Better Safe Than Sorry!!

I'm all about safety, especially when it comes to driving, and I'm NOT a fan of driving in the wind.  All good weather must come to an end, but I wish it had not picked the day I was to change locations.

My plan was to move on down to the Escapees Saguaro Co-Op in Benson, making the drive to Tombstone and Bisbee a little shorter.  Wouldn't you know, about 6 am the wind came up.  It got worse and worse until I was rocking and rolling while still parked with my jacks down!!

With only a short drive of 29 miles ahead, I wasn't worried ... I'll just wait until 11:00 to leave.  I made one quick trip to the office to let them know I was pulling out, when a gentleman there said if I was going East, it was no problem driving in the wind.

I packed up, pulled out of the site and hooked up my car when I got a phone call.  It was the gal in the office informing me that a rig had just come in from the East and the wind was TERRIBLE.  DON'T DRIVE IN IT!!  Yikes!!  So the office set me up out front (no charge) to wait a couple more hours.

Hmmmm ... no TV, dogs are antsy and in my lap so I can't crochet.  Finally, the wind seemed to die down a little, so I left at 1:00, figuring to drive 55 safely.  That part worked out great, but about 4 miles out of town, I hit construction.  Initially we were cruising right along at 20 mph, but that soon ended as I spent the better part of an hour going only 3-5 mph ... even downhill!!

In the end, it took me two hours to drive 28 miles to my turnoff.  My cautiousness brought consequences.  This Escapees park is packed ... always!  Those empty spaces from people moving out were quickly filled by noon and I was out of luck.  I'm dry camping for now and praying a spot opens up.  I'm only allowed three days dry camping, then I have to leave.

No sooner did I pull in, than friends Dave and Lynn Cross who have a lot here, stopped by to be sure I made it ok.  There's a LOT going on here, so with a quick hello to Jonathan, Lynn drove me over to the office in their amazing little golf cart ... I'll get pictures later ... for Friday Fish Dinner tickets.  Then she gave me a quick tour of the facilities on the way to the end of the Casita Tour, where I saw an amazing quilter setup!!

This park has park models, casitas big and small, along with many lots just having RV's.  The spaces are wide so you can't hear your neighbor's TV and are all gravel.  By now it was 4:00 and Happy Hour time, followed by hot dogs and a movie, but to tell you the truth, I was pretty tired.  By the time I got the dogs and Jonathan fed and situated, I sat down on the couch and just couldn't get back up.  

My view is pretty spectacular!!  This park sits up on the side of the mountain looking down into the valley below.  The weather is perfect ... 70-something during the day, about 38 last night.  

I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.  I've heard Nick Russell of Gypsy Journal fame tell people that many times, and I could hear him whispering in my ear ... pretty loudly ... that it's always better to live another day than test the Wind Gods.  I certainly hope they find a spot for me here, else I'm going to be trying to squeeze in to the park in Tombstone.  Hopefully today will be a settle in day so tomorrow I can hit the road running for some wild cowboy action in the Old West!!