Glacier National Park

First and foremost this place is BEAUTIFUL!!

The road I came in on was a curvy, mountain climbing, small road for a big part of the way. I didn’t have an issue driving it until I started my descent. It was very steep for a few miles. Now mind you, I have driven down mountains several times with no problem. The issue this time were the brakes.

I do have an engine brake (aka Jake Brake) and it definitely helped but, I should have pulled over 1/2 way down the mountain.

When I decided to pull over it was at a large pullout area on the opposite side of the road. Luckily, I had no oncoming traffic because I needed to get stopped since I was smelling the hot brakes now. I have heard too many horror stories of people having fires start because of overheated brakes. At least the view of the Divide River was really nice!

Little did I know I was only 1 mile from the RV park. I wasn’t too concerned looking at my GPS while dealing with the brakes.I got checked in at Johnson’s of St. Mary Campground and this would be base camp for 2 weeks while I explore the area.

Since this is my first National Park visit, I chose to buy the Annual Pass for $80. This is good for a year, gets me and up to 3 adults in my car into any National Park at no additional cost. I also bought a National Park Service Centennial Passport book and got it stamped. Hopefully the first of many parks I get to see. This year is the 100 year anniversary of the National Park Service.

 Meanwhile, back at the rv I guess some cows saw my Texas plates and figured I would be up for a visit.

A friend of mine (Lena Sanchez) told me about a restaurant in Babb, Montana called Two Sister’s Cafe. She knew one of the owners named Susan and it was only 5 miles from where I was staying. So I ventured down there for an early dinner one day and had a very delicious Bison burger and fries. I recommend this place for sure. I asked the waitress if Susan was working and she said yes & sent her to my table. Nice lady and she agreed to a selfie as proof I was there..haha

For this being about Glacier NP I sure haven’t talked much about it yet huh???

This place is huge with so much to see and do. The vastness, the photographic views, the crystal clear water of the rivers and lakes can be overwhelming, in a good way. The pics will never do it justice in capturing it all, but I tried. Here are just a few shots.

In lieu of posting too many pics, you can watch my video of Glacier National Park, Montana on my Youtube channel or click this link: 

 Please give it a thumbs up if you like what you see and share it for me. The more views and activity on my channel the better.

I haven’t made firm plans on my next destination yet, but I will see you down the road somewhere.

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Thanks for reading along and be sure if you watch my video, watch it all the way to the end. Some extra few seconds of footage after the credits.

It’s been a whirlwind lately..

Been a bit since I last wrote. Last time I posted it was Land of Enchantment Part 2, about my time in New Mexico.

I have crossed several states since then, but quickly. After leaving Gallup, New Mexico I drove to Towaoc, Colorado and stayed a couple weeks there, including the 4th of July. This was an RV park connected with the Mountain Ute Casino. It was a good spot with a fireworks show of their own on the 4th of July. This was my home base for my ventures in the surrounding area.

I managed to go to the Four Corners Monument which was close by. For those that are not familiar with it, it is the place where the corners of Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico come together. It was a crowded place with a line to stand at the center point for people to take pictures of themselves. I chose not to wait in the hot line but did walk the edge so i could say i was in all 4 states that day. It was only $5.00 to enter and there were a bunch of vendors selling everything from Jewelry, t-shirts and other assorted wares.

The nearest decent sized town was 10 miles from the RV park, Cortez, Colorado. This was a nice little town with plenty of good restaurants and shops. Especially noticeable were the Marijuana shops (which is legal in this state) and easily spotted by the green cross flags they fly. It was so weird hearing radio commercials advertising for them too.

I did have a hankerin’ for Mexican food as usual, so i tried a place on main street called El Burro Pancho. Actually it was so tasty I ate there twice! The tacos were freshly grilled beef on a huge plate. 

I also tried the steak at the Mountain Ute Casino by the RV park and was very disappointed. I had higher hopes for it. Tough steak & a small baked potato.

