Dave and Peggy's Place

Winter 2009

Good-bye Texas, hello Missouri! We're home! The weather forecast for the next few days has us wondering why though! (We're expecting 6 - 12 inches of snow in the next 24 hours as I write this!) We were getting eager to get home after five weeks and two days on the road and it feels good to be here. We're pleased that we were able to spend all that time living in fairly small quarters and still come home as best friends! I don't think either of us were as happy to get home as Murphy though! She recognized the house as soon as we pulled up next to the side yard and her tail was wagging so hard her whole butt was wagging! She waited impatiently for Dave to get the gate unlocked and then ran around the backyard over and over, checking everything out. As soon as the back door was unlocked and opened, she did the same thing in the house. She went to her toy basket and pulled out the toys (the few we left home) one by one and deposited them all over the house! She was one happy little dog!

Only in Texas will you find such a variety of landscapes in one state! When Grace (our 8 year old granddaughter) called at the end of our third week I told her how many miles we'd already traveled but that we were still in Texas, she sweetly reminded me, "Grandma, Texas is the second largest state"! Point taken, Grace! You can drive about eight hundred miles in practically any direction in Texas and still be in Texas! Personally, if West Texas was all there was to the state though -- I'd turn in my native Texan papers! Definitely NOT my favorite kind of landscape! If I never see another cactus, it will be too soon!

We loved East Texas! Particularly the area between Longview and Texarkana. Miles of beautiful big pine trees and pretty scenery! We had planned to make a one night stop at an Army Corps of Engineers campground near Jefferson, TX on "Lake of the Pines" but it was so pretty we stayed three nights! We met some really nice people there and enjoyed visiting with them. We even went out to eat with them and another friend of theirs one evening. At their recommendation we went to the Jefferson Quilt Show one morning and enjoyed it and looking around downtown Jefferson! Great little town! We'll go back there for sure!

Part of the pleasure of traveling with an RV and staying in RV parks and campgrounds are the people you meet. We have a unique connection with these strangers in that we like to travel and see the country in similar ways. There's a definite "RV" lingo that you pick up that only other "RVers" understand! The vast majority of them are very friendly and helpful too. It was rare for us to stay anywhere that we didn't meet and visit with at least a few other campers. A few stand out in our memories and there are some we hope to see again during our travels down the road. A special "Hi" to Roy and Annie, Mario and Penny and Phil and Jane!

We really enjoyed our time away and are already talking about and looking forward to our next trip! We haven't made any plans yet and will need to do some research on where to explore that we both want to see. For now our travel trailer has been unloaded, winterized and moved to the storage facility, just waiting for us to get ready to go again!

Trip Details:

Total Miles Traveled: 3,309
Total Gallons of Gas: 371 (rounded off)
Average price per gallon: $2.60 (Highest was $3.07 and lowest was $2.36)
Total Number of RV Parks/Campgrounds: 10
Experience: Priceless!

Final Trip Photos!

THANKS to all of you who have been kind to look at our web site and send emails! I'm really glad you've enjoyed the photos and updates! It helps immensely to know I'm not working in a void and that somebody is actually looking at and appreciating it!

Note: All photos link to a larger view. Use your back button or arrow to return to this page.

Marathon, TX

Getting to Marathon was quite the adventure! We left Fort Clark Springs on a rainy morning and headed West on Hwy 90. This is a main East/West highway across Texas and we discovered several miles of it was dirt due to road repairs in progress! Except it was raining, hard, so it was mud! What a mess! The really ironic thing though is that the dirt was about as smooth as the paved part of the highway! Looking back at our normally white trailer while on this dirt section was depressing! It was covered in mud! We figured we'd arrive at our next destination with washing the trailer at the top of our list of things to do but once we were back on the pavement the rain washed the mud off and left it about as clean as it was before we drove through the mud! The truck didn't look so good and Dave did wash it after we got set up in our new location.

Marathon is about 40 miles north of where Big Bend National Park begins, and about 60 miles from the entry gate. We had planned to spend one night there and tow the trailer to the park in hopes of finding an opening in one of the three campgrounds. Only one of those campgrounds has hookups (water, electric and sewer connections) but it's in a small parking lot and is first come, first serve. We have a generator and thought we'd just stay in one of the other campgrounds for a day or two. Dave was reading all the literature we had picked up about Big Bend and decided that a day trip to the park would probably be enough and that we didn't need to tow the trailer there! Whew! What a relief! I'll be the first to admit that I was not excited about going to Big Bend. I'm not impressed with West Texas and figured that Big Bend was just going to be bigger rocks and more cactus than what we'd been seeing for days. I was right! I still don't care for it. Dave thought it was pretty and liked it, although he did admit that it very quickly all began to look the same! We stayed three nights in Marathon and one very long driving day to Big Bend. This area is definitely on my list of "been there, done that" and don't need to do it again!

