I have made jokes about traveling through west Texas. Goodness knows, we've covered this ground a LOT of times. Typically, the wind is blowing... as a headwind, no matter what direction we are heading... putting scads of blowing dirt in the air. I have made remarks about the unremarkable terrain, as in, "A lot of nuthin' out here." I admit, some of what I said about over-priced fuel prices and less than scenic RV parks may have been a little biting. The jokes about Ft. Stockton and Van Horn being the "butthole twins" as far as where one would insert an enema, if one were giving an enema to the United States could have been construed as a tad harsh. (The Sphincter Capital of the US!!)
But, as we are traveling through west Texas once again, I am seeing it in a different light. We have a delightful tailwind, and the air is not filled with blowing dirt. The traffic as we rolled through El Paso was a breeze - people weren't darting from lane to lane for no purpose, and they joyfully allowed me to get over a lane when necessary (a concern with our length). It is spring in the high desert, and everything is in bloom - the yuccas are topped with white flowers and the Texas sage has lavender flowers popping out. The Blonde did not have to be frustrated with the non-existent to worse cell/data signal - the new towers are making this area as connected as any big city. Even the fuel pumps were all loaded with receipt tape, making unnecessary trips to the fuel desk really unnecessary. The rest areas that have been small and very widely spaced (Sign: "Next Rest Area 462 Miles - You Better Pee NOW!") have been upgraded with state of the art facilities.
I find myself thinking: this may be the best part of our time out this winter.
Oh... April Fools!
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At one point, little Izzy came out of her carrier and said, "Seriously, when are we going to get back to civilization??"
There really are some smallish mountains in west Texas...
I-10 has deteriorated in spots to where they compete well with Louisiana for the "Crappiest Section of I-10 Award." I was hoping to make a lot of miles today, but 360 was about all I cared to handle. Oh, and be careful when you open cabinets after getting set up - contents may have shifted while inflight.
We bypassed a few of the campgrounds we have stayed in before. A couple couldn't accommodate our length. We are down for the night in what used to be a KOA...
Look - a tree... on the north side!
The nice lady on the phone assured us that this site would be plenty long. We only stick out a foot or so on either end, but we are at the edge of the park, and there is a wide turn, allowing people to easily get around us... I hope. No cable, but we are able to get NBC with the boost on our antenna... sure miss having our networks on satellite (the company that offered "Distant Networks" closed up). A full day of driving, and we are not quite half way across west Texas. The speed limit here is 80 mph; when towing, we generally drive around 60 mph - easier on the equipment, and we generally see double digit miles per gallon (a whopping 10.6 today).
And now for the weather: it was chilly when we got up this morning: 39º!! The winds were light as we packed up. The wind picked up as we headed east, with dust devils visible on either side of the road. The temp went up with the wind... it was 91º when we pulled into the campground. Humidity is 6%... yes, it is a dry heat. Fortunately, the HitchHiker is well insulated (for an RV), so we were warm this morning; and with the a/c going, it is comfortably cool now.
We have dropped a bit in elevation (over 1,000'), so it shouldn't be as chilly tonight. Well, that and the fact that we are starting quite a bit warmer. Joan says I should look on the bright side: with the coach all buttoned up, the air conditioning going, and the TV turned up, you hardly hear the road noise (they gave us the site closest to the Interstate). Not sure if we are close to a railroad track tonight. Joan likes train noise... she thought it was a delight last night with the 30 or 40 trains that ran next to the RV park in the middle of the night.
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