After Mark and I finished our two-month house sit in Santa Fe, the end of May, we had no other assignments lined up. Partly because the 2.5-week gap before our train journey east was tight to find a “perfect” house sit; partly because we wanted to give full-time RV living a chance. We planned to make a loop from Santa Fe west into Arizona, north to the Four Corners region, east through Southern Colorado, and then back south into New Mexico. Memorial Day weekend would offer us a little break away from the computer, and since our business partner was on holiday for ten days early June, Mark’s job would be more relaxed then as well. During those once-a-year periods, he only deals with customers over email, and postpones phone calls until “vacation time” is over.
The southern part of Petrified Forest National Park
Our trip was off to a rocky start, since our windshield was still leaking. We’d come back earlier, after two weeks, and deal with it then. First stop: El Malpais National Monument, where we’d briefly stopped for a free night of camping after picking Zesty up in Arkansas, almost a year ago.
El Malpais National Monument
Already on day one, our bikes came in handy. We explored the eastern part of the park at our own pace, and photographed rocky outcrops, peddled through Indian Reservations, and discovered a natural arch.
The following morning, we packed up camp and drove to the western area of this NM. We hiked through the El Calderon portion, which encompasses a volcano crater, caves, and more black, volcanic rock.
El Morro National Monument
Not far from El Malpais, we settled at the fantastic free campground of El Morro NM and biked the short distance to the park. Our hike there took us up and along the mesa, with 360-degree views. Big was our surprise to find that we were walking on a rim instead of a plateau, and to our left a canyon full of vegetation appeared. The Puebloan ancestors of the Zuni Indians built settlements here.
The second part of our self-guided tour consisted of what El Morro is famous for: Inscription Rock contains inscriptions in the sandstone by the Spaniards and early settlers. Messages and identifications were left by these travelers, who followed the ancient trade route for the same reason the Puebloans did, a source of water at the base in the shade of the cliffs.
Mark and I wished we could spend another night here, but we had to move on and get back to “the office”, since no T-Mobile cell service is present at the El Morro campground.
Petrified Forest National Park
Tuesday was spent at the library of Gallup to catch up with emails and work. The following day, we headed into Arizona to visit a park that had been on my mental list for a little while: Petrified Forest National Park. We’ve seen petrified wood in other parts of the world, but the promised natural collection here drew me in. Mark couldn’t care less. In 90+ degree weather (30+ Celsius), we entered the park at its northern end, and followed the scenic route south, stopping at overlooks and points of interest.
By the time we reached the southern part of the park and the desert, we were boiling. We managed a few shorter walks but decided to keep the main walk I wanted to do (the 2.6-mile trail to Long Logs and Agate House) until the next morning. That next day, however, went a bit awry.
Change of plans
Since our free campground, less than a mile from the southern entrance of the national park, didn’t have cell coverage, we drove to Holbrook with the idea to catch up on work and return to the park late morning. Wirie customers needed our attention, Paypal (the payment method we process credit cards with) had a major issue, and a few other frustrating events happened. After four hours, we decided we needed all day to deal with “life” and moved to the library. Then, a health scare had us change plans completely. With a 50% chance we had to drive to Massachusetts immediately in Zesty, and forego our other arrangements, we were faced with the windshield issue again, which had to be taken care of in Santa Fe.
After some deliberation and fear, we got into our hot van, and drove six hours back to New Mexico’s capital, pulling into a new-to-us campground at night. People who know our past and those who’ll read my memoir will understand our panic. The following morning, Friday, we brought Zesty to Extreme Twist, and crossed our fingers that the extra bead of silicones Juan put on would take care of the leak for once and for all. In the afternoon, we waited for the verdict of the doctor, ready to tackle the 2200 miles in three days if needed. Luckily, the urgency lifted and we will find out what’s going on next week. In the meantime, we could get “back on track”, changing our route a bit. I’ll have to get back to the Petrified Forest another day.
Frugal Tips:
- Mark and I prepare and cook our own meals when living in the camper.
- Earlier this year, we bought an annual National Park pass for $80, so all our entrance fees are covered by this card.
- We use the app/website freecampsites.net to find free campgrounds every night.
- Gas Buddy is our best friend when it comes to finding the cheapest diesel in the area.
