Last month, Helen and I were asked to give a presentation to her civic club (Civitan) about the RV lifestyle. We were delighted to do it because accepting the invitation helped me accomplish two tasks. I needed to sort through the thousands of pictures we took on RV trips—a job I had put off for too long. Moreover, I was forced to learn PowerPoint, which I had somehow avoided all these years.
I was up and running on PowerPoint rather quickly. I can’t say I’ve mastered it, but I’m familiar with enough of the process to crank out a short presentation. Sorting through the pictures took much longer, but the exercise was fun because of the memories that came flooding back.
The image below was a selfie taken in the Cruise America motorhome we rented for a trip across the country to meet up with our son and his family. Helen and I were somewhere in Texas when I took this. What strikes me about the picture is the look of freedom and pure joy on my face at the prospect of a new adventure, learning something entirely new for us, and the promise of continuing this lifestyle journey well into the future. Six years later, the journey continues, and we’re rollin’ on one now with only two issues so far. Our icemaker quit producing ice, and the microwave oven died—more on these later.
Montgomery, Alabama
We began our current trip earlier this month. Whenever we travel west from Knoxville at this time of the year, we usually travel south initially to avoid inclement weather. The first stop is always at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, usually for one night. The happy camper is the guy waving to the camera.
Gulfport, Mississippi
After a good night’s sleep, we left for Shields RV Park on the Navy Base in Gulfport, MS, the next day. We hoped for good weather, but rain moved in the next day, and we moved into the Gulfport Casino that night for a few hours. We drove to our next stop in Iowa, Louisiana, three days later.
Iowa, Louisiana
We chose this stop because it was within our preferred driving distance of fewer than five hours. Blue Heron RV Park was a delightful surprise. When I made the reservation, I had concerns about the RV Park because I knew nothing about the town. Nevertheless, the reviews were good, and few options were available in the area. Blue Heron was even better than the reviews. Lake Charles, Louisiana, is ten miles away. Helen and I stretched our legs in a lovely park along the lake. The weather improved enough for us to enjoy the day.
San Antonio, Texas
We have learned that the campground on Joint Base San Antonio is an excellent place to spend two nights because there are large pull-thru campsites, spotless showers, and a superb commissary for us to re-stock our pantry. We didn’t venture out much there because we used this time to do deep cleaning inside our fifth wheel. Next stop—one night in Fort Stockton, Texas.
Fort Stockton, Texas
Windy conditions prevailed on our drive along I-10. The strong winds significantly reduced our gas mileage to a level we’ve never experienced. The picture below exemplifies what we faced on this leg of the trip. The campground’s name is Hilltop RV Park, and, indeed, the wind always blows harder at the top of the flagpole. I’m also sharing the intriguing statues across I-10 from the campground.
Las Cruces, New Mexico
On last year’s trip across the country, we stayed at the KOA in Las Cruces, New Mexico, both going out and again on the return home. This campground offers an amiable, helpful staff, coffee, and Honey Buns for breakfast. What’s not to like about that? Our site is on a bluff overlooking the valley below. The nighttime view is the lights of downtown Las Cruces. Recently, I purchased a used Canon DSLR camera for a song, and I was itching to try it out on the lights. Readers can see that I have room for improvement.
Tuscon, Arizona
Helen and I were eager to reach Tucson, AZ, and Voyager RV Resort. The campground is a plush RV resort filled with snowbirds from all points north. Our plans included exploring the desert with our friend Pete who took us on an unforgettable outing during our first visit to Tucson. Unfortunately, Pete was under the weather, and we had to cancel our day trip. Helen played pickleball instead. She walked onto one of the many pickleball courts and joined the many people waiting for a turn on the court. She played two games and enjoyed herself immensely.
While Helen played, I replaced our microwave oven, which died somewhere in Texas. We found a new one at Lowe’s in Tucson. It went in without difficulty, but, given a choice, I probably preferred to spend time in the hot tub. I estimate I installed nearly one hundred built-in microwave ovens while building houses.
