Hi all friends,
We've had a sunny and relaxing week in the Phoenix area, Mesa Regal RV Resort. All is well, Sunday Feb 27, and now we have moved on towards San Diego. Today we are in sunny Wellton, AZ, 25 miles east of Yuma, AZ. AYAH,,,, way down theya.
Unfortunately, as of this a.m. we're having an issue with our tow vehicle. We're leaking diesel fuel from the fuel filter onto the ground (now catching the drip) and we have an error message on the dash board indicating we're running under reduced power. We feel fortunate that we didn't get stuck in the middle of the desert yesterday as we travelled.
Tomorrow mornin' I'll go to the GMC dealer in Yuma (leave Anne here) and have this taken care of. Not too worried, as I dont' think it's too serious, and we're insurance poor on the vehicles, so the $ damage shouldn't be too bad no matter what. I'd prefer not to have to be towed from the highway to Yuma tho, so say a prayer for me.
Sorry we haven't written into the blog as much lately. We relaxed so much in Mesa that we didn't do too much else. I will get caught up with more details all about the RV City we stayed at shortly.
Our plan has us at Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego on Tuesday thru Friday, Feb 28 to March 4.
Take good care everyone. We hope all is well with you.
We are so grateful that God has put us here, and made us able to enjoy this part of the world the way we are.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Carlsbad, NM ==> El Paso ==> Deming, NM ==> Tucson ==> Picacho, AZ
Anne and I have been in southern New Mexico, western Texas, and southern Arizona for the past several days. I swear, in this southwest climate you can stand on the sunny side of the RV and gently bake in the dry heat, and on the shady side you can enjoy a cool breeze. Only one of us enjoys the heat though. Does that mean we have to stand on opposite sides of the RV?
One of our tires seems to have developed a slow leak, so stopped into a car repair place to inflate it fully on leaving Carlsbad. I asked the technician if there were other places down the road where we could get air if we needed it, and he said “There’s nothing down the road that way.” Well, he wasn’t kidding. We had a 260 mile drive thru the desert today, practically ran out of fuel, and we saw nothing but the desert scene most of the way till we got to the suburbs of El Paso, where we paid dearly for fuel.
So we drove southerly, back into western Texas and eventually thru the southwestern town of El Paso. Then back into southern NM, finally stopping in Deming, NM for one night. On the way we were checked out (for the second time) by the Border Patrol. Not sure I mentioned earlier that the Border Patrol checked us out on our way out of Study Butte. Sometimes we see them out inspecting and working on fences near the highways too.
Anne booked us into an RV park in Deming named ‘Hi-Lo RV Park‘. It was a ‘singles’ park, but welcomed others. It happened to be the international headquarters of an organization known as LOW (Loners On Wheels). Hi-Lo was a real good neat park with crushed stone everywhere, and beautiful cactus gardens all over. The crushed stone was a welcomed change from the dusty conditions we’d become accustomed to in Study Butte and Carlsbad. The sunset was spectacular here, and combined with large stratus and puffy clouds the sky became a yellow-orange-blue blazing delight. I was overwhelmed. By the way, when we got here the air pressure was low again in our right rear tire.
We didn’t disconnect the RV from the truck here, so this morning was easier than usual to get off and running. We stopped into a tire shop on the way back to the highway and they took us right in. The young man quickly found a screw embedded in our tire. He removed that, patched the tire, and we were on our way. I was pleased as the repair only set us back a half hour and $10.75.
Today we drove on Hwy I-10w for 250 miles, passing directly thru Tucson, AZ and continuing all the way to Picacho, AZ. Tucson has grown a lot since the last time we were here, maybe 10 years ago. It's a different world here tho, and I love being here in the desert.
Anne made the arrangements (as always) here in Picacho and we checked into the ‘Arizona Hideaway RV Park’. On site they have Frankie’s Chuckwagon Restaurant, and tonight (Fri) they offered their fabulous fish fry (Cod) which we took advantage of. We enjoyed it but it was nothing like the fresh fish we’re used to back home. They also have really beautiful cactus gardens here too.
This place is adjacent to a horse and cattle ranch. At sunset out back we could actually see cowboys roping calfs (sp?). A nice fringe benefit.
The weather has been beautiful for several days now but there are storms forecasted for central/northern Arizona this Sat/Sun. We’ll stay well south Flagstaff where it is going to snow, and even south of Phoenix to let the bad stuff pass before we visit Anne's childhood friend in Mesa, then her brother and her nephew's family in Prescott Valley.
We continue to meet tons of nice people from all over. The folks in this part of the country are real nice just like everybody back home. We miss and love all of you, and I’m happy you follow along with us, reading and looking at the blog. That feels good. Thanks.
One of our tires seems to have developed a slow leak, so stopped into a car repair place to inflate it fully on leaving Carlsbad. I asked the technician if there were other places down the road where we could get air if we needed it, and he said “There’s nothing down the road that way.” Well, he wasn’t kidding. We had a 260 mile drive thru the desert today, practically ran out of fuel, and we saw nothing but the desert scene most of the way till we got to the suburbs of El Paso, where we paid dearly for fuel.
So we drove southerly, back into western Texas and eventually thru the southwestern town of El Paso. Then back into southern NM, finally stopping in Deming, NM for one night. On the way we were checked out (for the second time) by the Border Patrol. Not sure I mentioned earlier that the Border Patrol checked us out on our way out of Study Butte. Sometimes we see them out inspecting and working on fences near the highways too.
Anne booked us into an RV park in Deming named ‘Hi-Lo RV Park‘. It was a ‘singles’ park, but welcomed others. It happened to be the international headquarters of an organization known as LOW (Loners On Wheels). Hi-Lo was a real good neat park with crushed stone everywhere, and beautiful cactus gardens all over. The crushed stone was a welcomed change from the dusty conditions we’d become accustomed to in Study Butte and Carlsbad. The sunset was spectacular here, and combined with large stratus and puffy clouds the sky became a yellow-orange-blue blazing delight. I was overwhelmed. By the way, when we got here the air pressure was low again in our right rear tire.
