Being a Dream Catcher in Deming, NM

Continuing with our trip from Ehrenberg, AZ to Florida, we had to take some time at a couple of places along the way... partly to balance out our fuel costs, and partly to create intentional delays to get us through major cities on Sundays, when traffic is usually lighter.

One of those places that we stopped to create an intentional delay was one of our member parks, Dreamcatcher RV Park, in Deming, NM. Out of all the Escapees parks we have been to, this one feels the most like "home" to us... referring, of course, to our now defunct home park with All Seasons Resorts, Rogers Lake RV Resort at Dowagiac, Michigan.

Just as a reminder, you can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them, and then simply "X" out of them to go back.

The brochure for Dreamcatcher RV Park, Deming, NM.

We always enjoyed life at Rogers Lake, as the clubhouse was always open, the coffee pot was always on, tables were always out for puzzles and games, there was a big screen TV to watch, and there were always other members coming and going... just like here at Deming.

The TV and game room looking west at Dreamcatcher RV Park, Deming, NM.

The TV and game room looking east at Dreamcatcher RV Park, Deming, NM.

The only thing that Deming doesn't have that Rogers Lake did is a convenience store. But on the other hand, Deming has a much larger clubhouse, with a separate community dining room and full kitchen. The laundry room is to the left of the kitchen and accessible from outside.

The main dining room at Dreamcatcher RV Park, Deming, NM.

The full kitchen at Dreamcatcher RV Park, Deming, NM.

Neither have a swimming pool, but in most other respects (at least the ones that matter to us) things have a way of balancing out. We seldom use a swimming pool anyway.

We stayed from Monday to Sunday at Deming, waiting for the right timing to get through El Paso on a Sunday. We considered getting a little closer first, as in going to Las Cruces, but the broken brackets on the trailer's roof rack, and extremely cold and windy weather which prevented repairs being made, forced us to delay at Deming a couple days longer than originally intended.

The dog run area, with Angel in the foreground and our RV in the distance,
at Dreamcatcher RV Park, Deming, NM.

There is a 4 PM meet and greet every day at the clubhouse, so that always gave us something to look forward to, and meet some other members... some of which call the resort home.

The clubhouse as seen from the dog run area at
Dreamcatcher RV Park, Deming NM.

Dreamcatcher RV Park is actually the least expensive place in all the Escapees system to pay monthly or seasonal rates ($1800/yr + electric, at the time of this writing), so many people take advantage of that. Winters can be a little cold and windy at times, as it is not far from the Continental Divide, and sets at 4,334 feet in elevation. It can occasionally see a little snow, but it also gets a lot of sun, and many days are very comfortable.

On Tuesday night, a group of us went next door to the Quality Inn, where they have a "Taco Tuesday" special of $1 tacos. (Sorry, I forgot to get photos). The tacos weren't bad, but were only 4-inch open-face soft flour tortillas that you had to fold over by yourself. An average person can easily eat a half dozen, so allow for that if you go. Personally, for 29 cents more, I'd rather have the hard-shell normal-size corn tortilla tacos at Del Taco, but I don't think that Deming has a Del Taco franchise in their city... yet.

On Thursday night, a group of us also went out to eat at the Adobe Deli, about 8 miles straight east of town. It is a very eclectic restaurant that was built into a rural grade school that was abandoned in the mid-60's. It is like touring an old west museum on the inside, but the food is wonderful! Anyone passing through owes it to themselves to visit there, at least once!

My Hero sandwich with onion rings at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

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A shared loaf of garlic bread at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

A huge skewer full of baby back BBQ ribs at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

An enormous shish-ka-bob at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

Our group table for over twenty people at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

It was dark outside by the time we arrived, so I didn't get any outside photos, but the inside has to be seen in person to be "experienced"! In the middle of the main dining room (what used to be the gymnasium) is a huge dry fish tank housing their famous "Deli Gator" (stuffed, of course). (Thankfully)!

The restaurant mascot, the "Deli Gator" at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

A close up view of the "Deli Gator" from the other side, at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

At the front is a huge projection screen with TV and sports available for the right crowds. It can get pretty busy when the games are on!

The projection screen in front of the old gymnasium stage at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

Above the dining area all around the walls are stuffed animals, such as deer, elk and big horn sheep, plus a few others.

Stuffed deer and antelope above the dining room at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

Stuffed Big Horn sheep above the dining room at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

At the rear of a dining room is a full bar, complete with pool table, and more stuffed animals on the balcony above it.

The bar area and pool table at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

Stuffed antelope and Elk above the bar at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

The entry foyer also housed a ticket office at one time, and even it is full of stuffed animals, antiques and memorabilia of days gone by.

The entry foyer with stuffed animals and antiques at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

Down a long hallway to the right are rooms that once were classrooms... now containing another special use bar, private dining areas for groups, a liquor storage safe room, and even a nearly complete library still housing most of the books that were there when the school closed. It is also used as a private dining area for private groups.

The end of our table and looking straight through the foyer to the long hallway at the
Adobe Deli, Deming, NM.

The weather got progressively cold and windy in the last half of the week, with nights approaching lows very near 30 degrees, and daytime winds of nearly 30 mph. Other than our afternoon meet and greet, which we actually declined attending on Friday, we pretty much hibernated most of the time, except for going up to the clubhouse to work on puzzles and visit, and go to the north side of town on Saturday morning to top off our propane tanks. By Sunday morning, the sun was finally out again in full force. Although still cool and breezy, it was the first chance I had to work on securing the roof brackets before continuing on our journey.

As tightly as I had the brackets held together with the ratchet straps, the forces of wind and movement going down the highway would pull the crossbar off it's resting place on the gutter mounts. I knew it couldn't lift up, but it could fall onto the roof again, doing damage there. So it was a matter of finding a way to wrap something around both pieces to hold them horizontally. I remembered that I had the curved pieces of aluminum that were the front vertical corner trim inside the trailer, and which I had not reinstalled yet. With the couch and overhead cabinets in place, those pieces no longer needed to be floor to ceiling length anymore, so I could cut a couple 3-inch strips off the ends of each one without coming up short when reinstalling them.

Our trailer roof brackets surrounded by aluminum bands and
stainless steel straps.

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I also had some stainless steel aviation straps in my plumbing kit that were large enough to go around the bracket and secure the metal band in place. This would prove to be strong enough to hold the brackets from shifting horizontally until we got to Louisiana. I had cut the strips on Saturday, so everything was ready to install on Sunday morning, and it only took me about 30 minutes.

Since we had been in a boondocking spot all week, we needed to dump and refresh our tanks before heading out again, so we made a loop around the park to a back row of sites where we could pull up with a trailer in tow. One last look out the front window, to the north, we could see the snow that had come down in the previous days on the mountains in the Cookes Range, and the Mimbres Mountains beyond that. It was a beautiful sight, but we were glad we weren't in it!

Looking north toward the Cookes Range and Mimbres Mountains with snow on them.

The next post takes us from Deming all the way to our friend's lot near Reeves, Louisiana. Once around El Paso, we had no other major cities to go through, and only stayed one night at each location on the way, so it's mostly travel photos. After that, we will have one post about our stay in Louisiana, and then the last leg of the trip to Florida, I hope you are enjoying the travel stories, and as always, if you have any questions, or comments, please make them known in the comments section below. I answer every comment.

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