November 30, 2024

When The Rubber Meets The Road

I share this because accidents, incidents or events in general are never the result of a single decision; rather they are the culmination of a number of factors that line up to create that event.  Sometimes the outcome is fairly benign, while other times it is a full on incident or accident.  

Nobody gets up in the morning deciding they are going to make a decision that results in one of these events and the best we can do is be on the lookout for things that can make a poor decision not become a bad one.

When we purchased the RV we had to install a supplemental braking system in the car to be able to tow it behind the RV.  By law in Ontario you need a braking system in the vehicle being towed, and as cars already have them you simply need a way to activate the brakes proportionally with the brakes in the coach.  This coach has two methods of supplying the signal to the car - with an electrical impulse, or using compressed air.

The air system is the simplest to hook up as you simply connect the two tow bars, the cable for the lights, the safety chains and an air line to the air system that already exists in the coach.  On the car end is a device that translates the air pressure from the coach to a cylinder that is attached to the brake pedal in the car.  This is the easiest to set up but the most expensive option to buy and install as it is permanently installed in the car, so if we change cars we have to do the install all over again.  
Second option is the one we went with and is a small box about the size of a shoe box with a physical connection to the brake pedal that uses logic to determine the amount of force to apply to brake the car.  This is a bit of a pain in that you have to install and remove this box every time you are towing, but you have the benefit of being able to take it with you into another vehicle.

The braking system was purchased and installed by the dealer who sold the RV, and although we had only towed the car once up to North Bay it seemed to work well.  When we left North Bay in early October we again towed the car down to Kitchener to leave it there for a week while we continued on to a training course.  The manufacturer of the chassis (Spartan RV Chassis) offers a five day training course for owners of RV’s equipped with their chassis.  When we purchased the RV we wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible on the systems and components that were part of the chassis, so booked a training course for both of us in early October.  I will write more about that in another post.

We departed Kitchener and drove the three hours or so to Windsor with only very minimal braking and no issues.  If you know Windsor and the 401 you end up on an eight lane city street for the last few miles before the border.  Coming up to a stoplight the light turned yellow and I applied brakes normally to stop.  At that time I heard the brakes on the car screeching and could see blue smoke in my side mirrors.  We stopped and when the light turned green proceeded with no apparent issues on the car.  Two more stop lights later and the same thing happened.  So for the rest of the trip I reverted to using the engine brake until I could determine the problem.  When we got to destination I looked at the tires for damage and found minimal scuffing in two spots.  Then I looked in manuals and reached out to the brake controller manufacturer for assistance.

The next day was to Cincinnati and so all highway driving except the last few miles.  Same thing happened with no problems until we were in traffic with a stop every few lights or so.  I inspected the tires and began to see some definite wear marks.  As we were stopped for a few days we unhooked the car to tour around.  As soon as we got in the car we could tell there were flat spots on the tires.  I then tried the manufacturer again and also sent an email to the dealer who did the installation as this was now a real concern.

When it came time to depart Cincinnati we were headed once again on the freeway with minimal braking, except for a planned fuel stop in Kentucky.  When I applied the brakes turning into the fuel stop the brakes locked up and I could see the skid marks extending for what looked like 100 feet or so.  This was becoming alarming so I disconnected the electronic brake system and carried on until I could hear back from the manufacturer or dealer.

One of the things we learned in the course was to not drive the vehicle with the Engine Brake on.  Rather, only use the engine brake when going down steep grades.  This RV, like most diesel coaches, has a feature similar to big transport trucks whereby you can use the engine as a way to slow the vehicle down.  I am not at all technical so will not try to explain the full operation on an engine brake, but basically when you use the engine brake the engine does not ignite the fuel air mixture on the compression stroke in one or more cylinders so in effect uses that compression to slow the engine down.  Mistakenly, most of the attendees on the course did not know you shouldn’t be using the Engine Brake and had, like us, been using it all the time thinking we were saving the brakes on the coach.  These vehicles are equipped with very heavy duty brakes, and for the amount of miles grey-haired RV users will put on the coach in their lifetime it is extremely unlikely to ever come close to wearing them out.  In fact, they said if you use your Engine Brake all the time you are not generating enough heat during braking and can develop problems on the disc or drum lining.  So, we left the training course with the engine brake off and were happy knowing we were using the brakes properly.

