3-22-2025
H: 80ºF L: 44ºF
Boondocking, Las Cruces, New Mexico
It’s a travel day! We are boondocking for a few days near fossil tracks in Las Cruces, NM.
We stopped at a charging station in Las Cruces, NM and found a pigeon who had flown into an electrical wire and fell to the ground. She had an injured wing. Many people saw it happen but no one helped this poor bird, lying on hot pavement and unable to move. We put her in a box and called around to find a wildlife rehab center able to take her. Luckily, Second Chance Wildlife Rescue offered to help so we drove her one hour to El Paso, TX. We kept her quiet and talked softly to her while applying pressure to her bleeding wing. Unfortunately, her wing was too damaged to repair so she was humanely euthanized. This sweet bird knew we were trying to help her. We wish her well as she travels on to her next life.
3-23-2025
H: 79°F L: 46°F
Boondocking, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Our boondocking site is not nearly as spectacular as our Ajo, AZ site was as it’s just a parking lot and we learned a mass shooting took place in town yesterday at a Las Cruces park. But we have really nice neighbors, Rachel and her husband. Rachel is a pastor and author.
3-24-2025
H: 80ºF L: 47ºF
Boondocking, Las Cruces, New Mexico
It’s my birthday! I may or may not be a little bit obnoxious in reminding Daniel every 15 minutes that it’s my birthday. Whatever. It’s my prerogative because it’s my birthday!
When we were in Tucson, AZ, I spent some time at a really cool store: Pop Cycle. The store features artwork from many artists, mostly local artists. I bought a print by Emily Martin while there and Daniel surprised me with my other favorite print from the same artist. Thanks, honey!
We went to Hatch, NM which is known as the Chili Capital of the World because the area grows a lot of chili peppers. I got a huge bag of dried chilis for $5. This small town has some fun things to see as you’re driving around.
We stopped at a wonderful gem and rock shop in Hatch, NM. Hatch Gems & Giftshop owner, Jose Franco, has been collecting rocks since he was 40 years old. Mr. Franco is very nice and just recently opened his shop. He has a lot of neat rocks and great prices! He even gave me a piece of trinitite, sand turned to a glass-like substance due to the heat of the first nuclear bomb test, when he found out it was my birthday. He assured me it was no longer radioactive.
Next we went to White Sands National Monument. It’s 275 square miles of gypsum sand which is formed from eroded selenite crystals in the mountains. These dunes are anchored by a water basin with no outlet. Apparently, this type of sand dune is very rare. We had fun walking on the sand as the sun was setting. We even saw a coyote who stopped to check us out.
3-25-2025
H: 83ºF L: 49ºF
Walmart, Socorro, New Mexico
We got up early to take a hike to see the tracks at Prehistoric Trackways National Monument. These are not dinosaur tracks – they are actually 280 million years old and predate dinosaurs. The tracks are of amphibians, reptiles, insects, and plants. Daniel was geeking out walking along the river bottom (which kind of looked like badly poured cement) looking for tracks.
Before we packed up our campsite, I noticed a man acting strangely and pacing around the RVs. Daniel had gone back to Deming, NM to pick up his new phone (he has gone a week without a phone after dropping his old phone) while I got the camper ready for travel. Out of the four RVs in the area, I was the only person present besides this man. He made me nervous. Luckily, our neighbors came back from a hike so I was able to talk to them until Daniel got home.
We are staying overnight in a Walmart parking lot on our way to Santa Fe, NM.
3-26-2025
H: 76ºF L: 46ºF
Boondocking, Santa Fe, New Mexico
It’s a travel day! We are staying on BLM land near Santa Fe. We have a view of the mountains and city lights. There is hardly anyone else out here so it’s really peaceful.
3-27-2025
H: 73°F L: 44°F
Boondocking, Santa Fe, New Mexico
We dropped Rosie the Cybertruck off at a free charger located at the water treatment plant. We are finding that free slow chargers are available in a lot of locations.
We went to Santa Fe and explored the downtown area. I love all the adobe buildings! They look like they rose out the earth. We went to the Palace of the Governor where they have an Indian Artisan Marketplace offering some of the world’s best handmade turquoise jewelry. I found a bracelet that I love!
We went in the oldest house and oldest church in Santa Fe. The house was built in 1646 but is thought to have been built on the remains of an Indian structure dating to ~1200. The church was built in the early 1600s.
We went to the Santa Fe Botanical Garden. It looks like they are working on building the gardens but the areas we walked in were nice.
We went to the Santa Fe Railyard Arts District. We didn’t stop at any of the galleries but it is a neat repurpose of this area. A coffee shop had a cool UFO next to it.
3-28-2025
H: 69ºF L: 44ºF
Boondocking, Santa Fe, New Mexico
We dropped Rosie the Cybertruck off for more free charging and then Daniel did some work on the camper. We’ve always thought that the weakest part of the camper is the slide out. Since the dust storm in Deming, NM, the slide out sounds really bad when it’s moving in and out. We’ve also noticed that it’s sagging a little in the middle. So, Daniel is addressing those issues while I look for a new camper just in case we need a new home on wheels.
Stats
Expenses:
- Tesla Cybertruck fuel: $64.82
- Tesla Model X fuel: $0
- Campsite: $0
- Camping memberships: $38.26
- Food: $0
Tesla Cybertruck miles driven: 342 (257 kWh)
Tesla Model X miles driven: 913.7 (263.2 kWh)
Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 1
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Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email: happyvegancampers@gmail.com
