Attending FMCA Rally In Farmington New Mexico (Four Corners Area)

(Farmington, New Mexico) 75 degrees, sunny

We left the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and drove north  up to the Four Corners area of New Mexico.  We are attending a FMCA (Family Motor Coach Rally) in Farmington.  It is a popular regional rally and there are about 300 coaches here at the fairgrounds  We have a water and electric site and within easy walking distance to all the activities. 

This is our first regional rally and we have enjoyed it very much.  It is on a much smaller scale than the large international rallies.  New motor coaches are not on display and there are  fewer vendors.  We joined a local chapter called Cuatro Estados (four corners) that get together in this area for monthly campouts.  They are an adventurous bunch and we liked some of the trips they have planned in the past.  They are going to Quartsite in January and we thought going with a group would be lots of fun. 

The classes that FMCA rallies provide are really great.  In the past we have learned so much from attending them.  We are much more relaxed now and picked some seminars for fun this time.  I attended one on geocaching. It was well presented and I found out there is a Droid app that can be added to my phone for $10.  It shows you where all the caches are in your area and by GPS shows you how to get close to where the cache is hidden.   The speaker told us there are one and half million geocaches hidden in the world.  Just in the area near the fairgrounds there are 45.  It looks like a fun hobby.  You can even download them into your Garmin and as you are driving it will signal that one is nearby.  The speaker was very funny and told us lots of stories about ones he has found.  There are even traveling ones you can pick up and take to another point.  The "owner" tracks where his cache on a website. 

John learned how to keep our aluminum wheels clean with some special products.  We will let you know how well it works soon. 

Yesterday, Jimmy and I participated in the pet parade.  It was fun.  Jimmy dressed up as a shark.  After all he loves Jimmy Buffett.  He did not win a ribbon but got a big bag of treats.  He was very happy. 

Vendors are very popular at these events.  It's a great place to get our favorite product to clean the coach called The Solution.  We purchased a flag pole to put up on the ladder in the back of our coach.  It can hold up to two flags and is easy to store when traveling.  I'll post a picture soon.  We also received a few  coupons to stay at some RV parks in the area.  We purchased a Wingman to add to our regular antenna. It is supposed to improve UHF band reception and performance.   

When we first arrived we went out to a interesting place called Bista/De-Na-Zin Wlderness to hike.  This is a very remote Corps of Engineers park about 37 miles outside of Farmington.  There are hikes that go out to some weird and interesting rock formations.  It is very desolate and a GPS is recommended.  There are not any trail markers, however, we were able to follow footsteps of humans and horses that lead out to the hoodoos.  Here are few pictures.  We also found lots of petrified wood (one log was over 40 feet long).  There is very little vegetation. 

Petrified wood

Petrified wood

 

We had read to be sure to hike out at least 2 miles. All of a sudden out of nowhere these amazing hoodoos appear. When we visited there was no one there. What an incredible place to see. The hiking for the most part is easy. Just be very careful because you can get lost very easily. 

 

 

 

Today was the highlight of the rally.  Several of the members had organized a four wheel trip.  We all met up this morning and drove out for some fun. There were a least 25 four wheel vehicles (mostly Jeeps). Some people in our group were very experienced but most of us were novices.  It was very well organized and several volunteers were at strategic points to show you how to get up or down a hill.  It was so much fun.  Below is a video with some pictures. 

We have only done this once before by ourselves in Colorado.  Going with a group is the way to go and certainly less stressful.  We found out there is a Four Wheelers FMCA chapter that has rallys all over the country.  We might have to check that out.  Our jeep would need some modifying if we got serious about this sport.  You will see a few of those folks in our group. 

 

Tomorrow we leave and head south to the White Sands National Monument.  We are meeting up with two couples that we worked with on a NOMADS project in Eustis Florida.  Our leaders (Eileen and John) are volunteers at White Sands and had invited us to come visit.  A few days ago Eileen called and said "so what are you doing this winter?  Would you like to volunteer at White Sands for a couple of months?"  So, starting in a couple of days we will officially be volunteers too with he National Park Service.  Life is good!