Milepost 1807:  Somewhere near Flagstaff, AZ.  Elevation 7,000 feet.

We are absolutely in the middle of nowhere.  It’s a place I had hoped to reach before we started, and I got my wish.  Big time.

After five nights of staying in hotels – at first because it was too cold to stay in the RV (we need electricity to run the furnace),  and lately because we couldn’t find an open RV park in the right location along the route, we have finally found a happy settlement.

We are camping in the Root 66 RV Park  just off the freeway at Sun Valley, Arizona.  The lights are on, the furnace is running, and Kaye fired up the kitchen range to cook some supper.  Our very first meal in the RV.  Very, very satisfying.

The headwinds have been relentless and brutal for three days now, testing the diesel engine on every seemingly endless upgrade.  So the highlight for me today was coasting about 10 miles downhill into the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and crossing the Rio Grande.  Later in the afternoon we crossed the continental divide and headed downhill toward California, winding through canyons of bold red rock.

The “Dangerous Crosswinds” signs in the canyons have wind socks mounted on them so drivers can see how strong the winds are and from which direction they are coming.  No kidding.

After passing Gallup, New Mexico, we left the rugged cliffs of red rock and ended up on the barren grasslands, mile after mile.  We saw the sign late in the afternoon, the first RV campground since leaving New Mexico.  We pulled off the highway, cruised on in, and found the best news of all, a campsite with full hookups for $20 a night.  Dude!

The view from here is a wide panorama, and the horizon is distant.  Mostly all open range grazing land apparently.  It’s expansive and beautiful and monochromatic.   Sometimes one color is perfect.

I’m certainly not feeling crowded tonight; there’s lots of space here.