April 11, 2017
We drove out of Sunny Flat campground around noon, leaving at the very last moment so as to enjoy every precious minute in Nature’s Paradise. Our mileage today is only 10 miles, so no hurry to leave our beautiful site. Although our destination is 10 miles, it took us an hour to get there since we not only changed states from Arizona to New Mexico, but also went from Arizona Time Zone to Mountain Time Zone, one hour later.
We arrive at our destination, Mountain Valley Lodge and RV Park, in Rodeo, NM, and our hosts, Dan and Troy meet us and help us settle into our space. The first thing we notice are the birds scurrying around the numerous feeders making all manner of calls and songs. The birds are actually more abundant here than in Cave Creek, due to the pond, water fountain, grass and trees yet without the variety of Cave Creek. This birding area is smaller in Rodeo, so the birds congregate in this “Mountain Valley” oasis in the desert.
The Mountain Valley Lodge has cabins, rooms and RV spaces to rent for the night, week or month. The motif is western and Rodeo bills itself as the the “western most town” in NM. This wonderful lodge has a laundry facility, showers and WI FI available… but they do NOT serve breakfast, LOL. We were VERY glad to have a shower, as Cave Creek not only doesn’t have electricity but no showers either, unless you bathe in the stream. We also did laundry, recharged our RV batteries, cell phones and computers – although it had been GREAT to be out of range of the political scene and all the war mongering…
On our first night here, the moon was still quite full and beautiful as it came up over the Pelo Nullo Mountain range to the east. As I walked around the property waiting for the moon to breech the Pelo, I photographed the wonderful subtle accent lighting around the buildings, pond and green house. This place is a delight in the middle of tiny Rodeo, a very peaceful welcoming and serene respite, sort of like a mirage shimmering in the middle of nowhere.
The grounds and public areas are well cared for, pruned and clean. Great care is taken to preserve the beauty of the desert and make a haven for birds.
Since we are just an hour from Bisbee, we made one last trek to our hippie/artist town to make sure we still feel the same way about this wonderful town and get our fix of a community with NO fast food restaurants but galleries galore. As we drive around town Patti takes phone numbers of places for sale, maybe??? Who would come and visit us in Bisbee, Arizona?
Alas, we take to the road again and travel northbound to Abiquiu, NM – Georgia O’Keeffe’s nature inspiration.
gypsyroadgallery 