While at this home base i decided to get the long overdue brakes replaced on my Jeep. I found a place with the help of Google Maps in Cortez that had great reviews. I made an appointment to take it in and since it’s just me i had to hang out in the waiting room several hours for the fix. This ended up being a good thing as I got to visit with some locals, which were the lady running the counter and the owner of the shop. Such nice people and the owner had an old Triump motorcycle parked in front. So of course we talked alot about our bikes. The end result was i got the front and rear brakes replaced at a reasonable cost. So far so good and I can feel a difference. THANKS AUTO MASTERS CORP of Cortez, Colorado!!

I left Towaoc, Colorado on July 5th and made it to Green River, Utah. I did drive thru Moab, which is a beautiful place, but it was so freaking hot i decided to pass Arches National Park for a cooler time of year. It is high on my list of places to see.

 I stayed the one night at Green River, then on to Draper, Utah for one night. This RV park was so crowded and a tight squeeze for my 39 foot home towing a Jeep. The next day I made another short drive to North Ogden, Utah and stayed at the Wasatch Estaes. This is actually a mobile home park that rents out the many empty spots to RV’ers. The great thing is the spots are big enough for a doublewide and a concrete pad to park your vehicle on. I normally stay longer than one night per place because the amount of work it takes to set up and tear down each time can be tiring. I was trying to get to cooler weather. I did stay at this location a week which gave me time to catch my breath. One thing I did encounter here was my “first ever” in my life Yellow Jacket sting on my wrist. Suckers had a nest inside the metal box where i had to hook up for power. Needless to stay that bugger HURT!!This was a quiet spot but I had a reservation at North Bear Lake in St. Charles, Idaho for 3 days, so on July 11th I headed out.

I made it as far as Logan, Utah before I decided to start looking for a diesel repair shop. On the way to Logan I hit some very steep mountain grades and it was giving me a check engine warning light/alarm. NOT AGAIN! Last time, if you recall, it was a bad fuel injector. I found a place called Moonlight Diesel who was able to get my rig checked the same day. They discovered my pickup fuel pump was not working at all. This is the pump that helps get the fuel from the tanks in the front of the RV to the rear where the engine is located. I was able to stay in the parking lot in my RV that night and most of the next morning since they had to wait on the part.

Remember the reservation i had at Bear Lake? Well I lost one night stay for cancelling less than 24hrs from check-in. So I guess my free stay in the parking lot actually cost me $33.48.

They got the part in but it was going to be a big task considering where this little part was located. I got a hotel room that night since the repair would not be done until late. The owner Terry was actually the mechanic who worked on it and he stayed late into the night to get it done. My extended warranty company actually paid the claim this time with the exception of the expedited shipping cost and usual parts markup by the shop. So with my $200 deductible included, it cost me only $329. I was definitely happy about that and i get reimbursed for the hotel room too. If I had no extended warranty it would have cost me for everything about $1500.(But i am still ticked off about the last claim they didn’t cover) HAHAHA

I headed out from Logan and drove to Idaho Falls, Idaho. I did my first ever boondocking in the Walmart parking lot, along with about 10 other RV’s. It was not bad but I definitely need some solar panels to keep the batteries charged so i dont have to start the engine or generator as often.This was just a stop over to Montana which is where I am now, since July 14th. My time here will be for another blog as this one is waaaaaaay too long and most have stopped reading by now i am sure.

Be sure to check out http://www.Youtube.com/c/FotoHysteria  for a 2 1/2 minute video for something in Montana already.

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Land of Enchantment Part 2

When I last posted I had been seeing the sights around my home base of Alamogordo, New Mexico.
On June 6th, I departed this memorable area to see new places I have never encountered. I headed northwest passing thru San Antonio..wait a minute, was that the scenic route?? No, it was San Antonio, New Mexico..haha

A short drive past there would be my home for the next week. I stopped at the Kiva RV park in Bernardo, NM. Not much in this area but with my Passport America membership it was only $98 for the week.Thats a 7 day week for $98 with complete hookups! Bargain basement prices right there.

