TX Archives - Our View From The Road

Day 10: Trains, Plains & Automobiles

By tony.barb.fisher April 12, 20242024 Cross-continent tour

In the canyon we were sheltered from the sun’s earliest rays and the morning was brisk. We completed our morning routine, vacated our campsite and dumped the tanks (no mess on me). Our route took us North into Amarillo where we again joined I-40West towards New Mexico. We soon passed…

Day 9: Amongst the Mesquite

By tony.barb.fisher April 11, 20242024 Cross-continent tour

A short post today as we are staying in Palo Duro State Park for another day; however, we have to change sites as this one is booked by someone else for tonight. We slept in, a little, until 7:30am and started the day with a cup of coffee as we…

Day 8: Texas bound

By tony.barb.fisher April 10, 20242024 Cross-continent tour

It rained last night. Not a light Spring shower, nope, a Midwest rolling, windy, thunderstorm. Welcome to Oklahoma folks. The wind jostled the van and woke us both several times throughout the night, but by the morning a light shower was all that remained. The rain was supposed to last…

Day 41: The start of our drive home

By tony.barb.fisher April 17, 20232023 Southwest US tour

So here we are, the beginning of the end. Today we begin our drive towards Ontario & home. It will take a few days, but compared to the past few weeks our pace will seem meteoric as our goal is to cover distance and not dawdle about. The sunrise was…

Day 40: Caprock Canyon State Park 2

By tony.barb.fisher April 16, 20232023 Southwest US tour

I’m up at 6:45am to turn on the propane and then the furnace. This means going outside at 6C in my shorts. Brrr. However, the warmth from the furnace feels nice and by 7:30am the inside of the van is a toasty 18C. Time to make some coffee. We move…

Day 39: Caprock Canyon State Park 1

By tony.barb.fisher April 15, 20232023 Southwest US tour

A warm night last night and neither of us had a good sleep initially. Then the temperature dropped and we both slept really well into the early morning. Uncharacteristically we didn’t wake until around 7:30am. I decided to go for a walk along the Wild Horse trail and explore the…

Day 38: Palo Duro Canyon State Park

By tony.barb.fisher April 14, 20232023 Southwest US tour

The winds died down overnight and it was calm by the time we woke. Today we will stop at the Palo Duro Canyon State Park. We had originally wanted to camp there but they had no sites and thus we will become day visitors instead. We’re leaving the winery at…

Day 37: We get our kicks on Route 66

By tony.barb.fisher April 13, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Up and at ‘em. The sun’s up and so are we, ready for a day of driving eastward out of New Mexico and into Texas. Today Barb has decided to drive our campervan leaving me to be passenger and photographer. The other rigs that stayed at the brewery we us…

Day 16: from wineries to refineries

By tony.barb.fisher March 23, 20232023 Southwest US tour

The wind let up around midnight and the cool air arrived bringing with it a heavy morning dew and fog down in the valley. We slept in. We ate a simple breakfast. We organized the van for a day of travel. We vacated the overlook parking area at 10:00am. Good…

Day 15: Head West they said

By tony.barb.fisher March 22, 20232023 Southwest US tour

A bit of tidying up and a quick breakfast and we were ready for the road. Oh wait, the water tank needs filling and the other tanks need emptying. Ok, so 10:00am and we’re driving off of our site to the dump station, no waiting, we’re #1. No no issues,…

Day 14: McKinney Falls State Park 2

By tony.barb.fisher March 21, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Yep, we’re still here. The weather though… ugh. Awoke to light rain that was not forecast. Result: the walk was wet today. Because of the lack of rain in the forecast we decided to leave our chairs and outdoor rug outside overnight. They are wet and full of sow bugs…

Day 13: McKinney Falls State Park

By tony.barb.fisher March 20, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Another chilly start to the day with the temperature being only 6C outside the inside of the van was only 11C. So, turned on the heater before getting up for the day. After a cup of coffee it was time for my morning walk which took me 4.5km around the…

Day 12: …there doesn’t seem to be anyone around

By tony.barb.fisher March 19, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Another chilly and windy morning awaited us today. Overcast conditions persisted; however, we were heading inland today, away from the coast so maybe it will warm up and be a little nicer. Goose Island State Park, Day 2 The morning walk was shorter than usual, but as I met and…

Day11: It’s a step to the right

By tony.barb.fisher March 18, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Another chilly (not chilli) morning. A coffee and a muffin to start the day and then off for a walk about the park. It was cold and drizzly so I opted for sweatpants, sweatshirt, rain jacket, hat & light gloves. It really is that cold (or so I thought). The…

Day 10: After the rain we found the sun

By tony.barb.fisher March 17, 20232023 Southwest US tour

We were awakened at about 4:00am by the rain and wind. The van was being buffeted about and the rain was intense. This kept going for the next 3 hours as we lightly drifted in and out of sleep. At 7:30 I ventured outside during a quieter period of rain…

Day 09: The pool is not heated

By tony.barb.fisher March 16, 20232023 Southwest US tour

A sunny but windy start to our relaxing day on Galveston Island, TX. I decide to walk about the RV park and walk on every road and trail within the park. 6.8km - not bad. Barb goes to the beach and is almost blown back to the park by the…

Day 08: Houston, we have a problem

By tony.barb.fisher March 15, 20232023 Southwest US tour

Early rise (6:30am), cool temperature (6C), the shower will likely take a while to warm up….. Do I have to get up? We’re off again today, further Westward. We had to make a small repair to the bike cover last evening as one of the cords that keep the cover…