We didn’t disconnect the RV from the truck here, so this morning was easier than usual to get off and running. We stopped into a tire shop on the way back to the highway and they took us right in. The young man quickly found a screw embedded in our tire. He removed that, patched the tire, and we were on our way. I was pleased as the repair only set us back a half hour and $10.75.
Today we drove on Hwy I-10w for 250 miles, passing directly thru Tucson, AZ and continuing all the way to Picacho, AZ. Tucson has grown a lot since the last time we were here, maybe 10 years ago. It's a different world here tho, and I love being here in the desert.
Anne made the arrangements (as always) here in Picacho and we checked into the ‘Arizona Hideaway RV Park’. On site they have Frankie’s Chuckwagon Restaurant, and tonight (Fri) they offered their fabulous fish fry (Cod) which we took advantage of. We enjoyed it but it was nothing like the fresh fish we’re used to back home. They also have really beautiful cactus gardens here too.
This place is adjacent to a horse and cattle ranch. At sunset out back we could actually see cowboys roping calfs (sp?). A nice fringe benefit.
The weather has been beautiful for several days now but there are storms forecasted for central/northern Arizona this Sat/Sun. We’ll stay well south Flagstaff where it is going to snow, and even south of Phoenix to let the bad stuff pass before we visit Anne's childhood friend in Mesa, then her brother and her nephew's family in Prescott Valley.
We continue to meet tons of nice people from all over. The folks in this part of the country are real nice just like everybody back home. We miss and love all of you, and I’m happy you follow along with us, reading and looking at the blog. That feels good. Thanks.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Austin ==> Fort Stockton ==> Study Butte, TX ==> Carlsbad, NM
Whew, we need a day off to get caught up on the blog. Not kiddin ya. We didn't stay in Fort Stockton long enough to update it, then we reached Study Butte, TX and we had no internet nor any TV reception. Myself, I felt like Chuck Connors, with parched lips, nose, canteen, and all.
The Texas 'Hill Country' west of Austin was a beautiful drive, not like anything I expected from Texas. Golden rolling hills forever, all speckled with individual green trees, some big rocks, and white rock passes cut thru the high spots. I actually got a few pictures on the way that didn't have cell phone towers in them, but it wasn't easy.
A long haul it was to Fort Stockton, TX tho, 350 miles. When we got there, the GPS led us thru the puckies as we made our way to F.S. RV Park (I guess it was a short cut) but with that entrance to town we never really warmed up to this place. Wal*mart didn't even have auto-opening doors, HAHA. We set up quickly tho and just spent the night here.
Driving south from there to Study Butte (pronounced Stoody Bute) we got into scenery that wouldn't quit, and it really never did for 2 days or so until half way to Carlsbad, NM. We've taken 150 pictures per day for the past 3 days. Study Butte is 1 mile out of Big Bend National Park, and some RV'er had told us about staying there. It worked out good as we spent 2 nights in this quaint, scenic, western like town, and one full day site seeing in the park. We didn't haul the RV into the park. Too many steep grades and dog leg turns on the way up and down. RV's over 24 feet are not recommended, but to our delight pets were allowed (unlike Baxter State Park the first time we went there with ol'Cosell, our first boxer dog).
The Rio Grande wasn't so impressive but pretty, and we didn't even get our feet wet as planned (well Dixie did !) due to steep and muddy entries. It was kinda refreshing tho since the temps have been in the 80's the past couple of days.
From Study Butte we headed to Carlsbad, NM. Taking Texas Routes 118N and 17N the scenery continued to be out of this world. Anne and I have never scene anything like it, and so concentrated in one huge area. Once we got to Pecos, TX tho the road flattened out and went on straight forever all the way to Carlsbad, actually I think it veered to the left one time.
We have a nice park to stay in here, but we've decided not to take in Carlsbad Caverns or other local attractions. We need a rest, and to do some laundry, so a day off it is. It is a nice dry 86 degrees today, and the nightime cools off, 76 after supper, and we had to stay under the covers overnight.
Tomorrow we'll head out on the road again and we'll pass (Anne says quickly) thru El Paso on our way to Demming, NM. The next day we'll start to spec out some familiar faces as we visit friends and family in different spots in Arizona, from Tuscon to Prescott Valley and beyond.
The Texas 'Hill Country' west of Austin was a beautiful drive, not like anything I expected from Texas. Golden rolling hills forever, all speckled with individual green trees, some big rocks, and white rock passes cut thru the high spots. I actually got a few pictures on the way that didn't have cell phone towers in them, but it wasn't easy.
A long haul it was to Fort Stockton, TX tho, 350 miles. When we got there, the GPS led us thru the puckies as we made our way to F.S. RV Park (I guess it was a short cut) but with that entrance to town we never really warmed up to this place. Wal*mart didn't even have auto-opening doors, HAHA. We set up quickly tho and just spent the night here.
Driving south from there to Study Butte (pronounced Stoody Bute) we got into scenery that wouldn't quit, and it really never did for 2 days or so until half way to Carlsbad, NM. We've taken 150 pictures per day for the past 3 days. Study Butte is 1 mile out of Big Bend National Park, and some RV'er had told us about staying there. It worked out good as we spent 2 nights in this quaint, scenic, western like town, and one full day site seeing in the park. We didn't haul the RV into the park. Too many steep grades and dog leg turns on the way up and down. RV's over 24 feet are not recommended, but to our delight pets were allowed (unlike Baxter State Park the first time we went there with ol'Cosell, our first boxer dog).
The Rio Grande wasn't so impressive but pretty, and we didn't even get our feet wet as planned (well Dixie did !) due to steep and muddy entries. It was kinda refreshing tho since the temps have been in the 80's the past couple of days.
