We drove today from Amarillo to Gainesville Texas. We are staying about 6 miles north of Gainesville at Winstar Casino RV Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma on I35 just 1 mile north of the Texas-Oaklahoma border. Fairly new place, cost is $20 per night, long 80 foot pull through, paved roads and concrete pads and patio area with table. Nice place to stay over night or for a couple of days if you just want to pull off the road. Today was about 325 miles and took 6 hours including a couple stops for the dog.
We drove on I40 for about 18 miles then onto US287 to US82. When possible we drive on Highways like US287 and 82 today rather than just staying on the interstates. Pretty much all good roads today.
Cotton is a major crop around Amarillo and also on our travels today we saw a lot of cotton that had been harvested, was being harvested and still to be harvested along US287. We also saw a lot of small pieces of cotton laying along the side of the road as it is trucked from the farms to the local cotton facility, which had dozens of huge bales of cotton ( 30'x8'x10' size is our estimate). On the news the last few days they have been talking about the cotton crop in the general area of Amaraillo as being great this year and prices are at an all time high due to other parts of the US and the world had poor cotton yields this year so lots of demand this year for cotton from this general area.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Oasis RV Resort, Amarillo Tx
Still a little windy but only about 15-20 mph, so we drove to Amarillo Texas on I40, pretty much a straight shot east bound. I40 is fine to drive on. In New Mexico it is asphalt and for the most part pretty smooth. From MM 250 to 260 it was a little choppy but that was the only "rough" section. For I40 this isnt really all that rough. Upon entering Texas we switched to concrete roadway, not as smooth as asphalt but this was pretty smooth for concrete. It didnt have the repetious expansion joint "bump" that some concrete interstates.
The wind at 15-20 mph was mostly directly behind us as we drove today so it improved the fuel mileage today.
We are going to stay here for 3 nites since they have a special 3 nites for $40 total. We will do some grocery shopping and some sight seeing in Amarillo. Maybe see the Cadillac Ranch.
Wind finally stopped around midnite. Wednesday the cold front will be south of us and we are not supposed to have any wind Wednesday with a high of 66 on Wednesday
Pictures later.
The wind at 15-20 mph was mostly directly behind us as we drove today so it improved the fuel mileage today.
We are going to stay here for 3 nites since they have a special 3 nites for $40 total. We will do some grocery shopping and some sight seeing in Amarillo. Maybe see the Cadillac Ranch.
Wind finally stopped around midnite. Wednesday the cold front will be south of us and we are not supposed to have any wind Wednesday with a high of 66 on Wednesday
Pictures later.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Windy Weather- Change of Plans
Sunday nite I checked the weather for our next destination, Santa Rosa NM, and found that there was a wind advisory issued for I40 between Albuquerque and Santa Rosa with wind gusts at around 50 mph on Monday. So Monday morning we changed our plans and decided to drive to Albuquerque and stay at American RV Park.
It was windy driving from Lee Acres in NM to albuquerque and in some sections we had to slow down to 55 mph. Highway 550 was a pretty good road, 4 lane divided highway. A few rough spots but for the most part we would drive this section again.
It was very windy and cold in Albuquerque when we got there and a lot of people in RVs were pulling off the road. Most of the larger pull through sites at the front of the American RV Park were empty when we got there around 2pm, by sunset most of the sites were full due to people pulling off the road after fighting the rough winds. A lot of people were not aware of the severe wind warning. The RV Park was aware of the wind warning and they were prepared with extra staff to handle the expected extra visitors pulling off the road early for the day. While we were parked at American RV, the wind was gusting strong enough to rock the motorhome from side to side. Winds finally subsided around 10pm.
Overnite temperature was 34 degrees at American Rv Park.
Tuesday morning we will drive to Oasis RV Park near Amarillo Texas. About a 285 mile day. First 2 days were around 190 miles each.
Pictures to be posted later.
It was windy driving from Lee Acres in NM to albuquerque and in some sections we had to slow down to 55 mph. Highway 550 was a pretty good road, 4 lane divided highway. A few rough spots but for the most part we would drive this section again.
