The Jewel of the Forest

Good Morning and Welcome back to Bathroom Blues Travel Blog!

I pray your holidays were blessed and happy and your new year has started off prosperous.

We stopped with our 2025 Summer Vacation in Delta, UT and Great Basin National Park. Before we head further north/west toward Salt Lake City, I wanted to take a moment to share something that happened last week.

My son lives in Nacogdoches, TX and I have traveled basically the same route to his house several times a year for twenty years and let me tell you, you never know when you'll learn something new.

Jasper, TX is about half-way from my home in SWLA to my son's place and the perfect time to stretch your legs a bit before continuing the 3-3.5 hr. trip.

Well, this past week I went to dog-sit for a couple of days while my son was at a dance convention (he is a coach/teacher/choreographer). I stopped at the Murphy, USA station in Jasper, TX to fill up my car and needed to use the restroom. Now, most of these convenience stores have their bathrooms on the outside. Not finding one, I've gone into the WalMart at that same location. 

But, this time, something kept nagging at me. 

So, after topping off my tank, I pulled around the building and asked someone if there was a restroom inside.

"I have no idea, ma'am," was his response. 

Instead of leaving and going into the WM Supercenter, I went inside the store and guess what?!

Yep, they have one of the cleanest, nicest restrooms I'd ever been in!

All those times I had to make the trek into the big WM...

Not that I can't use the walk, LOL! But seriously, you just never know when you're going to find a hidden gem on the same old path. And, since the title of this blog is Bathroom Blues, I wanted to share with you one that had me singing a happy tune.

So if you're ever traveling on 190W, passing through, The Jewel of the Forest, and need a quick pittstop, check out the Murphy, USA.

Next time we'll get back to our regularly scheduled vacation posts.

Until then, travel happy. 😊

PamT

Happy Holidays!

Summer 2025 Vacation: Delta UT & Great Basin National Park!

We're about half-way done with our Summer 2025 vacation memories. We left AZ early July 8th headed for the great state of UT and Great Basin National Park. 

If you've never driven through the beautiful cavernous highways of AZ take a look at this video.

We settled in at our campsite at Antelope Valley RV Park in Delta, UT. (A little confusing because in a few days we're going to visit Antelope Island which is outside of Salt Lake City). 

Anyway...

Delta UT is about 99 miles south of Great Basin National Park but it's a close as we could get. Since we arrived in Delta around 2 pm, we rested for the evening and set out early the next morning. My honey pulls the camper so today I'm driving so he can relax and enjoy the scenery. We saw a few antelope on the way there but not much else.

There are some hiking trails in the park but our time was limited so we opted to take the road to the highest summit reachable by vehicle. I've uploaded a couple of videos for you to enjoy Here and Here.

If you've never driven in the mountains, let me tell you it's a harrowing experience! I drove some while on our 2017 West Coast vacation and the years in between did me no favors in developing nerves of steel 😬😂still... Great Basin is beautiful to visit and well worth the long road there and back from Antelope Valley RV park.

This lovely campground had new showers and though a bit tight, they were nice and clean and the restroom stalls had two of my favorite things: seat covers and paper towels which had me singing a happy tune. 

We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Rancher Cafe and the next morning headed out to Salt Lake City for the next leg of our trip.

Hope you enjoy reminiscing with me. I'm taking a break during the holidays but hope you'll check back in the new year as I continue to share my 2025 vacation memories with you!

Until then, take care, God bless and remember to travel light ~ leaving expectations and emotional baggage behind!

PamT