From Study Butte we headed to Carlsbad, NM. Taking Texas Routes 118N and 17N the scenery continued to be out of this world. Anne and I have never scene anything like it, and so concentrated in one huge area. Once we got to Pecos, TX tho the road flattened out and went on straight forever all the way to Carlsbad, actually I think it veered to the left one time.
We have a nice park to stay in here, but we've decided not to take in Carlsbad Caverns or other local attractions. We need a rest, and to do some laundry, so a day off it is. It is a nice dry 86 degrees today, and the nightime cools off, 76 after supper, and we had to stay under the covers overnight.
Tomorrow we'll head out on the road again and we'll pass (Anne says quickly) thru El Paso on our way to Demming, NM. The next day we'll start to spec out some familiar faces as we visit friends and family in different spots in Arizona, from Tuscon to Prescott Valley and beyond.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Huntsville ===> Austin
On Thursday we checked out of Heartland RV Park and headed for the Zion Church BBQ, only to find it closed. Not open today, probably due to the unseasonably cold weather.
I'm wondering whether they had running water at this time. I noticed the electric water heater actually installed on the back porch, under cover but basically outdoors. It had a few sheets of metal siding propped up surrounding it, certainly nothing that would protect it from any real cold like what we had overnight. So the long awaited BBQ meal never happened, nor were we able to meet the folks we saw on Travel Channel. Even with no one here at noon, the 'smoker' had been fired up some time this morning, and it was smokin' outfront, probably in preparation for Friday's menu. Do you think they smoke the meat overnight? Regardless, we won't be here to taste it.
Dissappointed, we drive thru McDonalds, and hit the highway. It was a boring ride to Austin, but we were excited to get there. This is known as the World Capital of Live Music because they haved some 200 busy music venues here. Seems like a great medium sized city, significantly larger than Portland, surrounded with golf courses and rural countryside. Wish I had some oceanfront property here. The immediate suburbs, in view of the skyscrapers, consists of rolling hills and country homes with big lawns. I bet it's beautiful in the Springtime.
We check-in at Oak Forest RV Park, the neatest park we've stayed at todate. We are parked on a cement slab as are all the RV's here. The hookups are fancy, well lit, and just as neat as a pin. All facilities here are perfect. Even 3 fenced in dog areas, Anne thinks for small, medium and large dogs. There are some unbelievable song birds in the trees here so Beasley just salivates in the screen doorway.
Today was a productive day. We got some much needed new caulking done around our tub and got our rugs washed. Then we drove around to get a feel for this town, and we enjoyed the Green Mesquite BBQ for lunch. We had bright sunshine all day with a high of 55. Tomorrow's temp will be 65, with Sunday and Monday 75. Sun is forecast for the next 4-5 days.
We'll leave Austin in the morning and drive 5 hours, 347 miles to Fort Stockton, TX. There we'll take one day to relax and plan our time at the nearby Big Bend National Park down on the Rio Grande. After taking that in we'll finish the drive across Texas and move on to the next scheduled stop, Carlsbad, NM.
I'm wondering whether they had running water at this time. I noticed the electric water heater actually installed on the back porch, under cover but basically outdoors. It had a few sheets of metal siding propped up surrounding it, certainly nothing that would protect it from any real cold like what we had overnight. So the long awaited BBQ meal never happened, nor were we able to meet the folks we saw on Travel Channel. Even with no one here at noon, the 'smoker' had been fired up some time this morning, and it was smokin' outfront, probably in preparation for Friday's menu. Do you think they smoke the meat overnight? Regardless, we won't be here to taste it.
Dissappointed, we drive thru McDonalds, and hit the highway. It was a boring ride to Austin, but we were excited to get there. This is known as the World Capital of Live Music because they haved some 200 busy music venues here. Seems like a great medium sized city, significantly larger than Portland, surrounded with golf courses and rural countryside. Wish I had some oceanfront property here. The immediate suburbs, in view of the skyscrapers, consists of rolling hills and country homes with big lawns. I bet it's beautiful in the Springtime.
We check-in at Oak Forest RV Park, the neatest park we've stayed at todate. We are parked on a cement slab as are all the RV's here. The hookups are fancy, well lit, and just as neat as a pin. All facilities here are perfect. Even 3 fenced in dog areas, Anne thinks for small, medium and large dogs. There are some unbelievable song birds in the trees here so Beasley just salivates in the screen doorway.
Today was a productive day. We got some much needed new caulking done around our tub and got our rugs washed. Then we drove around to get a feel for this town, and we enjoyed the Green Mesquite BBQ for lunch. We had bright sunshine all day with a high of 55. Tomorrow's temp will be 65, with Sunday and Monday 75. Sun is forecast for the next 4-5 days.
We'll leave Austin in the morning and drive 5 hours, 347 miles to Fort Stockton, TX. There we'll take one day to relax and plan our time at the nearby Big Bend National Park down on the Rio Grande. After taking that in we'll finish the drive across Texas and move on to the next scheduled stop, Carlsbad, NM.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
BBQ on the way to Austin, TX
Hi friends,
We had a rainy cold day yesterday. Yes, it hovered at and below freezing again so we have a thin coat of ice outside today. It was a productive day tho. Anne successfully orchestrated a couple of prescription transfers, and I found my respiratory equipment provider locally and got my CPAP replaced. It had broken down last night at midnight.
Last evening, due to the low temps, we collected the water lines outdoors and got them drained and put away. Then we clicked on the wall switch for the water pump and have been using our on-board supply ever since. A couple of days ago we had judged the water at this park to be excellent, so I had put 25 gallons in our potable tank. Gotta help yourself and take some good water with you when you get the chance ya know.
Since Huntsville is all about Sam Houston, the S.H. State University, museum, highway, gravesite, etc., I must take a picture of his statue out at the visitor center park on Highway 45 before we leave. If you've never seen it you're sure to be impressed!!
