Traveling South to Fulton Texas, with a brief Picnic at Choke Canyon State Park

 

One of the signs of fall is when the deer invade our yard. They are looking for the tasty bushes we have planted and cultivated and are really unconcerned by our presence. Each year we leave when the weather turns cold and so we winterize our fifth wheel before heading out.

The first day we drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming which is a long drive. The reason we drove so far was to beat the high winds that were forecast for the next day. The forecast was that the winds would exceed eighty mile per hour.

Getting up early we dove to Lamar Colorado and checked into a motel. Its was good we pulled off the road early as the front arrived and a dust stormed slammed into the town. Visibility plummeted to about one hundred yards and semis disappeared. They never slowed down.

The next day we traveled to Lubbock, Texas. Each night we stayed at a motel and we got out our cleaning and sterilizing wipes to carefully disinfect all of the surfaces. Again, we got up early and drove to Boerne, Texas which is just north of San Antonio. We took a rock on the drive and shattered our windshield so for Christmas we are going to get a new one!

As we were only two hundred and fifty miles from our winter spot in Fulton Texas, we actually planned for a picnic at one of our favorite birding spots, Choke Canyon State Park. Entering the park, we spotted a green jay but were not able to get an image.

We drove to the eighty-acre pond got out our binoculars and cameras. Walking out to several birding points we saw the usual birds. A white ibis stood on a log and coots and swamp hens paddled around oblivious to our intrusion. The water was extremely low and areas that were usually flooded were high and dry.

We did not spot any alligators and had to be contented with a great egret, a great blue heron, and some drab ducks in their dull fall plumage, (gadwalls perhaps?). Driving through the campground was not any better but as we got near the parks exit, we saw a male and female scissortail flycatcher.

They were on a power line in about the same exact spot we had seen our first one twelve years ago.

The flycatchers made our day and so we drove the rest of the way to find our fifth wheel parked and waiting. We were home at last!  Clear skies

Homeward Bound

It was finally time to head north. We had stayed for a full month longer than we usually do because our place in Wyoming was not yet open. The temps in south Texas heated up and the humidity made it more than we could stand so we spent most of the day indoors. The plan was to drive the seventeen hundred miles in four days, which is a huge mount of driving without breaks.

The first day on the road was a drive of four hundred plus miles to Sweet Water Texas. Once we got on the way, (we had a lot of prepare the fifth wheel for storage), it was ten thirty which meant that we would get to Sweet Water about six in the afternoon.

If you have never been to south Texas, the area we crossed was really flat. At least there were lots of scrub brush to break up the monotony and crossing several rivers. All of the rivers we crossed were low due to the drought that eastern and central Texas is currently undergoing. Gas was cheap and when we reached Sweet Water, we found a nice place to stay along with fast food restaurants nearby.

The second day was another drive of about the same length but this day we drove through some areas with buttes, and the area near the Canadian River was really quite pretty. It reminded us of some areas in southwest Wyoming.

This day we as we neared Oklahoma a warning light came on. We had never seen a warming light on this car and this one said that a tire was underinflated and needed to be checked. Renita even got a text message from Subaru!

We had just left Perryton, Texas and turning around we went to Perryton Tires, There the staff welcomed us and got our car in and after removing the tire and looking for a leak, put the tire on and sent us on our way free of charge. We offered to pay but the tire man thanked us and said no payment was necessary! If anyone ever sees them self in need of tires or service Perryton Tires is the place to go!

After spending the night in Garden City, Kansas we left on day three for another leg to Sidney, Nebraska. There were lots of detours and we got off route so bad that our gps stopped receiving data. We found a map of Kansas, in a small convenience store in Atwood, Kansas. We decided to take a longer route to get back on track as the road we had been on was narrow. It had rained most of the day and we dreaded going on such a road with no shoulders.

The highlight of the day was when we stopped at a small picnic area. There two American goldfinches flew nearby and landed in a small bush next to the car. They were brilliantly colored in their breeding plumage, (and puffed up from the cold temperatures as it was forty-five degrees Fahrenheit), but they flew away before we could get any pictures.

We reached Sidney, Nebraska and were shocked to see the gas price was fifty cents higher per gallon than the town that we had passed through forty miles earlier. It seemed like price gouging to the extreme which is pretty typical when you are in a town next to the interstate.

We left Sidney and drove across Wyoming, stopping for the night at the Little America on Interstate eighty. It was an easy drive, a little less than four hundred miles.  The mountains were covered with snow and it was so nice to see mountains!

Our rv park did not open till the next day and so we were only one hundred and fifty miles away. It was the first time we have stayed at Little America and the room was nice but dated. They do have two grills there and so we had our usual chicken and cheeseburgers. The highlight of our stay there were the two red breasted nuthatches that stopped to look at us before continuing their hunt for bugs.

The final day started with a short drive and we arrived at eleven am. The rest of the day was spent checking for damage, (no damage to our fifth wheel), and unpacking. It is amazing how much stuff we brought in our Subaru.

