Jan 20, 2023, Day 2 Deming, NM

There is lots of sunshine this morning, but the temperature is around 22 degrees with a high of 52 degrees in the forecast. The air is dry here and even when it’s in the 40s with the sun shining, it’s quite comfortable.

We learned yesterday that metal detecting is allowed in public parks in New Mexico and Ron decided to give it a try at the park nearby. I had some work to do and wanted to clean some in the camper. With 2 adults and a big dog, it needs a good cleaning about every 4 – 5 days. For the trip we bought a Bissell PetHairEraser hand-held vacuum cleaner. It’s works great and is fast at sweeping rugs, furniture, and floors. We also bought a Swiffer to ‘dust & mop’ which also works great for the small amount of flooring we have, and it leaves a fresh scent. We are also constantly re-organizing, finding better spots for things as we move west.

Ron had some success at the park with various finds, but the most interesting find is a Saint Benedict medallion. It is the first religious medal he has found and in researching it, we learned it is a Christian sacramental medal containing symbols and text related to the life of Saint Benedict of Nursia. We also learned it is a symbol of opening doors and difficult paths, protects against evil, vice, diseases, and promotes good health.

Our next campground is Kartchner Caverns State Park in Arizona, and we are excited to get there. We leave Sunday, and it takes about 3 hours’ drive. It was voted Campendiums 2022 Camper Choice campground and looks amazing with 7 miles of hiking, caverns to explore, the famous town of Tombstone is nearby which is on our bucket list.

We stocked up on groceries today since we’ll be in a State Park for a week, then travel to another state park, McDowell Mountain, which is east of Phoenix.