Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Las Cruces KOA —
  A Hilltop RV Park

We arrived at our campground today without incident. We drove straight through the planned route and stopped only once in Alamogordo to take on fuel.

We were pleasantly surprised that our campground RV park is elevated above the southwest end of the city of Las Cruces – actually a pretty big town in this region of New Mexico. In the image above, you can see our rig parked with the mountain ranges in the distance and the urban sprawl below.

Later this evening, Damsel and I took a walk down to the front of the park where there is an overlook of the area. I used my S23 Galaxy phone to photograph the city lights:

In the above image, you can dimly see the mountain range beyond the city we crossed coming here today. We also crossed the Rio Grande River, which flows through the area on its way to the Big Bend and thence to the Gulf of Mexico, where we were just a few days ago.

Click on either image to open the image viewer.

17 Apr 2024 by Notions Retirement Travel Wanderlust 0

Camping Carlsbad

We’re camped in Carlsbad, NM this evening, not to see the Caverns, but to just camp overnight. We wanted to make it to Artesia, which is another 20 minutes north of here, but the local RV campgrounds were (a) unavailable and (b) shabby, so we stopped at a nice, clean KOA on the north side of the Carlsbad area.

Tomorrow, we will continue to the west, eventually arriving at Las Cruces, NM for a couple of nights. We need to have a rest from the road, get a good shower, shave, etc. and plan the next phase of our return to the Arizona mansion.

16 Apr 2024 by Notions Travel Wanderlust 0

Camping — Fort Stockton, TX

We made it to Fort Stockton, TX and are camped in this nice Hilltop RV Park just west of town. We drove from Junction, TX west along I-10. We made some stops along the way for fuel, rest and provisions.

This is a nice RV Park and the photo above does not do it justice; there are 360° views of the area, the WI-FI is streaming speedy and there are full facilities for campers of all levels. Although the campground is on the I-10 frontage road, there is no significant road noise.

Tomorrow, we plan to head away from I-10 and go northward into New Mexico.

15 Apr 2024 by Retirement 0

Camping — Junction, TX

We’re camped in Junction, a little town just off of I-10. The town is located a hundred miles or so west of San Antonio. It’s a pleasant rural-ish RV park alongside the Llano River. We’re staying here for a couple of nights just to relax for the weekend. We have already had our dinner and are settled in watching TV and surfing on the internet.

The ride out of San Antonio was even more of a nightmare than the arrival last night. It took us a full hour to just get of the urban area and head west on I-10. Traffic was backed up horribly due to freeway and other construction. The departure was very annoying and tedious. I recommend staying out of San Antonio until they finish their road projects.

On Monday, we will continue west and probably stay another night in West Texas before heading back into New Mexico. We’re going to have to be home by late in the week to take care of some appointments, etc. there.

We thank the Lord that we have been safe thus far, and pray that He will continue to bless us.

13 Apr 2024 by Food & Dining Notions Retirement Wanderlust 0

San Antonio

Just a quickie to let you know that we’re in San Antonio at the Alamo KOA. The trip here from Port Lavaca KOA near the Gulf Coast was pretty good except for the last few miles on I-10 Westbound where there was massive road construction underway. All that was exacerbated by some heavy traffic, making for a tedious final approach to the off-ramp.

We’re here for tonight and will be continuing westbound where we’re booked in for a couple of nights in Junction, TX for some needed R&R.

When we leave in the morning from here, we will do a drive-by at the Alamo in the morning for a photo-op (perhaps).

12 Apr 2024 by Notions Retirement Wanderlust 0

Texas Gulf Coast

Tonight, we’re comfortably camped at the Port Lavaca KOA, alongside an inland bay very close to the Texas Gulf Coast. We had an interesting drive today.

First, we stopped at the cemetery where one of my great grandfathers is buried. His grave is unmarked and the cemetery does not list where his exact grave is located, but we stopped in his honor, said a little prayer and moved along.

Next, we headed to a place on the Gulf Coast called Sargent Beach. We viewed the Gulf of Mexico from there. The interesting thing about this place is the bridge over the intercoastal waterway called the “Sargent Corkscrew Bridge.” We had to cross over it to get to the beach. Photo below courtesy Damsel.

The rest of the trip was uneventful and we arrived at our current site, Damsel grilled some cheeseburgers and we’re sitting contented here this evening.

Tomorrow, we’re headed to San Antonio which is about three hours northwest of us.

11 Apr 2024 by Retirement 0

Camping in El Campo, TX

Our travel day started out with moderate to heavy rain showers in the Waco, TX area, Then, as we progressed southward towards our destination, the weather improved to overcast with no precipitation for the “middle” of the drive. The clouds gradually broke up and as soon as we parked in our camp spot, the sky became clear.

On the way, Damsel took a shot of one of the many pastures we pass, usually no big deal, but this pasture had a little something unusual about it:

Damsel found that this herd belonged to FreBo Ranch.

Click on images to view enlarged.

10 Apr 2024 by Environment Retirement Wanderlust 0

Categories

Archives