or ridicule us because OUR opinion is different from yours. We respect your opinions and allow you to speak them and never have we attacked any of you for your opinions, we just agree to disagree and allow you to be you while we stay us, but unfortunately that has not been what some of you have returned to us. So, if you feel you need to change our opinions so they match yours then we just might as well move onward and we hope you have a good life. As for us we are just going to continue doing us!

Traveling and Landing

Sunday’s drive went well with just a little tail wind and almost 200 miles to the South Pueblo/Colorado City KOA. We made it this far back in March, the weather is chilly but no blizzards in the forecasts, just a chance of rain and maybe some snow flurries, which we didn’t experience either.

What an adventure our 150 mile drive on Monday to the KOA in Limon, Colorado. We decided to get off the interstates and everything was good until we went north on 71…OMG! A sign stated construction for 40 miles with possible delays and no vehicles over 12’, we thought we were good and how bad could it be? We have NEVER encountered this sort of construction EVER and we e been on lots of backroads with construction. Driving along when a sign stated construction ahead with one lane and a flag man…still ok UNTIL the next sign we see is “PAVEMENT ENDS”…WHAT? Gravel washboard road for a few miles then back and forth with one lane roads…all of it would have been fine…all but the no pavement area…that was rough! Oh the fun times we always find!

We were apprehensive to get back on the same road north on Tuesday but it was much better for us with no construction and only a few rough spots. We arrived in Sidney, Nebraska, 150 miles, where we stayed at Cabela’s RV Campground, what a nice park. The wind howled most of the day and night and it was quite cold and we were blessed to be off the road. We woke up at 6am to a “Severe Storm Risk”, which was strange because it was 40 degrees and foggy, but my fears ran rapidly, so we got on the road immediately.

The rest of our drive is on 385 North, and for the most part is smooth, and at times opens up to a divided highway, and even when it’s a two lane they are wide lanes. We got to the KOA in Hot Springs/Black Hills area and it was a fabulous stay.

With under 60 miles to our destination and what a beautifully perfect drive it was…the Black Hills are gorgeous. There was an area that had buffalo everywhere and at one point there was a few almost on the road, but we made it through without incident.

We made it to our site for the summer and we actually pull into our site and we have a spectacular view, including deer throughout the evenings and mornings to just enjoy.

Our plan is to clean up, rest as much as possible this weekend since we have orientation on Monday for work to begin. We are so excited that everything lined up for us to spend our summer here, we are going to have a blast and it all feels right.

Hot Springs/Black Hills KOA

27585 Hwy 79

Hot Springs, SD 57747

605-745-6449

5/2020

We paid $47.92 for a 30/50 amp pull through level site on gravel with water, sewer and free WiFi.

Great customer service, with a smile and great welcoming attitudes.

The grounds were kept up nicely, surrounded by trees, but we were able to get a site in the open. We do not like to be under trees so it worked out perfectly for us.

Cabala’s RV Campground

1 Angler’s Lane

Sidney, NE 69162

308-254-7889

5/2020

We paid $41.22 for a long pull through fairly level gravel site with 30/50amp electric, water and sewer.

No reservations taken…first come first serve…only about 30 full hookups…7 electric only and 6 tent sites. They stated full hookups usually fill by 4pm, but while we were here there were plenty left. You just pull in a site and either pay at the store or put your information and payment in an envelope slot.

All the restrooms were closed, so we could not check them out, but we are certain they are kept clean. The grass was manicured and it is an exceptional place to stop for a night, they do not allow more than 7 day stays.

Limon KOA

575 Colorado Avenue

Limon, CO 80828

800-562-2129

5/2020

We paid $44.22 for a water, 20/30/50 amp electric, sewer site on fairly flat gravel with free WIFi, but our Verizon was sufficient so we didn’t use it. 

Great customer service with a quick checkin…

They are doing some sort of major overhaul on the park and surrounding area, but beginning a saw at 6:30am is just ridiculous. 

A long termer with big vicious dogs for our neighbors was not comfortable, but thank goodness the cold and wet weather kept us inside.

Travel Time

I just couldn’t stand it anymore…I gave myself a haircut…it could have been worse…I can’t wait to hear the comments from my stylist once they are open. I have been begging Jerry to cut mine but he refused, never has he ever refused me anything, but this time he stood strong in his refusal. I even threatened him and told him I wouldn’t cut his until he cut mine but that didn’t last because I couldn’t look at him any longer with his shabbiness. Thank goodness I always get mine cut wacky anyway, never even or blunt, always sassy and wispy, so it’s really hard to see just how bad my cut really is but I can feel it.

