#54 - Tuesday, 2 May 2017 - Alpine, Texas

The issue of the Journal of the BTS that led to holing up in Alpine and working is done and dusted. It is at the printer and with this morning’s coffee I am finishing the Interactive PDF version that online-only subscribers receive in lieu of the print Journal. Yesterday I was able to start exploring the area and took a scenic drive through the Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area about 40 miles south of here on Hwy. 118. It is a restoration stronghold for the Desert Bighorn Sheep, but I wasn’t lucky enough to see one. I was lucky enough to get the timing right though, as yesterday’s first day of May was the opening of the driving tour season in the park. A permit is required for hiking, hunting and primitive camping access.

Alpine has surprised me and I wish I would have been able to enjoy it more. Catching some live weekend music at the Railroad Blues would likely be a fun experience. So far the only thing I dislike about Alpine is all of the maddening one-way streets and four-way stops. But I do have two more days here before I head west through El Paso and into New Mexico for two nights in Deming, just north of the boot heel of the "Land of Enchantment". Below is my itinerary for this leg of my road trip.

APRIL
=====

21-26    Big Bend National Park, Texas
27->    Lost Alaskan RV Park, Alpine, Texas

MAY
=====

<-3    Lost Alaskan RV Park, Alpine, Texas
4-5    Roadrunner RV Park, Deming, New Mexico
6    Tombstone RV Park, Tombstone, New Mexico
7-9    Rose Canyon, Coronado National Forest, Tucson, Arizona
10-11    Pichaco Peak State Park, Eloy, Arizona
12-    ?


On Sunday, May 7, I will arrive in the Coronado National Forest where I have a primitive campsite (no hookups) for two nights in the Willow Edge Loop of Rose Canyon Campground. The next afternoon Dr. Brent Hendrixson and his three students will meet me there and we will begin three-four nights of scorpion research collecting. On the 10th, we all will break camp and move to Pichaco Peak State Park near Eloy where I’ll be staying for two nights with electricity. Brent and his crew will be moving on to camp at Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction closer to Phoenix on Thursday, May 11, but I’ll stay camped at Pichaco for my second night and probably just truck up to join them for the evening’s scorpion hunt and then say my goodbyes and head back to my site at Pichaco. They are moving at a quick pace farther to the west to work three sites in southern California next. I can’t travel at that speed and don’t want to pass through areas so quickly. In fact, on the 12th I will visit Tucson’s Saguaro National Park and find someplace nearby to stay in the area for a couple more days, and then will backtrack to New Mexico and likely stay at the park in Deming again. I have a friend in Albuquerque who works at the Rattlesnake Museum (I plan to visit) and hopefully she will be able to join me for some snake hunting in the boot heel. Rather than tow my rig all the way north to ABQ, if the park in Deming that I’ll see this Thursday is adequate, I’ll probably just stay there for the week and make all trips to ABQ and other farther north New Mexico destinations by truck alone. Next on the agenda will be returning to Texas to visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park and New Mexico’s adjacent Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

When I hit the road I had no plans to return to the Midwest anytime soon, but my driver’s license is expiring on my August 5 birthday so I am forced to return to Chicagoland for a visit. That works out perfect as I have far too many clothes on the road with me. I will find someplace to store my RV starting July 1 and between then and now will pack up everything unneeded and haul it back to storage. I know I will be restless there and not want to stay long, plus I have new adventures to get ready for come late July and early August.

I had been hoping since this adventure started that sooner rather than later my mate Mark would be able to take a trip over from England and join me. Being here for my birthday sounds like perfect timing and he is currently shopping air fare for a two-week trip with my August 5 birthday in the middle. So, after my quick return to Chicagoland in early July, I will be coming up with a plan for his visit, which will likely begin by me picking up at Phoenix airport. I’ve also extended open invites to other friends to join me at any points along the road, and I am hoping that Chad is going to be able to meet us in the southwest and that maybe, just maybe, Apple will as well.

     &emdash;   All the best, M

#43 - Sunday, 2 April 2017 - Lake Charles, Louisiana

Rainy Sunday morning greetings from Twelve Oaks RV Park near Lake Charles in southwestern Louisiana. Yesterday was a four state day. I left the panhandle of Florida and drove across the narrow southern tips of Alabama and Mississippi and on past New Orleans, through Baton Rouge across the mighty Mississippi River near its end at the Gulf of Mexico and on to this park 33 miles from the Texas border. I doubt this 2017 road trip will have any other days where I am in four states. Only a half hour from Texas, I could have easily made it five states, but my next destination is Sea Rim State Park. It lies on the Gulf coast in extreme southeastern Texas about 100 miles from here.