El Centro, California
Our last stop before reaching San Diego was the Naval Air Field in El Centro, California—the winter home of the Blue Angels. We only spent one night there, but I always look forward to stopping in El Centro because the millions of acres devoted to agriculture at the lower end of the Imperial Valley are fascinating. I’m convinced that everything in a capsule of Balance of Nature came from a field around El Centro.
We’re two weeks into this adventure, and San Diego is next…I hope you’ll join us there. Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to subscribe to follow the next stops on this winter’s journey. We’re Easin’ Along.
I love reading this. It’s a wonderful thing that y’all are doing this. Enjoy every minute. (Looks like you are)
Good morning, Ann,
Although we’re not spending enough time in these cities along the way to get to know them, the time we do have is always fun and interesting. I hope you’ll stay with us–love having you along. Joe
Thanks for all the newsy posts about places I’ve never seen! I have always enjoyed seeing other people’s travel photos and hearing about their experiences, and your are a real treat.
Continue to enjoy the journeys!
Hi, Carolyn,
I’ve never seen or heard of some of them either, but they are fun to explore. Thanks for the nice comments. Hug the girls for us, and please stay in touch. Joe and Helen.
Hi Joe, I had to laugh at two of your stops – Gulf Port and Lake Charles (both Casino towns). You didn’t mention entertainment, so I assume either you didn’t go, or well, the other thing… -$$
Glad you made it to your destination without serious incident – other than a dead microwave. Helen was smart to leave you to it while she played Pickleball.
Night photos are tricky. If you figure it out, let me know how you did it. Thanks for the catch-up. Looking forward to more about San Diego.
Hi, Suzanne,
I plan to practice my night shots here in San Diego and hope for better results. Stay tuned. Yes, there are casinos in Gulfport and Lake Charles, and we ventured into both. Helen LOVES casinos and can sit in front of a penny slot for hours. I suppose she is practicing for our three days in Vegas next month. I’d rather see Adele, but that’s a tough ticket. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week. Joe
Always enjoy reading your trip “recaps”, Joe…… Did I mention before that I LOVE the Southwest?…Probably a few times, huh?
I know it’s a bit hard to believe, but Ft. Stockton and all of that Southwestern High Desert is so beautiful to me! And NM, is truly the Land of Enchantment, just like they say it is! OK, I’m not telling you anything you haven’t seen for yourself (except maybe the beauty of Ft. Stockton😂).
Be safe on that road out there… I’m really glad to know Helen is enjoying pickleball!
Guy
Hey!
To me, the high desert and the area around Ft. Stockton are interesting places and pretty in some ways, but I would miss the green of our Tennessee hills. I love southern Utah and the area around Moab a lot. Helen plays pickleball every chance and misses her regular group at home. Hopefully, they’ll save her place until April.
Thanks for checking in. Wish Mary a happy birthday for us. Hope you’re doing well. Joe
I’m impressed that you’re already in California! In our many cross-country journeys between southern Oregon and north Florida, our journeys took us longer and longer until it took us three months to travel one way. But obviously, that isn’t going to work for us now that we’re no longer full timing. So I’m inspired by your pace!
It’s so great that you got your photos organized for a presentation on RV travel. Your comment about renting a motorhome has me thinking about the possibility of renting an RV for a future cross-country journey. I’m fretting about what our new Subaru can tow. Giving up our truck and trailer is SUCH a big learning curve. I don’t recommend it, haha.
Laurel,
We rented a motorhome from Cruise America on a “Relocation Special.” We took a brand-new motorhome from Chicago to Los Angeles and dropped it off at a dealer. The rate was $19/day, no mileage charge, and Cruise America gave us $250 for gas. We flew home on airline points. We had to deliver it in three weeks, which is quick, but still a nice adventure. I want to do it again. I wanted to reach San Diego quickly on this trip to get in warm weather…boy, was I wrong about that. Always great to hear from you! Joe
I love vicariously following along on your adventures, Joe and Helen.
