Places We’ve Been | FabGrandma

Roadtrip: Georgia to Arizona, 7th Day

April 14, 2012 By Fab Grandma 1 Comment

We listened to the trucks rumble into and out of the Flying J down the road from the campground all night long, but we slept soundly, being lulled to sleep by the drone of the diesel engines. We were up and on our way earlier than any other day of this trip. We knew it was going to be a windy day from checking the weather channel, but just how windy? Just look a this:

The wind blew the bed cover open on our truck as we were going down the highway. We had to stop so Fabgrandpa could bungee it closed.

The cover blew open!

A little while later, the RV steps blew open! I happened to notice it in the mirror, so we had to stop again to close them up. We also used a bungee on them to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Never happened before!

And dust! So much dust you could barely see in spots, and there was road construction added to that mix as well!

Dust and wind in New Mexico

We were really glad to get off the road today in Grants. It was snowing when we pulled in to the KOA there, and cold, about 35 degrees. Those sway bars are hard to handle when it is that cold!

We’ll be staying here for two nights, so tomorrow we can go see the sites around Grants. I want to see the Ice Caves and Bandera Volcano. I’ve see the advertisements for them for five years now and it about time to go see them.

Filed Under: Life on the road, NewMexico

Roadtrip: Georgia to Arizona, 6th Day

April 13, 2012 By Fab Grandma 3 Comments

A yard full of birds

A late start again today, but another very short driving day. We pulled out of 40 West RV Park in Shamrock, Texas around 11:00 a.m. heading for Tucumcari, New Mexico, only about 200 miles or so. We had an incredibly beautiful day and not much traffic. How lucky and a girl get on a Friday the 13th?

This rest stop is partly underground

I love the Texas sky on days like today. So blue, and the clouds are awesome!

A grain elevator along I-40

Isn’t this just gorgeous! Those are the big round hay bales in a field of green grass under a blue and white sky.

Let's make hay!

This water tank has been leaning since we started driving up and down I-40 in 2008. We always wonder if it is going to still be standing the next time we come through.

What the?

P.U! That is a feed lot full of cows west of Amarillo. We smelled it quite a ways before we saw it. Still want that burger?

this is one stinking place!

Every once in a while, we are rewarded with a truly beautiful scene, such as this one:

Beautiful!

We crossed over into New Mexico and had about forty miles to go to Tucumcari.

Crossing the New Mexico State Line

We pulled into the Flying J in Tucumcari for fuel before going to the campground for the night. They are getting $3.999 for diesel here.

A fuel stop before going to the campground for the night.

Then it was just about a half mile to Mountain Road RV Park to spend the night. Not a bad day at all.

Mountain Road RV Park

Filed Under: Life on the road, NewMexico, Texas

Roadtrip: Georgia to Arizona, 5th Day

April 12, 2012 By Fab Grandma 4 Comments

Today was a non-travel day. We are half way to our destination so we stopped for two nights, to rest a bit and to poke around the town of Shamrock, Texas.

Groceries!

The first stop was to fill up the truck with fuel. Diesel is going for $4.049 here in Texas, which is still less than what it was in Georgia. $112 to fill that tank today! After getting the fuel we went over to Buy For Less Express. It is an Ace Hardware/pharmacy/grocery store all under one roof. Fabgrandpa got the clamps he needed to repair the brake cable on the trailer. I also found some yummy gluten free foods!

Oh, Yum!

I was really surprised to see them on the shelf there because this is such a small town. I got a French Meadow Bakery yellow cake, some Schar Italian Bread Sticks, Schar Vanilla Wafer Cookies, and Schar Lady Fingers. I can see a home made banana pudding in my future!

We went looking for a thrift store, and found a couple of them on Main Street. Fabgrandpa always buys DVD’s. We watch the movies a couple of times, then donate them to the next thrift store we go to.I love that the town of Shamrock has murals painted on some of the buildings:

Downtown Mural

Oh, and of course I had to kiss the Blarney Stone:

Kissing the Blarney Stone

Another mural

It’s hard to imagine when gasoline was only 10 cents a gallon!

A Vintage Mobil Gas Station

We had quite a fun day in downtown Shamrock, but had to head on home and cook some dinner. I made some garlic roasted potatoes, pork chops, and brussells sprouts. After dinner we went ahead and hooked the trailer back up to the truck so that all we have to do in the morning is unhook the water and electric, put up the stabilizer jacks, and go! We’ll be headed to Tucumcari, New Mexico tomorrow.

Filed Under: Life on the road, Texas

Roadtrip: Georgia to Arizona, Day 4

April 12, 2012 By Fab Grandma 5 Comments

Yucky weather

Yesterday we woke up to really yucky weather in the Oklahoma City area. We were staying at the KOA located about where you see Midwest City on this map. We decided to wait until the rain stopped to start our travels since we were only going about 200 miles.

The alternate route is highlighted in blue.

