The crew and I continue westward!
This post was delayed due to lack of connectivity. It’s about Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011.
Another day at Navarro Mills Lake park would be great, but that would put us into the weekend for finding our second camp. More importantly, I want to take advantage of the help and supervision of Paul and Reine in how to break camp, and they’re leaving for Plano today.
By late morning we’ve said our goodbyes and the crew and I are on our way. Destination: Friendship Park at Hord’s Creek Lake, another COE campground . . . about 50 miles south of Abilene, near the town of Coleman.
It’s a hot and miserable 200-mile drive across the Texas plains.
The back of the PTV is a jumble of stuff that’s holding on to its heat and blocking the rear air conditioning vent. I don’t want to stop and wrestle with the tangle back there. The front air is cool, but not frosty, and after a gas stop halfway there, it can’t keep up with the 100+ temperature on this sunny afternoon. Note to self: Never get a late start during a record-breaking heat wave in Texas!
A few times we come over the crest of a small hill and it seems like the whole world is spread out before us. I marvel at the vastness of Texas. It’s almost enough to make you believe the world is flat, after all.
A few miles from the park I check my phone to get the time.
The lighted face stares back at me grimly, NO SERVICE. What? Oh no . . . that means no phone. And no internet! I pull up to the entrance gate and get out, the intense heat bearing down on me. This dry heat is still hot, nevertheless, and it isn’t anything to fool with. I go back to the Casita, grab a cold water and a cold Pepsi from the fridge, pour some more water in the crew’sdish inside the PTV, and guzzle the rest.
The crew has had enough of this. They want out! Now!
I hear a cheery hello. The lady gatekeeper is at the window. I reply between gulps of Pepsi. She confirms that there is no Verizon service out here, not for hundreds of miles. She says she pays a lot of money for her AT&T signal which is often unreliable. Boy, I have indeed fallen off the edge of the earth.
I start thinking out loud . . .” Oh no, what am I going to do? They’ll be frantic wondering what happened to me. I can’t call. I can’t email . . . .” Major withdrawal sets in.
She hands me her phone.
I call Reine, inform her I’m cut off from the world and would she let everyone know by writing on my blog? “I’m sorry, I can’t talk, the heat is terrible.” Reine, once again, gives me sound advice. “Maybe this is a good thing. Stay through the weekend and get some rest.”
I hand the lady my Senior Pass and pay $24 for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. She assigns me campsite #2, a pull-through facing the water. As soon as I park, I level the trailer, chock the wheels, get Spike and Bridget out of the PTV (before they claw through its walls), and they relieve themselves, looking around as if stunned. I hook up the electric and turn on the A/C. I remember to click the “auto” button on the refrigerator which moves it from DC to AC mode. In only a few minutes the Casita is blessedly cool. The crew and I collapse on the bed and sleep for two hours, waking around 5:30 to explore our new home.
Hord’s Creek Lake Park, Coleman, Texas[slideshow]
We have the entire park to ourselves!
Later in the evening I decide to move to campsite #1 which is what the photos show. It’s a straight back-in, so the PTV puts us in place perfectly! I hook up the electric and water, and I turn on the propane.
By bedtime Bridget and Spike are happily exhausted and all three of us sleep soundly through the night.
rvsue
I’m exhausted just reading this and then I think wait a minute this is the rest of her life… and I thought I was the one with a lot of energy! You’re the best.
Love ya and safe travels,
XXOO
Hi, Nancy!
I don’t include the frequent naps in the air conditioning and sitting in a camp chair staring at the scenery!
I’m so glad I decided to spend the rest of my life doing this. Great talking with you today when I finally got a signal . . .
Love you, too!
You did it! Just caught up on the last three posts, I know exactly how you are feeling, it’s so exciting and FUN! I’m really glad things are going so well for you, and that the dogs are enjoying the adventure, too. I love the photo of Spike lying in the water. What a guy! Can you believe you are living in such a beautiful spot? And that there are so many more beautiful spots to come? The PTV and Casita look very nice together. Welcome to full timing! 🙂 Can’t wait to follow your adventure.
You said it! I think about what you just expressed here . . several times a day. Yeah, Spike is something else. I think he’s looking younger, perkier. Life is exciting again!
Thanks for the compliment on the PTV/Casita combo! I do like the way they look. I was happy to see the gauges on the PTV’s dash stay where they are supposed to be . . . no overheating, no burning oil . ..
All that heat would be a great reason to head for the mountains of New Mexico. A high of 72 in Cloudcroft for today. Safe travels, whichever way you go. Really enjoying your blog.
Hi, Jerryc!
Glad you are enjoying the blog.
I’m heading to Cloudcroft! I’ve got to get out of Texas!
I’m leap-frogging westward. The next leg of the trip is going to be a long one and should put me into New Mexico. There aren’t any more COE parks in this part of TX and the state parks are pricier.
I’ve heard great things about Cloudcroft . . . and I hear it’s important to bring groceries. . .
Looks like a really nice park. We’re planning a stop over there enroute to New Mexico and Arizona after the Pine Knot rally in October . $8 per night is GREAT on the budget.
The park is nice. The trip to it isn’t so great (sorry, Texans, no offense intended.). I saw a lot of dried-up grass.
Could you possibly be at “Hord’s Creek” campsite?
Hi, Ernest!
Oops! I’ve been calling it the wrong name. Must be the heat. I will fix it. Thanks . . . I don’t like errors on my blog!
No offense taken by us Texans. We KNOW that 95% of the state is in an extreme drought. And when rain doesn’t fall on West Texas, it’s brown – even in the good years. There are churches in Texas having regular prayer meetings to pray for rain.
Fret not when you find yourself with no phone service or internet connection. This should happen frequently or you are not really “out there”. That is what boondocking is all about. Also this is what all the books you brought along are for. And fear not, your readers will know all is right with RVSUE until she tells us otherwise. Relish being cut-off from the outside world. Enjoy.
Hello, John,
It was kinda nice to be thrown back into the pre-internet days. I really did feel “out there.”
I think it’ll be some time before I am truly boondocking. I can’t let go of the air-conditioning, not with this merciless heat wave.
See, there’s nothing to this stuff as go along it gets easier and easier. You’ll all kinds of things about your rig and how to use it to your advantage and one day you’ll find yourself giving instruction to someone else!
Happy Trails
Happy trails to you, too! Already I can see things becoming easier.
not sure if you will see this but I have a very good friend I visit in Santa Anna not too far from Coleman….we fish Lake OH Ivie near there. the drought was going on while you were there and the lake has dropped about 200 feet…….they have really been hit hard out in that area….
chuck
I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about What state is this? Santa Anna, California? What is Lake OH Ivie?