Day 1: Life is a Highway

 Today we did something a little different and did not start at the Crack of dawn. We were eager to be on the road and headed toward our destination, but had a couple of last minute things to finish that we were just too tired to finish last night. We got on the road around 8:30.

We needed to make a fuel stop, and using our TSD fuel app found that Love's in Willis had the best price on this first leg of our trip. There are always "gremlins" on road trips - especially with RVs - and ours decided to get a jump the job. As we were pulling into the station the right hand turn created enough force that items shifted in the fridge, pushing the doors and breaking the safety latch we had installed. I'm calling it the Great Dairy Catastrophe of '21. An entire gallon of milk EXPLODED when it hit the floor and mixed with a full carton of eggs, now crushed.

Milk was literally every where. Before we even came to a stop I was throwing towels on the flood. A full 45 minutes later we had it cleaned up, after having gone through a small bottle of pine sol. I'll have to clean again tonight, and I have to say I am really happy to have the onboard washer and dryer for laundering the towels. Sorry, I did not stop my emergency triage to take pictures. I'm sure you can use your imagination!

Our route today took us along some familiar roads - I45 north through Fort Worth, connecting to Hwy. 287. We needed to cover approximately 430 miles to reach our stopping point for the night, the Hardeman Rest Area Northbound just outside of Quanah, Texas. 

In a car, that's no big deal as you are able to zip along at 75 or 80 miles per hour without a second thought. A 40' motorcoach, towing a 15' Jeep is quite another thing all together. Papa Bear likes to say driving Smokey is like driving a mobile billboard. We catch every bit of crosswind and that makes driving a much more engaging activity. Did I remember to mention all of the lame-brain compact car drivers that have no understanding that we do not stop on a dime? Just for edification, it takes a big rig about 36% more roadway to stop than a car (assuming 40 mph). Higher speeds and heavier weights mean a longer run out length. I have a much greater appreciation for commercial truck drivers now and can assure you I will be much more courteous when in my personal vehicles. PSA for today is - give big rigs and RV's room on the road!

Thankfully the roads are (mostly) good along this well-travelled route, without too many small towns to stop you along the way, but just enough big-rig friendly fuel stations to make you feel comfortable about stopping in an emergency.  The only real thing to see on this route, in my opinion, is the wind power farms. Otherwise, it's just pretty much wide open rural Texas.

We have a range of about 910 miles per tank of fuel (give or take) and have planned places to stop for fuel already in our route. We wanted to make sure we knew where the was an abundance of stations and where it might be dicey if we were running low. Our plan was to fuel up near Quanah before stopping at the rest station so that we could just eat and go in the morning. Using our TDS and GasBuddy apps, we found the best prices and purchased 73 gallons of fuel. Then puttered down the road a few miles to the rest area.

Axiom: noun - from the Greek axioma meaning "a statement or proposition which is regarded as established, accepted, or self-evidently true."

There is an axiom among RV'rs, and mostly among those that drive motorized coaches, that says... 300 miles or 3 o'clock.  This rule of thumb advises drivers to call it a day after chalking up 300 miles or no later than 3 PM.  I can say that from our experience that this is a very good rule to follow. After a very late start on our trip to Fredericksburg, arriving at midnight, I understand why it's a very good idea to be off the road before the sun sets. I fully intend to borrow a tradition from pleasure sailors where they plan their trip, activities and anchorages for "sundowners" every evening.

But as with any rule of thumb, it's best to give and take a little as the situation necessitates. Yesterday was our first really long haul day and we did about 450 miles and arrived a little later than 3We made a couple of stops along the way to let us stretch our legs, and replace those valuable dairy products before continuing on. Our stop for this evening was in the northbound rest area just outside of Quanah. This is a very busy rest stop due to its location on a major traffic corridor into and out of Texas. 

While I'm on the subject, let me just put a plug in for the State of Texas. They have a vast network of rest areas detailed on their website. Many of these offer restrooms, travel information and a place to safely stop to rest. Some even have RV dump stations and potable water to refill. In Texas, you can stay at a rest stop for up to 24 hours. You can't "camp", but you can park your motorhome or RV and sleep inside your coach or trailer. General etiquette is, don't take the big-rig spots, don't extend your slides or set out your lawn chairs and grill. Running generators is a personal preference. Ours is quiet so we fully intend to run it in order to stay cool.

We arrived right about 6:30 PM and were still able to easily find a space sufficient for our RV but out of the larger spaces that really should be left for our dedicated big-rig truckers in need of their DOT statutory rest hours. Since we were parked along the curb, we felt ok in slightly extending the slides enough to let us comfortably move around the coach. 

I cannot say enough about the freedom that a Class A gives you. Fully self-contained, we were able to take hot showers, enjoy a hot meal and relax in the recliners while watching TV without stepping out of the coach. Tonight's dinner selection was chicken Alfredo with garden salad, and came together pretty quickly. Thank you Zatarans frozen meals! Then we were able to retire for the evening to our own bed.  

That's about all for today folks. Lots of Texas highway on Day 1, with minimal issues - baring the dairy disaster - and a beautiful sunset to close out the day.