Many people make trips to ‘town’ to fulfill their basic needs, including entertainment. For us, this trip is not an option. It is a necessity.

This week, we planned to spend our Saturday morning in the big city of Rio Rancho to pick up supplies at Home Depot, enjoy a savory green chile meal, wash several weeks worth of dirty laundry and linens, and stock up on provisions to keep us going for two weeks off the grid. The goal was to be back in time to catch the tail end of the mud truck races at the Fairgrounds, and watch fireworks from the overlook.

We split up on this particular occasion so Ben and Radar could take the new 250 gal water tank and some lumber home in the rented HD pickup. I stayed back with the Saturn to wrap up the laundry and visit Albertsons.

Everything on Bens side worked out exceptionally well with a 3-hour turnaround. I noticed on my side the higher cost of living… I seem to remember these cheeses being around the 5 dollar mark in Cocoa’s Aldi!!

On the other hand, where else can you find this exceptional selection of salsas and spicy smotherings?!

The result of our pillage is a truckful of groceries in buckets, freshly bundled laundry, more supplies-in-wait, and one very tired pup.

We made it to the races around 4:00 to find them giving out the awards, so there was no action to be had there. But, not to be left without entertainment, the Ford decided to conk out on us on our way home to unload!

Yes, my husband is amazing!! He patiently worked through the stalled-out situation by coaxing our little red wagon to sip some fuel and climb the hill. We made it back to camp before the sun dipped behind the ridge.

After all that, the last thing we wanted to do was leave again in the truck to go anywhere. That meant foregoing the fireworks, but we enjoyed our own light show and some cold beer!!