OUR SLOWER 7-day EASTBOUND SCRAMBLE (TX-LA-MS-AL)

MONDAY - DAY 1 of 7
(169-miles from Marble Falls, TX to Purdon, TX)

We said goodbye to Tricia's brother last night and today we pulled out of our campsite around 10:00AM.

We have a relatively easy travel day today of just 169-miles, which won't even get us out of Texas. I did manage to surprise Tricia with a special lunch stop at Buc-ee's in Temple, TX and it's the first one we've seen with a car wash in addition to over 100 gas pumps.

Tricia picked out a monster sized Chicken Burrito and I tried the 3-meat BBQ sandwich for the first time. I don't think I'll get it again, it was also huge and I was burping the smoked sausage flavor for the next three hours.

Tricia also picked out a Brisket topped Mac and Cheese bowl and I a small sized Banana Pudding, which was still huge.

The portion of Mac and Cheese that Tricia didn't eat ended up making the perfect sized dinner for me, along with the pudding I saved.

An hour later we were pulling into the Oak Park Campground here on Navarro Mills Lake. It's an Army Corp of Engineers camground so we're paying half price, just $15, for a water and electric site on the lakeshore.

TUESDAY - DAY 2 of 7

Navarro Mills Lake has 4 Army Corps of Engineers reservable campgrounds around it's shoreline.

Located on the north shore of Navarro Mills Lake you'll find Pecan Point and Wolf Creek Parks, they both closed for the season back at the end of September and won't reopen until April 1st next year.

On the eastern shoreline is where we are camped at Oak Park, which is open year round. Also open year round is Liberty Hill Park on the south shore.

Today we're going for a drive over to Liberty Hill Park to check out their campground. It's just something we always try to do, just in case we're ever in this region again and need a place to spend the night.

WEDNESDAY - DAY 3 of 7
(217-miles from Purdon, TX to Haughton, LA)

We were about half way through our 217-mile travel day when we entered the city limits of Tyler, TX.

Tyler, TX is known for being the Rose Capital of the World, thanks to a 14-acre public garden that has over 38,000 rose bushes of at least 500 different varieties. That's nice, but what I'm going to remember about Tyler, TX is the price of gasoline at Walmart on Christmas Eve.

According to AAA (American Automoblie Association) the national average for gasoline today is $2.84 a gallon. The average gallon in Texas is $2.42, but for some unknown reason we paid $1.99 today, maybe it was a Holiday Special price?

My only regret was we only had room for 28-gallons in our 36-gallon tank.

Right around 1:00PM we finally made it out of Texas as we entered Louisiana on Interstate 20. The Tom Merrill Recreation Area on the Bayou Bodcau Reservoir is the only Army Corps of Engineers reservable campsite in Louisiana. There are two other COE campgrounds on the reservoir, but they are both FCFS (first-come-first-serve). You can bet we'll be checking them both out before we leave here and head over to Mississippi.

We arrived at the campground at 3:00PM and only 3 of the 20 campsites were occupied.
I know this campground is sold out for tonight so we should see neighbors before sunset.

So for now we'll enjoy our quiet little corner campsite.

It has all the usual amenities like a ground grill, upright grill, table and lantern post.
This one also comes with it's very own garbage can, not something you usually see.

The only complaint I have is that on Site #8 our utilities are on the wrong side of the driveway.
We had to break out our 30amp 25' electric extension cord and an extra 25' of water hose too.

We hope everyone is having a Merry Christmas today.

We are spending our Christmas in northwestern Louisiana
and looking forward to spending New Years in Florida.

FRIDAY - DAY 5 of 7

After takin' it easy yesterday, we decided today to go checkout those other camping opportunites in the area.

The first one is right across the street from here at the South Abutment Campground. There we found 5 sites that were walk-in tent sites and only 7 sites where you might be able to park a van, but nothing suitable for THE POD.

The same thing goes for the second campground we checked out. It was basically a boat ramp with a few places to throw a tent on the ground. Again, nothing suitable for THE POD. So I guess we picked the right spot to spend our Christmas Holiday.

On our way back to our campsite we stopped on top of the dam and snapped a couple of photos of THE POD.

SATURDAY - DAY 6 of 7
(273-miles from Haughton, LA to Forest, MS)

With a relatively long travel day today of 270+ miles we scheduled ourselves a couple of extra rest stops along the route.

Since we still had a half a tank of gas it wasn't important that we fill up before heading east on Interstate 20. Our exit here had gas for $2.69 a gallon, but with a quick check on our Gas Buddy app we learned that an hour up the road gas was going for just $2.14 instead.

Another hour after stopping for gas we pulled off the Interstate again to eat lunch at a Wendy's.

Just a short time later we were crossing over the Mississippi River into the state of, guess what? Mississippi, that's right!

The Interstate 20 bridge over the Mississippi River with the railroad bridge to the north.