In early November we hooked up the car to begin our trip south and all went well.  The car is a 2023 Ford Escape Hybrid and one of the things you need to do is put the car in Tow Mode and leave it in that mode for at least ten minutes prior to moving the car.  We have been doing that all along and this apparently is a requirement to allow the car electronics to ‘go to sleep’ while it is hooked up to the coach with the transmission in neutral.

The next day I did get a call back from the manufacturer and through some questions and answers was able to determine the configuration the dealer set up for our car was for the wrong type of vehicle.  I dont know which cars use which type of braking but I was told that hybrid cars (at least the Ford Escape) use Active Braking as the method of applying the brakes, versus a Vacuum system.  When the system was set up at the dealership it was configured for a vacuum braking system.

What this meant is the brake pedal application was sometimes close to full deflection on the pedal which locked the brakes.  The brake controller manufacturer told me to change the setting to Active and start off using 10psi as the application pressure and guaranteed I would not have any further issues.  I did that and the system has worked fine since.  We monitored the condition of the tires at each stop thereafter and made a decision by the time we got to Phoenix to replace the two front tires as the deterioration on the flat spot was getting more pronounced.  


Unbeknownst to me at the time, when brakes are applied on a car, it is the front wheels that brake first and the rears second, so there was no issue with the rear tires.  I also learned from the discussion that once a flat spot is on a tire it is more likely to be the spot the tire locks up on the next time, so it will only get worse.  

After all was said and done I may have been able to continue with the tires but it was only a matter of time before something would happen that would make for a really bad day.  I have a tire pressure monitoring system on the car but if a tire bursts on the car while being towed it is not likely I would even feel it so would cause significant damage if it were not stopped and changed.

So back to the start of this entry - a number of independent decisions were made that did not have the ability on their own to cause the problem, but the combination did.  The dealer may not have had much exposure to hybrid vehicles and so the technician installed it the way standard vehicles are configured.  My initial use of the Engine Brake disguised the fact the dealer had set up the system incorrectly.   Also, with the car being hybrid the configuration was different than other cars and I have notified the dealer to change their installation procedures to ensure hybrid vehicles are set up with Active braking for this particular braking system.  I did reach out to the dealer with all of this and they agreed to reimburse me for the full amount of the two tires.  That was a decent thing for them to do and I am pleased we were all able to learn something without any major problems.

November 28, 2024

Quartzsite

Quartzsite is a desert town, founded in 1867 after Quartz was discovered in the surrounding hills and mountains.  If you notice the spelling of the town name is actually quartzsite with an “S”.  The post office added the extra letter as presumably it felt people would get confused trying to mail something to a rock.  Or perhaps the more logical explanation is they just wanted people to think of it as Quartz Site.



Prior to that it was named Tyson’s Wells after the man who built a fort in the area to protect his water supply from Indian raids.  With the existence of the fort and supply of fresh water it became a stop for the stage coach bringing passengers, mail and goods from points East and West.

The town really began to boom when gold was discovered in the surrounding hills.  From then on it has become a centre for rock hounds and collectors of minerals of all sorts.  We will get to see some of the vendors when the big RV show starts up in January.  They are here year round, but apparently really ramp things up for that show.  We have already met someone in the RV park here that goes out regularly looking for gold and minerals.

I am not sure when the RV show started but it has become a huge draw for the area and arguably the event most people probably come here to see.  From what we have been told there will be hundreds of thousands of people that come from all around to see the show.  It is for RV’s, outdoor sports enthusiasts and the like.  We are looking forward to the show and what it brings to town.

From what I have seen there are not many hotels around as this is a seasonal event and when it is not running I don’t think there is enough tourist traffic to support them.  But people come in all manner of recreational vehicles, from bicyclists with tents and supplies on their back, to homemade van conversions, and RV’s of all sorts.  They can stay in one of the RV parks like the one we are in that dot the town.  By my count there are in the neighbourhood of about 30 or so of these types of parks and they likely each hold 100-200 RV’s.

Or people can stay in the desert areas that surround the town and just boondock.  No power, no water and no sewer so you need to be self reliant.  However, two areas in the desert have become so popular they have set up dump stations and water stations to support those campers.  I will post something shortly about these areas, but save it to say, the vast majority of people who come here spend days, weeks or even months out there.

