12JUL07 - Anson, TX

Today for us was kind of the “real” start of the full time RV’er life style. Although we do have a time constraint and a place to be (Brandon, Manitoba in about five days), how far we want to drive, route taken, and where to stop are strictly up to us; and usually planned day-to-day.

For example, we prefer two lane roads over the Interstates, especially the old US highways. Although only two lanes most of the time, they are usually well maintained and often have less traffic. The scenery on the Interstates can be beautiful, but often there is a sameness to it and everyone seems to be going as fast as possible to get nowhere first? To us on the two lanes (or the blue highways as one author wrote) the pace is more relaxed, the scenery is constantly changing, you actually travel through small town America, and you still see those hokie roadside attractions (two headed rattlesnake, biggest ball of twine, etc) we always asked our parents to stop at (and they never did). Certainly these blue highways can be a mistake (like US 30 [aka Lincoln Highway] through North Illinois/Indiana, or US 1 through coastal parts of NE), put we still prefer them.

In fact one of the things on Dan’s agenda is to pick a couple of the old US highways that are still in one piece (not like Route 66 which is largely gone) and drive them from end to end. Corrie’s vote is still out on this one. Take the road we are on, US 83. This road may be the longest North/South road in USA. It starts at USA/Mexico border in Brownsville, TX, and runs continuously north to USA/Canada border at Westhope, ND. It probably would been faster speed wise to get on I-35N and take Interstates to Canada, but we opted for the scenic route (besides speed limit on most TX two lanes is 70mph!). If we had more time, Dan would have actually headed south to get to Brownsville so he could claim to have driven entire length of US 83; maybe next time.

True services on these two lanes, especially in the remote areas we will be traveling, can be few and far between. For us that means a little pre-planning the night before departing. We have several books that list locations of RV parks, state parks and national parks for every state in USA. Dan looks at the books and figures what will be in the vicinity of where we want to end our drive the next day. For today’s driving Dan figured we needed to be about an hour north of Abilene by the end of driving, but there was no RV facility at the point. Should we drive north for another hour to reach next one, or cut drive short 20 miles out of Abilene in Anson? Since this was our first day of driving and we got on the road one hour late, we decided for the only RV park in Anson. As you can see from the picture, RV park does not have many facilities (ie pool, showers, laundromat); but the beauty of RV’ing is you have your own bed, kitchen and living room. So all we really need is electricity (50amp preferred, but 30amp will do), water, and sewage dump. However, this park does have cable for free!

While we are on the subject of driving, Dan has another habit that Corrie shakes her head at. Whenever we pass through the small towns on the blue highways and they have a town square with court building in the middle, Dan will drive completely around the square! If Corrie is lucky no one will be on the streets to wonder – what the hey! We are not sure how this started, but it started on our retirement RV trip in 2004, and probably was triggered by Corrie telling Dan this was not a good idea?

In closing we need to introduce some of our traveling companions. First and foremost is Gumbo the wonder dog. Gumbo is our second Jack Russell Terrier, unfortunately Gumbo has every bad trait the breed is known for. Next up is Blitz the Seattle Seahawk mascot. We would have preferred the Saints mascot, but a Fleur de Lys is not much on conversation. Number three is Mini Objee, the mini-version of the USCG Academy bear mascot. For those of you who followed our 2004 trip, you know we traveled with the real Objee until he left us when we attended Dan’s 30 year reunion at USCGA. Lastly, Pardi Gras the Mardi Gras bear from New Orleans. Pardi Gras literally fell into our lives when someone threw him at us at Mardi Gras 2007. Keep an eye on our pictures in the BLOG because these rascally characters may show up time to time.

Upon arrival we had lunch, and because of the portions, dinner at the Sirloin Cafe. As the name implies all the food groups are covered - beef, beef and more beef. Corrie had the basic burger which equalled three big macs. Dan had the hot sirloin steak sandwich expecting something with sliced steak, but got two tiny pieces of white bread smothered by world's biggest chicken fried steak. In the early evening when it had cooled from high 90s to low 90s, we went to Anson to walk around, entire town is two square blocks centered on courthouse (at least we won't have to drive around it tomorrow). Almost entire town is empty buildings. Another small American town done in by movement to the big cities; mega-stores; and interstate system. On way out of town found shaved ice stand where they knew how to stuff them just like in Louisiana. Tomorrow we shoot for 300 miles on the road and crossing Oklahoma and Kansas to Nebraska!

US 83 Trivia Questions – 1) What town claims to be the center of Texas (think Adam and Eve)? 2) There is statue of Chas Noyes and his horse in town square of Ballinger, Texas; what does statue commemorate? 3) What is the school mascot of schools in Winters, TX (town name is big hint)? 4) In what sport has Abilene had three national champions in last seven years, last being 2005 (think double dutch)? 5) Who is the town of Anson named after (think last President of the Republic)?