Looking south there was a lot of sandy shoreline that I don't believe is supposed to be there.

As we approached the western side of Jackson, MS we exited the Interstate and headed to the north side of town where the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument is located.

Medgar Evers, while not as well known as Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in his home's carport on June 11, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. suffered the same fate of being assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Both men were high profile civil rights activists for people of color.

MEDGAR AND MYRLIE EVERS HOME
NATIONAL MONUMENT

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Here we are, all tucked in for the night!

SUNDAY - DAY 7 of 7
(264-miles from Forest, MS to Dadeville, AL)

We safely made it to Ronnie Dennis' Airstream Nuts and Bolts repair/modification shop by 4:00PM. True to form, Ronnie was there, working on the shop, on a Sunday afternoon between the Christmas and New Year Holidays.

I hope he wasn't there just to greet us as we arrived. We've been there before and knew where to park for the overnight and where to plug into the building for electric.

We'll see plenty of each other tomorrow while he's working on our, and two other trailers, in the shop.

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OUR 4-day EASTBOUND SCRAMBLE (AZ-NM-TX)

WEDNESDAY - DAY 1 of 4
(277-miles from Apache Junction, AZ to Lordsburg, NM)

This morning we were off the campsite by 8:45AM, a little bit ahead of our planned 9:00AM departure time. We stopped at the dump station on the way out of the park to empty our 9-days worth of waste water.

Rather than follow the route the GPS suggested for us, of taking US-60 due west past Mesa and Tempe, then through the suburbs of Phoenix, we instead took US-60 east and then US-79 south and bypassed all that traffic.

We trimmed a few miles off the route by doing that, but added a few minutes of travel time by using some 35-45MPH city streets. We finally merged up with Interstate 10 about 80-miles south of Phoenix at the same Exit #208 where the Blue Beacon Truck Wash is.

$71 later we had a sparkling clean truck and trailer with properly shined wheels and tires.

The Pilot Truck Stop across the street had gasoline for a very reasonable $2.47, which I could not resist and replaced the 9-gallons of fuel we've used so far today. By 11:00AM we were back on Interstate 10 and headed southeast.

Two hours later, around 1:00PM, we were still in Arizona and felt a bit hungry. Tricia started looking for a rest area up ahead so we could pull over and have lunch.

Do you remember the westbound rest area we pulled over in when entering Arizona nearly a month ago? You know, the one with the huge boulder wall behind it. Well this is the same rest area, except this time we're on the eastbound side of the Interstate.

That's the westbound boulder wall I mentioned on the other side of the Interstate.

Doesn't ROVER and THE POD look so tiny between those 18-wheelers?

The rest area has bathrooms and vending machines for snacks, soda and water.

I read this sign on the way back from the bathroom, wished I'd used the toilet in THE POD now.

By 3:30PM we had already refilled ROVER's tank with $2.57 gasoline in Lordsburg and made our way to the south side of the Interstate to Veterans Park. We camped here in January of 2024 when we were last in this area. It was a nice and quiet night then and we're hoping for the same this time through.

This is much better than overnighting at a Walmart, and it's the same price too, FREE!

Our closest neighbors are Airstreamers too!

THURSDAY - DAY 2 of 4
(312-miles from Lordsburg, NM to Van Horn, TX)

We left our campsite around 9:00AM and before we were even out of New Mexico 2-hours later, I felt the urge to visit a rest stop. Not only did I want to stop and stretch my legs, plus possibly make use of the bathrooms, I wanted to visit with a dear friend?

We were just a few miles west of Las Cruces, NM when we pulled off the Interstate and found a place to park ROVER and THE POD.

MY FAVORITE REST AREA IN THE SOUTHWEST

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So what makes this an Award Winning Rest Area?
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While it does have a commanding view of the city of Las Cruces and the Organ Mountains...
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...that's not it at all! It's because it's home to the 20' tall Recycle Roadrunner.
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No where else will you find a 20' tall roadrunner sculpture made entirely out of trash.
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From his hubcap eyes to his...
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...torso made of crutches, keyboards and other electronic throwaways, to his...
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...lower feet made of old tire tread,...
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...his hips and thighs are made of old flattened sneakers.
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I'd say this guy, from top to bottom, is nothing but junk.
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I'd also say this guy will probably still be here looking out over Las Cruces long after I'm gone.

Today was planned to be a 241-mile travel day, but as the RVers say, "Make all your plans in jello". In other words, be flexible, things don't always go as planned when you're on the road.

Such was the case today when we arrived at our "planned" stop and found it unsuitable for our purposes of staying overnight. We've stayed at the Westbound Rest Area before, right across the Interstate from here and everythig was great.

This Eastbound Rest Area, not so much! First off it is much smaller than the Eastbound Rest Area and there were already a half dozen 18-wheelers in the parking spaces. With no where to park, we decided to go 1-mile up the Interstate to the next exit, cross under the highway and head westbound to overnight once again in the Westbound Rest Area.

