Mammoth Takes to the Bats, Day 8 and return day

Tue 18 July

Brantley Lake State park NM to Tin Cup RV Park,TX

Farewell, Brantley Lake

Beastly hot day. When I got up and went outside at about 6:45, it was 72--cool and pleasant. But not for long. By the time we left at 10:00 it was hot, and while driving it got worse. At the end, when we ended up at Tin Cup RV Park in Merkel Texas, it was this:

Before we left I took a few minutes to go in search of the quail that had been roaming up and down the campground. I found them--hope the picture turned out.
Scaled Quail (aka "Cottontop")

 

And I also got a bonus--Molly got to see a jackrabbit and I found a Horny Toad.
Texas Horned Lizard

The traffic was horrid, the road surface alternately nice and horrid but we were stuck behind Semi trucks for most of the day until we finally, finally hit I-20 at Sweetwater. But after that the traffic seemed to get worse. And, as I said, beastly hot. My seat was in the sun for a while and I got so hot I went and lounged on the sofa behind the driver's seat. And snoozed just a little.

Review
Tin Cup RV Park
A parking lot, but a very nice parking lot
Site surface: concrete slab and gravel

The owner (or was it manager?) was very nice and the whole stopover as pleasant as a body could make it. They'd cleared a little rectangle of land, graveled it over, and put in RV sites in three rows or maybe four. The first row had sites with covers and if I'd known it was going to be 110 degrees in July in Merkel Texas, I'd have gotten one.

But no matter. The power, water and sewer worked beautifully. We had a pull-thru site, so no reason to unhook. And there was a nice little dog park (no shade, though) and a little playground at the other end. No view or scenic walks, of course, and the highway noise from I-20 was audible but not overpowering. Perfect for a one-night stopover; more than adequate for a couple of nights if you are working from the road and need a stationary office. They have WIFI and it worked pretty well for an hour, then slowed down. Usable, though.

And next day to home. Great trip; bad time of year.

TRIP NOTES:
1. You can tell you're getting old when one marker of a good trip is that you accomplish regular bowel movements.

2. In hot weather, plan to pack enough teeshirts to change daily and enough bras to change every two days. Or oftener.

3. Seriously consider coming up with an excuse to come back to Brantley Lake in cooler weather. It's a lovely park and there are trails I didn't get to hike. Carlsbad Caverns area has some trails too, and likely some other stuff to see. Plus Sitting Bull Falls.

Miscellaneous pics