I was hoping to get through all five trip segments before I had to go back and start revising. But Jett took a look at my Segment 3 (yes, she is actually reading the blog now!) and declared that it Just Wouldn’t Do. Specifically, it didn’t allocate enough time to visit with her nephew’s family in Austin. And after fiddling a bit and thinking about how to get across Texas, I came up with a very different plan.
This revision actually affects Segment 2 as well. Because we need to spend more time in Texas and didn’t have time to give in later segments, I had to reduce our stay in Branson from 7 days to 4. As we have never been there and don’t know how much we will enjoy it, chopping 3 days was not painful. That leaves Segment 2 with the same distance traveled (1,182 miles) but reduces the number of nights from 19 to 16. We leave Branson on October 15 and leave Las Vegas on November 11.
Segment 3 (Revised) - 26 Nights and 2,266 Miles
Segment 3 still starts in Branson and still ends in Las Vegas, but it now includes 26 nights and covers 2,266 miles. The stops along the way:
B – Hot Springs, AR (220 miles, 2 nights). I decided that Hot Springs would be more interesting than Fairfield Bay / Heber Springs. We will travel very close to those towns and if we decide to drop in on Workamper News we can still do so. But Hot Springs is another of those cities with childhood memories. My parents did not travel much, but in their small pile of postcards and memorabilia from places they visited were some items from Hot Springs. It looked like it was a fun place in the 1940’s and is probably still a fun place to spend a couple of nights. I think Jett will enjoy a spa break.
C – Bossier City, LA (186 miles, 2 nights). By trading in Texarkana in favor of Bossier City we get to add another state to our list of states we visit on this trip, plus we get to stay at a casino where Jett can hone her blackjack skills in preparation for Las Vegas.
D – Livingston, TX (174 miles, 4 nights). I added a day to our visit to the Escapees home base. Jett and I have been talking about Texas residency and this is where we can make it happen. I think we should be able to get it all done in 4 days.
E – Austin, TX (221 miles, 3 nights). The original plan was to stay in San Antonio and make that 90-mile drive up to Austin one night to visit. That is the part that Just Wouldn’t Do, so I added a 3 night stay in Austin itself. I have heard some very nice things about Austin and am glad that I will get an opportunity to see it for myself.
F – Boerne, TX (92 miles, 2 nights). We will still see San Antonio and the Alamo, but I have cut the stay to 2 nights, meaning that we get one full day in the city. Boerne is west of San Antonio so we will have to drive over 30 miles to sightsee, but it gives us a jump when we head west.
G – Ft. Stockton, TX (270 miles, 2 nights). I traded in the Mexico-skimming southern route that I had originally planned in favor of a more direct route. We also get to stay in Ft. Stockton instead of Del Rio and Alpine. I can’t say that it is a place that I always wanted to see, but it has to be better than Alpine. I probably won’t have to shoot any lizards from boredom.
H – La Cruces, NM (289 miles, 2 nights). From this point onward the original Segment 3 plan is intact. We will be celebrating Halloween here. Is there Trick-or-Treating in an RV park?
I – Tucson, NM (270 miles, 2 nights).
J – Sedona, NM (238 miles, 3 nights).
We end with 4 nights in Las Vegas instead of the additional 3. I figured that with the addition of the casino tune-up stop in Louisiana, Jett will be ready to win enough at blackjack to fund the extra night.
So that is the final (until it changes) Segment 3. It gets us across the dusty plains of Texas and ready to head north to Tillamook.