It too was pretty much filled and with no where to turn around we had no choice but to continue on through the rest area and get back on the highway headed in the wrong direction for us. To make matters worse, the next exit westbound is 10-miles down the road, so we ended up adding 20-miles to our travel day right there.

We drove back through the Eastbound Rest Area and found one empty spot to park in, but it was 5" out of level left to right and 7" out of level front to back. In order for us to get a decent night's sleep, THE POD has to be fairly level, both left to right and front to back. If we tried to spend the night here we would have to sleep backwards in the bed or risk all the blood rushing to our heads.

Also when we are spending just one night we try to never unhook THE POD from ROVER. It saves alot of work both when we arrive and when it's time to leave the next morning, not to mention if any kind of problem comes up in the middle of the night, we can very quickly leave.

I wasn't about to make that 20-mile detour again in the morning, so we didn't even think to check out the Westbound side again. Nothing to do now but head father east than we had planned for the day.

In addition to finding a place to sleep tonight, we need to purchase some gasoline. We still have 1/8 of a tank so it's not an emergency, but better sooner than later when you're traveling across the wide open and barren West Texas panhandle.

We first arrived at the very small town of Sierra Blanca (pop. 315) where we saw one gas station and they were asking $2.99 a gallon, when we've been seeing gas for anywhere from $2.47 to $2.79 along the highway. I didn't need gas that bad, yet, so we passed on getting fuel here and got back on the highway.

The next town we came to was Van Horn (pop. 1941), so it had several gas stations to chose from and just as we exited the highway our Low Fuel Light (50 miles to go) lit up on the dashboard.

Now with a full tank of gas we have a lot more options of what to do next. Just 5-miles east of Van Horn is our first opportunity for an overnight visit. The Culberson County Rest Area wasn't that busy, it's fairly level and while we are only about 50-yards from the travel lanes on Interstate 10, I imagine the traffic noise will die down eventually.

By 5:00PM the shadows were getting longer...

...and we were starting to possibly have our first overnight visitors join us.

I sure hope the next rest area down the highway isn't ten times better than this!

FYI - It was!

So now that we drove an extra 70-miles today, we'll have a much shorter travel day tomorrow.

FRIDAY - DAY 3 of 4
(384-miles from Van Horn, TX to Fredericksburg, TX)

Remember how I told you to make plans in jello? Well, we were just about an hour away from our planned stop for the night when we pulled over in a rest area to have lunch.

During lunch we decided that pulling off the road for the day so early just wouldn't be right. It means we would still have a long drive on Saturday to reach the town where Tricia's brother lives and we wouldn't be there until dinner time. We would still have all day Sunday to visit with him, but if....

If we were willing to press on today, we could get to within an hour or so of his place and be there in time for lunch instead of dinner. So that's what we did, we drove 384-miles today and parked in the Walmart Supercenter parking lot in Fredericksburg, TX.

Before we could do that we were going to have to stop and take on more fuel. For only the 2nd time in the last 7 1/2-years on the road, we saw not only the 50-miles to empty warning light come on, we saw the 25-miles to empty light come on just as we pulled up to the pump. That's cutting it too close!

SATURDAY - DAY 4 of 4
(57-miles from Fredericksburg, TX to Marble Falls, TX)

We pulled out of the Walmart parking lot at 9:00AM and drove the final 57-miles to the Sun and Moon RV Park in Marble Falls.

It's not the same park where Jim, Tricia's brother lives, but it's close, less than 10-miles away.

For our $55 a night we have a decent side yard...

...but most importantly we have water, electric and sewer hookups right on our site.

Plus a nice view of the maintenance shed out the back window.

After getting all set up we had about an hour to kill before we planned on meeting Jim for lunch.

He picked the River City Grille for where to meetup and share lunch. It's right on Lake Marble Falls, basically a wide spot in the Colorado River which runs right through the middle of town.

Jim didn't know it, but this lunch was going to be his belated birthday present from the two of us, so I'm glad he picked someplace nice to go. He's lived here for 4-years and always wanted to eat here, but never did. Well, now he has!

After lunch we drove over to Jess and Chris' home, lifelong friends of Jim from high school. They are the reason Jim lives here in Marble Falls, TX.

After finishing our visit with Jess and Chris, just the three of us came back to THE POD and played a game of Phase 10, which I won of course, I usually do!

SUNDAY - This morning I dropped Tricia off at her brother's place. They are heading back over to Jess and Chris's today to help install ceiling tiles in their kitchen and foyer.

While they are doing that, I'm going to get some groceries at H.E.B., think of them as the Publix of Texas. Also I'll fill ROVER with gasoline, that way we can head out tomorrow morning with one less thing to worry about.

On my way back to THE POD I grabbed lunch at a Dairy Queen Grill & Chill because I saw them advertising Chicken and Dumplings on the marquee. Believe it or not, they weren't half bad!

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