Rustys RV Ranch

Reeling from the election, I convinced my wife to drive across the country to spend the winter months in a blue state (New Mexico) at a queer friendly (RainbowRV.com) park. It was a poor choice. I write this review in hopes of preventing someone else having a similar experience.

Rusty’s RV Ranch is in the most remote (read: conservative) corner of New Mexico, surrounded by mountain ranges. While it’s an exquisitely beautiful setting, the harshness is commensurate. Our experience was breathtaking beauty and soul crushing bigotry. Rusty’s is a lot of things, but does NOT belong on RainbowRV.com.

The foothills of the mountains are filled with ranches waving Trump flags and the increasing Border Patrol presence is unnerving. There are no rainbows visible anywhere, not in the surrounding community, not in the park, not even a T-shirt.

Despite the RainbowRV.com listing, Rusty’s doesn’t fly a rainbow flag. There is nothing about the park that is specifically welcoming to the LGBTQIA community. In fact, while lots of campers were sporting MAGA hats, t-shirts and stickers, a staff member told me that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is the rule for queer folks and politics. Clearly the rule only applies to silence MAGA dissent.

During our first month, we attended a community dinner (held bi-weekly). There were a handful of couples in the main room where we entered, the men dressed in Trump-accoutrements. One woman came over to speak with us, but it was awkward as the MAGA-clad men continued to glare at us (throughout the dinner). No one else made eye contact or spoke. It was our first and last community meal.

For what it’s worth, in the three months that we were at Rusty’s we had little to no contact with the (on site) owners. I’m not sure what to make of it, except that silence in the face of overt bigotry is assent. That the owners have been vocal with other guests about their support for MAGA is, of course, their right. And a listing on RainbowRV.com isn’t a guarantee to fly rainbow flags or to be besties with everyone who identifies as queer. In fairness, we were not physically assaulted and were not the subject of a hate crime. But “letting” us stay does not mean that we were welcome. We got the message loud and clear: we were not welcome.

Rusty’s RV Park is NOT a queer friendly park, at least not for a couple of old dykes. Thankfully there were other campers at the park who did not share the owners’ bigotry, for these dear folks we were grateful.

Nice, clean park in a beautiful, remote setting, gracious staff and spacious sites. I loved the jagged mountains rising out of the rolling desert. Small, but functional clubhouse has satellite television, kitchen with coffee, a bathroom, a pond and aviary. Good internet met my requirement nicely. The park would have been great for stargazing except for the Christmas lights, temporary Border Patrol checkpoint and a full moon perfectly haloing a rounded peak before rising to erase a gazillion stars. My only concern in a dry rig was the single bathroom, but will make it a point to come back again.