Leaving Hondo and Texas (on-the-road notes)

"Jacob's Tails ... (Back-to-the-Land)"
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Well, we finally did it! We got out of Texas! Both of us really wondered if we would ever make it – Texas goes on and on and on.

It's been so long since we have really been on the road; I forget how Fred gets behind the wheel and goes and goes and goes. Ten hours we drove and we were still in Texas when we finally packed it in for the night!

While he drives – I watched and wrote and occasionally managed to convince him to stop so I could take a picture. Here are some of my “on-the-road” notes:

Friday

• It was very early in the morning; the sun coming up lit the rows of RVs, each with its own distinct character.
• The odd dog walker meandered down the road as their four-legged love objects wander from side to side sniffing to find out what had gone on since their last visit and leaving their marks for the next caller that came along.
• With arms flaying, the exercise walkers strutted forward relentlessly to fulfil the purpose of their missions.
• It was quiet and calm.
• Heading out on the road was exciting. We were flanked on both sides by the same flatness – fields on either side – some ploughed but more covered with dry brown grass and leafless bushes – few building, little traffic.
• A bit of a giggle – a semi trailer truck hauling a huge tanker with MAALOX written across the side of the tank. We need to make sure we don’t eat at the same place he does!!
• The further west we go: the more cactus invaded the fields – prickly pear mostly.
• We still saw some live oak but more mesquite showed up along the way. I felt like I was watching an old Halloween movie with its gnarly, twisted, eerie, branches.
• The road turned north; waves of hills emerged against the horizon. The road ripped through each hill exposing layers of limestone and history built up over eons of wind, water and time.

• Now the land is peppered with Yucca plants rather than mesquite. Creosote bushes take over and we have desert.

Once we reached the Texas border, it was like putting your foot into an old shoe – not exciting but familiar and comfortable. Same road; same RV Park (Sunny Acres, Las Cruces) in New Mexico; and the opportunity to visit old friends and revisit treasured places.

Paul and Lynne have done wonders with Sunny Acres. The first time we were there it was an old worn-out mobile home park. They’ve managed to transform it into a welcoming spot for RV’er to come, visit and even stay on for an extended period of time and Las Cruces still is one of our favourite cities.

Onto Casa Grande, with a couple nights stop in Benson, and the opportunity to visit with more friends – Ed and Mary, who we met earlier this year in Tennessee, and Arnie, who is from our Condo in Lethbridge.

Well, now we’re in Yuma. This part of the trip is definitely the visiting friends piece. Sallee and John are just next door here in the Foothills, we’re visited with friends who are down here from Pincher Creek, and we are meeting other friends from BC in Quartzsite next week.

We’ve been down to Algadones, Mexico for Fred to get new glasses. I got my teeth cleaned for $20.00 and bought a new purse and vanilla and ate great fish and shrimp tacos. And some great shots of some of the of kids!

We went back out the Felicity, California (population maximum 5 people) to the “Center of the World”. It’s just as weird now as it was three years ago!! But I did get a few pictures – the stairs from the Eiffel Tower sitting in the middle of the field and their infamous pyramid .

Next week, we’ll be off to Quartzsite for a week or so. After that we will probably stop in Laughlin, then Las Vegas and (depending on the weather) work our way north.

What a trip and adventure this has been.