Hill Country

 After leaving White Sands, we  headed toward the Texas Hill Country. We stopped overnight in Ft. Stockton before arriving at Ft. Sam Houston RV Park in San Antonio. 

Harold had never seen either the Riverwalk or the Alamo. I had had my sights set on seeing the Christmas lights along the Riverwalk after visiting Opryland last year. We enjoyed our walk, ate at a biergarten restaurant and took the narrated  35-minute boat ride at night. I have to say Opryland has far more lights. 

The Alamo

Riverwalk

From San Antonio we headed to La Hacienda RV Resort in Austin. Harold has been itching to go to Franklin's BBQ since...well, for quite some time. With Covid restrictions, we had to preorder our barbecue and arrive at a scheduled pick up time. Harold was wanting the full experience and was somewhat disappointed that he didn't have to go stand in line at 6:00 a.m. I was fine with the preorder process. 

Bring on the brisket

We also drove out to Lexington for Snow's BBQ. Harold had called, and they said they were open. So we drove the hour and a half to get there, arriving at an oddly empty premises. We wandered around, used the thankfully unlocked bathrooms, and finally spotted the closed sign. We're not sure who Harold called, but it wasn't Snow's. As we were headed to the car, Mr. Bexley came out. He was probably wondering what we were doing. The next thing I know, we're headed to the storage area and Harold is shelling out money for a vacuum-packed brisket. 

Brisket without the wait

Dad thought we ought to go to Fredericksburg and Luckenbach, and he mentioned the Cowboy Church on Sundays. Well, wouldn't you know it, Austin was under a winter weather advisory the Sunday we were there. So we opted to worship online with my brother-in-law, Allen Lenker, of Summerdean Church of the Brethren. 

Sunday snowfall

We did head out to Luckenbach and Fredericksburg on Monday after the weather cleared up. Luckenbach was pretty quiet - and muddy. It looked like it would be a fun place to hang out on a summer day. 

They'll let anyone on stage

In Fredericksburg we were delighted to see a giant Christmas pyramid. I had brought a pyramid back from Germany for my parents years ago. I like them.  There was plenty of shopping in town if one so desired. Some of the buildings displayed neat architecture.

Unbeknownst to us, Fredericksburg is right in the middle of Texas wine country. We were astonished at the number of wineries. We also noted the occasional brewery or distillery along with a peach stand or two. Our wine-drinking friends could probably spend a couple of months in the area and still not hit all the wineries. 

The hill country area is pretty, but we'll be glad to escape to less crowded roadways. There are a lot of Texans, and they drive fast. You got to watch for those toll roads too. 

Meep Meep!

WhizMer

Harold had a little bit of work to do at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) south of Albuquerque.  He had told me that there was a small campground on base. I wasn't quite sure what I expected, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The eight campsites (first come, first serve) face the mountains for gorgeous views. They are full hookups at only $10/night. Count me in. I was wishing we had more time there. I liked the quiet. 

White Sands Missile Range Campsites

Once Harold finished his work, we took a day trip over to White Sands National Park. A guy leaving the park gifted us two sand sleds. That kind gesture saved a minimum of $20.  Off we went to find the dunes. We spent the next hour and a half sliding down the sand dunes. What fun! We paid it forward and handed the sleds to a family who only had one sled. 

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee

WOOO HOOOO!!!

SOOOO worth it

When WSMR is active, the National Park is closed.

A stop at Pistachioland in Alamogordo yielded a photo with the world's largest pistachio and a variety of flavored pistachios, including green chile flavor. 

Back on base, we toured the missile park. It's one of the few places you can see the German V-2 (Vengeance Weapon - 2) missile from WWII. According to exhibit information, Germany focused on missile development after WWI since missiles were not covered by the Versailles Treaty.  

We were surprised by the Darth Vader Helmet on display. LucasFilms had donated it to WSMR as a token of gratitude for allowing them to capture some great sound effects.

Luke, I am your Father

V-2 Cutaway

Missile Park

Las Cruces yielded another Muffler Man photo. He was within walking distance of a big bull. So, we got a photo of the bull too. 

