8am in Burleson, south of Ft. Worth on I-35W, and I just opened the door. After my grousing about north Texas weather, a little praise seemed appropriate.
Today is gorgeous! 64 now, 72 for a high, sunshine; Minnesota eat your heart out!
Our first experience with the Jellystone Campground chain is a favorable one. Rustic Ranch is a new addition to the group and folks are scurrying around expanding and improving the older RV park that they bought. My cousin and her husband are staying in a really nice cabin on the property, the reason for our visit. The cabin is very luxurious, Jacuzzi, fireplace, 2 queens, a set of bunk beds, mini-kitchen, nice furnishings. Their kids and grandkids are joining the mix tonight and through the weekend. There is plenty to keep everyone occupied.
Must get going to enjoy the bragged-about-day. Hope all are having equally fine time!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Ice Hazards
February 11, 2011
North Texas weather has struck again! And despite all of our pledges to not be here, we are weathering the icy temps along with home dwellers who can't avoid it. Now I know that to our friends from the north this is pure whining on a topic about which we truly know very little. That is true and the adage "ignorance is bliss" works here.
We woke early on Tuesday, Feb 1 with our usual get-up-and-roll attitude. Going to Davy Crockett Natl. Forest! Sure it's cold, but we can do it! The slide covers were frozen: rolling up was not going to happen. Why fight with nature? So we just stayed put for a few days, let the weather pass.
The forecast for snow on Friday, our designated day of travel, prompted us to get moving on Thursday. Covers still frozen, but not too bad. Russell and a broom did the trick. We are off! But wait, Russell wanted to check the small wet spot under the engine. We're sure it's just water, but better to be safe. So he pulled forward and found diesel fuel instead. We better make a quick stop at the Cummins Diesel shop on the way.
So we spent Thursday night in the Cummins Diesel parking lot waiting for a part to replace the small fuel pump, not to be confused with the larger fuel pump that costs way more both in parts and labor. It seems the consistent freezing temps froze some gaskets. While there, we got a computer report on the engine, it passed with flying colors! "Barely broken in and lookin' good."
An exuberant Russell celebrated the great news by repairing the intake water hose and the front furnace. We had rolled up the water hose prior to the frost, but it seems there was water in the line that froze and broke the hose anyway. The furnace has had issues, no big deal, just tweak it a little. tighten wires, replace a switch. Easy! Especially for me from the inside.
Snow is just beautiful! We woke up Friday to powdery stuff, Russell and a broom back to the roof. The pump got fixed; temperatures rose enough to clear the roads (mostly); we're on our way to Davy Crockett Natl. forest by 2:00 - be there by 5! Perfect!
Clipping along, beautiful weather, life is good! What's that smell? Someone's burning brush. Why do we still smell it miles down the road? We stopped on the first available wide space on the 2-lane TX Hwy 7. Smoke coming off of the right front wheel is immediately the obvious source of the problem. The wheel cover is too hot to touch, the smell overpowering. One look from Russell, "the brakes froze up!"
Every full-timer has a story about being towed, now we will have ours; that's why we have road-side assistance insurance. A tow will be here to take us to Bryan within the hour, it's 4pm, GREAT! Around 5 the driver calls to tell us that he just can't make it. We are too big, too far out of town, it's getting late... any reason he can think of, he ain't coming! We re-call the insurance, making sure they have the name of the offending tow company. "How are you guys fixed for staying where you are tonight?" We have just topped-off the water and LP, the furnace works, we have food. All is well. And as my sister, Lynn, says, we have each other. We even had a few semi's roll by to rock us to sleep.
Russell called insurance again at 6am, all is well, we want to be in Bryan early so they can get us fixed up today, Saturday, Feb 5. We'll see Davy Crockett on another trip. There's a wrecker on its way. NO WAIT! the insurance didn't like their rate, and cancelled that one! A man in Arizona decided it was better to send a wrecker from Houston! The ETA went from 11am to 4pm - a mere 24h on the side of the road.
However, our new friend Charlie got to us about 2pm. He gave us a real education in towing a 40' RV. He also asked where we'd be staying for the weekend. The insurance company had assured us that we could stay at the repair shop. Charlie was stunned, "Only if you want to be locked in until Monday!" He knew the shop and assured us that we were not going to stay there, and in fact would be lucky if anyone was available to let us in when we arrived. I hurriedly packed a few things while our home was being hoisted.
