Sunday ; Saragosa to Junction, Texas
Sunny and warm. WHEW … long day, lots of miles !
This morning we went for a long exercise walk around a farm field adjacent to the picnic area where we boondocked overnight. We drove across the freeway to the Valero fuel station there, and dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the RV park behind the Valero station. We were eastbound again on Interstate 10 around 11 AM.
At Fort Stockton we left the freeway and drove through town running errands. First I got tied up in a bit of a traffic jam at the Wal-Mart fuel bar, at the only fuel island with diesel fuel when the methamphetamine stoned skinny black woman in the car ahead of me left her car sitting at the island while she wandered around the fuel bar panhandling for gas money. I was NOT pleased ! I finally managed to get the truck and camper extricated and into the Wal-Mart parking lot. We went into the store to replenish some groceries and supplies, planning to buy diesel fuel afterwards.
After the Wal-Mart shopping I decided to take my fuel purchasing money elsewhere ! We drove through town looking for a better fuel price than at the Wal-Mart. I pulled into the very crowded Love’s station, more to refill a propane tank than purchase diesel fuel. <sigh> Their propane refill station recently had caught fire and was out of commission.
We drove to a nearby Flying J which was even more crowded than the Love’s station. <sigh> Flying J did not have any “propane refill” qualified staff on duty today ! I refilled with diesel at an Alon fuel station before leaving Stockton, already stressed and the day had barely begun !
It was another long day of humping across West Texas on Interstate 10. We were both a little tired/”jet lagged” from losing two hours overnight. We crossed a time zone late yesterday and daylight savings time started overnight. And with the delays and drama of Stockton I didn’t have time for a nap after lunch, or we wouldn’t have reached our barbecue restaurant destination before closing time. <sigh> Fat lot of good missing my nap had ! The barbecue restaurant was “sold out” ! This was the second time this winter season we have encountered a barbecue restaurant that had “sold out” of product !
We had lunch in a rest area east of Stockton. I refilled the truck with diesel again at Ozona. When we started travelling in 2004 I used to be amazed that we could burn though about a hundred Canadian bucks worth of diesel fuel per day of travel. Now we burn through a hundred and seventy-five U.S. bucks worth per day ! We had an afternoon exercise walk around 4:30 PM at another rest area. We arrived in Junction shortly before the restaurant closing time of 7 PM. HMPH !
We spent the night in Schreiner Park, the town’s municipal park on the banks of the South Llano River. We had time for a leisurely walk around the large park upon our arrival before it got dark.
Hope we can get some Texas barbecue tomorrow before we leave ! And propane ! And diesel again ! And freshwater ! <rolling eyes> Freshwater and diesel are daily refill requirements when we’re travelling.
Monday ; Junction to Live Oak County Rest Area near Three Rivers, Texas
Sunny and hot, temperature in the upper 80’s. Starting to become humid, typical for South Texas.
It took us a long time to get out of Junction, Texas this morning. First we went for a long exercise walk around Schreiner Park where we boondocked overnight. Then we drove into town and refilled the truck with diesel, bought barbecue brisket and potato salad at Lum’s BBQ, refilled an empty propane tank, and finally, refilled our freshwater tank at a Pilot truck stop. It was afternoon by the time we got back onto Interstate 10 eastbound.
Well ! We’re finally out of the barren desert of West Texas, and into the rolling, lush Texas Hill Country. Greg Abbott / Ted Cruz / Donald Trump territory. Good luck, Beto. <whispering> He doesn’t stand a chance here ! All white, no masks, black baseball caps, black Dodge dually pickup trucks galore, Let’s Go Brandon signs on the dashboards of the pickup trucks, bib front overalls, twenty-five year old couples all with three children, TRUMP 2024 campaign signs on all the large ranch gates already !
Shortly before reaching San Antonio we turned south on secondary / back roads to travel south then east to bypass San Antonio rush hour traffic. We had lunch at a rest area. An hour or so later we stopped at another rest area and I had a brief nap before we went on another exercise walk. We stopped in the “wild west” town of Bandera to buy baked beans and cole slaw mix at the supermarket.
We got back onto the freeway, Interstate 37 south of San Antonio, heading south. We stopped for the night at a rest area. Joanne baked fresh biscuits to go with our barbecued brisket, cole slaw, baked beans, and potato salad dinner. MMMMM ! ! !
WOO-HOO … Wi-Fi at the rest area. I uploaded my blog.
Tuesday ; Live Oak County Rest Area to Harlingen, Texas
Sunny and hot.
After our morning exercise walk we left the rest area around 11:30 AM continuing south on Interstate 37. A few miles later we entered the town of Three Rivers and refilled our freshwater tank at a Love’s truck stop. A couple of hours later, now on Hwy. 281 (future Interstate 69) we left the freeway again and entered the city of Alice to refill with diesel at an HEB (supermarket) fuel bar. As I was filling the truck with diesel, a bee entered my open driver’s door … and stung Joanne on the leg.
Beware the Ides of March, my dear. HA HA HA !
Before leaving Alice we had lunch, and I had a brief nap.
As we left the HEB parking lot and returned to the freeway a huge, thick, stinky tower of smoke began to rise into the air nearby. As we continued southbound on the freeway many fire trucks from nearby towns and cities were racing towards Alice. I checked online later in the evening and discovered that the fire was a wildfire/grass fire on the outskirts of the city that destroyed at least three homes. At the time that I checked online, about five hours after we left Alice, the fire was still out of control.
