A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 135 miles from Junction, Texas to San Antonio, Texas.
Author: David
Travel from Junction to San Antonio, Texas
We drove our coach 135 miles, about two hours of driving, from Junction, Texas to San Antonio, Texas.
The map route, heading southeast:
The chickens didn’t want us to go; they roosted on our sewer hose (the feeling was mutual; we could have stayed longer):
Leaving the RV park, past the pecan trees:
Ranch Road:
Steep grade ahead:
I-10:
A stop at a rest area for lunch:
Paladin on the back of the driver chair as we started off again:
But he soon retuned to his safe space next to the passenger chair:
A sign of approaching a big city; a HOV lane appears:
And freeway overpasses:
Exit to I-35 south:
Another exit:
Our destination is appropriately enough on Campground Road:
A rough one-mile dirt road leading to the RV park:
The office:
Paladin on the steps, waiting for Jenn to return from checking in:
Continuing on down the dirt road to our site:
Our site:
Wash Wax All waterless cleaner
Like any vehicle, a motorhome can get dirty over time from road grime, dust, rain, etc. In the past year or so of owning our coach, we have paid to get it professionally cleaned by a team of people three times — at the Xscapers Bash in January 2022, at NIRVC in March, and at the Tiffin Rally in July. In between those times (and often within days of paying hundreds for a wash & wax), it has been somewhat dirty, which didn’t make us entirely happy.
It’s tricky to get a large RV cleaned — one can pay a lot of money to get a team to come to it and clean it onsite, or one can take it to a truck wash (and worry that they might ruin the paint and/or protective coat), or wash by hand in a campground. But most campgrounds don’t allow washing of RVs, due to the massive amount of water needed.
Also, while carwashes for our truck are easier to find, they can sometimes be tricky, too, when in out-of-the-way places. With our fondness of exploring dirt roads, it can be a mud-ball for a while, too.
I’ve heard for a while of another option, that doesn’t use water, so can be done in any campsite. That system is called Wash Wax All from Aero Cosmetics, and I finally purchased their kit.
It really does work very well; it’s amazing how much better it looks with relatively little effort — a few hours to clean the coach and truck. So from now on, we’ll keep our coach and truck much more clean.
The kit comes in a couple of boxes, including a long box for the mop handle:
The Wash Wax All kit comes with a bag of goodies, including the wash liquid, spray bottle, heavy-duty cleaner, mop pole and double-sided head, scrub brush, and multiple microfiber mop pads and microfiber towels:
The mop is a clever design, with a heavy-duty extendable pole and a double-sided head that angles flexibly. The system works by spraying the liquid onto one side of the mop, wiping it onto a small section of the coach (a few feet at a time), then flipping the mop over and wiping it off before it dries — no water needed:
For lower areas like below the slides, and fiddly areas, I spray directly on, and use two microfiber towels to wipe on and off:
The wet towel gets pretty dirty, but they can be easily tossed in the washing machine and dryer (without fabric softener) to restore them to like new:
The mop pole is long enough to reach all the way to the top of our coach, but collapses to a compact length:
We also used Wash Wax All on our truck:
Midway cleaning the hood:
The mop is useful for cleaning the roof, and larger areas:
Both the coach and truck look so much nicer when clean! I just wish I had purchased the kit sooner. Highly recommended!
(And no, they didn’t sponsor me; I don’t have any sponsorships for this blog. Maybe one day…?)
Ingram, Texas and Stonehenge II
We noticed a place called “Stonehenge II” on a map when looking for nearby attractions, and had to go take a look at it. We’ve been a couple of times to another Stonehenge replica, the Maryhill Stonehenge in Washington, just north of the Oregon border.
This one is in Ingram, Texas, a bit less than an hour south of the Pecan Valley RV Park (which is “nearby” in Texas terms):
Some murals in town:
We first stopped at Hunter House Cafe for brunch:
We’re in Texas, so of course I had to try grits:
Jenn had Huevos Rancheros:
Then we proceeded to Stonehenge II:
Plus a couple of Easter Island head replicas, for reasons:
It’s 90% the height and 60% the width of the original:
Fort McKavett State Historic Site
We visited Fort McKavett State Historic Site, a 150-year-old fort in West Texas, from the Texas-Indian Wars of 1850–1875, with a museum, some ruins, and several restored structures.
The visitor center and museum is in the restored hospital building:
Some museum exhibits:
Another angle of the hospital building:
Officer buildings:
A schoolhouse, that was used from 1874 to 1956:
Ruins of the commanding officers quarters:
Other officer quarters, restored:
Headquarters:
Barracks:
Ruins of barracks:
Officers quarters:
A “sink”:
The “Dead House” (morgue) behind the hospital:
Other side of the hospital:
A fascinating look at a slice of regional history.
South Llano River State Park
South of Junction, Texas is the South Llano River State Park. We’ve got a Texas State Parks pass… so when driving around town, we decided to check it out:
Info sign:
The visitor center:
An electric & water-only campground (a bit too small for us, though we might have fit in some sites):
A major feature of the park is a wildlife refuge, including a turkey roosting area, where wild turkeys roost in the pecan trees overnight:
We didn’t see any turkeys, though did see one of the small deer:
At a river access point, an interesting idea: a box of trash bags:
The river:
Some subsidence:
Junction, Texas
The Pecan Valley RV Park is about 8 miles (12 minutes) west of Junction, Texas, the nearest city.
I thought that it might be interesting to post about towns we explore, in addition to travel days, RV parks, and attractions (please do let me know if this is actually interesting!).
