I got up early as I wanted to beat the heat doing some of the outside prep work for the next move to Hot Sprins in Arkansas which I had not been able to do yesterday because of the rain (and the heat). We went out for the morning walk and fed the fish in the pond for probably the last time. Something gets the lid off the metal container holding the fish food during the night although the food level does not go down very noticeably. Probably some four-legged nighttime prowler finding a quick food source.
Back in Quatro, went about doing the couple of things I needed to complete ready for tomorrows move. I got out the expanding ladder that I have and cleared the roofs of both slides of pine needles before turning my attention to hooking up the Jeep. I had purposely left all the electrical cords and safety chains hooked up to the RV this time around, so the project was only half as much to do and was quickly completed. I even got the Jeep close enough the first time so as not to have adjust it to hook it up.
I was back in the RV when I got a knock on the door to find the camp owner standing there. We chatted for a bit, and I gave her a couple of my business cards as she wanted to read my blog. We talked about the campsite, and I gave her my honest opinion after she asked me and was nothing but positive. I made a few suggestions when she asked of what I thought they could do to make it more attractive. It is geared for the Over 55’s which some campers look for plus it has the pond and the trails around it. I suggested that they levelled the sites maybe with gravel to make it easier to set up and I showed her what I had to do to get the sewer pipe somewhat level. I also suggested that they make a few trails through the woods, that would attract a lot of people. I paid her the fees for my stay, which, incidentally, were a lot cheaper than the site before. We shook hands and parted company, A very, very nice lady indeed and a very nice, relaxed campsite.
Back inside Quatro, we ate breakfast and settled down to write the blog. There is not much more prep work I can do other than put a couple of things away ready for the trip. The “heavy duty” work is done and all that remain are things like shelf retainers and such most of which has to happen tomorrow. In between writing the blog, I found things I needed to do that kept popping into my mind. They were not significantly important but to help as we travel the roads. Things like hooking the power cords to both the iPad and my iPhone which I use with RV Trip Wizard and both of which, I used on the last trip. Both almost ran out of battery which obviously shows that they need to be plugged in on long trips. Incidentally, I can only use one or the other as they are not synchronized with the voice communication, and it can get very confusing listening to two different sets of instructions even though they are both on the same road, making the same turns as RV Trip Wizard instructs. I will see which works the best this trip although the iPad does have a much bigger screen.
The rest of the day was spent in just sitting around mixed in with an occasional burst of energy as I thought of something else that needed to be done before it was time to take the dogs walking. The temperature has dropped to an almost bearable 95 degrees which hopefully will last until we pull out tomorrow. No telling what Arkansas weather will be like. If I do get moments when I am not on the computer and just sitting around, I usually listen to a story on Audiobooks. As I said before, I do NOT watch TV during the day.
We went out for the evening walk on the outside roads before retiring back to Quatro for the rest of the evening which will be our last one here at this very nice little campsite.
Another stifling hot day even when we went out for our first walk around 9:30 am. We walked the shady roads but not for long as the heat was almost unbearable even that early in the morning. The dogs huffed and puffed as they walked along and I could tell, they too were uncomfortable. Back in Quatro, I sat for a while stroking both dogs as they both sat on my lap which was very peaceful and soothing. This was followed by breakfast for me, and coffee made with a fresh carton of milk thanks to yesterday’s shopping spree.
I did the usual e-mail check before catching up with the blog and bringing it up to date and sat for a bit just contemplating. I did not solve the world’s problems as no one is ever going to do that but enjoyed my own thoughts which I must admit, turned a bit dark and afraid for the future. My friend BJ called, and we had a very interesting conversation about the state of this country. She agrees that we are in serious trouble. After that, she had to spoil it by telling me that she was getting ready to go swimming in a friend’s pool.
