We crossed three states in January 2025, hit two dust storms, and took a rock to the windshield—just part of the deal when you’re traveling through the Southwest in winter.
We wrapped up our stay in Big Bend with dust on the Jeep and several more days ahead of us as we made our way west toward Arizona. From Big Bend, we headed northwest along the border to El Paso for a brief stop at Mission RV Park—tight quarters, but enough time to check out a couple of local museums and ride out a serious dust storm. Then it was on to Benson, Arizona, cross through New Mexico, to where we settled into Tucson Valley Vista RV Park for a Thousand Trails 21-day stay. From Cold War missile sites to dusty mining trails with friends, this stretch was all about transition—leaving the Texas borderlands behind and finding open skies and quiet roads in southern Arizona.
Mission RV Park, El Paso, Texas
Our first stop was in El Paso was January 3rd and 4th, 2025—just two nights at Mission RV Park, crammed between I-10’s high bridges and an industrial park. The location wasn’t anything special, but it worked as an urban base to check out a few local stops. The big highlight was the free Border Patrol Museum, where we saw the evolution of the agency’s gear—from horses to ATVs to UAVs. Right next door, the El Paso Museum of Archaeology added some context to the region’s early history, and together they made for a decent afternoon outing.
Mission RV Park, El Paso, Texas, is tucked between busy freeways and city lights—fine for a quick stop, but not a place to linger. The park works well enough for a couple of nights, with decent access for big rigs. We found it easier to force our route to the major cross street north of the park for a smoother in-and-out connection with I-10.El Paso’s free Border Patrol Museum gave us a unique look at the agency’s history. From horseback days to high-tech drones, it was a quick but worthwhile stop—and an interesting contrast to being directly in the border zone along the Rio Grande just days before. Right next door you will find the another free museum, the El Paso Museum of Archaeology.The El Paso Museum of Archaeology is free, uncrowded, and decent for a short visit. It’s located right next to the Border Patrol Museum, and the two make a logical pair if you’re already in the area. While it’s not worth a special trip, it does provide a basic overview of regional history and ancient cultures with some simple displays and models.A late afternoon dust storm rolled into El Paso and blocked out the sun like a real-life sepia filter. Fortunately, we saw it coming and made it back to our home base at Mission RV Park just in time. This wasn’t our first rodeo with West Texas wind, but it served as a good reminder why we aim to travel early and stay ahead of this kind of hazard.We had a clear view of Mexico from our site at the Mission RV Park. Across the border, the city lights of Juárez filled the horizon—stretching far beyond the freeway noise in front of us. There’s something surreal about camping just a few miles from another country.
But what El Paso really gave us was wind—and lots of it. A strong afternoon dust storm rolled in while we were out, turning the sky into a dark brown haze. Thankfully, we made it back to the RV just in time. Somewhere along the way, we also picked up a nice windshield chip—our parting gift from Texas. Luckily, Florida residency meant free Safelite repair, which we took care of not long after landing in Arizona.
Texas wasn’t about to let us leave without a parting gift—a decent-sized chip right in the motorhome windshield. Fortunately, as Florida residents, our free windshield coverage extends nationwide through Safelite. They came out, made the repair, and now the damage is barely noticeable. One less thing to worry about on the next leg.
Valley Vista Encore RV Resort, Benson, Arizona
Our arrival in Benson was a welcome change of pace—small-town feeling that reminded us a bit of being back home in Hammond, Wisconsin. On January 5, 2025, we backed into Site #174 at Tucson Valley Vista RV Park and finally had a week of travel from Pigeon Forge to Arizona behind us.
This was the view from our site in Benson, AZ—a great 21-day site with Thousand Trails Encore with sunsets like this most evenings. Benson is about 45 minutes from Tucson, this park quickly earned a spot on our “we’d come back” list.
We love this park—it’s well maintained, and our site was absolutely level. Benson sits about 45 minutes southeast of Tucson, making it a great hub for day trips while still having all the essentials nearby: a Walmart, Safeway, a great Ace Hardware, and a Tractor Supply that helped with a few post-drive projects. We made the most of our Thousand Trails Adventure 21-day stay before heading up to Phoenix.
We had plenty of sunrises like this us during our stay in site #174 Valley Vista Encore in Benson, AZ.
One of the standout outings was to the Titan Missile Museum—a fully preserved Cold War launch site with its original control room and an actual Titan II missile still in the silo. Located just south of Vail, it was absolutely worth the visit. We also met up with friends Tim and Tina for a Jeep run to the Total Wreck Mine, a trail that offered beautiful views and mild obstacles without needing a tow. Add in a fun day in Tombstone and a scenic drive through Saguaro National Park, and Benson ended up being a packed and memorable chapter in Our Next Chapter.
This is the original control room of the Titan Missile Museum in Arizona—preserved exactly as it was during the Cold War. It’s the only publicly accessible Titan II launch complex in the country, offering a rare, sobering look at America’s nuclear defense history. From this control room, a two-person team would have received and executed launch orders in under a minute. Our tour was fascinating, led by an engaging local undergraduate student majoring in Cold War history.Looking down into the Titan II missile silo at the Titan Missile Museum, south of Tucson. This decommissioned site is the only intact nuclear missile silo open to the public in the U.S. Today, it serves as an educational museum to help us understand the scale, complexity, and tension of Cold War-era nuclear state.Every hour on the streets of Tombstone is a bloodbath—a dramatic showdown on Allen Street where someone’s gotta die. We didn’t stay for the whole shootout. t was rougher than any late-night Western you’ve ever seen. But the trip wasn’t a total loss—Jason left with a professionally fitted cowboy hat that you’ll be seeing in a lot of photos to come.Rubi parked up behind her trail buddy TNT after making the climb to the old Total Wreck Mine site. The views stretched for miles, with classic Southern Arizona desert and mountains in every direction. Plenty of pinstriping, no major Jeep damage, and nobody needed a tow—always a win!We met up with Tina and Tim from the Escapees Jeepers BOF group and hit the trail to the old Total Wreck Mine, just south of Vail, Arizona. The route mostly follows a natural gas pipeline road, but with minimal maintenance, it made for a fun and scenic Jeep run. We had great weather—and even better company.We took our Jeep Rubi for a spin along the scenic loop in Saguaro National Park—an easy-to-travel paved drive that winds through the towering giants of the Sonoran Desert forest. The loop is asphalt, with plenty of pull-offs to explore the changing vegetation zones. Any passenger vehicle can make it around the loop; it took us a little over an hour with stops to admire countless saguaros. We also kept our eyes on the skyline looking for big horn sheep hopping along, but no luck on this day.
