Six days on the road…….

 its a long way from Tucson to Paducah!!!

Day 1

Leaving Catalina State Park, we started the long, boring  drive home, once again, on I-10.

At the end of the day, along with 7 other rigs, we spent Saturday night at a Harvest Hosts winery near Las Cruces, New Mexico. 

With ample parking, decent wine, friendly staff and a fun atmosphere with live music, we highly recommend a stay at Rio Grande Winery near Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The main reason we search out Harvest Hosts stays is the opportunity to meet fellow travelers. Joining us in the tasting room at Rio Grande Winery were a couple of truly adventurous travelers. We are not talking U.S. travel, but many out of the country experiences, like South America, Iceland, Antarctica . See for yourself on their travel blog at Marnie and Steve Travel Blog. (Kind of reminded us of our hometown friend, Nancy.) Living in Prescott, AZ, Marnie and Steve spend about 10 months of the year traveling. 

Day 2 was pretty much uneventful which isn’t always a bad thing when traveling. Taking I-25 from Las Cruces to Albuquerque, we picked up I-40. Y’all, there is a whole lot of empty space in our country!!!

At the Walmart in Edgewood, NM, we gathered a few supplies, watched our home church sermon (delayed), and settled in for the night. Around midnight the driver of an an 18-wheeler decided, with an almost empty parking lot, the best place to park was next to us. After about 30 minutes all was quiet again and we returned to sleep.  When we woke on Monday morning the temperature was 28 degrees. We were grateful there was no disconnecting or hooking up to be done!

Day 3 started back on I-40 which took us across the state line, through the wind farms in the Texas panhandle, and back into the Central Time Zone. We happened upon the iconic Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo.

Our Harvest Host for the night was just south of Amarillo in Canyon, Texas. Bar Z Winery is closed on Mondays but graciously
opened their parking lot and tasting room for Harvest Hosts members. 

For a short while we literally had the tasting room to ourselves but were delighted when three couples (also Harvest Hosts members) from Upstate New York joined us. Soon two more couples from Minnesota appeared and we had a Harvest Hosts Party.

We were having a great time getting acquainted, sharing travel stories and tips as we sipped some very good wine when the tasting room host said she had to close the tasting room. It was too windy to sit on the lovely patio so we  strategically positioned our RVs to block the wind while we continued the party outside.

While Bar Z wines are a bit pricy, we think they rival those we have found in California. As we sit on our porch at home sipping the Tempranillo and Sangiovese that came home with us, we will remember another wonderful  Harvest Hosts experience.

Day 4 greeted us with sunshine and 28 degree temperature. (Whose idea was it to take the northern route home!?) The long drive on I-40 took us through more of the Texas Panhandle wind farms, into Oklahoma. We found our Harvest Host, Anthem Brewery in Oklahoma City. 

After sampling some nice stouts, we settled in for a quiet evening.

Day 5, waking to 36 degrees and sunny was a bit better but still chilly. I-40 was, well is just I-40, lots of trucks but nothing else. As we traveled east we noticed more green. Red buds were in bloom as well as a few Dogwoods. Maybe, just maybe, spring will greet us when we get home. Our stop for the night was Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas. Finally we could sip wine while sitting outside.

It truly is a small, quiet, lovely state park. 

Day 6 brought in the clouds and 48 degree wake-up temperature, Having traveled the I-40 to I-55 route probably a hundred times over the years, we decided on a different route and avoided Little Rock and Memphis. It was an easier drive with less traffic but the scenery was pretty much the same, flat farmland.  Arriving at the Walmart in Blytheville with about a dozen 18-wheelers, the temperature was 71 degrees. Now that is what we have driven across the country to find!

Arriving home on Friday morning, we enjoyed sunny temperatures in the 70s. We rushed to unload the essentials before the predicted storms with tornado potentials arrived. Yes, spring has arrived!  

A little sunshine and a little adventure

 as we wandered across Texas.

Leaving College Station, we wandered through Austin and Texas Hill Country (aka Texas Wine Trail). Along the way we met up with an old friend.

 

In Fredericksburg we pulled off the road into the parking lot of Messina Hof Winery, anticipating a glass of their High Plains Malbec.

However we were allowed to spend the night in their parking lot. Have you ever been a spectator to a party to which you were not invited? Yeah, not much fun.

We heard the Grey Mule Saloon down the road a bit (280 miles or so) in Fort Stockton served some outstanding wines from Mesa Vineyards. So next morning we hopped on I-10 and headed to Fort Stockton.

I-10 in West Texas

Parking The Wanderer at the Event Center

we started out for the Grey Mule

which is closed on Mondays. Dang it!

