Tuesday, October 12 - We woke up to snow and 27 degrees in Flagstaff this morning.
We drove about three hours to Gallup. The rigs were quickly trashed with snowmelt.
Wednesday, October 13 - 32 in Gallup this morning.
Thursday, October 14 - 37 in Albuquerque this morning. We went SE to Fort Sumner to Sumner Lake SP. The office was closed, so we registered with the iron ranger. Then we found every site was a reservation site. So I called the number and was told site 9 was cool. We parked, had a Dorothy burger for lunch and a nap. Then the park host came to tell us we had to move as the site was reserved. He put us in the group site which was OK but came with cockleburs.
@$%&#$& reservations. We want to go back to 2017 when not everyone had an RV, most people had to show up at an office weekdays and the campgrounds were empty.
We wanted to eat a steak at Perini's in Buffalo Gap. But, being a Saturday night they had no reservations before 4pm.
Friday, October 15 - Making progress, only 41 this morning in Ft. Sumner.
I am more sensitive to heat and cold in the last year. Especially heat. Dorothy is cooking and I am in the back and a heatwave encompassed me. I cut on the exhaust fan and had her open the front escape hatch to allow the heat an exit path.
We got gas for $2.85 in Muleshoe, TX. It was $3.09+ in the towns east and west there. That's a dollar less than we were paying in SW Utah.
We parked in the Waylon Jennings city RV park in Littletown. Free, but donations are accepted. I donated.
Saturday, October 16 - 44 this morning. We drove SE on US84, a fairly smooth road. All Texas roads are superior to those in New Mexico. Two states with best and worst cases. We stopped at a city park which is actually in the country. It and the adjacent golf course are owned by Sweetwater. W&E for $15 and a place I could wash the vehicles of the snowmelt from five days ago. Just us and one other RV in a large campground.
We stayed here a decade back. They were having a BBQ cookout and since we did not know anyone, we served as judges. Some good stuff and some that needed a lot of beverage to get the taste out of your mouth. They supplied all drinks, including beer.
It is certainly welcome to see trees and green grass. The campground has Cedar trees. I can not recall the type. I will call them enchanted.
Sunday, October 17 - It was 50 this morning. We got away at 7:30 so we could get to Coopers BBQ by 11:30. We had never taken this route through Texas. We had taken routes 50 miles away, but this one was more scenic. Lots of trees and green grasslands. We had prime rib. It was delicious.
I woke up from my nap warm. It was 82 inside. So I cut on the AC. That's way different from buttoning up the rig with Reflectic and running two gas heaters as we have done the last two weeks.
We have passed numerous rural car dealerships and noted their lots are almost empty. Dealers in cities have more stock.
Monday, October 18 - 54 this morning. Did laundry for the last time. Had ribs at Cooper's. Dorothy was under the weather all day from the BBQ sauce she had yesterday. Delicious, but deadly.
There may be more deer in the Texas Hill country than flies. It's big business. I liked the juxtaposition of Propane and Deer.
Tuesday, October 19 - We drove under overcast skies through some of the best-looking ranch land we have seen in Texas. West of Rockland. Parked at Lake Bryan which seems to be a part of Texas A&M. I lay down in the pavilion and enjoyed the breeze. I watched eight teams sail Vanguards. They did not do any drills or races. Just milled about.
I don't think we saw water in a single river bed until we got to Texas. There is water in the river beds here. Utah, Arizona, New Mexico are dry folks.
Wednesday, October 20 - 60 degrees today. A high of 88 is predicted. We are at Magnolia Ridge, a COE park on B. A. Steinhagen Lake near Jasper, Texas. It's a large property. The sites are anywhere from 50 yards to a 1/4 mile apart. The lake is swampy, with lots of cypress on the shoreline. Comes with alligators.
Morning temps the last seven days. The low was in Flagstaff. 27, 32, 37, 41, 44, 50, 54, 60. I stored the space heater two days back. With the warming temps, we have been gaining something else, DEW. And today HUMIDITY.
Thursday, October 21 - Louisiana today. We used to drive from Birmingham to Baton Rouge in a day. About 8 hours. We will take three days.
We landed in a city park in Opelousas the center of zydeco music. RV's on both sides of us, but no one home. One is abandoned. The security guy said they are going to have it towed. Oh well, it's fine with us. The cost $11, if anyone comes by to collect.
We had a divine meal at Cafe Sydnie Mae in Breaux Bridge, LA. Shrimp and lobster in a sherry cream sauce. We drove back in the dark. So what? Well, we don't see for shit in the dark. It was an exciting ride.
Friday, October 22 - We drove east an hour to take an hour off tomorrow's drive to Mobile. We parked at the LSU Equestrienne center. Our last day out and it was the highest - $40. Ate at an old standby Mike Anderson's. We both had a fried platter. Too much fried.
Saturday, October 23 - We visited with old friends, Nancy and Ken, in Mobile.
Sunday, October 24 - Home.
Recap: Five months and a week. 9,650 miles. The weather we experienced just after we were in Cedar City made our decision to start home. It would take us three weeks. We started back with a two-day stay in Cathedral Valley on October 1. We eased down the road to Torry where we stayed for four days. We had one of the best boondock sites of our lives there.
Then we moved faster, single nights at Hole-In-The-Rock and Red Rock Canyon. Then Hancock Road (Kanab), Paria, Flagstaff, Gallup, Albuquerque, Sumner Lake, Littlefield, Sweetwater, Llano, Lake Bryan, Jasper, Opelousa, Baton Rouge, and finally Mobile. That’s 18 stops.
The camera is stored until the next trip.
Have enjoyed your trip blog. Glad you made it home safely.
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