Palm Trees in southern Florida

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Doing the Texas two sleep...



December ended and it was time for us to head towards Quartzsite, so we packed up and hit the road. 

We made it all the way, up to Cobb camp (by Lake City, FL) and spent a couple of nights.  We left just before the weather got real poor. So poor, in fact, that our friends were evacuated for a couple of days!


Cobb Camp by Lake City, Florida

I'd like to say that we are on the never-ending quest to wear shorts & flip-flops, but that is just not always so. I've had long pants on for a week now...

I have to admit that this is rushing things, but I really wanted to see Florida and I wanted to show my bride Quartzsite in January.  We didn't get either done last winter, so we rushed this part. 
With the car problem, we didn't get to see as much of Florida as I wanted. 
The Treasure coast has waited 50 years for me, it will wait a bit longer.

Northern Florida, then I-10 Westbound. A rest area in Mississippi, a very nice one ... I was impressed with the quality of the place. Even had an RV dump station!

The Escapees RV Club "mother park" in Livingston Texas was our next stop for a couple of days.  We had some business to take care of and it was another place with lots of friendly people. 

Then we stopped at a rest area in Texas and the next night we were out of Texas.  
Yes we spent an extra night in Livingston but that doesn't really  count on getting thru the HUGE state of Texas via I-10, we did it in two sleeps!


In New Mexico the White Sands National Monument and the free dispersed camping area were great. That was a spot I could see spending a few days at & exploring more.


The free dispersed camping area







Inside the White Sand dunes area 

A night at a rest stop in Arizona then continue to Quartzsite and arrive in the day.



Under $2, it had been awhile since I saw this

We found gas for under $2! 
I had to use a membership card to get the extra nickle off but it was under $2!


We arrived at Quartzsite!










In Quartzsite

Got settled in the first day, did some shopping in the tent area & went to visit some friends the second day.





I'd forgotten how good the mountains down here look!





6 comments:

  1. Just curious: do you tow your car. I am thinking of picking up a class C but I have an all wheel drive that can't be towed and my wife is not comfortable driving distances.
    the Ol'Buzzard

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  2. We'er towing, using a dolly & a front wheel drive car.

    Taking two cars is not as fun because of all that alone time. I like traveling with my wife beside me, we did two cars from Oregon to N Dakota to Georgia and it was not as fun.

    IMO towing four down is easier than a dolly, I've done both now. When we started the mini-van (we already owned it) could only be towed with a dolly or trailer. The cost for a good dolly or the four down towing gear (base plate, tow bar, cables, brakes system, lights, etc) comes out to about the same if you're shopping on craigslist. We found a good used dolly with electric brakes.

    Then the mini-van died & we already had the dolly so we looked for something we could tow with that. The Toyota is FWD so it tows well on the dolly.

    If I want to know about how I need to tow a car I go to http://www.remcoindustries.com/product-pages/towing/ and look the car up.

    If I was starting out again I'd look for a car I could tow 4 down & the necessary gear to tow it safely. Base place for the car, tow bar for the RV, assorted cables & a brake system for the towed vehicle.

    I'm a Roadmaster fan (it's what I used before for baseplate & tow bar) & if I was to do this again I'd look really closey at their Invisibrake over the Brakebuddy (what I used last time).

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  3. It is so much easier to tow a vehicle like my Jeep on all fours, but some prefer to completely put their car on a trailer, that way they can backup easier.

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    Replies
    1. Four down is good, maybe the best?
      A trailer would be nice everytime to had to back it but not a great thing most nights if you had to store it.
      It's all about trade offs...

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  4. Were you able to stop at a Whataburger during your brief stay in Texas?

    Wow, I had no idea there were places with gas under two dollars...good find!

    Enjoy your stay at Quartzsite.

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    Replies
    1. I was not..... :-(
      The same parking lot right after breakfast was the closest I came.
      I saw 4 others but they were on the wrong side of the road or I saw them too soon. With the car behind the RV we are 52' long and unable to back up more than a couple of feet.
      I have to plan my exit as I'm looking at the way in...
      I'll be heading east in a few months, with luck I can stop at one on the next trip thru Texas.

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