The weather was hot, dry and desert like & like I said not much in the area that interested me.
Except one thing that caught my eye, a bridge.
A mere 1 mile from my RV park was  an old metal bridge that crossed a dry creek bed. I took a few shots of it in the mid day sun and it did not appeal to me. I began checking to see where the sun would be setting that night. Hmmm, the wheels starting turning in my head. I came back out one evening just before sunset to scout out a suitable location to shoot this bridge. There were no fences on the east side of the bridge, no signs warning people to not trespass, no private property signs. So I took it upon myself to go off road to set up. I took a multitude of pics of this bridge with the Sun setting at different stages but finally found my shot. There is something about taking a picture, looking at it on the camera screen afterwards and suddenly say out loud, “That shot is SICK” (Psssst, older than me people, that means I thought it was really good.) Haha.
The GPS coordinates on the camera screen can be looked up if you want to see the exact location.

After some tweaking in Lightroom CC, it became the picture below. It is one of my personal favorites. Which reminds me, I need to add it to my website http://www.fotohysteria.com <shameless plug.

Next, I moved on for a week to Red Rock Park in Church Rock, NM. It is a small town on the outskirts of Gallup. This park is actually owned by the City of Gallup and kept nicely.
I was awestruck by the views of the massive red rocks as I entered the park.

After finding a good spot to park for the next week, I made my plans to go hiking the area.
The trail entrance was so close to my RV I can see it from my desk right now as I am typing this.

It was a really nice trail with everything from red sandy walkways, to rocky ledges. The terrain was very diverse. It was only in the 70’s but it sure felt alot hotter with the sun bouncing off the rocks. Luckily there were plenty of places to grab some shade to rest.

I met several nice people on the trail over 2-1/2 hours. I took a bunch of photos which I will be sharing in a video in the next few days, so be on the lookout for it.
Met one family of 3 that were traveling across northern New Mexico and into Colorado on vacation. One of the ladies in this family was a photographer and we all exchanged Instagram pages. She does some really good landscape photography so give her a follow on Instagram @cassyarch. I like to spread the word for others when I can.
Good thing about meeting other photographers on the trail is you can offer to take each other’s pics so you have something besides selfies.

That is Church Rock sticking up in the background. I never made it that far but close.

Remember those red rocks I showed you earlier from my RV?
I decided to finally go out there at night, with my tripod, wide angle lens and camera remote. The rocks are being lit by floodlights facing them and also it was a full moon in the top right of 2 of the photos. The red color just came thru so strong on them. No moon would have allowed me to capture the stars better though.

So glad I finally got out there to do it. If Mother Nature had given me a handful of clouds to work with I would have been a little happier.
One last thing to mention. This place is loaded with Prairie Dogs. I loved listening to them chirp to each other. They have holes everywhere, including the road. Hopefully I won’t have any stowaways when I leave here.

Alas, that is all for now. Headed out for Colorado, unless I get side tracked in New Mexico.
Again, be on the lookout on my Facebook page and YouTube channel for a new video in the next couple days. Adios from New Mexico- the Land of Enchantment.

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Land of Enchantment Part 1

I left Van Horn, Texas & made it to New Mexico on May 23rd, 2016.

First stop was my old stompin’ grounds, Alamogordo. I was stationed at Holloman AFB just down the road from 1989 to 1991. This was my final assignment before I got out of the Air Force. During my short time here I enjoyed White Sands NAtional Monument and Cloudcroft, New Mexico frequently.

Fast forward to 2016 and I began my return visit to this area using the Shady Grove RV Park as my home base. The plan was to spend a week here since it was affordable at about $125 a week for full hook ups (FHU). My week-long visit turned into 2 weeks since this was a quiet spot that allowed me to fan out and see several things in the area.

Now I don’t normally do all the touristy stuff, after all, I am not necessarily a tourist, I live and travel fulltime in my RV. My main goal is to see things I can share with others thru my photography while seeing new things I havent encountered before.

First thing to do for me is to drive up to Cloudcroft, a place I spent a lot of time in the past in the summertime due to the higher altitude and cooler temperatures. A short 20 minute drive up the mountain on Highway 82, and it did not disappoint. It was so much cooler than in the valley below. This is the Lincoln National Forest area and plenty of scenic views to be seen on the way up. Cliff faces and tall forest line the roadway. The place I stopped on the way up was not here when I visited previously. It was a parking area with a platform overhanging the cliff. This allowed for a clear view of the wooden railroad trestle, along with the White Sands National Monument area miles & miles away.