Today is Thanksgiving in the US so it is very quiet in town.  We are going to join with our good friends Bill and Pat and attend a potluck dinner this afternoon to celebrate with our new American friends.  US Thanksgiving is a lot bigger deal than in Canada for some reason and everything shuts down.  It is too close to Christmas I think as we are now less than a month to that, but it is what it is so we will enjoy the time.

November 27, 2024

Dead Skunk In the Middle Of The Road

Well not exactly, as the entire trip never produced one dead skunk.  However, there were all kinds of dead animals and it was interesting to see how each state or county (not sure which) handled the cleaning up of said dead animals.

After seeing all of that I came up with a great idea.  I thought it would be interesting to see how many of each type are hit in each state.  So, I tried to convince Pat to keep a log of each type of animal as we proceeded down the road but for some reason she refused.

I know night time is prime time to hit animals and for that I can be fairly certain I wont be hitting any, unless it is late to get off the road in the morning or happens to be laying in my path and I cant avoid it.  While there were no skunks, there were lots of dead deer in the middle of the road, particularly in Ohio so that was the worst.
In fact I suspect there is no government agency in Ohio responsible for clearing up carcasses as the roadways are littered with them.  Some are clearly from the night before, while others look like they have been laying there for days or weeks.  I have no idea how long it takes to turn a 100 pound deer into what looks like a fur coat laying on the road, but there were a lot of them.

You would think Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri would have a fair number of animals hit but there was not much evidence of it if there are.  The few we did see had been there a while so likely there are not that many in general and they leave them unless they are on the roadway.

The absolute best state for lack of any evidence was Oklahoma.  At first it was so noticeable I thought perhaps there were no wild animals left in Oklahoma but throughout the entire length I did eventually see one Possum and one Coyote about a mile apart.  Possible coincidence.  The morning we departed from our overnight in Oklahoma we came across an Oklahoma DOT truck with a large trailer on the back with - you guessed it - all the road kill from the night before.  So they obviously want to keep their highways clean and have dedicated crews to pick them up.  Oklahoma does a good job so Ohio needs to take some notes.

Texas, New Mexico and Arizona dont appear to have any roadside cleanup personnel as there are dead animals on the side of the road, some recent and some quite old - but nothing bigger than a small deer or coyote.  In the case of these three states, I would think the lack of many animals would be more indicative of the lack of animals in general.

Of course this was one trip through one section of each state so not indicative at all of what is out there, but I found it interesting how each state managed wildlife.

November 26, 2024

Last Leg

Today was the last leg of this particular journey as we arrived in Quartzsite, Arizona.  I think I mentioned at the outset at the beginning of the month, this was to be our destination for two months or so starting December 1.  With the weather we diverted around we made arrangements and ended up arriving a few days early.

The trip was fairly uneventful, although it contained the worst traffic jam we experienced on the entire trip and the absolute roughest section of highway for about ten miles or so.  The traffic jam was a long slow one, it just happened to be where three lanes reduced to two and about another four miles on from that two lonely maintenance workers were setting out signs at a snails pace to warn of impending construction.  Why on earth these guys cant put these signs out at night is beyond me, but as soon as we were past them it picked right back up.

The road condition was something else.  I think it was about ten, but seemed like fifty miles as the potholes and rough patches were in the just the wrong places and you could not avoid them placing left or right in the lane.  They reduced the speed to 65 from 75 to stop everything from jarring too severely, but I think they should just repair the darn thing.  I don't go faster than 65 anyway so that did not make a difference for me.  The left lane was better than the right but I could not get into it with the amount of traffic.

The scenery along this three hour stretch is fairly similar to that which we travelled through from West Texas to Phoenix, but is decidedly more desert.  Smaller trees, smaller cacti and more scrub.  The last five miles were a climb up about 500 feet or so on the interstate before dropping down into a valley, called La Paz Valley that extends north-south.  I am not sure if the screen grab does it justice or not, but it is quite evident when you see it in person.



We ended the trip driving 4,398 kilometres and burning 1,226 litres of fuel for a consumption of just under 28 litres per 100 kilometres.  That is just over 10 mpg (Imperial) so I am pleased about that.  The most expensive fuel I purchased throughout the trip was CA$1.60 in London, Ontario and the cheapest was CA$1.01 in Las Cruces, NM.  The average I paid in the US was CA$1.06 so significantly cheaper than the Canadian fuel.  Given the range and capacity of the coach I will certainly top right off before crossing the border next spring and try to purchase fuel at native run stations once I get to Canada.  They tend to be twenty cents per litre cheaper than other stations, at least in Ontario.

