It is Thursday morning, the sun is smiling at me, and I am ready to head out for a day of driving. Or, as I call it, catching up days. I know I will have over 200 miles on RT 10. When I don't need to concentrate on Google Maps, it allows me time to call my friends and catch up on each other's life.
But first, I need to say my goodbyes to Ramona. We promise to stay in touch, and I know we will! I look forward to seeing her again when I get to Vancouver Island.
When I entered Texas and experienced the distance between towns, I knew I needed to adjust my thinking when filling my car with gas. At home, when I get to a quarter of a tank, I start thinking about refilling. Now, in Texas, I can see that I need to think about that when I'm getting to a half tank. Yet, somehow I forget about my new approach, and when my gas tank is quarter, I punch into google map search for a gas station along my route.
Oh no, I'm not comfortable with the results google map is giving me. The next gas station is only thirteen miles before my car gage will be zero. My car "drinks" much faster with the cargo box and the extra weight. At that moment, I got a phone call from Dawn… "Hi, I just passed you" having my white cargo box lets you recognize my car.😊 I share my concern, and she immediately put things in motion, heading in a search for the next gas station. I am, in the meantime, slowing down to preserve gas.
Fifty miles later the problem is solved, and we are on our way to Big Bend National Park.
The drive to Big Bend is peaceful until we get to the campground and try to set up camp with the blasting wind. It feels like this wind is a test for Dawn and me. Well, I'm happy to report, we both passed it! We worked together as a great team for two people that just met; the tent was up in no time! We were able to sit and get to know each other in a warmer setting, protected from the wind. Between our camping equipment, we had the perfect setup.
We both admitted that, in a way, it was crazy for both of us to meet for four nights camping with just a Facebook connection. Well… thank you, Facebook! 😊
I shared with Dawn my other destination in Texas she pointed out that Palo Duro will be cold to visit this time of year and I will probably encounter snow. I hope that at this point, sleeping in cold weather is something I can get used to. It stuns me that I missed that information while planning my route in Texas. Although I'm usually thorough with my planning, it was a lot of information to get together in a week while I was in Knoxville. At this point, I'm disappointed with myself and freaking out.
Dawn's kind words remind me of what I have accomplished so far. A recent photo from a post on Facebook comes to mind of a woman car-camping with a beautiful white background. Her adventure encourages me to push through my fear. It's not that I'm trying something no one did. There are so many stories of cold nights with amazing views. Yes, it will be demanding with setting up camp, dinner, and breakfast time. But I did it before, and I can try again.
It's a pleasure getting to know Dawn. We share many travel experiences, and conversation is easy and comfortable.
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