It was very windy and cold in Albuquerque when we got there and a lot of people in RVs were pulling off the road. Most of the larger pull through sites at the front of the American RV Park were empty when we got there around 2pm, by sunset most of the sites were full due to people pulling off the road after fighting the rough winds. A lot of people were not aware of the severe wind warning. The RV Park was aware of the wind warning and they were prepared with extra staff to handle the expected extra visitors pulling off the road early for the day. While we were parked at American RV, the wind was gusting strong enough to rock the motorhome from side to side. Winds finally subsided around 10pm.
Overnite temperature was 34 degrees at American Rv Park.
Tuesday morning we will drive to Oasis RV Park near Amarillo Texas. About a 285 mile day. First 2 days were around 190 miles each.
Pictures to be posted later.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Time to head south - Moab to Farmington NM.
We want to be home by November 15 and the weather is starting to get colder so its time for us to head south.
We drove south on 191 then onto 491 to Cortez, Colorado then south on 491 to Farmington New Mexico then onto Lee Acres between Farmington and Bloomfield. The roads today were sometimes very choppy and difficult to drive on and then there would be smooth sections that were great to drive on.
We stayed over nited at Lee Acres RV Park in Farmington NM. We were just looking for an RV park where we can park over nite and not have to disconnect the car. There are long pull thru sites here. However, the site we were able to park in was the "newer" section which is a work in progress. The new section is mostly soft dirt mixed with a very thin layer of gravel while the old section which has more gravel but it has a lot more permanent residents, mostly itinerant construction workers with 5th wheel trailers. Please dont take my commentary negatively, it is how many people are living now with today's economic problems. Most RVers want to know when they go to an RV Park if there are a lot of permanent residents, which in this case, there are. This is an okay place for an overnite as long as no rain. If its raining, its not a place you want to stay, too much mud.
So much for now.
We drove south on 191 then onto 491 to Cortez, Colorado then south on 491 to Farmington New Mexico then onto Lee Acres between Farmington and Bloomfield. The roads today were sometimes very choppy and difficult to drive on and then there would be smooth sections that were great to drive on.
We stayed over nited at Lee Acres RV Park in Farmington NM. We were just looking for an RV park where we can park over nite and not have to disconnect the car. There are long pull thru sites here. However, the site we were able to park in was the "newer" section which is a work in progress. The new section is mostly soft dirt mixed with a very thin layer of gravel while the old section which has more gravel but it has a lot more permanent residents, mostly itinerant construction workers with 5th wheel trailers. Please dont take my commentary negatively, it is how many people are living now with today's economic problems. Most RVers want to know when they go to an RV Park if there are a lot of permanent residents, which in this case, there are. This is an okay place for an overnite as long as no rain. If its raining, its not a place you want to stay, too much mud.
So much for now.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Arches today: Windows Section
Another perfect weather day, high of 82 ( which occurred around 3pm), overnight low of 45. Skies are clearer today. No humidity!!!!
The last 2 nites I have seen "shooting stars" while walking the dog around 11pm at nite. There are no city lights here so the stars are much more visible too.
Today we went to the Windows Section of Arches where you can see the following Arches: North and South Windows, Turret and Double Arch.
There are way too many picture opportunities at Arches NP.
So here are just a "few" from today, I took 316 pictures today but a lot of those were duplicates with various exposure settings. You miss a lot of the details if you just use automatic exposure.
The last 2 nites I have seen "shooting stars" while walking the dog around 11pm at nite. There are no city lights here so the stars are much more visible too.
Today we went to the Windows Section of Arches where you can see the following Arches: North and South Windows, Turret and Double Arch.
There are way too many picture opportunities at Arches NP.
So here are just a "few" from today, I took 316 pictures today but a lot of those were duplicates with various exposure settings. You miss a lot of the details if you just use automatic exposure.
