Saturday, April 16, 2022. El Paso to Ingram TX.

Saturday, April 16, 2022. El Paso to Ingram TX.

Today was a long travel day through western Texas.  The landscape was mostly desert with distant brown mountains but there were stretches filled with tree groves, including some that appeared to have been intentionally flooded.  The deserts are also notable for the presence of very tall agave plants with flowering spikes that look a bit like stunted Joshua trees.  

We made use of the emergency diesel in Jerry cans to reduce our need to make refueling stops, and to eliminate dragging around unnecessary dead weight.  The speed limit on I-10 through much of western Texas is 80mph.  We ended up cruising mostly between 75 and 80mph, but the trip computer shows fuel consumption at 80mph to be considerably higher (12mpg) than at 75mph (14-15mpg).  

We did find a rest stop in Sonora TX that actually had a trailer dump and potable water.  This was the first interstate highway RV dump station we have seen since leaving Washington State.  It is surprising that these aren’t mandated at all interstate rest areas.  

We did drive past signs for Big Bend National Park but it was too far off our path and we were pressed for time to be able to check into the Buckhorn Lake Resort before 5pm.  

We did end up stopping at a Walmart in Fort Stockton to refuel and to buy some diesel exhaust fluid to refill the reservoir.  We also grabbed some sandwiches from the deli for lunch.  We ran the generator and air conditioning while we ate lunch in the Walmart parking lot because it was close to 90˚F outside. There are a few historical sights to be seen in this town related to the old western Cowboys vs Indians era, but those will have to wait for our trip back out this way in April 2024 for the total solar eclipse.

Our last fuel stop was in Junction .  Our total diesel usage for today was 50.157 gal covering 811 miles since the fill up in San Simon.  The fuel economy averaged 16.2mpg.  

We rolled into the Buckhorn Lake Resort just off the freeway exit just before 5pm.  The office was closed, but our name was on paperwork on the door with our assigned campsite.  The campsites in this resort are very nice.  

All have concrete paved pads, and the site we booked had 20/30/50A outlets and two potable water spigots.  The sites are also large enough to easily extend all slides and the RV nearest us was at least 25’ away.  Our site also backed on a creek with green belt.  There is a dam that holds back a pond, and there are two small fishing ponds that are stocked with bass.  They say it is catch and release, and no license is required.  There were several people fishing, but I didn’t see anyone hook one.  There are two small swimming pools- one for families and one for adults only.  

There was also a nicely air conditioned laundry room, but the machines required $2.00 each in quarters, and there was no change machine.  We only had $2.25 in quarters in the RV and the office was closed, so Ben had to unhook the RV and drive it into Kerrville, about 4 miles down I-10, to find quarters while Janet ran a load in the washer. The first convenience store Ben found would only give him 2 quarters change for buying some potato chips, and even the Walmart refused to give more than 3 quarters in change for any transaction.  While I discussed the absurdity of the situation, a gal behind me in line suggested a laundromat down the street which has a change machine.  So I hit the laundromat and came back with a pile of quarters.  We’ll have to add a roll of quarters to the RV packing list.  Janet managed to the laundry done after Ben dropped off the bag of quarters.

Ben also stopped at a Dick’s BBQ pit and picked up some brisket, mac and cheese and fried okra for dinner.  It was tasty but a little odd in that it was just meat, a few rings of white onion, a couple of pickle chips, and the sides in small cups.  

It was plenty hot in Texas today with the high temperature just hitting 90.  By 10pm, it was down to 77˚F, but we were glad to have a full hook up RV site for tonight so we could run the air conditioning through the night.