Thursday, March 17, 2016

Rain from AZ to AL


Warning….boring post. (Just wanting to document this extremely difficult trip for future reference.)

We stay three nights at the Escapees Dream Catcher park in Deming…did I already say that?  Our time in New Mexico seems so long ago but it has been only 9 days!
One of the highlights of our stay is meeting a fellow blogger, Susan, of the Travel Bug.  It’s a brief encounter but it’s great fun to run across someone with so many shared interests! Our paths will cross again.
Leaving Deming we are perplexed about the route back east.  There is a great rain event coming and I can’t decide whether to go through Dallas or San Antonio.  We head east on I-20 and land in Pecos, TX at the Escapees park, Tra-Park.
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Their dry camping spot is just outside of the office.  If the photo looks desolate, it is a dismal, bleak place.  But we are in west Texas.
It’s raining the next morning.  Nothing significant, just light rain.  We decide to take I-10 as the bad weather seems worse on I-20.
It’s around 200 miles to Sonora where there’s a little RV park at Caverns of Sonora.  It’s a quaint place but we have an electric hookup…our first in several weeks!  We decide against the cave tour as it will take several hours and it’s 20 bucks.  Maybe next year?
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The truck and trailer are soaked from the rain and we give them both a good rubdown.
Another day of traveling in the rain deposits us in Boerne, Texas. (Say Burney, rhymes with Barney.)  We locate the Walmart and park in a nice quiet spot close to a Visitor Center. It’s a short travel day…due to the rain we drive less than 150 miles!  I manage to have fun by getting my hair cut and shopping. Forgot to take a photo of our great spot.
The next day we have a huge obstacle in our path…it’s called Houston! It is like a nightmare to drive through this town and I worry that the rain will stress me over the edge. But the rain has slowed and the sun is shining.  And I see clusters of blue growing along the freeway.  I believe it is bluebonnets!
Later I get it confirmed…they are bluebonnets!  My first sighting of the famous Texas flower.
The traffic in Houston is bad but not as bad as the last trip when we hit the city during rush hour.
We stop for the night at the Isle of Capri casino in Lake Charles, LA. Not sure if it is the anticipation of the good food or the great shower but both are appreciated!
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I’m amused at the casino advertising.  We know nothing about gambling….I’ve never even played the lottery.  It appears that many people are enjoying this past-time.
We are getting closer to Alabama…just need to get through Louisiana and Mississippi.  But the heavens open and the rain gets heavy.  We go slow and try to stay safe.  I-10 slows to 5 miles per hour.  The west bound lanes are also crawling.  I notice flood waters lapping onto parts of I-10 west.  Began wondering if the flooding would trap us on the interstate.  We decide to go to Fontainebleau SP and get off onto SR 22. Traffic stops again after 5 miles as the road is underwater.  We manage a U-turn and head back to the parking lot of I-10.
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This is a side road close to where we made the U turn.
After forever on the interstate we manage to get off at Covington and get to another Walmart.  (This is a special place….where we completed the paperwork last May to buy our Escape.)
We spend the evening doing more shopping and having dinner at a Chinese place.
The trip from Covington, LA to Summerdale, AL is uneventful.  We arrive at Rainbow Plantation, another Escapees park, before noon.  Again we choose to dry camp.  (The dry camping only cost $5.00)
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Sylvester and David enjoy the green grass and tall pines.  The sunshine is lovely after all the gray wet days.
The next day we arrive at Gunter Hill COE near Montgomery, AL where we will be for the next 6 days.  And it is NOT RAINING!
Now we are having fun with our non-stop visiting!

21 comments:

  1. OK. I know I am commenting on my own blog!!! Trying to get away from the google profile. This is a test.

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  2. WOW! A reminder that traveling is not all great sunsets and sightseeing. We're having our first day without rain in over a month . . . a 19' trailer is a bit small when you can't get outside to enjoy the outdoors.

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    1. Yes, trailer life works so much better when the great outdoors is available and comfortable. Just telling a friend tonite that my comfort range is tiny....65 to 75 degrees!
      Hope to hear how you are adjusting and what tweaking, if any, you are doing for the 19.

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  3. Glad you got there safe & sound, if a bit wet!

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    1. Rain while traveling in the desert was new for us...and the people in Deming had warned us about the slick roads. We practically crawled home!
      Really enjoyed our desert times with you two...already thinking about next year.

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  4. Good update, neighbor. Wish you hadn't mentioned the rain. ;-)

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    1. Yeah, sorry about that!
      No rain as I was writing last night..(she types listening to the steady drumming on the trailer roof.)

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  5. Glad you made it thru Texas (again). I've stayed at both the Deming RV park and at Sonora Caverns (though I didn't do the tour either). Always feel like I have won a prize making those 850+ miles thru TX. Whew!

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    1. Before this trip, Texas always felt like a big obstacle separating us from Arizona. But it was different this time and I do believe it was the rain in west Texas that made the difference. It was not dry and brown but had different shades of green dotting the landscape.
      The rain made me a bit anxious but I left Texas with a new appreciation for its diversity and vastness.

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  6. The blue flowers are not Bluebell but they are the Texas state flower , THE BLUEBONNET .

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    1. Thank you for pointing out my mistake! Just changed the post. I have had bluebells, a native plant to east Tennessee, growing in my yard and surely know the difference! Writing at night produces many problems and I need to do a better job proof reading. Again, thanks!

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  8. Company just left...got on Blogging Land to see whats happening...seems you Guys always hit Texas when Mother Nature decides to show who's Boss...Good to see you made it through without mishaps...if you ever have time the Caverns are a pretty impressive sight, if you are into that sort of stuff..they limit the Group to 10 or so....A lot of folks have said they like them better than Carlsbad....Texas is Famous for Blue Bell...its just not the Flower...its the State Ice Cream.. made in Brenham Tx, which BTW, has one of the best Bluebonnet areas in Texas :)) Go figure....Be safe and keep giving us those great Blogs...Hope David is back to 100%...Horst sends

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  9. Great to hear from you and that is such good information about the Caverns of Sonora! David is doing great....we walked on our hilly road last night and he surprised me with his energy.
    Will remember Texas now for caverns, Bluebonnets and Blue Bell ice cream!

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  10. Great to hear from you and that is such good information about the Caverns of Sonora! David is doing great....we walked on our hilly road last night and he surprised me with his energy.
    Will remember Texas now for caverns, Bluebonnets and Blue Bell ice cream!

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  11. .....and "untimely storms".. :)) Horst sends

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  12. You have a very nice blog. :)

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    1. Thank you, Linda. Nice to meet you..I see you have a great blog.

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  13. WOW .... that's quite a trip. It's been some wild different weather this past month as I sit here freezing as I type this. I also wanted to let you know that I moved my blog back to blogger but also the free domain. Deleted my .com after so many years. You can see an update on the hounds at http://bhounds.blogspot.com

    I love your trailer and your truck certainly makes it easier to tow.

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    1. Thanks, Steve and thanks for dropping by and updating me/us!

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