Marathon is a nice but tiny town. Contrary to where we'd just spent a week, it was obvious that most of the citizens of Marathon care about their town and work to make it an attractive and pleasant place to visit. They have several places to eat, a couple of galleries, a book store, a nice hotel, a motel and even a tiny grocery store that carries a surprising variety of items. The RV park was part of the motel property and they have a live web cam on their web site. We called Dave's sister, Susan, and our kids and after getting them on line at the motel web site, we walked in view of the cameras and waved at them! Fun for all!

The motel/RV park was well maintained and had some nice features such as this water fountain on one wall of a large patio.	The other side of the patio had seating and a fireplace. You can see the remains of a party from the night before where they had live music.	In the center of the patio is a fire pit. This is the desert and though it can be really hot during the day, it cools off at night.
This is the road side view of the patio wall with the typical West Texas landscaping.	This is the RV parking area. There were only two other trailers there for the first day we were there and then five others moved in before we left!	It's not uncommon to find RV parks next to railroad tracks. Some are closer than others! Only the highway separates the RV park from the tracks.
Finally, we found some warm weather! Dave was cleaning the front window in shorts! (It wasn't as hot as he was indicating though!)

Big Bend National Park

Big Bend was high on Dave's list of places he wanted to visit in Texas. So now, we've been there and shouldn't ever have to go back!

As you approach Big Bend the mountains are impressive in the distance.	The closer you get, the more apparent it is that it's just bigger rocks and more cactus.	I kept hoping we were going to see something different.
Did I mention we saw a lot of cactus...and rocks?	The signs are not reassuring! ACK!	At the higher elevations there are a few green plants!
Finally -- TREES! I almost became a tree hugger in a literal sense!	Interesting rock formations. If they carved somebody's face up there, they'd have something!	Pretty view from "Window View Trail".
Another view of the "window".	More rocks!	Rio Grande River. The other side of the river is Mexico.
Typical view while driving through Big Bend.	The Entry Gate. We got in free with our lifetime National Park pass. The regular entry fee is $20. per car.	We did see Javelina Pigs grazing on the side of the road. These are known as wild pigs but are actually a musk hog. They have an awful odor, make loud grunting noises and can be mean! The adult male weighs about 60 pounds.
Bear Country trash can. There are a lot of warnings about trash and food storage, etc. in the park.	Dave and the sign! He enjoyed the park. That makes one of us.	Miles and miles of more cactus!
Border Patrol. We went through two different border patrol inspection areas while in this part of Texas. The officers were very polite and friendly. The only specific question both times was "Are you a US citizen"? We think they engage you in casual conversation to hear you talk. They're listening for accents is our guess.

Junction, TX

After leaving Marathon and a long day of driving, we arrived in Junction, TX. We stayed at a nice KOA campground.

This KOA is right on the Llano River. They have a duck crossing in the campground!

Very pretty campground. We enjoyed our stay here and met some really nice people while here.

Lake of the Pines, Jefferson, TX

This was one of our favorite places of the whole trip!

This is Johnson Creek campground at Lake of the Pines.	Large and well made campsites.	We nearly had the place to ourselves!
Pretty lake view! Lots of pelicans!	Pelican landing!	Group meeting?
Very peaceful and restful.	Main gate at Johnson Creek.	Marina across the lake.
Grilling t-bones!	Really nice campground.	We really hated to leave!

Toad Suck Ferry (really!)

Our last night on the road was spent at another Army Corps of Engineers campground near Conway, Arkansas. Toad Suck Ferry is right on the Arkansas River next to a lock and dam called...Toad Suck Ferry, Lock and Dam! Unfortunately, they didn't have T-shirts for sale!

Proof! Here's the sign!	Campsite on the river bank.	Kingfisher sitting in the tree.
Lock and dam on the Arkansas River.	Hwy 60 East over the lock and dam.	Dave's least favorite job -- emptying the holding tanks.

Windshield Photos!

Since it's dangerous to just pull over anywhere to take photos, I take a lot of photos through the windshield and windows while we're traveling! My little camera does a pretty good job and I get some not too bad photos that way!

Interstate 10 between Marathon and Junction, TX has the highest posted speed limits we've seen! 80 mph! Since that's what most drivers in Texas drive anyway, it makes sense!	Wind turbines! Many turbines, all working! They're wonderful to see! Great use of wind!	This was a perfect area for using wind turbines.
A single blade on one turbine is almost 60 feet long!	Arkansas -- somewhere between Little Rock and Harrison.	Water pouring out of the rock along side the highway.

You've Got Mail!

This is what five weeks of mail looks like at our house! We're lucky to have a mail slot in our front door so we don't have to stop mail service and it just keeps piling up!

This is gonna take a while...

It's several inches deep!

Sorted. The only "good" mail in that tiny little stack in the front!