DEAR SHIRLEY: LEAVING TUCSON

As we left Davis Monthan AFB we passed the Plane Boneyard, the largest in the world.

Here is the website for the facility AMARG

For a slightly more artistic perspective Biggest Plane Graveyard

Linda had a perfect route mapped out. Much of it would be on roads we'd never taken and allow us to collect another 'stamp' from an Air Force campground in Abilene (10 different FAMCAMP stamps=5 free nights). Ah, the best laid plans...

Our first rest stop, in the Dragoons.

We spent the first night at Dreamcatcher RV Park, an Escapees campground in Deming, NM. Would someone please tell us why Deming is such a popular stop? The park couldn't have been any closer to I-10 without being on the shoulder. Oh, that's right, the train tracks were on the shoulder, then the park. It was a noisy night but the people were pleasant. The price, $20, was no bargain when we pay annual dues. So we won't do that again.

Our somewhat basic campsite.

We began to pay more attention to weather reports. Another severe cold front was forecast to reach Texas Thursday and the low would be 16° in Abilene, TX. Cities further to the South would not get quite as cold but they would get precipitation. What to do? Afraid our pipes and tanks would freeze at 16°, we opted to stay South on the dreaded I-10, beat the storm and wait it out in San Antonio. What could be more secure than an Army base, right?

A stop at COSTCO in El Paso netted us gasoline for under $3.

Wednesday night we headed for an old favorite, Balmorrhea State Park near Fort Stockton, TX. Yes, this is more like it.

The pool is the world's largest spring-fed swimming pool. Scuba classes come from miles away, and even New Mexico, to do check-out dives in it. It holds 3.5 million gallons of water. Balmorhea State Park.

Up and out of the campsite early, we drove 377 miles to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. The wind, 25-35 mph with gusts up to 65 mph, made driving a chore and we traded off regularly. Rain the last 100 miles kept us committed to getting there before temperatures dropped and roadways turned icy. Wind chill was 19°.

It rained during of the night. The temperature dropped to 24° by morning. The power even went out briefly. We couldn't see out of our back window in the morning - it was covered with a sheet of ice!