Mile Marker 80: Casita, Texas

Join us as we recount our adventure to a little town in Texas where we travelled to pick up the newest addition to the Rebel At Large Adventure Fleet.

If you want to know more about Casita Travel Trailers, Click HERE.
To hear the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery interview with Goodnight, Texas. Click HERE.

Transcript

Casita, Texas.

Key: Drifter, Male voice. Gypsie, Female voice

Uplifting rock/western tune plays for 15 seconds, music begins to taper down then:

(Drifter) Welcome to the Rebel At Large Adventure Podcast. I’m Drifter

(Gypsie) And I’m  Gypsie

(Drifter) Talking about Ghost towns,

(Gypsie) Graveyards,

(Drifter) Outlaws, Heroes

(Gypsie) And Ladies of the night.

Music tapers to an end

(Drifter) Howdy folks, Thanks for joining us for yet another adventure. Today we are talking about a recent trip spanning a week and around 3,000 miles all for the sake of the Rebel At Large fleet.

(Gypsie) In the beginning of June, we went on a trip to a small town in East Texas called Rice. We didn’t have a lot of time to explore many of the areas that we went through but the trip was well worth it. We went to this small town that not a lot of people even knew existed to pick up a new addition to our travel family, no it was not a dog like Drifter wishes but rather a camping trailer. 

(Drifter) For the past few months we have been researching Casita trailers and determining if it will work for us or not. We looked online to see if we could find any used ones for sale but quickly found the used ones are going for a lot of money and you have to be ready to buy right away because they sell fast, often times within hours. We talked about buying a brand new one but found that there is a one year waiting list and you have to put a large amount of money down just to place the order. I had recently watched a youtube video and the fella in the video said he was just at the Casita dealership and they have 3 trailers on the lot that people had ordered and never picked up. 

(Gypsie) We sent them an email to see if they had anything available and as luck would have it they had one trailer left and it was the trailer model that we wanted. So back in April we filled out the paperwork and gave them money to hold it. It wasn’t until June that we had time to go to Texas and pick up the trailer. But that gave us time to get all the extra supplies we needed to tow the trailer and set it up properly at the campsite. The big day came for us to pick it up and the first day on the road we drove for almost 10 hours, nearly 600 miles, to get to Albuquerque New Mexico. We spent the night in a dumpy Motel 8 that the only thing they advertised was true was that they kept the lights on. 

(Drifter) We talked about making stuff for dinner but didn’t really have the energy to do that. So we got online to find out what there was to eat around us. We don’t go out to eat often when we are on the road but when we do we try to find places that are local food joints. We ended up going to the Range Cafe in Bernalillo. The restaurant has 6 locations but it still has a small restaurant feel. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and they have a full bar for drinks. They also have a bakery where you can get a slice of several different cakes, pies, cream puffs, and cheesecake.  You can even place a special order if you want to order an entire cake or pie. 

(Gypsie) If you get on their website to order a cake you will find they have a sense of humor because it says they do custom desserts for weddings, engagements, divorce, foreclosures, pregnancies, promotions, terminations, fumigations, and my favorite, leave me alone I just wanna eat cake all by myself party. 

(Drifter) Every Thursday they do open mic jam. On Fridays and Saturdays they have live music from local artists. When we were there we were entertained by the Rock Zone. The restaurant is broken up into sections: the front section is the lobby, the middle is the restaurant, and the back section is where the music and bar is. We were sitting in the middle section but we could still hear the music. The music starts around 7 and goes until around 9. They also have an awesome outdoor seating section but when we were there a family was using the back patio for a party so we had to sit inside. If you do sit on the back patio you won't be able to hear the music. 

(Gypsie) For dinner I got Huevos Rancheros with carne adovada. Our server asked if I wanted red or green sauce but then suggested to get both on the side, so that is what I did. The red tasted almost like a mole, and the green sauce was a little on the spicy side but I can barely handle a step above ketchup so it might be perfect for most of you. My meal also came with range fries and they were my favorite. For my drink I got a cucumbertini it was very light and refreshing which was nice since it was a hot day that day.  Drifter got the Rio Grande Gorge for dinner which was a smashed burger open faced on a flour tortilla, which also came with Range Fries with cheese and black beans. 

(Drifter) After dinner we went back to the hotel to retire for the night. The hotel was trashy, the bed was terrible, and we were so excited to check out the next morning. Most trips we will stay up late and sleep in the next day but this time we needed to be on the road as early as possible so we could get to Corsicana Texas, another 700 miles away. That night we were sleeping in the van at the American RV Park as the next morning we were picking up our trailer and we wanted to be close so we didn’t have to rush there the next day. It was a good thing we called to tell them we were going to be late getting to the camp ground because the bathroom has a code to get inside. 

