9 Apr 2019 - Arrived at Amarillo, Stats Update

9 Apr 2019

We blasted out of the Albuquerque NM KOA this morning at 0854 hrs eastbound on I-40 towards Texas.  Today's route is pretty flat, actually we lose 1443 ft as we head east,  and the I-40 route is fairly straight.  Like much of this portion of our trip, it either parallels the historic Route 66, or the Interstate replaced it in places.

As mentioned, the scenery was nondescript - lots of flat with some mesas along the way. 

 The further east we traveled the greener it got.  Trees began to show up and even green grass was visible.

 We stopped once for fuel at a Loves Travel Stop in Tucumcari NM.  In the parking lot was this awesome old RV, or bus converted into an RV.

Not much further east we reached the New Mexico / Texas State Line.

About 22 miles into Texas we stopped at Adrian TX to visit the Route 66 Midpoint landmark.  It was just north of I-40 on the original Route 66. 

We pulled into the Sunflower Station which is an old gas station converted into an antique and souvenir shop.  It was closed so there was no problem parking our rig there.  The Sunflower Station is right next to the Midpoint Cafe which is a 50's style cafe and souvenir shop.

Straight out from the Midpoint Cafe is the actual 'midpoint'!  1139 miles to Chicago and 1139 miles to Los Angeles on Route 66.  It is marked by a white line across Route 66 and a landmark on the north side of the road.

Also, next to the Midpoint Cafe is the Fabulous 40's Motel.  It appears to be closed, like many along Route 66.

Doreen crossed Route 66 with Liberty for the picture above, then she went into the cafe and fetched us some chocolate pie with ice cream for a treat.  We sat outside at the Sunflower Station and enjoyed a little break.

Back on the road again and it was not long before we reached Amarillo TX and our next stop, the Oasis RV Resort. We arrived at 1510 hrs local (Central Daylight Time) and 272 miles.  Yes, we had a time zone change on the border.  Back on Central time - Yeah!

This RV park is not a KOA but it is a Good Sams Resort and it is very nice.  Paved sites with blacktop entrances and exits.  Pool, spa, all the amenities. Wide spacing between sites too.

Nice sites

Wide streets to maneuver the rigs

Lots of space between sites

It's been a long day, so Liberty crashed behind my chair!

The Oasis RV Park is on the western outskirts of town, and just a stones throw from the famous 'Cadillac Ranch'.  We will visit there tomorrow and take some pictures.  So, to temper your expectations, the Cadillac Ranch is nothing like the 'Mustang Ranch' brothel east of Reno NV.  Just sayin'.  :-)  

One other thing this RV park has is a buried RV!  This might give you a hint what to expect at the Cadillac Ranch!

We got set up quickly, ate a quick dinner and then headed for the spa to soak the aching back a while.  It did help a bit, but like a couple days ago, does not help the sharp, shooting pains, just relaxes the muscles a bit.

Stats Update:

Campsite#:  25 of 27

# States Traveled Through This Trip: 12

Baseball Parks Visited So Far This Trip:  6 (Houston, Corpus Christi, Arizona X 3, San Diego)

Point to point travel miles:  5432 miles

  - Avg point to point travel miles:  217 miles

Vicinity miles:  4324 miles 

  - Avg vicinity miles:  180 miles

Total miles driven:  9756 miles

Total point to point driving time:  105 hrs 40 minutes

Total fuel purchased: 850.506 gals

Total fuel cost:  $2448.65

Average fuel cost:  $2.959

Max fuel cost:  $3.999 (Seal Beach CA)

Min fuel cost:  $2.279 (Wharton TX)

Average MPG:  11.49 miles/gal

# Nights at end of this stay:  132

Lodging cost:  $4564.82

 - Average lodging cost/night:  $34.58/night

8 Apr 2019 - Preparing to Depart Albuquerque, Dinner with Mitch Brush

8 Apr 2019
Today we prepare to bug out in the morning to Amarillo TX.  I finished up yesterday's blog entry first thing this morning and then we did some shopping to pick up a few items.  It's hard to get used to this 'western' time as everything is one early.  The Cubs hosted the Pirates for the Cubbie's home opener at Wrigley Field and the game started at 1100 hrs this morning!  To confuse matters even more, we change time zones again tomorrow!

We had been in contact with our good friend Command Chief Master Sergeant Mitch Brush earlier in our trip, and most recently when we switched gears on our schedule and decided to come home early.  Luckily he was still available but his wife Blaire was out of town.  Mitch made reservations for us at a local Mexican Restaurant called El Pinto for tonight. 

