Wednesday, October 28, 2009

BOWIE TO BROWNFIELD TEXAS - HIGHWAY 380……..THE LONG QUIET ROAD WEST

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THE LONG TEXAS ROAD WEST

Our plans to sleep in this morning went about as well as we expected.  I was up at 4 a.m. & Kelly was up a half hour later.  Seems the more we age the less we sleep & quite possibly the less we sleep the more we age.  Yes, I have heard life referred to as a merry-go-round alright!!

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AFTERNOON PIT STOP NEAR CLAIREMONT, TEXAS

We puttered around on the computer catching up on blogs, emails, news, etc until well after sunrise.  Would have hung around longer but we had big winds coming in straight off the lake dropping the otherwise mild temps to unacceptable levels.  Decided to roll out, so at 8:35 we carefully eased out the bumpy water rutted laneway heading in the direction of the Park entrance. Came to a fork in the road where I of course took the wrong fork to the right & promptly drove us down a mud caked road to a dead end!!  When you are driving a 33 foot motorhome with a car in tow......there is no backing up.  Had to un-hook the car, turn it around & then wiggle the motorhome back & forth a couple times until we had both vehicles separately heading back out to the main road with Kelly in the lead looking for the way out of the park.  Good thing we hadn't decided to leave earlier in the darkness.  Hooked the car back onto the motorhome on the paved road near the lake & we were on our way once again. 

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SELMA PARK ON CARTER LAKE NEAR BOWIE, TEXAS

On the way to Jacksboro I saw a road sign that said, 'Bugscuffle' which put both Kelly & I on high alert in case we came upon a couple of bugs scuffling on the road or something.  Or what if there was a large gangland bug scuffle going on just around the next bend in the road.  Never did see anything but thought it was a strange kinda highway sign anyway.

DSC_3833 Our trek westward went well under sunny skies & it's probably the 3rd or 4th time we've used this quiet 380 route.  Very little traffic & many times there are no vehicles visible for as far as the eye can see either ahead of us or behind, & there are stretches where the road is visible for miles in either direction.  Trees are gradually vanishing & giving way to the long stretches of the vast plains.  Many cotton fields west of Post, Texas.  There also begins a gradual ascent here as well so of course we picked up a full load of fuel in Post & then proceeded to drag all that extra weight up the long ascent to Brownfield Texas some 54 miles away.

IMG_0969 Before reaching Brownfield we stopped in a little town called Tahoka where Kelly slipped into a grocery store for some bananas & milk.  While waiting in the parking lot I was thinking what a nice name this town head.  I was reminded of the 'Bugscuffle highway sign I saw this morning.  Figured if the townsfolk of Tahoka ever got to-gether with the folks in the Bugscuffle area & had themselves knock em down & drag em out Saturday night barn dance, maybe by the end of the night they would come up with a new kind of dance called...........'The Tahoka Bugscuffle.'

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COTTON FIELDS WEST OF POST, TEXAS

Now, about the word, Mossmagator' I sometimes use in my blogs.  JERRY asked me about that this morning in an email.  I first came across the word in the late 70's.  A friend & work place supervisor used it one day when describing something he couldn't remember.  Heard him use it a few more times in different ways & terms.  Mossmagator can be used in many venues...... could be a Mossmagator hub cab, or, can you hand me that Mossmagator of a wrench over there.  Oh, what a Mossmagator he is, had a piece of apple pie with some of that great Mossmagator sauce on it, & when eating one of Jerry's peanut butter & onion sandwiches you might just come down with a Mossmagator of a stomach ache!!  Anyone can use the word Mossmagator by following these simple rules.  You must repeat the word 'Mossmagator' 3 times in rapid succession & then turn around twice in the opposite direction.  If you do that, the word is yours to use forever.................. But, on a more serious note......the fellow I got that word from is right now at this moment in critical condition in a Jacksonville, Florida hospital after suffering serious injuries in a fall from a roof.  And, he is the very same Richard who I mentioned in my October 19th blog.  And as soon as he regains consciousness I'll bet he's going to say, "wow, that was one Mossmagator of a fall I had!!  Keep him in your special thoughts.

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I THINK WE’RE GETTIN CLOSER TO THE MEXICAN BORDER

It's a cloudy Wednesday night with rain sprinkles & we are in Brownfield Texas.  We do not have good Verizon air card coverage here so I don't know if this blog will upload or not.  Haven’t been able to read any blogs, check hotmail, or leave comments anywhere.  May have to wait until we reach another area before we get caught up with everybody again.  Maybe Thursday sometime. 

We are in the Brownfield’s RV Park which has electricity, water, & a dump station, plus.......it's all free.  We stayed here last year on our journey west as well.  Lots of nice walking areas & the best part for us to-night is the pleasant fact that we are the only one's in the whole park.  Do  you suppose word got out again about the Bayfield Bunch's traveling animal circus being in the area.

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COLEMAN RV PARK IN BROWNFIELD, TEXAS

Try as I might I could not get our hydraulic leveling jacks to work.  Haven't used them since last March but I'm sure I've remembered the procedure.  Tried with the engine on & off, made sure I had the emergency brake on, & tried with the slides both in & out.  Checked the glass type fuse & the filament inside looked fine.  Made sure I had the 'On' switch to on.  Nothing!!  No power going to the control box so to-night we sleep on a slant.  I absolutely hate mechanical things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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WE ARE THE ONLY ONE’S IN THE WHOLE PARK:))))

To-morrow we head west into New Mexico & my eyes will be straining to catch the first glimpse of the magical mountains looming out of the distant hazy horizon.  I am sooooo looking forward to seeing the mountains again.  The southwest has become our second home & we're looking forward to getting there very shortly:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal?  His goal.......transcend dental medication.

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

7 comments:

  1. I love your willingness to poke fun at yourself (wrong way, leveling jacks). It is what makes your blog so wonderful and have that special human element that attracts readers. Good job! Can't wait for the next installment.

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  2. The jacks don't work? Then you won't be able to claim truthfulness by saying "On the level..." Those Mossmagator hydraulics are probably dried out from disuse! You may have to call some Mossmagator service tech to get 'em fixed!

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  3. Sorry we did not get to meet up this trip...maybe when we get more flexible we can head you off at he pass when you breeze through here. Stay safe my cyber friends enjoy those mountains.

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  4. I was happy to read that you are leaving the park at a reasonable hour in the morning instead of so early - like the middle of the night! New Mexico, wow, that sure sounds nice to me!

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  5. 'The Tahoka Bugscuffle' how funny is that??? You should send that idea to both town's Chamber of Commerce or Community Centers... and see if it's a new reason to hold some big festival! They might invite you back as an Honorary Founder of the Tahoka Bugscuffle Festival!!!!!!

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  6. 'The Tahoka Bugscuffle' how funny is that??? You should send that idea to both town's Chamber of Commerce or Community Centers... and see if it's a new reason to hold some big festival! They might invite you back as an Honorary Founder of the Tahoka Bugscuffle Festival!!!!!!

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  7. Al..You said you don't like mechanical things...Check the OIL in your rig! You must have had the pedal to the metal to already be at the New Mexico border...Took us 2 months to get to TX from up there! BoB Looking forward seeing the first pics of the mountains.

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