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<\/a>Segment 3 - 23 Nights and 2,275 Miles<\/p><\/div>\n
The starting point, of course, is Branson, MO, where we will, I hope, have spent a wonderful week with the nation’s idle retired.\u00a0 The finish line is in Las Vegas, NV, where we will probably lose our shirts.\u00a0 We will make the following stops along the way:<\/p>\n
B – 2 nights in Fairfield Bay, AR.\u00a0 We have no particular need to go to Fairfield Bay, but this allows us to add Arkansas to our list of states that we have visited.\u00a0 My rule is that we can count a state as “visited” only if we actually spend at least one night there; drive-thrus do not count.\u00a0 Besides, it looks like a lovely town and is very close to Heber Springs, home of the Workamper News.\u00a0 Maybe we will drop in and say Hi.<\/p>\n
C – 2 nights in Texarkana, TX.\u00a0 Texarkana is one of those towns that seemed exotic to me when I was a boy in Wisconsin.\u00a0 This is my chance to find out if it is exotic in any way (which I doubt).<\/p>\n
D – 3 nights in Livingston, TX, home of the Escapees RV Club.\u00a0 We are not yet members, but will be by the time we arrive.\u00a0 This is our chance to become residents of Texas.\u00a0 If we need to stay longer than 3 days we will squeeze time out of the remaining stops in this segment or perhaps cut a few days out of Branson.\u00a0 There is an assisted living facility here, adjacent to the RV park, for former full-timers.\u00a0 I think we would like to take a peek at this unique facility.<\/p>\n
E – 2 nights near San Antonio, TX.\u00a0 We want to see the Alamo, of course, but will also drive up to Austin while we are here to take a peek at that city (which comes highly recommended) and to have dinner at the restaurant that is run by Jett’s nephew.<\/p>\n
F – 2 nights in Del Rio, TX.\u00a0 The only reason to stay 2 nights here is to adhere to my policy of always taking at least one day of rest between driving segments.\u00a0 The idea is to take regular breaks to avoid travel fatigue.\u00a0 But what will we do for two days in Del Rio?\u00a0 I may have to take up whittlin’ or shooting lizards.<\/p>\n
G – 2 nights in Alpine, TX.\u00a0 More whittlin’.\u00a0 Lizards beware.<\/p>\n
H – 2 nights in La Cruces, NM.\u00a0 Ah… finally!\u00a0 A place I actually want to see.\u00a0 I expect to like La Cruces.\u00a0 It is high desert and from what I can see from photos of the place is pretty scenic.\u00a0 It is also home to the White Sands Missile Range, which doesn’t mean there is much to see, but it is another exotic place from my childhood.\u00a0 Maybe they will have a funky museum with fragments of exploded missiles.<\/p>\n
I –\u00a0 2 nights in Tuscon, AZ.\u00a0 Speaking of my childhood, this is where a few people from Wisconsin went 40 years ago when they had problems with allergies and pollen.\u00a0 So they immediately planted trees and flowers and jacked up the pollen counts.\u00a0 But I am still curious to look around.\u00a0 And, no, I will not make a pilgrimage to the spot where Gaby Giffords was shot.<\/p>\n
J – 3 nights in Sedona, AZ.\u00a0 Sedona has a reputation for beauty and art.\u00a0 It is also relatively close to the Grand Canyon, which neither of us has ever seen and is definitely high on our bucket lists.\u00a0 One of the days here will be spent at the south rim of the Grand Canyon.\u00a0 I don’t know if we will drive or take a guided tour; the decision will probably depend on how sore my butt is after almost 4,000 miles of travel.\u00a0 But we will NOT be riding mules to the bottom.\u00a0 Too much downside risk.\u00a0 Literally.<\/p>\n
We finish with 3 nights in Las Vegas. We love Las Vegas, but I have allocated just 3 nights there, partly because we will be pressed for time to get to Tillamook for Thanksgiving and partly because every day in Las Vegas will another day to blow our budget.\u00a0 I wish we could stay longer because I think we will be a little road-weary by the time we get there.\u00a0 This segment has a lot of miles and, being mostly in Texas, a lot of nothing to see as we drive.<\/p>\n
If all goes according to plan (yeah, right), we will end this segment on November 12, 2012, when we will be leaving Las Vegas (that would be a good name for a movie) and pointing the rig north to Tillamook.<\/p>\n
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The middle segment of our sojourn is the dustiest of the bunch.\u00a0 We will end up in Las Vegas, but will take an indirect route to get there, partly to visit Jett’s nephew in Austin and partly because we will need a few days to become residents of Texas.\u00a0 Jett and I are still talking … Continue reading