Gotta work for a living still. The entirety of this trip is planned to allow me to continue working each day along the way, with the exception of spring break. The first few days were difficult because of the half-days and the need to get ahead of the weather, but after that we settled into a groove.

We get up very early in the morning, travel for three to four hours, then find a parking lot suitable for parking awhile. Mostly Wal-Marts, but also truck stops and rest areas. At lunch time, we hop in the truck and finish the day’s drive to wherever our next overnight is, work the remainder of the afternoon, have dinner and turn in for the night. The next morning early, we repeat the process.

The above photo is from the Tejon Pass rest area just west of the California/Arizona border, where we worked Monday morning. We woke up that morning in Menifee, California and drove a few hours, then chose this beautiful spot to stop for the morning’s work. After about two and a half hours, the wind started blowing, gently at first then more furiously. Micki checked the weather and learned that a high wind warning was in effect for the Tejon Pass area covering the next six hours or so. We hopped in the truck and headed for Arizona quickly.

We stayed that night in Salome, Arizona at a nice little park called the Desert Vista RV Park. The sites were nice, the park clean, and the sun was shining although not terribly warm.

Micki even picked this orange off an actual orange tree! The dogs started noticing that there will be no grass in the area. They disapprove. I finished the work day, Micki made dinner, and we settled in for another early morning.

We got up early and started driving at about 5:30am. Unfortunately, thousands of residents of the greater Phoenix metro area also got up and started driving that morning. We spent about an hour in traffic, which was not fun while pulling the Mouse House.

We set up in a Wal-Mart parking lot on the east end of Phoenix for a few hours of work until lunch time.

For lunch – Micki’s birthday lunch – Micki wanted to stop and get Culver’s burgers to go. This was our parking spot, where we ate our burgers and then got back on the road. Unfortunately we didn’t make it all the way to our next overnight during the lunch hour, so we needed to take another break to work the afternoon, this time at a truck stop.

Our stop that night was at a Harvest Host site called the Cattle Rest Bar in Wilcox, Arizona. The site was great, although our host in the bar – “Ms. Personality” – was memorable for other reasons.

The moon when we woke was so bright it seemed almost like daylight. We got on the road at just after 5:00am.

The sunrises were continually amazing through the high dessert. We passed through New Mexico that morning and into Texas.

Our morning work stop was another Wal-Mart parking lot, this time in El Paso, Texas.

To our great luck, the view on the other side of the trailer was pretty decent.

Over lunch we finished our last little bit of travel to our next overnight in Van Horn, Texas at a park called Wild West RV Park. These folks were very nice, and the park was very well kept. The dogs saw a patch of grass – finally – but it turned to be a trap for the unwary, as the “grass” left a bunch of little burs in the dogs’ paws that required tweezers to remove. Good times.

Starlink made working remotely very easy, although we also have a Verizon hot spot and our AT&T phone hot spots as backup.

Bella has taken to standing on the dinette table to supervise the day’s activities.

Micki made a delicious southwest chicken dish with beans and rice.

The next morning, back on the road very early, this time hoping again to cover most of the travel before the workday started, which was possible due to the time change. The sunrises continued to amaze.

Getting gas is always an experience with the Mouse House, and we don’t have the luxury of disconnecting first.

We made it! For the first time, we covered our entire day’s travel to the next overnight before the workday started. 10:30am local time (8:30am pacific). The stop was at Buckhorn Lake RV Resort, which was by far the nicest place we’ve stayed yet. Lots of beautiful busses and fancy fifth wheels. Every site was immaculate, and they have a lot of amenities we will skip due to the short stay with an early morning departure. But it was great to spend the entire workday in a single spot.

The dogs appreciated the break too.

Buckhorn Lake RV Resort had a hot tub as well, which was a wonderful 15 minutes during lunch (west coast time).

For dinner, Micki made meatloaf with turkey burger, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

Tomorrow, we’ll wake up early and do it again. Fortunately, we’re almost done with these one-day hops. Tomorrow we’ll head to Houston for our last one-night stand, then Saturday we’ll head to New Orleans for three nights, then to the Florida panhandle for two nights, then to central Florida for three nights. We’re looking forward to this mild relaxation in the travel schedule.