It's 9:45am CST and we're about ready to leave Huntsville for Austin, TX. By noon we'll stop to see if we can have lunch at 'the BBQ', then we'll be 'On the Road Again' to you know who's home town.
Have a good day everyone. We miss you and send our love!!
PS. We haven't been able to get emails sent of of this place since Saturday, so hopefully our outbox will drain when we get to Austin. There's 4 mails stuck in there. Maybe one of 'em is for you!
We had a rainy cold day yesterday. Yes, it hovered at and below freezing again so we have a thin coat of ice outside today. It was a productive day tho. Anne successfully orchestrated a couple of prescription transfers, and I found my respiratory equipment provider locally and got my CPAP replaced. It had broken down last night at midnight.
Last evening, due to the low temps, we collected the water lines outdoors and got them drained and put away. Then we clicked on the wall switch for the water pump and have been using our on-board supply ever since. A couple of days ago we had judged the water at this park to be excellent, so I had put 25 gallons in our potable tank. Gotta help yourself and take some good water with you when you get the chance ya know.
Since Huntsville is all about Sam Houston, the S.H. State University, museum, highway, gravesite, etc., I must take a picture of his statue out at the visitor center park on Highway 45 before we leave. If you've never seen it you're sure to be impressed!!
It's 9:45am CST and we're about ready to leave Huntsville for Austin, TX. By noon we'll stop to see if we can have lunch at 'the BBQ', then we'll be 'On the Road Again' to you know who's home town.
Have a good day everyone. We miss you and send our love!!
PS. We haven't been able to get emails sent of of this place since Saturday, so hopefully our outbox will drain when we get to Austin. There's 4 mails stuck in there. Maybe one of 'em is for you!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Dallas day trip
Hi friends,
So on Sunday Anne has this idea, turns to me and says, "I have an idea, and I'm not sure you are going to like it". She asks if I'd like to go to Dallas by myself on Monday to visit my friend Phillip. I took her up on it. It was going to be costly and tiring to haul the RV up there and back. The city traffic would be dreadful, the forecast for Wednesday is bad, and Anne has her heart set on the BBQ in Huntsville on Thursday. We need to do something till then, so........why not?
At noon Monday I left Anne, Dixie, and Beasley at Heartland RV Park and drove up Highway 45 for 3 hours. I was free as a bird, big wide open highway, bright sunshine, IPOD blaring and shuffling my favorites. The family doesn't appreciate or allow for that, probably nobody would, so I seize the moment.
Phillip would be home from work at 6pm, so me arriving at Dallas at 3pm I 'takes a ride' out Highway 30 towards Arlington to see if I could get close to Cowboys Stadium. I wasn't sure since Super Sunday was just yesterday. Well, it was a spectacle, and The Rangers Ballpark is neat too and right next door. I get a charge out seeing these stadiums !!
I met up with Phillip 20 miles north of Dallas at his home in Plano at 5:45pm. Traffic on the way was a buzz. He and his daughter Bailey (18) are excited to take me out to show me the sites. We had dinner at the oldest Mexican restaurant in Dallas, El Fenix, then they gave me the grand tour. Phil has lived here his entire life so I was in good hands. As we go, Phil describes the colorfully lit skyscrapers and I just gaze at them all.
We circle the American Airlines Arena where the Mavs were playing the Cavs, and we caught a 'real time' glimpse of the game on a giant 'Texas sized' wide screen TV outside. We don't have that in Boston, instead we have banners hanging from the rafters.
Then we went over to the famed 'grassy knoll' where JFK was assassinated. As we sat there at a stop light, Phil pointed out the window (up and directly in front of us) from which Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shot. He also pointed down to the left to the police station/jail where Jack Ruby later 'took out' LHO. From there we drove down the ramp past the knoll, and we followed the same route the limo took as it rushed President Kennedy to the hospital that awful day in Nov, 1963. I was in Mrs. Higgins 6th grade classroom that afternoon, and I remember (like it was yesterday) when the radio announcement was played over the loud speakers throughout the Intermediate School in Wareham, MA.
What a good exciting night I had with these friends. By 7am Tuesday Phil and I had had a cup of coffee and a banana, I was on my way back to Huntsville and Phil on his way back to work in Fort Worth as we each drove in packed, 4 lane, stop and go traffic clear thru to the other side of Dallas, me the south side and Phil the west side.
It was a sub-freezing morning and apparently, the night before, a homeowner had watered his lawn, overspraying well into the right hand lane of Legacy Drive. With 2cars ahead of me we were all slowing down approaching a red light. Suddenly I was forced to lock up my brakes as the truck began sliding on the only patch of ice in Plano. I just knew I was about to hear the sound of metal on metal. I did stop tho, just short of the car ahead of me, and as I slid I watched in my rear view mirror as the car behind me did the same thing, fish tailing to miss me. Whew,,, I can see it now, the embarrassing headline, "Maine man involved in fender bender on icy spot in surburban Dallas."
At 10:30am, having made the appointment on Monday, I exited the highway 40 miles north of Huntsville at Madisonville and had the oil changed in our truck at Henson GMC.
By 12:15pm I was back home with my family, safe and sound, thankful and grateful to have been able to take a fantastic 24 hour side trip.
Anne says she wants to do something similar in Mesa, AZ. She has a long lost girl friend there. I should've known when she set me free that she had a motive, but no problem, it's all good. It'll be my turn to stay with Dixie and Beasley and do the laundry that day.
So on Sunday Anne has this idea, turns to me and says, "I have an idea, and I'm not sure you are going to like it". She asks if I'd like to go to Dallas by myself on Monday to visit my friend Phillip. I took her up on it. It was going to be costly and tiring to haul the RV up there and back. The city traffic would be dreadful, the forecast for Wednesday is bad, and Anne has her heart set on the BBQ in Huntsville on Thursday. We need to do something till then, so........why not?