We were repaired, new front brakes, by Tuesday noon. It seems ice was again the culprit. While driving, we got ice and slush into the wheel which caused the shoes to stick. More snow was predicted for north Texas that night. Hurry back to Waco so we can stay still for a few days.
THE GOOD NEWS:
We have a tow story!
The insurance company has apologized and is paying the hotel bill.
We were going to need new brakes soon, anyway.
We had all the things we needed to spend a night fairly comfortably on the side of the road.
We found a place to stop and didn't run off into a ditch somewhere.
We spent the weekend in Bryan/College Station, a nice place to visit.
We learned a lot!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
A Sunny Day in Texas
January 23, 2011
We have been really enjoying the COE parks, Waco Airport and now Stillhouse Hollow. We have also looked at the state parks online and wanted a look at them in person. Therefore, we took to the road yesterday with a picnic and GPS to track down the best of the hill country.
We drove from here southwest to Burnett and then on to Inks Lake. This really is beautiful country. The campgrounds are way busier than where we are now, not surprising with so much to do in the area; hiking, Longhorn Caverns, boating. However, the lake level is way down, giving the whole place a "vacant" kind of look. I read that the LCRA lowered the lake for maintenance by 8ft and will bring it back to usual levels in mid February.
We then drove toward another state park we've heard a lot about, Colorado Bend. On the way to LLano, we spotted a nesting eagle and stopped for a photo. From LLano we headed toward San Saba, and then east to the park. Obscure does not begin to tell the story. Despite the remoteness of the place it was incredibly busy!
To get to the park, you take a FM out of San Saba, turn onto a county road, then another that turns to dirt, then another that gets more narrow; roughly 10m off the original FM. We passed cattle guards, cows, bikers, hikers, scouts (boy and girl) mesquite, and a creek with low water crossing. The road winds down, at long last, to the Colorado River and the primitive campground run by the state. It is beautiful! This is a place to forget the phones and computers and just hike, take pictures, and in warmer weather, swim. But NOT in a 40ft RV.
We could have easily found all of this online, but then we would have missed the adventure.
Our drive completed the loop by heading east to Lampasas. We could see smoke from the park road and found the source when we drove by an extensive grass fire. Someone's attempt to burn off the gathered brush got out of hand. They fired up about 50 ace rs in the process, but didn't appear to hurt anything else and the VFD had things under control by the time we drove by. This touched memories of farm life that we do not need to revisit.
It was a wonderful day that we enjoyed together. We covered at least 200m in Central Texas Hill Country. We saw wildlife, creeks, lakes, and a river that makes it all possible. We learned that we have been spoiled. The state parks are rustic and what camping is about But for now, we prefer the wide, paved sites of the Corps of Engineer parks that cost us old folks half the money of the more crowded, dirt version the state is offering. Things change, and I'm sure we will revisit these places at a later date to take full advantage of all they have to offer.
We have been really enjoying the COE parks, Waco Airport and now Stillhouse Hollow. We have also looked at the state parks online and wanted a look at them in person. Therefore, we took to the road yesterday with a picnic and GPS to track down the best of the hill country.
We drove from here southwest to Burnett and then on to Inks Lake. This really is beautiful country. The campgrounds are way busier than where we are now, not surprising with so much to do in the area; hiking, Longhorn Caverns, boating. However, the lake level is way down, giving the whole place a "vacant" kind of look. I read that the LCRA lowered the lake for maintenance by 8ft and will bring it back to usual levels in mid February.
We then drove toward another state park we've heard a lot about, Colorado Bend. On the way to LLano, we spotted a nesting eagle and stopped for a photo. From LLano we headed toward San Saba, and then east to the park. Obscure does not begin to tell the story. Despite the remoteness of the place it was incredibly busy!
To get to the park, you take a FM out of San Saba, turn onto a county road, then another that turns to dirt, then another that gets more narrow; roughly 10m off the original FM. We passed cattle guards, cows, bikers, hikers, scouts (boy and girl) mesquite, and a creek with low water crossing. The road winds down, at long last, to the Colorado River and the primitive campground run by the state. It is beautiful! This is a place to forget the phones and computers and just hike, take pictures, and in warmer weather, swim. But NOT in a 40ft RV.