I needed to do laundry and wandered over the laundry room which is only 50 yards away to check on the machines and see if any of them were available. There are two washers and two driers, and both were open so a quick trek back to get my laundry and we were all set. The machines are on the honor system probably due to the very small number of RV’s, 8 including mine plus two tiny homes which probably have their own machines anyway, here in the park. They get very few travelers like me. I left my $4.00 in the jar for that purpose along with a few of my business cards advertising the blog and walked back to Quatro to await the wash completion. There were three deer wandering the park and I amused myself watching them before they took off for the woods. Whether they were the same ones as before, only Nature knows. I used the Olympus camera to get some long-distance pictures.
When I walked back over to transfer the wash into the drier, I took my new Olympus camera with me to take a few pictures. I have had it awhile and have not used it very much so am unfamiliar with its controls although most modern-day cameras are very similar. The difference is that the Olympus is mirrorless. I tend to use my phone all the time only because it is convenient and always with me plus the picture quality is very good. Of course, it does not have the same zoom capability that either of the two Olympus lenses have.
With laundry folded and packed back into my laundry bag, I made my way back to Quatro to cool down. The temperature is 103 degrees with at 40 percent humidity making it very sticky indeed. Mother Nature is hitting us with a vengeance to make up for the past few years of relatively cool summers and it is only July. We still have August to go before it even starts to cool down In September. Both A/C units are running full blast and that is 24 hours a day as it only cools to around 78 degrees here at night, hotter than a lot of State’s summers. It was only 4:00 pm and it was way to early and too bloody hot to go out walking, I put the laundry away and settled down to write again. I should write a book as I have all these words inside of me, but I have no ideas for a suitable plot. I am more of a reporter than a writer. No imagination only facts. I have tried to write a biography and finished the first part of my life in England but never got around to my life in America. The story is on a flash drive somewhere and will never see the light of day in print, that is if I can ever find the flash drive.
We waited as long as we could before going out walking. Again, we walked the road but as the shadows had increased, we were able to visit the pond and feed the large catfish in it. The feed is in a bin on the deck provided by the thoughtful owners. I can understand why there is a “No Fishing” sign on the deck as these fish are like pets.
Back in Quatro, we had the evening meal and then watched television before retiring for the evening
Hawks Nest RV Park, Atlanta, TX Day 9 Saturday 07/09/2022
the Laundry Room
We got up late on purpose as it was so comfortable just lying there dozing and waking and dozing again. The dogs were not in any hurry which added to my laziness. I finally crawled out and after a quick shower, we went out for the morning walk. Because we were later than usual, the sun was already high, and it was hot, bloody hot. We walked the road again only because it has more shade and when we reached the park driveway, both dogs turned in and hurried back to Quatro acting as though they had enough of being outside and wanting the A/C. Me too and I did not argue.
I sat for a while just to cool down savoring the A/C before getting breakfast for us all and the oh so important morning coffee for me. I sat at the desk, which is really the table acting as a desk, to eat and drink and peruse the emails that I had already received, none of which were of any particular importance. Some of the news is depressing, others make me wonder about some people and are they for real. Still others just make me sad. With the emails and morning news out of the way, I concentrated on writing the blog finishing up the one from yesterday and starting this mornings. So far, there is not much to write about as so much of my life is very repetitive and sometimes, nothing changes from one day to the next. I like it that way with no surprises. I do have a couple of things to do around Quatro getting it ready to move out on Monday but most of that will happen tomorrow.
To give you an idea of the preparation work involved, it includes, putting things away in safe places for the journey as they tend to move around… a lot. I have stabilizing bars inside the refrigerator to stop things from sliding around and I utilize the shower floor to put things like the indoor grill and toaster for safe keeping plus a few other items. All are placed on the small bathmat to stop them from moving too much. The coffee maker goes in the sink and any small items are put into drawers. The higher items in the dishrack are put on the lower areas so it is not top heavy. I use the bed for other things to stop them from jarring around. In one RV, the refrigerator door came open during our travels and I had jars and cans up front with me.
