Hacienda Contreras, near Valle de Juarez

We didn't set the alarm Friday night because we knew we needed a good nights sleep. But we also wanted to do a long drive Saturday and so we wanted to get a fairly early start. Turned out we got a good sleep and we were on the road just before 9:00am. Not bad.

Zacatecas

Thanks you all so much for the outpouring of support. We are a little overwhelmed by your comments and thoughts, many from friends we have not yet met. We're so glad that some of you were able to share Whiskey's company over her last few weeks with us.

Whiskey

Whiskey passed away just after 1:00am this morning. We had a great 15 1/2 years with her.

Potrero Chico (day 5)

It was pretty much a relaxing day today, although we did get some work done. It doesn’t start to get really hot until after lunch.

Potrero Chico (day 4)

After I posted yesterday’s blog, we headed off to find the trailhead for the hike up the mountain. We walked along the arroyo (dried up river bed) about a half an hour until we came to a cairn that marked the entrance to the trail.

Potrero Chico (day 3)

It was a HOT day yesterday. 39C (102F) in the shade. There is a swimming pool here, but they're in the process of putting fresh water in it and it takes 24 hours to fill up, but we will have the use of the pool today. Supposed to be slightly cooler today though anyhow.

Potrero Chico (day 2)

Didn’t get any sleep Saturday night. None. As expected, the church party went on as a lot of Mexican parties do, right until sunrise. The music was loud and it never stopped.

Potrero Chico, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

We were up at 6:30am yesterday to get an early start for the border. The Columbia Bridge border crossing is actually about 25 miles (40 kms) west of the city of Laredo. We like this crossing because it’s never busy and there is lots of easy parking for an RV of any size.

Laredo, Texas

We had our best sleep in days at the fairgrounds near George West, Texas. They have only just installed rows of full hook-up RV sites there, but we didn't use them. We just parked.

Near George West, Texas

Yesterday's blog got posted late, so you may want to check it out first before reading the story below.

Yesterday's blog post

Austin, Texas

Yes, parked up at a Sears store mall right beside the I-35 in Austin, Texas. This is not an ideal overnight spot! How did we arrive here? Well here's the story...

Lake Limestone, near Groesbeck, Texas

We got an early start yesterday. We're trying to get back into the habit of leaving early and arriving early! We took all Texas backroads and arrived at our destination around 2:00pm.

Monticello Park Campground, near Mount Pleasant, Texas

We left Hot Springs National Park at a decent hour, but as soon as we left we came across a laundromat. We were going to have to stop and do laundry at some point today, so rather than risk trying to find another one, we simply stopped right away.

Hot Springs, Arkansas

We took a break from driving yesterday and hiked into the town of Hot Springs. There is a one mile hiking trail that goes from the campground into the town. It poured with rain all morning, but things cleared up a bit by 11:00am or so.

Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

We did a fair bit of driving yesterday, and it was all on the backroads. Plus, we didn't start off until later in the morning so we didn't arrive at our destination until after 4:00pm.