Tag: texas

Day 2766

Another day, another hour closer!

Happy Wednesday April 30th, and the time change is messing with me big time, it’s 4:20 am MDST and I went to bed at 8:30 pm MST, but I couldn’t sleep any more but I kind of feel like I should have, but because our TV streaming service is based out of Phoenix all the times for our shows are all in all very confusing. And if that is not crazy enough by this afternoon we will be in Central Daylight Saving Time, yes when we cross into the Texas panhandle we can rechange all the clocks again, not a big deal for the clock but it is proving harder on me. Mister Sam is loving it because it means his dinner is an hour earlier and so far the change does not seem to be affecting his sleep, at least not as much as our travelling.

Well on the good side the overnight temperature doesn’t seem to have been as low as forecast, and the forecast is mainly sunny for today, and the last time we were in this area was last November and there was a snow cover from the storm that pinned us down for a couple of days. And again I’m up way too early this morning as it will take a few days to become accustom to all the time changes, I worked on my laptop for a couple of hours, until Miss Laurie & Mister Sam joined me at around six o’clock. A cup of coffee with a wee Irish blessing and my day seemed to make a little more sense, our departure time will hopefully be nine o’clock with an estimated four hours of drive time.

But first some breakfast a toasted bacon sandwich makes for a good start to the day, today we will start our downward trend as we will descend from 6600 ft (2011 meters) to 3500 ft (1066 meters) in Amarillo this afternoon. I need to go shopping this morning before we depart, I’m looking for a green chili pepper chip dip that I found on my first trip through New Mexico way back in the spring of 2017, and as luck would have it they had some on the shelf, so 2 tubs of chip dip and 18 eggs wand we are on the road again. This was a reasonably quiet stay for a Walmart, I like the stores that close overnight a lot less traffic but a noticeable noise increase at opening time.

Today’s drive will be reasonably uneventful with no major cities and a spread our as Amarillo is other than some sporadic road work it was pretty much a cruise control day. We will travel only I-40 today and other than a lunch break after crossing into Texas it was set the cruise at 64 mph (101 kmph) and just enjoy the view, as we leave the mountains and start into the rolling hills as we roll into Texas.

On todays schedule is a quick bath for Thunder & Ruby at the Blue Beacon Truck Wash, top off our tanks at the new Buc-ee’s then settle into the Welcome Centre parking lot on the east side of Amarillo. As luck seems to be on myside today there was no line up at the truck stop so we pulled right in and $68.40 ($94.74 Cdn) while not the best wash job we have rinsed off most of the Arizona desert dust. Buc-ee’s was busy but we managed to squeeze 49.134 gallons (185.99 Liters) of diesel into the tank.

Dinner was a smoked brisket sandwich that we picked up at a gas station, and desert was some peanut butter caramel popcorn from the same gas station. If you have never stopped at a Buc-ee’s on your travels it is an extraordinary adventure and one that every person should experience at least once. This particular store is one of the smaller ones but it is still an adventure, because of a technical issue at a pump we will return tomorrow to top off Ruby’s fuel tank before we head out.

So here are today’s numbers: 263.4 miles (423.9 kilometers) 4:25 hours of drive time, we averaged 59 mph (95 kmph), consumed 26.8 gallons (101.4 Liters) of fuel or 9.8 mpg (24 liters/100 km) and the solar array harvested 5 kilowatts of power topping off our battery bank again today.

Day 2381

Wednesday, April 10th, 2024

Day 2 of our trek north

Dear Journal:

It was a cold night here at the Dancing Eagle Casino RV park, the thermometer sensor located outside of the coach was showing 39ºF (3.8ºC), that was why we sprung twenty dollars for a campsite so we could run our electric space heater over night so when I rolled out of bed this morning at five o’clock the coach was a balmy 60ºF (15.5ºC) in the coach.

Todays route will be eastbound on Interstate I-40, and the destination I have picked out is a visitor center / rest stop in Amarillo Texas. Of course every morning starts with a pot of fresh perked coffee and most morning there is a wee Irish blessing. We are in travel mode so we want to be on the road by nine this morning, and that should have us off the road by two in the afternoon. Ok I have a confession to make, this is the week of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta Georgia and I’m hoping to be stopped early enough each day to watch the coverage.

I have to make a stop this morning at the grocery store here at the casino as they carry a chip dip that is the best, it is made with local chili peppers and I have stopped to get some dip every time. And as luck would have it they had two containers left and they are now in our refrigerator. As we unplug and prepare to head east on I-40 the first major city is Albuquerque and we should be travelling through there at 10:30 – 11:00 which means traffic should not be too bad.

Todays drive through New Mexico has been reasonably uneventful, I will state again that the highways in New Mexico are shameful some of the worse that we travel, Our fuel stop today is at a TA truck stop in Moriarty NM and is part of the “Open Roads” discount program. The price of fuel in Arizona and New Mexico is too high but I had to get fuel as we do not carry enough to make it to Texas and more reasonable fuel pricing,

Lunch today was a gromet grilled cheese sandwich, prepared by Miss Laurie while in a rest stop on Interstate I-40 in New Mexico just 80 miles ( Kilometers ) west of the Texas border, the time is 12:40 Mountain Daylight Savings time. I mention the time because we will loose another hour at the Texas border as we will move into Central Daylight Savings time.

Let me say this Texas roads are so much better than New Mexico’s it is such a difference that I just have to mention it again. Amarillo is our destination tonight and with the lost hour because of a new time zone we did not arrive till 4:00 local time. And to add to the annoyance the AT&T cellular service here at the rest stop sucks. And now that I think back I remember that from last springs stop here as well. Next trip through Amarillo we will try the Cracker Barrel if the Service has not improved.

Speaking of improvements we are pleased to see there is a new Buc-ees’ being built at the interchange with the rest area, that is a big bonus as as much as we have never fueled Thunder at a Buc-ee’s I know that their diesel prices are very good. We had enough cell service to watch some television but there was considerable buffering.

This Visitor Center / Rest Stop in not easy access to or from the Interstate and we have found in the past that it usually limits the number of trucks that use it, making it one of our favorites and it is so flat that would recommend it. As we head for bed tonight it seems to be quiet, something that doesn’t happen every stay, but the temperature helps (no one trying to stay warm or cool by using a generator or running their diesel motors) to reduce the noise. It is nice not having to unhook the toad at night, as we would have to at the Cracker Barrel, but sometimes the quiet is worth the price.

Day 2 Stats: 340 miles (547 kilometers) solar harvest of 128 amp / hours $0.00 spent on accommodations, 66.82 gallons (252.94 liters) of diesel at a cost of $242.72 ($334.38 Cdn)