Log of the Wayward Wind

We've been in the SKP Park in Benson for a little over a week now while we wait to get into the Ft. Huachuca RV Park in Sierra Vista on Saturday. What a week it's been!

We arrived early because our dear friends Tom and Murline Georgeson were coming down from Eureka, Ca to visit some mutual friends (Pat and Dale) who live in the park. Our history goes back to about 1980. The six of us such a great time while they were here that I didn't get any photos. Well, you gotta have priorities.

We visited with Steve and Christy and our precious grandaughters over the weekend. We got a tour of the beautiful new home they will move into on Monday, had a picnic, and visited with the Easter bunny amongst other things.

At the picnic, Maddie chased bubbles that Christy blew for her.



And Caty was the soccor queen.



Then it was off to the mall for a quick firetruck ride.



The Easter bunny was finally free, but things didn't go exactly as planned.



After many trys, the Easter bunny hid behind the sofa and Mom and Dad joined the girls. But, these girls are smart. They knew something was amiss.



When we got home I checked my email and saw that Charlie60 had a new entry on her blog. She's part of the Graduation Class of '06 that belong to the Escapees. I immediately sent her an email when I saw that she was somewhere in Benson! Half an hour later there was a knock on the door and there was Charlie and Shirley as in Shirley and Gene. S and G were parked 8 spaces down from us! They invited us for a BBQ and there was no hesitation on our part to put on some shoes and join them.



Chris, Mike and Charlie, Shirley and Gene (AKA Reb)

It was so much fun we did it again last night at Mike and Charlie's beloved bus TAD (The American Dream)



We were joined by Dave and Diane in the background and Richard in the foreground. What a fun group!

We just spent a wonderful week in the quaint village of Fredericksburg, TX. The town was founded by 120 Germans back in 1848 and has maintained its German/Bavarian flavor. The downtown is loaded with unique shops, great restaurants, wine tasting rooms, art galleries, and a couple of museums.

The primary museums are the Pioneer Museum that provides reenactments for the visitors. It's like a living walk through history. The other is The National Museum of the Pacific War. It is devoted exclusively to telling the story of the battles in the Pacific during World War II. Admiral Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg and remains their shining star.

Although we didn't get to see everything, we did come away with two favorite stores and we were several dollars lighter. Der Kuchen Laden (The Kitchen Store) lives in the old hospital building and has kept the original floor plan.


We are now the proud owners of a pasta maker, thermometer probe, ravioli mold, and several other items.

Rustlin’ Robs adopted a more Texas theme and sells…



What makes this store different is that they let you sample EVERYTHING! They have large bowls of Wheat Thins and pretzels throughout the store and open samples of hot sauces, salsas, mustards, jellies, dips, honey, etc. You could practically have lunch there.




They also make homemade fudge, but I noticed kids couldn’t get a sample without a parent’s permission.



Now I’ve got all this food that’s so good that I don’t want to use it up. Well, they do have on-line ordering too.

There are also things away from Main Street that are worth a visit. We drove out to Luckenbach, TX to see the old West town made famous by “Willie, Waylon, and the boys.”


This post office is now a souvenir shop with a beer hall in the back.



The historic dance hall regularly hosts the best of live boot-scooting music. Musical events are held under the huge oaks during the summer.



You have now seen all of Luckenback—2 buildings!

The Wildseed Farms and Market Center is the largest working wildflower farm in the U.S. In addition to flower seeds, they sell home and garden items, women’s clothing, plants, wine, pottery, and specialty items.



The LBJ Park had a little of something for everyone, including a nice RV Park. If we make it back this way, we would probably stay there. It was easy to find a quiet spot for Ranger to “zoom,” so we came back often.



We saved The Bavarian Inn for our last night. My food was wonderful, but Chris’s sauerbraten was full of gristle. We apparently had a new waiter because we waited forever after the salad until Chris called him over. The food arrived shortly, but the spell was broken. Oh well, everything else was great.

If you like to fish, then you'd have been a happy camper yesterday. We drove over to Matagorda to visit friends Lois and Terry. They were here, but moved over to the County Park that is right on the Colorado River and near the Intercoastal Waterway. It was to be a day of great fishing and good food.

