Gilligan’s Island – The Texas Version

 

 

 

I love TV show theme songs.

They just stick in my head and rattle around. I often catch myself humming the theme song to Sanford and Sons, but today it was the theme song for Gilligan’s Island.

After having the mechanical difficulties and staying in Dallas, Texas longer than planned we finally headed out west. We head out west on Interstate 20 from Dallas to the western region of Texas so that we could get on Interstate 10 to Junction and then cut off around Fort Stockton to head south.

US Interstate 20 West from Dallas, Texas to Lake Colorado City, Texas



Us Interstate 20 West from Dallas, Texas to Lake Colorado City, Texas.
The terrain starts to change just outside of Abilene, Texas




Us Interstate 20 West from Dallas, Texas to Lake Colorado City, Texas.
The terrain starts to change just outside of Abilene, Texas

 

We only made a few stops along the way because we wanted to cover as much ground as possible.

In all we did about 360 miles the first day. We decided to spend the night at Lake Colorado City State Part in Colorado City, Texas. We called the park directly to make reservations around 4:30 pm. The Park Ranger told me not to worry they had plenty of camp sites available and gave me a cell phone number to call in case the gate was locked when we arrive. The parks gates close at 7 pm nightly. I thought that was a little odd because in the spring time most state parks with a lake are full on the weekends in the spring and at most state parks in Texas close at 10 pm on weekends.

We continued on our route taking I-20 West. We found the exit for the Lake Colorado State Park. Once we exited off the highway I did a quick mental inventory of provisions. We had forgotten to stop for food and beverages. I saw a local store as we started down the road and it had obviously been closed for a few years. I thought to myself well it looks like we are having macaroni and cheese, chili, and ginger ale for dinner.

When we were having mechanical difficulties we were parked un-level.

RV refrigerators do not work well when they are unleveled. So to error on the side of caution we cleaned out the refrigerator and had not restocked. I always have some canned or dry goods on hand so we are not going to starve.

The bad news was that we had no milk for coffee. This saddened me a little because I looked forward to drinking a nice hot cup of coffee and looking at the lake. Tracy and I would have to settle for hot tea.

The park is about seven miles off the highway down a winding, narrow, two lane road. We arrived at the gate at 6:30 pm and did the self-check in and grabbed a park map. After meandering around the park we quickly realized there were only about six other campers in the whole park.

I thought that was pretty awesome.

Lake Colorado City State Park, Texas:The view from our camp site.

Lake Colorado City State Park, Texas: Our camp site for the night.

Lake Colorado City State Park, Texas: Our camp site for the night.

Lake Colorado City State Park, Texas: Doug exploring the park.

Lake Colorado City State Park, Texas: LOOK WHAT DOUG FOUND!

Lake Colorado City State Park, Texas: WHERE DID IT GO?

 

Then we realized that the lake was almost empty. After doing some research on-line I found that the lake is only 22.5% full. That means that the lake is down by over 75%. The boat ramps were nowhere near water and if you did get a boat in the water you might be able to go about 10 feet before you hit a sand bar. The vegetation and wild life have just about taken over the park.

We picked out our site.

A nice pull thru for the motorhome with a covered picnic area and fire ring. Since a full burn ban is in effect for most of the western region of Texas the fire ring would go unused. After we docked the Big Lebowski and got the interior set back up we stepped outside to enjoy the view. We made it about 10 feet before Doug and I both started chocking on gnats. Tracy was flailing and shaking his head while screaming curse words and damning the gnats to a life in a fiery hell.

We braved them for a few more minutes and then ran back into the house only to let in a swarm. I turned on a few lights so they would be attracted to the light and leave us alone. I told Tracy to just wait until the sun went down and the wind would pick up. He looked at me like I was crazy and set about turning on the air conditioners. I set out to scrounge up some dinner and get us fed. We were starving, even the cactus outside was looking good.

By the time I finished making dinner, Tracy was outside marveling at how the temperature had dropped 30 degrees and there was an almost chilly breeze blowing. The gnats had dissipated enough that we could eat at the covered picnic table and enjoy the view. We ate Chili Cheese Mac, Rosemary Triscuits, and Ginger Ale. Not the healthiest of meals, but it was filling.

After washing the dishes and getting a bath I went back outside and Tracy settled in for a movie.

I was amazed at the number of stars in the sky, and how dark it was. It was so silent outside I could hear my own thoughts. I had not heard silence like that in years. I think I sat outside for two hours with Boss Lady by my side purring and rolling around on the picnic table. The cactus flowers smelled amazing. It reminded me of a lotion I used to buy called Boss Lady. No joke. The lotion was cactus flower scented. Sadly, they went out of business a few years ago.

