That Just Happened Part II

Ok, so where did I leave off…. Oh yeah, “The Thing”. I hung that out there for you. Well, I’m sorry, but I have to describe several memorable days that occurred before that. Including the toughest day we had on on the road. And, actually, that is where I left off.

We left Lake Whitney with the same joy and awe we came in with. Every day is an adventure doing what we are are doing, and I feel the loss of that is what led us into our journey. Between Lake Whitney and our next stop, Medina Lake, outside San Antonio lies Austin. A city known for its eclectic culture and fantastic food. It was exactly a midpoint stop for us on our way, figuring everyone’s driving tolerance. Leah found a cool park on the outskirts of the city that had it all; a playground, walking distance to food carts, and disc golf. Where the chains clatter, I gather. Someone has probably coined that phase already, but I haven’t heard it claimed, so I will.

Leah did what was she could to ensure the park would be accessible for us: checked the satellite maps and even called the city to see if it would be OK to park our 40 foot RV there. Everything was in the clear. So we exited the interstate, and made some intense turns that scared a few people, but we made it into the park safely. Then we coasted by several parking lots wondering if we would find one we could maneuver in and get out. Approaching the last one, I decided to turn into it. As Leah and I were so focused on the ability to get in and out of this lot given our length (with the kids voicing their need to get out in the back), we neglected our height yet again. And….. scrape, crunch…”what did you hit” was all Leah could say. I put in in park and check the rig…. Oh just that scraggly overhanging branch that slit our roof. Yeah, the roof material had a fantastic slit right along the edge.

Leah and I did our best on top of the roof… as precipitation began…. to use gorilla waterproof tape yet again to close up the opening. We scrapped the park time, the disc golf and found the closest RV sales and service center. After some very tricky maneuvering out of the lot we made our way there. I picked up some roof repair material and tape tossed it in the truck and tossed some food in the kids mouths and hit the road towards Medina Lake with little being said. That was frustrating.

We found a 50Amp site at the TT Medina Lake site we had reserved and parked the rig. The site was slightly unlevel, but definitely a “should have been fine” site sloping with the rise in the back. Here we were again, in the cold dark night trying to get our rig set up and leveled. Except it wasn’t happening. The leveling system kept on throwing an error because of the slope, and on the last attempt, one of the pins on the quick release foot gave way and collapsed. That was the last straw….What are we doing? Can we really do this??? Is this fight worth it??? All Leah said was, “we have to, we have no choice now., we are doing this.” And that was correct. Gorilla tape and leveling blocks to the rescue, we were able to get the rig leveled good enough. That was November, 13th.

We woke up the 14th, again thankful we were all warm and safe, to explore a very beautiful campground with some fun for the family including watching deer graze within 20 feet during rutting season, a beautiful lake with tons of rocks for the kids, and a mini-golf course. This was a cool place. I was able to make the roof water tight, waiting for things to dry out before making repairs, and we were able to explore the surroundings, and made a trip up to the cute town of Bandera, “the cowboy capitol of the world”.

With Medina Lake as our base, we were able to explore so much around San Antonio and the Texas hill country. The next day, we were able to turn the kids into cowboys and go on a horse ride at the Dixie Dude Ranch. Faith even had the opportunity to ride her own horse while wearing her special cowgirl outfit purchased in Bandera. Leah and Fisher road tandem, and I brought up the rear on “Sancho”. It was a casual ride up the hillside, yet very beautiful, and thrilling for the kids.

From there we traveled north to Fredricksburg, TX. A surprisingly touristy town with a ton of history. It just so happened that a gathering of full-time RV’ers were meeting up at a brewery in the same town. It was fun to meet a collection of people we “knew” from social media and various forums that had already helped us immensely with tips on how to do this dang thing. We were able to lament with them about various struggles, gain more knowledge, and most importantly hear the wonderful tales we have in store for us.

The following day, November 16th was another huge day for us. We wanted to experience all of San Antonio…. in one day. It began with an audacious goal to bike the missions trail just south of the city. Our plan was to use the backpacking child carrier for Fisher, and the ride along seat for Faith to make this happen. Well, we were able to check out the first mission easily, however, our route was complete after biking 3.5 miles to the second mission along the river. It was a very beautiful trail, but proved too much to do the whole thing how we attempted it. The missions are a very inspiring piece of history. One of those “hard to imagine such undertaking during that time period” kind of places. However, it is considered a national park, and Faith was able to earn her first Junior Ranger badge – this is definitely going to be a thing for our family. What a great way to learn, as she is required to find and answer some key questions regarding each national park or monument.

From there we were able to find parking close to the river walk in downtown San Antonio. Yet again, such a unique city with so much going on. There were fantastic shops, eateries, and drinks. It was a weekend day, so there was a lot going on… a little too overwhelming for my senses. Plus, we had to keep chasing fisher as he wanted to do nothing other than throw things into the water.

We decided not to overstimulate ourselves too much, so we made our way to The Alamo. With the kids at their limit with history, plus the number of people going through at the time we went, we missed out on the opportunity to really absorb the magnitude of what the preserved mission represented. So, we decided to walk to a cool park, let them get their willies out, because we had heard of another big happening. The Capitol Christmas Tree was harvested in New Mexico, and makes scheduled stops on the way to D.C. On this very day, the scheduled stop was The Alamo! We even got to leave our mark by signing the banner. How cool is that? I guess this happens every year and is kind of a big deal with Santa himself coming out to ensure safe passage of the tree. And yes, that is Fisher making sure Santa’s beard was real – It was!