Terry, Chris and Ed all snagged a Black Drum within minutes of each other. For awhile we thought Ed and Terry may have caught the same fish.


Ed, wife Dorothy, and Lois


Several folks stopped by to help. Unfortunately the Black Drum is not edible, so was thrown back.


Terry has one on the line.


I believe it measured about 43 inches.


Chris was next up.


He's almost got him!


What a beauty!


And another one with the next cast!

In the meantime, between taking pictures, the women were putting together a great fish fry with bread, salad, potatoes, and condiments. Chris actually thought he could load up his plate and take it back to the water. No, no. We enjoy this as a group.

Some of our new friends invited us to join them for lunch on Valentine's Day at the Blessing Hotel in nearby Blessing, TX.



The hotel is quite old, but still functioning as a place to stay. All the floors were wooden and the rooms had the oldtime high ceilings. Lunch consisted of a buffet of an assortment of homecooked vegetables, meat loaf, roast, breads, salads, and desserts. The beverages were ice tea and coffee. As with most buffets, this was all-you-can-eat, but for only $7.50! It was obvious that those who had been here before had saved their appetites for the trip.

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Terry, Lois, Joan, and Madonna. Remember Madonna from the parade? She was Queen of the Senior Center and today was her birthday.



Chris, Jack, Barbara, and Bill

Barbara and Madonna are sisters and are only 9 months apart, which Barbara enjoyed very much.

(Chris blames me for this picture of him, but he knew the camera was pointed at him.)

We spent a week in Kingsville still looking for the sun. Actually, we spent 3 days driving back and forth to Corpus Christi to sightsee and get 2 new tires for the right side of the RV. Two fellows waved us over on our way into Kingsville because they thought the tread was coming off the tires. As it turned out, we had a large bubble on the inside of both tires. The tire guy said we had probably hit a pothole. Anyway, Chris now knows how to change the tires with the slides out.

While we were there we took a bus tour of the King Ranch.



The Ranch is 825,000 acres large, which makes it slightly larger than Rhode Island. It was founded by Richard King in 1853 and he led a very interesting life. He was the son of Irish immigrants who gave him away when he was 9 years old to a family that promised to train him in jewelry making. As it turned out, they really wanted a babysitter and house cleaner. At the age of 11 he ran away and stowed aboard a cargo ship. After 4 days at sea, he was discovered and they made him a cabin boy. His first career was in the shipping business and he was quite successful.

Once he had bought the first 15,000 acres of the ranch (for $600) he went to Mexico to buy some longhorn cows. He bought all of the cows one village had and promised a lifelong job to anyone wanting to become a cowboy on his ranch. The next morning he found the entire village packed and ready to travel to their new home. Thus, the ranch is more like a little town with houses, a school, a general store, and a Catholic church.

On February 8th we drove to the Serendipity Bay RV and Marina Resort for our next stay. They put us on a lot that had ruts so deep we couldn't get level, so we moved across the street the next day. We both hate that! There are some paved sites, but someone has to die to get one. Yes, that's exactly what we were told.

Terry and Lois have been here for 2 months and have a paved site. Remember, we met them in Idaho last summer and visited again in Houston? Anyway, they've been showing us around and introducing us to others.


Lois and Terry (Yes, it's still cold)

The town of Palacios holds an annual Valentine Parade and it's a really big deal here. So, last Saturday several of us walked into town for the grand event. I think half of this town of 5,000 were in the parade and the other half watched. Even the school bus went by.


Red Hats are everywhere!


A walking shark


Shouldn't the "mounted drill team" be mounted on horses?


The inevitable beauty contestants


Looks like the Shriners had a good time.


Queen Madonna is the sister of one of the RVers in the park.

It was a hoot! We all cheered and clapped to encourage them on, then went out for seafood and Margaritas.

Yesterday was all about the local ecology and was quite interesting. First thing in the morning (10:00 a.m.) we went to the Sea Turtle Rescue Center.



They rescue sick and damaged sea turtles and try to mend them. They are then returned to the sea unless the damage is too extensive. At that point, they are sent to an aquarium or zoo. Usually, they rescue about 30 turtles, however, a couple of weeks ago they had about 140 staying at their "hotel." They had to be resued from hyperthermia, because this winter as been so cold.


