Ft Stockton to Brownwood
Odometer 59155
Trip meter 266
We have mapped out a route today that will keep us off the interstate, but still keep us heading in the right general direction towards Dallas.
We crossed over into Central Time and in doing so lost an hour out of our day, which we are going to use as an excuse to sleep in and get a later than usual start today. The overnight temps, as predicted stayed above freezing, so I didn't have the nightmare of freezing pipes I'd had the previous night. Once we had unhooked the utilities and packed up the interior for travel, we headed out on I-10 east for a few miles before we got to the intersection of US 385/ US 67.
US 67 turned out to be rather straight and fairly level for most of the trip. It would seem to most readers that this could be another boring day in west Texas, but I didn't find that to be true.
The route is punctuated with at least 16 small towns and one fairly large town, San Angelo.
Most of the small towns were bisected by highway 67 and we got to tour down main street in each. A few of the towns we saw seemed to be still vibrant and the shops, restaurants, bars, and gas stations were still open. Sadly more of the towns looked to be struggling to make a go of it
Joan snapped the photo on the left as we rolled through the small town of McCamey.
It is a lot more interesting for us to see these brave and gritty small towns from main street rather than speeding along the empty interstates. And before you flame me, we come from a small and struggling town of 1200 residents on the Oregon coast- we feel the pain of not having jobs and industry, and a thriving downtown. This is America on the back roads.
US 67 passes right through a corner the Permian basin, and this is still oil country, with tank farms and pump jacks, trucks hauling crude.
Something that surprised us though was that this is also becoming an area where wind power is making a go of it too
Quite often we saw wind turbines sharing space in the prairie with the pump jacks- that's covering all your bets!
Our destination for today is Brownwood, and the Riverside RV Park, a Passport America affiliate, which means we get a healthy discount on the overnight cost, for a full hookup, pull through space.
The Park is very clean and the utilities are all in excellent shape. There are only 24 spaces and they appear to fill up fast- we called ahead this morning for our space. The park is on the edge of Pecan Bayou, and adjacent to a city park with paved walking trails along the bayou.
Tomorrow it's on to Wylie, Tx where we will be visiting Joan's brother's family, Jim, Sally, and daughter Savannah. More later.
Your Traveling Friends
Jeff and Joan
Trip meter 266
We have mapped out a route today that will keep us off the interstate, but still keep us heading in the right general direction towards Dallas.
 |
| Today's Route |
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| US Route 67 parallels I-20 in Texas |
We crossed over into Central Time and in doing so lost an hour out of our day, which we are going to use as an excuse to sleep in and get a later than usual start today. The overnight temps, as predicted stayed above freezing, so I didn't have the nightmare of freezing pipes I'd had the previous night. Once we had unhooked the utilities and packed up the interior for travel, we headed out on I-10 east for a few miles before we got to the intersection of US 385/ US 67.
 |
| Long Straight Roads- mostly to ourselves! |
US 67 turned out to be rather straight and fairly level for most of the trip. It would seem to most readers that this could be another boring day in west Texas, but I didn't find that to be true.
 |
| Rolling countryside punctuated by small towns |
 |
| US 67 becomes Main Street |
The route is punctuated with at least 16 small towns and one fairly large town, San Angelo.
Most of the small towns were bisected by highway 67 and we got to tour down main street in each. A few of the towns we saw seemed to be still vibrant and the shops, restaurants, bars, and gas stations were still open. Sadly more of the towns looked to be struggling to make a go of it
 |
| Boarded up gas station |
Joan snapped the photo on the left as we rolled through the small town of McCamey.
It is a lot more interesting for us to see these brave and gritty small towns from main street rather than speeding along the empty interstates. And before you flame me, we come from a small and struggling town of 1200 residents on the Oregon coast- we feel the pain of not having jobs and industry, and a thriving downtown. This is America on the back roads.
 |
| Oil drilling operations along US hwy 67 |
US 67 passes right through a corner the Permian basin, and this is still oil country, with tank farms and pump jacks, trucks hauling crude.
 |
| Pump Jack |
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| Oil tank truck |
Something that surprised us though was that this is also becoming an area where wind power is making a go of it too
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| Wind Turbines near Big Lake, TX |
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| Home for the Night at Riverside RV, Brownwood, TX |
Our destination for today is Brownwood, and the Riverside RV Park, a Passport America affiliate, which means we get a healthy discount on the overnight cost, for a full hookup, pull through space.
The Park is very clean and the utilities are all in excellent shape. There are only 24 spaces and they appear to fill up fast- we called ahead this morning for our space. The park is on the edge of Pecan Bayou, and adjacent to a city park with paved walking trails along the bayou.
Tomorrow it's on to Wylie, Tx where we will be visiting Joan's brother's family, Jim, Sally, and daughter Savannah. More later.
Your Traveling Friends
Jeff and Joan
Hello Jeff
ReplyDeleteIf your Horizon is like my Journey then the heat pump kicks out about 35 to 38F, then the inside temp has to fall 5 degrees below the setpoint before it auto starts the gas furnace. A good reason to remember to open the gas valve if it's going to be a cold night. Too keep a little heat in the outside compartments at night I unplug the door switches and place a small amp fuse as a short between the 2 wires, This lets you turn the compartment lamps on and off with the inside switch but leaves them on with the doors closed and the inside switch on for a little heat.
Good Luck on your travels
SR