Snowbird Journal

Day 3—Oct 27, 2008
Well gang it got a little nippy last night in El Reno. We awoke to 29 chilly degree’s.
When I woke up at 3:30 AM freezing I was sure that Betsy had left her window open, but no it was just that cold. Our little heater couldn’t keep up. I unhooked the electric, cable, sewer, and the water hose in the dark. It’s a real treat to try and stuff a half frozen hose into the small storage compartment about the size of two shoeboxes! Next we headed to the motel for the promised hot breakfast. Sure enough it was there and pretty good too. After breakfast we hit the road and the sun still hadn’t come up. We made real good time and rolled into Amarillo about noon. After a brief stop at the Texas Tourist Info Center we found our way to two special attractions. Those are covered in The Special Edition of Oct 27th below.
After Amarillo we found Hwy 60 which cut’s SW over to Clovis, NM. Son In Law, Jim who has made several trips from Tucson to Erie, PA swears that cutting diagonal thru NM is quicker that following I-25 from Las Cruces to Albuquerque. Plus you get off the interstate and see places such as Hereford, TX (Beef Capital of the World) and Friona, TX (Cheeseburger Capital of the World). We also saw several cattle feedlot’s, one must have been a mile long and a quarter mile wide. Luckily we were upwind on that one.
They grow millet down here. The only thing Betsy and I know about millet is that it’s in birdseed, but they must also be feeding it to cattle. We arrived in Clovis and found the NM Tourist Center and ask the nice lady about RV Parks in Clovis. She said there were a couple in Clovis but she really wasn’t recommending them, but on the way to Portales there was the Wagon Wheel RV Park and it would be better. After a brief WalMart stop (the first of this trip) we found the Wagon Wheel RV Park and believe me folks it was pretty grim. Several of the sites where obviously occupied by permanent residents, one trailer even had a rather fancy wheelchair ramp. Obviously that puppy wasn’t going anywhere soon. And to boot the place had no bathroom or shower facilities. We were about to head back to Clovis to find the real crappy campgrounds when Betsy remembered that there was a state park close by. We found it and the campsite and facilities are great. Also the park ranger grew up in New Castle, IN. Plus we finally found Nowhere. I’m not positive that we’re in the middle of Nowhere, but we have to be close. There are about 30 campsites and 3 are occupied—one by us, one by an ex Marine and proud NRA member, and the last site is the campground host. I’m sure he’s enrolled in the Federal Witness Protection Plan. I was hoping to watch either the Colts game or the World Series but couldn’t find a TV signal with our antenna. No TV for Jamie tonight. Way out here in the high desert I expect to see Clint Eastwood ride over the hill any minute now. The stars should be spectacular tonight. Don’t forget to look at the Special Edition for the special attractions that we saw today. It should be below.
Disclaimer: The comments written by my traveling companion are not necessarily accurate and may be slightly to greatly embellished and should in no way reflect badly on me. Betsy