Green Sea Turtle

We were able to feed some of the turtles and that was fun.





After a little teasing through the glass, the lettuce was tossed over the top and into the tank.

There are two sea turtle rescue centers in TX - this one and one in Corpus Christi. In the spring, after the turtles have laid their eggs in the sand, volunteers and workers move the eggs to a protected area to assure a maximum number of turtles survive. We would definitely volunteer for that if we were here in the spring.

In the afternoon we boarded the Getaway for an eco tour and dolphin watching cruise.



Like the fishing trip, it was cold! This time I wore my warm jacket, but it still made for a bad hair day.



We probably saw half a dozen dolphins, which is nothing compared to what we've seen off the southern California coast. Here's a view of S. Padre Island from the mouth of the bay. The weather was as miserable as it looks.



Toward the end of the trip, one of the crew tossed a net off the stern. After cruising about for 10 minutes, they pulled it in and shared some of the critters with us.


Five rayed starfish


Brown shrimp


Crab


Hard-nosed catfish


Puffer fish


Spider crab


Sponge crab

This was definitely the best part of the trip.

Tommorrow we leave for Kingsville, TX and will explore Corpus Christ from the Navy base that is there.

We left Del Rio and stayed overnight in Laredo. We found a park that offerred electic, cable, and water and we didn't have to unhook. I've decided that's as close to boondocking as I like most of the time.

The next morning we left under a light rain and it continued until we got to Port Isabel. When we pulled into Park Central we were told a gravel truck was spreading gravel on our site and got stuck in the mud. They put us in overflow and that was also in the mud. Four feet and four paws can make a mess quickly. Only Miss Kitty stayed clean.

The next day we looked around the park and the site and started looking for another park. It was full of old, very permanent trailers and the site was a mud hole. Woodall's gave this park a "3 W" rating out of 5! I'm starting to learn how to ask more specific questions like, "Is there a cement pad?" If not, what will be under the rig? We found a site in the KOA on S. Padre Island that's quite nice and quite expensive - $280/week. Ihe Island is charming even though major road construction is happening.

On the way into Port Isabel (just across the bridge from the Island) we saw this weird building.



Apparently this is what they make. You'll see similar statues around town, especially fishes.



After we settled into the KOA we decided to treat ourselves to lunch. We discovered Amberjacks with a big sign that read: "If you can get here, we offer 2 lunches for the price of 1." That was because of the road construction. The Mahi Mahi and Amberjacks Road Rage cocktail were wonderful and the service outstanding. All for $13.60!. This was part of our view...



We'll be back!

Yesterday we boarded one of those party fishing boats. There were probably about 20 people including our next door neighbors. These pictures describe it fairly accurately.





No one caught a thing, but we got to see lots of the bay because the Captain kept moving in an attempt to find a good spot. The water was just too cold.

I told you about the fish heads and here's the proof. Ugh!!

We're in the RV park at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, TX. That's on the south western edge of TX. The weather is supposed to be mild and it certainly was when we arrived. We even barbequed some steaks for dinner.

The next day came the freezing rain.





Ranger was not happy that his toilet facilities were outside.

Then came the......



The clerk at the Exchange said this was the third time it snowed in the last 20 years! Aren't we the special ones to have been here to see it? NOT!




We're really in south TX. It just looks like South Dakota. We even lost our Internet connection due to ice on the satellite dish.

The most exciting thing we've seen in Del Rio has been a collection of catfish heads on a fence. They were, undoubtedly, caught in Lake Amistad just outside of town.

We'll head down to Port Isabel next week and see if we can find the sun again.

My mother's maiden name was Bailey. She always told the story of being in Columbus, NM when Poncho Villa raided the town. She would have been 5 at the time and possibly visiting relatives. Since we were in Deming, we decided to pop down to Columbus and see what we could find out.

It's a very small border town and the raid was it's claim for fame. We stopped at the museum and asked if there might be a roster or list of the residents present in March 1916. She didn't know of any, but sent us to the City Clerk. Nicole was very nice and called the Bureau of Statistics in Santa Fe, but lost the call. Then she called a local fellow, Richard Dean, who was the "keeper of the archives." Struck out again, so we went back to the museum to see if there were names that might give us a clue. While there, a man came in and wanted to know if we were the folks looking for Bailey relatives. It was Richard.