The armless husband and Muffler Man

El Toro, and some bull.

Harold had told me about the Double Eagle, one of his work team's favorite eating spots. The Double Eagle claims to have the world's largest green chile cheeseburger. Regrettably, it was not on the Covid-19 shortened menu, and I had to settle for a regular-sized one. Harold delighted in his dry-aged steak. Maybe we'll be able to order the world's largest green chile cheeseburger on another trip. I know I wouldn't mind another trip to WhizMer. That's a hint for any of Harold's team who reads this.  ; )

Super meals!!!!!!

T-bone

 I like to go out for a nice beef steak dinner every once in a while.

While some prefer the top sirloin, T-Bone, porterhouse, hanger, tenderloin, its sub cut, the filet mignon or the "Queen of steaks" the picanha, I personally prefer the rib eye with it's longissimus dorsi, complexus and spinalis muscles.

Nothing is better than the hard-to-find 30 to 45 day dry-aged prime bone in rib eye steak cooked medium rare with all the trimmings!!!!! MMMMMMMM

Regrettably this article is NOT about any of that.

While driving from the family campground on Kirtland Air Force Base to my brother's house in North East Albuquerque, NM we were "T-Boned" at an intersection.  Nobody was hurt, and none of our airbags deployed.

Both doors bashed in.

We filed a claim with our insurance company, and they had us take our Jeep to Caliber Collison here in Albuquerque NM.  Forethought paid off, as we opted for rental car coverage and we were provided with a rental the same size as our Jeep for the entire time the repair took.

The estimator at the shop provided some photos of the process

B pillar damage

On the frame machine pulling on the B Pillar frame.

B pillar fascia installed, before paint

From the drivers door before paint

After paint, note the door on in front of the Jeep

We were reminded that we are not in control of our situation as our original plans had us leaving Albuquerque on 02 December. However our Jeep did not get out of the shop until 23 December. 

What a wonderful present. We enjoyed the extra time with my brother and his family as well.

Not Hungry

Here is a sign I spotted at a rest area on Interstate 10 in Arizona.  They meant well.

Poisonous vs Venomous

I had not planed on eating them anyway....

Maybey tehy nead ann mauch Moore gooder profreader/edditor on the Airasona Depertmant of Transporation signaage staf.  The previous sentence is NOT approved by Elizabeth.

Running on empty (Tip of the hat to Jackson Browne)

One of Elizabeth's great fears is to run out of fuel while out in the middle of nowhere. She ran out of gas once as a teenager, right in front of the elementary school as she dropped her younger sister off. I ran out of gas in the Van That Can when we were towing a U-Haul trailer (darn wind resistance) going to pick up furniture from Uncle Dave and Aunt Wilma from their side hustle furniture store in Pennsylvania way back in 2009.

We were making a loop drive from Albuquerque, NM, to Mesa, AZ, to get some of our RV's windows defogged and then back to Albuquerque. 

Trying to be frugal, I wanted to purchase fuel at the lowest price possible. After leaving Albuquerque, I fueled up at the Petro in Milan, NM, went to Mesa AZ then started our return trip to Albuquerque. On the return trip, we decided to take the southern route as the northern route had construction on it.  To fuel up at the Petro Truck Stop in Demming NM meant that there would be around 580 miles between fuel ups. 

I calculated the miles of fuel left in the tank at what I thought was a conservative factor at 6.3MPG. I forgot about the fuel our bus burns when using the hydronic heating system and  that we would be climbing uphill all the way... OOPS.

When we pulled into the Petro Truck Stop in Demming NM, we were low on fuel. The low fuel light had been on for quite awhile, which got me some ear bending from the co-pilot seat.

The Fuel Gage, not the db meter, reading low

Well, how many of you have spent this much on a tank of fuel?

Top row US Dollars, bottom row gallons of Diesel Fuel dispensed.

Yes I pumped 131.5 gallons into our 150 gallon tank. so we had 18.5 gallons left or 116.55 miles worth of fuel left in the tank.  Plenty of margin left........ I have no idea of what that dead insect is doing on the inside of the pump.

