Lesson #8 ~ Go Around The Cactus

We made camp last night, Christmas night, in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Travis and Jim had heard some abnormal noises as we drove yesterday.  It's really nice to have someone along for the ride who knows the in's and out's of an engine.  After Jim got out of the Navy he started a career with Ryder trucking company as a mechanic (and continued to work as a mechanic or with mechanics for over 30 years until he retired).  Jim filled all the fluids and checked some belts and things (I sound so mechanically savvy, don't I?!).  Unfortunately it was dark.  He and Travis did all they could do in the dark. This morning we made a quick stop at the neighboring RV service shop before leaving town.  Of course, the engine ran just fine.  It took Travis, Jim, Lincoln, and three service guys to get in there and check the engine.  They all agreed everything looked fine for a day's ride.  We were on our way.

The drive from Las Cruces to Tucson was unique from what we've experienced thus far.  We saw desert and mountains the entire way.  We saw sage brush, some palo verde trees, and a few other plants that can grow in the sand.  The only animals we saw were two farms of cows.  It was a great day for a nap and some games.  While Nana, Parker, and Calla dozed, Taite played solitaire (Nana taught him to play yesterday and he's addicted now) and Lincoln played on the Repreakfast (Perplexus).

The Grand Motor Inn Restaurant in Deming, New Mexico, was a welcomed rest stop along the way.  Aunt Sharon recommended we stop there for some enchiladas.  She gave fair warning that the salsa and enchilada sauce might be a bit too spicy for Minnesotans, but we were up for the challenge.  I do not typically like enchiladas, but these were GREAT!  Lincoln even liked them - and he doesn't like anything spicy.  He drank an entire glass of water after every bite, but he ate the whole thing!  "We needed a hose at the table he was so thirsty," as Brian Wilson would say.  The place is definitely a local dive that one would never visit unless you made a concerted effort.  It was certainly worth getting off the beaten path.  Just the break we needed today.

After we willingly burned our tongues and cleared our sinuses, we drove straight to Aunt Sharon and Uncle Harold's house.  Sharon is Travis' paternal grandmother's sister, and she is a spring chicken!  She and her husband are always out galavanting around the Arizona countryside and walking daily (to remain a spring chicken, I suppose). We spent the evening with them, their daughters Lynda and Laura, and Laura's daughters.  We all shared a delicious meal, our kids got some much needed playtime and the adults enjoyed fun conversation and laughter.

While we were planning to stay at a local campground, Harold and Sharon kindly invited us to park in the alley adjacent to their backyard.  Harold and Sharon have a lovely yard.  They have lemon, grapefruit, and orange trees.  They have a huge saguaro cactus with woodpecker holes in it where elf owls live, prickly pear cacti, and many other pokey plants.  We decided to take them up on the offer and Travis got in the RV to drive it around back.  Jim, Calla, Parker, Lincoln, Harold and I all waited in the alley for Trav to turn the corner.  Taite wanted to join us so he ran through the backyard, came through the gate door, shut the gate door, and turned to run toward us.  When I looked, he was standing there calmly saying, "Ouch, ouch, ouch."  (He has the emotional control of a patient 30-year-old!)  
"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.
"I ran into the cactus," he said.  I looked down and there were cactus spines all over both of his pant legs.  I pulled them off until I didn't see anymore.
"It still hurts," he said.
"Where?" I asked.
"Right here," he said and with his finger drew a big circle around the entirety of both of his legs. ;-)  We pulled his pants forward and found spines as thick as toothpicks poking straight out of his legs.  I couldn't help but laugh.  He didn't feel back to 100% until after he got a warm bath.
"Um, next time I'll go around the cactus," he declared.  Very wise.

Travis' meetings start tomorrow.  We are all looking forward to spending the day with Harold, Sharon, Lynda, Laura and her girls, then getting to see the Family Heritage crew.  Always a good time!  And I'll be curious to see what lessons we learn at the Starr Pass Resort. ;-)