Lajitas, Texas to Casa Grande, Arizona

 Maverick Ranch RV Park, Lajitas, TX

The Cemetery is at the entrance to the park. 

Not the best picture but I did get the roadrunner.

Ready to leave. Not hooking up the Jeep until
we get to Alpine, TX on US-90.

Friday, November 11, 2022

We are on our way and Tom is literally in my rear view mirror. Every time there was a hill I knew there was a chance the Stinger "B" would struggle I would slow down and was so glad to see her crest the hill. I took several of those pictures but I will only bore you with these few. I do not mind driving but it was strange not being in the motorhome as we traveled these miles.

Leaving FM-170 and turning on to TX-118

Making our way north on TX-118

Closed Border Patrol Check Point.

Then we were in Alpine Texas were we hooked the Jeep up
to the Stinger "B". It was nice to be back together as 
we traveled west on US-90

The Marfa lights, also known as the Marfa ghost lights, have been observed near U.S. Route 67 on Mitchell Flat east of Marfa, Texas, in the United States. They have gained some fame as onlookers have attributed them to paranormal phenomena such as ghosts, UFOs, or will-o'-the-wisp. Scientific research suggests that most, if not all, are atmospheric reflections of automobile headlights and campfires.(information from the internet)

Tom is interested in this sort of phenomena and already knew about this place.

Marfa Lights Viewing Area and Rest Stop.
Today's lunch views.

Prada Marfa is a permanent sculptural art installation by artists Elmgreen and Dragset, located 1.4 miles northwest of Valentine, Texas, just off U.S. Highway 90, and about 26 miles northwest of the city of Marfa. The installation, in the form of a freestanding building—specifically a Prada storefront—was inaugurated on October 1, 2005. The artists described the work as a "pop architectural land art project.(information from the internet)

I heard of this structure before but did not realize we would go by it today. There is a lot more information about it online including the vandalism that has taken place. 

Prada Marfa

The Marfa Welcome sign is several miles before Marfa.
The bottom yellow building is the Bee's Hive. 
I could not resist taking its picture.

I could see a small white dot in the sky for several miles
then this came into view.

Where it is tethered.

Radar System belonging to Border Patrol.

Then we were in Van Horn, Texas. After filling up the motorhome with diesel, $5.19 a gallon, we merged onto I-10 and continued west.

A couple of trains heading east.
I still miss seeing a caboose at the end. 

Stopped for the night at a Texas Safety Rest Area
east of El Paso.

We put several miles behind us today but the ride went smoothly and our plan for where we would stop for the night was accomplished. A good day.

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Leaving the rest area this morning we are headed towards El Paso with the goal to be in Deming, New Mexico this afternoon. 

We are passed El Paso and about to enter New Mexico.
They have the best sign.

I always look forward to seeing the Roadrunner up the hill.
Heading east we have spent the night at this rest area which
is not accessible when heading west.

We have driven through Border Patrol check points that are
closed before. This is the first one with a sign that said,
GO...😊

Views along the way and it looks dry.

We made it to the Low Hi RV Ranch RV in Deming just after lunch and will spend two nights here.

Sunday, November 13, 2022

This is our one full day at the Low Hi RV Ranch in Deming, New Mexico and I did not take any pictures. It is a Passport America Park and well kept up. It is our second time here and we would stop again.

Monday, November 14, 2022

Leaving the RV Park this morning our first stop was for diesel, $4.57 a gallon, and then we merged onto I-10 to continue our trek west.

Several more trains heading east.

Today's lunch view.

We have been lucky and never have had to follow these
instructions over the years.

Then there was water on both sides of the road.
We driven past here when it is bone dry, also.

Arizona!

One of Tom's favorite stops.
There is an apple pie in the Stinger "B".

Texas Canyon

Our stop for the night.

 

I always take way to many pictures when we drive through here. It is amazing to see all the rocks and how they seem to defy gravity staying balanced on each other.

Monday, November 14, 2022

Checking the lights before we pull out.

You had to know there would be more pictures...lol

We had a couple of semis pass us today with 
bales of cotton.

Passing through Tucson.

Picacho Peak

I usually spot the first Saguaro before Tucson. Today I was
distracted and did not look for it. I knew when we got here
though there would be Saguaros.

There they are our first view of them this year.

Our goal today was a RV Park in Casa Grande and we made it there about 1 o'clock. I will talk more about this stop in another post. 

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Thursday, November 17, 2022

We are stopped in Casa Grande and getting the Stinger "B" ready to be in storage. Also, there is packing to be done for the time we will be gone. I have been missing spending the holidays with our children and grandchildren so we are driving back to Michigan. It has been awhile since we have traveled and not been in the motorhome so there are several lists. Let the fun of packing begin...lol

Friday, November 18, 2022

We are up taking care of the last minute stuff  The Jeep is just about packed, and in a few hours we will be on our way. The new adventure begins!

P.S. I have finally gotten the blog into real time...😉

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

Head West in Texas

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

We had made the decision to leave Magnolia Beach today on Sunday. Right now we are on somewhat of a schedule until the middle of December. (This will unfold as I get this blog caught up to real time.) Originally the plan was for four nights and that is what we ended up spending in this spot.