Kevin, one of the employees at the KOA gave us an alternate route to get around Oklahoma City. Last fall when we were on our way back to Georgia, going through Oklahoma City on I-40 was a torture for us and for our RV. The road was really bumpy and full of cracks and holes. I think Kevin said they are working on it now, so it is also under construction. The alternate route was a dream compared to that ride on I-40. To get a bigger picture of the route to print out, click here.

Crocheted washcloths

This is what I have been doing to keep myself busy on this trip. I love the feel of crocheted cotton washcloths, so I have been making them. I can make about one a day. I’ll be putting some for sale in my online store as soon as we get to Arizona.

Wildflowers blooming

The last couple of times we came this way, it was still cold and wintry looking. This year, though, warmer spring weather has us looking at wildflowers blooming along the side of the road and in the fields.

Cows. Lots of Cows

We’re seeing lots of cows in the fields, too. This was in western Oklahoma about five miles before the Texas state line.

Texas!

We crossed over the Texas state line, and only had 13 more miles to go. We are staying two nights in Shamrock, Texas. We love Shamrock, even though it is just a tiny town. We stop here every time we travel from Arizona to Georgia and back, mosyly because we love Big Vern’s Steakhouse. Last night was no exception. As soon as we got ready for dinner, we headed over there. I had a filet mignon, and boy was it ever delicious!

Downtown Shamrock

Today we’ll go into town and buy some groceries, and see if we can find a thrift store or an antique store to look around in. Tomorrow we’re headed to New Mexico.

Mean sky in Texas

There was a threat of severe weather posted by the weather service, but it never rained here last night. What a relief that was. I will leave you with this: Fabgrandpa showing off his biscuits!

Fabgrandpa showing off his biscuits!

Filed Under: General, Life on the road, Oklahoma, Texas

Roadtrip: Georgia to Arizona, 3rd day

April 10, 2012 By Fab Grandma 3 Comments

I-40 in Arkansas

Sleeping in and getting a slow start to the day was just what we needed. We only traveled 250 miles today, and ended up in Oklahoma City at the Oklahoma City East KOA for the night.

There wasn’t much going on today, just Fabgrandpa driving and me crocheting, and every now and then taking some pictures. He let me know when we got close to the Oklahoma state line so I could get a picture:

Rolling in to Oklahoma

We stopped at the welcome center to rest a bit, and get a weather report. Thunder storms are expected tonight, and I am hoping they go south of us.

At the welcome center

Fuel stops were easier on us today. I don’t know if it is because of all the reservations in Oklahoma or not, but diesel is $3.899 cash, and $3.919 credit here. We’ll make sure to fill up before we get into Texas tomorrow. We saw these cute barbecue grills at one fuel stop today:

Barbecue grills for sale at a fuel stop

I also spotted this home made RV:

Unusual RV we spotted today

Tomorrow is going to be an even shorter day, because we want to stop in Shamrock, Texas for a couple of nights. We’re looking forward to going out to eat at Big Vern’s Steakhouse there. We’ve been doing really good this trip, eating all of our meals so far in the RV. I’ll refresh our salad fixings in Shamrock, too, so we can continue to eat at home. This is actually the first trip we have made in our 12 years of RV’ing that we are doing most of our meals “at home”. Cracker Barrel really adds up and gets expensive!

Filed Under: Life on the road, Oklahoma

Campground Review: Mission RV Park, Russellville, Arkansas

April 9, 2012 By Fab Grandma 3 Comments

Mission RV Park

We stopped for the night at Mission RV Park in Russellville, Arkansas. It was a very short drive off exit 78 on I-40. The campground is run by the owners, who live on the property. They have quite a few permanent residents here, but they don’t allow residents to accumulate a lot of junk on their sites, so the campground looks very nice.

The entrance road to Mission RV Park in Russellville

The campground has 45 RV sites, with about a third of them being pull through. The sites that back up to the lake are for campers who stay for more than one night. Rates for a 30 amp site are $27 per night plus tax, making it $29.43 for up to four people on the site.

Our site was quite level on the pad

The site we stayed on had a concrete pad that was very level, but but the concrete pad was very short and probably wouldn’t accommodate a longer RV. While the site itself is long enough for larger RVs, it gets out of level off of the concrete pad.

View of Lake Dardanelle from the activity building

While there is a view of Lake Dardanelle from the campground, there is no boat access or easy fishing access from the campsites. There is a Corp of Engineers boat ramp nearby.

The laundry room

The laundry room has two washers and two dryers, and an iron and ironing board for use by campers. The showers are also in this building.

The ladies shower room

You are only two miles from Arkansas Nuclear One, a power generation plant on Lake Dardanelle, and they even tell you that on their website:

Arkansas Nuclear One

What they don’t tell you about is the train tracks that run along side of the campground. The trains run on a very regular schedule and can be quite loud as they rumble by. I would however, recommend this park to anyone who is traveling thru the area on I-40.