Paul & Lela in The Long, Long Trailer

Thursday Afternoon
Benson AZ

In the previous post I said we would have dinner at Busbee's. Busbee's is closed on Tuesday so we had Mexican at Molcajettes on TX 16.

We have had an interesting two days of travel. I ran out of gas on the interstate highway yesterday.

I have to explain how that happened. We use the on board computer to tell us how many miles we can travel before our gas is depleted. Well I neglected to take into account the changing conditions that affect MPG.

Lela wanted to pull the Silver Star for the first time, so when we left a highway rest area I was in the passenger seat. She did just fine on her maiden voyage, but I was squirming in the co-pilot's seat. She took pity on me and when we came to the next rest stop, she pulled off and relieved my stress.

When I pulled out there were 70 miles to Fort Stockton, TX and 110 miles to empty. For the next 70 miles there were no filling stations as there was no population going up the mountain. I can do math. I figured we would have 40 miles worth of gas when we arrived at Fort Stockton and gasoline. WRONG! The 110 miles of gas was based on 10.5 MPG which we had been averaging through Texas. The MPG going up the mountains was considerably less. As a result when we got to about 10 miles to go the computer said 9 miles worth of gas. This was a bad situation. It finally came down to 6 miles to the gas station and 2 miles worth of gas.

Because we had asked God to protect us and keep us safe as we hit the road yesterday, He provided for our safety. As we rounded the bend, there was a TXDOT crew working on the highway. I pulled to the shoulder and explained my problem. They said they would follow us into town to make sure we made it. We went about 100 yards and the truck quit.

The men said they would drive into town get some gas and come back. Lela and I went into the SS and had lunch while we waited for the men to return. It took about 30 minutes and they returned with the gas. One of the men put the gas in our truck. The men said it was a common occurrence for people to run out of gas on the last 15 miles into town.

I tried to pay for the gas and give them a gratuity for their Good Samaritan actions. They wouldn't accept any money at all, not even the cost of the gas. We thanked them and thanked God, and went on our way.

We got gas and arrived in Van Horn TX at the Southern Star RV park in the late afternoon.

This morning we awoke early had breakfast and hit the road again. Benson, AZ was our destination. Again, we climbed mountains through New Mexico, and across the Great Divide.