The Best-laid Plans of Mice and Men ,,,,,,,

 Two campgrounds, one post.

Cagle Campground (National Forest); Willis, Texas

Rocky Creek Campground (COE); Brenham, Texas

The title of this post does NOT come from John Steinbeck like I thought. I figured it was from his book, "Of Mice and Men". Apparently, he stole lifted plagiarized borrowed the phrase from a poem going back 150 years to Robert Burns. See what the curse of the internet does to a person. I thought of a phrase for the post and was curious as to its origin. Google AI answered quickly and I fell down that rabbit-hole for about 30 minutes or so. It sure beats having to find a World Book or Encyclopedia Brittanica like it was in my childhood. All the information in the world (except what the government hides) is available at our fingertips. Amazing times.

Anyway, back to how the title applies to me. The main purpose of this trip was to get Liberty's wheel bearings greased. Initially, I planned to go to the Camping World just west of Houston but changed to Holiday World RV in Willis, Texas. I called and thought I made it clear to Service Rep Germaine that I didn't want my wheels broken down to clean and repack my bearings. All I wanted was to have them greased through my EZ lube spindle as designed my Dexter Axles. He said "Ok, not a problem". I elaborated about the process I was wanting and told him my concerns about pneumatic grease guns applying too much pressure that could blow out the bearing seal thereby putting grease directly on the brakes. He assured me that they knew exactly what they were doing and I shouldn't worry. I got a good vibe and set up an appointment time. 

My "best-laid plan" was to camp for two days in Double Lake National Forest Campground and on the third day, tow Liberty the 20 miles to the RV Service place. After the work, I would move to Cagle National Forest Campground about 15 miles away and stay there for 3 days. Well, as I was checking in at the service center, Germaine (a young guy that probably couldn't spell the word "bearing") kept mentioning inspecting and repacking the bearings. I politely told him again what I wanted done. He called the service manager, who was probably in his early 30's, to explain it all to me. I, in turn, explained to him what I wanted. He said he understood but that they didn't do that. He said there was too much of a risk when using a pneumatic grease gun. I said, I know, that's why I mentioned it when setting up the appointment. He looked at me puzzled and said, "do you want us to use a pistol grip, hand operated grease gun?" At that point I had had enough. I didn't lose my cool like I would have in my younger days. I simply said, "No thanks, I'm out of here" and climbed into Freedom and drove off.

I figured three days in the National Forest would ease my hurt feelings as to not recognizing the BS Germaine had fed me on the phone when I set up the appointment. The campground was heavily wooded without a cell phone signal. I set up Starlink but it would not penetrate the trees enough to give a reliable signal. The connection would come and go depending on the location of the satellite it was locking on to. With the mood I was in, I wasn't staying there for three days. So, I grabbed my laptop and drove to a Burger King where I could pick up a cell signal to create a hotspot. I canceled the last 2 days at Cagle and booked those 2 days here at Rocky Creek. I was lucky about being able to add 2 days on the front of my existing reservation at the same campsite. So, I'm here at Rocky Creek COE Campground for 5 days instead of 3. That's OK with me since there is enough things to explore, if the weather cooperates. It's a great campsite with blazing cell phone and Starlink. My blood pressure immediately dropped when I saw my campsite. No more National Forest Campgrounds for me. I hope I remember that in the future.     

So, even though I'm not a mouse whose home was plowed up by a farmer, I feel as though I wasted time as my plans fell through. Oh well, looking forward, not backwards. 

And remember, everything happens for a reason.

My campsite in Cagle National Forest. The canopy was so tight it felt like a rainforest or at least like places in the Pacific Northwest. Without reliable cell/internet connection, it just felt weird. Bad vibes, not dangerous vibes, just bad. Almost like bad Ju-ju. So, I left. 

My campsite at Rocky Creek COE Campground. Peaceful, clear, open, level and near places that need exploring. "Good deal, Lucille". 

The view out my door. When it's not overcast, the sun will be rising in that direction.

The view out my back window while sitting at my laptop. At least 100 purple martin birds were flying back there last evening. They are helping make this area a "mosquito-free zone".

 We can't change the wind, but we can adjust our sails.

Ya'll take care of each other. Maybe I'll Cya down the road.