(Gypsie) During our trip we ran into some heavy rain outside of Amarillo. We figured we were close to needing gas and would be a good time to get out, stretch our legs and see if the storm would pass. As we were both in the bathroom everyone's phones started to go off. I thought it was an Amber alert so I didn’t look at my phone. But when I met up with Drifter he told me there was a tornado warning in the area. I grabbed a few snacks and as I was paying I asked the lady if this was something we should be worried about and how accurate they were. 

(Drifter) She told us when the warning on the phones goes off that means a tornado is within two miles. She then said if the air raid alarm goes off that means the tornado touched down. We figured we would go outside and see how bad it was. As we were standing outside taking pictures and sending our friends Marco Polos the air raid went off. If you have never heard one of those, it is unbelievably loud, and the siren was just across the street from us. Gypsie went into full panic mode and headed into the gas station. 

(Gypsie) I was standing inside when a lady walked in with her two dogs. I said something to her along the lines of your dogs must be scared with that sound and she instantly came up to me and stood right next to me like I was going to protect her. I had no idea what to do. We figured since the warning was only 20 minutes long we would just stay there and wait it out. I started walking around the building to see if I could see the tornado out of any of the windows but I couldn't see anything. 

(Drifter) After a while the siren stopped and we figured it was safe to go outside. We weren’t out there longer than maybe 5 minutes when the siren went off again. This time we just hung out in the van and waited for it to stop. Thankfully we had stopped, we don’t know where the tornado had touched down but there is a chance we could have been on the road when it did and it could have been far worse for us. We waited until the tornado warning was cleared and hit the road. The storm itself was not done with us and at times we were in rain so bad we could hardly see out of the windshield. A lot of slow going with flashers on and trying to stay behind a semi so I had something to serve as a reference point.

(Gypsie) After the tornado warning we made a detour to Ennis Texas to go to a gas station that I was so excited to be able to go inside, Buc-ee's! These gas stations started in Texas and have since started to expand into Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee. This place is out of control. It was the biggest gas station I have ever seen but the one in Ennis is not even the biggest one they have. The New Braunfels location, also in Texas, has the largest convenience store in the world, it is 66,335 square feet. 

(Drifter) Walking into the gas station was a bit overwhelming, (Gypsie) there is so much to see and do and I was so excited to check everything out that I didn’t even have a chance to see the clean bathrooms. (Drifter) They have billboards all over advertising for them, it’s a bit like the Little America signs you see driving I-80 through Wyoming. (Gypsie) If you have not been inside a Buc-ee’s I will give you a bit of an idea of what it’s like. As you walk into the building you will see BBQ’s and smokers for sale. Once you enter you will see one section that is all Buc-ee’s gear. They have shirts, shorts, jackets, hats, pajamas, swim suits, really anything you can think of. They have it with the Buc-ee’s emblem on it. 

(Drifter) The next section is all about camping. They have coolers, fish bait, knives, chairs, really a pretty good selection of several outdoor supplies. (Gypsie) One of the most exciting parts for us was the giant wall of beef jerky, but if that's not enough jerky they have a large glass display that looks like a deli display and it is full of nothing but beef jerky. They also have a decent sized fridge that is full of summer sausage, quails, whole chickens, as well as large pork tenderloin all ready to go in the smoker or BBQ. 

(Drifter) This place has an entire section set up just to order some sort of smoked meat in one fashion or another. You can get sausage, turkey, and beef brisket. Those meats come in a sandwich form or wrapped up in a tortilla. (Gypsie) My favorite was the sausage on a stick wrapped in a tortilla. Make sure to grab you a bag of the fresh made chips when you are in this area. If meat is not your thing that's just fine they have lots of different salads, as well as cut up fruit. In this area you will find banana, chocolate, and key lime pudding in a cup. The pudding is layered in the cup with cookies and topped with whipped cream. 

(Drifter) If sweets are your thing they have an entire section of Buc-ee’s candy like gummy butterflies, or chamoy peach rings. (Gypsie) If you want a sweet pastry, they have that too.  You can get cookies, cinnamon rolls, or koache, which we didn’t try, but they looked like a bread pastry with different fillings in the center. They also have cinnamon glazed almonds they make in house and smelt amazing. This place even has an entire fudge bar with flavors like birthday cake, orange cream, mint chocolate and caramel chocolate peanut.   But the one sweet thing I had to get while I was there was the Beaver Nuggets. These things are like caramel corn but better, they don’t get stuck in your teeth, they are crunchy without the fear of biting into a seed, and are so sweet, you really can only eat a small handful of them a day, they are that sweet. 

