Walmart’s auto centre seemed such a logical place to get an oil change done on our generator. Our generator is getting lots of use this year as we run it when parked to produce the electricity needed to run the air conditioner that keeps Pepsi cool when we aren’t at a campsite. It took about an hour to get the answer that Walmart couldn’t do this. Luckily there was a Camping World in El Paso (about 50kms from us) and they said they’d squeeze us in in the afternoon. So, off we went and arrived at about 11AM. Everyone was very friendly at the store, Pepsi was welcomed with a treat and Ruth with a coffee. We explored the store and after having gone through all the aisles, we settled into the canteen area which has some tables, chairs and most importantly, free (slow) internet to write the last two days of blog entries.

The hours rolled by and finally we saw our van come back into the parking lot. Unfortunately, bad news.  The service tech had changed the oil in the vehicle engine and not the generator. Off it went into the service bay again. By this time, 6 hours had elapsed and we were starving and bored.

Finally, the van came out again for the second time and we said goodbye to Jami, the wonderful receptionist who had made friends with Pepsi and was the source of many doggie treats.

Happy that everything was finally done, we climbed back into the van and decided to just “test” everything before we left. The generator started just fine, but the air-conditioner now showed an error message. Only another 15 minutes later, the system was reset and we were on our way. Another receptionist had recommended a fabulous Mexican restaurant nearby called The Rose Garden. We went there for lunch/dinner at 5:30pm and were not disappointed.

Our plan for the evening was to stay at a hot springs resort in Truth or Consequences (yes, the town is really called that). Back on I-25, there is a border services checkpoint where all vehicles must stop and our conversation with the officer went like this:

Border Agent: Canadians?
Us: Yup.
Border Agent: Where are you heading?
Us: Truth or Consequences
Border Agent: Have fun!

We made it to the Riverbend Hot Springs just in time to see the sunset make the mountain across the Rio Grande glow. As darkness fell, we sat in the hot springs and could forget about the hours at Camping World and enjoy a soothing evening.