Clear skies

From Florida to Wyoming, Caught in a Wyoming Blizard

I look out the window and watch the snow as the thirty mile per hour winds blow it parallel to the ground. The fifth wheel shakes, even though our stabilizers are down, and of course the dog needs to go outside.

At least we are camped in a spot with electricity and water and that’s great as our solar panel system is covered with snow. We are here for at least two more days, welcome home to Wyoming!

It hardly seems possible that we were wading in the Gulf, with a hot Florida breeze blowing across the Island at Bunces Pass. Leaving Florida, we flew back to Houston where we picked up our truck. The next day we hooked up the fifth wheel and headed northwest across Texas.

Two driving days of three hundred miles each, found us in Amarillo where we took a break. We don’t drive the distances we once did and now drive two days before taking a two-night rest in a camping spot. Of course Amarillo has a rock shop, and we managed to buy some excellent bright green Wyoming jade.

From there we drove first to Seibert, Colorado and then to Cheyenne. We try to stay at Passport America discount parks as the participating parks offer a fifty percent discount. Renita suggested a bypass around Denver and while the road was not the best we avoided all the heavy traffic.

Two days of travel meant we would stay for two days in Cheyenne. There we celebrated Mother’s Day by eating out at a Red Lobster, (lol, we just can’t get enough seafood). A winter storm was approaching and so we left on Tuesday trying to beat the storm as we drove over the highest pass on Interstate 80, (The town of Buford is located there, and it is expected to receive twelve to twenty four inches of snow with sixty+ mph winds).

Lucky us, we had a strong west wind and so we didn’t have any danger of blowing over. Winds of over forty miles an hour plus make for dangerous driving in a high profile vehicle and we try to avoid driving when the wind reaches thirty. Wyoming does have a new online road conditions map and we safely made it to Rock Springs.

So we sit here and hopefully the storm will quickly pass over. The forecast is for temperatures next week that will reach the seventies. One can only hope? Clear skies

What Plan? From Livingston to Wellington, Kansas

The rains finally stopped and so we hitched up and drove a short hop to Mineola, Texas. There we found a nice but pricey Civic Center Park. As we walked Molly we were treated to the sight of two swallow tail flycatchers. Unfortunately we did't have a camera.
That night I heard several helicopters that sounded really close, and they were! Right next to the park is a emergency medical center and helicopters land there to fly patients to the nearest hospital. The plan was to stay there for two nights but the Weather Chanel was predicting big storms and high winds so we left the next day and drove to Ardmore, Oklahoma.

There we stayed at Hidden Lake Rv Park and again we planned to stay for two nights. However the weather forecast of a day of strong southerly winds would allow us to make a run to Wellington, Kansas, (that and a forecast of possible tornadoes and fifty plus winds on Sunday, oh my)!

After a easy days drive we reached Wellington and parked at a pricey park. Not a lot of choice here but oh well, its a big pull through. We decided to head into the city to check out the museums and downtown area, only to discover that most of the stores were closed and that the Museums weren't open till May, (ok the Depression Glass Museum was open till four but we didn't have enough time as it was after three pm when we got there).

The new forecast for today is for high winds, hail up to baseball size, and possible tornado's. It will be a busy day staying glued to the tv for weather updates and the radar images on our smart phones. The severe weather plan, if rotation is spotted on the radar, (we live in an rv), is to jump in the truck and drive north or south, avoiding any tornado or hail. We have done that before when we were in North Dakota and it worked out.
Tomorrow the wind is supposed to be somewhat calm and we will try to drive to York, Nebraska. The forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday is getting worse so again once there we will sit for a few nights and watch the weather. Clear skies

From Grand Isle to Rapid City South Dakota, A quick Run Across Tornado Alley

We delayed our departure from Grand Isle, Louisiana as another huge storm brought heavy rains, high winds and local flooding. Leaving the next day we had to drive through fresh water as the water table here has risen from the deluge,
Our first day was a long day as we drove three hundred miles to Beaumont, Texas. The next morning we headed to the Escapee Park in Livingston, Texas. There we did laundry and stayed an extra day to celebrate Renita's birthday.

After a two night stay it was time to cross tornado alley. A break in the storms appeared and so we did four three hundred mile legs in a row. The first night we ended up in Ardmore, Oklahoma, day two in Dodge City, Kansas, the third day found us parking in Ogallala, Nebraska, and the fourth day we ended up in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Here we had a nice day and then the temperatures have dropped. Snow is forecast for the upper elevation on Mothers Day, so we are resting here for a week before crossing Wyoming and ending up in Star Valley at our summer base camp.
Hopefully we will have a break in the weather here as we want to go rock hounding at some of our favorite places. The forecasts don't look good but we really love the Black Hills and Rapid City so its always a good place to sit and recuperate from the long haul. Clear skies

From Grand Isle to Casper, Mile after Windy Mile

We said our goodbyes and left Grand Isle on Friday. Our first stop was at Beaumont, Texas and then on to Livingston where we decided to wait out the passage of a strong low pressure area and its resultant tornados. Walking Molly I noticed a familiar fifth wheel and Mike and Loretta came out to greet us, perhaps as surprised as we were.

