When we last left you, we were parked along Cochiti Lake, and had pretty much not left our campsite except for an errand run into Albuquerque.
Blissfully catching up on sleep, rest, projects and finally just being at home.
We ended up extending for the full 14-days we were allowed. First come first serve sites are our favorite for allowing us that flexibility.
Not that the campground was anywhere near full. It’s end of the season at Cochiti Lake, with signs posted closing down on November 1st.
We pretty much had our entire dry camping loop to ourselves for the rest of the stay.
That sort of solitude is something we normally only enjoy while out boondocking, so it added delightfully to the experience for us.
After two weeks, we had pretty much explored all of the nearby walking & hiking opportunities – which is one of our measures of when it’s time to move on.
Taking Care of Ourselves
Pretty much though, we continued to be homebodies.
So much so, when the day came to broadcast our live video cast on ‘Free & Cheap RV Camping’ – we realized we just weren’t as re-charged as we thought. It takes a good bit of energy for these introverts to turn on the camera and invite folks into our living room for an evening.. and then into archived prosperity.
Once we upload our video archive up to YouTube, we’re usually onslaught with a smattering of trollish comments.
It’s just the nature of YouTube, relatively anonymous folks feel safe sharing ‘constructive criticism’. Many other video bloggers report similarly.
Usually, these comments don’t impact us much – just a groan, silently mouthing ‘get a life’ and then a click of the delete & ban button. Life is too short to dwell on it.
But the thought of inviting new ones left us feeling extra raw this day, and just not in the frame of mind to be putting ourselves ‘out’ there.
And you know what? That’s ok.
Taking care of ourselves is the prime directive. We are in decompression mode, and sometimes it’s toughest to be on when actively healing.
We’re so very blessed for such a supportive community who embraced us with positivity that evening when we postponed, which was so heart warming. Thank you to each and everyone of you who reached out.
We’ll reschedule the video broadcast in the next week or so, once we find our next spot with great connectivity.
Tent Rocks
We did however manage to get our lazy butts out of the house the next day to explore Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks – a nearby national monument we had gotten several recommendations to check out.
The 4 mile hike was absolutely amazing. Each step brought a new vista as we approached the rocks, then entered the slot canyons and then ascended the side of a mountain/cliff/hill. Each time we turned around, a new perspective on the lands around us.
It was so worth mustering up the energy to make the short drive over.
We can see why some told us that Tent Rocks is one of their favorite spots in New Mexico. It certainly mesmerized us. Definitely, if you’re in the Santa Fe or Albuquerque area, put it on your list.
Sometimes it’s difficult for us to get into touristy exploring mode, especially when trying to nest at home. But that is one of the luxuries of this RVing lifestyle – we’re always at home, and always traveling. We CAN do both, and we really should more often.
We live in an amazing world, and there never seems to be a shortage of new things to explore. Even after over 9 years on the road, it feels like we’re still just getting started.
What’s Next?
The ride height valve on our rear suspension has been leaking more air than it should for many miles. Having heard great things about Hal Burns in Santa Fe, we decided to take advantage of a shop to get it swapped out.
So on Thursday morning, we got up early to make our 8am appointment.
While there, we’re also taking care of a couple other minor maintenance items – like new starter batteries. We hadn’t changed the original cheapie mismatched ones since we bought the bus over 4 years ago, and they’re starting to show signs of dying.
Our Precision Temp Jr. is also chugging propane like it’s at a frat party beer chugging contest (about 30lbs a week!!). So we’re taking advantage of shop tools to make some adjustments to the engine pre-heat coolant loop, which is convecting heat continually into the engine (wasted energy). Some check valves should hopefully solve the problem.
Our ride height valve is on order to arrive Monday, which has left us in Santa Fe for the weekend to explore this beautiful city full of charm and endless delicious food. Oh, darn.
We’re loving it here, and our social calendar has quickly filled up. Santa Fe seems to attract some downright awesome people.
Have always enjoyed your posts. We are from New Mexico and have enjoyed Cochiti Lake
Glad to read the plug hasn’t been pulled on this place! Of all the places to meltdown luckily you were in the desert where you are steps away from the awesome silence and beauty of the southwest. Hang in there!