At noon Monday I left Anne, Dixie, and Beasley at Heartland RV Park and drove up Highway 45 for 3 hours. I was free as a bird, big wide open highway, bright sunshine, IPOD blaring and shuffling my favorites. The family doesn't appreciate or allow for that, probably nobody would, so I seize the moment.
Phillip would be home from work at 6pm, so me arriving at Dallas at 3pm I 'takes a ride' out Highway 30 towards Arlington to see if I could get close to Cowboys Stadium. I wasn't sure since Super Sunday was just yesterday. Well, it was a spectacle, and The Rangers Ballpark is neat too and right next door. I get a charge out seeing these stadiums !!
I met up with Phillip 20 miles north of Dallas at his home in Plano at 5:45pm. Traffic on the way was a buzz. He and his daughter Bailey (18) are excited to take me out to show me the sites. We had dinner at the oldest Mexican restaurant in Dallas, El Fenix, then they gave me the grand tour. Phil has lived here his entire life so I was in good hands. As we go, Phil describes the colorfully lit skyscrapers and I just gaze at them all.
We circle the American Airlines Arena where the Mavs were playing the Cavs, and we caught a 'real time' glimpse of the game on a giant 'Texas sized' wide screen TV outside. We don't have that in Boston, instead we have banners hanging from the rafters.
Then we went over to the famed 'grassy knoll' where JFK was assassinated. As we sat there at a stop light, Phil pointed out the window (up and directly in front of us) from which Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shot. He also pointed down to the left to the police station/jail where Jack Ruby later 'took out' LHO. From there we drove down the ramp past the knoll, and we followed the same route the limo took as it rushed President Kennedy to the hospital that awful day in Nov, 1963. I was in Mrs. Higgins 6th grade classroom that afternoon, and I remember (like it was yesterday) when the radio announcement was played over the loud speakers throughout the Intermediate School in Wareham, MA.
What a good exciting night I had with these friends. By 7am Tuesday Phil and I had had a cup of coffee and a banana, I was on my way back to Huntsville and Phil on his way back to work in Fort Worth as we each drove in packed, 4 lane, stop and go traffic clear thru to the other side of Dallas, me the south side and Phil the west side.
It was a sub-freezing morning and apparently, the night before, a homeowner had watered his lawn, overspraying well into the right hand lane of Legacy Drive. With 2cars ahead of me we were all slowing down approaching a red light. Suddenly I was forced to lock up my brakes as the truck began sliding on the only patch of ice in Plano. I just knew I was about to hear the sound of metal on metal. I did stop tho, just short of the car ahead of me, and as I slid I watched in my rear view mirror as the car behind me did the same thing, fish tailing to miss me. Whew,,, I can see it now, the embarrassing headline, "Maine man involved in fender bender on icy spot in surburban Dallas."
At 10:30am, having made the appointment on Monday, I exited the highway 40 miles north of Huntsville at Madisonville and had the oil changed in our truck at Henson GMC.
By 12:15pm I was back home with my family, safe and sound, thankful and grateful to have been able to take a fantastic 24 hour side trip.
Anne says she wants to do something similar in Mesa, AZ. She has a long lost girl friend there. I should've known when she set me free that she had a motive, but no problem, it's all good. It'll be my turn to stay with Dixie and Beasley and do the laundry that day.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Welcome to Huntsville, Texas !
OK Hello All !!
It’s Saturday evening, February 5, and we’ve been on the road for one month now !! I’m ready to trade the house for a land yacht and go ’full time’, Anne isn‘t, but I have 3 months and seven thousand more miles to convince her. Anyway, back to reality, let’s see if we can get y’all caught up on our last 2 days.
Waking up at Ajax, LA Friday morning we knew we’d be staying more than just one night. Everything was covered in a sheet of ice. The weather forecast had been bad, and sure enough, we listened to it rain and sleet on the roof all night as we slept. It was below freezing.
Anne made blueberry (blueberries from home) (what a girl) (this little freezer just keeps producing food from back home) pancakes so we enjoyed, and just settled in. This whole area of the country has come to a screeching halt as you can imagine.
In our location it hovered around 31 degrees all day as it showered. 36 degrees was predicted, but that never happened so we just sat and watched the ice grow. We really enjoyed the chance to do nothing. The down side was that the ‘high speed’ internet was slow, and we only had ‘over the air’ TV stations, so no 'Weather Channel' when we needed it most.
Today's (Sat.) forecast came true and the sun shone brightly at 7am. We waited for dripping to start, and when it did we 'made our move'. When Anne pushed the button to retract the ’slide out room’ an inch thick sheet of ice crashed down in pieces from the slide out awning as it rolled up. The sleet and rain had puddled and froze up there. After enough melting had occurred 'up on the roof' I was able to twist the TV antenna to the ‘home’ position and crank it down. Not having cable TV here there was no coax to coil up and put away this time.
We didn’t get moving till well after 11am, then we drove 205 miles to Huntsville, TX. It’s off Highway 45 between Houston and Dallas, much closer to Houston. We passed thru Lufkin Texas and it was a nice sunny drive to the Heartland RV Park. Anne and I split the driving about in half this time. We’ll be here Super Sunday and after, checking out the Mount Zion Church Bar-B-Que, hoping it is everything the Food Channel said it was.
The highlight of the today’s ride was a quick side trip into Natchitoches, LA. The town will be 300 years old in year 2014. It is home to the Northwestern Louisianna State University, and the historic district was blooming all around with yellow and purple flowers, the LSU colors. It resembles a mini New Orleans with wrought iron railings fronting the multi-story buildings which line the main drag, so scenic and nestled along the banks of the Red River. This is where ‘Steel Magnolias’ was filmed, and the famed house where that movie family lived was there on Front Street.
Shortly after arrival in Huntsville tonight we enjoyed a nice dinner that Anne had put together, while she shook rugs and swept floors, and I leveled, stabilized, and hooked up the RV. I cleaned up after dinner. We have the internet, cable TV, maps and reading material so we'll be all set for the Super Bowl weekend and beyond.
