Today's journey across the open desert of western Texas was long and tedious after a stressful stretch of road through El Paso. The traffic through there was horrid. Once we got through El Paso, which is a really ugly city, we headed southeast following the Rio Grande for about 80 miles or so before turning east. Between I-10 and the river were acres and acres of pecan orchards, some vineyards, what looked like alfalfa fields, and several very large dairy farms. The other side of the road was nothing--desert scrub. Once we turned due east, both sides of the road had absolutely nothing to look at.
The road was quite rough as we had to stay in the trucker's lane and it is pretty well beaten up. I'm glad I boiled eggs last night - they would have been scrambled after today's trip! The inside of the RV was a bit discombobulated when we landed. Our little table was broken, a screen fell out of the window, and things that don't normally move were strewn about. It took a while to get things back in order. The rough road made the tires sing a real high-pitched whine on a long section of highway this morning and that got old really fast. Maggie stayed a bit hyper longer than usual even with her pill and we think it was the rough road and the tire/road noise.
The RV park tonight is several miles east of Fort Stockton, TX. We've stayed here a few times before over the years on our treks back and forth from Florida. It's not a bad place to stay - some grass and trees and wide sites. Nothing fancy, but clean and friendly. Lots of empty spaces when we pulled in around 4pm and by 6pm all spots are full. As I mentioned before - 'tis the migratory season for RVers. One would think that no reservations would be needed mid-week out in the middle of Texas. We are glad we called ahead!
In the past I've noted in my travel journal that Arizona seemed to be the worst of anyplace we've traveled for trash and litter along the interstate and Texas was near the top of litter free states. Well, things have changed. I noticed that Arizona, while not litter free, was a lot cleaner than in past years. Texas, on the other hand, has fallen down on the job of keeping their roadsides clear of plastic bags and other trash. We did spot some "clean up gangs" from correctional institutions out there today, but still, something has happened to Texas' clean roadsides and not for the better.
Tomorrow we have reservations at a KOA in a little town called Kerrville - west of San Antonio. We will be in Texas Hill Country which is somewhat nicer than what we drove through today. We are hoping for a more pleasant scenery and better roads.
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