He asked us to come to his office at his home, so he could share what information he had. It turned out a fellow named Col. Andrew O. Bailey was the founder of the town and town postmaster a few times. He had 2 sons and 3 daughters. Richard gave us a copy of an article talking about the family that provides us with some details for further research.




We haven't established the connection yet, but we're hot on the trail.

Yesterday was a red letter day - we updated our map!

We had a lovely Christmas with family and friends at Eric and Holly's home. Ranger and Meeko were delighted to see each other again - even with the ringworm!



After Christmas we boondocked one night in Yuma and the next in at the Benson SKP Park. We lost battery power the second night even after driving for 6 hours. The batteries should have been fully charged, but, obviously, were not. Chris had to keep starting up the truck to keep the frost off us. I hate trying to sleep fully clothed and wearing a coat!

We were anxious to see new territory and add a state to our map so headed for Deming, NM. We chose this area because Silver City is just north and is deemed (by one author) to be one of the top 100 art towns in America. Their old town area is being rejuvinated and has potential, but there's just nothing to bring tourists to the area.

On the way back we stopped at City of Rocks State Park. These rocks were formed after a volcano erupted 35 million years ago. The explosion is said to have been 1,000 times greater than Mount St. Helens.






There's a picnic table between the two rocks to show you how big they really are.

OK, now for those who have anxiously been awaiting a picture of my real hair color (Murline), here it is.




Here's Alex and I with matching cheesey smiles.

After having my hair frosted for decades I never knew it was doing it naturally. Not a single hairdresser mentioned it either!

We (I) have been wrestling with a problem I created myself for almost a month now. Alternative Resources out of So. Dakota is our mail forwarding service. I fill out their form on-line to tell them when and where to send the mail, then they confirm it by sending a copy back to me.

OK, so I knew we'd be in Benson by Nov. 27th, so I had them send it to General Delivery on the 24th. We checked at the Post Office around the 29th and it hadn't arrived. We checked several more times and it wasn't there, so I pulled up the email confirmation and there IT was: General Delivery, Fallon, NV (where we used to live) and Benson's ZIP code. You can imagine my horror!

I called Alternative Resources and they did indeed send a Priority box to that address on the 24th. They said they would call when it was returned. Well, heck, no one trusts the Post Office! I didn't know if the ZIP or the town was the driving force, so started calling both Post Offices. I found it! - in Fallon. The clerk tried to tell me I had to pick it up in person, but agreed to forward it to Eric's house since it was a Priority package.

When we arrived at Eric's the package still wasn't there! And, of course, it contained medications. Naturally.

After returning to Yuma empty-handed, I called Alternative Resources again. No, it hadn't been returned, so I called Holly, my daughter-in-law. By this time, we figured out that the box wouldn't fit in their mailbox, so the postman would probably leave a "pick up the package" note. This tale ends happily when Holly called to report she had the box in her hands! We'll get it Friday when we return for Christmas. Whew!

Lessons learned:
1. Hope your mail forwarding service has software that compares the ZIP to the town. If not, offer to buy it for them.

2. Double-check your own work. You may think you never make mistakes, but you know how embarrassing it is when you get caught.

3. Always use Priority mail in case you screw up.

4. Crank the old Post Office up a couple of notches for helping out and doing their job.

Kofa Ko-op is the name of the SKP Park in Yuma, AZ. We've now visited 4 of them and they all have a little bit different personality. Our favorite thing about this park is the 7-acre, fenced dog run! Since we're backed up against it, Chris sometimes takes a short cut for Ranger's run.



Help over the wall



Goin' for a run and lots of sniffing




Home again, home again, jiggity jog

Ok, ok, I know I've been bad. I can't believe it's been 6 weeks since my last post!