Love your beautiful photos of Tent Rocks! We’re in Santa Fe for a week and are heading there tomorrow for a hike.
Sent ya a PM, Don’t want to see the Trolls win. You two are very good at what you do. Recharge and get back at it.
Sad to see you go. I too am a lurker, having read your blog for four years I am stunned to hear the word “hate” associated with your shared knowledge and experience. Hope you come back soon.
Your Canadian Friends
So glad you’re enjoying our adopted state! I moved to NM from St. Louis in 1977, & never looked back. We went fulltime in 2006 but still own 10 acres in west central NM (near the Plains of San Augustin) — no way we’ll let go of our little piece of heaven. We haven’t been to Tent Rocks or Cochiti Lake since about 10 years before hitting the road — so beautiful! Except for the area around Artesia that never impressed me much, I don’t think there is such a thing as an un-awesome place in the whole state.
We have a 38 foot motor home in the driveway we do not get near enough use out of and enjoy the dream of a nomadic life. We so appreciate all of your tips and advice as we move toward making the dream a reality. You are a great resource!
i look forward to all content you folks provide, shame on the ‘trolls’. they have no clue the energy you folks put out there. I appreciate your efforts very much.
I’m so glad you’re feeling more relaxed and recharged. We missed the tent rocks when we were in the area so definitely have to return. Thanks for the update.
It is terrific you are not tiring of being on the road. Here’s a toast to many more enjoyable years.
Marilyn
We are newbies and started full-time RVing early this year. We did some traveling when we were younger and RV parks seemed reasonable then but now… WOW! We started out small but had so many problems we upgraded to a 40 foot motorhome. With so many hucksters out there, where can we find out about free camping? Size being an issue we are finding Internet information lacking on size limits, road condions, and services available. BTW – Love your blog. Thanks for sharing. You guys are terrific and living the new American Dream.
We will put out an announcement when we reschedule the video cast on Free camping.
Love those tent rocks and slot canyons – definitely a fun playground. We love Santa Fe, good to know there’s a reputable shop there – just in case of course 🙂 Flexibility is in the top five things we love best about the life. Glad you’re taking care of yourselves.
Thanks for the blog updates. It’s great! A place I can turn to (to un-stress) while we rid our selves of the remaining things left here holding us back. Hopefully only about another month to go.
Only a month to go! May you tread through the chaos, and it soon be but a memory in the rear view mirror.
So glad you guys were able to get some needed re-charge time. And now having work done on Zephyr in Santa Fe. Darn the luck on location., ☺ We spent a week there the first week of August and as always, loved it. Great to see the farmers market on Saturday morning. You have mentioned trolls on our blog before but I did not know it was enough of a disturbance in the force to cause concern. But having a delete and ban button is a great thing. Do you think you might be able to market one of those for your loyal readers. Over the years there have been a few people in my life that maybe deserved a “delete and ban”. ☺
Delete & Ban buttons rock… wish we could install them everywhere. Oh well, at least it is occasional, and most the time it doesn’t bother us.
Glad you made it to Tent Rocks…looking at your photos certainly brought back my memories of the hike..and FYI I believe there is only one other place in the world that has rock formations like this and that is in Turkey in Cappadocia. I f you have time there is a wonderful museum in SF called the International Folk Art Museum which is wonderful.Safe Travels…
Some at Tent Rocks told us about the spot in Turkey as well. Certainly beautiful and memorable.
So did you score the new Retina iMac in Albuquerque!?
Oh yes 🙂 It is glorious. Will share the lifestyle improvement it’s provided in a future post.
30 pounds of propane is only a little over 4 gals. Propane only has 91,000 btu’s a gallon.I think that is great. I used 20 gallon of diesel last week for hot water and heat in Kentucky.
Yes.. but we’re not actually heating much 🙂 It’s only been getting down into the mid-40s.. at night. The engine is being warmed non-stop, so it is constantly burning – and it doesn’t need to be. If we were battling ACTUAL cold, that wouldn’t be too terrible of a burn rate. But a little ridiculous for just heating water and an occasional blast of heat.
For comparison, Precision Temp claims that a 43′ motorhome with slides, in 20 degree weather should only burn 100lbs of propane in a month. We’re a 35′ no slide motorhome, with excellent insulations in the mid-40s.