I dont want to mislead you into thinking fuel is super cheap in the US.  It is cheaper in general, but not 0.60 cheaper.   I signed up for a fuel discount card back in the spring which allows us to go to the truck lanes at about six or so different fuel suppliers.  The company is a large purchaser for trucking fleets and therefore gets significant discounts.  The savings they get are passed along to card holders in exchange for the card holder paying them 10% of the discount they receive, plus a small handling fee.  Also, when you use the card you are agreeing to pay from a US bank account within two days.  So, as an example, at the last fuel stop we paid US$2.83 versus a pump price of US$3.08.

We arrived to Quartzite mid afternoon and got set up with no issues.  We will be here for at least two months exploring the area, so stay tuned.  I hope to post fairly regularly but wont do it daily.

Thanks for reading so far.






November 24, 2024

Settling In

Been fairly quiet around here as we settled in to a nice routine.  Pat goes for a swim for a few hours each morning until just before lunch and I do routine work on the RV during that time.

We went through three separate events of heavy rain on the trip down here so the coach needed to be cleaned.  When we purchased the coach we elected to have a ceramic coating put on top of the paint and I am impressed with how well it keeps it clean.  Water beads off more readily than without, and other than road dirt that gets picked up and deposited in weird places it looks pretty good.  So, I have been cleaning portions of it each morning before it gets too hot and the sun starts to heats up surface.

I had read and have now seen for myself that US water is almost always very hard and most RV owners deploy a water softener to keep the hard water from affecting the plumbing system as well as leaving water spots all over everything.  This will be a project for me to do while we are in Quartzsite this winter so I have been measuring and trying to figure out a way to install one in the area of the coach where the water system is located.  Will keep you apprised of that as it happens.  The hardness must be enough of a problem there is even a service truck that comes around to peoples Park Model homes and services their water system as they almost all have large softeners as well.  

Pat has been experiencing a bit more back pain this week but we suspect it is more to do with the different muscles she is using now in the pool so, to exercise that out hopefully, we have been going for frequent short walks.

Tomorrow will be a fairly busy day as it is a prep-day for travel on Monday.  We will do a last shop for perishables as we are not sure what to expect in Quartzsite but we know it wont have the selection.  Then there are things I need to do to get the coach ready as well, so it will be a full day.

November 22, 2024

A Nice Day

Another cloudless morning and a beautiful start to the day.  So far this visit to Arizona has been very nice.  Not at all like Florida from a weather perspective.  The nights get cooler than Florida for sure and are great for sleeping with temperatures close to or in the high single digits.  Day time temperatures are not as high as Florida either, but there is no humidity and fairly light breezes all day so all in all very pleasant.

One other thing we noticed early on is there are hardly any bugs or insects at all.  In Florida there are all kinds of insects and noseeums, and you are generally always aware of something buzzing around.  Here there are hardly any at all.  Most people in this park have their doors open in to the living space so I expect this is a regular thing with little to no bugs.  Not sure if the bird population is higher than in summer and therefore more bugs are being eaten, but there are not a lot around.

There are all kinds of birds though, and I suspect like the Canada Geese earlier in the week, a lot of them are overwintering from places up north.  I have been using an app called Merlin for the last five years and it is a very good app for identifying birds and giving some background and history of each species.  So far, I have picked up two more species in the Life List that I had not heard before.  We will see how the winter progresses with more sightings.

Pat is certainly enjoying her time in the pool and hot tub and was there for three hours this day. 


View from the hot tub


November 21, 2024

Apache Trail

Now this was a good day.  No spending money on tires and service appointments, just spending money on stuff we want to spend it on.

Pat was up super early again for a quick coffee before refilling her mug and heading to the pool.  This time she met a bunch of women who, by the sounds of it, had a great time socializing and having fun.

I was back at the RV dusting and cleaning, making the bed and generally working hard.  Well, making the bed is true but otherwise I was doing trip planning for our return in 2025.  We have learned the hard way this year that doing things in an RV at different places is not at all like doing those things in a boat.  With the boat we typically had to plan around the weather to get from A to B and then anchor somewhere and enjoy.  The RV planning is a lot different.  There are so many retirees doing this there is huge demand on facilities, and if you don't book eight months to a year out you are not getting in to popular places.  So I am already working on spring 2025 return as well as the initial plan for 2025/26.