At this site, because Quatro does not have a ladder for roof access, I need to get out the extending ladder and blow off the two slides of pine needles and other tree debris. On Monday the day of the move, I will finish putting everything away indoors and then start the system of departure preparations which includes bringing in both slides and the awning, if it is out. This is followed by disconnecting the sewer hose, the water hose and finally the 50-amp service. The very last thing is to remove any blocking from under the wheels if possible before raising the jacks. Finally, I have to get out and pick up all of the wheel blocking material and the wooden boards I have to support the jacks, take one last walk around the RV and then we are ready to roll. I did not follow this procedure at one of the campground resulting in running over the blocking and turning the specially bought heavy duty plastic chocks into a million tiny pieces.
Hooking up the Jeep is governed by how much room at the campsite so it might happen early or after everything else is complete and we have pulled out into a level and straight line. This time I can hook up the Jeep early as there is plenty of room here and we are going forward when we pull out. Incidentally, it is impossible to back up the RV with the Jeep attached as it jackknifes very quickly and anyway, I cannot see it except through the back up cameras which are only good for a visual of what is behind and only show the roof of the Jeep.
Hooking up the Jeep takes a good half hour and can be difficult and frustrating as everything has to be fairly level and lined up plus the required distance from the RV. There is a little leeway but not a lot. There are a couple of other things to remember as well. One is to turn off the propane at the tank which is one I sometimes forget. The other was to bring in the electronic weather units that are the outside part of the system and placed on top of one of the tires. I say was because I did forget to do this and ran over both units squashing them almost beyond recognition with the 22000 lb. vehicle. So much for that weather system. Now I have two indoor units that tell me the temperature indoors and not a clue about the weather outdoors. Might as well run over those too. Nowadays it does not matter too much as I already know it is hot, very hot outside. It is summertime in Texas after all with the outside temperatures at 104 degrees and high humidity and needless to say, we are not doing much except staying inside. So much for my plans. Tomorrow, there is always tomorrow, thank goodness…Which got me thinking, does tomorrow ever come because by the time it does, it is today?
It suddenly clouded over and turned very dark, and a thunderstorm accompanied by a very strong wind blew in. I remembered that the awning was out when I heard it flapping in a very agitated sort of way and quickly brought it back in. Just in time too as the wind grew stronger with the storm which lasted for about an hour. There was not a lot of rain but some bright thunder flashes and lots of rumbling.
We waited for a couple of hours before going out for the evening walk around the park. We visited the lake and fed the fish before returning for the usual evening meal and evening’s entertainment.
We got up and then went out walking the road outside of the campground because it has more shade than anywhere else. Even at 9:30 am, the temperature was already in the low 90’s. It is going to be another scorcher of a day. I stopped to chat with the camp owner who was sitting on a mower. I admired her and told her so for doing all the maintenance work around the campground. She is a very nice lady to talk to and we had a long conversation about dogs, both hers and mine. The RV Park is located about 500 yards from an underground main transport gas line and there is a very large complex just down the road called a Compressor Complex. My guess is that it helps the gas along the way within the pipelines. Amazing the things, you find out in the country. In my younger days, I worked pipeline construction and in truth, it was the best job I ever had in my long working career or at least, one I enjoyed the most. I was only involved in all that goes into laying the pipe in the ground and have no conception what a Compressor Complex is or does except as I mentioned above.
Back in Quatro, I prepared breakfast and as I made the Latte, suspected that the milk had turned again. True enough, the latte had a distinctly sour taste, but I drank it anyway. This means I will need to go into town to get more or drink it black. I worked on the blog for a bit, but the sour milk was on my mind, and I opted to go into Atlanta which has the large Walmart’s (and not much else). It is only 3 miles away and a short trip. I made a list of all the food that I needed which included a bottle of white wine although I am still working on the gallon jug of the stuff, I had bought a week or so ago. Just do not want to run out and like the Boy Scout’s motto, “Be Prepared”.