- The website Sanidumps gives us a written or mapped overview of dump stations to empty our grey and black tanks. We plan around using the free ones.
- Since we only have 5GB of T-Mobile data a month, which Mark needs to run our business, we now check into libraries to get online and use their free WiFi.
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June 13, 2018 at 10:42
Wow – that’s so stressful sitting 2200 miles away worrying about family back east and then dealing with that windshield issue which adds to the stress. Hopefully you’ll be able to return to the Petrified Forest under more pleasant conditions AND cooler temps.
June 14, 2018 at 10:38
I don’t know how other people live without stress, Ingrid. In our lives, whether we want it or not (and no matter how hard we try to simplify things and worry less), there is always a lot going on. Between our (mostly Mark’s) health situation, our business, and our lifestyle (yes, we chose this one), a lot can go wrong and things remain challenging. Maybe, we find the forest again next winter. 🙂
June 13, 2018 at 10:45
Hi, Liesbet – I am so sorry to hear about the health scare. I am glad to read that the emergency has lifted. Please keep us posted when you find out more. Looking forward to hear that everything is okay and that you are back on track for your planned RV Trip!
June 14, 2018 at 10:46
One day, we will have to tell you the full health scare story, Donna. OMG. Luckily, this time we worried for nothing, even though we changed our plans and panicked. That’s the good news.
I’m so glad to still be out west! It was close. Back east, we would not have been able to come for a visit this summer. Anyway, now we can focus on our three-day train ride east this afternoon and my trip to Belgium. Crazy times. 🙂
June 13, 2018 at 12:03
Wow those are impressive and scenic places Liesbet, but so dry! It’s amazing that anything grows in those barren environments. I hope your health scare was exactly that and nothing too serious. Take care. Denzil
June 14, 2018 at 10:50
You noticed that well, Denzil. Very dry! As a matter of fact, around Santa Fe, in some areas of Arizona, and I hear now in Colorado as well, entire forests are closed, because of the extreme fire danger. We had to spend the night in a parking lot of a grocery store, since all the free forest campgrounds are closed. We couldn’t agree more with the rangers to take precautions, because a lot of people are ignorant and most fires are started because of humans, which is just terrible!
Big sigh of relief about the health scare. Nothing more than a scare this time…
June 13, 2018 at 13:06
Glad things to a turn for the better. I’m sure you were in a panic.
I saw the Petrified park when I was a kid but I don’t remember much.
Amazing photos. With all that biking I bet you stay in shape.
June 14, 2018 at 10:53
Here’s a little secret, Alex: our bikes are electric. 🙂 That being said, we always have to peddle and uphill is still uphill. But, so much easier. I, as a Belgian only used to flat roads, enjoy biking in the hilly countryside now. The panic is now lifted as well. False alarm. Luckily.
June 13, 2018 at 13:13
So sorry to hear about the health scare Liesbet and I hope this too shall pass. The scenery in your images looks amazing and it is so lovely you have your own home on wheels to see them all. Hopefully Zesty’s windscreen can be fixed and all the technical glitches sorted. You are due some pleasant and relaxing times! 🤗💖🍀 xxx
June 14, 2018 at 10:55
It did pass, Xenia. Thank you. After worrying for a couple of weeks. Still, we are so glad and relieved that it wasn’t as serious as it could have been. That’s what a certain past and experiences do to you. You know what can happen.
And, we think the windshield is finally fixed as well. Right in time, as we are hopping on a long-distance train in a couple of hours for a six-week absence from Zesty. Let’s hope there is some relaxing in our near future. Once we are settled in the homes of our parents. 🙂
June 13, 2018 at 13:16
Take care Liesbet and like the others hope all goes well next week. I was interested in your visit to an Indian Reservation. Never read/hear about the Native Indian culture. Quite sad!!
June 14, 2018 at 10:58
New Mexico and Arizona have a lot of Indian reservations, Suz. This time, we just saw the signs along the road, entering one, leaving it again, entering another one… by bike or car. We had hoped to spend some time in Navajo Nation in Arizona, but because our little health scare (which was false alarm by the way) and premature return to Santa Fe, we missed out on that.
