We Made It!

 

The trip that took forever (8 days) has finally come to an end!  We are in Arizona at a beautiful state park, Picacho Peak, and only had 250 mile driving day.  We had time for a short walk before sunset but those photos are still in the camera.  Relying on the new phone’s photos……

Interrupting the story to tell you that I got a S5 on Black Friday…it was free…kind of free…with another 2 year commitment to Verizon.  Now I am like a teenager…can’t do anything without it!!!  I’m constantly asking Google…”Ok, Google” everything from “what time does the sunset in Deming, NM” to “where is the closest McDonalds” , “what is the elevation of Picacho Peak” And love the camera!

So back to the story!  It has been a hell of a trip!!  Thought that we would never, ever get here!  From our very slow start…our Garmin issues and the rain, the never ending clouds and mist, damp and cold to the nightmare of the western Texas freezing rain.  Can close my eyes and still see that weather radar map so full of pink..indicating the freezing mix that was falling over Texas off and on for days.

We have only taken I-10 through west Texas one other time and it was a miserable trip.  This time we were better prepared and knew we needed to know where we were sleeping and where we would be buying gas before we passed our only opportunity.  Still totally unprepared for what we found in Fort Stockton!  Due to the prolonged ice and snow, the gas deliveries had not been made.  The few stations with gas were over run….our exit ramp was backed up to the interstate with everyone waiting in line for gas.  We waited over an hour for our 8 or 9 gallons of gas.  And if you are thinking “why did they not go on down the road?”, there is no down the road…well maybe 60 or 70 miles away!

Another thing on this drive…(last Saturday…our first day of sunshine).. was seeing the totaled tractor trailers in the median.  Terrifying to think what might have happened….hoped most of them made it out alive.  Most of the autos on the side of the road or in the median did not look demolished like the big trucks!

The ice and snow is now behind us!  Temps in the 70’s with the famous abundant Arizona sunshine!  Sitting in the camper with bare feet and a short sleeve tee shirt, rejoicing that it will not be in the low 20’s tonight.    (In Van Horn, Texas, and Deming, NM we woke to temps in the low 20’s.)

It feels good to be back in the desert!

 

Forgot to mention that we relied on our Passport America app and the All Stays Camp and RV app to find our overnight stops.  Prices ranged from $27 (Comfort, Texas) to $13.50 in Van Horn Texas.  It was too cold for us to be without hookups and the weather was too bad for us to care what was outside the trailer.  Most nights we even had cable tv…..amazing for us!