We could have easily found all of this online, but then we would have missed the adventure.
Our drive completed the loop by heading east to Lampasas. We could see smoke from the park road and found the source when we drove by an extensive grass fire. Someone's attempt to burn off the gathered brush got out of hand. They fired up about 50 ace rs in the process, but didn't appear to hurt anything else and the VFD had things under control by the time we drove by. This touched memories of farm life that we do not need to revisit.
It was a wonderful day that we enjoyed together. We covered at least 200m in Central Texas Hill Country. We saw wildlife, creeks, lakes, and a river that makes it all possible. We learned that we have been spoiled. The state parks are rustic and what camping is about But for now, we prefer the wide, paved sites of the Corps of Engineer parks that cost us old folks half the money of the more crowded, dirt version the state is offering. Things change, and I'm sure we will revisit these places at a later date to take full advantage of all they have to offer.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
A New Year, 2011
We had heard great things about the Grapevine RV park, The Vineyard, but had not been able to get reservations on prior attempts, until now. The park is really lovely and our window view was the sun setting over the lake, no obstructions! The weather was perfect, crisp and clear for the most part. It was a great place to practice with the Nikon camera from Kyle - Paul Simon's song keeps cruising through my mind. Ducks are willing subjects. Also sunsets, campfire, the marina; Well, I'm just glad we don't have to pay for film and development anymore.
We celebrated a quiet New Year's Eve with campfire, a very nice home-cooked dinner, and football. We also watched "Wild Hogs." It wasn't any better than the first time we saw it - old, fat guys cussing on bikes; but we did enjoy seeing the town of Madrid, NM again. Our evening came to a close long before midnight, but nearby revelers alerted us to the year end. Bless each of them!
We spent a wonderful New Year's Day at Kyle's house. I got to share cooking duties with him and loved it. We had a mighty fine dinner complete with ham, black-eyed peas, cornbread, sweet potatoes, winning football teams and friends in addition to our family. A down-south kinda' day.
We have now moved to another pretty lakeside spot in Waco. There are differences; Grapevine park is nestled under the jets of DFW, Waco is tucked away under Cessna's (for the most part) of Waco Airport and a shooting club that makes about as much noise. This section of Lake Waco doesn't get much activity in mid-week January, so it is quiet, spacious and lovely.
Even better....it's cheap! Russell gets the geezer discount with his newly acquired SENIOR PASS for National Parks. He got the $10 lifetime pass in November. This gets us $12/night as opposed to $24/night at all Core of Engineer parks. We have become fans of the COE!
HAPPY NEW DECADE TO EACH OF YOU!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
A Precious Moment
Dec. 16, 2010
Waco, Texas
Since our latest travel is between the RV park and Lakeshore Estates, where Russell's Mom lives, there hasn't been a lot to write. Today a special event occurred, at Cici's, of all places!
We were sitting right by the window, just enjoying our buffet, when a family of 3 walked out of the restaurant and stopped at the curb. The little girl turned, looked at us and waved. I waved back and pointed her out to Betty. That child walked up to the window, right next to Betty. She tapped on the window, placed her finger on the window and waved. Just to her. Then she turned and ran back to her parents.
I've never seen anything like it. Betty LOVED it, a special gift just for her.
We could have traveled the world over and never seen anything as wonderful as this child waving to Betty, a lady who no longer perceives much about her world.
Waco, Texas
Since our latest travel is between the RV park and Lakeshore Estates, where Russell's Mom lives, there hasn't been a lot to write. Today a special event occurred, at Cici's, of all places!
We were sitting right by the window, just enjoying our buffet, when a family of 3 walked out of the restaurant and stopped at the curb. The little girl turned, looked at us and waved. I waved back and pointed her out to Betty. That child walked up to the window, right next to Betty. She tapped on the window, placed her finger on the window and waved. Just to her. Then she turned and ran back to her parents.
I've never seen anything like it. Betty LOVED it, a special gift just for her.
We could have traveled the world over and never seen anything as wonderful as this child waving to Betty, a lady who no longer perceives much about her world.