Onward just a couple more miles and I decided to have lunch at the Front Porch Bistro in downtown Cloudcroft. It was not busy and the staff was super friendly. I opted for the Bacon Cheeseburger and boy oh boy was it fantastic!! I highly recommend stopping here if you are in the area. Thanks Aleisha you were a great server too.

Another stop, going down memory lane, was a few days later on the north side of Alamogordo. This was the McGinn’s Pistachio Ranch. Now mind you I do not like pistachio’s normally. But the pistachio brittle here is to die for. Every kind of pistachio flavor you could dream up they probably have it. They also sell an assortment of souvenirs and Ice Cream- can you guess what flavor?

A place that was even cooler than Cloudcroft was Ruidoso, New Mexico. Specifically, Ski Apache at 9900 feet above sea level and 42°.

There was so much to see, so much beauty, so peaceful. I can’t post all the pictures I took otherwise this would never end.

So, with that said I will end this Part 1 of the Land of Enchantment. I will do Part 2 soon, where I will write about my last two stops in New Mexico before I venture to Colorado.
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RV TV Project…

It was Memorial Day, being that I am not a crowd person, I chose to stay home and do a project I kept putting off.
I decided to tackle the task of replacing the old 20″ tube tv in the bedroom, that came with the RV, with a bigger flat screen.

Taking the old tv out was easy enough but installing the new one would take some work. You see, the old one fit inside the cabinet & the new one would not of course.
Time to scribble out a plan on how to do this. Now I am no carpenter by any stretch of the imagination but I can put some boards together, roughly. Just don’t check it with a carpenter square.
Due to the type of mount I needed for this tv, I had to build up the inside of the now empty cabinet space. The tv was only 30lbs but in an rv you have to build like it was a lot heavier due to the bouncing around as I drive.
My original plan was to use some 2×4’s to make a frame and attach a piece of 3/4″ plywood to them. Then I would have a solid flat surface on the back to attach the tv mount.
I sold or gave away all my saws when I sold my stick & bricks (house), so I would need the local Home Depot to cut the lumber for me when I buy it from them.
Ok, the plan is coming together.
2 different size screws- Check.
2×4 cut to correct lengths- Check.
Plywood cut to size- No Check!
According to the gentleman assisting me one of the cuts could not be performed on his saw because of their safety guidelines. The 2nd cut would be too small of a piece of wood to work with. Well Fudge! Now what??
He suggested using 1×6’s and put 3 rows of wood up in place of the plywood. So he cut the wood and I came out cheaper by about $10, so I was happy about that, if it works.
Got back to the RV and after surveying his idea I thought, this could work. I did the preliminary framing and decided to really beef it up by putting 2 pieces of the 1×6 on each row to make it thicker.

Needless to say I then had to return to Home Depot to get 3 more pieces of cut wood.
It then took 6 stores to find the correct mount that would work on this tv and move the way I wanted it to. I guess that covered about every place in Alamogordo, New Mexico that carried mounts.

Yes, I finally got it mounted and it could hold up a tank from all the screws I put in it. I think the weight of all the hardware might equal the weight of the tv itself. Haha

Like I said earlier this started on Memorial Day but I finally finished it up on Thursday June 2nd.
Now, if I can just figure out why the satellite signal won’t go to that tv.

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Friday the 13th..Coincidence??

 

Friday 05/13/2016- Today was relocation day and I am headed to Fort Davis, Texas for about a week. I unhooked everything and secured items inside as usual for just an hour drive to my next home for the week. I was looking forward to getting on the road to see some new sights. It was Friday the 13^th, but I don’t hold much stock in that being an issue.

I was only a few miles down the road when I had an audible alarm sound off and the check engine light came on. My engine also went to about ½ power or into limp mode as it is often referred to. This lasted about 10 seconds and then all the warning signals went off and I regained power. I then cautiously continued on and within another mile it happened again, then again and again. I was able to find a spot pull over and shut down the RV. I then called the Marathon Motel and RV Park, which I just left. I asked if anyone had reserved the space I had just checked out from and she said no. I explained the situation and she said I could come back to my spot until I can get a mechanic out.

