Waltzing Across Texas

We got on the highway yesterday at 3:30 PM. Late, as usual, and not without several problems, as usual. Most were minor but their cumulative effect was extremely frustrating. First, there was the 15-minute job of installing the tire pressure monitoring system. I spent at least two hours on it and to put off finishing the job until tonight.

I also needed LP gas. I drove the motorhome across town for the LP gas and discovered that only cash or check was accepted as payment. However, the attendant said he would fill the tank, give me the ticket, and I could drive to their office and pay with a credit card. Just one of the nice things about small towns. The directions he gave me were to continue south on the divided highway and cut across to the northbound side when I saw the Trade Days on the left. Then I was to drive northbound and turn into the Econo Lodge (on the right) and drive around the motel to the gas company office. Simple enough. After the tank was filled I drove south until I saw the Trade Days and turned at the cross-over and headed back north. I saw the Econo Lodge coming up, turned into the parking lot, and continued towards the back to drive around the motel. Only I couldn’t drive around the motel. The parking lot ended behind the motel. Fortunately, there was room to turn around. I drove back to the front of the motel, stopped, and looked for any hint of a gas company. Seeing nothing, I shut down the motorhome and began walking to the motel office to ask where the gas company was. Before I made it to the front door I met a man walking towards me. He was coming to tell me that my TV antenna was up on the motorhome. That usually results in it getting knocked off, but apparently I had beaten the odds this time. When I asked him about the gas company he said he thought it was next door. The only building next door was, if the sign was to be believed, a realtor’s office. To make a long story short, it was also the office for the gas company and after several attempts at her computer, the secretary was able to charge my credit card for the purchase. I returned to the motorhome and remembered to lower the TV antenna.

Once back home, I realized that the fresh water tank was empty. I connected a hose and began filling it. Do you know how long it takes to fill a one-hundred-gallon tank with a garden hose? Well, water flows out of our tap at about four gallons per minute, if that fast. I stopped it at about 65 gallons. I could finish filling it down the road.

The next task was to hook the car to the tow bar behind the motorhome. This was a new system and I had trouble with what went where and how it went, so it took much longer than expected. Then we packed everything that had not yet put into the motorhome into the car. We would sort it out later.

Finally, at 3:30 we were ready to leave and headed to our first stop, only ninety miles away at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant on I-20 near Tyler, TX. They allowed overnight parking in their back parking lot (Carol Ann had called them to make sure). Half-way there, Carol Ann shouts, “Oh, shit!” and I immediately started looking for what was about to hit us. “I forgot my purse” she said. It shouldn’t have been that big of a problem because we both have the same credit cards and she never drives the motorhome, so her driver’s license wasn’t necessary. The problem was that she had all of our cash in her purse. I had absolutely no money in my wallet. Still, we decided not to turn around. She would have her sister Fed Ex the purse to our son’s apartment in California, our destination. People ship diamonds with FedEx, so why not her purse? We could drive 1,600 miles without any money. Everyone takes credit cards. We hope.

We left the Cracker Barrel this morning at 9:30, pulled into a rest area around 11:30 for lunch, and stopped for fuel around 1:30 this afternoon. Our previous motorhome was a diesel model and our new motorhome is a gasoline model. With the diesel, I usually looked for a truck stop, pulled in with the 18-wheelers, and filled up with diesel. Truck pumps are much faster that the gas pumps around in front. There is also a lot more room to maneuver around the diesel pumps. The diesel motorhome had fuel tank doors on both sides of the coach so it didn't matter what side the pump was on. Now I have to find a gas station that has enough room for my thirty-eight-foot motorhome with car in tow. It’s not always easy. It also has only one fuel door so the pump has to be on the driver's side. Today we pulled into a station that looked like we could use either of the pumps on the outside of the island. I made a big circle around all of the pumps so that I would be facing out towards the highway when I pulled up to the pump. I stopped and Carol Ann got out to see if the hose would reach. It wouldn’t. I made another circle around the pumps, you can’t put a motorhome into reverse when towing a car. This time around I managed to pull up a little closer to the pump. Carol Ann got out and gave me the okay. The gas gauge was down to one-quarter of a tank so I should be able to pump about sixty gallons before it was full. We would still be there if I had waited for the tank to fill. The pump was so pressure-sensitive that it quickly shut off every time Carol Ann or I squeezed the handle (we traded turns). It made no difference how you situated the nozzle or how slowly you squeezed. It was squeeze, off, squeeze, off, squeeze, off. We managed to get 27 gallons before our hands got tired and we quit. We wanted to reach Abilene before dark and we had enough fuel to get us there.

