Terlingue to Carlsbad

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blog 03-11-19 Terlingue to Carlsbad

The start was slow but steady and by 10:30 we were on the road north toward Alpine. The nearest everything is in Alpine including the doctor. The people here in Terlingue and Big Bend Nat'l Park have to go to Alpine for the nearest doctor, 90 miles away. As a result the tour company's staff are extensively trained in emergency medicine. Lots of bad things can happen here so it's a necessary skill.

About 1/2 an hour down the road an alarm went off somewhere in the back of the camper. No place to pull over, Watson upset and me worried it was a stressful 30 min til I could get off the road. I narrowed the sound down to the fuse panel on the upper cabinet so I turned off the battery connection and the propane and motored up the road with the radio louder. Just outside of Alpine I got a cell signal and found an rv repair shop just 1/4 mile up the road. The mechanic came and looked, tested the fuses then waved the wall clock at me saying is this the sound you heard? The batteries were almost dead so they were screaming for new ones, go figure. He took out the 2 batteries and said, "here's you problem"!! We both had a really good laugh and down the road I went, very thankful and little embarrassed.

North of Alpine it turned into flat land and natural gas mines all over. I have never seen so many white pick-up trucks. Every employee must be issued one for signing on. It was so busy, noisy and dirty very suddenly, I just had an awful culture shock. I love living in my little perfect world.

The traffic was unbelievable because the highway was under construction and destruction from the heavy trucks all at once. It took an extra 1 1/2 hours to get through but before long I was in my camping spot for the next 3 nights in Carlsbad, NM. This campground is really nice with electric, water and sewer hookups and cable and cell service too, I'm in heaven.

There are 3 dog parks here so Watson is in heaven too. We found all 3 but only tried one where Watson just smelled around, wouldn't chase the ball. We headed back to the house and settled in for the night. I have a lot of tv to catch up on.

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