The drive in was short and when I got in the store, I opted to walk around before grocery shopping. I had a couple of things in mind which I found. I stopped at the glasses counter but could not find a pair of shades any better or with more visibility than the ones I already have. My problem is that my glasses are now too strong, and I have stopped wearing them and seem to see fine without them, even reading the close print and working on the computer. Distance is also good, and I have no problem with driving, but I do not have a good pair of sunglasses which do not impair my vision a little bit. Giving up on the glasses, I went about real grocery shopping and found everything that I had on my list and a couple of other things that somehow found their way into my cart. $135.00 dollars later, I headed to my car this time knowing exactly where I had it parked and headed home. I already knew that the closest Starbucks is 23 miles away so did not even consider that idea.
The 3-mile drive back was uneventful, and I was met by two very excited little dogs who sniffed and inspected every bag I brought in. They helped to put the groceries away and made a big fuss of me. Great to be welcomed home in that way. With the groceries in their proper places, I settled down to work on the blog as it was still only 5:00 pm and I like to walk the dogs as late as possible for obvious reasons and if nothing more than it is cooler. Not much cooler, maybe 1-2 degrees but every bit helps. Incidentally, I cannot believe just how fast the days are flying by. We have only got 3 more days here before we move on.
We went out for a short walk later in the evening again on the roads as that is where the shade is before adjourning back to Quatro for the rest of the evening.
We went out for the morning walk and one of my neighbors came over to introduce herself as Caroline and said she had knocked on the door earlier but figured we were still asleep. I told her I was not a morning person and apologized for not hearing her knock. The dogs did not hear it either. She had come over to invite me to go with her to listen to the music somewhere in town but apparently, I had missed it by not hearing the knock. We chatted for a bit before I headed back to Quatro.
I had a few chores to do and worked on them before it got too hot and then adjourned to the RV for breakfast. I did not bother to feed the dogs as I already know the result of that. My efforts to reduce the junk emails that I get is paying off as the numbers are continuing to drop. There are always a few important ones that take a bit of my time which is to be expected in this electronic age and it is virtually, the only way to stay in touch other than picking up the phone. As I talk better by the typed word than I do by voice, I choose to type. Much of the problem is because of my poor hearing even with expensive hearing aids and I often must get whoever I am talking to repeat what they just said. About the only good thing about the deafness is that it prevented me from being conscripted into the National Service at the age of 18 over in England and then when I came to America, I had to register for the same conscription into the Armed Services even at the age of 32 married with kids and again, failed the physical. Thank goodness or I would have ended up in Viet Nam.
We have nothing planned for today except to stay cool inside of Quatro, so I caught up with the blog and worked on a few pictures that I have taken. I uploaded both the pictures and the blog into WordPress and posted them online. We are so close on posting that it makes me nervous. When I mentioned it to BJ, she said not to worry as no one will notice if I miss a day of writing. She is right of course but it still hurt my feelings. The only person that cares about what I write is me. Still, like I said many times before I do not write to win any book awards but to keep my brain at least a little stimulated by doing so
With both the blog posted and the pictures uploaded and worked on, I closed the computer and looked around for something else to do. I do not watch TV thru the day unless it is a big soccer game of great importance (to me). I decided to listen to an Audiobook for the next couple of hours and found myself nodding off to sleep. That stimulated me into getting the dogs harnessed up and we went out for the evening walk. I have learned that walking the road is the only real continuous shade in the park except close around the wooded areas, which as I mentioned before, I am a bit leery of walking because of my earlier sighting of what looked like a coyote.
We watched as a worker operated a tractor and bailing machine. This was the same tractor that had mowed the field a few of day ago and had been raking the hay into rows yesterday. I watched as sometimes he just drove over the hay and the baler scooped it up and spit out large round bale occasionally. Then at other times, he backed up to get hay he had missed and one time, he completely emptied the baler without out it having made a bale and started over.