The freedom to choose destinations on a momentary whim is a wonderful part of this experience. As I drove along the Gulf of Mexico through four states I didn’t really consider spending any time oceanside until I stopped for a picnic lunch with Jesse at the Mississippi Welcome Center along Interstate 10. As she ate her apple and I had a can of tuna and crackers, I looked at my Texas Gazetteer and 2017 Road Atlas. I looked at the path I had driven and the stretches of ocean I had passed. State and National Parks are my sites of choice, and I spied Sea Rim State Park. I looked at its website on my iPhone and became intrigued. It has RV sites along the beach and a boardwalk that takes you along a path above the brackish marshes. It also said there were wildlife observation blinds. I decided I had to go. Unfortunately, a website glitch didn’t allow booking a campsite for the same day, so I was only able to reserve a site for the following day – today. I booked two nights, but if it is what I hope I likely will ask for another two during check in.

Since I couldn’t get into Sea Rim last night, I had two choices: crash for free in a truck stop or Wal-Mart parking lot, or find an inexpensive RV park somewhere along the interstate in Louisiana. After the picnic ended I sat in my truck and thumbed through my giant RV campground directory and chose one. It was three hours farther along the interstate. I read the guide’s brief description and three ratings system and then visit the park’s website to check out photos and more info. I’m not too choosy for only one night’s stay, but I certainly don’t want to pay $ to stay in a shithole. Twelve Oaks was certainly reasonable at the Good Sam Club discount price and I wasn’t disappointed upon arrival.

I only have two hours to go so I’ll have a leisurely morning here and am now making eggs and coffee. I plan to get a few more images up on Instagram and write a few postcards. Then I’ll break camp and drive a short distance west before heading south to explore the gulf coast for a few days.

Cheers, MJ

#34 - Saturday, 18 March 2017 | Flamingo, Everglades National Park, Florida

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I type this from my campsite in the Flamingo Campground at the extreme southwestern tip of Everglades National Park whilst drinking a Jameson’s & ginger ale. Sláinte!

I don’t have any Irish blood. However, I’ve loved my trips to Dublin and I do love Irish lasses, whiskeys and stouts. Since they don’t have any drunken days of celebration for someone whose father was born in the Transylvanian Alps and whose mother’s ancestors came from Sweden and Luxembourg, I am happy to claim Eyre at least one day a year.

I am now along the ocean at the southwestern tip of Everglades National Park. I am sort of “off the grid” here. I still have electricity at my campsite and can power my lights, electronics and use A/C and electric water heater and such, but I had to fill my potable water tank for the first time. There isn’t a water service at the site so I finally am testing the 49 gallon water system I will use off the grid. So far I have been able to hook directly up to a city water spigot. Using the tank means that I have to turn on my water pump to pressurize my lines. The Wheelhouse has a 66 gallon total capacity grey water tank. This is where the sinks and shower empty. I have it split into two separate tanks as the kitchen is in the rear and the bathroom is in the center. I have a 33 gallon black water tank, which is where the toilet drains. I’ve been able to go a week without dumping the tanks, and now that I am not hooked up to unlimited water I am going to practice my real “off the grid” mode. This means taking “military showers”. No luxurious hot water running non-stop. It is get a little wet. Wash completely and rinse as quickly and using as sparing an amount of water as possible.

But the “off the grid” aspect that will be most difficult for me is not having internet. I have Verizon service for my iPhone. It has the most extensive coverage and the LTE is fast. However, it’s very expensive and their data plans suck. That said, I finally realized that I was paying more for 16GB of monthly data than their Unlimited plan. Of course, the thieves don’t tell you that or upgrade you automatically. But after going from 4 to 8 to 16GB of data and then still going over and paying overage charges, I investigated and now have no data worries. However, even with Verizon’s excellent nationwide service, there are places where signal is weak or non-existent. Here at the tip of the Everglades, I have no service at all. The Visitor’s Center has wi-fi so I will use it once a day and have to go cold turkey and suffer withdrawal. That may sound dramatic, but I am a guy who sleeps with his phone – and usually his iPad and MacBook Pro as well! I am online until I pass out and when I wake during the night I check email and social media. Things are going to have to change, and I fully admit that the change will be healthy. I’d love to get to where I only was online while drinking morning coffee or having a nightcap before bed.

