Cold is almost over

This couple last days have been a bit of a challenge, but so are the days before that, so what is the big deal? I guess not’n. We drove through cold and warm, covered hundreds of miles and it looks like we are almost out of the cold spell.

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 – We woke up to a freezing morning. The temperature outside was only around 20, but the wind was blowing strong. Could not get my nose out the door without the risk of freezing it to purple form. Have to wrap it up and go!  When we arrived here yesterday, the temperature was around 40 so I connected water and all, but now I had to disconnected that rigid white stick that is connecting my RV to a freezing pole outside (What used to be my water hose). The sewer hose became super fragile as well, and broke as soon as I touched it. I could not even fold the water hose so I just threw it on the back of the truck, thinking it will thaw out as temperature will rise while we are driving. Wishful thinking.
By 8:00 we were already on the way to the promising south. Shortly after we left KS, the sky tuned blue, and the temperature started rising from 20 slowly as the time passed. We drove through Oklahoma and just before we approached TX the temp reached a beautiful 40 (now compare that to the 75 we had last week on the beach), but as soon as we entered Texas the temp dropped very sharp. Within 15 minutes it reached 25 and 20 minutes later we were at the single digit. When we reached Amarillo the thermometer showed 6. Outside was white, the sky were cloudy and it all looked just too cold for this state. Unbelievable. I asked Patti to check the GPS again, thinking maybe I tool the wring turn and we are in MN again…
No – we were in TX.
The wind was blowing very strong and that took a big toll on my gas mileage. With this strong wind we merely drove 4.7 miles for the gallon! In metric terms – this is 1.98 km/l, or 50 litter for 100 km. That is A LOT!
At that point we turned south again, and drove towards Lubbock TX. with the wind blowing from our back it made a dramatic change on our fuel consumption and we resumed our standard ratio of 8.8 miles/gallon. Our original plan was to drive until.around 5:00pm, then stop for the night work a little and continue the next morning. We have to work as we are getting in trouble for putting off work for so long. The Israel trip, and now the cold run-away.

Decision Time

Anyways – Patti looked up on the map and realized that we will have to stop around Lubbock if we want to stick to our plan, but she also looked at the temperature for that place. The night is going to be extremely cold and windy. OK – let’s see what are our options. We can stop in Lubbock anyways, we can try to continue a little further south if the weather is better, or try to drive all the way to Carlsbad.
There are few factors that influence our decision process – First – work! Customers are getting impatient waiting for me to come back from Israel and start working. Now that I am back – there is a huge pressure to get things done. That means – I need to stop early and allocate time to work. Second – the weather. We are sick of cold weather, water problems and snow. We need some good shower, laundry, etc. and last – my ability to drive so long. I am already driving over 9 hours and I am getting tired. Carlsbad is still 240 miles away.
After checking the weather in Hobbs, just across the NM border – we realized that there are actually 2 options left. The weather simply doesn’t get any better. We either stop at Lubbock or continue all the way. We decided to stop. We pulled out at Lubbock RV park for the night.
Oh, I forgot to mention – when the temperature drops to the single digit – somewhere along the fresh water line the pipe freezes and the pump won’t work. The whole basement area is warm (as we use the furnace) but still – no water. So after this long drive in cold weather the pipes were frozen and we had no water. To top it up – the internet at this campground was horrible, so we could not do too much work. Since we did not have a chance to di any shopping we are still completely empty, and there is absolutely nothing to eat at home, and without water – not too many options – we decided to go out to eat.
Turns out Lubbock is pretty big town and has some restaurants to offer. We chose Italian place right in downtown (Can’t go wrong with Italian). The food was actually great in a very romantic setting. I can’t even remember what I ordered – it had a weird name to it, but it was special and yummy.
Just a comment in between – did you notice that when you hover the pictures with the mouse you see the description?
Since there was a wind advisory we thought that in order to save on propane and heat the rig faster we will be better off with the slid-outs pushed in. We opened just one of them – so that we can reach the back of the unit. That trick worked pretty well. The unit got heated fast and the wind did not bother us at all.
Without Internet I tried to publish a short update to my post from my phone, but for some reason it didn’t go through.
Wednesday, February 9th, 2011 – We are not so far from Carlsbad, maybe couple hundred miles and some. Woke up early again, and got ready to go. The air was cold and crispy but we were just about ready to go anyways.
The drive was sweet and short. I had to fill gas before we left town as from my experience last year in TX you may get stuck without gas as some areas are very very very rural.
The weather in Carlsbad is going to be cold tonight but tomorrow it is going to climb to high 40’s and then for the W/E it will jump to the 50’s – so that’s not too bad. We will stay here through the W/E, catch up with work a little, visit the caverns, and continue west.
We connected our KS insulated heated water hose (Pump still doesn’t work) and our insulated heated sewer pipe, and we are good to go! We have water, electricity, good internet, nice big space, life is good!
Went out to eat again at a local restaurant called Mexicaly. They serve good authentic Mexican food. I ordered a dish called “Whatever” – a little spice and a mix of many traditional Mexican ingredients. Recommended!
When we were done, we stopped at the local Wal-Mart, a long overdue stop. Got our home filled up again,. and drove home to start working and catch up. Feels like we are getting back to normal. Things are starting to fall into place. Feels much better!
Thursday, February 10th, 2011 – By the time I finished working last night I was too exhausted to write anything, so here is why there was no post last night. Got up this morning at 8:00, and went to get some propane. I also bought a spare cylinder to throw at the back of the truck. Wouldn’t hurt especially if we plan to dry camp. When I looked at my phone I realized – we are in Mountain time! so I actually woke up at 7:00. Wow.
I am slowly getting my Android set up they way I like it. There is only one thing I am still missing – and that is a utility that will synchronize my Outlook tasks with my Google Tasks. I am sure I will figure it out. Otherwise – I just need a new battery coz my phone won’t hold charge even half a day now. that’s bad.
Pretty long post for today, but if you are here, you actually made it! so thanks a bunch for your time, and I appreciate you stopping by!