This made me think of when I was just a very young kid and used to visit the hay fields with one of the local farmers. Then, the hay was raked up by hand and then loaded onto a wagon drawn by a pair of horses or a tractor in the more modern farms, by people using pitchforks. Eventually it was stacked onto huge haystacks that when finished, had a straw thatch roof. The hay was transported by mechanical elevators driven by a long continouos belt connected to a pulley on the tractor, and then up onto the stack with workers on top to spread it and build the stack. I received many warnings to stay away from the belt. During World War 2 which is when we are referring to, as a part of the drive to produce food, young women were moved from the cities to the country to help in the chores on the farms. They were known as “Land Girls”, their official title. They even had uniforms. The young men, of course, were fighting the war creating the labor shortage.
Back in Quatro, we settled down for the evening. I fed the dogs which includes finely cut up pieces of roast chicken on top of their regular canned food and they just gobble it down. The same food in the morning is ignored because it does not have the chicken in it. Of course, my dogs are not spoiled….
I chose to walk the outside road for our morning walk mostly because it has more shade than walking the campground. Only one car passed us, and it slowed down and we exchanged waves. The big, tall fir trees which are the common trees around here, cast plenty of shade for us. Incidentally, we passed several logging operations on our drive here and a couple of logging trucks with their full load of cut trees. Apparently, logging is a normal part of the economy. I also saw a lot of new fir trees planted to replace them, but it will be 20-30 years or longer before they will be ready for harvest. More telephone poles in the making, nature’s way.
We did our usual thing on our return, breakfast, coffee and scanning the internet and answering a couple of emails. There are so many scams going on and now in the form of fake emails from ATT and other well-known companies that I legitimately deal with, warning me that I have not done such and such and click here to correct it. I always send them to that giant waste bin in the sky without opening them and if I have any doubt or questions as to their authenticity, I go to the real website and log in for verification. Invariably, everything is fine showing that the email in question is just one more scam. Usually, you can tell if it real by checking but not clicking on the email address of the sender. If it does not mention the name of the company in it, then it can be generally assumed to not be legit and definitely not to be opened for any reason and it goes straight to the trash bin.
The dogs, meanwhile, were asleep…again. I got to thinking about that and decided that with only a small section of their brain developed for their normal everyday function, they have nothing to occupy their mind except to sleep. Makes sense to me as with a human’s developed brain, it needs constant stimulation in whatever form it may take. As a dogs brain only centers around love for their Hooman, food, walkies, more food, more walkies and maybe mating if they are not spayed or neutered, it does leave a lot of time to sleep. I sometimes wish I was a dog in a good home but only if dogs are reincarnated and come back as another dog in another good home. I would not want to come back as a human or another animal. Well maybe a cat.
As we have already been into town and restocked up on groceries, we have nothing planned for the day but to stay cool. It is supposed to be close to 100 degrees with high humidity, but it is nice and comfortable inside of Quatro. Maybe we will laze around and listen to an Audiobook or write another poem although, with my current view of the world, it would probably be another dark one like yesterday’s.
I did go out and do some RV maintenance, mainly borrowing some blocking material from the back of the Laundry Room stored there for such purposes as I had in mind. I called the management first to make sure it was OK then I messed around with the blocking and got the sewer hose fairly level. The problem is caused by the inlet valve which protrudes a good foot above the ground, hence the need for the blocking. My usual collapsible support system bought especially for that job is just not tall enough. With this done, I took the opportunity to empty the tanks before getting back inside in the cool. Prior to that, the dogs had been giving me, “the look” which I interpreted to mean they had to go do their business. However, when we got outside in the 100-degree humid heat, they both wanted to come back in. They were only out for 5 minutes at the most. So much for that.
Back inside, I found the new license sticker for the Jeep but held off putting it on until the windshield cools down a bit. I have new plates and a sticker for Quatro and will need to plan to get them sent to me at the next campground. The current sticker is good through December of this year so unless I do something stupid, I should not get checked for an expired registration. As I was looking out of the window, first one and then a second doe appeared, and they had difficulty in making up their minds as to proceed. Both were very skittish, stopping, sometimes retracing their steps and then going slowly ahead. I managed to get a couple of pictures before eventually, they disappeared in the distance.
