Lake Texoma → Lake Bonham → Lake Tawakoni → Hawkins

[amw]

My first day in Texas was hot. I woke up to an overcast morning. It was still and muggy. Just as i was leaving i bumped into the woman cleaning the bathrooms - she's a workamper, cleaning for her spot. We talked a bit about my bike trip and then she revealed she decided to go full-time RVer during COVID. She quit her job in Arlington, moved out of

Comments

[opakele]

Interesting.

It sounds like all is going well, with a few challenges.

Sleeping on picnic tables would not have occurred to me!

Safe travels.

[amw]

Yeah, it's interesting to me the challenges aren't exactly what i expected. Things like not having cell coverage in relatively densely populated areas (compared to Canada) or having to pay through the nose for a tent camping spot are really things i didn't expect at all. I expected a lot more technical problems with the bike, or body pains/injuries. Here's hoping i don't have to face any of those!

[opakele]

You are painting a grim picture for life in the United States, but I can't protest.

I think you are calling it.

It makes me sad because my younger life memories were so different and so flawed.

[amw]

I'd love to meet up if i do end up heading back in the other direction! At the moment my path is dictated pretty strongly by where i can find a tent campsite, which means i haven't gotten to go check out specific towns that perhaps i otherwise would have. Either way, i expect at some point i will head back into the southwest via central Texas, probably after i do whatever i decide to do in Florida

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[jenndolari]

Dogs are going to be a Big Problem throughout the South. I had to deal with this constantly when I used to bike throughout rural Texas. Usually, as soon as I saw one charging, I'd get a bike pump and swing it threateningly at them. They'd usually head back

[amw]

I just can't believe this thing about coal rolling. It is so, so stupid. What makes it even stupider is that up until you mentioned it on this comment, i just thought these guys had broken trucks. So they weren't even "owning" me, i just pitied them for not having enough money to fix their truck and having to breathe polluted air all the time. Utterly ridiculous

[jenndolari]

Oooh, yeah, stealth camping on someone elses property is gonna get you shot at out there, or pretty much anywhere in Texas.

There should be a good number of motels out there, though. I know it goes against the camping thing, but it may be your best bet for just powering through the area.

[amw]

Yeah, i think i'm starting to be a little more open to motel-ing it. I really would prefer not to do that every night because it eats up money so quickly, but it might be worth it to actually get to stay in town once in a while. Although... the motels i have stayed at now in Oklahoma and Texas weren't that great either, location-wise. Being miles away from downtown right next to the freeway isn't a whole lot better than being in an expensive RV campsite right next to the freeway.

[coercedbynutmeg]

It's kind of interesting that as you have traversed Oklahoma/Texas, somebody's dog mauled and killed their own child.

I'm a lot less worried about guns than dogs. A gun requires an operator to injure you. A dog requires an operator not to injure you, and even then, there are no guarantees.

I still don't get why cell signal is so bad. Some people are worried about 5G, which requires a much greater density of towers, as I understand it. Ha. If it's a struggle to get 4G/LTE pretty much anywhere, I'm not seeing that 5G is going to be a lot better.

[amw]

You have a good point about guns. I'd rather live in a society where everyone had a gun than one where everyone had an aggressive dog. Although, personally i find both to be a net threat to society - it'd be safer if no one had either