Florida Panhandle to Arizona

National Cemetery at Fort Sam Houston - San Antonio, TX

On March 7^th, 2012 we set our wheels in motion to the West.  We traveled through the remainder of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.   It was a full day of travel across I-10.  We spent the evening at Land-O-Pines RV Park on Million Dollar Road in Covington, Louisana.  The park had water slides, and a pool that would open later in the year.  We saw a lot of potential for growth.  The sites were level, gravel lots in a wooded setting.  There were a few trailers, older RV’s and some cabins available to rent…the cabins looked like a shed with nice paint and several windows along with a nice porch.  The other half of the RV park was where the “long-term” RVer’s lived.  Oh boy, what a site…we saw room additions to the RVs, a variety of shelter/coverings.  It was a despicable site to say the very least. 

San Fernando Cathedral - The nations oldest cathedral

Leaving Covington we discovered we needed to make a rather large detour off I-10…like about 40 miles.  Well at least we were able to get off the freeway before we were caught in the big tailback.  We later learned that a couple of Semi’s had some sort of accident that required a “clean-up.”  I am very glad we were able to keep our wheels turning rather than sitting still for hours on end on the freeway.  Our next overnight stay was a Turtle Bayou RV Park in Wallisville, TX.  Oh my, can we pick them or what!  It was another park with mostly long-termers parked in the spaces.  This park happens to be for sale if anyone is looking for a business opportunity.

Memorial monument outside the walls of the Alamo

Davey Crockett, Jim Bowie and others from the Alamo

Next we travel to San Antonio, TX and park at the Family Campground at Fort Sam Houston.  The roads to the base all seemed to be under construction – a bit of a pain especially when we are driving in the rain.  On the way to the RV Park we passed Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery – very impressive.    The Park itself is very beautiful with plenty of green grass or should I say clover since there is more clover than grass.  The RV sites were more than ample with concrete pads and patio area.  All the sites were pull through.  The dog run was about 20X140.  Our kids enjoyed there outdoor time after having been on the road for three days.  Saturday we headed out to hopefully do some site seeing, but wait…is that lightening?  And the rains came down all day and into the night.  We did get a chance to drive around Lackland Air Force Base…”The gateway to the Air Force.”  Yep, that is were we attended Basic  Military Training…the dorms still look the same on the outside!  We checked out the Exchange and watched as the newly graduated recruits and their family members enjoyed some time together.  Sunday was bright and sunny so we managed a day in town…parking was a nightmare.   We went through the Alamo mission and then down to the riverwalk and the town center.  What a lovely day.  The historical sites are plentiful.

Next stop is Fort Stockton, TX for over night at Hill Top RV Park.  We enjoyed our overnight stay in this very nice RV Park that is still in the growing stages.   The facilities were very well kept and the park had a small off lease area for the four -legged travelers.  By now our white car is brown and the coach is beyond recognizable.    Maybe we can rinse the dust off at the next stop! 

Tie a yellow 'round the old oak tree - this one is a Live Oak

WRONG!  Not allowed to wash vehicles…water shortage.    We stayed at the Family Campground at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX.  This campground is also very nice, well laid out and kept very clean.  No dog run – bummer.  We unhooked the brown Honda and went in search of a car wash.  Eventually we found a self-service car wash in a questionable neighborhood.  Bill had the honors of turning down help while I stayed inside the car.  So, now we have an almost white car again.    Seriously, we really need to get some good soap and lots of elbow grease to get things presentable.  Maybe we can round up some cheap labor once we get to Yuma.

Interesting scenery out in the desert

Tombstone, AZ

For tonight and tomorrow night (March 14 & 15, 2012) we are staying about 20 West of Tombstone - .at Quail Ridge Resort II in Huachuca City, AZ.  Tomorrow we will visit Tombstone and possibly a couple other sites in the area. Then we head out to Tucson for a couple of days and then to Yuma to visit with my Brother Dennis and his wife Tina for a couple of weeks.

Nice holster...I meant Harley

As with all well laid plans and good intentions...our plan for today (15 March 2012) we had a slight detour and a set back.  The detour occurred on HWY 90 enroute to Fort Huachuca and all traffic was re-routed through the Army Post due to a fatal accident earlier in the morning.  We stopped on Post (because we can) and looked

over their Family Campground for future travels, then stopped at the Exchange for our latte's.  OK, coffee in hand, we head off for Tombstone...oops, where is my purse?  We were almost to Tombstone when I remembered not having my purse.  Well, it was back to the Exchange with high hopes the gate guards would let me through the gate with absolutely no ID.  God was watching over us, I was allowed to continue on in the car and my purse was hanging off the back of a chair in the food court.  GI's are honorable...I was lucky this time.  Senior moments got the best of me before I had an opportunity to drink that latte.

Our photo album is available  using the following link: San Antonio to Arizona

On a side note…we are members of Resort Parks International (RPI) and are able to book an overnight stay at a member park for $10.00 per night.  Other affiliate parks give us a 50% discount.  So far, we have discovered that for the most part the parks are few and and far between often not available on this journey.  The half dozen or so parks we have stayed in were anything but a “Resort.”  I like the discount, but the parks leave a lot to be desired.  Kind of like a box of chocolates - you never know what you are going to get.