I waited as long as I could before taking the guys out for the last walk of the day in the hope that it will also get more shade out on the road and that not being as hot might encourage them to enjoy the walk. They, like me, really struggle with 100-degree temperatures. As it happens, they did do much better and we walked for about a half mile before returning for the evening meal.
Quatro in his new home. Notice the blocking under the front wheels.
We took a walk around although there is not a lot of area that we can cover. The pond is fun to walk around but I am a bit concerned as I thought I saw either a big dog or maybe even a coyote disappear into the trees as I was looking out of the RV front window. It was gone before I could get my binoculars out for a closer look, and we certainly do not want to be confronted by either. If it is a dog, it might be friendly but if it is a coyote, it would view Sandy and Mikey as dinner, and I don’t want to fend off an attacking animal. Animal bites are painful and sometimes require rabies shots and who needs that.
Back in the RV and following breakfast, I looked at yesterday’s booking mess and tried a couple of calls only to be met with,” Leave a message”. More frustration but I guess I just need to be patient. I worked on the blog and then on some photos of this park that I have taken. I usually load them into Lightroom and make a few adjustments and add my signature before posting them anywhere. This time though, Lightroom would not recognize and upload the pictures which was odd until I discovered that the usual JPEG had changed to JFIF which I had never seen or heard of before. I had to do some research to figure out how to get over it and after must frustration and bouts of cussing under my breath and even out loud, I managed to get everything worked out and was able to work on the pictures. Jeeze, why me… After uploaded a couple of pictures into the blog along with the last two days of writing I looked around for something else to do.
While I was sitting, there came a knock on the door and the one of the park owners was standing there. She offered me a bowl of homemade ice cream which I accepted gratefully. I put it in the freezer and walked over to where she and a few others were sitting to mix and mingle a bit. We spent a couple of hours most of the time listening to the husband who is also a park owner, telling some great stories in his Texas drawl. It made for a very interesting time, and I learned a lot about the park and the area and a few other things as well. This park is only a sideline for them which probably accounts for the small number of RV’s.
Back in Quatro, I sat and wrote for a bit before harnessing up the dogs for their walk. Incidentally, one of the guys confirmed that yes, there are coyotes here and to be careful with the dogs so we will not be skirting the trees anymore. Maybe, I just might start carrying one of my walking poles, just in case.
The rest of the day was spent in the usual fashion, eating the evening meal all around and then watching TV. I had to find another show and settled on “In the Heat of the Night”. More on that later.
Hawks Nest RV Park, Atlanta, TX- Day 4 07/04/2022 Monday-Independance Day
We got up around the usual time and walked around the park and on the road outside of the park. A motorcyclist passed us and had the decency to slow down as he went by. Not too many people do that nowadays. I waved thanks to him, and he waved back as he passed. Back in Quatro, I fixed breakfast for us all with the usual results. It looks like the milk is off as my Latte not only tasted different, but the foam is so thick, you can cut it with a knife. I spooned out the solid block of froth and just drank the coffee, but it still tasted awful. Not a good start to the day This means a trip into town to buy fresh milk or drink it black. The jury is out on what we will do as I really do not need anything else.
The lady from our next stop, Treasure Isle RV Park in Hot Springs, AR, returned my call and we straightened out my booking mess. I cannot believe I screwed up so badly on this. It must be RV Trip Wizard as it cannot possibly be me…With our next stop all set, I returned to checking and dumping emails although there were a couple that called for my time. With those out of the way, I moved on to the blog although, this early (sort of), there is not much to write about as I am caught up on both writing and posting. I figured out what we will do from now on to get over the 7-day blogs versus 5 entry days to stay caught up. On Fridays, I will include Saturday in the post and on Mondays, will include Sunday. The rest of the week will be single day blogs. That should keep BJ Happy. Currently, we are now only 4 days behind on the actual date from posting to viewing, which does make me a bit nervous.