(Gypsie) I could talk about this place for over an hour but this episode is not just about Buc-ees! After exploring the gas station and spending over 100 dollars, (Drifter) and none of that was on gas, (Gypsie) we headed to the camp ground. (Drifter) We had the first spot when you pull into the site and it was extremely easy to find and park. Setting up for camp that night was rather easy since we did not have a trailer with us yet. We just had to creatively place all the sewer hoses, leveling ramps, wheel chocks, extension cords and everything else into the front seat. 

(Gypsie) After getting camp set up we sat down for dinner. Our dinner that night consisted of sandwiches from Buc-ees. I got the three meat sandwich. I figured this would be a good way to try all three meats and see what one I like the best and I would have to say the turkey was my favorite. Drifter had a sausage on a stick and a brisket sandwich.

(Drifter) We went to bed early again so that we could be up and ready for the big day. Pick up day! Our appointment to pick up the trailer was for 12. We were so excited that we got there a little early and hung around looking inside the trailers they have on display, which was actually the first time we had been inside a Casita. (Gypsie) When our turn came to get the trailer they had us back into the shop so they could attach the weight distribution hitch on the van. The guy helping us said he had our trailer all hooked up and the a/c was on so if we wanted to go inside and start checking things out we could. We opened the door to our trailer and were surprised to see the flooring looked different than we thought it should. 

(Drifter) The next thing we noticed was the cabinet doors and how they were wood grain and our order was for gray. We started panicking a bit because we never got pictures of the inside of our trailer, only the outside. Then we noticed a bunch of stuff stacked up on the back table like a water filter and a solar panel. It suddenly dawned on us, we were in the wrong trailer. (Gypsie) Drifter got out and looked at the paper on the window. It was definitely not our trailer. Luckily we noticed before they started connecting the hitch up. 

(Drifter) After we walked the lot we found our trailer and we were back to hooking up our hitch. We are first time travel trailer owners, neither of us grew up camping in trailers so this was all new to us. They spend about an hour showing you the ins and outs of the trailer, how things work, and answer any questions you might have, though it was difficult to think of any questions at the time, but afterwards we had a lot of questions! After the trailer orientation, we signed paperwork and then got ready to leave, but not before the big surprise. 

(Gypsie) Casita has a facebook page and every few days they post pictures on the page of the people who picked up their trailers that week. It is in the agreement that they get to use your picture online so I figured we need to dress up. We talked about dressing up as a cowboy and saloon girl, or just wearing nice clothes. But I had the best idea, I got online and ordered me a giant blow up black and gold unicorn. 

(Drifter) We told our sales guy Gypsie needed to change and then he could come out and take our picture. When he came out he could not stop laughing. (Gypsie) We have pictures of it that we have already posted online and our picture is also on the casita facebook page. But if you missed it we will post it again for this episode. 

(Drifter) After the picture it was time to head out. (Gypsie) I felt like we were leaving the hospital with a brand new baby. (Drifter) The first thing we needed to do was stop for propane. Thankfully we found a place that was on the way to the campsite and was on the right side of the road so we didn’t need to cross traffic to get there. After filling up it was time to go to camp and see if we could get the trailer set up and leveled. 

(Gypsie) We made sure that the site we were in was a pull through so we didn’t have to worry about backing up the trailer. We have both towed trailers but neither of us have had a lot of practice backing them up so we didn’t want to stress more than we needed to. It was a lot of fun pulling into camp. (Drifter) When we got there Sunday night there was only one trailer in the row we were in but by Monday evening the campground had three casita trailers in it all of them brand new just like ours. 

(Gypsie) While we were waiting to get our trailer we met a couple from Colorado that had just got their trailer and they had the sweetest dog. Of course Drifter had to stop and talk to the dog. As we were talking we found out they were staying in the same campground as us! So when we pulled in it was fun to see a familiar face. 

(Drifter) Setting up the trailer for the first time went far more smoothly than we thought it would. We bought an Anderson Leveling kit (not an ad) and it made it a breeze getting side to side leveled. Next was the trick of unhitching the trailer from the van. (Gypsie) The hitch we got is super fancy and though they showed us how to use it we still had a little bit of a struggle getting it off but we managed. 

