#43 - Coveys Great Adventure – March 2018 – New Mexico to Florida

March 2018 – New Mexico to Florida

There is a little-known condition called “hitch-itch” that hits full-timer RV’ers that have been sitting in one place too long. By the time the 1st of March rolled around we both had the bug, badly. Our mail finally arrived and we quickly packed up, said our goodbyes and headed East.

One of the folks staying at the Co-op recommended visiting Caballo Lake State Park near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. We really wanted to see someplace new, so we made a 150 mile detour to spend a few nights there. Lynn was right, Caballo Lake was worth it. The lake is a man-made reservoir in the desert. The desert landscape extends right to the shoreline and contrasts starkly with the blue water of the lake. The dogs certainly were excited about all the new smells.

Crossing Texas is a chore rather than a pleasure for us, especially the section of I10 through El Paso.  We’ve been through the city three times in four years and large sections of the freeway are always under construction. I’m sure there are parts of the city that are very nice, but none of them are visible from the freeway. It was a long day from Caballo Lake to our overnight stop at Camp Wally World (Walmart parking lot) in Fort Stockton, but we made good time droning along I10.

I think I’ve mentioned before that neither of us like traveling on most interstate highways if there is a reasonable alternative. About 45 miles beyond Ft. Stockton, US 190 continues roughly due  east when I10 dips southeast toward San Antonio. A little study on Google Maps revealed that it continued all the way through Livingston, Texas, then across Louisiana and Alabama avoiding I10 altogether. Plan!

The first section of US 190 to our next overnight stop in Lampasas, Texas, was a pleasure to drive. The road was smooth (with 120 psi in the coach tires, smooth roads are really welcome). The scenery was interesting and the towns were many miles apart, allowing us to maintain decent speeds. Unlike the interstate, traffic was virtually nonexistent. I timed one stretch where we didn’t see another vehicle in either direction for 11 minutes!

This section of central Texas is pretty sparsely populated. There are some ranches and a few farms, but most of it seems pretty deserted. There are places we passed through where folks must have to drive 100 miles round trip for bread or fuel, and maybe a couple of hundred miles each way to Walmart or a hardware store. Interestingly, we never lost cell service. The towers were very, very tall.

Lampasas turned out to be a pretty town set in rolling green hills about 50 miles north of Austin. Camp Wally World had plenty of space for us, in fact we were the only RV in the lot. Like many Walmarts, this one is nicely landscaped. The dogs appreciate the grass and the trees after being cooped up all day in the coach. No OTA TV, but AT&T delivered Gray’s Anatomy and Doc Martin on Netflix. Add wine and it’s a fitting end to a nice day.

We decided to stop for a few days and made a reservation at Rainbow’s End, the Escapees park in Livingston. This park is the Escapees club HQ and where our mail accumulates until we ask for it to be sent to us. We had Amazon packages waiting, so pushed a little to be sure to arrive before the post office closed for the weekend. Site 86 is a large pull-through with full hookups shaded by a big tree, so we were set up for the weekend shortly after we arrived.

There are three sections at this campground. Two years ago we stayed in the newer one that borders route 146, a busy road that generates a lot of noise. This trip we asked for a site in the old section near the pool and clubhouse. The sites are larger but a little more rustic. There is much less road noise in that section and the dog walking is better, so everyone was happier.

Livingston is a pleasant small town without a lot to distinguish it from hundreds of others. We shopped, did laundry, walked the dogs and generally relaxed for a couple of days. We discovered La Casita, a good family-run Mexican restaurant for dinner one night. Kayeanne was pretty happy with her margarita, and the food was very good. Sunday afternoon we drove around the whole perimeter of Lake Livingston, which was pretty interesting.

Louisiana was our next stop. On our last trip we spent several days exploring New Orleans and promised ourselves that we would see more of the state. Poking around on Google Maps one night I stumbled across Intracoastal Waterway Park. It isn’t a great RV park, but we could park right on the edge of the canal, facing the water. The view through the windshield was outstanding.

Tight quarters

An endless procession of tugs and barges passed day and night less than 50 yards from the front seat. I like all forms of commercial shipping, so I had a great time. On occasion there were five 700’ long tows in sight.