I started up the RV, turned around and didn’t have another issue with the alarms going off. I thought about turning around again and continue on to Ft Davis but figured I better be safe than sorry and not make the trip. I contacted a local RV supply & repair shop and the guy returning my call said he wasn’t a certified mechanic, which is what my extended warranty company requires.

I contacted my roadside assistance company Coach-net to make plans for a tow on Monday the 16^th, due to no shops being open on the weekend. This company was FANTASTIC every step of the way. I made arrangements to have them show up with a heavy duty wrecker on Monday and they were there by 11:30am. This wrecker company got everything hooked up in 50 minutes and we were ready to roll. Where are we rolling to you ask? Well, it was 149 miles and 2 ½ hour drive away in Odessa, Texas at the Cummins South Plains LLC Service Center.

I got there a few minutes before the wrecker and started the check-in process. All I had to do was sign the wrecker sheet and not pay a dime. With Coach-net Premier membership I have unlimited towing to the nearest service center, for unlimited miles and for unlimited times per year. This includes my Jeep, anything I borrow, lease or drive. Can’t beat that deal! After signing the wrecker sheet I asked him how much would I have paid if I did not have Coach-net and he said $1500.00, again you can’t beat that deal! If you have an RV get it and re-coop your money and then some with just one tow.

The Cummins service center was not able to get to my RV today so it would be the next morning. Originally they advised me that the propane would have to be turned off for my fridge when they pulled the RV into the shop the next morning, for safety reasons. I advised them that I have an ice chest and can buy some ice to keep my food cold while they had it in the shop. That night I got a room at the Holiday Inn and then went to get me some dinner.

The next morning (05/17/2016) I returned to the shop and noticed they had already started working on it outside a bay door and my propane was still on for the fridge. They decided to work on it outside to keep me from having to ice down my food. They didn’t have to do that, but I was sure happy they did.

They had diagnosed the problem as my number 3 fuel injector was bad. This caused the alarms and loss of power. The part had to be ordered and they could have it put in the next day. I looked at my warranty paperwork and grateful this was a covered item and I would only have to pay my $200 deductible.

I decided to kill some time by getting my oil changed in my Jeep and give her a bath. I then checked back into the Holiday Inn I had checked out of earlier in the morning. It was a really nice Holiday Inn I must say but the price wasn’t too nice. Every place was double their normal price I think because college graduations were going on at the two local colleges, or so I was told.

(05/18/2016) This morning I spoke with the Cummins Service Center by phone before checkout time to see if the repair would be done today. They said they were still waiting on approval from my extended warranty company but already had the part. So I checked out.

A short time later Missi, from Wholesale Warranties, called me while I sat in the Starbucks enjoying my java and being entertained by watching the local homeless lady walk in and out of the coffee shop talking to herself.

Missi began telling me that the injector was considered a pre-existing condition and said it would not be covered by the warranty. I said how can that be?

She stated that since I had only put about 400 miles on the RV since I got my warranty thru them they had Cummins send them the printout reading of the ECM. That is when they hook the machine up to the RV to see what is wrong with it. The ECM showed the first time this problem occurred was 6000 miles ago, before I even owned it. I said ok but I didn’t own it then, I haven’t had an issue or alarm until just now and your inspector did a test drive in it with me when I bought the policy.

I pleaded my case as calmly as I could and won’t bore you with all the questions I brought up because you would be reading another 20 mins. You’re Welcome. LOL. I did ask her to have the claims manager call me so I could be in my car where I could speak much louder to him. She nervously laughed and said ok. Needless to say speaking with him fell on deaf ears and I have no recourse. They are reimbursing me for up to $150 a day for hotel and food for my trip interruption as soon as I email them the receipts. The room was over $150 each night alone. GRRRRRRRRR!! The claims manager John Wise stated he would send an email to the general manager of San Antonio RV’s, where I bought my used RV, and see if they would assist in the repair cost. I said that is fine but I bet they won’t pay a dime. He forwarded a copy of the letter to myself as well but as of right now, as I predicted, no response.

OK, back to the shop. I spoke at length with them and they agreed it was BS that it was not covered. They completed the repair and test drive and said I was ready to go. They did have an RV plug where my RV was parked and said I could stay the night in my RV there if I wanted to leave in the morning instead. Since it was rainy and late in the afternoon this was very nice of them. So I settled in for the night and watched the Survivor finale and got some sleep.

