{Bummed} Have to cancel our first trip of the year

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Frizlefrak

Frizlefrak

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 30, 2012
Posts
3,779
Location
El Paso, Texas
We were set to roll out on Wednesday for Ruidoso on our first trip of the year.....Weatherman is predicting 25 mph wind.  If those speeds are sustained, count on 40+ MPH gusts.  That's enough for me to tap out.....not worth the risk. 

We were sooooo looking forward to this..... :(  :(  :(

 
I feel for you Friz. I have had to cancel my first two trips this year due to my car not running like it should. I have decided to fly to California instead.
 
My first trip of the year is coming up in 14 days, to Moab. How come it seems like the closer you get to departure date "things" large and small begin to appear on the radar screen?
 
Oscar Mike said:
My first trip of the year is coming up in 14 days, to Moab. How come it seems like the closer you get to departure date "things" large and small begin to appear on the radar screen?
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No doubt....seems like Murphy's Law starts to kick in the closer you get.  Weather goes south, stuff breaks on the RV or tow vehicle, crisis erupts at work.....

Thanks all for commiserating with me.....I was watching the 10 day forecast a few days ago and it was calling for 15 mph winds for Wed.  I can still tow ok in that, and I told the wife we were cleared for takeoff.  Now "Doppler Dave" on channel 7 says 25 +  Thanks Dave.  :(

Spring time in the desert southwest....gotta love it. 

 
If you don't drive in the wind in the spring in the Southwest, you just don't go.  Everyone has their own threshhold, and our trip from AZ to WY in the past month had a few extra lay days based on wind.  I would go in 25 and just be careful, try to start out and finish earlier in the day.  Winds tend to be heaviest in the afternoon.  As you get more experience handling the rig in wind you will know your limits.  For us, driving 35' A plus towing shorter billboard, a Westfalia.  7+' tall and 18' long orr so.  At least I didn't have my roof box and canoe on the roof!

 
If you leave at 2AM, you can get to Ruidoso before the wind gets too bad. Don't forget to tour Ft. Stanton. I helped build the TB replica tent across from the museum. I volunteered there for a month almost a year ago.
 
Yah, bummer for sure. We're in a similar boat for later in the season - we just learned that college move-in day for my eldest is the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. It's only 3 hours from home but just far enough where it does not make sense to keep our current plans. Looking into possible camping near her college but Labor Day weekend fills up fast around here so not sure we'll find anything.
 
Bill....I can tow in 25.....it's the 40 mph gusts that freak me out.  This last week was calm.....go figure.
 
halfwright said:
If you leave at 2AM, you can get to Ruidoso before the wind gets too bad. Don't forget to tour Ft. Stanton. I helped build the TB replica tent across from the museum. I volunteered there for a month almost a year ago.
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Definitely.  We're staying at Bonito Hollow, so we're very close.  I haven't been to Ft. Stanton since the 80's....
 
When I was there, the group that runs the museum--Friends of Ft. Stanton or something like that-- was thinking about putting in an RV park behind the fire station.  I don't know if the idea ever got off the ground or not.  I stayed at the BLM horse park about 2 miles down the road.  They had a bike race and I had to move to the barracks for the cavers and other volunteers. Both had electric on site. Filled my tank there also and dumped in the sewer system at the fort. I really enjoyed my time there. The only man in the maintenance department retired about a month after I left. It is a shame the state of New Mexico will not put more money into restoring the place.

SIDE NOTE:
The man that invented the bendable metal frames for eye glasses was the one that paid for the new roofs on the silos. He lives in Ruidoso.
 
NM by and large is a poor state.  They actually do pretty well with what they have to work with, but I agree, restoring historic places actually draws money into the state by promoting tourism.  I'd like to see Lincoln advertised more for its historical significance.

The whole area suffered a huge setback in 2012 with the Little Bear Fire charring 45K acres in the area around Bonito Lake.  The fire was seriously mismanaged, and cost over 200 people their homes and destroyed my childhood stomping grounds for decades to come.  But the people are resilient, and they've done a marvelous job of getting on with their lives and rebuilding. 
 
I was born in Las Cruces before they were shooting V-2's at White Sands. I lived there until I went in the army, then returned for 6 years. I have followed the goings-on in the state capitol.  There are many things wonderful about the state, but money management is not one of them. I do not think that the state is that poor. It is just that the politicians are that crooked. 
 
halfwright said:
There are many things wonderful about the state, but money management is not one of them. I do not think that the state is that poor. It is just that the politicians are that crooked.
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That goes without saying.  ;)

I still love NM. I grew up in Roswell...was an Air Force brat, my old man was stationed at Walker.  He got an all expense paid trip to SE Asia, and when he got back, we stayed.  Spent my entire youth camping in the Lincoln National Forest....every time we go up there, it's like coming home.
 
Frizlefrak said:
That goes without saying.  ;)

I still love NM. I grew up in Roswell...was an Air Force brat, my old man was stationed at Walker.  He got an all expense paid trip to SE Asia, and when he got back, we stayed.  ng home.
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Were you at Roswell when it became known as 'Boom Town' due to the Atlas missiles blowing up?  I served 20 years USAF in the Minuteman missile system. (North and South Dakota)
 
Bill N said:
Were you at Roswell when it became known as 'Boom Town' due to the Atlas missiles blowing up?  I served 20 years USAF in the Minuteman missile system. (North and South Dakota)
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Was in Roswell from '66 to '89.  I was born in '63....don't have any memory of the Atlas missiles....though I've been down in the silos many, many times as a teenager...  ;)
 
Well, did you find something interesting to do on your windy weekend?  I towed mine to the RV repair shop  60 or so miles away in the winds, up a 9% grade! and all with my little half ton  ;D ............and found out I'm screwed :'(. Hopefully yours is going better.
 
Well, we had 55 mph gusts today.  Stayed home and shampooed the carpets.  What a thrilling weekend LOL. 

What's wrong with your trailer Getinaway?
 
I was driving westbound on I-10 today near Desert Hot Springs when a gust of wind hit a semi truck ahead of me.  For a split second I could see daylight under his trailer's upwind duallies - then the trailer came back down.

I backed off in a hurry but the truck just continued along as if nothing happened.  It didn't seem to affect his course of travel at all.
 
Lou Schneider said:
I was driving westbound on I-10 today near Desert Hot Springs when a gust of wind hit a semi truck ahead of me.  For a split second I could see daylight under his trailer's upwind duallies - then the trailer came back down.

I backed off in a hurry but the truck just continued along as if nothing happened.  It didn't seem to affect his course of travel at all.
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I've seen that happen before too.  VERY scary....
 
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