Critters!!

We are parked in a very isolated, rural area. Last night the whippoorwill was busy calling out “whipper will, whipper will”. Can’t say I’ve ever heard that clear of a call from that bird. This morning the cardinals were singing, “Pretty, pretty”. I have yet to see one, but they are all around. The rooster chimed in, too, with “cock-a-doodle-doo”. The chickens just strut around, quietly laying their eggs.

After dinner with Janis, we were planning on walking back to the R.V., parked by Mark’s place – a dirt road between them. But when we stepped outside, Janis didn’t think it was safe. It was too warm. Copperheads like warm weather and they could possibly be on the trail. So she drove us back to the R.V.

Now we are set to leave TX, heading for AR.

Finishing up Texas!

Monday was a long day on the road – over 400 miles! However, we chose a direct route rather than an interstate highway and were pleasantly surprised at the good condition of the road. Furthermore, there was no construction to de-rail us!

Our friends in Fairview welcomed us. They have a lovely place on a quiet street. We were told there is no crime there worth mentioning. Roger was able to maneuver the R.V. into a tight spot by the house. We enjoyed dinner, breakfast and lunch together, with lots of sharing. It’s good to carry one another’s burdens.

Our last TX stop was in Overton. A missionary friend from many years ago has settled here. She is busy reaching people via phone and in person. Her son has a prison ministry. Roger went with him to give his testimony. As it turned out, the jail was in lock-down because several prisoners had overdosed. They spent the time with 2 inmates, but it was time well invested. Both the men spoke English, although the ministry is usually in Spanish. Mark is bilingual; his wife Trini is from Spain. They served overseas as missionaries and now serve here in TX.

TEXAS Impressions:

We have noticed all the Texan flags flying – even more than the US flag! So far the cheapest gas price we saw was under $2.90! The drivers here are crazy – zigzagging through traffic. We won’t miss them – nor all the road construction on the interstates. Our GPS gets us lost often and we have yet to drive through a TX city without getting off the route! The weather is pleasant – about 80^o. The yellow flowers lining the highways on both sides reminds us of the song “The Yellow Rose of Texas”. Long horn cows roam the fields. Horrible roads mixed with super smooth roads; many churches and wild wind are things we’ll remember. & all the nice people who live here!!

Cedar Park & Corpus Christi

Friday morning we pulled out of Abilene and drove to Cedar Park. There we met with Emily and Claire – Zoom kids who can’t join us currently, but will be back in the summer. We were treated to a rib dinner. Their mom made us a rice cake for the road. I taught an in person club in the R.V. with the girls and mom in attendance.

We stayed in the Big Oaks R.V. campground and left from there for Corpus Christi.

It wasn’t a lot of miles and we had time, so we made several stops along the way. Our friends here, Ray & Chris, were at the local annual kite show, so we plugged in and made ourselves at home! They have a lovely house right on the bay. We walked their pier and watched the heron strut through the water. The sunset was lovely.

Sunday we went to church with Ray & Chris. 

In the afternoon they drove us all along the island that hugs the mainland coast. We observed dolphins playing and pelicans diving. Several ships were waiting to enter the loading dock.

Dinner was super, and after my Zoom Good News Club, we sat together on the back porch. A perfect evening with enough wind to drive any mosquitoes away!! We leave early tomorrow for Dallas.

Language, TX CEF, overnight parking

One thing that really surprised us was how Spanish speaking AZ and TX are. When I (Heather) went to get my hair washed in a Walmart, everyone was speaking Spanish. I was concerned if they'd understand me!! (I could have tried German...) Turns out, many (or most) people are bi-lingual. That's great, but I don't want to lose the English as our official language! Many street signs are Spanish, too.

For lunch today we celebrated with West Texas (Big Country Chapter) Child Evangelism Fellowship's new chapter - one year old! They served tacos - super good, except I did get more spice than I would have wished for...It's exciting to hear what God is doing in this part of the country - about 15 people joined in for the luncheon and quite a few clubs are already operational. They are real go-getters!

We have been blessed to park for 2 nights at New Hope Church in Abilene. They are a contemporary but mission-minded church, with lots of youth. God bless them!

Hills

We were surprised to find out how hilly CA - TX is! The road we drove in CA was an amazing roller-coaster with continuous rolling hills for miles.

Then, in AZ we saw many smaller hills with giant boulders, some balanced very precariously!

In TX the same size smaller hills are composed of many much smaller rocks. God certainly is a God of variety.

On The Road - to TX

We have passed long trains – many of them with autos enclosed in train cars.A road runner crossed in front of us - then, later we saw one in a mall parking lot! One truck we followed had the following painted on his back panel "Blessed Hope". Several have had verses on the back or side.

Driving through Phoenix we appreciated that the I-10 lanes were marked on the pavement itself. Since there’s been a lot of construction – meaning lane closures & changes, following signs has been tricky!

Yesterday the check engine light came on. The first day after we left home, Roger saw that the gas cap had fallen apart. He planned to get another one, but when the check engine light came on, he made the gas cap a priority – and it fixed the problem! He’s definitely a fix-it man & the R.V. keeps him on his toes!

When we left AZ, we had a time change (AZ doesn’t change at all). Then, not too many hours later we crossed out of NM and into TX, and had another time change – all in one day! We found a truck stop to overnight not too much later, as it was suddenly late!!

Texas seems to have a lot of “picnic” areas – which are rest stops with no facilities. We’ve pulled into several for lunch stops or driver changes. The wind never stops and it’s been brutal. It’s 2 hands on the wheel the whole time.

We are grateful for the gas prices down here - today's top was $3.01/gallon. Also, when you shop, they give you a bag!