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| Double Arch |
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| This is just to give you an idea of the size of the double arch. Deb is in the middle of the picture. |
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| Everyone seems to climb too high and then realize it is harder going back down. In this picture an elderly couple (older than us, okay) from a Japanese Tour Group realized that they had climbed up a bit too high and had a difficult time getting back down. There was a group of "20 somethings" from Colorado that climbed way too high but they didnt seem to mind, they they just sat down and slid down but pretty much torn up their clothes in the process. But they had a great time, laughing all the way down. |
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| Double Click on this one to see some of the no fear climbers, they ended up sliding down. No one got hurt while we were there. Quiet a few slipped going down but fortunately fell back and not forward. I tried to avoid being to close below the high climbers, didnt want to get knocked down when they tried to come back down. |
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| Double Click to see details |
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| Sculpture |
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| Elephant |
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| Parade of Elephants |
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| Stack Fell Over |
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| South Window |
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| North Window |
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| North Window |
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| Look closely, these arches have gaps and loose rock |
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| Base of Arch, it is amazing these are still standing, they look like they could fall at any moment |
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| South Window on the left, North Window on the right, these are from the "back side" |
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| North Window, South Window from "front side" |
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| South Window from trail on back side |
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| South Window from trail on back side |
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| Stairway creatred by years of water erosion, not man made. Camera angle isnt the best, but this is an up slope to one of the windows. |
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| Turret Arch |
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| Turret Arch, note the hole in the rock to the left of the Arch |
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| Over exposed to see different details of the Arch |
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| Turret Arch from "back side" |
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| Guess Who |
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| Double Click on this one to see the details inside the hole |
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Portal RV Resort and Arches Entrance
Today we just took it "easy" Bus windows needed to be cleaned as well as the car needed to be cleaned up, bikes locked up and secured.
We did drive through downtown to find out whats downtown and we drove to Arches National Park visitor center and got more info and sat through the video which was very well done by the Discovery channel.
This is a really nice RV Park in a great location, very quiet and no road noise. We have stayed at a variety of RV parks this year and we were ready for a nice quiet location as well as a very level RV site with a full concrete pad and patio and this site is one of our favorites for this trip this year. It is amazing how much dirt the dog tracks in despite wiping his paws off all the time, not to mention muddy paws when its raining but dont need to worry about that at this park. We get late afternoon shade from the trees on the front of the motorhome and shade along the passenger side pretty much all day so sitting outside is very comfortable. Of course the temperature this time of year is only 80 during the day, next week the high is supposed to be around 70 still very comfortable weather, great time of the year to be here.
We did drive through downtown to find out whats downtown and we drove to Arches National Park visitor center and got more info and sat through the video which was very well done by the Discovery channel.
This is a really nice RV Park in a great location, very quiet and no road noise. We have stayed at a variety of RV parks this year and we were ready for a nice quiet location as well as a very level RV site with a full concrete pad and patio and this site is one of our favorites for this trip this year. It is amazing how much dirt the dog tracks in despite wiping his paws off all the time, not to mention muddy paws when its raining but dont need to worry about that at this park. We get late afternoon shade from the trees on the front of the motorhome and shade along the passenger side pretty much all day so sitting outside is very comfortable. Of course the temperature this time of year is only 80 during the day, next week the high is supposed to be around 70 still very comfortable weather, great time of the year to be here.
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| Site 55 |
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| Site 55, very long site, approximately 75 feet |
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| For all you Gonzo fans including John Goelz |
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| Entrance to Arches National Park |
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| View directly behind the visitor center at the entrance. |
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| Downtown Moab looking North |
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| Downtown Moab looking south |
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Montrose Colorado to Moab Utah
Today was another one of our short drives, only 190 miles. It is warmer in Moab, 80 degrees today and forecast of 45 for tonight. Yesterday the high in Montrose was 70, last nite our over nite low was 37 degrees which has been the typical low there for the last week.
I am really glad I put Koni shocks on the Bus in Februrary, it makes a huge difference in terms of handling and how it handles the dips and undulations in the road. I thought the konis would be too stiff and give a harsh ride but they are not. The oem Sachs shocks were really bad and the Bus was hard to control at times.
Regarding the roads we traveled today. Highway 50 from Montrose to Delta was just fine. Highway 50 between Delta and Grand Junction has a lot of long dips/undulations in the road such that it caused the Bus to bounce pretty badly and we had to go slower than the posted speed limit which was between 55-65. Then on I70 from Grand Junction heading West the road was very rough in sections and it too had dips/undulations that caused the Bus to bounce. We only drive 65 on the interstates even though the posted speed is 75. At 65 the road was still too rough and in places we had to slow down to 55-60. Sometimes the road was smooth, but then it would quickly turn rough. As a comparison I10 in the Florida panhandle is a very smooth interstate road and great to drive on and I would rate that section of road a 10. I70 from Grand Junction to exit 182 in Utah was rough, and I would rate it about a 7.
