Deming, NM

Finally west Texas is a memory. What amazes me the most out here though is the massive spread of the cities. Not that large cities don’t exist back east but them seem so much more compact than the sprawling avenues and streets out here. El Paso was massive and it seemed to go on forever. As we reached New Mexico the weather started to sour. Here I am, escaping the wintry doldrums of Pennsylvania only to find another cold spell upon us here in the Southwest. This comes as a surprise to me. We had planned to stay at the Low-Hi RV Park in Deming. We pulled in to find why it was so named. It’s a Loner On Wheels Park. This means that it caters to and most of its’ inhabitants are solo RVers. I’m thinking we’re in trouble now. But the sign also says that the public is welcome. OK. That’s a good sign. We park at the office and walk in. The lady manning the office is on the phone. She looks up to see two of us, and her eyes drop down again. Not a hello. Not a “I’ll be with you in a moment”. Nothing. She continues her phone conversation. And this is not a business chat. I overhear her talking about going to the grocery story and what she purchased and how cold it was outside. I walked to the desk and she still didn’t look up. Robin and I smile at each other figuring we’ll give her a minute or so. Nine minutes later, she’s still on the phone so we decided that this park really is not open to couples or the public. God Bless the LOWs but I’ve never felt like such an outcast since I mistakenly went to Jones Beach where I found we were the only two heterosexuals. About face, out the door and into the rigs. No place to go but Walmart. We pulled in and right off the bat a security car rolls up. Oh no. This is not a good sign either. The guard jumps out of his car, comes to my window and asks if I plan on staying the night. I nod a yes. He tells me then that I should park on the other side with the other RVs. He tells me he will personally escort me and shows Robin where to park the truck for safety. As I’m driving around the lot, he gets out of his car and personally guides me between two other rigs, snugging me in perfectly and safe. I pulled next to a renovated bus from the 50’s that was more art deco that I’d seen in awhile. Nostalgia in a Walmart lot. Life doesn’t get much better. And the security guard  was like having a personal park host guide us to the ultimate spot. Before his exit he tells me he’ll be on duty all night and he’ll make sure nobody bothers us. One last item. Should we need anything, he tells me to  just flag him down. I was amazed. We awoke to a frigid morning. Looking across the highway to the mountains we saw snow on the caps. The local news tells us that Interstate 40 is closed in northern NM due to the unexpected snow. Arizona is looking better and better all the time.