Travel day to Santa Fe, NM and Trailer Ranch RV Park

June 20, 2011, Hacienda RV Park, Las Cruces.
We were up early for us at 5:30. I wanted to get on the road for Santa Fe as soon as possible to avoid some of the forecasted winds and hot temps. Between Las Cruces and Santa Fe winds were expected to be gusting to 30 or 40 mph out of the WNW. However, the bulk of the winds rise up during the heat of the day, so I was hoping an early start would keep us out of the highest gusts. We had about 300 miles to cover.
We got on the road by 7:00 after saying goodbye to my Father and Karen as they are staying for a few more days. For some reason the GPS took us through downtown Las Cruces on the way to I-25. Fortunately there was very light traffic.

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I-25 for the most part is a very smooth and wide interstate. However, there aren't many exits as it cuts through the center of New Mexico. We could feel the west winds buffeting us as we drove through some of the steep valleys and small canyons. We were slowly gaining altitude as we pushed north and the temps stayed in the 70's throughout the trip.

I periodically checked my TST TPMS tire pressure and temperature monitor noting that the tires were much cooler in the 80's and the average pressures <118.  However, I began to notice that the left front trailer tire was loosing pressure and got down to 103 psi before I pulled off to the side of the interstate to inspect it. I couldn't find any source for a leak but noted that the valve stem transponder for the TST TPMS wasn't tight. I tightened it up and check the others as well. 

TST TPM valve stem transponder

We continued down the road as I searched for a service center on this barren stretch of I-25 north of Socorro.  The pressure came back up to 105 but nonetheless, I was concerned as the other tire on it's shade side was running at 115.
We came upon an exit for a fuel center so I stopped to take on fuel and look for air. The tire seemed to be holding the air as a result of tightening the transponder valve stem.  After fueling up, I checked inside and learned the only air available was from a quarter operated pump. I was leary of using that as I needed 110lbs of air pressure and I know most of those coin operated pumps won't give you that much pressure. In fact, I would probably loose air trying to air it up. I have my own compressor, however there weren't any ac outlets available to power it and the gas station wasn't being helpful.
We looked around back and discovered a Lays Potato Chip van driver loading his truck from a storage unit. I asked if I could use his power for my compressor and he was more than helpful. I got plugged in an aired up the errant tire to 110 lbs. I reattached the transponder and it read 107 psi.  Good enough!  As we traveled the tires heated up again and the pressure came up to 113. It maintained good pressure for the next two hours to our destination. So I'm guessing it was the loose transponder. I'll have to check it out good before our next move.
We chose Trailer Ranch RV Resort as it had generally good reviews to include reviews from other bloggers that we've met. It is pricey at $43 a night but it's in town and shaded and we have some wind protection. I should note that we arrived about 12:30 and the temps were in the low 70's. I'm loving the cool breeze.

The city bus stops just outside the park and will take us into the town if we decide to use it. It's certainly not a big park but cozy in an urban kinda way... We can hear the traffic of Cerrillos Rd but, we are in town!
We got set up pretty quickly on our concrete slab. We have full hook-ups to include cable and 50amp service though I'm thinking we won't be needing the air-conditioners with lows forecasted for the upper 40's to low 50's tonight! We are only staying three nights so hopefully we will jam some interesting outings into the next couple of days.