On the price of fuel, we actually don't pay full price at some truck stops.  We have an EFS card issued by TSD Logistics and on this purchase we actually paid $276.24 for the 131.5 gallons, for a savings of $78.80 on that tank of fuel.

Full-time RV Living Expectation vs Reality

Recently a friend asked me in what ways was living full-time in a RV different from what we had expected. It was a good question, and one requiring some thought.

For one, it's a bit more stressful than I expected. First, though we're getting more used to driving a big bus, travel days are tough. We are 45' long. With our tow vehicle behind, we're pushing 70' long. Construction, accidents, inconsiderate drivers, tight corners all add up to make travel days stressful.

Don't sneeze!

Another reason for stress is finding a campsite. Most campgrounds have limited campsites that can accommodate us. Add to that all the folks buying campers this year as a way to isolate and still get away, campsites can be tough to find sometimes. It's been a bit challenging to find the balance between reserving a spot ahead of time and still allowing flexibility in our travel plans. 

Had to change our plans in order to get into this campground

Things breaking and needing repair also add some stress. A water check valve starts to drip. A slide out won't retract.  A jacks down alarm screams at you after hitting a rough spot in the road. These things happen, and they can shoot your blood pressure sky high. Thankfully Harold is mechanically inclined. 

For Harold, the expectation of living in shorts the entire year as been found to be thoroughly inaccurate. We were in Montana in September, Utah in October and November, and New Mexico in November and December.  Often nights would get below freezing, including one memorable 1°F morning. We were quite glad for sweats, jackets, gloves, and hats. 

On the flip side, actually living in the RV has been better than we thought. We really do have plenty of room and personal space. It feels like a house. We don't feel cramped unless we've had to retract the slide outs for weather or overnighting in a parking lot. 

This has been a year of great blessings. We've seen a lot of places. More importantly, we have been able to spend extended time with family and friends that we would not have otherwise. With our own place we'd like to think that we haven't been too much of a burden on their households.

Utah

Colorado

Minnesota

Montana

Foggy Debacle

The foggy windows in the bus have always been an annoyance. They were foggy when we bought the bus. However, replacing them wasn’t a priority since the issue was primarily a cosmetic one.

This year, while sitting in Albuquerque, waiting for our Jeep to be repaired, we realized that we were reasonably close to a glass shop that offered foggy window repair. Essentially the seals are replaced and the glass cleaned. Repairs are far less expensive than outright replacement. So, off to Arizona we went.

The trip out I-40 westbound was ugly. A storm had come through the night before, and the black ice did a number on traffic. We were so thankful to have an onboard restroom and food as the 4 ½ hour trip to our stopping point turned into a 9 hour trip. The next day we arrived in Mesa and parked at the glass shop.

We noticed discarded razor blades and broken glass in the parking lot as we hooked up to electric. Hmm… Then we were told that the quote was not accurate. Our type of RV windows cost more to fix. Grr…This trip was not starting out well. Still, we were at the facility, and the revised quote was still in family with other facilities we had called. We decided to go ahead with the project.

The next morning the guys were ready to start at 7:00 am. They worked hard all day. At one point just about every window was out of the bus. This was a huge undertaking.

Late in the afternoon, the first couple of windows were reinstalled. They were still foggy. Wasn’t that what we just paid to have fixed? I was very upset. All that time and money, and we still had foggy windows! It turns out that the glass was etched. They had been in bad condition for too long. The guys were as discouraged as we were. Typically, etched windows leave a calcium deposit that is noticeable, and alternatives can be discussed upfront.

Over half of the windows were permanently etched. The glass would have to be replaced in those if we wanted clear windows. Ugh! More cost. So, we opted to have the glass replaced in some and live with the remainder. The guys worked diligently to redo the windows we asked. It was a costly option – time and money on our part, time and effort on theirs.

The windows are certainly better than before, but the process could have gone better. I think if I were to do it again, I'd only do one or two windows at a time. I think it would be far less frustrating and stressful on everyone. 

Hard at work

Kind of scary looking - especially when things go wrong

Before

After

Before

    

After