We are at Now...

 

First, recap of yesterdays hard drive through San Antonio and Houston...

Above is one of the first pictures of the day...look at those flags...they show you that we had a strong wind, and it lasted throughout the day, but was not as windy as we got closer to our destination, Baytown.  Now and then the wind was behind us...most of the time it was hitting my side of the motorhome and knocked us about left and right (left is my steering, right is the wind).  We also had a touch of rain throughout the trip.

As we came into San Antonio a decision needed to be made as to using the 1604 loop (bypass) or just stay on I-10 through town.  There is a message board which pretty much said that both routes were within a minute of each other.  I first decided to go I-10, then changed my mind and picked the 1604 loop...and that is what we did.  Immediately we hit stop and go traffic for about 2 miles, then it opened up the entire rest of the way back to I-10.  In total, it took about 35 minutes to travel the 26 mile route.  Most of it is freeway, but the last 8 miles is more a highway with some stoplights which you need to be ready to stop for...one of which made me come to a very hard stop, but we stopped just at the line where you are suppose to stop at.

After we stopped at Love's for fuel and a doggie run, we got back on I-10 and just a few miles later come across a Buc-ee's Gas Station.  This Luling location was built in 2001, Buc-ee's first travel center. Two and a half years ago we came across our first Buc-ee's in Alabama, and you can read that blog posting here.  The COVID era slowed down Buc-ee's growth a bit, but it has still opened a number of stores since my post was written 2 1/2 years ago.  As we got closer to Katy, we saw another Buc-ee's which was three times the size (my estimate) than this one in Luling.

A few miles after passing Buc-ee's we stopped at our first rest area and had breakfast and let Indy out again.  Did not see any ants at this stop...did not get pictures of the rest area later that we did see Fire Ants at...but the mounds were a foot high!

Coming into Katy, Texas, population 21,000.  Its population nearly doubled in the last ten years.  The highway widens, a HOV starts up in the far left lane, and they are ready for another 50,000 in population between Katy and the other feeder cities to the west of Houston.

Here is a picture of what I like when they do it...put the Interstate Embalm on the highway to let you know what lane you are in...if you are smart enough know what Interstate/Highway you are suppose to be on.  Sure helpful for us.

Here is a picture Marcia took of downtown Houston.  I-10 hugs the northern portion of the downtown area.

Well, we are past Houston now.  This Flying J is the first place we fueled our 40' American Eagle way back in November 2011.  We have bought two motorhomes in Houston at a place called PPL, a consignment dealer.  Less pressure, good website, honest folks.  Found the American Eagle to be bit big for my liking, and the cost to fix was going to be too much for our blood.  Traded it in for a 32' Jayco Melbourne in 2013, which burned down in a RV Storage Fire in the early spring of 2014, then bought our 28' Dynamax Isata a couple of months later and we have traveled in it ever since..

Here we are parked at the Bayou Bend RV Resort, $50 per night but only $25 with Passport America with 3 night max at discounted rate.  When I checked in the clerk told me that the park is heavily filled with Oil Industry workers.  Some work four days per week, travel back home for three and come back to work again.  He said that with the current political climate, the industry is in a huge flex...and about 25% of those who stay at the park have gone home through Christmas time...he hopes they will all come back in January.  That building on the other side of our motorhome above is the bathrooms/showers and Laundry...a very modern building.

The park is concrete and grass.  There are few trees within the park.  The Internet is awesome, they must have eight WiFi antennas putting out the signal.  First time I had a park say, "It is ok to hook your TV up to the Internet and stream movies if you wish."

I have noticed that some of the RVs don't have cars in front of them day or night, so some have left and kept their RV here at the park.

Of course, sometimes family is going to come and visit, and there is a nice playground for the kids.

Along with a few areas to have small group gatherings for a BBQ or whatever.

Here is the swimming pool right next to the office.

To compliment the 100+ RV pads, they have 13 cabins at $130 per night (3 night minimum), or $500 per week, or $1,300 per month + electricity.  There is a full kitchen, small living room, a bedroom and a loft.  3 person max with one being a child.  

Near the RV park is a Super Walmart, numerous eating establishments, gas stations, emergency health clinics, etc. etc.

A call to the RV park near our Condo found that the earliest we can get into the park for three nights is Sunday.  Tomorrow we are going to pull out late morning and go around 200 miles to a place in Louisiana that we have parked before, way away from trucks, near the Atchafalaya River Basin (America’s largest freshwater swamp).  Then we will go through Mississippi, enter Alabama and stay at another Passport America park which we have stayed at before, this time for 2 nights.  Not sure what we will do Saturday night, but we will be within an hour or two of our Condo and finally be home.  So that is the situation we are at now...close to home, but a few days delay.

