Texas

I was 24 hours from home this morning. I drove over 600 miles today!! From Clayton, New Mexico to Lindale, Texas. The closer I got to Texas the cheaper the gas.

I slept in the parking lot at Loves in Clayton last night I slept at the parking lot and woke up to 50 degrees. I guess with the altitude driving and the cooler air lowered my tire pressure. The tire pressure dummy light was on. I learned something today about tires for the van. I started out at the regular air pump which cost $1, but it only goes up to 70 PSI. My rear tires need 80 pounds of pressure. I went in to inquire if the truckers have a separate air filling station. They do and it's free! There's a large pull down air compressor by the diesel pumps; it just doesn't tell you what the pressure is. The guy at the front desk had a digital air pressure gauge and he assisted me. My tires were about 10 pounds of pressure low each. I was really glad to learn this, and I'm adding the digital gauge to my shopping list.

I drove through the Ports to Plains Corridor. This is the highway that goes from Mexico at the port to Denver. The plains are at a relatively high altitude, yet flat, and the winds are strong and gusty blowing my vehicle around. A railroad track runs along side of the corridor.

Everyone knows Texas is huge. I drove through four major Texan cities today. It took about two hours to get through Fort Worth and Dallas. The traffic in Dallas was horrendous! And it's a weekend. The roads are going every which way, over and under, and Google Maps couldn't even keep up with where I was. "GPS signal lost", I heard about five times in the middle of Dallas. The routing was just as unclear and not keeping up in real time. The interstates are confusing. There's a I-35 South and an I-35 North and an I-35E South and an I-35E North and an I-30. It was stop and go traffic for miles. I wasn't the only person confused.

The TMJ has really flared today. I guess the stress of the last couple of days has taken its toll and Dallas didn't help. Driving posture is a factor as well. I warmed my rice sock for my neck and shoulders and placed an empty sunflower seed jar behind my back for pressure points. I stretched, and I danced to Justin Timberlake while driving through the plains. The rice sock helped immensely! Between the rice sock and Justin Timberlake My pain was forgotten... until Dallas.

Just east of Dallas on I-20, I stopped at Buc-ee's. Gas was $2.95 there. I went in and bought some water, Advil for my jaw and neck, and a chopped brisket sandwich. Buc-ee's is an experience, but beware it's a madhouse. If you can, go in the middle of the night. I was once there at 3 am and had the whole store to myself. Today, the Buc-ee's mascot in costume was taking pictures with children There were samples of Buc-ee's nuggets. Outside were palettes of deer cornnuts. I got out of there as fast as I could.

I drive another hour and a half to Lindale outside of Tyler and set up to sleep in the Walmart parking lot. I would have gotten a campsite tonight, but it was too late by the time I got out of Dallas. Everything was closed. My battery is close to dead once again. It is supposed to charge when I'm driving, but doesn't seem to be doing that. I'm hardly running anything at all, and if I do it is while the van engine is running. I expect the frig will go out during the night.Read more