While staying there we visited Lake Charles, a significant petrochemical production and distribution center that is also a pretty charming small city. The downtown area was small but easily accessible and well worth visiting. We enjoyed a terrific Cajun-style lunch at the Pujo Street Cafe, and walked and drove around much of the city.

Baton Rouge was our next stop. We couldn’t find an RV park near the city that we wanted to stay in. Lakeside RV Park in Livingston, LA, about 20 miles east of the city proved to be a great find. Large spaces and wide roads surrounded a pretty pond stocked with fish. Geese, ducks and a couple of resident swans certainly got Lucy and Schroeder’s attention on every walk.

Frozen daiquiris spiked with Everclear ready at all times

A large Fudgsicle daiquiri to go, please

Customs and laws vary a lot as we travel, but we’ve never seen a drive-through bar. Crazy Dave’s is across the street from the RV park. Dave’s is a great place to have a drink and a snack, but it also has a drive-up bar window. Dave’s is well known locally for frozen daiquiris. They have 12 different flavors in machines that keep them blended and frozen, ready to go. They sell them in sizes from 12 ounces to a gallon (yes, really) to go. We discovered that Louisiana law says that the beverage is not “open” as long as the top is on the container and the straw is still in the paper sleeve! The daiquiris all contain Everclear, a 190 proof moonshine, just to be sure that no one complains about them being weak. We stopped at Dave’s every night. My favorite was Fudgsicle.

We enjoyed Baton Rouge. We walked around the downtown area, along the Mississippi River and toured the Old State Capital Building, which frankly told us more than we ever wanted to know about notorious governor Huey Long. Parrain’s Seafood Restaurant really lived up to its reviews; the shrimp Po-boy sandwich was outstanding.

Across the bay from the museum
a new Nay ship nears completion

Three years ago we passed straight through Mobile, Alabama, and promised ourselves a return visit. Shady Acres RV Park is the antithesis of Lakeside: it’s old, slightly seedy and close to downtown Mobile. And, yes, it is very shady.

We had fun in Mobile. The brand spanking new maritime museum was a little short on “museum” and a little too “interactive” for my taste, especially when several exhibits had software glitches. It did have a great view of the harbor, though. 

The locals claim, with good reason, that Mardi Gras originated in Mobile and they have the museum to prove it. The pictures don't show the scale of the outfits, or the detail and hand

work that went into them.

Downtown Mobile is small and easy to navigate; I think we saw most all of it a few times as we drove around. Lunch at The Spot of Tea was recommended by the lead docent at the museum and was great.

One day we took a ride south along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island, which really is the end of the road. There is a ferry to Port Morgan on the west side of the bay, but we passed on it this trip. Dauphin Island is a beach community that has few restaurants. We picked one without a line and should have known better: avoid Capt’n Snappers.

On the way back to Mobile we stopped at Bellingrath Gardens, a former family estate where development began about 90 years ago. It is now maintained by a trust. The extensive grounds reminded us of Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC. The sweeping views of the Fowl River must have been one of the main reasons the family chose the site.

Late one night before we left Benson, I was doing some route planning on Google and saw Sopchoppy, Florida. I decided that any place with a name like that merited a visit. The town park is along a river and has several RV sites, so we decided to visit. It turned out to be just fine. The sites were very narrow, but no one pulled in on our door side, giving us plenty of space. The sites along the river were nice, but too small for us. The price was certainly right, just $15 a night for full hookups. The only drawback was that one of the neighbors must have been raising dogs, because several barked all night.

Sopchoppy is on Florida’s “lost coast”, which stretches for a couple of hundred miles from Port St. Joe to Cedar Key. On our last trip we stayed right on the water in Carrabelle and really enjoyed the area, especially Apalachicola. We both looked forward to a return visit to that town. The baked oysters at Captain Jack’s were just as good as we remembered. I even enjoyed touring several of the shops as Kayeanne shopped. Be sure to stop at Millender and Sons Seafood in Carrabelle for delicious locally caught fish, shrimp and oysters. 

We are staying in a few places in Florida for a couple of weeks, then we start working our way north.

More soon,

Bob