The Trip Has Ended

At 11:50am, Jan 2, 2010, we arrived back at our semi-fixed location and the trip was officially over. The total mileage for this event was 2,623.7 consuming roughly 370 gallons of #2 diesel @ $995.00. Yes, boys & girls, that's about 7 miles per gallon. Not bad when you weigh close to 50,000 lbs and have the aerodynamic shape of a box car.

We didn't get to cache as much as we thought we might but we did manage to cross the 2700 number with a current find total of 2726.

We made one of the 10 "Must Do" trips for any RV-er and have a much better idea of how to plan a return trip. We really had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. I could have, however, done without the Toe Truck experience or the run-down battery episode.

I don't know if we'll ever get a chance to participate in the Burning Man but we know we can live on our own for a week or more without leaving much of a trace (except the holes in the desert when I buried the coach to the rear axle).

Dexter was ecstatic to be away from sticker burrs and scorpions and Tommy has pretty much rid the coach of "desert dust" by sweeping it out 3 or 4 times.

Next year for the Holidays, we'll be at the beach - probably at South Padre Island. The drive is shorter, we get to stay in Texas and the weather is warmer.

Attached are the final arrival photos. As we passed by DFW Airport, we caught a picture of an AA plane landing. This is not something we saw in the desert. The other photos show the gate opening of our Gated Community and our final parking spot behind the barrier chains. We welcome any comments, suggestions, or questions.

Happy New Year to each of you in 2010. We hope any of you who travel in this manner have safe and happy journeys.

Tommy & Austin with Dexter the Dog (AKA The TXCacheDogs)

New Year's Day - Traveling

We left Las Cruces and headed down IH-10 East towards El Paso and Texas. The morning was cold and our water lines were frozen but we had loaded up water the night before so the situation did not cause any concern.

It was a travel day - all day. I'm sorry to report that the only excitement was the brief stop in the US Border Patrol Inspection Station along IH-10 outside El Paso. We have some pictures of the process. Basically, they announce via signage that all lanes must exit into, and under, a huge sun shield / shed into 2 or 3 lanes of traffic where each vehicle is inspected by a group of officers. They have cameras monitoring you as you approach and I assume they select which are the target vehicles during the slow creep up to the stop sign and the uniformed officer. Some vehicles get a lot of questions and some get waved on. We got waved on with nary a word spoken. Dexter was hiding under a blanket in his bed and missed the whole thing.

From there we merged onto IH-20 near Van Horn, TX. We drove through Pecos (leaving the Mountains behind us), Odessa, Midland, and into Big Spring. Miles & miles of Texas. We are stopped at MM 191 in a Rest Area having dinner and posting this Blog entry. Most of the larger Texas Rest Areas have free Wi-Fi and this one is no exception. We'll grab a movie (DVD) after dinner and sleep until dawn. We have just 4.5 hours to go before home with one required fuel stop. I plan to visit the Flying J outside Abilene at Tye, TX. Flying J has special RV pumps separated fromthe cars and the commercial trucks. With their free RV Card, you get the cash price (even using a credit card) and a one cent per gallon discount. If we get started early (like 6:45am), we can be in Carrollton and home by Noon Saturday.

Of the photos, some show the last vestiges of the mountains as we left the El Paso area and moved onto a broad plateau. I also included a few shots of the US Border Patrol Inspection signs and of the process as we approached the checkpoint.