After a quick tour around town (that would be Main Street,) we headed back to The Wanderer. To our delight, a couple from Canada was also parked at the Event Center.  We had a nice chat with Serge and Sandy, sharing tales of travel, body part replacements, and differences in health care in our respective countries.

Continuing west along the Southern Border, we found ourselves crossing the border into Mexico . 

where ABN found a wonderful Imperial Stout beer

 

at the Icebox Brewing Company in Las Cruces and we parked for the night.

 

Don’t let the photo fool you, it was actually pretty nice. We were parked near the back where construction was taking place.

Waking up to the sounds of construction made us feel right at home!

We were blown down the road to Deming (actually we drove, but with 30-40 mph wind, it seemed like we were being blown.) We pulled into the parking lot of Lescombes Winery to sit out a dust storm. After 5-6 hours of The Wanderer rocking and the sound of the wind blowing, it finally calmed a bit.

Going to the tasting room to make our Harvest Host obligatory purchase, we found it was closed due to power outage (apparently from the wind.) Along with 4 other rigs, we spent the night in their parking lot.

This morning we returned to I-10 West and next thing we knew, we were back in one of our favorite towns!

In our last post we mentioned we were in search of sunshine and adventure; we found a little of both. Thank you, Harvest Hosts, for finding these unconventional places to overnight; so much better than the Walmart parking lot.

 

 

 

Have you heard about Harvest Hosts?

 

Barren Ridge Vineyards, Fishersville, VA

If you have been reading our blog the past few years then, yes, you have heard of Harvest Hosts. But do you know what it is? No? Well, let us tell you.

Harvest Hosts is an organization in which RVers can purchase a yearly membership. The membership allows RVers to boondock (that means no amenities like water and electricity) overnight  at designated establishments throughout the country at no charge (of course one is expected to make a purchase at the establishment.) Yeah, we know, one can do that at Walmart or Cracker Barrel without a club membership. But that is so boring and noisy. With Harvest Hosts we have stayed at wineries and breweries (okay, maybe that is what initially got our attention.) We have also parked at an alpaca farm, a sugar maple farm, a lavender farm, in a peach orchard, at a car dealership, a date farm, and the list goes on. The best part is we get off the interstate and usually into a small town or rural area. We meet people in the communities and often other travelers. It just feeds our adventurous souls.

This past week we had a fun time at the Orange County Distillery near New Hampton, NY. In addition to spirits, they offer wine and beer (including an outstanding Southern Tier Pumpkin Ale that was just right for a crisp fall New England evening.)

 

We listened to live music and chatted with the locals.

Let’s just get this out there, New York is more than New York City! This is the third brewery at which we have parked in rural New York. The folks are the friendly, blue jeans and flannel shirt types, just like us.

Sharing our space was a couple from Canada.

Next we stayed at The Appalachian Brewing Company in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

 

This was a rare dud. Basically, it is a restaurant with a large parking lot next to a Tesla dealership in a metropolitan area. The food and beer was okay but nothing special. The staff was pleasant as one would expect in a restaurant but no personal interaction.

 

Five or six other rigs were in the parking lot, we spoke with a couple from Colorado but there was no common gathering place.  It was pretty much like staying in a Walmart parking lot.

The next night’s stay at Barren Ridge Winery

overlooking the beautiful Shenandoah Valley made up for the dud.

We visited with a local couple as we sipped wine on the patio.

Most interesting was Captain’s conversation with the owner. At age 83 (yes, she revealed her age and also indicated Captain was not that far behind her) she is still actively engaged in running the winery. She stopped by the RV on her way home to invite us back the next afternoon to listen to a musician from Sweden. Unfortunately we were already committed and couldn’t stay over.

 Driving through Massachusetts, Connecticut and the Poconos was stunningly beautiful.

 

We could share about 6 hours of video but will spare you and show only a clip that might inspire you to experience the Northeast in the fall if you have not already done so.

 We parked overnight in the driveway of our good friends, Steve and Wendy.

You might remember them from earlier posts as we have visited them multiple times in West Texas. Recently they moved from Andrews, Texas to Johnson City, Tennessee.

As an unofficial tour guide, Wendy gave us a tour of Jonesborough, the oldest city in Tennessee.

 

 

Wendy is doing a great job as she has only lived in the area for a little over a year and she now understands the challenge of finding parking for an RV.  (It was great, Wendy, thank you so much!)

We continued to enjoy the fall colors as we drove through the Appalachian Mountains.

 

 

Today we are back in familiar territory.

 

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”  Mark Twain