The SKP Park in Benson is a very socially active park. The first day we were there we had a knock on the door and it was Pat and Dale, a couple we met through mutual friends in Big Lagoon, CA a few years ago. They came in for a glass of wine and then off we went to the Social Hour in the clubhouse. They were wonderful about showing us around and explaining how everything works in the park. We especially enjoyed the Jam Sessions on Sundays. Local residents came to the park to play old time Western music.

I attended a couple of classes on geneology and family history writing. Then there was a free movie every Wed. night, ice cream socials, Friday night fish fry, a large library, and even a channel on the TV that kept us current on the day's events. The residents held a garage sale the first Saturday we were there. An estimated 750 cars came in and folks walked by all the lots looking for bargains. Some of the stuff that didn't sale wound up in the Niemen Marcus corner of the clubhouse. The items are available for whatever donation someone cares to leave and the money goes into the pot to maintain the park. The Cactus Wrens do an outstanding job of raising monies throughout the year to keep the maintenence expenses down.

On Nov. 17th we put Ranger and Miss Kitty in a kennel and flew to Houston to meet a cruise ship. After 40 years of marriage, we decided to do something different for our anniversary. This particular cruise ship was booked as a Western Caribbean cruise. We've only been on one cruise prior to this and we were told by experienced cruisers that any other cruise line would be a big step up. Not true. In fact, it was amazingly similar and even worse about trying to get our money.



This was our stateroom. It was comfortable enough, but we were just above the propeller, so it felt like one of those 25-cent massages that lasts 24/7. After paying for 2 upgrades, we still ended up on the bottom floor. So, where would they have put us without the upgrades? Scarey thought, isn't it?

Before we left the dock everyone had to participate in the lifeboat/life jacket drill. So, here are hundreds of people standing on deck with orange vests on and the the fork lift operator is picking up the last basket of luggage. What he can't see, but we can, are the 3 bags leaning out instead of in. Yup, they fell out and he ran over two of them and broke one open. The clothes scattered and a container of clear liquid broke in the middle of them - probably liquor. This cruise line was merciless about not bringing your own alchol on board. We saw bags with a large sticker that read "Liquor" slapped on the side. They got the booze back when they got off the boat back in Houston.

We stopped at Progresso, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, and Belize. Everyone had their hand out trying to sell the same stuff.



This is Cosumel and was actually flattened two years ago by Hurricane Wilma. They've done a great job of rebuilding and it's all aimed at tourism.



Our ship was the smaller one. You can almost see the 500+ kids hanging over the edge.

We took a city and Mayan tour in Belize. The Altun Ha (Mayan for "Rock Stone Water") thrived as a trading post to the Mayan world during the Classic and Post Classic periods. The world's largest carved Jade Head, depicting the sun god, Kinich Ahau, was found here.





Can you see Chris on top with his arms up?



Yes, he was there for tips when his picture was taken.

After we got off the boat, we spent an extra day in Houston and were able to get together with Lois and Terry whom was met last September in Idaho. It was great to visit with them again.



In the meantime, Steve and family decided not to fly out from Germany for Christmas. Instead, Steve came out to Eric's for a couple of weeks to job-hunt. Three different job fairs took place. So, we moved the rig to the SKP Park in Yuma, put her in boondock, spent the night, and drove to Eric and Holly's place.

We all had a great visit and Holly is becoming quite the gourmet cook. She had lots of enthusiastic samplers.



The men deep fried a turkey after Holly had marinated it in a brine overnight. This really is at least a two-man job. Grandson Alex is kept well away from the hot oil.



The end results were wonderful and it only took the turkey 45 minutes in the oil to cook.



Our sons - Eric, Steve, and Ranger. All good looking lads.



Special Grandaughter, Abbey.

So, we left Highland and the kids and drove back to Yuma for another night of boondocking. There are some events that are only destined to happen during the middle of the night and two happened to us - we ran out of battery power and propane! Even poor Ranger was on our bed trying to get warm. Boondocking only has a sense of charm when you're warm.

We're now on a lot with full hook ups and will stay until Dec. 21st when we'll move the rig to Redlands and have Christmas with family. Then off we go to points unknown - finally!

We've been in Casa Grande for almost a week and, guess what - we got to visit another Indian ruin. These were the remains from the Hohokam tribe that lasted about 1800 years. This was known as the Great House and was 4 stories high and 60 feet long. One theory is that it was used as an observatory of sorts.



