Rest of Our Trip

Travelled to Twin Creeks Campground in Buffalo, WY from Lewistown, MT. the campground was very icy, snow had melted some and then froze, the owners had not sanded any of the roads, we slide down a small incline as we left the check in and proceeded to our campsite, I was worried we would not make it out of there the next morning evarea en with the truck in 4 x 4.  Walking the dogs was not fun, they could walk on top of the crusted snow, but I could not and walking on the roads was not an option, needless to say we did not walk far!  We waited to leave here until the sun had melted the ice a bit so we could get traction and with the truck in 4 x 4 we made it out of the campground and travelled to Colorado City, CO.  It was a beautiful warm day, great for travelling, we stayed at a beautiful little KOA, just outside Colorado City, yes I know we said we did not like KOA Campgrounds but had no choice on this trip and it turned out to be a great little place to stay.  Some pictures below of their Christmas decorations, we will stay here again no problem.

The above are just some of the Christmas decorations, every open grass area was decorated and they had a nice dog play pen, overall this is an extremely well kept campground.  We wanted to stay another day to visit friends in Pueblo West but the weather man was forecasting a winter blizzard lasting until Saturday so we called our friends and told them we would not be seeing them this trip and I checked the weather online to see how far south the storm would be a problem, turns out we have to travel all the way to Elephant Butte, NM to outrun the storm. 

 
 We got up early and left knowing it was going to be a very long travel day (about 8 hours with stop for fuel).   We usually stop in Santa Fe, NM so planned on stopping there for fuel, big mistake, no place to fuel up that we can get the fifth wheel and truck in or drop off the fifth wheel and fuel up the truck, we wasted time and fuel following signs to service stations that advertised diesel, good thing we carry a small extra fuel tank as we had to stop and pump before we could continue our search for fuel.  Good thing we had an old Flying J truck stop directory in the truck as I found a couple of truck stops listed further down the highway, another lesson learned, don’t look for fuel in Santa Fe there is nothing along the highway and the stations that advertise diesel just off the highway are only for small trucks.   We made it to Cedar Cove RV Park which is close to Elephant Butte after dark and being on the road 9 hours, not fun.  I got out of the truck and took the dogs for a little walk while Woody was getting registered and I felt like I was still moving, parking in the dark is not fun either, the Workcamper guided us into our spot and gave us some light while we hooked up.  We were both glad to be parked for the night, feeling very travel weary.  After relaxing awhile I checked the weather and low and behold the snow was coming to Elephant Butte the next day, so we decided we would travel to Deming, NM the next day, we thought about going all the way to our winter home in AZ but that area was experiencing high winds.  We spent November 30^th and December 1^st in Deming due to winds in AZ, I called the park on Dec 2nd to make sure there were no high winds blowing there and the weather was great in Deming so we left on the last leg of our journey.  When got into the Lordsburg, NM area we ran into snow!!!!!  Sure did not expect that although the elevation is higher than Deming, NM or Wilcox in AZ which is just a ways across the border.  We knew there was a possibility of rain showers but did not think it would cold enough for snow.  I watched the temp dropped as we drove, then the rain turned to snow, we drove in the snow for about 1 ½ hours, we discussed stopping as the snow was starting to accumulate on the highway, the big rigs had slowed right down and were travelling with their flashers on as we were, the visibility was terrible but we kept on going and finally drove out of the snow after we crossed the border and got close to Willcox, AZ.  We both breathed a sigh of relief to be out of snow, driving in snow is not fun when pulling the fifth wheel!  Honestly we have never been more relieved to arrive at our winter home than we were this year, I actually shed some tears of relief and happiness when my feet hit the ground and I felt like I should get down on my knees and kiss the ground, I did say a prayer thanking the Good Lord for our safe arrival!