My next blog, however, will be all about Indian culture. Mostly in the past. 🙂
June 14, 2018 at 12:34
Hiya Liesbet, I’m looking forward to reading your about your experience it’s somewhere that we won’t get a chance to visit. Take care
June 16, 2018 at 08:33
Are you saying you’ll never visit the US, Suz? Some of the national (and cultural) parks here are quite amazing!
June 13, 2018 at 13:18
Now where did my comment go?
June 13, 2018 at 14:30
Mine just vanished 😟
June 14, 2018 at 11:06
And, resurfaced. 🙂
June 14, 2018 at 10:59
Hi Suz! Your previous comment showed up, and so did this one. There might have been a delay? WordPress is being funny with a whole bunch of stuff these days. Sorry for the confusion.
June 13, 2018 at 13:54
Very stressful interruption to your trip – so sorry you got some scary news! I just sent some of your Frugal Tip links to my son and fiancee as they are now on the road in their RV! The first night was an adventure, but I’m sure each day gets a little better. Hopefully for you, too!
June 14, 2018 at 11:03
Hurray for your son and his fiancée to hit the road. I’m curious about their first adventure. It always takes a while to get to know your RV and get in the swing of things. After a week or two, they’ll be pros! Thanks for sharing the tips, Lexie. Maybe we will run into them one day! Feel free to let them know about this blog. 🙂
Mark and I have survived many stressful situations, but we are so happy that this scare was just a scare. I know we will always find solutions and figure it out, but I didn’t want to repeat something that happened to us exactly three years ago, and when our thoughts went to possibly having a repeat of it, we surely panicked and needed to act quickly. Big sigh of relief now.
June 13, 2018 at 14:26
I remember that Petrified Forest very well. Sorry to hear about the stress: hope the health scare has settled down.
June 14, 2018 at 11:05
That forest is pretty magical in its own way, Anabel. Yes, the health scare has settled down. Now, we can think about our future in Zesty again, remaining out west for the time being. Well, once we return from our visit east. 🙂
June 13, 2018 at 14:29
First comment disappeared – into spam? Basically just hoping all is now well.
June 14, 2018 at 11:06
Sorry to read about your mysterious comment disappearal, Anabel. Suzanne had something similar happen. Not sure what was going on, but both appeared eventually.
June 13, 2018 at 16:27
Having a health scare while on the road is frightening. I hope you and Mark are okay. Thank you for sharing your stunning photos and of course, the frugal tips. I always enjoy those! I hope you’re keeping track of these for your next business venture…planning inexpensive trips for people…remember? 🙂 Be safe!
June 14, 2018 at 11:11
Thanks, Jill. We are both OK now, mentally and physically. 🙂
Part of me wants to put more focus on our frugal living with this blog, but then there are all the fantastic sites we visit, and experiences we come across. And, there is the memoir, and the different lifestyles. I have material (and ideas) to write thousands of articles and blogs, and fill tons of books. If I were to do that, I’d be writing for the rest of my life, and not seeing them world. 🙂 If only we all had more time. So much to see, do, write, read, … If only I was retired. 🙂
June 14, 2018 at 16:32
I’m with you, girlfriend…more time and retired life is exactly what we need! 🙂
June 16, 2018 at 08:34
Let’s make it happen. Prioritize! Pick and choose who we hang out with, where we go, and what we do. If only it was that easy… 🙂
June 13, 2018 at 18:50
Beautiful pictures of a magical area. I know the running your business under the best circumstances can be stressful, but on the road it must be one hair-pulling event after another. I hope everything works out for you two and the health scare is a whole lot of nothing.
June 14, 2018 at 11:14
I love the “whole lot of nothing” comment, Janis, since, this time, that’s exactly what it is and we are so relieved. Now, we can look forward to the future again and start living it to its fullest once more.
And, yes, the combination business and full-time travel is challenging and exhausting. I’m so glad you understand. But, it’s what we expected. Now, we hope this summer will bring some ease and peace.
June 13, 2018 at 20:20
What a great experience! Beautiful pics. Thanks for sharing!
June 14, 2018 at 11:15
Welcome to Roaming About, Janet. I’m glad you liked the photos. More to come next week. 🙂
June 13, 2018 at 20:30
We were about to visit Malpais in April when we got called back to the east coast for work. I hate it when work gets in the way of travels. Glad you didn’t have to sprint back across the country for your health scare. Since I have begun to wander, I sometimes feel like I am often not really in charge of the direction I head – work, health, and any odd or weird surprise can set us off onto a different track. Hope your new route went well!
