Travel Day to Brantley Lake State Park Carlsbad, New Mexico

April 20, 2010.
We slept well overnight and got up about 8:00. We were anxious to get out of Parkview Rv Park in Stockton, Tx. Today we planned to travel to Carlsbad, NM

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We were not impressed with what little we saw of Fort Stockton and Pecos Tx. We had to drive through both towns on Hwy 285 as we headed north and west towards New Mexico. The landscape in this part of Texas is rather flat and sparsely vegetated. Hwy 285 N. is a two lane well worn road with sparse traffic. Ironically we were passed twice by a Ford truck pulling a Carriage Carri-Lite at about 70 mph.

The road seemed to be smoother once we crossed into New Mexico. We were now at an elevation of over 3100 ft. known as the Chihuahuan Desert.This high desert, the largest desert in North America covering more than 200,000 square miles -- lies south of the international border. In the U.S. it extends into parts of New Mexico, Texas and sections of southeastern Arizona. Its minimum elevation is above 1,000 feet, but the vast majority of this desert lies at elevations between 3,500 and 5,000 feet.

After about 168 miles and a stop at Walmart in Carlsbad, we made it to Brantley Lake State Park. On the route, I cruised in overdrive at 1700 rpms @ 61 mph and got over 10 mpg. 

Brantley Lake State Park is located in the Chihuahuan Desert region of southeastern New Mexico. It's about 15 miles north of the city of Carlsbad, NM. It's also the closest state park to Carlsbad Caverns and we plan to visit the caverns during our stay. The Caverns are about 47 miles away. 

We checked into the visitor center and registered for a campsite.  Our 30 amp and water campsite is $14 per night plus $10 for Joyce's car. However, the ranger agreed to charge us just $8 per day for Joyce's car, the price of a primitive campsite. We paid for 3 nights.

The weather was beautiful on our arrival, and I was very impressed with our site high on a ridge overlooking the desert and Lake Brantley.

We are in site 38 in the South loop which is first come first serve non-reserveable. The larger North loop has reservation sites. You all know how I feel about reservations! Throughout the park, I noted that there are only a few sites that would support large rigs. We were lucky to get one of them.

There is a lot of space between the sites. Also a nice sheltered metal picnic table. Our site from below the ridge.

Our view out the rear window or our fifth wheel travel home.

Out the front of our rig and across our camp ground loop, you can see the dam on Lake Brantley.

Travel Day to Fort Stockton, Tx

April 19, 2010

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Today was a travel day, yesterday we made preparations and visited with neighbors. We had planned to do some sightseeing yesterday but Joyce wasn’t feeling well.

We got up early today and were hitched up by 8:40.  We had plans to stop at A & A Tire Service and get our new Goodyear G614 tires mounted on our fifth wheel. I pulled into the shop and used my BigFoot system to lift the rig. I lowered the front landing gear to take the weight off the truck and then lowered the rear gear to lift the four wheels off the ground. The crew got to work right away on removing my Duro load range E tires and mounted my 5 new Goodyear G614 load range G tires. The Goodyear G614s are "made in the USA" with a build date of 2010. The Duro's that were removed had a build date of 2007.


The assistant manager Mike, took my Duro tires in trade for the cost of the mounting and balancing which saved me about $120.

Maggie and Rico were very patient waiting in the truck while we were in the shop.

We were out of the shop by 9:30 and on our way west along I-10. The initial leg of the route was beautiful with lots of hills.  There was still plenty of wild flowers.

The further west we got the hills flattened and the landscape wasn’t as interesting.

We arrived at our overnight site at Park View Rv Park in Stockton, Tx after about 260 miles and 5 hours in the saddle. I averaged just over 10 mpg towing in 6th gear (overdrive) at 1700 rpms @ 61 mpg.  Joyce’s car is still getting 26 mpg.

Park View RV Park is a park that offers a Passport America discount. The park is really just a dirt parking lot with pull throughs and hook-ups. However, it’s $12 for 30 amp, plus $2 for 50 amp and $2 for cable. We are only here for one night and will be leaving early in the morning headed for Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Spending Time with a Family Friend

April 17, 2010.

Again we awoke to a large puddle outside the rig as we have for the last several days. I got out early and pushed the water down the driveway to drain out into the street. We said goodbye to our neighbors, Clancy and Linda also full time Rvers that started their journey the same time as us in October of 2009. They have a beautiful Carriage Carri-Lite with a full wall slide.

Later in the morning, the rain clouds moved off and the sun came out! Slowly things began to dry. A friend of the family, Barb, lives in Fredericksburg and she came to our park to visit. After catching up and walking the dogs around the park, we decided to go to a local Mexican restaurant in Kerrville, Mamacitas.

The restaurant was beautiful with this gorgeous candelabra at the entrance.

The dining rooms were also beautiful. The restaurant made it’s own fresh tortillas and had a ice cream shop attached. The food was excellent and we all did a good job of cleaning our plates!

By the time we got back home, the temperature had really dipped and the breeze and picked up. We called it a day and said our good-byes. We hope to run into Barb again sometime down the road!

Yesterday, April 16, we were holed up in the rig between rain showers. Joyce took these photos through the window of an enterprising squirrel going after the sunflower seeds in her bird feeder.

Streeeeeetch

Success

I got a call that the Goodyear Tires I had ordered for our fifth wheel were waiting for us at A&A Tire Service.  I spoke with the assistant manager, Mike and made arrangements to be at the shop Monday morning. We will stop there after we leave Guadalupe River RV Resort and then continue west on I-10.  That’s the plan!