Another Blow Hard

Got up, walked the dogs, paid our bill ($15 plus change) and we were on the road by 8:15.  A fairly easy travel day from Needles to Barstow…then it got very exciting, again.  I could not tell you which of our travel days had the hardest wind.  I do think that today we had the hardest wind gusts, that is for sure. 

  

Before the winds started to blow us all over the place, we were enjoying the view of the Mojave Desert…there were lots of yellow flowering plants, more green than we are use to, and the clouds made for a spectacular view.

Just east of Barstow we always stop at the Desert Oasis Westbound Rest Area.  Here Skruffy and Bubba look out again, and in their minds they are wondering “Why does dad always stop at this rest area with no lawn, no greenery, nothing by sand and rocks?”

And each year they search and search for green grass…anything that is green.

Bubba, LOOK, we found some!   Bubba?  Bubba, is that you actually raising your leg up to pee??? (A very rare thing with Bubba, and first time on camera too)

As we get ready to get back into the motorhome, Bubba faces to the Northwest, looking and smelling for that familiar sign…Arny’s house.  I figure his body is faced in the actual direction of where Uncle Arny and Aunt Sandy live.  Yes, getting very close now Bubba.  It was also here at the rest area that I noticed the first signs of wind.  Twenty minutes later as we get close to Barstow, I can start feeling it on the steering wheel.

At Barstow we picked up highway 58, which at times is a two lane road, but mostly a four lane, divided highway.  At the intersection of highway 58 and 395, there is a Pilot Gas Station which is very busy (busier than this google maps image above)…and I normally stop there since I last filled up in Arizona.  California gas is so much higher than what we have been paying…a dollar more than in Kingman Arizona.

As we travel along highway 58 there is a nice stretch where there are Joshua Trees. Some stand alone, while others are in small groups.

     

As we get close to the town of Mojave, one can see windmills which seem to go one forever.  Up over those hills, down near Bakersfield and we are done for the day.

    

The Orange Grove RV Park, just east of Bakersfield, is a popular stopping site for us, and for many of the snowbirds.  As we drove down our “street” after visiting the California Fruit Depot (that’s a secret, enough said), we noticed many RVs from British Columbia, Washington State, Oregon, and at least one full-timer out of South Dakota.  I went out again later, and another twenty RVs have arrives since us, but it should be quiet on our end…I think later arrivals will be put on the other side of the park…which has nearly 200 very large sites.  Most  of the pull through sites are 65 or 90 feet in length. And yes, it is in a Orange Grove, and you can pick Oranges (no ladders) and/or visit the California Fruit Depot around the corner.

Today, many of the trees still have oranges on them, and blossoms for the next crop.  I sure hope they don’t have any more freezing weather this spring.

Tomorrow we have a 300 mile drive up to Sacramento and into Citrus Heights.  Then we will be with family for a good month or so.  I think that will make someone very, very happy.

Blowing Through Kansas

One thing I really like about our motorhome, and our HHR, is that when you drive straight, in no wind, the steering wheel sits “right”, not at an angle like you see above.  Today, it drove at an angle for more than half the day.  Not because anything was busted, but because from Wichita to Liberal Kansas, where we are staying tonight, the cross wind was so strong that it took that angle to keep it on the road!  As trucks passed going the other way, I had to be careful that the motorhome didn't go into the oncoming lane because for a brief second, they block the wind.  From Peculiar to Wichita we had a head wind…got 7 mpg. 

Tonight we are staying at a Passport America park in Liberal, Kansas.  It is your typical “older park” with many “older RV’s and mobile homes, along with a few nice ones.  But the price, $16, is right…includes electric, water, sewer, cable TV that works.  Since we are only here for a night, and our tanks were empty, I topped off our fresh water and put the hose away, so all we need to do is put electric and cable wires away, and off we go.  It is 6:30 central time, and a pleasant 75 degrees.  Tonight the low will be in the low 40’s, instead of mid 20’s like last night.  We have 600 miles to go tomorrow, then we will slow down our pace a bit from there to Sacramento.   I think tomorrow we “might” even have some pictures to share…so far we have been so busy fighting mother nature while driving.

Note:  As we packed up to leave this morning, Marcia realized that what we thought was taken out of the garbage can by Bubba the other day, was never in the garbage, but in a little garbage bin she has by her front seat...so now we both think that Skruffy was the culprit for both events, and poor Bubba probably was just an innocent onlooker.  However, we have cut the treats way down the past 48 hours since the little girl has been walking around with a full tummy, which seems to be better now.