El Pinto entrance

Peppers drying in the sun.

We met Mitch there at 5:30  and his son Parker joined us as well.  A lot has transpired since the last time we saw Mitch, which was at my military retirement ceremony back in July 2015.  Mitch was the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau back then, working in Washington DC.  How he is the Senior Enlisted Leader for the New Mexico National Guard.  He works for and advises the New Mexico Adjutant General on matters concerning the Army and Air National Guard enlisted force.  We enjoyed the dinner and really enjoyed getting caught up with Mitch!

After dinner we headed back to the RV Park and Doreen snapped a picture of the surrounding mountains.

 We fueled up the truck on the way back and then finished up our outside tasks here to make tear down in the morning quicker.  We will leave fairly early as the morning  with a drive just shy of 300 miles.

Next report, Amarillo TX!

7 Apr 2019 - Arrived at Albuquerque NM KOA

7 Apr 2019

This morning we woke to sub-freezing temps at Black Barts RV Park in Flagstaff, dipping to 28 F for quite a bit of the night.  Ice had apparently began to form on the inside of my unheated water hose as the water flow was reduced.  I find it hard to bring my self to spending $125 or more for a 25 ft heated drinking water hose.  We ran some water and the flow increased, so no issues.  We got packed up, pulled chocks and departed Flagstaff AZ at 0830 hrs (Pacific time this time of the year) and headed towards Albuquerque NM (Mountain time), our next stop. 

The journey was great with, again, changing scenery and interesting things along the way! 

Snow capped mountains neat Flagstaff in the rear view mirror as we head eastbound.

An abandoned roadway and bridge, obviously very old.

Part of the remains of Two Guns Ghost Town

Many more interesting rock formations.

A 'diamond in the rough'?

An old abandoned Indian craft tourist stop

A couple mesas in the distance.

The abandoned baseball fields of Winslow AZ along Route 66. 
All we need is some potato sacks for bases. 'Merica!

Entering the Petrified Forest National Park area.  Tourist stops have petrified wood you can purchase.

 

Teepee on the hill

Make you a good deal, today!

The old Route 66 parallels our journey.  So much history along the way.

Near Sun Valley, I believe.

Part of Fort Courage near Houck AZ

Near Houck AZ we approached the AZ / NM state line and time zone change.  For the most part Arizona does not recognize the daylight savings time change.  There apparently is an exception to the rule.  The Navajo Nation crosses over into Arizona and they decided to keep their three-state Nation on the same time all year.  So now you know!

These pictures are right on the border of AZ and NM, called Window Rock.  Beautiful!

Crossing over into New Mexico and the scenery continued to be awesome. 

A head turner at the Yellowstone Trading Post on the state line. 
They are not live animals but sure had us fooled!!

More of Route 66 right along the Interstate.

Just beyond Coolidge NM, the Continental Divide. 
We crossed it twice in 2017 and twice this year too. 

 About 11 miles west of Albuquerque are the lava fields.  They are made up of lava flows, cinder cones and splatter cones.  From a distance when we first saw them, the area looked like tilled ground in Iowa! 

We arrived at the Albuquerque KOA at 1525 hrs local and 330 travel miles which equated to 5 hrs 55 minutes of travel time.  That is a long day for us pulling the 'condo on wheels'.  I was D.U.N. done when we arrived and in no mood for some jack wagon blocking the RV registration lane with his damn car.  So I could not pull in as far as I needed to and I was blocking the park entrance/exit.  I hobbled in to register and by that time the guy had left.  I was asked to 'hobble back out and move our rig forward.  Sure no problem....  So we registered and got set up.  Nice park, paved/blacktopped sites.  No neighbors was nice.  (These were taken later)

They do have a pool and hot tub and Doreen suggested we climb into the hot tub thinking it might help with my back, and it did.  I don't think it was any relief on the actual back but it did soothe the leg and back muscles that are trying their best to compensate for whatever is ailing my back.

So after a tasty supper of stuffed peppers in the Instant Pot, we sat in the hot tub for a while and then returned to the RV.  I was completely relaxed at that point and could not stay up to do the pictures and blog.  That's my story and I am sticking with it!

We will kick out an update tonight after we go out to eat with an Air Guard comrade, Command Chief Master Sergeant Mitch Brush, now State Command Chief of the New Mexico Air National Guard!  Will be great to see him again!