Home again...

That old saw about "you can't go home again"... yeah, I'm saying you can.  We are proof of it.

Leaving San Antonio this morning, heading for the Tropical Tip.  The weather weasels were calling for strong north northeast wind and a chance of rain... that got that one right.

It was chilly when I went outside to unhook utilities.  I needed a sweatshirt, Joan put on a jacket.  Rufus stayed in the coach where it was comfortable.  He settled in for a nap as soon as we were on the road...

It wasn't long before we rain into that forecast rain...

It wasn't solid rain - more in and out, getting more in as we rolled further south.  Rufus would look up now and then when there was rain - first time he's seen that while traveling.  He went back and forth between our laps...

About 120 miles on I-37, just before Corpus Christi, we make our turn towards home...

A stop in Kingsville for fuel and kitty lunch...

Running on Expressway 77 (morphing into I-69 as they make the road limited access), there wasn't much in the way of wildflowers, but the prickly-pear cacti were blooming...

The smell of freshly mowed grass...

I've showed the palm trees that start north of Raymondville and are a sign you are approaching the Tropical Tip...

It seems that making this highway limited access means moving some of the roadway - and that means taking out or moving those palm trees...

It would be sad to see those go - it always makes me feel like we are almost home when we see the palm trees lining the road.

The rain started up again, this time much heavier...

We are on the home stretch... to home.  We stopped at our local Walmart to disconnect the CR-V from the motorhome - it makes it easier to get things parked by the house.  Coming up to the bridge that crosses the Intracoastal Waterway and gets us onto our island...

Car and trailer parked.  Motorhome parked.  In the pouring rain.  We went into the house before bringing Rufus in and starting the unloading process - it all looks good.

We brought Rufus into the house in his carrier.  When we let him out, we showed him where his litter is, walked through the house, and finally showed him his food dishes.  A bit of sensory overload for him... "This is all ours?  We live in a mansion?"

Well, it is a small island cottage, but I understand his perspective after living in the motorhome since he became a part of our family.  We brought his toys in, but there is a lot to discover... those ceiling fans throw shadows and are potential cat killers... there are so many windows.  Joan held him on her lap for a while, then he sat by me on the couch.  It is a lot to take in, but we won't rush him.  It will take us a while to get moved back in.

Good to be home.

Well, that's different...

We have been in the dry ol' desert for several months.  The humidity has generally been 25% and lower (often much lower).  Coming across eastern Arizona and southern New Mexico, the fire warnings are "Extreme" due to the dry conditions and wind.  For the first 350 miles or so into Texas, the lack of rain has been apparent - this is the first time we haven't seen any desert blooms.  What scrub-brush is out there has been more brown than green.

Heading out of the campground this morning, we were driving east, into the sun...

Yes, that is a ground layer of fog above.

Not much in the way of civilization once you head east from Fort Stockton... but, there is cell coverage most of the way.  Joan got a call from friend MJ to see where are - they will be crossing our path (north to south), but are a couple hours ahead of when we would be in that area.

They left their home in the Tropical Tip yesterday - we are a few days apart.  If all goes as planned, we'll be home in another day or two.

This boy is having a very bad day...

Heck of a place to break down.  Rolling east, we start to see the first signs of the Texas Hill Country...

Rufus took turns on our laps once again, and was ready to roll this morning.  Here he is, resting his head on my arm while I drive...

And, the other direction...

He entertained us during the drive - this is "cat hide and seek"...

Stretching out on the floor...

350 miles into Texas before we started seeing much greenery.  No Bluebonnets yet.

At one point, Joan got out of her seat because Rufus was meowing at the bathroom door.  When she went back to see if he needed the potty, he took over her seat...

On the scooter forum, a friend asked about double towing our length and wondered if there were any issues with that.  Well, things do get a bit snug at some gas stations...

We probably could have passed on this station, but it was time for lunch, they had a McDonalds, I haven't had McDonalds in over a month, yadda, yadda, yadda.  It was a bit of a squeeze getting out of that gas lane.

This boat passed us.  Twice.  A Customs and Border Patrol boat, with 3 300 horsepower outboards on the back.  I didn't get a photo of it, but there was a Ford F-650 with CBP markings towing it.

Approaching mile marker 500, we began to see some flowers in the median and the side of the road...

Getting closer to San Antonio, construction ahead...

We have to make a navigation choice ahead: Loop 410 or stay on I-10 to I-35 back to I-10, and then I-37... right through the heart of downtown San Antonio.  It may sound counter-intuitive, but we have had better luck with traffic going right through town.  As we got close, traffic was backed up on Loop 410 - decision made.  With all the Interstate changes, it is good to have a navigator keeping track of the upcoming turns so I can concentrate on traffic and lane changes.  We're a good team.

Not so much as a slow down as we went through the city.  We did try to time it so we would be ahead of the afternoon rush hour times.

Just south of San Antonio and settled into a nice long RV site so we don't have to unhook...

This is a good opportunity to dump holding tanks and have the coach ready to unload when we get home; not looking forward to the work of unloading, but we are excited to see what Rufus does in his new home.  Two time zones, over 1,000 miles so far - he has handled it all just fine... as long as we are close by.

It is hot and humid here in south central Texas... quite a change from the last few months.

We are down for the night...

... in the scenic suburbs of Fort Stockton, TX - just in time for the annual Blowing Dirt Festival (Jan. 1st through Dec. 31st, each year).

About 350 miles today - Rufus is officially a travel cat.  He did great today, although for full disclosure, he did look at me while Joan and I were getting ready to roll and said, "We're gonna do this again, aren't we?"

"Yes, Rufus, this is what we do - we travel together.  Happily.  You'll get to see your new house soon, but we have to travel to get there."