We pulled into an RV park in Abilene a little after 4:00 PM. Good Sam rates this RV park as the best in Abilene. Well, all I can say is, I’m very glad we aren’t staying at one of the others. The sign on the door said the office closed early today and would reopen at 8:30 AM. It listed the site numbers that were available. Just take your pick and pay them in the morning. We chose a site and parked the motorhome. The park is supposed to have good (and free) wi-fi, but it requires a password. I called the phone number listed for the park, hoping to get a password, but all I got was a recorded message. I’m posting this using my cellular data plan. Tomorrow we drive to Van Horn, another 350 miles and still in Texas. I hope I can get there without having to stop for gas more than two or three times.

Abilene

Carol Ann and I are in Abilene, TX tonight. Abilene is 386 miles from our home in Nacogdoches (in east Texas), but is still not actually considered to be in west Texas. El Paso is another 450 miles west on I-20. We will be “dry camping” (no electric, water, or sewer) in our motorhome for the next four nights. It’s not exactly roughing it. We have our own generator, water tank, and waste tanks. We are here to attend the “Legends and Outlaws Music Fest,” three days of Texas music in an outdoor venue consisting of a large stage, plenty of open space for the audience, and RV parking in a lot behind the audience. There are a lot of trees, cottonwoods I believe, but there isn’t one leaf between all of them so they won’t be offering any shade. Shade would be good as it will be sunny with temps in the low 80’s. Fortunately the humidity is not high. It hasn’t rained an appreciable amount out here in years due to the extended drought.

There were a lot of little problems that seemed to plague us today. Before leaving this morning we were chasing cats around the house and in the backyard. We had planned to take three of our five cats with us but finally decided to make do with only one, Goblin. She is a bit overweight, tends to waddle when trying to run, and wasn’t fast enough to escape. The house sitter will have the other four plus our dog for company.

It was gray and overcast morning with a temperature of about 55 degrees when we finally got on the road. It soon began misting and then the rain poured down hard for a while. However, by the time we reached Dallas, the sky was clear and sunny with the temperature heading for the 80’s. West of Fort Worth the wind picked up as it often does out on the plains.  It wasn’t long before my neck and shoulders were aching from working so hard with the steering wheel to stay in my lane.

We stopped to top off our fuel and propane tanks when we were about 90 miles from Abilene. I wanted to make sure we had plenty of diesel for the generator and enough propane for the fridge, hot water heater, and heat if needed. Diesel fuel was no problem but the Flying J did not have the right kind of adapter to fit my propane tank’s fill valve so our propane tank is only about a third full.  That should be enough if we don’t need heat, and it doesn’t look like we will.

After we drove up the dirt road and across the red dirt RV parking lot our midnight blue tow car was completely red. The RV parking is in a field with very little vegetation but with a lot of red dirt. It was windy today so everything is coated with a fine, red dust. We disconnected the car only to find that it would not start.  Three guys helped me push it out of the way and after we got the motorhome parked and setup I got some help jumping the car off. 

If we need anything in the way of supplies we have to make sure we get them before 2PM tomorrow. That’s when the music starts and there will be no pass outs, which means we are locked in until Sunday morning. If the car doesn’t start in the morning I won’t be able to bet to the beer store!

Unless you are familiar with Texas music you probably wouldn’t recognize the names of many of the artists that will be performing over the next three days. I suppose the biggest name is Leon Russell. Unfortunately, he died a few months ago so will not be performing as scheduled. It’s unfortunate because Leon was a prolific songwriter, writing songs for the likes of Joe Cocker, Elton John, Tom Petty, J.J. Cale, Phoebe Snow, Ray Charles, Dusty Springfield, Whitney Houston, Willie Nelson, Christina Aguilera, and Michael Buble. Leon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

This is Leon doing one of my favorites, Delta Lady.

The others include:

·      Robert Earl Keene (this blog is named after one of his songs, The Road Goes On Forever)

·      Gary P. Nunn (he talks about one he wrote, Redneck Mother, and sings it at Up Against the Wall)

·      Ray Wylie Hubbard (one of his best is Screw You, We're From Texas)

·      Billy Joe Shaver (a good one is Live Forever)

·      Jason Boland (meet Jason and the band here, The Texas Music Scene)

·      Tommy Alverson (listen to Una Mas Cerveza)

The other dozen or more performers I have never heard of but am planning on enjoying them all. I’ll be sure and let you know all about it.

Post Script:  I have added a photo page (see right hand column) where I will be posting some of the picutres I take at the music fest.