We are officially back on the road. Our travel plans include big bucks on diesel fuel and free nights at Walmart. Maybe even a night or two at Cracker Barrel. We’ll see.
Last Friday we said goodbye to Desert Hot Springs and set out on our eastward trek. I’ll miss the windmills but not the wind. Our goal is to land in Florida in time for the Big Rig’s scheduled one year maintenance. Other Half also has his annual sunshine state golf trip with his buddies.
After four months in SoCal, we were both excited to be back on the road. Rigby wasn’t too excited. She gets nerved up at arrivals and departures but settles down once we’re moving. Oh, and by the way, thanks to a Petco grooming visit, she’s currently sporting a mullet. Her first.
Interstate 10 is our route across the southern US. We’ve been on this road before. Our first day we drove 428 miles. I say “we” but that actually means Other Half. I ride with my feet up with Rigby on my lap. Works for us.
Much of our day was spent in windy conditions which included dust storms. In our travels we’ve seen lots of signs warning us about dust storms, but this was our first experience. On the dust storm scale, our experience was minor, but still not fun.
Once we could see down the road again, we were back to admiring scenery and appreciating colorful trucks. Yep, colorful trucks. Who knew? Apparently, semi trucks come in a rainbow of colors, neon green, bright yellow, electric blue, bright purple and many more. I’ve never paid attention to trucks before, except to try and not get stuck behind one. It was fun. Clearly we’re easily amused.
We spent the first night at Butterfield RV Resort in Benson Arizona. We used our Passport America membership and paid $20. We were able to leave the car hitched up, which makes leaving the next morning quicker.
The second day took us across New Mexico. In addition to colorful semis we got a close look at a giant Roadrunner sculpture. The sculpture is located at a rest area about 10 miles outside of Las Cruse, New Mexico. It was created out of junk from a local dump. Very cool.
We spent the night at Mountain View RV Park in Van Horn, Texas. We stayed here last year. This campground has an old school feel and allows you to bring your horse. Good to know.
It’s also where we saw our first true tiny house, just like the ones on HGTV.
Mother Nature changed our plans for our third day of travel. The original plan was to head to San Antonio. Strong storms and flash flood warnings made us reconsider. Flexibility is one of the big perks of life in the Big Rig.