Alamogordo, NM is the closest town to White Sands National Monument. Being that we were about down to PB&J sandwiches, it was time to go grocery shopping!
The thing about shopping and living in an RV is available space (depending on what your traveling/living in). Now, if you knew me in my previous life, you already know I love to buy in bulk, save money, stock-up, and have what I need at-the-ready.
Out here things are a little bit different. You don’t have your favorite stores and prices (in the west) seem to be higher than on the east coast. I let our Costco Membership expire this year because I no longer have room for the bulk items. I’m not complaining, but let’s face it – in 240 sq. ft. I can’t exactly store 30 rolls of toilet paper and 24 rolls of paper towels. 🙂
Dollar General still seems to have the same prices across the country, so for staples that I buy each week, going back to DG has saved us some money. Meats and fresh produce are about the only things I buy at local grocery stores now, if there is a Dollar General around.
I have to be really mindful of the amount of frozen or to-be-frozen items I buy at once. Have you noticed chicken breast come in 3’s or at least here they do. Well, I don’t have enough room in the freezer for that large pack of chicken nor do I really have room for leftovers. So, I just take the chicken breast, cut them up into smaller pieces and ziploc bag the pieces and freeze. This way I can take out as much as I need for one meal with no leftovers. Works out great. Sometimes the freezer is like a game of Tetris. Keeps me alert!
I’ve also had to learn to do a little meal planning. I’m still not good at it but getting better. When we lived in a house I passed at least 3 grocery stores on my way to work each day. If I needed something, I could just stop, run in, grab it. But, out here, the store could be non-existent (like in Big Bend National Park) or could be fairly close like now in Alamogordo. So, errand planning and making sure you have what you need in house is super important.
If you’re ever in this area, Alamogordo, NM has anything you could need. It’s home to Holloman Air Force Base (I hope F-16’s don’t scare you) and it’s a good size town.
For the RVer’s coming through here to visit Lincoln National Park or White Sands National Monument… the County Fairgrounds has a free dump station and potable water. Be sure and go into the Extension Office and ask about the location of the potable water (it’s not at the dump station).
We were both pretty tired at the end of the day, so we ate dinner and relaxed with a gorgeous sunset.
