But by day four, with our batteries at 12.2 volts we knew that they needed charging. Solar panels work great, except when there is no sun!
And so with no sun, and cold temperatures in the forecast, yesterday morning we moved over to nearby Falcon State Park to recharge our batteries and escape the cold. For 8 year old batteries, we are impressed that we can still go three nights without any sun.
Sherman, parked up for two nights at Falcon State Park.
We used another one of the four camping coupons attached to our Texas State Parks pass, and got two nights at an electric and water site for $24 USD ($30 CAD). Not bad. The coupons give you half off the first night of a two night stay.
Not great, but it will have to do.
There's an abnormal cold snap in much of the eastern part of North America right now. Here at the Texas/Mexico border it went down to 32F (0C) last night, with a forecast high of 41F (5C) today. Cold again tonight.
We feel like we've been trying to outrun the cold ever since we left the Ottawa area on November 16th. And we haven't been very successful at it! It's a little frustrating being this close to the Mexico border and knowing we can't cross until next Sunday.
Mark and Barb who are coming with us on the Mexico caravan are parked right in front of us. We both have a view of Mexico across the lake!
We also have a view of some wildlife. There are quite a few deer in the park, but there are also a lot of javelina pigs. They're not really a pig, but they sort of look like one.
Anyhow, yesterday afternoon we heard some kind of thumping noise. Ruth looks out the window... "Kevin, come see this...."
No idea what the story is with that campsite. It's not a host site, yet the occupant has pretty much moved right in with everything but the kitchen sink. And maybe that too! Nobody around, although a truck showed up last night, disappeared, then showed up again a few minutes ago.
We went over to Mark and Barb's after dinner and played a dice game called Phase Ten, They have a bigger Class A with a slideout so they have a little more room than we do. Anyhow, fun to get together for an evening and I'm sure we'll be doing it again a few times over the next three months.
Speaking of games, Ruth and I finished our annual score keeping of Yahtzee and Backgammon. We keep track of a running total of scores in Yahtzee, and wins vs losses in backgammon. We've been doing this for years, and this is the first time Ruth has won at backgammon! The tally was 54 to 52 for Ruth! We didn't get a chance to play much this year because we didn't get into the motorhome until middle of November, and that's where the backgammon game was stored.
In Yahtzee, I won with 98,077 to Ruth's 97,006 a difference of 1,071 points to the good for me! I've been ahead of her most of the year, but I was getting nervous a couple of weeks ago when she had caught up to within 400 points of me!
Anyhow, we're going to ride out the cold for one more night, and then head down to Mission tomorrow morning and do some laundry and groceries. Supposed to steadily warm up throughout the week, and be up to 73F (23C) by the time we cross the border on Sunday. We'll see!
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Good luck with that cold weather and hope to warms up soon for you. Has been very warm and sunny here in southern AZ and California
ReplyDeleteYes, I know. It will be Arizona's turn next year.
DeleteLet's hope the weather guessers are right about the warming trend. We're looking forward to the Mexican adventure.
ReplyDeleteWe have our fingers crossed but if it doesn't happen it won't matter much longer anyhow because we will soon be into Mexico and heading further south to guaranteed warmer weather. :-)
DeleteWe've been luckier this year in Arizona this year compared to last winter. Locals said it was the Coldest, Wettest and Windiest they had seen in over twenty-five years. (Probably brought the weather with us.)
ReplyDeleteHope you warm up soon and Safe Travels.
It's about time.
Hoping that you guys have a good winter this year then! It sure is not fun feeling cold all the time, especially when you head south to leave the cold back home.
DeleteIn the winter in the past you could stay at Falcon SP for the winter months without having to leave. I have not checked lately to see if that is still true.
ReplyDeleteYes, it appears that you still can stay the full winter in the park. I believe that you pay a monthly fee for each month. Not sure though what the actually winter months are.
DeleteWay to go Ruth. Why isn't there a photo of Ruth holding her trophy?
ReplyDeleteHope to see y'all in Mission before you leave for MX. Also hope it is much warmer. Freezing here in Houston.
Yep, it is the first time that I have ever won the yearly backgammon "tournament" with him. :-)
DeleteLet us know when you are available. We will be in Mission sometime tomorrow up until first thing Sunday morning. Friday would be a good day or perhaps early sometime Saturday.
Eight years on batteries is really good. I replace them at five years even if they still hold a charge, just because:) We are having a whole week of low 20's in the FL panhandle, thinking of moving farther south:)
ReplyDeleteWe don't see any point in replacing batteries if they are still working well. Kevin monitors them regularly so they are always kept in good condition.
DeleteYep, the cold weather is sure spread across a huge section of Canada and the US. Hopefully it will improve and stay nice for the remainder of the winter for all of you that stay in the southern part of the States. We on the other hand can't wait to get to Mexico where we know it will be beautiful weather for the rest of our winter. :-)
Love the pics, wonder what was in the box that attracted him? Hopefully the warm weather arrives quickly and brings the sunshine along with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to know if the caravan will be boon docking in Mexico at all?
Yes, we do have several "dry camping" nights scheduled. I don't really think we would call it boondocking, but we will be without hookups.
DeleteWe aren't sure what was in the box but it appeared to be very light by the way the javelina was turning it over so we are assuming that was empty. Maybe there was some kind of smell on it or perhaps it was just something to play with!
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