The park host stopped by to let us know that a tornado watch was in effect and to welcome us to the park. They told us that if the weather was bad enough we were to go to the communal showers because they served as a storm shelter as well. I cringed at the thought of being in a communal shower, but took note of the fact that the closest one was about 100 feet away through a group of mesquite trees and cactus.

A feral cat showed up and proceeded to meow at the top of its lungs.

I could not shoo it away and Boss Lady was not happy. She guarded her human better than Doug does. We went back inside to find Tracy swatting gnats and moths all over the ceiling, off the TV, and off the overhead lights. He was fussing and whining and all I could do was laugh. Having grown up living next to a lake and having grandparents who lived next to a lake, I guess I just assumed everyone knew that the moths and gnats are part of the natural fauna. I had an instant flash back to being 9 years old and watching the moths flutter against the screens at night. Then I thought about how we will be vacuuming moths and gnats off the screens, and cleaning them out of the light fixtures for months to come.

Around 10 pm we went to bed with a nice chilly breeze blowing, bright starry sky shining in, and a feral cat meowing.

It was lovely! Around 2:30 am I sat straight up in bed and realized the breeze had stopped, there were no animal sounds, and it was black outside. It took me a minute to get my bearings and put my tennis shoes on. Tracy woke up and instantly did the same thing. We grabbed the weather radio and listened as the wind began to blow hard. I watched out the window between lightning strikes so I could remember where the shelter was located.

As the wind picked up even more it began to rain. I was able to get a live weather radar on my phone and saw that we were right in the middle of the worst part of the storm. The Big Lebowski was shaking and rattling, but the storm stopped. Me, Tracy, Doug, and Boss Lady all just looked at each other and went back to bed. I slept with my tennis shoes on. The bed was very small that night with all four of us pilled in. We didn’t sleep too well after that.

Upon waking up we decided to leave rather than stay there another night.

A new storm was expected and I did not want to be a part of it. We were both tired and ready to get some decent food. When we checked out we had a nice visit with the Park Ranger. She is a very nice woman and we enjoyed speaking with her. We told her about the feral cat and she said they had been trying to catch it, but have not been successful so far.

On our way back to the interstate Tracy and I took note of how there had once been a thriving community around the lake. The stores are all closed down and the nearest restaurant is in Big Spring, Texas, about 30 plus miles away.

Once we made it to Big Spring we stopped to eat and look up the weather.

Since the weather was not going to be favorable at Big Bend National Park we decided to go on to Carlsbad, New Mexico. It was only 168 miles away and it was on our list of places to see. After eating a big meal and having gotten little sleep the night before we decided to take a nap at the truck stop.

We rested for about two hours, all four of us piled up in the bed again, and then headed out US Hwy 180 to Lamesa, Texas. Our original plan was to shoot straight across to Hobbs, New Mexico and then drive down to Carlsbad to spend a few days there.

We left out of Big Spring around 1 pm. We made it to Lamesa in no time, only to find that the highway was closed due to mudslides and high water from flash flooding the night before. We followed the detour signs that took us onto a narrow, windy road through oil patches. From experience we know that oil field guys don’t slow down and they are not going to budge over at all. So you can imagine the curse words thrown around the Big Lebowski this afternoon when an oil tanker came barreling down towards us and we had to pull over into the grass because the oil tanker wanted both sides of the road, or when a hot shot driver hauling pipe was doing the same thing.

So now we are in the middle of oil fields in west Texas with 60 mile an hour winds and dust storms started blowing in.

Somewhere in the western region of   Texas: Dust Storm.

Somewhere in the western region of   Texas: Dust Storm.

Somewhere in the western region of   Texas: Dust Storm.

 

The detour took us 100 miles out of the way, and the whole time I kept hearing the theme song to Gilligan’s Island play in my head. A three hour tour….

New Mexico state line, crossing from Texas.

Finally, civilization! Yeah, the windshield needs to be cleaned.

We finally made it across the state line. The trip that should have only taken us four hours max, ended up taking us over six hours and we still have not made it to our destination. We needed to call it a day, so we are laid over at the Walmart in Hobbs, New Mexico for the night. 

I swear the west Texas winds stopped as soon as we crossed the state line.

It was like New Mexico said no to Texas wind, and I am so glad. It was hot as fire when we got here, but it’s the Chauhan Desert. It’s now 45 and awesome outside.

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Tomorrow we visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park. I am so excited because I have not been since I was a teenager. That’s when I fell in love with New Mexico. Tracy has never been to Carlsbad Caverns and is excited to go.

 

 



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