I unhooked the Jeep from Quatro as I had decided to go into the nearest town to do some grocery shopping. The unhooking was simple, and it slipped back into gear effortlessly. It had raised itself just before we left to the high position for 4 wheeling, so I pushed on the controls to lower it back to the normal position. The trouble with the high mode is that it is a big step down when getting out. Caught me by surprise the first time it happened. I was in a shop having some keys cur and one of the desk clerks walked in and said to me, “is that your car? I swear I just saw it raise up”. I laughed and said that it does that sometimes and it’s the setting for 4-wheeling.
I said goodbye to the dogs after we walked the park one more time. It was hot out there and they were glad to get back into the A/C. They gave me a quizzical look when I did not get back into Quatro along with them and I had to explain that we needed groceries. Hell of a thing when you feel compelled to making explanations to two little dogs.
It turns out that Atlanta is only 3 miles away and it did not take very long to get there. This was one of the very big Walmart’s, so I got in a of mile of walking by going up and down every aisle even though I did not need a lot of stuff. At least, that is what I thought but by the time I walked out and paid my bill, it was $183.00. As I explained to the clerk checking me out, I only came in for milk… Pretty expensive bottle of the stuff. For someone who did not need anything else, go figure. That was not true of course as I had a list.
I checked my phone for the closest Starbucks but this time I was out of luck as it was 23 miles away and I was not about to drive that far for coffee even though my Morning Latte had been ruined by sour milk. I spent the rest of the afternoon writing and catching up as usual waiting for it to cool at least a couple of degrees before we did take that long-awaited evening walk.
Travel Day so we got up early although we had already completed most of the prep work yesterday, including hooking up the Jeep. Today was the usual final parts to moving like pulling in the slides and unhooking the water, sewer and finally the power. Prior to that, I had the automatic levelling system perform the task of lowering the RV back to the ground and on its own 4 wheels. That is 6 wheels as the back are doubles. Then, we were ready to roll. I opted to use my iPhone instead of the tablet for no particular reason and it has its own little holder not too far away.
Prior to that, we had taken a walk around the park and ran into both Frieda and Jimmy and said our goodbyes before continuing with our walk, probably, the last one we will take around this very nice park although they would like me to return and make it my home base. Trouble is that it is a long way from Austin and all my doctors. Incidentally, we had a brief but heavy shower yesterday that probably dumped at round a half inch of the wet stuff. This morning, the ground was almost dry and much to my surprise, no mud.
We took off and started driving Northwards with RV Trip Planner showing us the way. I knew I needed to fill up as there was only about 150 miles left in the tank, so I was driving keeping an eye out for gas prices. We passed several that had gas marked down quite considerably but I could either not pull off in time or the station would not accommodate Quatro. I did stop at one station and pulled into the pump, but my way was blocked by a Fed Ex truck with the driver inside the store and he did not come out. As the RV is just not very maneuverable, I had no alternative but to move on to the next gas station.
After several miles, I spotted one which was selling gas cheaper than the next guy.
This time, when I pulled up to the pump, almost without exception except for the few cars that were pumping gas, the pumps were shut off with red flags to designate that the gas storage tanks were empty and the pumps not in use. Quatro, as big as he is, just does not do well in tight spaces especially towing the Jeep so again, I had to move on. Finally, after quite a few more miles, I found a station that was not as busy and went to the nearest row of pumps, which was my first mistake as these were all diesel pumps and did not pump gasoline. I moved over to the gas/diesel pumps and managed to finally fill up Quatro. It took two attempts as the pump shut off after $125.00 for the first 29 gallons. I started over and the second time, it shut off with a full tank at $122.65. Altogether, it took 55 gallons to top-up the tank. The price was for $4.24 a gallon. The one that was sold out was selling for $4.15 a gallon. No wonder the pumps were empty. Almost too good to be true.
We continued our way and I noticed that Quatro swayed a bit more with the additional almost 500 pounds of weight in the gas tank. I might need to spend some time redistributing the cargo weight to even it out. Too much on the back end. I had been thinking, prior to filling the tanks, that Quatro did not have the wind or sway problems that both Miss Daisy and George had but now I am not so sure.
