Back to Texas for a month final chapter

We had an incredible dinner Tuesday evening with some really wonderful people. The push through the mountain pass was well worth it. We got a chance to relax, have a great meal, spend time with great friends and get our minds off of the trip and the final two days home.

Wednesday morning came quickly however and it was time to get back on the road. We still had 900 miles to go. We had a lunch appointment in Pueblo at 1:30, so we were able to at least take our time a bit, have an extra cup of coffee, catch up on the news etc, by 9:00 we were on our way.

By the time our lunch meeting was over is was about 4:00 pm. The question then was, do we push down into New Mexico before we stop for the night, or do we even push for the Texas line? So far we had only traveled about 150 miles. We really needed to make up some time. I told Jilly that we needed to at least get to the New Mexico border before we stopped. Otherwise it was going to be a long, long day on Thursday.

The plan was set. We were going to travel through Trinidad and then on to the pass to Raton New Mexico. We would stay the night there.
The last mountain climb of the trip! We were about to start traveling downhill to East Texas. Raton is about 8k’, East Texas is about 300′,. Gas mileage was about to get better. 😉 The RV park where we were going to stay the night was on top of the pass. Supposedly the view was spectacular, and it was only 27.00!

It’s a long story that I won’t get into here, but essentially I missed the exit. Totally my fault, but you can’t miss an exit on the top of a mountain and expect to turn around. Its downhill fast and anyone who tops the pass is going to go all the way down before they turn around. So…next plan. We made it to Raton in the valley and Jilly was feeling pretty good, so she said lets at least go to the next town before we stop. Well that was music to my ears, I could smell Texas and I was like a horse headed to the barn. I was ready to get to THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS!! Where it was warm. 😉

At was about 7:00 pm by this time, and I told Jilly that we would be running up on a nice rest area soon, and we would stop there for the night. She was happy with that, so it was probably 60 miles from the Texas border by the time we found that rest stop. It did not have any lights, it did not seem to have any over night parking. No one was parked there, so I had a bad feeling about it. I convinced her that this was not going to be a safe night. We moved on.

Nothing was panning out. Texline was coming up fast and it was now dark. Smokin Hot looks hot, but she can’t see worth a flip at night. LOL I am beginning to get a bit nervous because our 6:00 pm stay plan had now turned into 8:00 pm. Surely the Texas border would produce a beautiful Welcome to Texas center? Every other border crossing I had been to, has one, so Jill was convinced Texline would have one too. Thanks to me of course. We would stay there.

Texline came and went. Nothing, NADA!! Not even a truck stop?? It was now 8:30. I have to say, my wife at that point was a real trooper. “John it’s not your fault if there is nowhere to stay. I am fine, lets keep moving” That a girl!! I was impressed and very thankful. Next stop, Clayton! Clayton was only 50 miles away, and it appears that Clayton might have a Wal-Mart!! YAY!!

Nope. Clayton not only didn’t have a Wal-Mart, but every possible beside the road piece of real-estate had a truck resting for the night. It was a circus. Jill said, “Lets park between those two semi trucks”. Darlin, they are at that particular spot to have fun for the night. I don’t think you want to stop behind that building. LOL We were getting desperate.

OK baby, Its gonna be Dalhart Texas! Its 9:30 and we will be in Dalhart in 45 minutes. I know Dalhart is a big town, they must have a Wal-Mart or a truckstop. She said “ok! I can do this.” I felt so bad. She was tired, couldn’t see well, but was handling it. I didn’t have any choice. I did not know what to do. I was praying Dalhart was our answer.

WHY do people live out here???? There is nothing in any of these towns other than oil rigs, cotton gins, cow pies, and dirt. NOTHING else. No Wal-Mart, no nothing!! Also, nowhere to sleep. Thousands of trucks parked everywhere. It was like there is an attraction to truckers. Maybe there is??

Darlin, I can not justify staying anywhere in Dalhart. It’s just not safe. Not to mention I couldn’t find a place to park if I had to. It was 10:15. Almost 5 hours since our original time to stop for the night. By the way? Did I say it was dark? It wasn’t just dark, it was black out dark. Really dark!

There was silence on the other end of the Walkie Talkie. Baby?? You there? We have to go to Dumas. I checked and there is definitely a Wal-Mart in Dumas. Dumas is short for what I felt like at that point. My bride had been so strong all evening and now it was down to this. Was she going to make it? “OK baby, I can do this”! Music to my ears!! She is a tough lady!! Dumas was about 40 miles away. We could be there by 11:00 if we hurry. We will sleep in, in the morning. It will be ok.

10 miles into the darkness, headed to Dumas, I hear an “Ummmm” What? You need to stop to use the restroom? “No, I forgot to tell you I am almost out of gas”. I am sorry, can you repeat that? We have 30 miles to go into the darkness, without any buildings, stores, gas stations, anything for another 30 miles?? How many miles does your computer say you have? “22”. Silence on my end for a minute as I came to the realization that after all these years of cutting it close but never actually running out of fuel, the streak was about to be over.

20 miles to go. How many miles on your computer? “12”. 15 miles to go. How many now? “8” I began to see a glow in the distance. The glow of Dumas? 10 miles to go. How many? “3” I had resolved in my mind that we were not going to make it so I calmly told her to be prepared for when the fuel runs out, the steering might get very stiff as well as the brakes. She would need to ever so slowly move over to the side of the road. I would then stop and we would travel together to Dumas, get a gas can, fill it up and bring it out to the car.

“Ummm” what? “well it was 3 and it just jumped down to 0″.

5 miles, 4 miles, 3 miles, 2 miles, I could see a Phillips 66, 1 mile.

Wal-Mart was especially nice that night. Even though it was full of trucks, Jill got her chance to park between those 2 semi’s. It was around 11:30 pm. 6.5 hours after our original plan to stay the night. Welcome to Texas baby, We will get to see the kids early tomorrow. What a great time that will be.