The middle segment of our sojourn is the dustiest of the bunch. We will end up in Las Vegas, but will take an indirect route to get there, partly to visit Jett’s nephew in Austin and partly because we will need a few days to become residents of Texas. Jett and I are still talking about changing residency, but it makes sense to do so and Texas is a good option as it has low taxes.
The segment will cover 2,275 miles and 23 nights. We will be patrolling the Mexican border in West Texas, so maybe we can get deputized and collect the bounty on a few illegals to pay for the gas.
Segment 3 - 23 Nights and 2,275 Miles
The starting point, of course, is Branson, MO, where we will, I hope, have spent a wonderful week with the nation’s idle retired. The finish line is in Las Vegas, NV, where we will probably lose our shirts. We will make the following stops along the way:
B – 2 nights in Fairfield Bay, AR. We have no particular need to go to Fairfield Bay, but this allows us to add Arkansas to our list of states that we have visited. My rule is that we can count a state as “visited” only if we actually spend at least one night there; drive-thrus do not count. Besides, it looks like a lovely town and is very close to Heber Springs, home of the Workamper News. Maybe we will drop in and say Hi.
C – 2 nights in Texarkana, TX. Texarkana is one of those towns that seemed exotic to me when I was a boy in Wisconsin. This is my chance to find out if it is exotic in any way (which I doubt).
D – 3 nights in Livingston, TX, home of the Escapees RV Club. We are not yet members, but will be by the time we arrive. This is our chance to become residents of Texas. If we need to stay longer than 3 days we will squeeze time out of the remaining stops in this segment or perhaps cut a few days out of Branson. There is an assisted living facility here, adjacent to the RV park, for former full-timers. I think we would like to take a peek at this unique facility.
E – 2 nights near San Antonio, TX. We want to see the Alamo, of course, but will also drive up to Austin while we are here to take a peek at that city (which comes highly recommended) and to have dinner at the restaurant that is run by Jett’s nephew.
F – 2 nights in Del Rio, TX. The only reason to stay 2 nights here is to adhere to my policy of always taking at least one day of rest between driving segments. The idea is to take regular breaks to avoid travel fatigue. But what will we do for two days in Del Rio? I may have to take up whittlin’ or shooting lizards.
G – 2 nights in Alpine, TX. More whittlin’. Lizards beware.
H – 2 nights in La Cruces, NM. Ah… finally! A place I actually want to see. I expect to like La Cruces. It is high desert and from what I can see from photos of the place is pretty scenic. It is also home to the White Sands Missile Range, which doesn’t mean there is much to see, but it is another exotic place from my childhood. Maybe they will have a funky museum with fragments of exploded missiles.
I – 2 nights in Tuscon, AZ. Speaking of my childhood, this is where a few people from Wisconsin went 40 years ago when they had problems with allergies and pollen. So they immediately planted trees and flowers and jacked up the pollen counts. But I am still curious to look around. And, no, I will not make a pilgrimage to the spot where Gaby Giffords was shot.
J – 3 nights in Sedona, AZ. Sedona has a reputation for beauty and art. It is also relatively close to the Grand Canyon, which neither of us has ever seen and is definitely high on our bucket lists. One of the days here will be spent at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I don’t know if we will drive or take a guided tour; the decision will probably depend on how sore my butt is after almost 4,000 miles of travel. But we will NOT be riding mules to the bottom. Too much downside risk. Literally.
We finish with 3 nights in Las Vegas. We love Las Vegas, but I have allocated just 3 nights there, partly because we will be pressed for time to get to Tillamook for Thanksgiving and partly because every day in Las Vegas will another day to blow our budget. I wish we could stay longer because I think we will be a little road-weary by the time we get there. This segment has a lot of miles and, being mostly in Texas, a lot of nothing to see as we drive.
If all goes according to plan (yeah, right), we will end this segment on November 12, 2012, when we will be leaving Las Vegas (that would be a good name for a movie) and pointing the rig north to Tillamook.