Then we took 191 south from I70 to get to Moab, wow, a really rough road for the first 5 miles. Speed limit was 65 but we had to slow down to 55 and I would have driven slower but due to the traffic had to keep it at 55. Then we encountered a 4 lane section for about 5 miles which was really smooth and we then were able to drive the speed limit of 65 mph then we went back to a 2 lane road which was really rough again and back to 55 mph for about another 5 miles. The Bus was really shaking and the cabinets were rattling a lot. Then we encountered a newly repaved 2 lane section that was really smooth and allowed us to drive the speed limit of 65 mph again until we got into the northern city limits of Moab.
No steep climbs or descents today. Driving in the Rockies was challenging. Today was a "normal" day of driving. We are now at 4000 feet elevation. Our RV Park in Montrose was at 6000.
We are staying at Portal RV Park on the south side of the park, the newer section. Paved interior roads and all concrete pad for both the Bus and the car for $40.50 per night ( after 10% FMCA discount) plus taxes. As usual, there are tourist taxes to be paid. Sales tax is 7.85% then there is a Utah transient tax of 1.5%, then there is another County transient tax of 3%, (so basically a 4.5% tourist tax) so total taxes are 12.35%. Regardless, a very nice place to stay and we have a great view of the southern edge of Arches National Park and we have views of Red stone and Red mountains all around us.
I am really glad I put Koni shocks on the Bus in Februrary, it makes a huge difference in terms of handling and how it handles the dips and undulations in the road. I thought the konis would be too stiff and give a harsh ride but they are not. The oem Sachs shocks were really bad and the Bus was hard to control at times.
Regarding the roads we traveled today. Highway 50 from Montrose to Delta was just fine. Highway 50 between Delta and Grand Junction has a lot of long dips/undulations in the road such that it caused the Bus to bounce pretty badly and we had to go slower than the posted speed limit which was between 55-65. Then on I70 from Grand Junction heading West the road was very rough in sections and it too had dips/undulations that caused the Bus to bounce. We only drive 65 on the interstates even though the posted speed is 75. At 65 the road was still too rough and in places we had to slow down to 55-60. Sometimes the road was smooth, but then it would quickly turn rough. As a comparison I10 in the Florida panhandle is a very smooth interstate road and great to drive on and I would rate that section of road a 10. I70 from Grand Junction to exit 182 in Utah was rough, and I would rate it about a 7.
Then we took 191 south from I70 to get to Moab, wow, a really rough road for the first 5 miles. Speed limit was 65 but we had to slow down to 55 and I would have driven slower but due to the traffic had to keep it at 55. Then we encountered a 4 lane section for about 5 miles which was really smooth and we then were able to drive the speed limit of 65 mph then we went back to a 2 lane road which was really rough again and back to 55 mph for about another 5 miles. The Bus was really shaking and the cabinets were rattling a lot. Then we encountered a newly repaved 2 lane section that was really smooth and allowed us to drive the speed limit of 65 mph again until we got into the northern city limits of Moab.
No steep climbs or descents today. Driving in the Rockies was challenging. Today was a "normal" day of driving. We are now at 4000 feet elevation. Our RV Park in Montrose was at 6000.
We are staying at Portal RV Park on the south side of the park, the newer section. Paved interior roads and all concrete pad for both the Bus and the car for $40.50 per night ( after 10% FMCA discount) plus taxes. As usual, there are tourist taxes to be paid. Sales tax is 7.85% then there is a Utah transient tax of 1.5%, then there is another County transient tax of 3%, (so basically a 4.5% tourist tax) so total taxes are 12.35%. Regardless, a very nice place to stay and we have a great view of the southern edge of Arches National Park and we have views of Red stone and Red mountains all around us.
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| To be honest not much to see, but dog needed a walk anyway |
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| I70 westbound just west of Utah-Colorado border |
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| More I70 views |
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| I70 to the horizon |
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| Near Arches entrance |
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| Colorado 191 crosses Colorado River just around this cuve, too much construction around curve to take a picture |
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