We drove all day and are still in west Texas. We left El Paso with a sight tailwind... the trip computer was showing over 11 miles per gallon. Joan and I switched off after a stop to check on the rig... and about 30 seconds later, a gust front hit. The rig shuddered and was working hard to stay in 6th gear. We switched back. Nothing Joan was doing wrong, punching into a 40 mph headwind takes some gear shifting to keep the truck in its sweet spot. The mpg dropped to 7.4.
After an hour of headwind, it turned to a crosswind... which is always fun. Then died off. Then a crosswind from a different direction. Then rain with a crosswind. The temp dropped to 50º (it had been 76º a few minutes earlier). Tailwind. Headwind. Crosswind. The next tank averaged 8.9 mpg.
We had hoped to make it to the northeast edge of San Antonio... that didn't happen. We are down for the night at a Passport park connected to an Econo Lodge. One of the reviews said, "An OK stop for the night, the lady at the front desk was friendly."
She must have had the day off today. I got the crabby one. When I asked if they could accommodate our length in the RV park, she said, "We've had bigger 'n that before. Jus' go pick a spot."
This is not the crappiest park we've ever stayed in, but it is definitely in the bottom 2.
On the bright side, there is no data signal to be had... I am in the lobby of the Econo Lodge with a wifi connection that is slower than dial-up.
So, there won't be any photos today... not that there was anything scenic enough to take a photo of... but Izzy was a sweetheart all day.
More in a day or so.
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On edit: the photos...
The day started out decent...
OK, not much to look at when you've seen the view time after time. We punched into the gust front and the temp dropped over 20º in just a few minutes...
And overcast...
The wind howled, but little Izzy was laid back and relaxed...
Yes, that is sweet the way she has a paw on her Daddy.
The RV park was really more of a parking spot behind the Econo Lodge...
They may have had "bigger 'n that before," but we were hanging out on both ends. At least the view was ...
Well, OK, that sucked, too. But, it was late, we were tired, and there isn't a lot of choice in this part of the country. I now call it "Sphincter-Land"... because there was a guy on a forum who took exception to me expressing my opinion of west Texas when I wrote: "If you were going to give the country an enema, you would insert it in west Texas."
This day/night didn't do much to change my opinion. ;-)
4 comments:
Just wondering-- How much fuel does Big Red Hold? Yes you might of said in past Blogs-- But I forgot...
Not enough! It has the stock fuel tank, a piddly 25 gallons. At 10 miles per gallon (what we generally get with the 5th wheel and a cargo trailer), we are looking for fuel every 200 miles or so. We try to time it with food and potty stops, as well.
Most of the time, we are not in "making miles" mode, so we do 200-300 miles a day. That is such a long, loooooonnnnng, stretch across the southern part of AZ, NM, and west Texas, and the fact that we have made that drive so many times, we just go as long as we can on that route.
I do carry a 5 gallon jerry jug of diesel... just in case.
25 Gallons!! Wow-- I would think 55 Gallons would be more appropriate....
At least your boat is very economical....
The boat has a 100 gallon fuel tank - good for a 400+ mile range at displacement speed. You want economical??? The scooters get around 100 miles per gallon! ;-)
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