Play it again, Sam.....

8:16 am - Thursday - January 17th - Dallas, TX - 53º F, 86% humidity, wind 9 mph out of the west.......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 58º F.

We awoke once again to leaden skies, and cold temperatures....a very familiar theme.  Our modest goal for the day was to make it to an Elks Lodge near Dallas, TX where we will drop our anchor for a couple of days before continuing our ever westward trek.  Our travel distance this day was just 147 miles.  Once again the Interstate was flat and straight most of our drive.  About 80 miles into our day we took advantage of a Rest Area for an extended break.......

Our Rest Area was the one circled in RED

.....typically Rest Areas are oval in layout, but this one was a very long rectangle.....how long?  Well I know because we walked up and then back down the 1/2 mile long sidewalk for a total of 1 mile of walking during our break (per TLE's GPS program on her phone).

  We arrived at the Elks Lodge about 1:45 pm after an uneventful drive.  There was one site left (50 amp no less) and we were able to back our 62' into that spot without blocking any parking traffic.  I plugged into the 50 amp receptacle and then went inside to dial in our DirecTV when we got a call from our daughter Meredith.  She calls us often when she is driving somewhere, and that was the case this day.  While we were talking to her I saw a truck and 5th wheel pull into the Lodge parking lot.  I'm thinking "Boy, I glad we got here when we did!" as I watch the gentleman park his rig and walk over to the Newell.  At first I'm thinking he thinks we are the camp host, but when I open the door he advises me he reserved the site I am in the day prior by calling the office.....DOH!  There is no indication on the website for this lodge that reservations are necessary, or allowed.  There are a number of Elks Lodges that allow, and in some cases, require a reservation due to their popularity, but they state so on their website.  Nonetheless, he had reserved and paid for our site, the last site, the day before.

So, what do we do?  It's still early in the afternoon (about 2 pm), so I ask him for some time for us to come up with a 'Plan B'.  First, I check the weather forecast....the low for night is forecast to be 52º F.....not too bad....so we decide to just move over to a far corner in the parking lot to dry camp for the night.  In the end I think we ended up with the best spot, because there is no one parked on either side of us.....total privacy.....

 I think plan 'B' worked out pretty well!

All of the others are crammed into the corner in the left background

.....by the time we disconnected, and repositioned the Newell it was after  3 pm, and time for a nap....at least for moi.  About 5 pm TLE began preparing our dinner, which consisted of baked talapia (fish), and roasted vegetables (sweet potatoes, onions, zucchini, potatoes, and garlic).  With all the cooking shows we watch I have become interested in TLE's cooking style, and how she prepares these amazing dishes from scratch day after day, so I am now taking time to watch her preparation, and asking a lot of questions.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll cook her a dinner some day.

After dinner we watched some TV, and then read before heading off to slumberland once again.....thank for stopping by!

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