Pat returned around 0930 and we set off on a trip up in to the Superstition Mountains.  This was a great opportunity to get in to see the mountain up close and there is a storied road called the Apache Trail.  This was a route originally used by Apache Indians to get up into the Superstition Mountains.  Rather than me write a lot about the history of this trail and things to see, I provide this link of the Apache Trail.

We had a great day exploring the area and were impressed with how well the roads were maintained.  There is no question the road has a lot of switchbacks and tight turns but is good pavement and well marked.  Pat commented quite a few times about the ‘cliffy corners’ as the only thing about the road is there are no guardrails on the sides, rather just a single pole every fifty to hundred feet or so.  Going into the mountains she was mostly on the inside of the corners, but the return down was a different story.

We stopped at the Lost Dutchman Museum and had a great walk around.  The museum is very well done and it was well attended.  Of course there are the obligatory signs for snakes and other critters but we have been told they are all hibernating right now so Pat need not worry.




This chapel was used extensively and can still be used today for weddings, memorials, and other functions.




I think it is fairly obvious who the guy is in this picture, but we were told the unique thing about this movie was it was the only one in which he did not sing.  Anyone know the name of the movie?

This museum features a lot of the gold mining equipment and features of what it was like when the gold rush was at its height.  It is also the location for what was known as Apacheland Movie Studio.  Some executives in Hollywood wanted to create a set in as close to an authentic location as possible so built Apacheland on this location.  Throughout the years there were hundreds of movies and TV episodes filmed at this location.

The camera does not really do justice to how scenic the views are on this trail, but these two hopefully show some of the beauty.



We ended up about halfway up the trail at a place called Tortilla Flat.  This is a little community with apparently 6 residents and is the last of the original stagecoach stops along the trail.  There is a storied History of the community and today it has a post office, a saloon, hardware store and a small museum.  As a sign of how the community dealt with lawless types there is a jail that Pat unfortunately found herself stuck in, and a morbid example of what happens to those who cross the line.


Well that didn’t take long


We had planned on eating at the Saloon but there was a bus tour in that just about filled the place and it smelled like stale oil so we decided to take a pass on eating there and find somewhere authentic in town when we got back.

When we got in to town we wanted to find a proper Farmers Market so ended up at, what else, the Superstition Ranch Farmers Market.  What a worthwhile stop that was.  It was a Wednesday afternoon but the place was packed.  Kind of set up like a generic indoor market and had a similar feel to Orchard’s in North Bay, or Harvest Barn in St. Catharines.  The prices were very good.  Most everything there was local, but local here means Arizona, Southern California or Mexico.  The quality and selection were very good on most products and we will go back there again on Sunday to stock up before we head to Quartzite.

While there we asked one of the clerks where a really good local restaurant would be to eat.  He had only been here two years he said so didnt know any.  Kind of strange but then perhaps he doesnt dine out much.  He directed us to another guy who didn’t hesitate and told us to go to Hacker’s Grill.  We drove to the spot and, again, it was packed.  Got a seat fairly quickly, ordered, received the food and paid all within about a half hour or so.  Not that we were rushed but this place has it down pat on serving and moving people along.  No dawdling around at tables for the people who come here.  The food was excellent and prices were very good.  $4.50 for a beer and $9.80 for a hamburger and fries for me and $9.80 for a Patty Melt (of course) for Pat.

After we went to a local butcher for some fresh pork as that is the only type of meat we have not been able to stock in the freezer in a while.  $9.99 a pound for a rib loin roast bone-in.  For the last few years rather than buy chops I buy a rib loin roast, do it up on the bbq and cut each rib segment just before serving.  I find doing it that way the meat stays more moist and is cheaper than buying it from the store where you are paying a bit more to have the butcher cut the segments.

Thanks for reading.





A Different Day

Another quiet day, although we both got up to a few different things.  I had a car appointment in the morning, while Pat had a pool appointment.

One of the reasons we chose this place is the pool, not that this pool is better than others or anything like that, but a lot of RV places in this part of the country are not equipped at all with pools.  Pat enjoys her time in the pool, or water in general, so we figured this was good.  She went over early with a mug full of coffee and enjoyed.

