Our RV Adventures

We were up about 6:45 this morning, much earlier than normal, but for two reasons. We wanted to leave earlier since we had a 315 mile trip today, and we wanted to have time to have breakfast at Isaack’s Restaurant, a mile or so away. Voted one of the best small-town diners in Texas, It’s a favorite of ours.

After another great meal, and after stopping for gas at $2.25, we were back at the park a little before 9. After dropping off some Gypsy Journal copies at the park office, we were on the road a little before 9:30.

The weather was overcast and foggy, but not as bad as yesterday, especially with not as much drizzle. But the drive was still nice, at least until we hit a headwind a little west of Balmorhea. And my MPG went from about 8.5 down to 5.9.

Yikes!

Coming through Ft. Stockton we stopped for diesel at the Pilot, paying $2.79 a gallon. Still not bad. The only problem was the slow pumps. We were using the separate RV pumps, but it took almost 20 minutes to get 54 gallons. Unlike getting gas this morning, when I got 22 gallons in the truck in about 5 minutes.

We pulled into the Southern Star RV Park in Van Horn about 3pm and got set up.

Then a little after 5pm, we took the recommendation of the guy at the park office, and walked right next door to the Van Horn Cattle Company Restaurant. And we’re really glad we did. The salads and the steaks were great.

My salad had a delicious homemade Chipotle Ranch dressing that actually had some heat to it. Really good

Jan had their 8 oz.  Flat Iron Steak, something that they’re known for, and I had the 12 oz. Top Sirloin. Somebody in the kitchen really knows how to cook a steak.

Then for dessert, we shared their Peach Cobbler with Cinnamon Ice Cream, all homemade. The perfect end to a great meal.

We were sitting by the window looking out over the road, and watched a steady stream of RV’s coming in. And then a steady stream of RV’ers walking over from the park. Really hope the park guy got his kickback for the recommendations.

By the time we walked back to the rig, the 46 site park was about 3/4 full. Some of that may be due to the bad weather coming through here. The guy in the site next to us was worried, and said he was going to hunker down for a couple of days to avoid it.

Although the high tomorrow (Wednesday) is going to be in the mid-50’s, it’s supposed to start raining in the afternoon, and then go down to 22! degrees tomorrow night., with snow and ice. But we’ll be moving on to Las Cruces tomorrow morning and will be there for two days, so it should be gone by then.

Brandi send over some more ski trip pics, this one of Landon and Ruthie, the daughter of the couple they’re traveling with.

Really cute kids.

Brandi says they act like brother and sister. Of course that could mean they fight a lot, too.

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Thought For the Day:

The most dangerous strategy is to jump a chasm in two leaps. – Benjamin Disraeli

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Somehow we got an early start this morning, so we pulled out a little after 8:30 and got hitched up before leaving the park. Our friend Randy was just a little behind us as we headed out.

I was happy to find that our air system and levelers came right up this morning with no delay. I guess after yesterday it didn’t need to purge again.

Our first stop was about 5 miles down on US 71 BUS at the Colorado Oil Co.

When we spent December and January moving back and forth between here and Lake Conroe, Colorado Oil Co. was by far the cheapest place for diesel. So I expected the same this time. But our friend Randy said he had heard that the Buc-ee’s in Luling had the cheapest diesel around so he was going to check them out.

We were finished taking on diesel at $2.59 a gallon and were back on the road by about 9:30 with our first stop the Buc-ee’s about 70 miles west. We always stop here for coffee and kolaches whether we’re going east or west. There’s plenty of room to park the rig, and it’s easy in, easy out.

Since it was still the 40’s, Jan went on in while I locked the rig and the toad. As I was walking in, I noticed Randy pulling in and up to the fuel pumps. So after finding Jan inside, I went out to say ‘HI’ to Randy.

And I wish I hadn’t. I wish I listened to Randy.

The diesel at Buc-ee’s was $2.44, 15 cents a gallon cheaper than Colorado County, and it was right on the way. Strangely, the Love’s right across the Interstate was $2.90 a gallon, a even bigger difference.

Bummer!

Our trip was smooth, but mostly shrouded in a light fog that misted the windshield, but really didn’t cause any driving problems.

We pulled into the Junction – North Llano River RV Park in Junction about 3pm, and were quickly led to our site, the same site we were in two years ago, the last time we stayed here.

This is a really nice park, with a lot of space between the sites, and a lot of amenities like these gazebos.

Rather than going out, Jan heated up some of the Rudy’s BBQ that we picked up before we left the Clear Lake area. As usually, delicious.

As I mentioned the other day, Brandi, Lowell, and Landon are on a week-long ski trip out in Steamboat Springs, CO. They’ve got a great view from their room.

And it looks like Landon’s having a great time, too.

Tomorrow we’re going to have an early breakfast at Isaack’s Restaurant, listed as one of the top diners in Texas. We’ve eat here several times and it’s always delicious.

Then we’ve got a 320 mile day out to Van Horn for the night.

Thought for the Day:

Basic research is what I am doing when I don’t know what I am doing. — Wernher von Braun

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