Two Long Days On The Road

November 30, 2015 

The rains finally let up enough for us to leave Grand Prairie on Monday.   It was just in time as far as we were concerned since the water was still rising and the campsites across the road from us were under water.  Not conducive to having a good night sleep when you never know if you will have to move again during the night.

We waited for rush hour to slow down and were on the road around 10am heading west on I-20.  It was a great day for making good time with no wind, dry roads and light traffic.  I added a little fuel in Pecos, TX since we had to start up the car and run it through the gears to keep the transmission lubricated.  Then it was back on the road to Van Horn, TX for the night after driving 520 miles.  We always stop at the same park there since they have a small cafe and it gives Gerry a break from making breakfast.  

December 1, 2015

We were on the road early with the intention of stopping in Las Cruces but the weather forecast was for 20 degrees overnight.  Deming and Lordsburg had even colder forecasts so we decided to drive on to Tucson.  

 We made good time once again with light traffic until we arrived in Benson, AZ around 5pm and joined everyone in a massive traffic jam.  It took us almost 2 hours to travel 5 miles due to road construction and the narrowing down to one lane.  The RT 90 intersection was just before the road construction and there were three lanes of traffic fighting down to one lane.  What a mess.

By the time we got through the traffic jam it was too late to go to CCRV so we stopped at the Pima County Fairgrounds campground for the night.  They had two 50 amp sites left and we settled in for the night.  

This leg of the trip was 490 miles and it wore us out driving so far in two days.  Driving a 40ft motorhome with a tow car is more taxing than driving a car. It is slower, also.  The Honda CRV cannot be towed faster than 65 mph or the tranny will give out.

December 2, 2015

We left the fairgrounds around noon for the 3 miles drive to our campground for the next 4 months.  Since we didn't reserve our old site, they moved us to another site.  This one turned out to be larger and closer to the activity center.  I think it will work out better for us so we are pleased with it.

A number of friends stopped by to welcome us back including Ron K, Ron & Dee C and a couple others.  We managed to make a lot of headway setting up the motorhome.  Then we stopped by the local Fry's grocery store for some much needed provisions.  By then it was time for dinner and we stopped at Panda Express for a quick meal.  

We hit the hay early and called it a night.  Tired, but happy to be off the road for a while.

Evacuated From Campground

We are camped at Loyd Park on Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie, TX and it's been raining the last 4 days with an accumulation of almost 6 inches of rain.  The creeks, rivers, fields are all full of water.  The lake has been rising since the flood gates are broken and even if they could open them, the Trinity River is flooding and the water would just back up.

Early this morning one of the staff here at the campground came knocking at our door and said we had to evacuate the camp loop we were in due to high water.  The exit route was covered high enough that cars were flooding out and had to be towed out of the water.  So we went out the entrance road and wound up moving to a loop that is higher up.  Gerry drove the car and wound up behind a MH and car going about 1 mph through some high water.  We didn't have a problem making it out but later the water was higher and it would have been difficult to navigate an exit in the car.

I think the new campsite is more prone to flooding than the last one, but the road is more passible.  We hung around for a couple hours watching the water rise and decided that it wouldn't reach up to a point to be a problem for us.  

Our friends Judy & Herb called and wanted to meet us for dinner so we drove over to their house for a visit and then on to a local Mexican restaurant.  We all enjoyed our meals and had a fun time joking around during the evening.  

Judy, Herb, me & Gerry

 We made it an early evening since we hope to make an early exit from here in the morning and make it to Van Horn, TX for the night.  I'ts a 485 mile drive under good conditions, however since it's the Thanksgiving holiday who knows what is in store out there.  I intend to take it easy and play it safe and let those in a hurry go on past us.

That was our day, how was yours?

Turkey and Rain

We spent the day at Judy & Herb's home on Thanksgiving watching football and stuffing ourselves with the delicious meal Judy prepared.  Their friends Greg & Darlene from Rockport, TX made the long drive up to join us for dinner.  They will be staying with Judy & Herb until Monday and then return back home.

It was non-stop conversation among the 6 of us but then the girls sort of separated from us guys watching the football games.  Two blowouts and one close game in miserable conditions in Green Bay.

We sat down to eat around 4 pm and Judy remembered I like mince meat pie so she prepared one for me.  Greg also likes it so I had to share it with him.  Darn it!

Gerry, Judy, Herb, Darlene & Greg

We visited until after the GB-Chicago football game and then began the trek back to the motorhome.  It had been raining steadily for hours and the roads were covered in many places with running water.  It was difficult to see even with the windshield wipers running at the highest speed.  The road leading to the campground was covered in one spot but it wasn't that deep so we finally made it back safe and sound.  It continued to rain very hard for hours after we got back and didn't slow down until later in the night.  I am glad we were on high ground and not near a creek or drainage area.  We received almost 3 inches of rain on Thursday and it seemed like twice that much in spots.

This is what the road near our campsite looked like this morning on our way out.  These were open fields and dry the day before this.  The small bridge we had to go over had debris on the top of the guard rail about 2 ft up from the road.  

   

That was our day, how was yours. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to our family and friends.  The past year has had it's share of health scares from a number of people who we love and care about.  They have come through it and are moving along nicely.  We are very thankful for their progress.

Gerry and I are in Arlington, TX celebrating Thanksgiving with our good friends Judy and Herb.  We met them in Abidjan in 1983. They came to our house there the next couple years, as long as Judy wasn't back in the U.S. on shift change.  Larry Jr. and I had Thanksgiving dinner with them in 1985 while Gerry came back to the States for the birth of our granddaughter Stephanie.  

Abidjan Thanksgiving 1984

Herb, Larry, Doug, Gloria, Gerry & Judy -  Tucson 2006

2006 was the year that friends Gloria & Doug, along with Judy and Herb joined us for Thanksgiving dinner at the Cactus Country RV Resort in Tucson, AZ.

We arrived here yesterday and intend to spend a couple days visiting with them, maybe longer after looking at the weather forecast.  There is a major rain event forecast for the next three days.  They are calling for flooding with rain totals of 1 to 2 inches of rain each day.  We are on high ground with our campsite so flooding won't be a problem for us.

We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving celebration with those you love as you count your blessings.

Visiting Family in NC

We spent the last month visiting with our children and their families in the Charlotte, NC area.  When we first arrived in the area the campgrounds were full due to a Classic Car event and then a car race a weekend later.  Thankfully our son invited us to park in his driveway.  When they bought the house he installed an outside electric box so we could hook up the motor home and that worked out fine.  

One of the first things we did was visit our grandson Sean and Taylor (his wife) to see the new arrivals to the family.  Twin girls, Hayden Grace and Riley Gray arrived on Oct 14.  The twins and Taylor came thru this in great shape and they are doing super now.  Great grandma Gerry was in 7th heaven and made sure we got there as soon as possible.

Taylor, Barbara, Gerry, Hayden & Riley

Proud papa, Sean.

 Gerry had worked the past 4-5 months on blankets for the newborns and finished them while we were in the area.  She presented them to Sean and Taylor a couple days before we left.  Since the twins aren't identical, the blankets look the same except for the fringe around the edges.  I think they came out fantastic and am amazed how much time Gerry spent in making them.  Job well done.  The newborns were so small they made me look bigger than I am.  As you can see below, I am not comfortable holding little babies while Gerry is in her element.

The posting dates aren't going to match since I am doing some catch up blogging.