We reached the Rio Grande Valley, at Edinburg, around 5:30 PM. We had planned to boondock overnight at a Wal-Mart in Edinburg, but it was early enough in the day that I wanted to continue a bit further. SO … we turned east on Expressway 83/Interstate 2, the east/west freeway in the Rio Grande Valley and we drove, in heavily congested rush hour traffic, about another thirty miles to La Feria, to check out our first choice RV park.
We checked out Breezewood Cove RV Park in La Feria, and decided to select it as our home for the next month. We’ll check in there tomorrow. We drove another eight miles or so east to Harlingen, and parked for the night in the massive (and mostly empty) parking lot of Bass Pro Shops. We were settled in their parking lot by 8 PM, just as it got dark.
Palm Springs, California to Harlingen, Texas ; 7 days, 1572 miles, 2515 km.
Wednesday ; La Feria, Texas
Hot and humid.
For exercise we walked around the huge parking lot of Bass Pro Shops before leaving it this morning. Took us twenty minutes at a brisk pace to walk the perimeter of the parking lot. That would be a distance of about a mile !
We drove about eight miles west on Expressway 83/Interstate 2 back to La Feria where we checked in to Breezewood Cove RV Park for a one month stay. The check in did NOT go smoothly ! More than half an hour of two inept old women ****ing around on a computer. Then … <fume> ... I ran into an electrical problem while hooking up our camper to the park’s utilities. I needed assistance from the park’s maintenance man to solve the problem.
After a late lunch we took the camper off the truck, then headed back to Harlingen to replenish groceries and supplies at Wal-Mart. By he time we got back home from Wal-Martin’ it was 5:15 PM. I had a brief nap while Joanne put away our purchases, then I raised the camper’s TV antenna and set up the TV for “over the air” reception. WOW ! Got about forty TV channels. I was just finishing up the TV set up at 7 PM and we were about to leave to go to a nearby Church’s Chicken to buy supper when I decided to check what time Survivor was on CBS. OH ! Now !
We watched Survivor from 7 PM to 8 PM then went to buy dinner at the nearby Church’s Chicken. Perhaps the last meal I will be able to chew for the next week or so, depending on tomorrow’s dental appointment in Mexico.
Thursday ; Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico
The morning was overcast and windy. Around noon the wind diminished, the sky cleared, and it became sunny, hot, and humid.
About ten days ago I scraped my left knee against old plywood as I was loading the camper onto the truck. Instead of the many little scratches healing quickly, as I expected, they slowly became worse over time. This morning after showering I noticed … HEY … those aren’t scratches … they’re slivers ! Thirty-eight slivers ! ! ! Ouch ! After I dug them all out my knee looked like it had been shot with a shotgun.
We left home at 11 AM heading for Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico, about half an hour away, west and south. My dentist appointment was for 1 PM. My plan was to find the dentist’s office, then run some errands until my appointment time. We had some difficulty finding the dentist’s office. When we finally found it, and checked in with the front desk, the receptionist told me to stay, the dentist would be able to see me earlier than my appointment time. Well … that was a pleasant change from our “regular” dentist in Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico.
When I went into the dentist’s examination room a few minutes later Joanne went shopping for some medications we need. WOW ! This was the best dentist I have ever experienced ! He examined then x-rayed my problematic crowned molar. His explanation of the problem and the possible solutions was excellent. So was his work ! He wrestled the crown off first, then “sawed” the tooth in half before extracting each of the two halves. YUCK ! There was a lot of decay underneath the crown, and one of the tooth’s roots was rotten mush ! And there were two infected abscesses in the gum and jaw under and around the tooth. <sigh> I certainly am glad to have that problem taken care of. It has been causing me a lot of discomfort for quite awhile. And excruciating pain for about a week a month ago.
Joanne and I decided that the best course of action was to buy the antibiotic and painkiller that the dentist prescribed, then head home before the freezing wore off. We bought the medications and headed back across the border. The line up to cross the border was only a few minutes. No Customs & Border Patrol bullshit/games playing as at Los Algodones.
I spent most of the rest of the day reading and snoozing and going for walks. Today’s extraction has resulted in a lot of pain, but … that should be resolved in about a week or so of healing.
Couldn’t help noticing while in Mexico … all Mexicans are masked, all whites, (American day trippers) are not ! Masks required in dental office !
Friday ; Cloudy and windy in the morning, sunny and warm in the afternoon.
Bleeding stopped, pain diminished, facial swelling diminished. Slept a lot again today.
Saturday ; Sunny and very warm.
Still struggling with “recuperation”. Got up at 8 AM, had breakfast, took my antibiotic and painkiller medications … by 9 AM I was ready to go back to sleep. Slept until 1 PM. Got up again, had lunch, at 2:45 PM went to Harlingen to shop at Saturday afternoon farmers’ market, stopped at Mexican grocery store to buy some pan dulce, was back home by 4:30 PM … went back to sleep ! ! !
Got up at 7 PM, went for our exercise walk, stopped at Stars Drive-In to buy milkshakes, walked home, made mushroom omelettes for supper … was ready to go back to sleep by 10 PM. <sigh>
DSK
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