Enjoy San Diego and Las Vegas. Please continue to keep us posted.
Hi, Donna!
Great to have you along. We moved quickly on this leg of the trip to get to some warm weather in San Diego. I think we beat it there…it’s cold and wet, but still beautiful. Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful week! Joe
The stops look really great. i’m impresssed with the military ones, I thought they would just be places to park. I noted Tucson as we hope to do a sweep in the southwest next year. We both went to college at Uof A , so old stomping grounds. Any other Rv parks in Tucson that you recommend.
When we stay in Tahoe there’s all the casinos in South lake. Funny, I’ve never gambled or been inside one:)
Christina,
Military campgrounds are awesome! They are very reasonably priced, clean, and secure. It is a great benefit for our military families and retirees. Voyager RV resort is the only place we have camped in Tucson (three times). If you plan to travel during the winter months, be sure to book way ahead of time. Tucson is a tough ticket in the winter. We camped in Tahoe two years ago. I loved the area, but the casino was not kind to us. So glad you stopped by! Joe
Oh I didn’t realize El Centro was home to the Blue Angels, Joe. You seem to have had a great trip on the road so far. Winds on I-10 can be scary even without an RV in tow. When we first pulled our 27-ft Jayco trailer to San Diego from Sacramento we drove up through Tehachapi from Hwy 99. The fuel gauge read 20 miles to empty (nerve-wracking) and we were within 10 miles of the next gas. Suddenly we were behind semis and the wind was full on. Hard to get even lousy gas mileage going uphill in wind behind semis. We barely made it to the first gas station. Glad you fixed your microwave–I don’t know how I could survive without one 🙂
Terri,
I know what you mean about nerve-wracking. Going into the wind took our gas mileage down to 6 mpg, and we came close to hitting the bottom of the tank. Thankfully, Flying J popped up on the horizon, and we drifted in on fumes. Losing our microwave was an inconvenience but allowed us to upgrade. The microwave that came with our fifth wheel had a lot of fancy features but was low on power. We love the new one. Great to hear from you…please stay in touch and warm up there. Joe
Hello Joe & Helen,
Enjoy keeping up with your Easin’ Along ~ travels & photos. Enjoy your trip out west friends. We are in our class A in Yuma, AZ, now- Jan-Feb-Mar, 3rd yr staying here as my younger daughter, Breanna & fam. Live in Yuma. Her hubby is a Marine Lawyer here. We have stayed at Hilltop rv park in Stockton & Voyager in Tucson. All my best to Helen & you! Blessings & safe travels. Terri Leland
Hi, Terri,
Thanks so much for checking in! We have passed through Yuma but never camped there. Arizona is a very popular place in the winter, but when the temps start hitting 80 degrees, the place begins to clear out quickly. We enjoy Voyager in Tucson. I prefer the campground on Davis-Monthan AFB, but there in never an opening when we travel. Stay safe out there, and please come back! Joe
Joe, I would have loved to be in the audience for your presentation – what a wonderful opportunity for you! Alan has a strong dislike for headwinds. But, as long as you’re still in miles per gallon (as opposed to gallons per mile) and moving forward, it’s all good. By the way, if the microwave in our trailer ever dies, I know who I’m calling. Have fun, kids!!!
Good morning, Mary,
Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, the presentation went well. The winds were terrible, but the gas prices out here are worse, so it was good to have a Flying J close before we ran out and had to stop in a “highway robbery” station. I do microwave installation on the cheap…ring me up if yours dies. Have a great week! Joe
New to your blog.
Lucky you !
Hi, there!
So glad you are with us, and I hope you’ll return. We’re blessed to have this opportunity and love sharing the journey with others. We love hearing from our readers, so please leave comments anytime. Joe