This week definitely came with its fair share of challenges, excitement, and adventure.
The biggest struggle of the week revolved around getting our new trailer hitch delivered. As members of Thousand Trails, we have received packages at campgrounds all over the country without any issues. Nowhere in our membership agreement does it mention a 30-pound package limit, so when William ordered our new hitch, we didn't think twice about having it delivered to the campground.
A few days before the hitch was scheduled to arrive, William went to pick up some Amazon packages for Krysta and informed the front desk that two heavy packages would be arriving soon. He politely asked that when they arrived, someone call him and he would come meet the delivery driver and remove the packages directly from the truck.
The response wasn't exactly what he expected.
"Sir, we don't accept packages over 30 pounds."
William explained that the hitch had already been ordered, that there was no mention of a weight restriction in the membership agreement, and that we had previously received much heavier items at both Thousand Trails and Encore campgrounds—including our 150-pound 3D printer.
Eventually, the employee reluctantly agreed to make an exception.
Friday arrived, and the first package—a 51-pound box—was delivered successfully. When William picked it up, he was informed that someone had personally weighed the package and confirmed it exceeded the limit.
William reminded them that he had already discussed the situation and also informed them that the second package, weighing approximately 100 pounds, would arrive Monday. Again, he offered to meet the UPS driver personally so nobody at the campground would have to handle the package.
Monday arrived, and things got interesting.
While tracking the shipment, William suddenly received both an email and a text message stating that the package had been refused.
Immediately, the phone calls began.
Amazon said to call UPS.
UPS said to call Amazon.
Nobody seemed to know what was happening.
So William decided to take matters into his own hands.
He drove into downtown Columbus, Texas, hoping to locate the UPS driver before the package disappeared into the system.
Thankfully, small-town Texas came through.
After spotting a UPS truck parked downtown, William waited and hoped the hitch was inside. After what felt like forever, UPS called and explained they could send a message to the driver, but there was no guarantee he would respond.
A few minutes later, the driver returned from lunch.
William rolled down his window and asked, "Do you happen to have my hitch?"
The driver immediately laughed and said, "Ohhhh, that's YOUR hitch! Yeah, those guys at Thousand Trails never accept packages over 30 pounds. Before I even unloaded it, I went inside and asked if they'd accept it, and they said absolutely not."
William asked if he could simply take possession of the package directly.
The driver replied, "Absolutely."
Not only did he hand over the hitch, but he helped load it into the truck as well.
Crisis averted.
With the hitch finally secured, William moved it into the cab of the truck and made a quick shopping run to Walmart and H-E-B to prepare for our upcoming travel adventure.
Later that day, he installed the hitch and everything appeared to go perfectly.
Or so we thought.
Friday finally arrived, marking the beginning of our first major towing trip with the new truck and hitch setup.
After Krysta finished work, we packed up camp and started the four-hour drive toward Sonora, Texas.
Unfortunately, we quickly discovered that the hitch had been set far too low. At one point, the trailer actually touched the bed of the truck.
Not ideal.
An hour and a half later than planned, we finally got everything adjusted properly and hit the road.
The drive itself went smoothly until we encountered a major road closure that forced us onto an alternate route. If you've ever driven a large fifth wheel, you know that rerouting isn't as simple as following your GPS.
Suddenly, we found ourselves traveling down a narrow country road surrounded by traffic, semi-trucks, low-hanging tree branches, and plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. More than once we had to drift into the opposite lane to avoid clipping tree limbs with the top of the trailer.
Four long hours later, we finally arrived at Elite RV Park around 12:30 in the morning.
With three exhausted puppies and two even more exhausted humans, we parked, grabbed some dinner, and immediately went to bed.
The next morning brought another travel day.
And wow... what a drive.
The scenery completely changed as we headed farther west. Rolling hills, mountains, winding roads, and incredible views stretched for miles. Pictures simply wouldn't do it justice.
Eventually, we arrived at Fort Stockton RV Park, and we were immediately impressed. It is easily one of the cleanest and nicest RV parks we've stayed at so far.
After getting set up, we headed to Dickey's Barbecue Pit for lunch. We later learned it's technically fast-food barbecue, but honestly, it was delicious.
Then our adventure continued.
We decided to go on a scavenger hunt through Fort Stockton and ended up learning a surprising amount about the city's history.
One of our stops was the famous Paisano Pete, a giant roadrunner statue that stands 11 feet tall and 22 feet long.
From there, we discovered a charming 1880s adobe building known as the Grey Mule Saloon, which has since been converted into a wine bar. While there, we met one of the owners, Sue, who shared fascinating stories about the building, the town, and local history.
If you're ever in Fort Stockton, we 1000% recommend stopping by.
When we returned to the campground, Jack mentioned that the dog park featured a small dog pool.
If you've seen the video of Marble playing in a mud puddle, then you already know we had to check it out.
The dog park ended up being amazing. It featured plenty of shade for humans, and yes—a small pool for the dogs.
As expected, the puppies were far more interested in dirt and mud at Thousand Trails Colorado River than they were in swimming.
While we were there, we met Jude from the campground maintenance team. He spent some time chatting with us about Texas, RV life, and the campground itself. Encounters like that are one of our favorite parts of traveling.
As we write this, we're settling in for another relaxing evening before tomorrow's travel day.
We can't wait to see what adventures next week brings.
And before we wrap up, we wanted to mention that Starlink has been absolutely incredible throughout this trip. Both William and Krysta have been able to work without any connectivity issues, and we've even been testing it mounted to the truck while traveling with great results.
The road continues, the puppies are happy, and another adventure awaits tomorrow.
See you next week from the road! 🚐❤️