(Drifter) From there we spent the rest of the day setting up the trailer, figuring out how to organize everything, (Gypsie) which surprisingly you need a lot of stuff for a trailer and our trailer is very small with limited storage. (Drifter) We made sure the TV worked which had a DVD player built into it so we were excited about that and brought along some DVD’s with us. (Gypsie) By night time we figured we should make some dinner. I love when we travel because Drifter takes care of the cooking and I do the dishes. We usually cook fairly simple meals that require little to no prep time when we are on the road. That night we had some pork with rice and chips. 

(Drifter) We found out that cooking in the trailer makes the trailer very hot inside so we decided to eat outside and cool off. As we finished up dinner the couple from Colorado came walking by, we chatted with them for a bit and talked about our trailers until suddenly a rain storm started to roll in. (Gypsie) Rain storms in Texas are crazy. They come up on you fast, dump a lot of rain and then about 10 minutes later it is over and it is back to being muggy. By then the trailer had cooled off so we went back inside, took a shower and climbed into bed. We were both exhausted from the heat and towing a trailer in a new town for the first time. 

(Drifter) The next morning we took our time getting up, we didn’t have anything on the agenda other than to go to Walmart. (Gypsie) I also wanted to go back to Buc-ee’s because I didn’t get to see everything inside the store and I wanted to get some more beaver nuggets for my friends. So the first thing we did was head back to Buc-ee’s. This trip did not cost as much as the last one but I did still get some more fun things from there. 

(Drifter) After Buc-ee’s we stopped at Walmart for the first of our many stops at Walmart for this trip. After getting the supplies we needed to get the trailer set up even more we headed back to camp. We ended up going back to Walmart to get more supplies for the trailer and then made a stop at a sketchy liquor store. (Gypsie) It was super fun because everytime we would leave and then come back we would see another Casita come to the campground. 

(Drifter) The next day we had to check out of camp. We were not sure how long it was going to take so we got up early again to give us enough time. (Gypsie) We found out it takes about an hour to break down camp but I think over time we could get faster at it. (Drifter) We just wanted to make sure we didn’t forget anything. (Gypsie) On this day we were going to Athens Texas to visit a friend. We stopped at another liquor store that was much nicer than the last one and we were able to find a lot of fun things that we can’t find in Utah. Then we headed to our friend's house. Their house is on Lake Athens and it is a beautiful area. Most of Texas that we drove through was flat green land but this area was like driving in the mountains without the mountains. It had big beautiful pine trees with deer, and our favorite was seeing the cardinals. 

(Drifter) This time parking the trailer was a bit of a trick, we had to back into a spot and it was not a straight shot into the spot. On top of that there was a wall that we had to make sure we didn’t hit with the front of the van.(Gypsie)  It was the most stressful 30 minutes of my life! We learned a lot about each other and how to communicate better so that next time it wouldn’t be as bad. Once we got parked we unhooked so we could do some exploring. 

(Drifter) We went to the Blackjack Cemetery and wandered around for a bit. But another storm was coming and we didn’t want to be caught outside in the rain so we got back in the van and headed into the town of Athens to check out the cemetery there. (Gypsie) Both of the cemeteries were very beautiful with some really interesting history in them and we will share that with you, but not right now.

(Drifter) That night for dinner we went to the boathouse on Lake Athens. We were hoping for a spot outside but it was already filled up out there. We all got catfish and fries, Gypsie got hers grilled, everyone else got theirs fried and we think grilled is the way to go. (Gypsie) I got one of their drinks of the day that had Deep Eddy’s vodka in it and it was so good. (Drifter) I just ordered a beer. They had Yuengling which I’ve not had since I lived in Florida, so that was a nice treat.

(Gypsie) After dinner we went back to our friends house and spent the night telling stories and having a lovely time. It was nice to be able to go to our trailer once we were ready for bed, shower in our place and sleep in our own bed. The next morning we didn’t have any alarms set but it was a good thing the grounds keeper showed up early to cut down some trees and woke us up. This was going to be the longest drive we had taken the trailer on. We were heading over 430 miles to Amarillo for the night to stay at the KOA.

(Drifter) Getting the trailer hooked up was a bit of a task but we managed to get it and we were on the road. The traveling was great until we got into the Dallas area. (Gypsie) The freeway system there is crazy. There are freeways on top of freeways on top of freeways. The GPS kept getting confused what freeway system we were on and at the last minute would tell us to take an exit but we couldn’t. At one point we were heading back south. Once we finally got turned around we somehow managed to get on the toll road, and though it was nice to bypass all the traffic it was extremely scary. 