I have to say every single person I dealt with at the Cummins Service Center was great! Thank you Jaime, Waylon and Jose!

Total cost of the #3 fuel injector repair: $1724

2 nights in a hotel: $166 + $172= $338

Total before any reimbursement: $2062.00

Yes it’s a big bill. Yes I was blessed enough to have the money in savings. Yes I am grateful it wasn’t another $1500 for the towing. But it still ticks me off that Wholesale Warranties would screw me!!! Too harsh?  NOPE! And I have waited 4 days to write this. Imagine how much I was spittin’ nails on the 18^th. HAHA.

I am writing this in Van Horn, Texas and leaving for New Mexico tomorrow morning. FYI the RV drove great on the way here.

Not much I wanted to photograph here but will leave you with this sign i saw. You will need an iron stomach to eat that chicken.

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Post Park..Oasis in the Desert

• This might sound strange to some, but Google Maps can be your friend. It is something I use a bunch to see what is in an area I am visiting, along with a myriad of other apps.
  Where is the best place to get diesel? Can my RV fit in there easily? Where can I eat or grab a java? What things to see in the area? The list is practically endless.

One place I saw on the map was Post Park, just a few miles down the road from Marathon, Texas.
On my way there I saw an abundance of Quail walking along the road, as well as baby sized Prairie Dogs darting across in front of my Jeep. I have officially named them the crazy “Squirrels of the Desert.” Sorry no pics of either because they were too skiddish and too quick.

The views along this seemingly desolate road to nowhere allowed me a chance to get a good look at the mountains on both sides of me. Cattle, goats and old looking windmills dotted the landscape. There was a sign posted warning to watch for livestock in the road. Of course, I never thought I would actually see any, but these crazy goats were crossing back and forth. So rush hour traffic, me included, had to wait.

As I continued onward, I snapped a few shots of the view around me. The rocks amaze me sometimes with their textures and colors.

In this same area, far up on the side of the mountain, I saw a small fenced in area. I zoomed in as far as I could & cropped this picture, so it is not that clear. It was a small cemetary and I can barely read what appears to be the last name of Payne. Anyone know who this is by chance? I didn’t research it personally, maybe I should have.

The journey was not long and soon I pulled into Post Park.                 Right off I noticed there was not another soul around. The place was heavily shaded from the trees, with picnic tables scattered throughout, birds singing and a Woodpecker ratta-tat-tatting on a tree. There was a nice sized pond with ducks, turtles and fish. This place was like an “Oasis in the Desert“.

A short time later a couple of vehicles came into the park, one was a lady by herself and the other was a family with several kiddos ready to play and picnic.

I noticed the lady had a sketch pad, sat on the edge of the pond, kicked off her shoes and put her feet in the water. She then proceeded to sketch the scenery around her.

Shhhhhh, I snuck a long distance shot of Laura Grolla (Most excellent artist)

I had photographed all I wanted on my side of the pond and as I made my way past this lady we exchanged greetings and introduced ourselves to each other. We had a nice visit and she showed me her artwork. I have to say, the lady has talent! I myself can barely draw a stick figure, so like musically talented people, good artist amaze me.

Those who can draw are Artists, those of us who can’t are Photographers.

I told her where I was headed later in the week and we agreed to try to meet up for another visit, since she was more familiar with that area than I. Little did I know at that time how fast my plans can change without my control. But that will be in the next blog post. It was good to meet you Laura. Have to catch ya on the flipside!

I continued on my sightseeing of this park and caught this beauty pictured below. To me she looked like she was saying, “I just got my hair did”..LOL

One of the other ducks came up to me and let me pet it, as it pecked at my shoe. Guess it thought my white sneakers looked like a piece of bread. I named this duck, wait for it………………DUCK !

My buddy Duck fell asleep on me!

 

The breeze and shade felt nice but it was starting to heat up. I snapped a few more shots and hit the dusty road back to my RV, where I left the a/c running full blast. Here are a few more pics I took.

Thank you all once again for reading along on my journey.

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Hey!! You’re still here???

Ok, since you stuck it out to the very end, here is a sneak peek pic of what is coming up on my next blog post.