My car appointment was for two reasons - for a general lube, oil and filter change, and to replace the two front tires.  The car has a maintenance minder on it and says I have 37% life left in the oil.  We dont drive the car hard but have had it for over a year so that is why there is as much life left, but I dont like going more than a year between changes.  We could have had it done in North Bay before we left in early October but I figured we were towing it down to Arizona anyway so was just planning to leave it until we get there.  The final destination for us in Arizona does not have a Ford dealer closer than a half hour away so I figured I would get it done here. 

Classic car in showroom


Now the second reason with the tires is a different story, and to do it justice is a bit of a long one, so will upload something on that in the next few days when it has all been resolved.

So for a quiet Tuesday that is all we have.


November 19, 2024

Gold Canyon RV Resort

We took our time getting ready this day as it was planned to be an do-nothing day.  We waited until about 0930 to go and check in for the week and find out what is what.  This resort is laid out typical to a lot of these types of resorts and the streets are curved around a central building, or area, where the administration offices, hall, leisure activity areas, pool and hot tubs are located.

It is a mixture of park model homes in the 500-800 square foot range, some with what they call an Arizona room and some just the straight park model.  Residents own the building and lease the land from the resort.  Sprinkled throughout the area we are in there are also RV lots.  The lots are compacted gravel for the area where the RV parks and a concrete pad with a stone picnic area for vehicle parking.  The lots throughout the resort are well landscaped with trees, cactus and local shrubs.  There are also activity areas, which are very well done from what I saw.  There is a sewing and crafts room, wood working, lapidary and general crafts room.


There is also a 9-hole par 3 course intermingled throughout the property and from what we can see it is very well attended.  The guy that drove the follow-me cart the day we arrived told us there are quite a few tenants here who play three rounds every day, all winter.

The obligatory Canada Geese stroll around, thankful they are where they are I suppose, and looking quite relaxed.


The resort owns nine park model homes for rentals, and there are fourteen people who own and allow their units to be rented.  All 23 homes are rented for the entire winter season with no availability at all for this winter season.  There are 160 people on the wait list to rent.  The demand is so high the resort now only allows full month rentals, so I expect it will be pricey for anyone to stay here.  That is unfortunate and I suspect with the number of darn retirees it is not going to get any better.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning the windows on the RV and generally not doing much of anything.  We have some excursions planned for later in the week that we are looking forward to, and Pat is going to spend some time in the pool as well.

November 18, 2024

Las Cruces To Gold Canyon

When we made the decision a week ago to change the routing I was a little sceptical about what the weather would turn out to be and what affect it might have on the route.  I was overly cautious in making the change as I did not know what to expect in travelling through the mountains in rain or snow and high winds, and figured if nothing else we would be travelling through the mountains further south so if we got anything it would likely be rain.


I mentioned I use some software products from when we had the boat and I have come to rely on one in particular.  It is called Windy.  There is a website or an app.  I use the app and once you get used to it I find it very accurate.  In any event, what was forecast did end up happening and is now the basis for the series of storms moving through Texas and Oklahoma this morning.  It has turned out to be a fairly intense cold front as you can see on the picture below and we are glad we are through that section of country.


When we left Las Cruces yesterday morning the wind and rain had picked up overnight and it was raining pretty hard.  The forecast with Windy was for it to rain for about an hour before moving further East.  All in all a good decision, and other than changing some reservations and such at places it all worked out.


Not long after we departed we saw signs indicating all traffic had to move over into an inspection station.  This was the second station we saw although the first on our side of the highway.  The day before we saw one on the Eastbound lanes East of El Paso.  As it turns out they are stations for all vehicles that allow US Customs Border agents to inspect vehicles for, I presume, trucks or vehicles transporting things or people that don't belong there.  The light for us stayed green so we kept on going.


The weather cleared up shortly after and we entered a high plain that was vacant of just about everything but scrub brush and signs warning of dust storms and what to do in the event…






I am not sure I would want to be stuck in one of those storms as I think the experience would be similar to being stuck in a whiteout created by a streamer off the lakes you get in early winter.  Interesting they post those signs though.

I mentioned the trains the other day.  In three days of travelling we saw no Westbound trains at all, and sometimes the Eastbound trains were passing as frequently as 45 minutes apart.  In most cases they were container trains.  Based on my timing as we passed by they were likely two or thee miles long.  There were a few trains with general cargo and in almost every case the rail cars were very graphically painted with graffiti.  Although this picture is not that clear, as the internet has become nowadays you can google Homer Simpson Railcar Graffiti to see better pictures of the same rail car.


