The End of this Chapter…

Don’t worry about being worried. You’re heading out on an adventure and you can always change your mind along the way and try something else.  Tracy Kidder

Our time here in Boyd has come to an end but it’s only the beginning of our story. August 23, 2015 we hooked up our home on wheels and set out on our big adventure, 1,682 miles, 11 days, 7 states, 2 National Parks, and 3 State parks later we arrived in Texas. We left Asheville, N.C. where we called home and moved to Texas to work for the Amazon Camperforce program. When we weren’t working we spent time enjoying our new surroundings. Deciding where to travel to on our maiden voyage was purely based on securing employment with Amazon. Weather is one reason we picked the Haslet, Texas location and boy did we learn a few things about Texas weather. Locals told us if we didn’t like the weather just wait a few days it would be completely different and they were right. When we arrived in September we were greeted with hot days, warm nights and didn’t see rain for the first two months. When the rain came it wasn’t playing around. Thanks Mom for the rain boots! When we down scaled our belongings I questioned if I would need rain boots which up to that point I had only used for snow boots and I had no plans to see any snow. Our campground was all gravel and nowhere close to level. That being said when it rained we ended up downstream and our campsite became flooded and soon after the rain subsided the sewer backed up, poured out and well… smelled really bad.

We had one experience with days of rain and threats of flooding but we felt safe knowing we weren’t really close to any river. Little did we know how much rain had come through and how much water that sent through the river. We were blocked from traveling to Decatur, Texas for at least a week and saw many fields flooded from the Trinity River. I took some photos of the flood they look like a stunning lake but this area was once just a huge pasture with a small river running across it. I wish I had a photo of the pastures before the flood for comparison but just picture a field with cows and you will get the gist of it. It is also amazing the temperature range in just one week, we would get adjusted to 90’s, it would then dropped to the 70’s during the day and then 50 at night. The bipolar weather of Texas as the locals called it. We even had the threat of a tornado and with no time to do anything but watch and hope nothing happened.

The Roadtrippers website and app have been amazing for finding off the beaten path locations like the Aurora Cemetery, but another great travel help has been Roadside America. I haven’t purchased the app yet but found the petrified gas station on this website. This gas station was originally built in 1927 and 8 years later the owner decided to convert the structure. The new remodel involved covering the exterior in chunks of petrified wood possibly something E.F Boydston was encouraged to do based on a similar gas station in Colorado or even by the Petrified Wood park in South Dakota. The owner didn’t stop with the gas station and later covered the cafe and motor court which rumor says Bonnie and Clyde stayed in one of the cabins just before they died.

We headed off to Dallas for the day to check out Dealey Plaza and take in the big city before we headed south. The traffic in the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex made venturing out quite a chore. Driving in this area is difficult due to the sheer volume of cars and construction, then you factor in the drivers who speed and constantly change lanes. I really shouldn’t be the one complaining seeming that I didn’t drive the whole 4 months we were there but it still seemed pretty scary from the passenger seat.

I end this chapter with great joy of having the opportunity to see places and things I had never seen and meet an amazing group of people. Friends… until we meet again at that next campfire!