Marathon Anyone?

Hello everyone,

This is a quick blog post with my trip from Del Rio to Marathon, Texas. A follow up post will be coming soon on what I saw while in Marathon and the surrounding area, with pics.

Today (05/10/16) was checkout day for me and time to depart Del Rio, Texas. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

First things first and that is to top off the tank before heading to Marathon, Texas. My tank wasn’t as thirsty this time and only required 28.6 gallons of fuel for a whopping (hold on to your hat) 6.1 miles per gallon. That is no typo, it was 6.1 mpg. It is a tad bit less than I expected, I figured it would be more like 8 mpg. Now, you have to keep in mind I did let it idle for about a ½ hour when I was preparing to depart, not that it will make that much difference. Now to head to the next spot.

About 30 miles or so west of Del Rio, I came across a Border Patrol Inspection Checkpoint. The flashing yellow warning lights and sign said all vehicles must stop. Been thru these before when I use to travel from El Paso to New Mexico, while in the military. The Border Patrol Agent was very nice and just asked if I was the only occupant and if I was a US citizen? I said Si’ & Si’. LOL. At the same time his partner walked a canine around my RV and Jeep. Took about 2 minutes and I was on my way. The majority of the trip to Marathon was a whole lotta nothing. I think I saw more Border Patrol Officers and Buzzards than anything else.

It was a very hilly drive, my GPS tells me what percentage grade the incline is and the biggest was 6%. This isn’t bad in a vehicle but this big RV did feel it a little so I had to downshift frequently to maintain my speed. That may have play a part in the lower fuel mileage I am getting. Not any traffic to speak of and for about 30 miles I had no cell service at all, on either phone, not even any roaming service. Hard to remember life without some connection somewhere, how did we all survive?

Driving through this desolate area, seeing old buildings and dilapidated homes, my mind began to wonder about the old wild west days. I mean, here I am driving a motorhome with air conditioning, a complete kitchen, bathroom and even a queen sized bed. Could you imagine what it was like in a covered wagon (the RV of the western era) the heat, rough trails, dust and dangerous enemies in the area at this time. I was definitely born in the right time in history, because I may not have survived that trip.

About ½ way to Marathon, I started smelling what I thought was a sewer smell. It was bad enough that I pulled over to investigate. After roaming around inside, the bad odor was coming from the enclosed shower. I was convinced from the bad smell it had to be the black tank, which is what all the toilet water flows into. I know I had emptied both my black and grey tank (used sink and shower water tank) the night before so it would be faster to depart the next morning. I check the tank level gauges and low and behold, the grey tank was about ¾ full. How did this happen? Did I take an hour long shower or run the faucets all night in my sleep?? AHHHHHH, Nope. Dummy me forgot I washed a couple loads of clothes the night before, after I had already drained the tanks. So I had some grey tank treatment I washed down the kitchen sink and within minutes the funky-ness was at an acceptable level. I had read other RV people saying the grey tanks can get just as bad smelling as the black tank, but I figured no way. Well, I am a believer now! The water sloshing around on this very hot day of travel added to it I guess. Needless to say I will double check that before leaving again. Live and learn.

I arrived at the Marathon Motel and RV Park and was pleasantly surprised by the layout. Yes it’s the desertly part of Texas but the RV Park was pretty nice. The lady checking me in was great and it was a painless process. So many times you hear of RV park staff being jerks to their customers but so far I have been delighted. I am sure there will come a time when I have to deal with a smelly turd of an RV park employee much like my gray tank. For now I am grateful.

The RV spots here are very large, plenty of room side to side, quiet and great wifi once again. Sprint cell service is 3G roaming but usable for calls and some internet. Verizon has a good signal of course.

This place, like the last RV Park, offers a Passport America discount. My original plan was to stay for 3 days. Two nights with my Passport America discount was $17.50 a night and the third night was the regular rate of $35.00 a night for a total of $70.00. This includes full hookups, which is electric, water and sewer connection. They also offer cable tv with 46 channels, including HBO, Showtime and Cinemax. Pretty good deal I thought, although I was using my satellite dish. There is a live webcam facing west across the parking lot that you can see if you go to their website at www.MarathonMotel.com.

