Monday, March 18 - Our first night was at the Walmart in Ocean Springs. Our campground of choice was full - spring break. We got to do some shopping at Rouse’s market. Our larder is overflowing, but there was room for coffee. They sell beans in bulk for only $6 a pound. We got four different beans. The first two sampled are winners.
Tuesday night, we stayed at the Atchafalaya Welcome Center. The noise from I10 only 75 yards away did disturb us. We took a drive and wound up a restaurant that looked familiar. Turned out we had been there a few years back when we parked at a nearby state park. We both had bowl of marvelous gumbo at 3PM. We were full when we left and did not eat anything else when we got back.
I discovered left the safety cables hanging in the carport storage. Oh, well, what’s another $50.
Wednesday morning - We saw 13 LEO’s lit up and in high speed pursuit of a tiny car. How many cops does it take? 12 following one I guess. In 3.5 hours we made it just east of Houston to another Walmart.
Dorothy got her hair cut. Tomorrow we will try to cross Houston and head northwest towards Llano where BBQ awaits us. Probably will see the Wood’s and their brand new Sportsmobile on the tall Transit chassis. It’s a custom design by Terry. He said he has been on the phone with Sportsmobile almost every day during the build. He used their online CAD program to lay everything out. Mid-way through the build it was discovered that each square on the app was 13, not 12 inches.
Thursday March 21, our daughter is 48 today. We woke up at 4, surfed some, had breakfast and thought if we get rolling now, we can cross Houston maybe quicker now than at 9. And so we did. It took a 1.5 hours to transit from the east side of the Highway 8 toll loop to the west side. We only encountered one accident. Downside, it was dark the whole time and the headlights in the side mirrors created glare.
In 4.5 hours we made it to Llano. Long for us, but we felt good. We were famished and headed to the place we came here for, Cooper’s BBQ. We had ribs today.
Friday, I had a bit of intestinal stuff, so I only had toast for breakfast, followed by laying down. By 9, I was fine and I went on the roof to investigate why I heard air in the skylight when we were on the road the other day. I took it apart and cleaned it, but I did not find a cause. Perhaps the tape on the plexiglass is compressed? I will replace it this winter.
Saturday, the Woods showed up in their new Sportsmobile. It looks real good. If it only had a shower, a black tank and more than 20 gallons of fresh water it would be a real RV. But, it’s exactly what they want. The Ford Transit has precious little ground clearance, leaving little room for storage tanks. It allows for boon docking for 2/3 days, then it’s time to find a shower. They visited for an hour and then it was time to pick up BBQ and head west. We left with $145 worth of meat, goat, prime rib, sirloin and ribs.
We made to the best free parking spot in Texas, perched on butte overlooking a valley to the west. The sky was crystal clear and we had a fine sunset. As usual we had the place to ourselves.
Sunday, we left at 8, about 15 minutes after there was some daylight. The air had turned to a heavy haze. We continued west on I10 and turned north on US395. I figured it would be four lane. Nope and it runs through the Permian Basin with hundreds of water trucks hauling fresh water in and the waste out. We thought we had seen a lot of oil drilling before, but here is a 70 mile stretch of continuous drilling activity plus acres of manufactured homes and RV’s for the workers.
This stretch of road turned us into turned us into advocating for for a ban of single-use plastic bags. Some cultures just toss them out the window. They don’t show up as much in the south, but here they catch on brush and fences and it makes the roadside look well trashy. The oceans are filled with plastic, fish eat it and we eat the fish. But what are the options for bringing home the groceries? Cloth bags are breeding grounds for bacteria. What can be done?
We stopped at an Escapees park north of Carlsbad. It was good we had electricity, the ac did not turn off until 6pm. It was 45 the next morning.
Monday, we continued north on US385 to I40. 385 is a decent divided four lane road north of Artesia. It’s out of drilling country and into farming and cattle country. We spent 6 hours driving and made our way to Albuquerque. Dorothy is doing a weeks wash and I replaced the sewer hose caps that were damaged during an oil change. This morning when I went to dump I found the door to the sewer hose storage had also been broken. This is bigger deal, since it’s more than just a door and it is painted. I will have to have the factory make one and ship it to us.
Tuesday, March 26 - This is day 9 and we have been moving 8 of them, with two more to go. It’s four hours from Albuquerque to Holbrook. We are exhausted. We hate the trips out and back. Once you get to west Texas you are in what I call the gravel pit. It extends to the Pacific. Mostly flat and boring brown desert landscape.
Our granddaughter returned from a two-week European tour. She shares about nothing with anyone. She said of Paris the Louve is unnecessarily large.
Wednesday, March 27 - We made it to Utah! Red Rock country. A 10 day crossing. Fast for us. We are only a few hundred yards across the Utah state line parked on Lake Powell. Enjoyed the sunset and sunrise in the big sky of Utah. Took the Jeep up the sand dunes to see how the new tires like sand. Loved how the suspension handled the whoop-de-doo’s much improved.
Thursday, March 28 - A short 2.5 hour drive got us to Hurricane where our Jeeping friends were waiting for us.
Friday, March 29 - We explored the road to Candy Mountain. The first mile or so was quite scenic and had several excellent parking spots. When we topped out, the scenery changed to an unremarkable P&J forest. We got to the trailhead at 10:30, much too late to hike the three miles without lunch. The boring looking scenery did not inspire nor did the up and down terrain. I intended this to be an exploration and the lack of anything interesting to see until we had gone 1.5 miles turned me off. I am willing to put max effort into hiking, but knowing our best might fail us, I want to get something rather than disappointment from the effort.
Saturday, March 30 - A lazy day at camp. Keith showed me how to install safety chains to replace the the cables I left hanging the garage.
Sunday, March 31 - Into St. George to show Keith and Sandy Snow Canyon and enjoy a delicious wood fired pizza.
Monday, April Fools - We did laundry, picked up a few groceries and drove to Paria and parked on the hill. Learned that permits to South Coyote Buttes are now in high demand, so it’s up in the air if we will get there. This is one of the best BLM parking places anywhere. Level, gravel, trash and water with a great view.
I’m following your journey and waiting to hear how the Jeep handles Mohab.
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