Phase 1: Oregon to Texas...
With rather short notice for such
long-term preparation, we decided to stretch our Texas
dental visit into a full-fledged east coast venture. One big sweep around the USA,
with a possible return through Canada! We made a 'dry run' with the RV, after taking
it out of winter hibernation, and all systems seemed a go. We then had a week to close up the house,
inventory the RV, pack it full of groceries, grab the cat, and hit the
road. We allowed ourselves a bit of
extra time to visit Happijac in Salt Lake City,
as Norm was concerned with one of the jack motors. We also planned on a couple of days at Moab,
UT, to visit the beautiful canyon lands. So we planned our departure for
Friday, March 21st. Thursday evening,
with a cheerful knock at the door, entered our neighbors Chris &
Teresa...toting a big pink box.
"Oh! I know that pink
box! You've been to Richard's Donut
Shop!!" I thought. Sure enough, they presented us with the perfect
'going away' gift –a box of donuts– and saved us a trip to Richard's in the
morning!
Their good luck wishes were so cute, I just had to hang the
box top in the camper. Obviously, this
was a few days later, after we had devoured them all!
We hoped to get on the road by 11 am, so at noon
(that's kinda close to 11, isn't
it?!) we were feeling pretty good as we locked the front door and started the
truck. Step #1: check the lights. Uh-oh...no left blinker on the rear. As a matter of fact, no light at all! Darn –we'll
have to make a stop at the auto parts store for a bulb. Norm gets the new bulb in, and still, ...no
lights! Try another bulb...same
thing. "Must be a wiring
problem" says the guy in the store.
So off to the RV dealership we go.
An hour or so later, we get the relieving diagnosis that it was just a
bad contact in the camper's "umbilical cord" (as we call it). That dog-gone thing has caused us more
trouble! We vow to replace it after this
trip. Asking for the repair bill, we were
told "No charge. It was a simple fix." Surprised but delighted, we tipped the
technician and headed for a late breakfast.
Stumbling block #2: Driving to the restaurant, it suddenly dawned on me
that I couldn’t remember packing the container that held all the cables and
rechargers for things like the computer, cell phone, camera, etc. So back to the house we went, and sure
enough, there it sat on the dining room shelf.
It would have been unimaginably
inconvenient to have left without those, so –in a way– I was glad we were detained
by the brake light! By the time we got
out of town, it was 3:00 in the
afternoon --slightly later than planned(!).
Oh well; at least we were on our way.
We've learned to make the first day
out a short one for distance and time, to lessen the stress of getting out the
door, which is always an effort. Did
we...? Do we have the...? Is
the...ready/filled/attached/charged/locked?
Are you packed? Have you called...?
It can be totally exhausting! So
an early arrival at camp, and time to recover, is very healing. It was with this intent that we planned our
first stop for the Crane Hot Springs, just outside Burns –a mere 165 miles away. We had packed our swimsuits in anticipation
of a luxurious soak in the natural waters.
Stumbling block #3: campground
full –!
Well, there aren't many choices for campgrounds around this area, so we
had to settle instead for the Crane Store/Café/Gas Station/RV...basically, a
spot in a gravel parking lot.
Okay, this isn't too bad; we'll get
a good night’s sleep and head out early in the morning. Preparing to hook up the water and electric,
Norm opened the refrigerator door to retrieve the water filter. Stumbling block #4: He was met with a carton of eggs flying
towards him at top speed. Splaaaat! –on
the floor they landed. On the floor, on
the rug, and on the walls! As I cleaned
up the floor and walls, he took the rug out to clean it. Temperatures dropped during the night, and we
awoke to a frozen taco of a rug. And
that wasn’t the only thing that froze.... Stumbling block #5: we forgot to take in the water line (like we
haven’t done this a million times before –and should have known better!), and it was frozen solid, too. So rather than get an early start, we had to
wait for the sun to thaw the rug and the water line before we could move. To be honest, we both contemplated postponing
the whole trip, given such ominous ‘warnings’ had been cast upon us –!! But we’re stubborn, so down the road towards Nevada
we went.
Next stop was Winnemucca, and an RV
park we were familiar with. Thankfully,
no more surprises. We looked forward to
breakfast at “The Griddle”, a wonderful spot we discovered last time
through. Unfortunately, this was a Sunday morning, and the place was
packed. The staff was rushed, and the
food and service reflected it. Full, but
disappointed, we left Winnemucca.
Another stop near Nevada’s
eastern border, then we were in Utah
for an appointment to get the camper jack looked at. All went well, and Gary and his crew did an
amazing motor rebuild on the spot, for a mere $59. Those guys are just great! Thank
you, Happijac!! We did some shopping
at Camping World, and still managed to get to Moab
before sunset.
Weather predictions for Moab
(as well as all of southern Utah
and northern Nevada) were calling
for very strong winds (30-50 mph) and heavy dust storms. We thought it best to sit tight for the day,
and alter our route as well. We were so grateful
to have made that decision, as the prediction held true. The strong winds knocked at our little camper,
and punched it back and forth as if we were in the middle of a dry
hurricane! Skies were darkened by
clouds, but even worse...by sand.
Even with windows and doors closed
tight, we’ve been wiping the storm’s talcum powder dust off of everything for
days since. We had a window of good
weather the second day, but the new route to take us away from the storms added
miles –and caused us to have to push to get to Texas
in time for our appointments. No time to
play in the canyon lands after all; we’ll just have to come back here a third
time someday. Meanwhile, the scenery leaving Moab,
and then later entering into Albuquerque,
was gorgeous –and the calmer weather held.
But as it was still very chilly,
Gracie opted to stay under the covers rather than sit in the window and enjoy
the view!
After Albuquerque,
until we reached our stopping point in Texas,
the only highlight was Roswell, NM. The drive was very straight, flat, and
boring, just like the GPS image predicted...
No longer the kooky little town we
remembered from the 1970s, there were hardly any outer-space visitors to excite
Gracie and Norm, or scare the daylights out of me! We caught a glimpse of a few hanging around
the gas stations, shops, and museum...
But we did have a lovely sunset (I
think Norm was up late searching the night sky for visitors!).
Just before crossing into Texas
the next day, we happened upon this amazing sculpture in the small town of Artesia,
NM...
During the last leg into Texas,
we drove past miles and miles of oil-drilling rigs, as far back in the fields as the eye
could see. Where is all that oil
going????
Coming into Texas, we were greeted by this beautiful, old stone building in the town of Brady...
We made our way down to Marble
Falls, and set up camp at Black
Rock Park
on Lake Buchanan. We’ll roost here while taking care of our
dental needs with our amazing ‘wizard’ of a dentist –and wonderful human being– Dr. Nunnally.
Waiting for me at the dentist’s
office was my brand new Olympus
camera (I had to have it sent here, since I didn’t decide to purchase it until
after we got on the road).
The black spot in my tried and true
Canon PowerShot was just getting larger and larger, and I couldn’t tolerate it
any longer –nor was I always able to ‘hide’ it in the photos. I dutifully read all the instructions, and
when confident I did everything right, took the Olympus
out for a day’s worth of shooting. When
I tried to upload those 50 or so shots onto the computer... they weren’t
there!! Well, actually they were; but I
could no longer get to them because I
had failed to format the SD card first ––which
was nowhere in the instructions!!!
When the camera forced me to
format the card, all the photos were wiped clean. UUUURRRRGGGHHHHH! Lesson learned: ALWAYS format a new data
card! (I should have known that –blush).
There are plenty of interesting
things to photograph in the Texas Hill Country, so I’m sure I’ll find some fun
photos with which to fill the next update!