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The First Trip…

 

Made the first road trip today (05/04/2016) and landed in Del Rio, Texas at the Holiday Trav-L-Park on Hwy 90 west. It was a 4 hour drive with stops and construction, 175 miles and was pretty uneventful. The RV Park is directly across the highway from Lake Amistad Reservoir.

I did have to fill up my RV for the first time and figured it would be pretty costly since I had just over a quarter of a tank. Had to scan my credit card twice since it cuts off at $75.00.       The total damage to the bank account was $147.56 for 66.7 gallons of diesel at $2.19 a gallon. The price has been creeping up lately unfortunately. Hoping it goes back down to the $2 mark soon. When I leave this RV park I will top off the tank across the street so I can get an idea of my fuel mileage.

This RV park is pretty quiet but it is a weekday. The staff checking me in was friendly and I was able to use my Passport America membership for a whopping $17.50 a night for 2 nights. The next 4 nights were discounted 10% with my Good Sam’s membership for $28.80 a night. (These prices included the $3.00 extra per night for my 50 amp service.) Although I used my satellite, free cable hook up at each site is available. (Update: This was Mother’s Day weekend and it stayed quiet even with more people coming to the park.)

Total cost for 6 days stay was $150.02. Entry to all the lake areas were free.

First night here and this part of Del Rio had a power outage for about an hour and a half. Thankfully it did not get too hot and I didn’t need to use the generator. The Wifi at this place is great thankfully, because my Sprint coverage sucks here but works better just down the road. My backup Verizon phone has good coverage but I only use it for calls.

Today (05/06/2016) I went to explore the Del Rio area and Lake Amistad Reservoir. This is a large lake of 64,900 acres with a maximum depth of 217’. It is made up of the confluence of the Rio Grande & Devil’s River and originally dammed in 1969. This lake has an international boundary running across it between the USA and Mexico. You can fish both sides if you get an additional Mexico fishing license. In this picture, you can see Mexico on the other side of these guys fishing.

There were a countless number of places to bank fish for free on this lake, picnic and walking trails too. In the Box Canyon area of the lake, there is a boat ramp and were at least 10 sheep walking around grazing whatever they could eat. They looked pretty ragged. In this same area there were some nice cliffs across the cove.

I spent most of the day taking pictures and just soaking in the nice low humidity day. If you know me you know I “HATE” the humid weather. I decided to take a short snack break and this was my awesome view.

I did go back out just before sunset to grab a few more pics, fought off mosquito’s and saw a fox checking me out (4 legged not 2 legged fox). I knew it was time to leave when I could hear some faint grunting noise in the dark brush. Who knows what it was, a wild hog? Bigfoot?? My imagination??? Either way, I had what I needed and no use pressing my luck. Here are 2 of the sunset shots.

Another place I recommend if you are in the Del Rio, Texas area is Don Marcelino’s restaurant on Veteran’s Blvd for some tasty Mexican food. I told the people this was my first visit and they went out of their way to explain how it works here. At the counter I ordered my Tacos Rojos plate, 4 red shelled crispy beef tacos, rice & beans. I was seated only a few minutes when they brought my order to my table. Fresh, Hot & Delish!! I was stuffed. Make sure you eat here if in the area.

On 05/09/2016, I decided to give a go at some fishing on Lake Amistad. I went for just a couple hours and had no real luck. The spot I fished was in Governor’s Landing Rec area underneath the Hwy 90 bridge as it offered some good shade. The water was chilly and so clear!  I did some photography of the highway bridge while I was there, as well as the railroad bridge next to it. While I was finishing up a nice couple came walking up. We talked for a while and had a really nice visit. They were traveling from Baytown, Texas to Big Bend National Park. She has a photography business and does some really nice work. Be sure to check out her website at http://www.gwennawhitley.zenfolio.com so you can enjoy her work as much as I did. First couple I spent so much time chatting with since I started my journey and maybe our paths will cross again in the future. Happy Trails Peter & Gwenna!

Decided to head out to the next spot on 05/10/2016 and headed to Marathon, Texas. Have a reservation for 3 nights. I hope their WiFi will be as good as here but if not, I may be out of the loop for a few days.

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