I have my friend Phillip in Dallas (Plano) to visit, and we keep trying to figure out how we can do it. Their weather has been awful, 250 miles north of here, and the forecast doesn't promise much improvement. We'll figure something out. Wouldn't be right to skip Dallas, but we don't want to test mother nature.
Seems every day we meet lots of interesting people from all over creation and doing what we're doing, but we miss and love all of you, and we're so grateful that you are following with us, looking at and reading our blog.
What a word ‘blog‘ huh? Who ever came up with that one? Isn’t this better than a doggone ‘blog’? Come on now…
It’s Saturday evening, February 5, and we’ve been on the road for one month now !! I’m ready to trade the house for a land yacht and go ’full time’, Anne isn‘t, but I have 3 months and seven thousand more miles to convince her. Anyway, back to reality, let’s see if we can get y’all caught up on our last 2 days.
Waking up at Ajax, LA Friday morning we knew we’d be staying more than just one night. Everything was covered in a sheet of ice. The weather forecast had been bad, and sure enough, we listened to it rain and sleet on the roof all night as we slept. It was below freezing.
Anne made blueberry (blueberries from home) (what a girl) (this little freezer just keeps producing food from back home) pancakes so we enjoyed, and just settled in. This whole area of the country has come to a screeching halt as you can imagine.
In our location it hovered around 31 degrees all day as it showered. 36 degrees was predicted, but that never happened so we just sat and watched the ice grow. We really enjoyed the chance to do nothing. The down side was that the ‘high speed’ internet was slow, and we only had ‘over the air’ TV stations, so no 'Weather Channel' when we needed it most.
Today's (Sat.) forecast came true and the sun shone brightly at 7am. We waited for dripping to start, and when it did we 'made our move'. When Anne pushed the button to retract the ’slide out room’ an inch thick sheet of ice crashed down in pieces from the slide out awning as it rolled up. The sleet and rain had puddled and froze up there. After enough melting had occurred 'up on the roof' I was able to twist the TV antenna to the ‘home’ position and crank it down. Not having cable TV here there was no coax to coil up and put away this time.
We didn’t get moving till well after 11am, then we drove 205 miles to Huntsville, TX. It’s off Highway 45 between Houston and Dallas, much closer to Houston. We passed thru Lufkin Texas and it was a nice sunny drive to the Heartland RV Park. Anne and I split the driving about in half this time. We’ll be here Super Sunday and after, checking out the Mount Zion Church Bar-B-Que, hoping it is everything the Food Channel said it was.
The highlight of the today’s ride was a quick side trip into Natchitoches, LA. The town will be 300 years old in year 2014. It is home to the Northwestern Louisianna State University, and the historic district was blooming all around with yellow and purple flowers, the LSU colors. It resembles a mini New Orleans with wrought iron railings fronting the multi-story buildings which line the main drag, so scenic and nestled along the banks of the Red River. This is where ‘Steel Magnolias’ was filmed, and the famed house where that movie family lived was there on Front Street.
Shortly after arrival in Huntsville tonight we enjoyed a nice dinner that Anne had put together, while she shook rugs and swept floors, and I leveled, stabilized, and hooked up the RV. I cleaned up after dinner. We have the internet, cable TV, maps and reading material so we'll be all set for the Super Bowl weekend and beyond.
I have my friend Phillip in Dallas (Plano) to visit, and we keep trying to figure out how we can do it. Their weather has been awful, 250 miles north of here, and the forecast doesn't promise much improvement. We'll figure something out. Wouldn't be right to skip Dallas, but we don't want to test mother nature.
Seems every day we meet lots of interesting people from all over creation and doing what we're doing, but we miss and love all of you, and we're so grateful that you are following with us, looking at and reading our blog.
What a word ‘blog‘ huh? Who ever came up with that one? Isn’t this better than a doggone ‘blog’? Come on now…
Friday, February 4, 2011
Onward ==> Mississippi ==> Louisianna
Hi everyone,
On Wednesday we left Decatur AL on schedule, heading west across northern Alabama to catch on with The Natchez Trace Parkway. The scenic parkway runs 444 miles diagonally NE to SW thru Mississippi, actually starting in Nashville TN and ending in Natchez, MS. We jumped on at Cherokee, AL, drove about 4 hours and got off near Jackson, MS, the state capitol.
I hate to say this because we didn’t do the parkway justice by exploring any of it's historic spots, but in my opinion, in terms of scenery, if you’ve seen a few miles of it you’ve seen ‘em all. No disrespect because it is a great drive, well maintained and beautiful territory. And, it has the feel of a private road, manicured landscapes all along and smooth pavement, plus we practically had it all to ourselves yesterday. The speed limit is 50mph throughout, a good thing because it’s a 2 lane bi-directional highway with no paved shoulders. It was a sunny drive today with blue sky and puffy clouds, but very cold to step outside, near 32 degrees.
It was starting to get cloudy when we got off the parkway near Jackson Mississippi. We spent the night in Canton, MS at Movie Town RV Park, a Good Sam Park. It was just freezing here mid-afternoon, and sure enough overnight the pipes (I should say all outside hose fittings) froze solid, so there was no running park water in the am. Our on-board water supply and pump worked great though, so we were OK. It’s good that our on-board fluid tank compartments are warm.
Today’s (Thursday) forecast is for treacherous ice storms ranging from Texas to Tennessee in the afternoon, with 1-3 inches of snow north adjacent to the ice, all that moving SW to NE across Louisianna.
When we got up Anne was eager to get out of Canton, so she made a plan for us to drive above the bad weather, across Mississippi on Rt. 20 to Vicksburg, continuing on to Monroe, LA and almost to Shreveport before heading south to Ajax, LA (that’s right, Ajax). That’s where were staying tonight at Country Livin' RV Park, a Passport America Park near the Red River.