So here are a selection of photos of Junction from a few visits there:
The Post Office:
The grocery store:
Grocery store:
A roadside attraction, the Deer Horn Tree, made of hundreds of deer antlers, in front of a processing shop:
When in Texas, of course we have to have BBQ:
Birds on electrical pylons:
Back to Pecan Valley RV Park:
Pecan Valley RV Park
We stayed at Pecan Valley RV Park in Junction, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice and quiet RV park, with chickens, ducks, goats, and other animals.
Dates:
- Check in: 2022-12-04
- Check out: 2022-12-11
- 7 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny, a little drizzle
- High temps ranging between 63-78°F, lows around 47-61°F
- A little afternoon wind, up to 25 MPH gusts
Noise:
- No significant road noise; no train noise
- Occasional neighbor noise
- Chicken song!
Site:
- #17, pull-through, asphalt
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
- Very level
- Large site: about 65 feet long by about 50 feet wide
- Picnic table, fire pit
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, fairly conveniently located
- 50 PSI water, fairly conveniently located
- A little too low sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 79-80 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 80 ms ping
- AT&T: 50 Mbps down, 9-17 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
- Verizon: 80 Mbps down, 24 Mbps up, 75 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage bins
- Package delivery to site
- Country store with various swag
- Fresh eggs
- Chickens and ducks and goats, oh my!
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Close to I-10 but a world away
We stayed for a week and wish it had been longer. This park (and I do mean park) was so tranquil and relaxing but also convenient on/off the Interstate and close to town for groceries, etc. When we pulled in, we were met by the owners, who guided us to our site. All the sites look out over a large grassy area and are nicely spaced, so there’s a good feeling of openness. We also had a good view of one of the chicken coops and really enjoyed watching the hens throughout our stay (and giving them treats). There is a nice farm store by the main chicken coop and goat pen where you can buy goodies and swag, plus the owners or camp hosts will bring farm-fresh eggs to you on request ($5/doz). You can also wander down to the river for swimming, fishing, or just relaxing with the resident ducks. We will definitely stay here again when we pass through the area. We camped at Pecan Valley RV Park in a Motorhome.
An interactive map of the RV park; our spot was to the right of the “Space #18” marker:
This RV park is delightful in part due to its free-range chickens — not so great if you’re afraid of the tiny raptors, but we enjoy them, and miss them from our former homestead. Here are several chickens at our site:
The utilities were fairly convenient:
We also got around to adding the Big Bend National Park sticker to our coach, the last new park for several months:
More pictures of chickens at our site:
We gave them some leftover rice as a treat (the owners invite people to give treats); here’s a video of chickens eating the rice:
And a slow-mo video of chickens eating rice:
They liked to hang out on our mat (yes, I had to clean off a little poop when we left; not a big deal):
The RV park also has some goats:
And a few ducks down at the adjacent river:
They also feed the wild deer daily; the deer are smaller than we’re used to:
And there are squirrels living in the trees; here’s a video of lots of them scampering:
They have a raised bed garden near the river (currently dormant, being winter):
And an unstaffed “general store” where people can go in and choose items to buy, purchasing by writing the selected items on a pad of paper:
Well, the store is staffed by chickens, but I’m not sure they count:
Inside:
The store list:
We bought some cookies, candied pecans, and a tea towel:
They also sell freshly laid eggs; we bought a couple dozen:
An RV park sign:
The “chick-in” point:
When we arrived, we received info on items for purchase etc, and a free sample of candied pecans:
Art and a garden:
The RV park was fairly sparsely populated at this time of year. Here are some other RVs and the bathroom:
Near our site was a mobile chicken coop; here it’s being opened in the morning:
Chickens emerging:
Peeking in the pop door of the coop:
Roosting bars:
Nesting boxes:
More rice treats for chickens:
Paladin watching the chickens:
A forward-and-back GIF of chickens; I love how they run:
Eating GIFs:
Let’s finish with a couple more pictures of our site:
A delightful park; we’ve really enjoyed having the chickens and other animals around. We’ll definitely stay here again.
Video: Marathon, Texas to Junction, Texas motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 269 miles from Marathon, Texas to Junction, Texas.
Travel from Marathon to Junction, Texas
We drove our coach 269 miles, about five hours of driving, from Marathon, Texas to Junction, Texas.
The map route, heading north then east:
Firstly, a video of retracting the front driver-side slide-out:
Our coach with the slides in, and the truck hooked up, ready to leave:
Paladin went straight down the steps, so I left the step cover open:
Some fairly barren hills; compare to later pictures:
Heading north:
Roadworks; narrow lanes are a little disconcerting in a wide coach:
More roadworks:
Joining I-10 to head east:
Roadrunner mural:
“Cud you not text and drive?” There were several amusing cow-themed billboards like this:
Paladin still on the steps, enjoying the view out the cat window:
We stopped at a roadside picnic area for lunch:
Since the step cover was open, I hopped out to stretch my legs. Here’s an old stagecoach stop:
Our coach:
Paladin on the back of the couch during lunch:
An interesting mountain:
We stopped again, at a parking area (there are various kinds of stopping places: a rest stop has bathrooms, a picnic area has tables but no bathrooms, and a parking area doesn’t have any amenities… which is fine for us, being self-contained):
Our coach:
Road Ranger fuel stop:
There was both the Road Ranger truck stop and a Love’s fairly nearby; we would normally have gone for the Love’s, but the Open Roads app indicated that Road Ranger had a much better discounted fuel price:
A river, and a lot more greenery; we’re out of the desert now:
Our exit:
Our destination, Pecan Valley RV Park and Farm, nestled behind a pecan tree farm:
Chick-in:
Guided to our site by the owners:
I started this post with a picture of our coach ready to leave; let’s end with our coach just arrived, before putting the slides out:
