May 17 – Amarillo, TX to Albuquerque, NM

Today’s drive of 288 miles was pretty stressful. Winds were strong and I had to keep Irving from swaying all over the road. We left Texas and entered New Mexico and the terrain got very mountainous very fast. Irving was great, but the grades were enough to slow him down. Amber got to rest again. She said she is feeling more like herself and we will assess whether she can drive in the morning. We may get her in the drivers seat for a hour to start the day to see how things go.

After 3 days in Texas, we crossed the border into New Mexico

Welcome to New Mexico

Christopher got some great shots of the mountains as we went through them

New Mexico mountains and a 5 y/o foot
New Mexico mountains

May 16 – Wichita Falls, TX to Amarillo, TX

Today’s drive of 238 miles was pretty uneventful and Amber got to rest while I handled the driving. She is feeling a little better today, but is still having headaches and feeling very tired. I will be taking the day off of work again to drive while she continues to regain her strength.

We left Jellystone

Hey Boo Boo!

And saw a wind farm

Wind Farm – Harrold, TX
Wind Turbine – Harrold, TX

May 15 – Gladewater, TX to Wichita Falls, TX

Today’s drive of 250 miles was very stressful. We had to drive through Dallas and Waze changed the route a few times while we were driving. We are going to check into using a different app from now on to try to avoid the stress. Amber is still having lingering effects of hitting her head. I will be taking the day off of work again to drive while she tries to regain her strength.

Here are some pictures of Jellystone Park at Coyote Ranch.

Jellystone Park at Coyote Ranch
Jellystone Park at Coyote Ranch
Jellystone Park at Coyote Ranch
Jellystone Park at Coyote Ranch
Jellystone Park at Coyote Ranch

And some of the facilities.

Jellystone Park at Coyote Ranch – Laundry
Jellystone Park at Coyote Ranch – Bath

May 14 – Vicksburg, MS to Gladewater, TX

Today’s drive of 245 miles was pretty uneventful. It was welcome after yesterday’s drama. Amber is having lingering effects of hitting her head. She is having headaches, nausea and sometimes does not remember things. The paperwork we got from the urgent care clinic says this is normal, but Amber cannot drive tomorrow, so I will be taking the day off of work to drive while she tries to regain her strength.

We crossed the Mississippi River

Approaching the Mississippi River
Big Bridges
The Mighty Mississippi

Left Mississippi into Louisiana

Welcome to Louisiana

And had an uneventful drive on I-20 into Texas

I-20 W
Welcome to Texas

Where we are staying the night. Hope you like the pictures!

May 13 – Robertsdale, AL to Vicksburg, MS

Our third day started very badly. Amber decided to check Irving’s tires while I was on the other side of our coach. While she was checking the pressure of the passenger side back tire under a slide, she hit her head and opened up a large cut in her scalp.

Nasty cut.

My first feeling was panic. We were far from home and we didn’t know the area. She went to the campground office and both a retired nurse and former EMT said it looked like she needed stitches. We immediately got on our phones looking for an urgent care facility we could go to. Fortunately we found one relatively close by, so we finished getting Irving ready to roll and headed down I-10 to the clinic. She is fine now thanks to the staff.

Clean and Ready for Staples
Staplehead
All Stapled Up

We then focused on getting food and getting back on the road ASAP. With such a late start, I focused on getting to our next stop as quickly as I could.

I-10 eventually led to the rolling hills of Hwy 98 and Hwy 49.

Highway 98 – Mississippi
Highway 98 – Mississippi
Highway 98 – Mississippi

With all that happened the earlier today, a long drive through mostly “back” roads was enough to make all the worries melt away.

Azalea Acres RV Park

Address: 27450 Glass Road, Robertsdale, AL 36567
Telephone: 251-947-9530

Dates Stayed: 05/12/2017 – 05/13/2017 (1 night)

Rate: $36.38 per night (The do offer discounts for Good Sam, etc.)

Rating:

Location

Sweet Home Alabama

The second stop on our cross country trip, this park is located off of I10 in Robertsdale, Alabama. Our navigation system had no idea to get us here, so I had to call to confirm what I saw on the map. The roads leading to the campground are barely one lane each way, so it was kind of stressful making turns and having another car passing on the opposite side.

Check-In

Office, clubhouse, laundry, and bath.

Checking in was a pretty quick. We were escorted to our site by someone with a golf cart. Amber drove this leg of our trip, she drove to the campsite, leveled and got the slides out while I went to the office with our escort. After checking-in, walked back to the campsite and got the shore cord and water connected before the rain poured down.

Camp Site

Campsite #3

The park is clean with 50 amp, water and sewer, everything we needed. We arrived during a rain storm, so the absence of any shade did not bother us. But in the summer I can imagine it gets HOT. They have planted trees which will make things much better in the coming years. We had a site with a concrete pad, but we saw other RVs on grass sites. With the rain, the ground was pretty saturated, so we were glad not to be sinking in the mud.

WiFi & Cellular

I worked on the ride to the campground, but I did have to finish work after we arrived. The WiFi was nonexistent when we arrived. I am working on this post on the WiFi and it’s actually working well. But it cur out again, so I had to finish this post using my AT&T hotspot.

Facilities

This is not a resort, but it does have the basics any camper needs. It has a clubhouse, laundry, and bath services.

Conclusion

We would probably stay here again. It’s a clean park, but the WiFi is a problem if we need internet.

May 12 – Tallahassee, FL to Robertsdale, AL

Azela Acres RV Park – Ms. Gaye

The second leg of our trip was about 231 miles and it took us about 5 hours with stops.

We knew that meeting people at campgrounds was part of RV life. We met Ms. Gaye, the owner of Azalea Acres RV Park while walking around the park after dinner. She loved talking and telling us about the park and shared a bit of her life with us. Christopher enjoyed talking with her, telling her random things about his life. I can’t help think about what our son is learning from this trip. I hope he remembers this for the rest of his life.

Tallahassee RV Park

Address: 6504 Mahan Dr, Tallahassee, FL 32308
Telephone: 850-878-7641

Dates Stayed: 05/11/2017 – 05/12/2017

Rate: $45.00 per night ($50 – $5 discount for various memberships)

Rating:

Location

The first stop on our cross country trip, this park is conveniently located right off of I10 in Tallahassee, Florida.

Check-In

The Office

Checking in was a pretty quick. Amber pulled Irving in front of the office while I checked in. I was in and out in about 5 minutes. Since Amber drove this leg of our trip, she drove to the campsite. The roads are a bit narrow, which we are finding in the norm with campgrounds for some reason.

Camp Site

Campsite #48

The park is very well kept and it is managed by a very friendly couple who Christopher and I talked to about our trip. Our campsite was very shady, with tall trees. There are no concrete pads, just hard ground with gravel. With that said, our automatic leveling jacks were able to level our coach on the second attempt.

The services included at the site are 30/50amp electric, fresh water (1 spigot with splitter), dump and cable TV with a wide range of channels.

WiFi & Cellular

I worked on the ride up to the campground, but I did have to finish work after we arrived. The WiFi is very good and plenty fast. I am working on this post on the WiFi and uploads pictures is a breeze. The woman that checked us in mentioned that they had just upgraded to fiber optic internet service and it shows.

Facilities

This is not a resort, but it does have the basics any camper needs.

Community Room
Laundry
Shower and Bathroom

Conclusion

We would definitely stay here again. It’s a clean park with cable TV and great WiFi.

Twas The Night Before…

It is the night before we begin our 6+ week trip cross country. I’m not going to lie, it was a stressful day for me. I had to work while Amber continued to stock Irving and I wanted to help.

Although I will be taking some vacation time during our adventure, this is the first time I will be working day after day while Amber does the bulk of the driving to the Gand Canyon. I am very nervous about having reliable Internet access to collaborate with coworkers. The list of worries goes on and on.

I am most likely making more of the bad things than they will turn out to be. It’s how I’ve always been, but maybe this trip will give me a new perspective and make me learn to wing it and take things as they come more.

Time will tell.

 

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