"OK - just as long as you guys are here.  And food - food is important."

"Yep - we will always be here for you.  With food."

We got out a little later than yesterday, intentionally -  an hour and a half down the road, we will be going through El Paso, and we want to avoid morning rush hour.

The view in southeast New Mexico - the mountains by Las Cruces...

We were out before the wind picked up - the weather weasels are calling for strong west to southwest winds, with gusts to 40 mph by afternoon.  Check out the flag - it's a crosswind in this area...

"Who cares about the wind and weather - show us Rufus!"  Yeah, I get it.  He likes to ride on a lap right now...

That may change as he gets more worldly.  Just across the Texas/New Mexico border, we made our usual stop for fuel.  Ready to take on the El Paso traffic.  It was worse on the west side of El Paso, due to road construction.  Since the road construction through the main part of the city on I-10 is done, the problem isn't stop and go, bumper-to-bumper traffic - it is the crazy ass drivers who are driving fast and switching lanes as though this were a NASCAR event.  I knew we were back in Texas when a car in the far left lane shot between the semi and us in the far right lane, and just barely made Exit 1.  We saw plenty of that for the next 35 miles.

Rufus was assigned to Joan's lap during our El Paso passage...

We made it through El Paso unscathed, only needing to use the horn once for a truck that drifted into our lane.  Once into the clear, Rufus took turns with lap sitting...

The goal for today: 350 miles, getting us near Fort Stockton, and get down before the wind really kicks.

I have heard a rare person say that west Texas is ruggedly beautiful.  Maybe we've made this transit too many times.  There is some of this...

... but mostly it is pretty desolate.  It does appear that there is some activity in the oil biz again, with new tank farms and equipment.  Speaking of the oil biz: as usual, the highest gas prices are in the Van Horn and Fort Stockton area.

We rolled into an RV park around 4:30 - good thing we called a few hours ahead to get reservations: the place was busy, and we are in a site that is almost long enough for us.  Hot (in the low 90s) and windy (west at 20 and building).

We are comfortable in the coach, the a/c is keeping things cool, and Rufus is stretched out for a nap... he doesn't get his morning and afternoon naps in when he has to do all this "lap duty."  Truth be told, we have a couple different cat beds in easy reach for him, so he could hop off a lap and catch some zzzzzs.  If he wanted to get off a lap.

He did fine with the different road noises, having lunch at a not-particularly level rest area, and stayed on my lap when I rolled down the window at the Border Patrol Check Point.  Oh, he did get our attention when he stepped on the window button, rolling it down - he didn't freak, and had no intention of making an escape.  He did look at me like: "What the heck was that all about?"

It's all good.

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

Up and at it this morning.  As we arranged with Steph, I called her as soon as we were ready to start hooking up the "train," so they could come by to say one last good-bye.  Exactly right on time, I was just locking up the Honda after we checked the lights - ready to roll.  We said our teary good-byes, then Steph gave us an Easter basket to take with us on the road - these two are so sweet.

Inside the Aspect, I grabbed my camera and went back for one last photo...

Don't let the smiles fool you - they are gonna miss us.  ;-)

It was 8:15 as we headed for the Interstate, hoping that we'd be ahead of the usual Phoenix traffic...

Yep.  But, I know you don't care about the traffic - what about Rufus?  How'd he do?  Thanks for asking.  We kept him in his carrier for the first 15 minutes or so... I have mentioned that he can be vocal.  Yep, again.  This is his first time with the RV moving (even though we have taken him for car rides), so the little furry boy wasn't sure about the whole thing...

Joan held him in her lap, and he was OK.  He wanted to hop down, but we wanted to get through Phoenix first.  Fortunately, the traffic remained light, even past the airport...

Joan let him down, but followed him around to make sure he was OK.  He wanted to come over to my side of the cab, but I was concerned that he'd hop down and get under the gas and brake pedals.

Joan held him in a blanket for a while.

South of Phoenix, past Casa Grande, and by Picacho Peak...

Heading towards Tucson, Joan opened our Easter basket...

All kinds of sweets, some cat toys for Rufus, gift cards, and a really nice card that they both signed, saying how much they enjoyed having us here for the past couple months.  It is very special for us, too.  Plus, did I mention: we got sweets?  ;-)

We stopped to top of fuel; gas prices are running around $2.55 most places, about 25% higher than when we came through here two months ago.  On the bright side, the weather weasels were calling for hot and sunny, with building wind.  It was overcast and didn't get above 80º; the headwind we had on the way to Tucson, turned to a quartering tailwind as we turned east.

Rufus settled in, ready for a nap...

East of Tucson, you climb from the low teens to over 4,000' elevation...

I mentioned he can be vocal...

Rufus decided he was going to come sit with me...

Being RVers, we stopped at a rest area for lunch, for all three of us.  Rufus was a happy boy, knowing that the meal service he has become accustomed to continues, even when this house moves.

Continuing east...

The driving is easier when I have some help...

We ran into some crappy road surfaces in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico.  Rufus asked, "It it always going to be like this??"

The road surface smoothed out, and he was able to get back to his cat napping...

Getting an early start, we probably could have gone further, but we figured 350 miles was plenty enough for today - we are down for the night in south central New Mexico.  Land of Enchantment.  "Enchantment" is an old Indian word meaning: blowing dirt.

While I hooked up electric and cable, Joan put the jacks down and the slides out - Rufus is very happy that his "house" is back to normal.

I am very happy with how he did today.  We'll see how tomorrow goes...  Rufus: "Wait!  We're going to do this again??"

"Yep, we need to start checking off states that you've visited - with only two, you have quite a ways to go."  ;-)