06/17/2022
Our time here is drawing to a close as we pull out on Monday to head to Shiloh on the Lake in Carly City, still here in Texas. This is a very nice park with friendly neighbors and if there are any complaints, it is the complete lack of any form of shade over the RV’s. Still, this is what camping is all about and you take the good with the bad. We went out walking ending up in the dog run and even Mikey excelled himself by getting off the bench on which I was sitting and doing some exploring of his own. Wow wonders never cease.
Back in Quatro we ate breakfast or at least I did. The dogs did their usual, sniff and turn away procedure. They are very hard to please so I think I will just not feed them in the mornings, and they can eat the kibble that is always available. We have nothing serious planned for today except to stay cool.
I turned my attention to my EPostal system knowing that I have some mail that I would like forwarded on to me at my next stop. It took a bit, but I finally figured out how to get EPostal to do that. Now, hopefully, I have mail items that will arrive at the next park. This is the first time I have used this part of the mail system so hopefully; it will work. Luckily, I do not get much mail of the physical kind and parcels and packages, and such are usually delivered directly to the campground by Amazon and other vendors, that I am staying at the time. Timing is everything as it must arrive before I leave. Interestingly enough, USPS would not deliver to Henly RV Park for reasons unknown to me and any packages that were inadvertently addressed there, was returned to the sender without any notification from USPS to the intended receiver.
I spent the rest of the afternoon working on a tentative plan for the rest of this trip using RV Trip Planner. It is not set in stone as so much depends on campground availability and any whims in changes of direction that I may have and many other factors including the weather. The plan is to end back up in Henly on December 1.
The dogs were bugging me, so we harnessed up and went out in the very hot sun trying to find shade to walk in. There is not much at this park although the dog run is shady, so we always head over to it. As usual, Sandy sniffs as she explores around. Mikey sits by me on the bench. I think he is afraid that he might lose me. Back in the RV, we finished the evening in the usual fashion.
Written June 17, 2022, Read my other blogs in https://pondblog2011.com
Tranquil Garden RV Park, Salado Day 9
06/18/2022
We all slept well waking at a reasonable hour and taking the first walk of the day. Our walk was along our usual path following the shade wherever we could find it. The dog on the other side of the fenced hedgerow kept pace with us barking intermittently. Mikey wanted a confrontation, but I dragged him away and we moved on around the park as far as the dog run where we spent some time. Me and Mikey sitting on the bench and Sandy wandering around and sniffing and marking.
Back in the RV, we had breakfast and read emails before settling down to write. I have nothing planned today except maybe to put away a few things for safety in preparation for our trip on Monday, which is only about 100 miles, a couple of hours of driving. I try to limit our driving to 200 or less miles a day and usually somewhere in between. I do not have much time to appreciate the beauties of the countryside when I drive as it takes all my attention on the road in front of me especially in heavy traffic besides having to concentrate on the map finder showing me the way. The only time I can relax a little is when the Map finder tells me, “Drive 30 miles on this road” or something similar. I have two systems that I use, both with RV Trip Planner. One is on my iPhone and the other on my iPad. Both show the same route using the same system. The phone talks to me but the iPad has a bigger display. I had trouble with the iPad holder, so I did some research and sent away for a new one to be delivered to our next stop at Shiloh on the Lake in Malakof.
I tidied up a bit and put a couple of things away, but I really cannot do very much until tomorrow as we do have two more days here. It usually takes me longer to hook up the Jeep than it does to break down the campsite. I was checking the weather forecast just for the hell of it and it show temperatures going up to 113 degrees next week. That is crazy and I sure hope that the next site has some shade as there is none here. While I was at it, I wrote a review for RV Trip Wizard and attached some pictures so that others can come and visit this very nice little park.
We went out for the evenings walk but it had not cooled down very much and the dogs were not that interested once they had done their business. We returned to the RV for the evening for food and entertainment.
Written June 18, 2022, Read my other blogs in https://pondblog2011.com
Tranquil Garden RV Park, Salado Day 10
06/19/2022
One day to go before we move on. Even driving Quatro is a part of the great adventure and takes me back to my trucking days when I drove a tractor-trailer towing 6500 gallons of heating fuel to schools all over New England, over several winters which by itself, was quite an experience. New York winters can be brutal. Unless I make a serious mistake in my planning or something unexpected happens with the weather, I do not plan on being anywhere near major ice and snow. Hard to think about that when it is 100 degrees outside and not a cloud in the sky.
In between eating breakfast and drinking coffee, I had a load of laundry going on which needed a couple of trips back to the Office/Laundry Room/Bathrooms/Showers/Toilets all packed into a very small building. I was the only one in there and as I watched a couple of cars drove out presumably to attend the church located right next door. The occupants were too well dressed for an everyday occurrence. I noticed in my walks, that several of the ladies when I do see anyone, are wearing nice dresses at the campsite while the guys are the jeans and tee shirts or in many cases like me, shorts and tee shirts routine. With the weather as hot as it is, most people are indoors where it is cooler when they are home.
I settled down to the usual routine of emails before writing the blog. I am trying to cancel as much of the junk stuff as I can so as not to waste my time even checking them. I would be very happy with just 5-10 emails a day if they were mostly important or interesting.
The rest of the day was spent in preparing Quatro for the drive, storing stuff away to prevent movement and where needed, installing expanding rods to prevent things falling off the shelves in the refrigerator and cupboards. I have a travel preparation routine that I follow which enables me on moving day to get up, take a quick walk, drink coffee and then store the coffee maker, make sure everything is secure inside of the RV before turning my attention to the outside. With not having to load the wicker divan and chair, this will consist of emptying the tanks and storing the hose, shutting off and then storing the water hose and before unhooking the power, bring in the slides. With the RV unhooked from everything, lower the jacks, pick up the leveling blocks and then hook up the Jeep which will take the longest to do especially if the ground is uneven, as things are not lined up perfectly. Then, we are ready to roll. In theory, it sounds simple. In practice, it takes a bit longer, around a couple of hours.
Today was one of those days when it was way too hot to venture outside unless I had something specific in mind and to be truthful, the only thing I was thinking about was tomorrows move. I had taken care of everything inside the RV that I can do until we finish tomorrow’s breakfast and coffee and then I can put the toaster and coffee maker in a safe travelling place, usually on the shower floor with the doors closed. All the counter tops spaces must be cleared except for the dish rack which is substantial enough to not move around and anything else on a flat surface needs to be secured. Having taken care of just about everything inside, I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do for the rest of the day. I kind of snoozed for a bit but the dogs would not leave me alone long enough to take a real nap. They did not like me sitting around as it is not normally my style, but it was way to hot to spend time outdoors.
As I sat contemplating on what to do to amuse myself, an Allegro Motor Home pulled into the lot next to me driven by an older gentleman. Interestingly enough, he too was towing a Jeep Cherokee which looked like the same model as mine. The way of life in RV parks, people come and go all the time.
Sandy was being a bug as she really wanted to go walking. It was still early in the afternoon by our usual walking times and bloody hot out with the temperature hovering close to the 100-degree mark, but we harnessed up and wandered around the park. I spent some time talking to the Super, just chatting about the world in general before heading back to the RV for the evening meal and to watch TV.
Written June 19, 2022, Read my other blogs in https://pondblog2011.com