Well, Anne was right, her intuition was good even though we drove thru plenty of sleet, and we out ran the storm by staying north and west of it, and we have a nice place to stay tonight. It is supposed to rain and freeze here overnight but we don’t care. We’re tired so we’ll just stay here, relax and plan, and it’ll melt tomorrow. Don’t tell Anne I said this, but I think her real motivation is for us to get delayed long enough (or get snowed-in long enough) so we can enjoy that world famous Bar-B-Que in Huntsville TX mid next week. I'm not gonna complain, gotta pick your battles right !!
We enjoyed clean hot showers this afternoon, and one of Anne’s specialties for dinner, Cornish game hen, so we're content for the evening. It’s 10pm now and I’ve already disconnected and drained out park water hose. I’m sure to see some melting going on tomorrow, so I hope to hook it back up in the morning. It’s supposed to be 22 degrees tonight. I know,,,, it was colder in Dallas (not far from here) and El Paso than it was in Green Bay and Alaska today. Maybe we brought the cold with us? In fact, many of the roadways we used yesterday are closed today due to the ice storm.
We miss you all, and thanks tons for being there with us.
On Wednesday we left Decatur AL on schedule, heading west across northern Alabama to catch on with The Natchez Trace Parkway. The scenic parkway runs 444 miles diagonally NE to SW thru Mississippi, actually starting in Nashville TN and ending in Natchez, MS. We jumped on at Cherokee, AL, drove about 4 hours and got off near Jackson, MS, the state capitol.
I hate to say this because we didn’t do the parkway justice by exploring any of it's historic spots, but in my opinion, in terms of scenery, if you’ve seen a few miles of it you’ve seen ‘em all. No disrespect because it is a great drive, well maintained and beautiful territory. And, it has the feel of a private road, manicured landscapes all along and smooth pavement, plus we practically had it all to ourselves yesterday. The speed limit is 50mph throughout, a good thing because it’s a 2 lane bi-directional highway with no paved shoulders. It was a sunny drive today with blue sky and puffy clouds, but very cold to step outside, near 32 degrees.
It was starting to get cloudy when we got off the parkway near Jackson Mississippi. We spent the night in Canton, MS at Movie Town RV Park, a Good Sam Park. It was just freezing here mid-afternoon, and sure enough overnight the pipes (I should say all outside hose fittings) froze solid, so there was no running park water in the am. Our on-board water supply and pump worked great though, so we were OK. It’s good that our on-board fluid tank compartments are warm.
Today’s (Thursday) forecast is for treacherous ice storms ranging from Texas to Tennessee in the afternoon, with 1-3 inches of snow north adjacent to the ice, all that moving SW to NE across Louisianna.
When we got up Anne was eager to get out of Canton, so she made a plan for us to drive above the bad weather, across Mississippi on Rt. 20 to Vicksburg, continuing on to Monroe, LA and almost to Shreveport before heading south to Ajax, LA (that’s right, Ajax). That’s where were staying tonight at Country Livin' RV Park, a Passport America Park near the Red River.
Well, Anne was right, her intuition was good even though we drove thru plenty of sleet, and we out ran the storm by staying north and west of it, and we have a nice place to stay tonight. It is supposed to rain and freeze here overnight but we don’t care. We’re tired so we’ll just stay here, relax and plan, and it’ll melt tomorrow. Don’t tell Anne I said this, but I think her real motivation is for us to get delayed long enough (or get snowed-in long enough) so we can enjoy that world famous Bar-B-Que in Huntsville TX mid next week. I'm not gonna complain, gotta pick your battles right !!
We enjoyed clean hot showers this afternoon, and one of Anne’s specialties for dinner, Cornish game hen, so we're content for the evening. It’s 10pm now and I’ve already disconnected and drained out park water hose. I’m sure to see some melting going on tomorrow, so I hope to hook it back up in the morning. It’s supposed to be 22 degrees tonight. I know,,,, it was colder in Dallas (not far from here) and El Paso than it was in Green Bay and Alaska today. Maybe we brought the cold with us? In fact, many of the roadways we used yesterday are closed today due to the ice storm.
We miss you all, and thanks tons for being there with us.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
On to Decatur, Alabama
Hey y'all,
We made it to Decatur Alabama Sunday early evening after (believe it or not) deviating from ‘our plan’ as we drove north. We did a good job getting out of Mexico Beach early, driving away from there at 8:45am heading for Helena, AL. As we approached Helena tho the weather forecast was questionable with showers looming, so I mentioned to Anne how I hoped we wouldn't have to set up in the rain there. She replied, “So how do you feel about driving another 110 miles thru to Decatur?”. Both being 'up' for that, we just continued on and got here at 5pm.
The rural drive north thru the panhandle was interesting, lots of back woods stuff. We noticed that most businesses here were closed on Sunday. I think that is good, the way life should be. I guess the boiled peanuts at the Indian River produce stands were the highlight of this mornings ride. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t try the boiled peanuts, but they seemed to be the big attraction everywhere we looked. Peanuts want to be dry, not hot and soggy. Thanks anyway.
After going for some time thru what seemed ‘the sticks’ we made it to a major route, Highway 65 which took us directly thru both Montgomery and Birmingham, AL. We noticed many historic markers, but neither of us being history buffs, we never stopped.
You may remember, I was intent on being somewhere by 2:30pm, CMT Sunday to see the Celtics beat up on the Lakers. Well, we listened to it instead. The victory was just as sweet tho, and I was proud of the boys in green who put the game away in crunch time. Thank God for the Celts, considering what happened to our boys in Blue and Silver a couple weeks back. I’m afraid the Pats 14-2 season was a fluke after all.
I was lucky to have found ESPN radio on the dial as gametime (and Birmingham) approached, but the suburban highway there was wicked noisy, made up of those short sections of concrete pavement, and traffic was extra heavy for a Sunday afternoon. I had to crank up the V to hear the game, and although Anne understood, we became more concerned that the bumpy sections of road were going to jar our teeth, never mind what it might have been like for Beasley riding solo in the RV behind us. Anyway, we all survived, and the highway eventually turned smooth and quiet, thru rolling hills and evergreens in northern Alabama, a lot like parts of Maine.
