“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I’ll bet they’d live a lot differently.” – Bill Watterson
“I think that’s the galaxy…” Rueben and I were standing outside our first stop in New Mexico, looking at an amazing night sky. Yup, it was the galaxy! Neither one of us had ever seen it like this before, so it was a truly special experience that we’ll never forget.
For our first foray into RV life, we decided to go through New Mexico up to Colorado. We made it as far as New Mexico, but it was still great! Chosa Campground (right outside of Whites City, NM) was our first stop, and our first time boondocking or dry camping – parking away from civilization (or in a developed campground) without hookups for water, electricity, or sewage.
We, well Rueben mainly, did a lot of work on the RV in order to prepare ourselves for boondocking. We got solar panels and a solar generator to charge our phones and laptops, fans to cool us off instead of the AC, a gas generator in case we really needed the AC, a huge water bladder with a pump to fill the fresh tank, and 5 gallon water jugs for extra drinking water. Camping away from everyone, in nature, is a really amazing experience. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it!
This campground is incredibly close to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, but since we’ve been really careful about not going to public places (only going to get groceries/supplies or pick up food), we didn’t go. My FOMO (fear of missing out) was on overdrive! I have to remind myself that I can’t see everything, and the stuff we did see was pretty great. Plus, we want to be as safe as possible.
Our Jeep and our RV are about the same size!
This little guy was in our bathroom!
We stayed one night at Chosa because there isn’t really anything there but a large fenced in area for campers, but it was so convenient and clean that we knew we’d go back. Our next stop was a week in Alamogordo, mainly because it’s in between Lincoln National Forest and White Sands National Park. We stayed at Mountain Meadows RV Park right outside of the city, and it was such a great space! Beautiful scenery, dark night skies, and super friendly hosts. I also love when RV parks have laundry so I don’t have to wash clothes in the tub 🙂
The park is also great for bird watching! So many finches, sparrows, and even quail! 
Next up – the beautiful but tough hike we took in Lincoln
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