Van Horn RV Park
Van Horn, Texas
April 5, 2019
Another hard day on the road. Thank goodness it was a short one--125 miles- about 3 hours at 45 mph with stops.. Doesn’t sound like much on paper, but there was a horrendous head wind with lots of gusts. The speed limit is 80 mph, so with me driving 60-65 the passing big rigs were throwing up huge bow waves. And I-10 ain’t what it used to be. Trucks and other heavy traffic have worn ruts in the lane in which I was driving. It would be okay if there was only one, but they are a mish-mash which really makes driving tiring.
After a fuel stop and a rest stop I arrived at the Van Horn RV Park. Andrea and I have stayed here many times going back and forth to Santa Fe and other trips west. It’s a plain vanilla campground but they blessed me by giving me the site with the only real shade tree. Really helped with the heat. The work campers are delightful folks. The sites, although gravel, are very level. The power’s good and the wi-fi, although slow, is acceptable. All told I’m a happy camper!
As you probably surmised from the opening, I was pretty tired. After hooking up the electric and turning on the A/C, and eating some lunch I tried a nap. Sleep proved elusive and I I found myself ruminating on whether I had the stamina to make the trip.
I got up and made myself a Topo Chico and lime. Then came the blessing! A project!
I bought a GoPro Hero 7 for my trips. I’m using it as a dash camera and to take pictures of campground, etc. as I drive in. It wasn’t working properly so my pictures for the last two days were trashed. So I spent about an hour and a half reading the manual and learning--again--how to operate it. (I can hear everyone saying, “Read the manual first.” I did, but too many weeks had passed since I’d used it. So there!!) Turns out I had to do a complete reset and it began operating perfectly.
And I was rejuvenated!
And I perceive this as a problem...for this trip and any future ones. I’ll have a lot of “down” time (I guess I can take that in both meanings) since I’m traveling so few hours. I can only watch so much TV, and I can only read for short periods of time--just enough for meditation material. How do I keep busy at the Hermitage? How will I keep busy while traveling? Will really have to work on that one to make “home on the road” a viable option.
Plus another thing...this is the trip I was going to take after Andrea died. But I was too sick to make it. Then it would have been part of my recovery process. Now...making it is bittersweet. I’m usually okay with solitude, but I find myself really missing Andrea, Chloe and Molly. Every campground holds memories.
The second thing is, I’m covering familiar country. PI love West Texas. Most people find it barren. Andrea, a lover of tall Florida pine trees, certainly did. But I love the wide open spaces and watching the mountains rise from the south, poking dappled plateaus above the horizon, gradually changing to real mountains. The picture shows some of the desert’s fascination, too. Majestic thunderheads, painted with surreal colors only God can create, herald the coming of night. And dawns are just as spectacular.
I think things will be different as I leave Albuquerque for new territory.
Tomorrow is another short run--another 3 hours or so depending on El Paso traffic. I’ll be staying two days in a beautiful campground with a great Mexican restaurant nearby. And the rig is proving to be really comfortable. I think the Wayfarer is a good choice.
Till then…
Thanks for yonderin’ with me.
