Texas | FabGrandma

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

Tripping Again V

October 22, 2011 By Fab Grandma 3 Comments

That's a sunRISE, y'all!

Yesterday started really early. We were up before dawn, and it was cold out there! On the road by 7:00 a.m. and into Oklahoma before breakfast.

Oklahoma City just before noon means we beat the lunch time rush

Oklahoma City

We went through Oklahoma City, and almost to Arkansas before we stopped for the day. The Arkansas River was especially beautiful to us, as we have been in Arizona for the last six months, where it is unusual to see water sources:

The Arkansas River

And although I love that my bank can see unusual activity on my ATM card and will shut it down until they hear from me, it makes it hard to fuel up when they do that. That phone call to be on hold for an automated system took me 15 minutes, then another 10 minute wait for them to re-activate my card. Sheesh. You’d think if they could see “unusual activity” that they would see it was charges for “campground” “fuel” “campground” “fuel” “campground” “fuel”…..

We spent the night at the KOA in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. We have stayed here before–it is nice and quiet, and has long level pullthrough sites. Not a bad place to end the day. Now for today’s RV Minute:

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

Backing Up A Bit

April 18, 2011 By Fab Grandma 6 Comments

The Shamrock Water Tower

I almost forgot to tell you all about Shamrock, Texas. We stayed at the West 40 RV Park in Shamrock last fall when we were on our way from Arizona to Alabama. We bought a tire for our trailer in town at C & H Supply. We enjoyed the good people of Shamrock so much that we decided to stop in again and spend a couple of days there. West 40 is not the cheapest RV park in town, but we like it, the sites are flat, and the people who run it are super nice. We paid $25 a night to stay there after a Good Sam discount. They have free wi-fi and full hook-ups. The park is 44 years old and has not been upgraded, but like I said, we liked it.I didn’t take any photos of it this time, but here is our site from last fall:

West 40 RV Park

After we got set up, we went to town looking for something good to eat for dinner. We found Big Vern’s Steakhouse, on Route 66 right in town. We liked Big Vern’s so much that we went there two nights in a row.

Big Verns Steakhouse

FabGrandpa had the 16 oz ribeye and I had the 10 oz one, and they were the best steaks we had ever put in our mouths! It’s not cheap to eat there–we spent $50 plus tip both nights, but i can not tell you just how good those steaks were!

FabGrandpa's 16 oz ribeye steak, cooked to perfection.

Oh, yeah, it came with two grilled shrimp, bread, and your choice of two sides. We got the carmelized mushrooms and onions and a baked potato. Both nights.

I got dressed up a little bit the second night.

I found the necklace that I bought to wear to Becky’s wedding and then lost, so I wore it the second night we went. Cute, huh?

Downtown Shamrock

Since we were in town for a couple of days, we went exploring to see what we could see. The tallest water tower in Texas is located in Shamrock, so we drove through downtown to see it. Don’t you just love exploring old towns?

The Ace Hardware is also a grocery store, pharmacy and meat market.

FabGrandpa used to work at an Ace Hardware store, so we always have to go in and look at them when we travel. This one was also the grocery store and pharmacy. The people who worked here were soooo nice! I had to get a prescription filled, and instead of transfering it from Wal-Mart, the pharmacist sold me 5 tablets to get me to Flagstaff. I call that “Great Service!”

C & H Supply in Shamrock Texas

I also can’t tell you enough just how helpful and nice the folks at C & H Supply in Shamrock were, again. Last fall, we had a blowout on the trailer just outside of Amarillo, and bought one to replace it from them. When we were in West Memphis, we went to the Goodyear Tire Store there to replace the one that blew out on the first day of our trip. That guy charged us $165 for one tire. He mounted it on the rim, but didn’t put it on the trailer. At C & H Supply, we bought two tires, had them mounted and balanced, moved one tire to the spare AND they put the two news on the trailer for us, all for $278. We highly recommend them if you are traveling and need new tires.

The guy at C & H Supply put those tires on for us.

While FabGrandpa took care of the tire business, I walked next door and took pictures of the Tower Service Station. The building was built in 1936 as a Conoco Service Station and restaurant, but you may recognize it from the Disney movie, “Cars”.

U-Drop Inn and Tower Service Station

Tower Service Station Shamrock, Texas

If you’d like to find out more about Shamrock, here is the link to the Shamrock Visitor’s Guide.

Filed Under: Fun Stuff, Life on the road, Texas Tagged With: rv roadtrip, shamrock texas, Texas

Have You Ever Been To Amarillo

April 18, 2011 By Fab Grandma 2 Comments

We drove through Amarillo today. Last year on our way to Flagstaff, we stopped for two nights in Amarillo. That was enough for a lifetime. Amarillo is a cowtown. It stinks. It doesn’t really matter which direction the wind is blowing, it still smells like, well, cow poo. It seems to take days to get the smell out of your nose. Luckily for you, this video is not 4D–no odors included. Back up music is Frank Zappa’s “My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama”. Enjoy…