The weather has been so agreeable, even though our allergies are still raging due to the wind and dusty areas, we are so much more comfortable. 

We decided to leave on Wednesday and just puddle jump to our summer location. Because of restrictions at resorts at our regular stops have to be changed, we are taking our time to get there and experiencing new RV Parks. We have our chosen ones and these new ones are not coming close to comparing to them, but we do what we got to do. Check out all our separate review blogs posted for all the details.

Wednesday was under 60 miles to Holbrook, Arizona where we stayed at OK RV Park. A little less altitude so it was a bit warmer but cooled down nicely at night.

Thursday’s travel took us 150 miles to Milan, New Mexico, where we stayed at Bar S RV Park, even though it was only $22, we will not be returning to this dust bowl.

We puddle jumped 117 miles on Friday to Moriarty, New Mexico with a strong head wind and CRAZY drivers through Albuquerque, we landed at Happy Trails RV Campground where the dogs run free, definitely not our kind of place.

Only 104 miles on Saturday to Las Vegas, New Mexico at the KOA with an entirely different experience than back in March. It seems RV Parks are few and far between on our route so we will be using mostly KOA’s. Fortunately their prices are actually lower than the other dumpy ones on our route so it’s all good.

The even better news is as we are traveling and stopping at different stores, we are finding less and less drama and more shelves being loaded. Now we have seen a few towns totally shutdown during our travels through New Mexico, but for the most part people are not so panicked as they had been, and we love it!

As much as we attempted to not feed into the media frenzy, it kept creeping into our lives. And we both agree that we would rather die living then to die dying…all this madness is causing people to stop living their lives and we choose not to feed into the frenzy.

It’s not about thinking beyond oneself but thinking for ourselves without the Government and media telling us how to think. It’s about our rights and liberties being stomped on over truly misrepresentation from them. The truth is not being said, only pure drama is being emphasized and putting fear in people who stopped thinking for themselves.

We are so grateful that we were able to spend most of these crazy times in Arizona, where they are not part of the craziness, but instead for the most part handled it with caution, but not panicked driven. We are also so thrilled that our summer gig is in one of the states that is not overreacting to all of this, and we may be able to truly have a fantastic experience.

With keeping with our normal lately of posting weekly on Sunday, the final jaunt of our road trip will be updated next week. Life for us is getting to a fantastic point and we are feeling more alive than we have in weeks. Even though we usually don’t socialize with others very often, it just has felt strange, not being able to smile at people and stop to chat, but that seems to be lifting along with many of the other restrictions that were in place. We are blessed and our lives are rich!

Las Vegas KOA New Mexico

76 Romeroville Frontage Rd Hcr 73

Las Vegas, NM 87701

800-562-3423

3/2020, 5/2020

We paid $39 for a water, 30/50 amp electric, sewer site on level gravel. We didn’t hook up sewer or water due to the weather…frigid and wet, not rain, just drizzle and fog all night. We lost power for a moment for no reason and it was pitch black for those moments. We didn’t make it out all night or in the morning since the fog was extremely dense, so no photos.

Update May 2020

We paid $39 for a water, 30/50 amp electric, sewer site on level gravel and free WiFi.

Our view with a nice dog park...

Area was well kept...

Happy Trails RV Campground

110 Holiday Street South

Moriarty, NM 87035

505-508-0340

5/2020

We paid $39.44 for a water, 30/50/110 amp electric, sewer, pull through, level site on dirt with gravel. Even though it was windy, we did not experience the dust bowl effect as we did at the last park.

Customer service was excellent, all the way from the initial email to checking us in and escorting us to our site. The sites are very tight, but she told us that we could park our tow in the one beside us since she only parks RV’s every other site. If the park ever gets full then it would be very uncomfortable.

They are doing an uplift on the grounds, it is still very raw and the dogs are free to run amok. It was not comforting to see this situation after we got settled in, but it remained calm without incident, and we never inquired about it.

We had a peaceful sleep, but it’s just not our type of park, so we won’t be returning.

Bar S RV Park

No Website

1860 Piñon Drive

Milan, NM 87020

505-876-6002

5/2020

We paid $22.15 for a water, 30/50/110 amp electric, sewer, pull through, on a level, dusty gravel site. They offer free cable and WiFi.

We called for a reservation and when we pulled in we called again and gave her our payment information and she told us our site number and brought out our map to us.

Near interstate for easy on and off access and right next to the railroad tracks, these tracks are frequently used and even though the horn sound is in the faint distance, we felt the rumble all night.

The entire park is on dirt with very little gravel and it was a windy day and several times we were in the middle of a dust bowl where visibility was zero. There were many long termer sites.