As I drove out of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, I encountered about a dozen white-tail deer dispersed over about one mile of the crushed shell entrance road. Most people would name the horse as the most beautiful animal alive, and I’d be hard-pressed to argue against them, but I certainly would rank our ubiquitous deer species among the top ten. Once I hit the paved road I came across a fox trotting across the street. The drive was about five hours with a stop for restroom and takeaway food. Due to staying an extra day at KPPSP I arrived at Everglades National Park a day behind schedule. My five-night campsite reservation was prepaid. I asked if there was any availability if I wished to extend my stay, and the ranger kindly offered to give me five nights so I wouldn’t lose a night or the money. So, now I am here in ENP until midday on Wednesday.

I have nothing planned afterward. I’m going to look at my maps and other references and see if there are any must-see Florida stops. I can’t go any farther south except to explore the Keys. I don’t want to participate in the weekend traffic bustle, so I intend to leave here early Monday morning and drive at least as far the Key Deer Refuge. These dwarf cousins of the white-tail are on my bucket list to photograph. If all goes well I’d like to make it to Key West. I’ve never been there. I just have to see how late I can get back into ENP and the Flamingo Campground. As I’ve written, Flamingo is the southwestern extremity of ENP. The park entrance is 40 miles away. Then you have to go east back toward Florida City and then south to the Keys. Flamingo to Key West is 187 miles that takes almost four hours. When I leave here I am likely to go up the west coast of Florida and camp a couple more places (state parks when possible, but RV sites are fully booked most everywhere …) before I reach the panhandle and my eventual path west.

Check Instagram tomorrow or Monday for crocodile and osprey images ...

All the best, MJ

#7 - Sunday, 8 January 2017 | Huntley, Illinois

This blog is still in its early days and readers are few and far between. However, I am committed to growing it and using it to journal during my travels. I have decided to make a magnetic sign for the back of my travel trailer that will have my Instagram/Twitter (@jacobipix) and the URI to this blog. Once I am posting about my hikes, animal sightings and such, hopefully the blog keywords will also draw new readers in. In the meantime, I ask the few of you who are reading to share via social media and the like.

As I wrote in the last entry, now that spending all of January in southern Florida was a dream unrealized I am making the best of the opportunity I have. Unfortunately, making two trips south before my trip to Asia has become increasingly unlikely as well. I probably will just resign myself to spending time with family and friends and preparing for my adventures while I wait until I have both truck and RV to leave. Although the truck being also delayed has been a great disappointment, I will make the best of it and wait until I have both truck and travel trailer before heading south. Yesterday the Ford dealer found an identical truck (color and features) in another state and has put in a trade request. Tomorrow their Ford rep will tell them when the originally ordered vehicle should arrive and if it wouldn't make it by January 17, the day the RV is supposed to be completed, hopefully the out of state dealer will be willing to trade.

Today is the 8th and that means that it is exactly one month until I depart for Asia. I just was texting with my best mate Mark about our plans. I am excited about visiting Sarawak, Borneo for the first time and especially eager to trek in Bako National Park. There are so many amazing creatures there I wish to point a lens toward. Proboscis monkeys, orangutans, silver langurs, tree vipers, river dolphins, crocodiles, and assorted spiders are among the animals I seek. After Borneo we will be on Langkawi Island, Malaysia where I visited two years ago. There we will also find amazing animals like colugos, lorises, spectacled (dusky) langurs, butterfly agamas, flying lizards, water monitors and tarantulas. Those of you who follow my Instagram (@jacobipix) may have seen my organized camera gear all laid out yesterday.

We will have a group of 14 in Sarawak and my dear friends Ray & Angela Hale will be joining us in Langkawi. We have several birthdays to celebrate and have hired a boat for the Andaman Sea. Our captain is a German woman named Eva who we hired two years ago. Her sailing craft has a full bar and we are served appetizers and mini meals all day long with unlimited drinks. Mark and I love treading water in the ocean while drinking a cold can of Tiger lager. Last time we saw sea otters swimming nearby and it was exhilarating. I am extremely sensitive to motion sickness and was very apprehensive about the boat trip two years ago. However, the sea off Langkawi is calm and with Dramamine I had no worries and we had an amazing day diving off the second level of the boat into the ocean and exploring little islands.

All the best, MJ