On the Road to Halstead, KS

We departed Magnolia (Waller area) Texas on a Saturday.  After looking at the map and planning our route to Kansas we were intimidated by the size of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Because our comfortable coach is so wide and tall, mainly tall, there are many roads with low clearances that we cannot pass.  We are as careful as we can be when planning our route, especially getting to interstate highways.  There we understand that overpass minimum heights are 14 feet, which is sufficient for our 13' 4" to pass under.  We have Apps that identify low clearances throughout the US.  We also look at Google maps and use the satellite view extensively to identify traffic patterns that could be problematic.  We also conduct "Pathfinder" rides in the truck when we are not hitched to the trailer to look for and identify any low clearances on routes outbound that we did not use coming in.  We found some low wires in Magnolia TX which influenced our choice to drive back into Houston on our departure instead of heading out directly on the smaller back roads of Texas.  Once we make it to interstate and most primary state routes we are fine, but we can get into trouble in a hurry on the smaller roads and streets.  Low wires and tree branches are the most common show stoppers.  Occasionally tight turns or traffic patterns can limit us.  This happens in parking lots frequently.

Our strategy for navigating Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) was to drive to the southern outskirts Saturday, and then rise early Sunday and ride through while the cities were sleeping.  That plan worked well this time.

Very light traffic on Sunday morning coming into Fort Worth, TX.

We are 13 feet 4 inches tall; 14 feet 6 inch clearance you say, No Problem, hammer down!  Yee Haa!

Once we were through DFW it was a short ride to Oklahoma (where the wind blows rolling cross the plains!) My dear old dad lived here as a boy in Ponca City, and as it turned out we stayed overnight at a truck stop on I-35 at Ponca City!  Oklahoma boys like their trucks and livestock here, not to mention oil wells!

I am trying to help out below with a minor trucking problem.  Seems the wind tipped 'er up a bit.

Did I mention to watch out for the low guard rail?

Our home for the Ponca City, Oklahoma night.

 Oklahoma livestock.

And don't forget the oil!

Remembering and Missing Waller, TX

 

Waller, TX

We are finally back on the farm!  We have been anticipating this visit for several years.  We figured the last visit with Beth and Chris in Waller was seven years ago.  These two have been busy since we have been away.  All the furry children and the farm is doing great :-)
This is horse country for sure and below are the two horse whisperers doing what they do.

We have enjoyed some high quality porch time;  relaxing, visiting, scratching and eating!

We made some old and new feline friends on this visit too!

On the Way to Houston, TX

Our trip to Houston from Waldo, Florida turned out to be a 5 day excursion.  The first day was a stop over in Tallahassee, FL for some FL government business, which was successful. We overnighted in Sam's Club parking lot there.  It rained steady all day and night on the first leg of the trip.  The second day we made it to Daphne, AL and a Walmart parking lot.  The rain was still going on that day. We saw the Blue Angel Models on the I-10 highway columns on our way through Pensacola FL, very cool!

 
The third day was Gari's birthday and the weather started to clear up finally.  We made it Crowley, LA and a Walmart parking lot where we celebrated Gari's birthday by taking several walks in the sunshine, changed the oil in the generator and torqued and aired all the trailer and truck wheels and air hitch.  We were ready to push into Houston now!

There was a lot of traffic, below I snapped a picture of the Biloxi, MS watertower and two trucks are between us and the tower.  Gari did a great job driving safely!

Below is a typical stop at a rest area.

We learned about our refrigerator operating on propane on this trip.  We were having trouble keeping it lit, sitting or driving.  We finally discovered that the ignitor had slipped and had no more trouble after we tightened that up.

We passed by NASA Stennis Space Center and observed a moment of silence.

 

The fourth day we actually did reach east Houston and a Walmart parking lot.  We were in the BIG CITY now for sure!  We watched the panhandlers change shifts on the corner and all of the traffic activity in and around the parking lot.  Wow there was a lot going on there!.  The 5th morning we rose early to more rain.  We waited until 8:30 AM for the cold front to pass through and then headed across Houston.  We made it uneventfully to Decker Prairie RV Park on the west side of Houston.  Now we were set to see our pals in Waller, TX.

 

Penelope parked and leveled in Decker Prairie RV Park; complete with transformer pallet as a heavy-duty instant deck.  Graciously provided by kind Camphosts Sandra and Chris!

Farewell Waldo, FL and Dixieland RV Park

The first trip and destination of our retirement worked out excellent for us.  We stumbled upon Waldo, FL and Dixieland RV Park.  As cold as this winter has been, we only had to disconnect the water hose for a few hours one time since we arrived in Florida.  That was a great improvement to our trailer quality of life! 

We enjoyed the fresh produce, variety, excitement and convenience of the giant Flea Market across the street from Dixieland.

We met some new friends from North Dakota...

Met lots of new dog friends, Buffy the most pampered.. what a great life!

Enjoyed some fine live music

Splurged on some delishous food

Learned about and fixed some systems on Penelope

We even enjoyed a stocked fishing pond in the RV park

It turned out to be a great visit and we were a bit bit sad the day we moved on.  But again we were looking forward to the next adventures on the agenda, and that would be Houston, TX!

Cedar Key, Florida

We rode to Cedar Key, FL to see Ralph and Joan, and because all the locals said Cedar Key is marvelous and you must go!  It was a hour and a half ride much of it a near causeway condition much like the road to Chincoteague.  Not as much water but reserve land just the same.  There are no chain stores in Cedar Key, it has the same quaint island feel of home.

We found Ralph at home, Joan was doing community work in Gainesville that day.

Ralph gave us the VIP tour of Cedar Key in his electric car.

We stopped at the Cedar Key Airfield.

 We rode downtown and Ralph treated us to a fine lunch over-looking the surrounding bays.

Downtown Cedar Key

Lunchtime friends

Cedar Key History Museum - one of the island many industries was salt production for food preservation prior to refrigeration. The locals used these large iron pots to boil seawater and extract the sea salt.  Here it is a wishing well full of coins!

We rode back to Dixieland the same day after a great day visiting with our longtime pal Ralph.  Between Cedar Key and Chincoteague we would say it is hard to do better.