We were up early and quickly decided to go ahead and move on to the next stop. It would be a 230 mile drive to Las Cruces, NM.
Before we packed up, I got Dexter on the phone. I wanted to be sure they didn't let UPS charge them for overnighting our parts. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but Dexter had been informed they weren't being charged for the freight. Therefore, they are not going to charge us, and they thanked me for my help.
Huh? I know I "negotiated" with UPS the other day, but I expected to have to do battle with them today. I was ready with all my documentation, but I didn't have to go that far. Good deal. That saved $276 and we still got on the road earlier than expected, even with getting the parts a day late through the Howard Courier Service. :)
Before we left Benson, Linda made a quick run to Walmart and to put gas in the Jeep. Well, the Walmart part may have been quick, but I was pretty sure she was also going to stop by her favorite bead store where she is a valuable customer. :)
I did everything I could to get ready to leave and even went to talk to Jerry & Suzy to apologize for not stopping by last night and to say goodbye. When I returned to the rig, Linda still wasn't there.
I did a couple of other things she usually does when breaking camp - even at the very high risk of doing them wrong. :)
Eventually, she came back - after a little longer than expected detour to the bead shop. By 10:30, we were on the road again.
It was straight across I-10. We made one stop at a Rest Area about half way just to do a quick check of wheel and brake drum temperatures. All were well in line.
I called my parents. They left Louisville today and will be joining us at the Rally. Everyone made them feel so welcome last year, they couldn't resist a road trip to Texas. :)
We arrived at Sunny Acres RV Park at 4:00. Back on Mountain Time.
Sunny Acres is a small RV park in the middle of a pretty good sized city. You would think it would be the antithesis of where we would usually want to stay.
But it's a Passport America park and fit into our travel plans. And it's surprisingly a great little place. You know we're not big RV park fans, but this one has some character and good spacing between sites.
We backed into site 43 and got set up.

A little later we walked around. We could see why it's a popular place for the winter.
Here's a shot of a couple more sites.

The sites are big, the roads are big, there are lots of trees, there is quite a bit of grass, and it's reasonably quiet for sitting amongst the businesses and busy roads. I'd recommend it highly for a city-located RV park. :)
We checked out the clubhouse and laundry with its porch.

Though we can't see the Organ Mountains from our site, there are some decent views within the park.

After our walk, Linda decided to do a couple of loads of laundry.
Before long, we got a knock on the door. The other day, Linda commented that we had readers in Las Cruces that are attending the Rally. Well, Ron & Donna found us.
It seems they were in the area, knew about this RV park, and Donna had a feeling we might just be here after being in Benson last night. She didn't think it was that big a shot in the dark, but we were pretty amazed they found us in an RV park on a hunch. :)
We sat down at the picnic table outside and talked for a little while. They are excited about the Rally, and we really enjoyed meeting them. They are leaving here Saturday and will be arriving on Monday.
After they left, Linda finished up the laundry and we took it easy the rest of the evening. We'll be moving on to our next destination tomorrow.
We're getting closer. :)
Oh, we are getting excited for you! And for us too! We are within a month of doing the reverse of your trip but with the same stops. We were impressed with Sunny Acres and will stay a few extra days there! They have private bathrooms which are very nicely done. We are looking forward to the return trip.
Stella wants to know all about the beads, Linda. After the rally will do :)Won't be long and she will be in the same shop.
Good to know your parents are making the trip again. Have a safe trip folks.
Don and Stella
Posted by: rodeworthy | Friday, October 02, 2009 at 02:31 PM
Can you feel the love? I'm absolutely positive there are people all over the country and even around the world cheering and praying for you two. After getting caught up on the last four posts, I just want to send out to you and Linda a huge HURRAH! When you get to Kerrville you'll probably get to just sit back and watch as those at the rally will gladly set up camp for you. Be safe and enjoy the rest of the journey... trouble free.
Posted by: Ron Stacy | Friday, October 02, 2009 at 04:55 PM
Glad to hear that you've had two good days in a row. And good to read that UPS stepped up to the plate and ate those charges.
After following the RV-Dreams and dream for 3 years we finally get to meet you and some of the family.
Posted by: foxriverguy | Friday, October 02, 2009 at 08:46 PM
We enjoy staying at Sunny Acres RV Park, while in Las Cruces. Love the wide roads for parking the rig, and the park is convenient to restaurants and shopping.
Posted by: Brenda L | Friday, October 02, 2009 at 10:51 PM