(Drifter) There is a concrete wall on both sides of you and the speed limit is 75. We didn’t want to push the van and only dared to go about 70. At one point we talked about getting off the freeway but in order to get off you have to fly between a gap in the concrete wall and then shoot into traffic and hope that the person in the fast lane sees you and lets you in, there is no room for error. We figured it would be safer just to stay on the toll road and if they send us a bill we will just pay it. 

(Gypsie) Once we were out of the madness of the freeway system everything went smoothly. We did pass through Goodnight Texas and thought about stopping but it was getting late and we wanted to get to camp before it was dark. (Drifter) Jennie and Dianne from the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast just did an interview with the band Goodnight Texas and they said they got the name of the band from that town, so we thought it would be fun to stop. 

(Gypsie) Maybe if we didn’t get turned around on the freeways system we would have had enough time! Also we will link their show in our show notes, go take a listen it's a super fun interview and if you haven’t heard of that band check them out, we love their music. And right now they are on tour so see if they are going to be in your area, we are excited for them to come to Utah and are going to go see them. 

(Drifter) The KOA in Amarillo is just outside of town but it is a very nice campground. As we were driving down the road to get to the camp ground we noticed a bunch of groundhogs and stopped to try and take a picture of them. (Gypsie) We tried to talk to them as well but they all went into hiding as we came by. 

(Drifter) The following day we were heading to Gallup New Mexico, another 430 mile stretch. It is not uncommon for us to drive about 10 hours when we are on the road but since we were towing the trailer for the first time we figured we would take it slow and easy and not push anything so we broke up the drive home over three days. Also we needed to get an oil change and figured it would be a good time to stop. (Gypsie) Getting to the campground was super easy and again we got a pull through. Disconnecting this time was easier than the last and we were so proud we were getting it! 

(Drifter) We got into town a little before 5, the only place we could find that was open late enough for us to get the oil change was Pep Boys. (Gypsie) Guys this is a little PSA do not go to Pep Boys for an oil change. It took them almost 2 hours to change the oil and rotate the tires. We were hot and just wanted to go back to camp. I am happy to say that was the worst thing that happened to us on our trip back home so I guess I can’t be too bothered by the fact it took so long. 

(Drifter) That night at camp we cooked up supper and then relaxed for a bit. (Gypsie) I got in the shower and then Drifter got in the shower. After his shower he opened the door to show me that he was standing in a few inches of water. We started to panic a bit thinking something was wrong and discovered that our grey tank was full. We were staying in a spot that only had hookups for water and power. We were thankful that the campground had cleanouts for us to use. 

(Drifter) The next morning we hooked up and made our first stop at the cleanout. While dumping out tanks we ran into a couple of gals that had picked up their brand new Casita on Wednesday and were on their way to the grand canyon. It was so much fun to see more Casita owners while out on the road. 

(Gypsie) The drive home was wonderful, we didn't run into any bad weather, the van did a great job pulling and we had no issues getting in and out of gas stations. We did pull over just outside of Moab to drain the water out of the tank because we forgot to do that before we left camp. As I got out of the car she smelt a terrible smell and looked down to see a dead deer. We could not get out of that spot fast enough. Another 480 miles put us home safely and we even managed to get the trailer backed into the driveway.

(Drifter) The only other issue we had was coming down Spanish Fork canyon on highway six. If any of you are traveling in that area with a trailer, be aware that the lanes go from 2 lanes to one and people like to fly past you and try to cut you off. It was raining a bit so we had to make sure we had enough space to stop and it was very difficult with people cutting you off. 

(Gypsie) We had a great time picking up our trailer and we can not wait to take it out again. This is going to give us the ability to go and explore areas that are away from civilization and we still have a place to clean up and sleep. 

(Drifter) Alrighty folks, I think that wraps up this We Just Bought A Trailer episode of the Rebel At Large. Thanks for sharing in our adventure and excitement. We have settled on a name and will soon be adding it to the trailer. So, if you are out on the road and see a small fiberglass trailer that says “Crows Nest”, stop by and say hi. Are you leaving our listeners with one of your highly sought after Dad Jokes? 

…

(Drifter) Alright then. Thank you all so very much for joining us and supporting the Rebel At Large adventure podcast. As alway’s, if we're active at all, we’re most active on the Instagram (Gypsie) @rebelatlarge. You can find links to our email, patreon, merch store in the show notes and on any of our social deals. (Drifter) We’ll talk to ya here in a couple of weeks, (Gypsie) Safe Travels, (Drifter) We’ll see ya down the road.

Begin 30 seconds of the same uplifting Rock/Western tune as the introduction.