In case you missed it in my last post, the Airstream’s refrigerator was diagnosed as inoperative by We Are Airstream in Arizona on Friday. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the part. On Friday night, we realized that our air conditioner was also out. Both products are made for Airstream by Dometic. They are supposed to be top of the line but, so far, we aren’t impressed. Without air conditioning, staying the night at a camp with nighttime temperatures well over 100 degrees wasn’t an option, so we hitched up the trailer and pointed the F250 toward Tucson. Ryan was asleep before we got out of White Tank Mountain Park. I stayed awake to keep Brad awake on the long drive from Phoenix to Houston.
Around 4:00 a.m., we were both getting pretty drowsy, so we pulled into a rest stop for a nap. An hour later, we were pulling back onto the road. We arrived in Tucson and pulled into the Starbucks parking lot just before 6:00 a.m., opening time. Brad fell asleep instantly.
After a brief break, we got our coffee and breakfast, then headed for Home Depot to get something to cool us down overnight. On the advice of the Home Depot expert, we purchased a swamp cooler that was advertised as a good fit for a RV.
Texas Rest Stops
We have been stopping at rest stops to change drivers, use the restrooms, and spend the night since Washington State. Texas has the best ones we have seen so far. They all have nice, clean bathrooms, and many have information centers with interesting information about the surrounding area. Nice picnic tables and play areas are also common. A few of these pictures are from rest stops between Houston and Dallas, but they do a nice job of illustrating what we saw.
We spent the night in the Iraan, Texas rest stop. We plugged in our generator and hooked up the swamp cooler. It was over 100 degrees, again, with humidity. The swamp cooler definitely did not work as advertised. However, it was better than nothing and we were exhausted.
Tumbleweeds and Truck Stops
Crossing the southern central United States from Phoenix to Houston by car reminds me of all of those John Wayne movies my Dad liked so much when I was young. The extends as far as the eye can see through barren lands covered with low shrubs and tumble weeds. The long stretches are broken up by truck stops and the small towns built to support them. We saw only a few RVs on this stretch of our trip but met several friendly long-haul truckers! As you get closer to Houston, the landscape becomes more lush, with trees creating a thick forest along the road. We arrived at the South Main RV Park at about 6:00, made a quick grocery run for ice and dinner, and set up the swamp cooler for a second night.
Up Next: Minute Maid Park and the Houston Astros
Tomorrow we’ll visit our fourth ballpark, Minute Maid Park in Houston. The Houston Astros are playing the Cleveland Guardians. We’re hoping for more home runs to support our Home Runs for Housing campaign!