June 14, 2018 at 11:24
Hi Duwan! Thanks for visting and commenting. What you are experiencing, living like a nomad is so true, and very familiar. We’re not in charge of anything anymore, for good or for bad. Sometimes that’s easier to deal with than other times. The way we try to cope with it is being OK with whatever happens. When you live a life less ordinary, plans never seem to work out, and directions are proposed by current situations or unexpected events. Flexibility is king. 🙂
All is fine here now. Unlike you, we never had to head back for work (we did have to do that multiple times for health reasons), but try to combine that with traveling, which is a whole other challenge.
June 14, 2018 at 05:07
Hi Liesbet – Sorry to hear the health scare made you change your travel plans completely. I hope everyone is OK. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos, travel stories, and frugal tips.
June 14, 2018 at 11:19
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last decade, it’s that health comes first, no matter what. We have had to drastically change quite a few travels and plans because of it, which is one of the reasons why we rarely plan anymore. You just never know what happens. Luckily, this one was false alarm. Better safe then sorry, though. 🙂
June 14, 2018 at 11:22
Any visit to the hot and dry regions of the United States leaves me impressed with the native inhabitants who lived their for centuries. It is SO hot in the summers, to the point of feeling completely unlivable to me, but cultures managed to live superb lives and accomplish amazing things in harsh conditions.
June 16, 2018 at 08:31
I hear you, Ryan! Especially during our second week of touring this region, we realized and appreciated how the native peoples managed to create good and productive lives for themselves in these harsh environments and conditions. The desert has a beauty of its own, but how anyone survives here with resources only from the land is unbelievable. Respect! As for us, after many weeks, if not months, of wind and dust, we are ready for Colorado. 🙂
June 15, 2018 at 05:50
I’m glad the health scare has passed (or at least isn’t as serious as feared). You guys have had a lot to deal with lately with that and that darn windshield. I bet you’re loving those bikes!
June 16, 2018 at 08:36
We are loving the bikes, Ellen. As long as we can keep the batteries charged. We’ll have to come up with a solution that involves an inverter, so we can charge while we drive. So many similarities with the boat life. Except for the windshield. 🙂
June 16, 2018 at 16:56
Well, I’m just going to have to insist you start including a map of where you stay in these places (you know, and draw a little red line showing where you went) 🙂 You just gave me a great reminder to pack our bikes if we can do our winter trip to Northern Arizona in our new trailer in 2019. I can put the SUP on top of the trailer in case I can… always great to hear about your informative adventures, Liesbet. Hope family issues can continue to be positive until things are sorted out! As always, stunning images!!
June 17, 2018 at 01:45
It’s certainly not an easy road for you two, is it? Hopefully the bumps will start to smooth soon.
June 19, 2018 at 09:28
Thanks, Jo. Part of our challenges are due to the lifestyle we decide to live. It would be much less stressful in a normal house. 🙂 But, hopefully, we can bear the fruits one day, or change our priorities and start having fun again soon.
June 18, 2018 at 20:03
Sorry to hear about the health scare and missed opportunity, but glad you had a good vacation while it lasted. High highs and low lows, to be sure.
Happy you’re both okay. xo
June 19, 2018 at 09:29
Not sure why, but our life always happens in extremes, JH! You got that right. 🙂 We certainly had some nice experiences during our two weeks on the road as well. Take care!!
June 18, 2018 at 20:04
Petrified forest…how enchanting, but then again I’m obsessed with petrified wood. Happy trails!
June 19, 2018 at 09:32
Thanks for swinging by the blog! Petrified wood is extremely special. Crazy how it came to be about – over millions of years, it turned from wood to stone. Fascinating. Especially when an array of colors are present. A photographer’s dream. 🙂 I wish I found a nice bracelet of petrified wood while there. I’ll have to go back for that! And, to finish our visit. 🙂
June 18, 2018 at 21:23
First, let me say, your photos are breathtaking and make me want to be ‘there’, where, just there visiting the beautiful sites of the desert. And wow, I sure hope that danged windshield is fixed now! I do hope Mark’s mom is alright now? I’m assuming that scare had to do with her again? 🙂 xx
June 19, 2018 at 09:34
You do seem to have an affinity for the desert, Debby, and I hope you get to return one day soon. Very soon! 🙂
The windshield finally seems to be OK. They’ve patched it up one more time. We will test it again when we return to Santa Fe in six weeks, before we leave that area permanently.
