Tuesday December 6, 2011

So much for Texas being hot!  We awakened to freezing temps again and overcast skies.  There’s a lot to do to get underway when you’re camping.   Whatever you took out of cabinets or drawers must be returned to a safe place.  Jostling down the road can really lead to lots of problems.  The coffee pot needs to be emptied…onto our cups …then placed in the sink so it doesn’t fall and break.  The toaster oven has to be put under the bed in it’s storage place or bungeed to itself so that it doesn’t  open.  If we watched TV, we need to remember to lower the antenna, unplug the TV and make sure it is secured.  All the doors are bungeed even though they have catch latches because if something shifts, they may open and there will be the contents all over the floor.  Be sure the toilet has no water and the trap is open; Junnie’s water bowl needs to be emptied and all these things need to be done inside.   Outside, Dan needs to lower the jacks ; unhook us from water and sewer; check to be sure the lights are connected to the truck and working; coil all the hoses and stow in the outside carriers and lock the outside hatch.  Be sure the trailer is attached to the truck and the brakes are, too!  Now it’s about time to leave.  All the prep work takes about an hour and no matter how much we try, we don’t seem to be able to cut the time any.

Driving down the road a patch of blue began appearing in the north and pretty soon it was gobbling up the grey skies to reveal a glorious day!  We have decided to go farther south since the weather promises to stay cold.  Last night I went to wash my hands and we had no water which sent Dan outside to disconnect the water hose and blow it out.  We thought this morning to add some windshield washer antifreeze to the black water and the grey water,  except the back of the truck was frozen shut and we couldn’t get the gate open.  We checked the fluid levels and they were only about 1/3 full each, so we knew they had room to expand.   But the frozen conditions added even more time to our preparation to leave.

Junnie continues to complain the first hour of the trip until we let him come back into the trailer to make sure we have all his things with us and then he calms down.  We’re not quite sure what all this means, but we are getting better at being trained by him!

We stopped to visit a meteorite crater today outside Odessa as we were  on the way to Ft Stockton.  We had the opportunity to see lots of meteorite fragments and the affects meteorites have on the surrounding areas.  The first hole (the second largest meteorite hole in the US) had no fragments of the meteor.    It was a concussion hole caused by the explosion of the meteor above the earth.  It was so immense that it blew a hole 550 feet in diameter and 100 feet deep.  The second hole was about 75 feet in diameter and 18 feet deep.  The second hole  is an actual meteorite hole.  The first one is called an explosion hole and the second one is an impact crater.

  I don’t think there’s an interstate more south  than the one we traveled  this afternoon,  unless we decide to go into Mexico,  and we did not bring our pass ports this trip.  To go south from I-20 to I-10, we took a road labeled F.M. 1053 (or something like that) for 60 miles and could not believe the humongous amount of open space.  To us, it looked as though nothing was there except scrubby mesquite bushes topped with snow, looking like yummy cotton candy bushes, and oil rigs that reminded me of giant preying mantises.  They were everywhere.  Some working and some just sitting there.  Those just sitting there looked as though they were waiting for a morsel of food to come by so they too could bow their heads and take a bite before coming up to chew.  Far, far away we could see the beginnings of the Pecos mountain range with their flat tops, rocky sides and goats  feasting on the scrub grasses growing between the rocks.  But the most amazing sight we saw today was miles and miles of sand dunes in the  absolute middle of nowhere under a perfectly beautiful blue sky.  Today was, once again, amazing!

You can tell we’re in oil country.  Everywhere you look today there are oil wells, cracking plants and storage facilities and some of the highest prices we’ve seen on gas so far on this trip.  Is this considered an oxymoron?

We are safe and sound, warm, comfortable and dry with a little kitty who is curled up on the foot of the bed.  He is now sleeping with us…   Must be cold outside if a furry kitty wants to be in a warm, cozy bed!

Blessings,

Texas Transit Trio