Friday, November 12, 2010
November
November 12, 2010
I just got back from a walk through the campground, what a beautiful time of year! The pecan grove across the street played a symphony, just for me! Imagine the wind and leaves cooperating in that way at that precise time! The trees have to be the right size and still have the correct number of leaves to play that tune at that time. It is a miracle!
We are in Waco, staying at Riverview RV, which is located south of town in the Brazos river valley. There is a rally in full swing this Friday evening, so many people are out and enjoying the rain-washed evening we've been given. Grills are tuning up to add just the right fragrance to the melody filling the area. Ours will join the fray shortly. Soon the clouds and sun will collaborate on a sunset. The stage will be complete for evening activities: a party, football game, cruisin', or just relaxing from a demanding day.
Other November highlights abound: we skidded down dunes at White Sands; marveled at the diversity of white, stages of dunes, blueness of the sky; we caught a glimpse of a test missile contrail. We were witness to the many definitions of the word, "DESERT." Our path from Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Corrizozo, Alamagordo, El Paso, Ft. Stockton, to San Angelo. We detected the terrain of Texas hill country and then the relative lushness of north central Texas and Waco. We sleep with the air conditioner and wake to dew, humidity and muddy soil. We are no longer in the cold dry sandy desert. Change is good.
In the SMALL WORLD Department! Walking through the park in Ft. Stockton, we noticed a familiar rig that was also a Monaco Diplomat. Could that be the folks we enjoyed in Phoenix last winter? Of course, and why not! We had a nice dinner at the campground restaurant, then a good night drink at their home. Isn't this part of the beauty of the RV lifestyle?
I just got back from a walk through the campground, what a beautiful time of year! The pecan grove across the street played a symphony, just for me! Imagine the wind and leaves cooperating in that way at that precise time! The trees have to be the right size and still have the correct number of leaves to play that tune at that time. It is a miracle!
We are in Waco, staying at Riverview RV, which is located south of town in the Brazos river valley. There is a rally in full swing this Friday evening, so many people are out and enjoying the rain-washed evening we've been given. Grills are tuning up to add just the right fragrance to the melody filling the area. Ours will join the fray shortly. Soon the clouds and sun will collaborate on a sunset. The stage will be complete for evening activities: a party, football game, cruisin', or just relaxing from a demanding day.
Other November highlights abound: we skidded down dunes at White Sands; marveled at the diversity of white, stages of dunes, blueness of the sky; we caught a glimpse of a test missile contrail. We were witness to the many definitions of the word, "DESERT." Our path from Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Corrizozo, Alamagordo, El Paso, Ft. Stockton, to San Angelo. We detected the terrain of Texas hill country and then the relative lushness of north central Texas and Waco. We sleep with the air conditioner and wake to dew, humidity and muddy soil. We are no longer in the cold dry sandy desert. Change is good.
In the SMALL WORLD Department! Walking through the park in Ft. Stockton, we noticed a familiar rig that was also a Monaco Diplomat. Could that be the folks we enjoyed in Phoenix last winter? Of course, and why not! We had a nice dinner at the campground restaurant, then a good night drink at their home. Isn't this part of the beauty of the RV lifestyle?
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Alamogordo, NM
Nov. 6, 2010
This is to amend my previous post.
Describing the glorious sunset...and we have gotten to see a couple of more....I mentioned the pistachio "billboard." This term was grossly inadequate!
It is really a sculpture, art, if-you-will. It stands proudly on a pedestal by the side of highway 54, north of Alamogordo.
We visited the pistachio store today and Russell nailed the description - it resembles a pod from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". EXACTLY!
I should have an accompanying photo, but I am not prepared. Hopefully tomorrow.
Glad to have set the record straight. Billboard suggested such a tacky version of the reality.
This is to amend my previous post.
Describing the glorious sunset...and we have gotten to see a couple of more....I mentioned the pistachio "billboard." This term was grossly inadequate!
It is really a sculpture, art, if-you-will. It stands proudly on a pedestal by the side of highway 54, north of Alamogordo.
We visited the pistachio store today and Russell nailed the description - it resembles a pod from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". EXACTLY!
I should have an accompanying photo, but I am not prepared. Hopefully tomorrow.
Glad to have set the record straight. Billboard suggested such a tacky version of the reality.
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