The health scare actually had to do with Mark. You’ll understand if and when you read my memoir. But, false alarm, which we are grateful for!!
June 19, 2018 at 17:53
Oh my, sheesh, well I’m glad Mark is alright! And crossing fingers Zesty stays well too. 🙂
June 21, 2018 at 06:37
Thanks, Debby. I’m separated from my two “boys” now, but they’re in good hands. 🙂
June 19, 2018 at 09:36
Forgot to say that Mark’s mom is doing quite well, taking care of his dad in full force again. She is so happy that we (well, mostly Mark right now, since I left after one day) are back for a while. xx
June 19, 2018 at 17:54
Oh, I’m glad to hear! Things back to ‘normal’ is always a good thing,. 🙂
June 21, 2018 at 06:37
As long as the normal is exciting enough. 🙂
June 19, 2018 at 14:38
I thought I a) replied to this blog post, and b) subscribed to your blog. Apparently not, so I’ll fix that!
June 21, 2018 at 06:36
Hi Marian! I hope you’re not having too many troubles with my blog… Nothing changed on my end, but I have no idea what WordPress is up to. 🙁
June 21, 2018 at 07:32
I thought I had already subscribed to your blog. No matter, I can still reply whether or not WordPress accnowledges our connection.
June 21, 2018 at 08:48
🙂
June 20, 2018 at 09:28
I’m so sorry to hear about the health scare, Liesbet. The Petrified Forest sounds like an amazing place. You have my curiosity about this. You’re photography is amazing and always makes it look as if Mark and you are the only two people on planet Earth.
June 21, 2018 at 06:39
Hi Hugh! I’m glad you enjoy my photos and our trips through the blog. Mentally, we often feel like we are the only two people on Earth, but physically, that is rarely the case. I’m just good at framing the photos, I guess. 🙂
June 21, 2018 at 08:04
There never seems to many people about on your trips to these wonderful places, Liesbet. I’m guessing you don’t go at holiday time?
June 21, 2018 at 08:52
Mesa Verde National Park, which I just posted a blog about today, was pretty busy, Hugh. Maybe because the summer season had started already in the US, or maybe because it is one of the more popular parks. The other places we’ve visited are pretty much off the beaten track. This summer, we plan to explore a few of the major national parks, like Yellowstone, during school vacations, so I think you’ll see many more people in those photos. 🙂 We never really plan our trips, they appear organically and revolve around where we find ourselves that time…
June 22, 2018 at 09:11
Liesbet I am behind on reading posts and very alarmed to read of the health scare. I shall move on to your next article and hopefully read good news. Thanks for sharing those websites that you use. We use the HERE app for off line GPS when we travel. It has been so helpful both driving and walking around the world.
June 22, 2018 at 12:17
Luckily, the health scare was only a scare. Not fun, but we are very relieved now. 🙂 I’ll have to check out that HERE app, Sue. It would be nice to not get lost when we are too far away from cell towers. We’ve had it happen plenty of times, where we have no clue where we are going, because we forgot to enter the new destination while still having internet. Or, I saved it on my iPad, for the darn browser to refresh the page, showing me an error message instead of the page I saved!
July 8, 2018 at 12:05
It must be fun having the bikes with you as you travel. We also like to bring bikes (ours are mountain bikes) when we go on longer camping trips. If we fold up the seats, we can just fit them into the back seat of the pickup truck. However, we can’t bring both the dog and the bikes.
Jude
July 9, 2018 at 02:02
Oh those bikes… Once we bought them, so many more steps and projects and purchases had to be made: rack, swivel extension, bag, extra lights, extra license plate, battery storage, charger storage, inverter… 🙂 But, it’s so worth it.
It looks like you’ll need a roof rack, or front bumper rack or a “behind-the-trailer” rack to be able to enjoy both dog and bikes on your trips. We’ve thought about the combination dogs and bikes as well, wondering how we’ll take him/them with us on bike rides, whenever we have pups again.