Heading Home and Scales

Today we packed up and headed back home. We were sad to go, we really could have stayed longer and explored more of the Longview area. We vowed we would return, sometime!!

We got the Mammoth ready fairly quickly since we had done some of the prep yesterday, not knowing if we'd have to hitch and go due to the wildfires. Thanks to the cooler temps today, we didn't melt! Tony bought a bag of ice before we left, and asked how close the fire got to the park. They told him "Two houses over!" Not sure distance-wise how close that is, but glad they got it out. Wind-downed power lines apparently sparked the blaze. It's official name was the Pleasant Green Road Fire - 150 acres. We pulled out right at 11am, which was checkout.

On our way to Longview we had discussed the possibility of stopping at a CAT scale to weigh Mammoth. Due to our earlier axle and tire issues, we needed to make certain we were not overloaded, so that could be ruled out if we have any further issues. because of timing, we didn't stop on our way out to the RV park, but we scoped out a place to stop when we headed home.

Outside of Tyler, we stopped at a nice new Shell Travel Stop which contained a Texas Best BBQ and a Sonic, as well as big rig pumps and a CAT scale. It was so new that not many big rigs were even using it yet... but the BBQ and Sonic were very busy! After we weighed we decided to eat here, too, and the BBQ was quite good!

We pulled onto the CAT scale, got weighed, then Tony dropped the trailer and we reweighed the truck. This was the recommended procedure for calculating all of the weights we needed. There is a great site called fifthwheelst.com that helps you with all of the calculations. Upon returning home, I entered the numbers into the fifthwheelst.com calculator, and...success! Mammoth and the truck are under in all categories, and even with all of the gear, clothes and food we'd take for a week-long ski trip, we should be safely loaded. (I was pretty sure we were, but it's nice to have the proof!)

When we walked back to the Mammoth to head out, we saw she had some company. A Dodge pulling a horse trailer, with 4 horses eagerly awaiting their owner's return. They watched us intently, as we approached. I love horses, but rarely get to see them this close! I talked to them briefly, before we headed out. Two seemed nice, one was indifferent, and the other was preoccupied with his REAL humans, that were also headed our way.

We got home, got unloaded, and took Mammoth back to storage. Our next trip may not be till October, when we go to Canton for the Heartland Chapter Rally, but maybe we can squeeze one in before then. ;)