That’s what fun about our life style, you never know when you will meet up with fellow full timers. Two days later we headed north to Ardmore, Oklahoma and then off Guthrie where the severe winds made us lay up for two days.

It was Renita’s birthday and so we spent a day antiquing in downtown Guthrie. There were actually some good shops with real antiques, but nothing we really needed, no rocks anyway. One of the stores featured local artists and we met a jewelry designer. She had made a few of her beautiful pieces using Teepee Canyon and Dry head agates and of course we had to tell her of our stone work.

The winds finally eased a little and so our next drive was to Dodge City. It’s a place we have already visited and so it’s a stopping off place where again we will wait for the wind to die down, (two days ago the wind gusts here were over sixty miles per hour and dust and sand storms blew rigs off the road.

Tomorrow the winds will finally let off again and so our goal is tp make the last legs across the plains, leaving the threat of tornadoes behind. We are not really sure where we are going, Rapid City, or Casper, or even Rock Springs. Regardless the roads all will lead to Thayne where we will spend the summer. Clear skies

From Grand Isle to Kansas

 

We left Grand Isle. and headed up the bayou. The road is pretty good, (after last year’s hurricane damage near Port Fouchon), but after turning on US 90 we started to run into some pretty bad stretches. Now I have often wondered why Louisiana has roads that resemble the Alaskan Highway and I suddenly had an epiphany.

See the bad stretches of road in Alaska are all were the drunken forests exist, and these are where the road crosses thawed out permafrost, (i.e. swamp land).  The bad stretches of road in Louisiana are where the road crosses the swamp land, and both are easily seen by the tilted forests, where the trees are literally sinking.

So we headed north, racing the approaching front, and we drove all the way to Livingston, Texas and the Escape Park. There we waited out the front, did laundry and picked up our mail. After two nights the winds died down a little and so took off for Oklahoma.

Strong winds made driving difficult and our mileage dropped as low as seven miles per gallon as we drove into 20-30 mph winds. Occasionally the road wound and we had strong crosswinds that threatened to rip the canoe off the roof. Luckily the straps held, but it was unnerving to say the least.

We made Ardmore, Oklahoma and stayed at a park that actually had a tornado shelter. It looked like it would hold quite a few folks and it was nice to see that the safety of the guests was actually considered.

The next morning the winds had died down so we stopped at Wal-Mart, and then headed back north for Salinas, Kansas. Again the wind picked up and again we fought strong headwinds and the occasional gust of a scary crosswind.

The temperatures dropped into the forties and we both wished we were back down south. There isn’t a lot in the way of campgrounds and so we spent the night in a pretty good KOA in Salinas. Tomorrow it’s supposed to finally warm up, as the low pressure is moving east, and the winds are supposed to abate so our target is somewhere in Nebraska and then Rapid City for a few days rest.

Hopefully the snows are finally done and we can enjoy the sights a bit as its forecast to be in the seventies. So maybe we can actually get out doctors visits done and then enjoy the summer. Clear skies

Roman Nose State Park, Butterflies and Blooms

We pushed hard from Livingston, Texas and drove all the way to Hugo, Oklahoma. It was an uneventful drive even counting the mental lapse where I took a turn onto Interstate 20 and headed for Shreveport, Louisiana. Luckily we only drove fifteen miles before we realized our mistake and backtracked.

There wasn’t much in the way of rv parks and so we ended up spending the night at the Walmart. The next morning we left bright and early and fought strong winds all across north Texas and Southeastern Oklahoma. Renita had a busy day as she used her smart phone  to guide me through Oklahoma City.

The cross winds got worse and I asked her to find us a place to park but most places were closed and so we drove all the way to Watonga. There she had located a campground at Roman Nose State Park. Now the park was named after the famous warrior chief, who used to camp in Bitter Creek Canyon and we ended up finding a nice spot for twenty bucks a night.

A strong front was passing through and so we decided to ride it out and spend two days and it was a really nice decision. Taking Molly for a walk we found the park was full of butterflies and spring flowers and so the walk became more than just exercise.

That night the wind increased and so we even turned on our furnace as the temperature dropped, but not too much. By the afternoon it was pleasant and we took off on a hike around the far side of the dam. Soon I broke into a sweat, as we headed up a small hill and crossed outcrops of granite and red beds.

We heard several birds and watched as turkey vultures glided on thermals. Several small lizards ran across our path and I watched for snakes but they weren’t in evidence. Stopping for pictures Renita and I enjoyed the peace and quiet and the day provided us with what we needed, a break after six hundred miles of driving.

If you are ever in the area we would recommend you spend a night or two here. We know that if we find ourselves here we will stop again. Clear skies.