Sun, Nov 23: Cracker Barrel Richmond, IN to Walmart Clearfield, PA
NOTE: Walmart (first one after Richond, IN) would be much quieter. The CB is right by the highway 70. We rolled at 7am...just after first light. Stop at walmart. Route i70 to I76 to i80. Sunday is a good day to travel as is saturday! Especially thru these eastern cities no worry about rush HOURS.
We rolled into Walmart in Clarion PA around 1:30 originally thinking we would stay. However it was early and parking lot was buzzing and small. We took showers and decided to move on to Walmart in Clearfield, PA...about 1 hour away. On the way was the Loves Travel center in brookville, pa where we would dump/no rinse water this time of year.
We arrived at Walmart in Clearfield pa around 3pm. Bigger parking lot. David reports he wants to use only flying J dump stations because of the way they are set up.
Sat, Nov 22: CB in St. Robert, MO to CB in Richmond, IN
The day greeted us with grey and a rain spit.
We rolled at 7:16 this morning stopping at walmart down the street...which by the way would have been more quiet as the CB is right next to the road. When David was doing a walk around the rv before leaving. He discovered our protect-a-tow was missing...just gone. He surmised that the shock cord gave up the ghost. He's tightened it a few times because it got stretched out. Anyway we bought it in 2017 when we got old Jayco to tow our jeep. We will measure and buy a new one. Also decided to get gas at the Walmart with our walmart+ savings of $.10.
One more stop for gas today. We arrived at the Crackerbarrel in Richmond, IN around 4:30pm. Dinner was ready for us. David had a grilled chicken salad and chocolate coca cola cake. I had cole slaw, broccoli and roast chicken....decent for both of us.
Fri, Nov 21: Jimmy and Sandra's/broken Bow, OK to Cracker Barrel, St. Robert, MO
We said our good byes and rolled at 7:30am. Stop at Walmart. Stop at McDonalds for french fries and smoothies. Stop at Sam's club in Fayetteville AR for gas...getting to Sam's in Fayetteville made it 5 hours! The whole supposed 6h 31m google maps guestimate took 9 FLIPPING HOURS....way too long. The first few hours we were not able to do up to speed limit for various reasons. The few stops were not long...45 minutes max. Got to somehow break it up more next time.
We arrived at the Cracker Barrel at 4:45pm. Dinner was ready for us at CB. MY back was sore from sitting/aspercream....not sure why.
Tues, Nov 18: : Crosbyton City Park to Lakeside Rec Area, Mead, OK 6 hours. Reserved at Site F34 $13 w/senior pass.
After staying at Crosbyton City Park (its not a city) not sure I would stay again...more trucks than we imagined and parking spots are right by the road. Goats heads limited our walking Mali dog as well. I am going to have to peel my flip flops of them shortly. Yeah, I know its free and its convenient.
We rolled at 7:45am. Going to be 86 degrees today!!!! in Oklahoma. Yikes. Soon after Crosbyton on route 82 east we hit the hills of texas. Rural/ranches.
Stopped at a Dollar General for snacks.
We arrived at Lakeside Recreation Area around 2:30. Interestingly it listed 6PM as the check in time!!!! THAT's LATE! I have NEVER seen a check in time that late. Anyway, no one at the gate and we just drove to our site. When I made the reservation it was during the government shut down and I was the only reservation! But it let me do it so okay. There were only 3 loops open D, E, F. Ours was in F. In total in our loop there was only one other rv. We were the last one at the end....perfect spot. No showers here but that doesn't matter to us. Our spot is long and many are and we are waterfront! We walked Mali, made dinner and walked her again. Showers. There are trains semi nearby but our noise machine will take care of that.
Mon, Nov 17: Valley of fires to Crosbyton City Park, TX
We rolled around 7:30am. David reports that route 380 was rough....combined with our noisy lock mechanism...it was noisy. Next time we will try route 60 east and not 380 or give David a gummy. I thought it was scenice and didn't mind the noise.
We stopped to see what Randolph Rampy Rv park looked like in Tatum, NM. Not staying this time but I would if I was in the area. There were two rv's using the amenities. Next stop was Sam's Club in Lubbock TX for gas. We have a walmart plus membership so we get 10 cents off their gas which is usually cheaper for the most part. David could not get it to work. Anyway $2.23 for gas! Next stop Walmart. OMG, LUBBOCK TX, FEEDER ROADS, TRIPLE STACKED HIGHWAYS, BIG CITY...thank God for google maps. I am the navigator and was having troubles. David grew up in TX so he knows about feeder roads...nope not me. Not stopping in Lubbock again unless I can see the store I want.
Texas is windy today and in some areas very dusty. You can see it in the air and blowing across the flat lands. Its also cotton season and the bales of cotton are everywhere and there is cotton in the fields ready to be picked/baled. They jam a LOT of cotton into a bale. SO WHY CAN I NOT FIND GOOD THICK COTTON SOCKS!
We arrive in Crosbyton around 3:30pm. I took Mali for a walk to get the jiggles out. We found LOTS of goatsheads. More than we would ever wish for. I got one on me also/flip flops unknowing. I felt Mali dog's pain. We stopped often because she couldn't walk; I took one for the team. A simple little rv park...free and full hook up if you wanted it. Somewhere after dark another camper came in right next to us...its like a parking lot now with services. But hey its free.
Sun, Nov 16: National Forest west of Springerville to Valley Of Fires in NM.
Camping to Valley of fires dump & water RESERVED #17 (reservation fee is $8 per night) $15.50 due to reservation fee!
We stopped at the Datil Well blm campground to check it out for another time. We have been by it many times. Not ready to stop yet today and have a reservations. New fees at Datil Well are $30 for electric (only in three sites and those were the three sites that were taken). $20 for no electric....so $10 for us. They did have a host and pit toilets and it appeared to be a well kept campground. However sites didn't seem to be that level...bring blocks. Did not see a dump station. It does have water and trash.
Saw a man pulling a shopping cart LOADED with stuff on route 60 just outside of datil well. This is a rural highway. How far could he possible make it in one day? 10Miles? 20 miles.
We stopped at walmart in socorro, NM, for a very small pick up order. Gas at Circle k $2.85...cheapest in awhile. It took us about 1 hour to get to Valley of Fires where our reservation awaited us so we arrived early afternoon. Dumped and took on water before going to our site. Glad we had made a reservation even if for one night and $8 extra because we got a spacious site even though it wasn't our first choice/no service site. I made dinner and David took Mali for a walk. GOATS heads here so I need to bring a tweezer with me. Mali dog was getting a couple at a time and one of us had to take one for the team to pull them out of her paws.
Sat, Nov 15: Grahams to National Forest
packed up rv and we drove to the National Forest to camp for one night with Graham and Melissa. Lots of stars and a campfire. Melissa used to work about 5 miles further down this dirt road in a Fire Tower. We reserved at Valley of Fires so we wouldn't have to hurry in the morning tomorrow.
Nov 1 to November 14: Sons' house on a mesa in AZ near Show Low.
We loafed and helped with projects on his 72 acres of off-grid. He is working towards building a home to replace rv. I did burning of juniper cuts. David did various other things and will help him build a solar shed. I helped melissa separate garlic and plant garlic. I need to wear a mask when disturbing soil. Walked Mali dog. Hang out.
