relo to Sandia mountains outside ABQ

The weather was still tolerable in Capitan but I’d already maxxed out my stay. There were a couple options; I chose the Sandias because I wanted to run an errand in Albuquerque.

breaking camp

Woke up early and broke camp. I transferred tank water into the aquatainer I use to water the dog and clean up. Filling the aquatainers makes water fills easier at the spigot.¹

picking up water

I stopped at the nearby day use area and got a free fill with the prior permission of the camp host. I took on ~15gal, which is about average for one of my 14d outings.

errands in town

• cruised for manager’s specials at the grocery store: pork steaks, some malt-0-meal cereal, etc.
• d/l media and updated devices at the local library. The Opal travel router had latched onto the library’s wifi before I had the campervan parked.
• picked up general delivery mail from the post office. My first shipment from Escapees; well-packaged and tracked.
• dropped off trash

the drive

The drive was about 3 hours at my relaxed speed and stopping at rest areas so Muffin and I could pee. I had Verizon the whole time, and maybe a 20min stretch where AT&T dropped out. I remain unconvinced that AT&T coverage is notably better than TMO in rural areas nowadays. Several years ago AT&T was definitely better in the boonies.

errands in ABQ

Elevation was <5,000ft so temps were higher. All the concrete didn’t help either. And it was a temp spike. By the time I got to ABQ it was ~88F. Ugh.

I stopped at ABQ Guns to pick up some Ballistol, as seen on C&Rsenal.² I had to use the Ballistol locator because I hadn’t seen it in stores. Amazon also won’t ship to lockers because it’s “hazardous” (it’s not). While I was there I picked up a couple boxes of LRP even though $11 is more than I’d prefer to pay. The shortage is still fresh on my mind…

I stopped at wally world for a normal reprovisioning. I could have made it another 14d at least on my existing pantry, but see below.

up into the mountains

As I climbed the ~2,500ft ambient temps dropped steadily. By the time I got to camp it was 75F, and this was the hottest day in the foreseeable forecasts. I’ll probably get a hard freeze up here on Saturday (20F?). Luckily refilled propane in Capitan.

The last mile of the Forest Road approaching camp is quite uneven with large rocks. This keeps most of the cars away. The dirt roads leading from the FR to boondocking sites is deeply rutted. As in “might not be able to get out if it rains heavily”. There is some rain forecast, which is why I made sure to have plenty of food and water. I might get marooned until the dirt roads dry up.

1. when only the main tank needs filling I can run the potable water hose over to the spigot and blast away. No sloshing, no schlepping heavy water, etc. ↩

2. It’s a play on words. C&R = “curios and relics”, antique guns that are less regulated under US gun law. Plus arsenal. ↩