All of the ruins have been made out of mud or an adobe-like clay. The clay they used here was caliche mud, which strongly resembles cement. This particular tribe built an elaborate canal from the Gila River some distance away to improve their farming sucesses.

A fly-in was held at the local airport last weekend, so we had to go. We looked for you, Sue and Reed.





Chris would love to fly again, but it's sort of tough when you're RVing full time.

Tommorow's a big day. We're heading for the SKP park in Benson, AZ and Steve leaves Iraq!! He's at the Baghdad airport right now.

We had booked a week at the Redland’s RV park through our Coast-to-Coast membership and found it pleasant enough to try it again in Camp Verde. The rules only allow a one-week stay, but at $8 a night, it’s worth it. On the way to Camp Verde we spent one night in the desert at Quartzsite. When we’re back in January it will take on a whole different flavor with over a million people camping in the desert.

The drawback to Camp Verde RV Park is no sewer hook-up. They save those for their members. Of course, there was nothing about that in the literature, but we decided it would be good practice. Probably won’t “practice” again. It doesn’t take much skill to figure it out.

One day we drove through Cottonwood on our way to Jerome, an old mining town literally clinging to the side of Mingus Mountain. Boy, has Cottonwood changed in the last 25-30 years! The section they call Old Town was the entire town back then and, yes, it was old even then. They now have a Wal-Mart Supercenter and Home Depot!

Jerome has migrated over the years to a town filled with art galleries and restaurants. The sidewalks and streets are still in their original condition – uneven and broken.


The Chamber of Commerce



The House of Joy was a restaurant in the 1970’s. At that time, it was so popular (and small) that reservations were needed a year in advance! According to a note on the door, the owner was in a bicycle accident and they decided to change it into a shop. This is not an ordinary shop, but caters to costumes and brothel-like paraphernalia.


The House of Joy

After lunch we drove down the mountain to the Tuzigoot ruins. Tuzigoot means “crooked water” and the village was built between 1125 and 1400 A.D. The Indians built rooms on a long ridge above the Verde Valley. Originally, two stories high, the rooms were used primarily for sleeping and eating. Common areas were used by everyone for working and farming.



Not far from Tuzigoot is another Indian ruin known as Montezuma Castle. These Sinagua farmers built a five-story, 20-room dwelling in a cliff recess about 100 feet above the valley floor. No one knows why both villages were eventually abandoned.



The other major change in this area is the town of Sedona. We made the mistake of trying to drive through on a Saturday. Crowds, coupled with road construction, made it a nightmare. The town reeks of money and would be at home in Southern CA.

We finally broke down and bought one of those maps so you can apply the states as you visit them. Our rule is that we have to have spent at least one night in an RV in the state.


Seven down and 42 to go. Hawaii looks out of the question.

We left Fallon on October 1st on our way to Nellis Air Force Base with a stop in Beatty, NV. We had stayed at the Burro Inn RV Park previously, but noticed last January that the motel had been torn down. When we stopped for gas I asked the mini mart clerk if the RV Park was still open. “Yes,” she said, “but you’ll have to pay at the Stagecoach Hotel. I couldn’t help noticing a small sign next to the cash register that read “Gimme a minute to act like I care.” Humm, same attitude as last year.

Chris went in to register while I immediately went to the nut and candy store across the way for garlic pistachios. These delicacies are hard to find. When he came out, he said it was a $20/night flat rate. Seemed rather high for very few amenities.

When we got to the park we realized the name had changed to Death Valley Inn, but the park looked the same. It did seem strange though that there was no sign directing people to the Stagecoach Hotel to pay. We pulled into a site and got hooked up, except for sewer since we were only staying one night. When Chris came through the door, I told him I couldn’t get the air conditioner to work. Lesson twenty-seven: check the microwave to see if we have power. We didn’t. I suggested plugging into our neighbor’s since there were so few people there. Again, no juice, so Chris went to talk to the construction workers to see if they had pulled a circuit. The answer was, “We’re not really open yet.” So, Chris got out his juice detector and checked several sites with the same response. Swell! $20 for a site with water. He was ready to pull up stakes and move down the road, but it was about 4:00 p.m. and we were both tired, so I talked him into staying. Lets open the windows, turn on the fans (oops), and sit outside.

