Seymour, TX
Tuesday, February 16
Our day began at the Hidden Valley RV Park in Del Rio, TX. This was our second night staying here after three inches of snow blanketed Texas on Sunday night. Yesterday, Andi and I saw first-hand how ill-equipped the state of Texas is in handling such weather. For us Wisconsinites, three inches of snow is nothing! But to Texans, it is a hold stop on everything. Yesterday, we waited over two hours to the last bit of propane left in Del Rio. Gas stations, grocery stores and other businesses are closed because they don’t have power.
In an unrelated unfortunate event, we found out yesterday that there was a fire in one of our pole sheds back home. For that reason, Andi and I decided we needed to start making our way back to Wisconsin. I wasn’t very excited to drive the RV across the country in snow & icy road conditions, but Andi wanted to get home ASAP to see the shed and meet with our insurance representatives. So, we hit the road.
The roads were actually in great shape leaving Del Rio. Most of the snowfall from Sunday night had melted and the highways were clear of ice and snow. The roads were free of cars, too! I don't think we saw another person driving on the highway. “This is crazy!” Andi and I kept saying to each other. What is the big deal here? Yes— it was cold outside with temperatures in the teens, but nothing too extreme. Unfortunately, the Texas power grid can’t handle the increase in demand and they’ve implemented rolling black-outs across the state. The power is suppose to turn off and come back on in waves, but from what we’ve experienced in Del Rio, the power has been completely off since Sunday night.
It was like an apocalypse hit Texas. Every gas station, grocery store and business we passed were closed. Not necessarily because of the snow and ice, but because there was no power. Andi and I realized getting fuel to drive today might be a challenge. Cars and semis were parked at the pumps, out of gas and waiting for the power to turn back so they could re-fuel.
We spent all day driving, taking the fastest route north from the bottom of Texas to the top of the state. Typically we trade drivers every 90 minutes or so to give each other a break, but today I was thankful for Andi who took on the responsibility of doing all the driving! I did not feel comfortable maneuvering the RV in winter weather.
Around 3:00pm, just north of Abeline, TX, it started to snow again. The forecast called for another 1-3 inches to fall into the evening. We were stressed. The roads and visibility were deteriorating, and neither Andi and I knew where we were going to stay for the night. Andi was smiling and trying to keep a positive attitude with small talk. Meanwhile, I was ready to hyperventilate into a paper bag! Google re-directed us onto a gravel road with blowing drifts of snow and I wondered what in the world we were doing here. Two thumbs down for RVing in the wintertime. This is not what we envisioned coming to Texas in February!
Andi and I decided staying in a hotel might be easier tonight. We had enough propane to heat our RV for one night, but were unsure if we’d find a place to refill propane again. We also winterized the pipes in our RV a few days ago, so we didn’t have any water. Taking a shower and not having to worry about heat for a night would be nice! I called a few hotels in the closest “big” town to where we were and everything was booked for the night. Andi was able to find us a motel room at HH Creek Inn in Seymour, TX, so that’s where we went.
I breathed a sigh of relief when we pulled into the parking lot of the motel… and then the RV got stuck in a snow drift right there in the parking lot. Gah! We’d come so far today only to get stuck here?! Andi had a stern look of determination on his face and somehow drove the RV out of the snow bank.
We checked into our motel room, and it was perfectly clean and cozy. This being the first time Tory and Aden had ever stayed in a “motel,” they were a bit confused where the pool was. Andi and I explained to them that we were doing good to find somewhere to stay with running water and electricity tonight.
Andi offered to take the kids with him while he went to find gas and dinner while I stayed back in the motel to exercise out some of my anxiety. If we’ve learned anything the past few days about RVing in the winter, it’s to fill up on fuel and propane and buy groceries every chance you get.
Andi returned an hour later with a rotisserie chicken and a bagged salad mix for dinner. We ate dinner on the two queen beds, watched TV and popped a bag of popcorn for an after-dinner treat. Tory and Aden proclaimed this as their favorite night of traveling so far. Why are hotel rooms such a novelty for kids?!
Fortunately, we had a quiet night of sleep without any interruptions. Tomorrow, our goal is to make it 5 hours north to Wichita, KS. Hoping the roads are clear!
