Winter Trek - Part I, 2500 miles

2550 miles to escape the cold

We had been lingering in the midwest. It is always difficult to say goodbye to family, friends and acquaintances. Departing also means acknowledging the end of summer and the impending arrival of winter. But then a nasty, early winter storm appeared in the weather forecast and it was time to move on.

We assessed the weather patterns and I chose to travel a greater distance to avoid ice, sleet, and snow. So we packed and travelled a more southerly route. This included segments we had never taken before and it opened up some new possibilities. So we did our trip research and made overnight reservations about every 500 miles.

We both like to do some exploring,  but freezing weather was predicted along much of our trek. So we opted to dispense with most of the sight seeing this time.

There are always surprises
We drove to I-65 and headed south. We didn't change our direction until we reached the Gulf of Mexico.

At Biloxi, MS we stopped at the Gulf Shores RV Resort. We arrived just before sunset on November 11, took a short walk on the beach and headed to dinner.

Sunset November 11

The resort is adjacent to a Waffle House and that was a call for Pecan Waffles. Resort stayers get a discount which was a welcome benefit. We split a waffle which was delicious.




The weather front caught up to us overnight, so there was some rain, but mild temperatures, thanks to the Gulf waters. We took another stroll along the beach before departing the next morning.

Biloxi Beach - very quiet morning

Ready to depart Biloxi

About two hours later we were crossing the Mississippi River

Baton Rouge, LA - Mississippi River

Lots of oil refining, chemicals and storage

It wasn't long and we were in Texas:

Our first night in Texas was at a private, family run campground we've spent time at previously.  We had a reservation and checked in. We were advised to disconnect our fresh water hose before retiring because there was a freeze warning. All well and good, we have experienced this many times. Then I asked "What about the bathrooms?" I was advised that all water in the campground would be turned off and the bath rooms locked as of 8:00 pm. 

Well, that was a new experience!  I've never been in a campground under a freeze warning where all of the fresh water services were shut down because of a freeze warning.

We have added this to the list of questions to ask when making reservations.

We dined at the Mexican restaurant across the street and had an excellent meal. LOL!

At Lucy Tequilas - "the Jared"

The night was uneventful and the low temperature was 33F. LOL!

Continuing on, we trekked to our next stop.

We spent a night at a KOA in Van Horn, TX. We've been at that campground before. Near freezing weather was predicted, so we put Reflectix in the windows. Our feathered neighbor didn't seem happy with the prediction. Freezing weather in this part of Texas is unusual in early November.

After a restful sleep, we got up early and prepared to continue.

Van Horn Texas at Dawn

The next morning we entered New Mexico.

Shortly thereafter we were on the downhill run and at a rest stop in Arizona.

This trek was different. We usually like to take our time and smell the roses. This trek we decided we wanted to avoid nasty weather and really cold. So we chose a route that accomplished that.

We made a few notes and hope to visit Biloxi again, in nice weather.

Our major goal was accomplished and we have arrived in our winter lily pad.



Original material:  https://roadtrek210.blogspot.com/