In the morning we called our friends Gary and Amanda and visited with them for the entire day. We all went out to Big Bob Gibson’s award winning Bar-B-Que for dinner and had some fun. Times have changed for G+A from their previous jet-setting major league career, but we're no less proud of them now. They have 2 beautiful little girls and a nice new home. Gary is a police officer in Florence AL, he gives pitching lessons on the side, and Amanda is a full time wife and mom.
On Tuesday we spent some more time with the Knott’s family, then rain arrived on que mid-day. It poured off and on the rest of the day. We picked up a couple of things on our way back to our RV, then Gary called and suggested we have dinner together again, but with the nasty weather we all just decided to sit tight that night.
Tomorrow we head out early west across Alabama, thru Florence and into Mississippi where we’ll pick up the Natchez Trace Parkway and follow it diagonally south till we set up for the night (or 2) near Jackson, MS, at Coal Bluff. After that we’ll make our way thru Lousianna to Huntsville TX where 'our plan' finds us taking in a world famous (according The Food Network) Bar-B-Que there outside at a Baptist Church, but we must be there Tuesday thru Thursday to take advantage. And now we have ice storms forecast all around us, so that could be a problem.
We don’t want to get too close to Dallas this weekend, if that's even possible with the Superbowl taking place. I’d like to see the new multi-billion dollar Cowboy Stadium tho. How much do you think a Jerry Jones $5 tour would cost? Hey, maybe my friend Phillip can get us in for free.
I forgot to mention, we’ve been without cable TV and internet at our site in Decatur, a beautiful campground and family fun complex here at Pointe Mallard Park, but we want to avoid being caught without the internet going forward. With the big storms and cold fronts lingering around here the Weather Channel would be a welcomed sight right about now so we could keep on top of those things.
We miss you all, so stay tuned, and thanks for being there with us.
We made it to Decatur Alabama Sunday early evening after (believe it or not) deviating from ‘our plan’ as we drove north. We did a good job getting out of Mexico Beach early, driving away from there at 8:45am heading for Helena, AL. As we approached Helena tho the weather forecast was questionable with showers looming, so I mentioned to Anne how I hoped we wouldn't have to set up in the rain there. She replied, “So how do you feel about driving another 110 miles thru to Decatur?”. Both being 'up' for that, we just continued on and got here at 5pm.
The rural drive north thru the panhandle was interesting, lots of back woods stuff. We noticed that most businesses here were closed on Sunday. I think that is good, the way life should be. I guess the boiled peanuts at the Indian River produce stands were the highlight of this mornings ride. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t try the boiled peanuts, but they seemed to be the big attraction everywhere we looked. Peanuts want to be dry, not hot and soggy. Thanks anyway.
After going for some time thru what seemed ‘the sticks’ we made it to a major route, Highway 65 which took us directly thru both Montgomery and Birmingham, AL. We noticed many historic markers, but neither of us being history buffs, we never stopped.
You may remember, I was intent on being somewhere by 2:30pm, CMT Sunday to see the Celtics beat up on the Lakers. Well, we listened to it instead. The victory was just as sweet tho, and I was proud of the boys in green who put the game away in crunch time. Thank God for the Celts, considering what happened to our boys in Blue and Silver a couple weeks back. I’m afraid the Pats 14-2 season was a fluke after all.
I was lucky to have found ESPN radio on the dial as gametime (and Birmingham) approached, but the suburban highway there was wicked noisy, made up of those short sections of concrete pavement, and traffic was extra heavy for a Sunday afternoon. I had to crank up the V to hear the game, and although Anne understood, we became more concerned that the bumpy sections of road were going to jar our teeth, never mind what it might have been like for Beasley riding solo in the RV behind us. Anyway, we all survived, and the highway eventually turned smooth and quiet, thru rolling hills and evergreens in northern Alabama, a lot like parts of Maine.
In the morning we called our friends Gary and Amanda and visited with them for the entire day. We all went out to Big Bob Gibson’s award winning Bar-B-Que for dinner and had some fun. Times have changed for G+A from their previous jet-setting major league career, but we're no less proud of them now. They have 2 beautiful little girls and a nice new home. Gary is a police officer in Florence AL, he gives pitching lessons on the side, and Amanda is a full time wife and mom.
On Tuesday we spent some more time with the Knott’s family, then rain arrived on que mid-day. It poured off and on the rest of the day. We picked up a couple of things on our way back to our RV, then Gary called and suggested we have dinner together again, but with the nasty weather we all just decided to sit tight that night.
Tomorrow we head out early west across Alabama, thru Florence and into Mississippi where we’ll pick up the Natchez Trace Parkway and follow it diagonally south till we set up for the night (or 2) near Jackson, MS, at Coal Bluff. After that we’ll make our way thru Lousianna to Huntsville TX where 'our plan' finds us taking in a world famous (according The Food Network) Bar-B-Que there outside at a Baptist Church, but we must be there Tuesday thru Thursday to take advantage. And now we have ice storms forecast all around us, so that could be a problem.
We don’t want to get too close to Dallas this weekend, if that's even possible with the Superbowl taking place. I’d like to see the new multi-billion dollar Cowboy Stadium tho. How much do you think a Jerry Jones $5 tour would cost? Hey, maybe my friend Phillip can get us in for free.
I forgot to mention, we’ve been without cable TV and internet at our site in Decatur, a beautiful campground and family fun complex here at Pointe Mallard Park, but we want to avoid being caught without the internet going forward. With the big storms and cold fronts lingering around here the Weather Channel would be a welcomed sight right about now so we could keep on top of those things.
We miss you all, so stay tuned, and thanks for being there with us.
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