We're on the Road Again!

After parking the motor home 52 days ago, we were excited (and relieved) that it started back up without a sputter. We have had temperatures below zero, so Mark plugged in the engine block heater to get everything warmed up for our trip south. Everything we left inside was frozen solid, including our liquid soap.

We also found out that the refrigerator is good at keeping things cool, but not so good at keeping things warm. The gallon of milk we purchased the day before was also frozen solid inside the refrigerator.

Just a few miles down the road, we crossed the state line into Texas. We traveled from this very northern point of the panhandle all the way to the very southern tip of this very big state.

Texas is now our address, and where we have our vehicles registered. Every year before we buy our tags, our two vehicles must be safety inspected. We have found that it can be a challenge to find a place that will inspect motor homes and also has a big enough parking lot for us to pull into. We got this hard-to-find combination in Wheeler, Texas at H&H Tire. We'll remember this stop for next time, as we checked another item off our annual to-do list.

Mark winterized the plumbing shortly after we parked the motor home 52 days ago. We haven't seen temperatures above freezing for many days, so we had to make this trip without any water on board. Instead of traveling slowly and stopping to camp after an hour's travel down the road, we're making a bee-line straight south for warmer weather. Our first stop was at Pioneer Park, just north of Wellington, Texas.

A great little county-owned park along an icy river, it is a bargain with 30-amp electric and water for just $10. There were lots of empty sites this cold January day, and we would definitely stop here again.

We had heard about the icy road conditions around Childress, Texas, and we had waited an extra day to allow the traffic to thaw the roads. With high temperatures in the 20's, it certainly wasn't the warm temperatures thawing the ice. We still ran into icy bridges, but we were glad that the worst of the icing was over.

The second day was an unusually long drive for us. Seven hours on the road brought us south through Texas Hill Country, and miles of cactus and mesquite. As we drove through Fredericksburg, we found that the streets are still busy with holiday shoppers in this cute little tourist town. From our perspective, the narrow streets of downtown are not conducive for easy motor home driving, but Mark got us safely through.

Our destination for this second day on the road was Mark's brother and sister-in-law's house between Boerne and Bulverde, Texas. We parked the motor home for a quick over-night stop, and enjoyed spending time with them in their beautiful home.

These trips south in Texas bring back fond memories. We have made this trip many times in the car, and we realized this is the fourth time we have driven the motor home toward an extended stay in the tip of Texas. It's good to be on the road again!