The RV Trip Planner came through yet again and after about a little over a 4-hour drive without being on any interstates, we arrived at our destination. This is a very small park with around 7 or so permanent RV’s and space for two travelers like myself. I remember when I was on the phone making the arrangements, the lady told me that there are two spots both straight ahead when I pulled in the gate, and both marked with a cone. I got out to see which I wanted and was met by Frank, a ex vet who was using a throat transponder to talk which made it exceedingly difficult to understand him. I had to keep either nodding my head in agreement or asking him to repeat it. Then another guy came and interpreted, and I understood what he was telling me. Finally, the lady who had booked me in over the phone showed up and we had a brief conversation. So far, all the people I have met are all retired and a couple with handicaps.
Setting up was easy although the front wheels are off the ground by at least 6 inches. I was able to pack them with wood blocks and the plastic wedges that I have for such occasions, so the wheels are not suspended but are at least supported. The rest of the setup was normal routine stuff although the sewer standpipe is high, and no way will the sewer drain without assistance from me. As that only happens every 4-6 days, no big deal. My assistance is to raise the hose, so it drains, and it remains connected all the while.
We went out for a walk around the pond that is on the property, but the humidity was extremely high making it feel uncomfortable. In fact, I was soaked by the time we got back to the RV and had to change clothes. Incidentally, the lady, when I was talking to her, pointed out the laundry room which has two washers and two driers all on the honor system of $2.00 per use. There is a lot to be said for a small park and I bet everyone knows everyone else.
Before we retired for the evening, we sat on the small swing that is outside my door just enjoying the evening. It is very peaceful here almost to the extent of boring. I still need to unhook the Jeep but as the site is so long, I do not need to until I am ready to go into town, wherever that may be.
Hawks Nest RV Park, Atlanta, TX. Day 2 Saturday 07/02/2022
We slept late probably due to our travel exertions from the day before as driving for any length of time, is by itself, tiring due to the concentration needed. We did get a break when we filled up with gas as that took almost 20 minutes. We wandered around the park and out onto the road and even sat for a while in the swing before returning for breakfast and coffee.
We have no plans or the need to go into town wherever that is, so we sat in front of the computer to write and catch up on emails. I was pleased to read that my friend BJ and her daughter had returned from Vermont and apart from running to catch a plane at the end, had a very nice time. I do not have the nerve to ask her how much weight she put on eating all that tasty food. The price of enjoyment…Today, it is cloudy with a chance of showers and the temperature is only 85 degrees, an enormous difference from the last park.
I worked on RV Trip Planner for our next stops and found a couple of parks that I thought might be interesting. It is always a bit of a gamble choosing a park as you are never quite sure what they are really like. Sure, I read what others have to say in their comments and if they are at all negative, I skip that one and move on to the next. A lot of times, the comments are old and not recent, and a lot can happen in a few months or in some cases, a year or two. I am not big into exotic parks with swimming pools and entertainment preferring more of the quiet laid back, relaxed places especially with some trails that we can walk.
For some reason, the trip planner was giving me some problems and not organizing as it should, and I found out that two of the parks were not in order with me travelling to the furthest one first and coming back to the closest one. It took me a while to figure out there was a problem and for the program to perform right after a couple of restarts. By then, I had already called and made reservations. The trouble is they are backwards and need to be reversed. By then, it was too late to call and will need to get things corrected tomorrow.
We went out for a walk so the dogs could exercise and for me to get the cobwebs out of my frustrated brain. We wandered around the park and out onto the road for a bit and then sat on the swing just enjoying the cool breezes. It is quite a bit cooler here than at the last park although still hot and with a bit higher humidity.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way with food and a glass of wine watching the final episode of “Rookie Blue”. It was an OK series to watch but as I mentioned before, way too much sex and interaction between the different characters. Now, I must find another and different series to watch for the rest of the summer until the English Premier League restarts in August.
