I didn't want to come across as a grumpy old man... although the description fits. Leaving Deming, NM, around 8:00 this morning, the road was good all the way to the Texas border. We assessed our fuel situation as we approached Exit 0 (Anthony, TX) - we always stop for fuel there, since it is generally the least expensive all along this route. Gas was $3.25, so it was tempting, even though we were both good on fuel.
I told Joan, "I can make it to Fort Stockton with what I have for fuel onboard - gas there will be more expensive, but we'll save some time, since we'll have to top off in Fort Stockton anyway." She was in agreement.
Going through El Paso just before 10:00 am on a Sunday was a good move - traffic was light and we didn't get slowed down or terrorized by the usual crazy-ass drivers there. Most of the road construction that we have experienced there for the last decade is done, so there wasn't a stretch where they put 4 lanes of traffic in a space designed for 3 lanes. And the road stayed decent as we rolled southeast out of El Paso. Mother Nature gave us a tailwind... which is good for the fuel mileage.
We stopped briefly, for Joan to divvy up the lunch she had prepared this morning; of course, Rufus got his lunch on schedule, and we rolled. Our stop was in Fort Stockton - they have a Flying J with RV lanes, so it is generally convenient... even though the gas price is usually the highest along our route. In an amazing turn of events, the price for unleaded at the Flying J there was $3.15... which means I got it for $3.10 (with my GS discount). Yes, even cheaper than at Exit 0. A pleasant surprise.
The plan is to do about 450 miles... where we generally do 250 to 300 when making miles with the RV/cargo trailer/car. That would put is in Ozona, TX. We have never overnighted in Ozona when going across west Texas... because there was no RV park in our apps/guide book. Joan found an Economy Inn motel that has RV sites. The reviews weren't great (2 out of 5 stars), but we'd have to push uncomfortably further if we didn't stop there. Plus, this gets us almost 2/3 of the way across west Texas. Another long day tomorrow, and we can be home on Tuesday.
I shot a few photos along the way, but there isn't a lot to view out here. Heading east, looking into the sun...
The Las Cruces "skyline"; well, the mountains to the east of Las Cruces...
Into west Texas, with miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles (that is a quote from my friend Charlie Jones). The elevation here gets above 4,600', so the greenery in the desert here hasn't blossomed.
An interesting notch cut for the Interstate years ago...
The traffic was significantly less today. More 18 wheelers, fewer RV and cars, about the same number of motorcycles. The wind was up to 18 mph, mostly from the west. I didn't get a photo of the dust devil that passed between our motorhome and the truck in front of us... yes, I slowed for it, to let it get across the road. Insert your own "Annual Blowing Dirt Festival, Jan 1 through Dec 31" joke here. I've made the joke many times.
High desert terrain...
We pulled into Ozona just after 5:00 pm. I usually like to get off the road earlier, but there is no reason to stop along this stretch, so we drive 'till we're tired today.
The RV parking (can't really call it an RV park) is a gravel lot, with 30 amp electric (we need power because the heat has begun and we'll need a/c to be comfortable tonight - I saw a high of 91º today). They have water and sewer... first I've seen both of those connections in the same enclosure (???) in any campground anywhere... not sure that is up to code. But, we don't need water or sewer, but Joan saw they have cable TV. Fortunately, the cable situation was better than last night's park. It is a bit "snowy," certainly not high-def, but I don't know if we'd get anything on the antenna here. And something is better than nothing.
There are a few RVs here. You go to the motel office to check in... the motel has seen better days, too. I asked the lady who took my money (who spoke very broken English) if it mattered what site I took - we put the coach in a site before I went to register. She said, "You done - you go now. Bye."
With 3/4 of the sites empty, I figured we were OK to park the Equinox in the site next to us. Nope, while we were having supper, a guy knocked on our door and said, "Your car is in my spot."
"We'll get that moved right now." No chance he could have taken one of the many other empty sites. We moved the car to in front of the motorhome, where it is sticking out well beyond the site. No other sites in front of us, so it shouldn't be an issue.
Steph likes us to text here when we're down for the day. My text to her: "We are down for the night in Ozona, TX. Very sexy here… it is an erogenous Ozona. Just kidding. Another west Texas shithole. But it is a nicer shithole than Van Horn. (What isn’t?)" I'm sure there are plenty of very nice people who live here and enjoy living away from civilization and find charm with the blowing dirt.
If all goes as planned, we'll be out of west Texas tomorrow. One more big city to roll through: San Antonio, the 8th largest city in the country; and one of the largest in land area. And traffic. We're 200 miles from that, so we should roll through there well after their morning rush hours. You have to plan ahead.
There is nothing we have to get back for on a schedule. Just looking to get back home.
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After the sun went down, Rufus wanted to go for a walk. Yes, I was tired, but he has been cooped up all day, so out we went. A teenage boy about 4 sites east of us saw Rufus and asked if he could see him closer. "Sure, he's a friendly boy." I think this young man may have been on the spectrum - he couldn't look me in the eye, but he was very friendly and respectful with Rufus. We visited for bit, then Ruf was ready to stretch his legs a bit. The young man said, "Good bye, Rufus."
Ruf and I walked to the far end of this gravel lot, where he could sniff at some greenery, mostly weeds...
He walked nice, with little guidance from me. Looking back towards the RV sites...
That's us with the white Equinox in front of the motorhome. Lots of empty sites. That motel you see in the background is not the one that is connected with these sites. When I told Rufus it was time to "go home," he turned and headed right for the coach. Because, he's a good boy.
We're two time zones earlier since we left Arizona. Even so, I think we'll all be ready for bed early tonight.
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