Day 1 (Friday, April 6): Head out from San Diego to Arizona. Driving time: 9 hrs.
Day 2: Arizona through New Mexico to Texas. Driving time: 12 hrs.
Day 3: Western edge of Texas to Ft. Worth area. Driving time: 5 hrs.
The first 3 days of full-time RV life was filled with mostly driving... Thankfully it was smooth and easy with barely any traffic.
The first night in Arizona, we made it to Love's truck stop around 8:30pm and managed to find a spot to park the trailer in for an overnight stay. The place was PACKED with big rigs also stopping for the night! It wasn't the most comfortable spot (the ground wasn't level so we were tilted slightly sideways which gave me vertigo the whole night...) and it was loud due to the truckers leaving their engines on all night. But, in a pinch and/or for a free overnight stay, it was just fine. These truck stops also have showering facilities that you sign up for and when a shower becomes free, the attendants will call your name through the speakers. We fortunately didn't have to use the showers since we have our own in the trailer, but for those of you who take road trips, truck stops are great for a convenient bathroom/shower/food/sleep stop.
Next morning was an early start to Day 2 of driving. We had originally planned on going to the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico for a 1 night boon-docking/1 tourist day trip, but decided to skip it so that we could drive straight through into Texas so Bach would have time on the third day to set up all his gear for work on Monday. We'll have to re-plan that for another time...
The second night we looked up a Walmart that was on the way to the campground in Texas and called them up to make sure they were ok with RVs parking in their lot overnight. I would say that staying at Walmart was a lot more comfortable than the truck stop. They told us that RVs were welcome and to just park in the main lot but furthest away from the entrance. Surprisingly, there were a few big rigs and a couple RVs also staying the night, but everyone kept to themselves and it was a quiet night. The Walmart was also open 24 hours and had groceries. So after parking, we stocked up on some more food and had a peaceful night with much needed rest to finish the final leg of the journey the next day.
Day 3, we started the drive early and got to Bear Creek Campground in the afternoon with plenty of time to get settled in! Bach did a good job choosing a beautiful site. We have a fantastic view of the lake from our bedroom window and the campground itself is clean, well maintained and quiet. It's mostly for RVs, but there's a small area for groups that has spots for RVs, but also allows tent camping. The RV spots have water and electricity hookups, but no sewage. There is a dump site near the entrance however. Toilets and showers are also available.
We're here for 2 weeks before heading to Louisiana for a week. So far, Bach and I have both been impressed with Texas! There's sooo much land out here and it feels freeing after the congestion of San Diego. Not that we haven't loved living in San Diego, but we were both itching for a change of scenery and we got it!