What woke us up this morning was loud wind and a heavy downpour. When Tom looked out the front window the waves were within a few feet and coming closer with a small river running under the Stinger "B". Time to back up. We had brought the livingroom slide in the night before so we pulled in the bedroom slide and did just that and he turned us onto a fairly dry area. After having our coffee while watching the waves come in and the rain come down we managed to get ready to head out. We lucked out as there was somewhat of a slowdown in the rain when it was time to hook up the Jeep. Looking back after we backed up and parked I was sorry I had not braved up and step outside to take some pictures. Hindsight is 20/20.

It felt like the sky and water were angry this morning.

Leaving Magnolia Beach. 

Side note: When I was trying to find the directions to the boondocking area at Magnolia Beach there were several mentions of a bridge just before you get to where you can pull over onto the beach. The weight limit mentioned for this bridge was 10,000 lbs. If you are in a big rig, like we are, your rig weighs more than that and you really should not go over said bridge. Though from what I also read a lot of RVer's go over it anyway but this was not an option we would consider.  As I continued to search I could not find  a clear cut way out to the beach area for big rigs. I   found sites where people talked about taking an alternate route. I even watched a video with narration of  one couples ride out. The thing no one mentioned was the route itself with road names. So if you are wondering how to get there in a big rig: follow the directions for Magnolia Beach Boondocking, which is what I put into Google Maps but when you get to TX-316 stay on it until the Bay is in front of you and you can turn right or left. Turn left and you will come to where you will see the rigs parked on the beach turn in as you have arrived. One last note, if you are not stocked up on groceries there is a HEB in Pt. Lavaca along with a Walmart. Also, if you get there later in the day and do not want to ride out in the dark the Walmart did allow overnight parking. We actually stopped at Walmart unhooked the Jeep, took the ride out to find the way in, and were glad we did.

We ended the day in Goliad, TX at a Passport America Park called Angels of Goliad RV. It was a nice and clean park with gravel sites, though the sites were not real level but manageable. It was just a little over 100 miles and a place to dump our tanks and fill up our fresh water one. We would stay here again if going through the area. 

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

We will be making our way to US-90 today and the Medina Safety Rest Area where we plan on stopping for tonight. We will then be staying on US-90 until we reach Alpine, TX .

First stop this morning was for diesel where we paid $4.53
a gallon at The Texan Truck Stop.
Leaving I spotted this unusual setup parked in the lot.

On our way.

Our views along the way.

We did make it to the Medina Safety Rest Area where we spent a quiet restful night. This was the first time we have ever spent the night at a rest area and were the only RV in the lot. Plus, only one semi at the other end of the lot in the morning. 

Thursday, November 3, 2022

We opened the curtains this morning to a foggy day. 

We are on our way in the fog.

I kept thinking I bet the views would be great

if we could see them.

The first Border Patrol Check Point we
have seen this year. It was for those heading East.

Finally the fog lifted.

Not the best picture but those are green Ocotillos up that hill.

The road

ahead.

Our first Border Patrol Check Point this year. 
One question and we continued on our way.

We came through this way our first year in January 2015
and we stopped here..  Not this time.

When we came this way in 2015 "the plan" was to head
where we are now headed. The weather that year was
going to drop into the 20's so this is where we turned 
and headed to Ft. Stockton.

Tonight's stop was at the Marathon RV Park in Marathon, TX another Passport America Park. The pull through was long enough so we did not have to unhook which was nice. The only complaint would be the abundance of Goatheads. Price $20.00

Friday, November 4, 2022

Today is the last day of this leg of our journey. Today's goal is  the Maverick Ranch RV Park in Lajitas, Texas and we will be there in 124 miles.  

On our way we will continue on US-90 until Alpine, TX

We have now turned onto TX-118.

The scenery is beautiful but the Stinger "B" struggled
on a few of the hills.

I can see Ocotillos in every direction and they
are mostly a lovely green.

We are still on TX-118 in this picture.

We turned onto FM170 for the last 17 miles. I stopped taking pictures at this point, since, we will take this road several times while we are here and I will take pictures then. These last 17 miles were not a lot of fun for the Stinger "B" she struggled going up several hills and the last one was a hard pull but she did make it. We had booked our stay for three nights; when we got here we decided to stay for seven. This is not a trip we would take again with this motorhome so we decided to spend more time. When we leave I will be driving the jeep and we only plan on having a small amount of fresh water on board. Mainly because besides going up several hills there were several of the same size we went down. Tom is sure we will make it but the decision made is it is better to be safe then sorry.  Also, some one with a bigger engine would probably not have the problem we did. Live and learn as they say. Yet we are glad we arrived. Second Texas Bucket List Location...✔✔✔😊

Saturday, November 5. 2022

Today we stayed home. After 4 days of traveling we did not want to go anywhere. So we did a little cleaning and just relaxed. 

Tonight's sunset

It was what we would call a good day.

We are so glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.