3 Nights and 4 Days on the Road: From CoS to Houston

Monday, 30 July 2018
Advanced RV Resort — Pearland/Houston, Texas
Temps: 96F (36C) / 77F (25C)

So much for hoping that the temps might drop by the time we got to Houston!  It was, in fact, 100F (38C) under the humid, broiling sun when we pulled into Advanced RV Resort shortly before 5:30p … a day earlier than planned.  Not that an extra day on the road would have made any difference to the weather … the forecast for the rest of the week is similar to what we experienced today.

We left Peregrine Pines famcamp at USAFA on the 27th.  It was an easy day on the road, with a few quick leg-stretching stops … including a diesel top off in Clayton, NM.  Our overnight stop was not too far from the Love’s Truck Stop in Clayton.

Coyote Keeth’s RV Park is not a destination campground, but it has wide and level 50A FHU sites and is easily accessed from Hwy64/Hwy87 East.  We paid half the rate — pricey at $40/night — when we made the reservation, and the balance on arrival … placed in a secure box since this is a self-service campground.  Speedy wi-fi allowed us to update our e-devices, so that was an advantage.

A convenient stop for an overnight stay.

We get to enjoy a colorful sunset in Clayton.

Leaving Coyote Keeth’s early on the 28th, we quickly found ourselves in Texas … making the crossing from New Mexico at a small town called Texline.  Of course, we promptly lost an hour … which is why we got on the road early to begin with.

Our drive took us on multiple highways and several farm-to-market (FM) roads, and also on I-40E for a while.  The FMs are quite prevalent in Texas.  They tend to be paved most of the time, and are flat and often are not very interesting.  But with minimal traffic encountered along the way, we’ve found them to be good for short cuts.

I had hoped to stop at Cadillac Ranch on the way to Lubbock, our overnight destination, but the trucker’s GPS routed us in such a way that we missed it.  Next time.  Otherwise, it was another uneventful driving day, with a few quick stops to stretch our legs and grab a snack, and have lunch around mid-day.

We pulled into the Lubbock RV Park around 2:30p.  It was a short day … definitely could have driven longer.  Then again, it was quite hot on the road, so stopping early was not such a bad deal … and the trees on either side of the rather uneven 50A FHU site we were assigned gave our A/Cs a much needed assist in cooling down the Phaeton.  This is not necessarily a destination park, but it served its purpose as an overnight stop — $31.50/night with military discount.

The trees give us much needed shade on a hot day.

Our third day on the road — July 29 — took us from Lubbock to the Dyess AFB famcamp in Abilene, TX.  This was another short day for us.  We considered jiggling our plans to drive further, but decided to stay with the plan when we could not find easy-access alternatives along our route.

Rest breaks and a diesel top off at the Pilot in Tye — just a few miles from Dyess — were the only stops we made on what turned out to be another easy, but hot day on the road.  It didn’t help that our rear A/C was acting finicky when we ran it with the generator while on the road.

The shade from that big tree at the Justiceburg rest area is very welcome.

We pulled into our reserved site at Dyess — a no frills 50A FHU, level concrete pad for $35/night … higher than most famcamps … city pricing, I guess.

I forgot to take a photo of our Dyess site … this one from 2015 will have to do.

With the A/C acting up and the temp a miserable 104F (40C) in the sun, it was too uncomfortable in the rig.  So, we left to go to the mall.  Turns out the mall closes early on Sundays.  Luckily there was a movie theater nearby.  After having an early dinner at the Taylor County Tap House — great burgers and grilled salmon — we went to to see Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again … not as good as the original movie, but fun music … and best of all, a cool place to while away a couple of hours until sundown.

Abba (lower right) sure have some fun sing-along songs.

Today, our last day on the road, started, with jiggled plans.  First because we decided to skip our overnight in Groesbeck, TX and drive straight onto Houston — a 402-mile drive.  And second, because a doozy of a storm that came through Abilene first thing this morning delayed our departure by about an hour.

Cutting through plains and ranch lands via secondary/tertiary roads, we had an easy driving day … until we hit I-45S.  Even that wasn’t bad until we got to the outskirts of Houston … typical, horrible Houston traffic … made all the worse by our timing because we ended up in the area during rush hour.  Ugh!  Not the most auspicious end to our 2018 road trip … but there you have it.

Trip Stats: 5,285 miles (8,505 km) … 11 states (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado) … in 103 days, or a little over three months.

We have a week in Houston before we put the Phaeton in storage and head over to Europe.  Busy days … trying to get the A/C fixed and prepping for our trip.  I’ll be back with an update on our exit plan.  But probably not until after we return from Europe … which won’t be until after we ring in the new year.  In the meantime, safe travels to all who are on the road.

T-Mobile Update:

Colorado Springs to Clayton: good signal throughout the day.  Excellent signal at the campground.

Clayton to Lubbock: On and off signal after we entered Texas … lost LTE for low bar 4G at times … OK for phone calls, but certainly not for data.  Picked up strong LTE after leaving Dalhart, before losing it again until almost at the end of FM1061 … switched to reasonable 4G.  Once we entered Amarillo, the signal picked up again, with no drops through the rest of our drive to Lubbock.

Lubbock to Abilene: Good signal all day from Lubbock to Abilene.

Abilene to Houston: No problems near towns and cities.  Crossing the plains and ranch lands, the signal wavered between low to none … sometimes picking up an affiliate network for calls and texting, but no data.  Once we got on I-45S, the signal became constant for the remainder of our drive and here at Advanced.

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