I was up early walking with the dogs as the sun began to warm the path behind the trees. We were the only ones stirring in the campground. Afterwards, PJ and I sat over breakfast debating whether to stick around for another day taking it easy and focusing on a couple of projects or continue on down the I-40 towards Texas. We were pretty much leaning towards staying when two things occurred that convinced us to change our course.
The sketchy old timer in the tattered overalls and unkempt beard never blinked as his eyes followed our every move as we hooked up the dogs at around 10:00 and walked to the front office to pay up for another night. Inexplicably the doors were locked. Sign #1. So, we took the dogs on an exploratory hike around the neighborhood. It is mostly ranches and large parcels. We took a little side road that paralleled the abandoned railroad tracks and wound back up behind the campground. As we neared the back of the watcher’s camp, his large dog which was caged in a little 2’ x 3’ pen started barking. We waved a good morning only to be met with a silent icy glare. Sign #2. We continued our walk until we ran into someone’s house then returned to camp and decided to cover a few more miles and save our extra relaxation time for a more comfortable spot.
We headed back out the old Route 66 stopping for another massive tank of gas before settling in on cruise control down I-40. Long easy drive, less windy today. Tons of trucks and a few stretches of construction to navigate going through Amarillo. A few quick rest stops but pretty much non-stop driving for 5 hours.
Wilson is a thirsty bird
I had scouted out an RV park in a little dried up burg called Vega at the far end of the top portion of Texas we are crossing through. It looked okay on paper, but when we pulled up in the late afternoon, it looked absolutely depressing. Dirt pads on a weedy, windy lot sitting right on the side of the freeway. We opted out and just passed through the driveway before turning around and setting our sights on Tucumcari another hour down the highway where they advertised a KOA campground.
Cotton is King
Rest stop Texas style
Actually, the KOA in Tucumcari is only marginally better than the Walnut RV park back in Vega, but it was a safe place to lay our heads and there was a cafe that would deliver food to your site. I plugged everything in then sat outside for a while in the warm afternoon decompressing from the day’s drive. I called in an order for a veggie burger for PJ and a burger for myself and not long after, Lane came rolling up on his golf cart to drop off our meal.
They had cable for the t.v. so we plugged it in and watched 60 minutes while enjoying our dinner. We weren’t up too late. Looking for some place that offers some nicer scenery for tomorrow. Three state day.
Heart on the Wing 