Mmmmmm…….Chocolate………..

I think the pictures below demonstrate the angle of the grade - we had just passed the summit of a hill and were on what seemed like a four mile down grade.  You could see the train extending into the distance and see clearly the grade it was on was similar to ours and the picture of the mountains in the background are more or less horizontal.  It was heading up hill and moving real slow, even with four engines in the front and two in the middle all running at what sounded like full throttle.



We are now at Gold Canyon RV Resort.  This resort caters to 55+ and although we have not had chance to poke around yet, I selected this one purely by chance as it has a 9 hole executive course on the property, pool, gym, pickle ball and tennis.  Not that we do much of any of those other than the pool, there is enough to do around this area we felt it would be a good trial in case family or friends want to visit.  We are currently here for a week before moving on to our destination.  We have asked the resort manager to keep us on the wait list for the month of February.  If it clears and we can come back we will be here for the full month before resuming our return home.

During this trip so far we have identified all kinds of places to stop on the way back.  It is one thing to do research on trip planning web site and such, but nothing beats seeing signs for various interesting stops as you travel along.

November 17, 2024

Van Horn To Las Cruces

I didn't post anything yesterday as the day got a bit messed up with timing on things.  It was not a particularly long day but we had planned on staying at a Harvest Host (a winery) in Las Cruces.  Before I changed the routing earlier in the week we had planned on going through New Mexico up north and coming down the mountain range into Las Cruces toward the end of the month.  With the change we were now coming into Las Cruces from the southeast, and about a week earlier.

View of the mountains from the winery parking lot

View of the cotton fields surrounding the winery.  Hmmmm.

A nice view

I contacted the winery when we made the change to request an earlier date but they never got back to me.  I even called and left a voice mail.  We went there anyway and saw as soon as we got there they were in the middle of setting up for some big function.  We attempted to see someone to see if we could stay but the only guy who was on site who looked like he was with the winery was preoccupied with two guys trying to talk them into buying weekly wines for a year or something like that.  Plus bottles of wines there were in the 40-50 dollars a bottle range so we figured we would pass.

That led us to another Love’s RV park which was close by.  They are not a bad option at all for staying on short notice, and we got the last spot for the night.

November 16, 2024

Ranger To Van Horn

Today was a relatively short trip with one pit stop for fuel and on to our destination.  I didn’t need fuel but the further west you go in Texas the higher the prices go, surprisingly since this is where most of the darn stuff comes from.  I have already begun to see an increase in fuel consumption as we are climbing higher now and I dont want to buy any more fuel until we are in Phoenix.

This morning we started off at about 1500 feet above sea level and we are now just around 3000.  Overall the increase in consumption was not that bad and came in only slightly higher than it has been running.

We travelled about five hours and other than Midland and Odessa did not come anywhere near to any towns or much in the way of civilization at all.  What we did see were thousands of wind turbines first from Ranger, Texas west.  Then about 90 minutes west we went up a plateau and the landscape changed to be almost all oil derricks as far as you can see.  In fact, at first all I saw above the brush was small hydro lines running everywhere.  It looked weird as you could see the horizon and nothing but small hydro poles sticking up.  Once I realized what they were it became clear.  They were supply of hydro to the various well heads that were pumping.
Then we got to Midland and Odessa and all we could see was oil refinery infrastructure, oil platforms, support companies servicing the oil industry, hotels that look like oil worker camps and so on. There is no question how valuable oil is to this State.  Then all of a sudden that was gone and it was solar panels everywhere.  So in the span of five hours driving we went from wind generation to oil to solar.
Texas is the highest producer of wind power in the US and if it were a country would be the fifth largest in the world.  Imagine all the dead birds.  As for solar there is no doubt this part of the US receives a ton of sunshine, and with the land generally unpopulated there is a lot of space to lay down panels.  I am sure they are even going to start laying them on the ground around the oil derricks.  But oil still remains a huge requirement and I expect will be so for some time so this area will continue pumping and fracking and refining.

Most of the way along you can see the railroad track, and the number of freight trains running West to East is amazing.  Every one of them has to be multiple miles long, with two additional engines halfway in the middle of the train.  The only thing they are hauling is containers so I expect they are coming from San Diego or some similar port on the west coast and headed to perhaps Dallas or something to be broken down and shipped throughout the country.






Big Spring refinery

Fracking trailer

Pat is really hoping the mountain roads are this straight.