The next day was a much needed rest and patch-up day. It was a beautiful dry day, so I was able to make the necessary repairs to the roof with the patching tape we purchased near Austin. Leah let the kids play near the water and had fun with them while I ensured everything was water tight up top. I am happy to say we have been through a good handful of rain storms since w/o a trace of any water being where it shouldn’t be.

We left Medina Lake to head west. Our next scheduled stop was near the Carlsbad Caverns, and somewhere near Fort Stockton, Tx made sense to make a stop. Leah being the research hound she is, found a rest stop that had raving reviews for a short stay overnight. Yup, you heard that right, we were going to stay the night in at a rest stop! Well this place lived up to the reviews. It was very clean with a police station on site. It even had a host, like a campground! As we pulled into a nice easy spot, I saw two familiar people walking across the parking lot. It was a couple we had met at the Fredricksburg gathering! They gave us some insight, and we set up for the night. What are the odds? It all worked out well.

After a fair night’s sleep we crossed the border into New Mexico. We stopped in Carslbad for lunch, and then headed south to White’s City, which is basically just a tourist stop at the entrance to the Carlsbad Caverns. It was a fine place to stay and had all the weird things you would hope to find in a place like this. The kids and I loved the shop where they had some of the strangest things on display. They even had a Zoltar fortune telling machine! I’ve never seen one in person, so I had to play! Watch out world, I’ve now got the confidence from a Zoltar fortune!

In addition to the cool oddities of White’s City, we were in prime position to check out two distinctly different National Parks. Given the forecast and the fact we were settled down after a travel day, we decided to check out the Carlsbad Caverns the next day, and went to sleep on November 19th ill prepared for what would hit that evening…. holy wind storm! Sometime before midnight Leah and I were woken by loud banging the camper actually shaking! It was a very frightening feeling. I have no idea how fast the winds were traveling, but it was something fierce. There was nothing I could do in the moment, but there was no chance I could sleep envisioning the possible damage I would find upon inspection in the morning!

With having just been through what seemed like the outskirts of a tornado the night before, I was elated to find everything just as it should be upon inspection that next morning. We are being watched out for, that I am sure of, and I am also impressed with how well our RV is holding up. We were able to go enjoy the caverns all in one piece minus a few hours of sleep. The caverns were awesome with history from the Apache Indians to guano harvesters in the 1930’s. It is awesome to think what beauty lies below the surface waiting to shine in just the right light. I hope to mature some day in order to see that in all situations!

Again, the wind huffed and puffed, but couldn’t blow us down that evening, and on the 21st we were able to test the kids out with their first real hike in the Guadalupe Mountains Nation Park. I chose a 2.5 mile loop through the desert foothills to an oasis created by a constant spring at the base of the mountains. I could tell we were about 10 days too late as most of the leaves had fallen, however this place must have been gorgeous with brilliant deciduous fall leaves contrasting the surrounding desert plants. Fisher had it easy, riding on my back in the carrier, however I thoroughly enjoyed watching Faith work through some fatigue to complete a true hike. I was so proud of her for keeping up, and going along with my tricks and chants along the way. Although she says she’ll never hike again, I look forward to the next one!

With two more Junior Ranger Badges under Faith’s belt, we left White’s City on November 22 to head towards Las Cruces, New Mexico where Leah’s aunt and uncle reside. The trip there was rather uneventful, however getting the rig into and out of their property was a trip in itself. Without much detail, let just say experience was gained through several attempts, and we made it happen without a speck of damage. Our hosts were so gracious in supplying us with dinner, breakfast and great stories. Stories that happen so quickly, you’re not sure if it is lore or truth. Leah’s uncle was full of them, however one stuck out to me. He told us how his grandfather had a room of artifacts filled from who knows where in the “olden days”. One of which was some kind of mummy his mother used to play with. He then casually stated it is the subject of attention at a roadside attraction on our route to Tucson. He said, “Don’t worry, you’ll see the signs for… “The Thing”. Well, I was sold.

Boy he was right, I think I lost count at about 23 full billboards letting us know we were getting closer to the “The Thing”. I made sure this was our stretch break for the day. Walking in, not knowing what to expect, we found a very clean, but packed with merchandise store and rest stop. The entrance fee was $10 for the family to get in to the museum. The museum was a timeline of history suggesting the Earth’s entire history has been influenced by aliens within an intergalactic battle. Beginning with the dinosaurs, through ancient Egypt, the Spanish Inquisition, to the world wars and recent history. The presentation of historical facts and artifacts were presented well and without a shred of disrespect, however the thread of alien influence was tied to everything. And this led you to the “The Thing” – which was an oddly shaped mummy in a display case. How weird that all of this show came from the imagination of someone who purchased an artifact that Leah’s Uncles’s mom may have used as a childhood toy? Mind Blown.

And in all honesty, that is pretty much how we ended our epic road trip, as we pulled into the Lazydayz KOA in Tuscon, Arizona on November 23rd, 2019. What a cool place for Leah and the kids to be entertained, with two pools, fruit trees everywhere, and organized entertainment and activities, having fun while I work should not be too hard. I began my first day of work on November 25th, so we are just getting to explore the surrounding area slowly. Stay tuned for the next update!