Road Trip Prep - The List was Long - Tues., Oct. 6

Our last road trip was in April. We are ready to hit the road. At 10 a.m. Wednesday we expect to pull out of Travelers World in San Antonio and head for Big Spring, Texas for the night...just a short stopover our way to Amarillo.

The past two days have been filled with chores. Monday I vacuumed, scrubbed the floors, dusted the overhead fan, defrosted the freezer, cleaned the bathroom, washed walls, did six loads of laundry, cleaned up clutter, and the RV repairman came in to fix a leak under our bathroom sink. 

Today I took "the Beast" in for a new fuel filter and cap. I asked them to check over the truck for a long road trip. Found out we needed a new serpentine (drive) belt, new back brakes (and rotors turned), an oil leak had to be fixed in the valve cover, and a state inspection needed to be done. I ended up sitting there for four hours. Thankfully I had lots of reading material. We'll have peace of mind on our drive to Amarillo. Priceless.

As I was driving back to the RV park I noticed the registration sticker on the truck expired in September. No grace period in Texas. After a tuna sandwich and carrot lunch, I went to the Tax Assessor's office (which is where we pay for our vehicle registration in San Antonio), took a number, and waited about ten minutes. That chore took much less time than I thought it would.

From the tax assessor I headed directly to the hairdresser. We talked about the color of my hair. I thought it was much too light the last time she colored it, so now it is back to a medium honey blonde. I'm much happier with the color. I also decided I'm going to grow it out a little, so she trimmed the bottom and we're letting the top grow. Upon arriving home from the hairdresser, I made spaghetti - a great big pot of it.

Bob has been working non-stop and long hours. He hired a new payroll person for the company he's working for so he's getting her set up and trained. Plus he took on a new accounting client and he had to do a big project for that company before we left. He worked Saturday, Sunday, late Monday night and late tonight. He's really ready for a vacation. Plus he's training for the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in December.

Our mini-vacation to Amarillo is for a Volksmarching weekend sponsored by the West Texas Trail Walkers club. We will be doing three walks (weather permitting): two in Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and one at Wildcat Bluff Nature Center. Saturday night we will be going to a banquet. We will be back in San Antonio next Monday.

Palo Duro Canyon is one of the largest canyons in the United States, second only to the Grand Canyon. The canyon is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles wide, and has a maximum depth of more than 800'. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500' above sea level.

Early Spanish explorers are believed to have discovered the area and named the canyon "Palo Duro" which is Spanish for "hard wood" in reference to the abundant mesquite and juniper trees.

The weather looks pretty dicey for our drive north, especially Wednesday night and Thursday. Forecast says possible wind gusts to 50 mph, damaging hail, and 60% chance of heavy rain. Yikes. I hope it misses us.

My hair is not this blonde anymore.

See you down the road. Travel Bug out.