Happy New Year – here’s to a wonderful 2026!
Early January felt very little like winter in southern Colorado, with high temperatures in the 60’s and overnight lows in the 30’s and 40’s. However, as our departure date approaches on January 10th, it appears that winter will indeed visit with highs forecast in the 20’s and even teens. So, on January 8th, we hitched up and headed south – and hopefully out of the cold and snow that’s incoming.
Our first night is in Rio Rancho, just north of Albuquerque at the Stagecoach RV – a favorite along this route. It’s still chilly overnight but at least stays above freezing. With this cold front spread all across the northern tier of New Mexico, we opt to continue south along I-25 versus west on I-40. Our next night is in another favorite park, the Las Cruces KOA. We enjoyed two nights here, visiting with a good friend and exploring downtown Las Cruces where we enjoyed delicious pizza at Zeffiro’s Pizzeria. Offering very unique pizzas, we sampled both their Green Chili Chicken Enchilada and the Potato Rosemary. We’ll be back!
KOA Las Cruces, NM
Zeffiro’s Pizzeria Downtown, Las Cruces, NM
Our next stop is a quick overnight at the KOA in Benson, AZ. This is a first time visit for us, but seems better than others we’ve stayed at. It’s further off the highway, and provides plenty of room in their big sites. From Benson it’s a short drive to Mesa, Arizona where we join friends at the Encore Mesa Spirit. As is typical of many of the Encore parks in Arizona – a mix of RV sites and permanent park models. Mesa Spirt is older, and some of the sites are small. But, also as typical, the calendar is full of activities and entertainment for residents. Mesa is a great place for resupplying various items, propane, groceries and moving from using the onboard water tank to a fully filtered, soften system now that there is no longer a freezing concern.
KOA, Benson, AZ
Encore Mesa Spirt, Mesa, AZ
Encore Mesa Spirt, Mesa, AZ
2026 Circling of the Montana, Quartzsite, AZ
From Mesa, it’s about 3 hours directly west to Quartzite, AZ. As in years past, we’re here to meet other Montana Owners, just in time for the opening of the “Big Tent”. This is the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show, one of the biggest RV shows in the world, bringing up to a million visitors to the Arizona desert annually. The BLM lands around Quartzsite are loaded with RVs this year, and the weather is the best we’ve every experienced. Comfortable 70’s during day and crisp 50’s overnight.
From Quartzite we’re off to Yuma, and another new park, Del Pueblo RV Resort in south Yuma. More from there…
Small Home - Big Yard 
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