This is the scenic wonderland view from the rig.





But, wait, there’s a happy ending to this story. As we sat outside enjoying a before dinner libation, rigs pulled up at different times to spend the night. As each one arrived, Chris would walk over and have a chat with them to let them know the situation. We figure the park lost about $140-200 in revenue that night. Chris was smiling again.



We arrived at the Base about noon the next day. We gave Bob and Sherry a call to let them know where we were and they invited us to dinner. Dinner out after a day of driving is always welcomed! We had them over for a meal also. Yes, eating again!

Later in the week we all went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant across from the Wynn Hotel. Excellent! Then on to a show—Le Reve, one of the Cirque de Soleil shows. Wow! There was so much going on I could easily see it again. These were not just dancing performers they were athletes.

A couple of mornings later I was walking Ranger when a jogger approached us. After doing a double take, I realized it was Regina, as in Randall and Regina from Fallon. What fun to have the 6 of us together again. Gina took Ranger for a run and surprised Randall. That afternoon everyone gathered at our house for snakes and then went out to a BBQ restaurant where we tried fried dill pickles as an appetizer. They were surprisingly good. Yes, eating again and I wonder why I haven’t lost weight.



The next night we broke the pattern and played Mexican Train at Bob and Sherry’s. We started outdoors, but it got dark too quickly. I’m surprised all the laughter didn’t get us in trouble.





We are now sitting quietly in Fisherman’s Retreat in Redlands, CA. Well, not exactly “quietly.” The railroad tracks are next door, but what’s that compared to a month of jet fighters overhead? Our son’s birthday is Saturday so I made a scrapbook of his first 18 years and included photos and memorabilia.

It's been a very busy 2 weeks since we arrived in Fallon. In fact, we have extended another week to tie up loose ends. We've had a chance to visit with friends, have the carpet cleaned, get haircuts, (thanks, Wendy, it's the best one yet) and get the medical stuff done. We even drove by the old house - my idea, not Chris's, so we sort of zoomed past.

We loaded up a trailer one more time for a run to southern CA and son and DIL, Eric and Holly's, home. They had a pool party planned to celebrate grandson, Alex's, birthday, granddaughter, Abbey's, birthday, and Chris's birthday. All 4 grandchildren have been born in August and September.



Alex and Abbey blowing out the candles as Holly watches



Lifeguard Eric?

Ranger went nuts trying to get folks out of the pool. He definitely is not a water dog, so was most unhappy when he fell in a couple of times.




Back in Fallon, we made a trip to Reno to do errands and have one of our favorite $30 lunches, but we only made it to $20.

A new rig pulled in on Saturday and it turned out to be Bob and Sherri Ward inside! We met them at the SKP Spring Escapade in Chico last April. They spent the summer exploring Alaska, so had some great stories. Next door to us is another Montana fifth wheel owned by Randall and Regina. They're part of the class of '06 as we are and still learning. We invited everyone over for dinner on Sunday and hosted our first party of 6 in the rig.




Bob and Sherry




Regina and Randall

Bob brought a can of salmon that he had caught in Alaska. The packaging was very cool with a picture of Bob with his fish.




It was great with cream cheese and crackers.

We'll finally empty the storage unit and be on our way again this Friday.

Gordon and Juanita prepared a farewell dinner for Lois and Terry and Chris and I on Labor Day night. It was a lot of fun. We all got along so nicely. Lois and Terry were heading for South Dakota and we're heading south to Nevada. G and J aren't leaving until the middle of Sept. and will head east to see the Fall colors in Wisconsin and other northern states.





The next morning people started coming out of their rigs to either start traveling or to say goodby to those that were leaving. It was a pretty amazing event. Even the owner was outside waving goodby and thanking folks for staying with him. This park definitely has our recommendation!




We're now back in Fallon, NV and have started getting "stuff" done. We're staying in the RV park on the Navy base. It's small, only 25 spaces, but new and the base offers swimming, a movie theater, and laundromat for free! It's also nice to be able to shop in the Commissary again. And I used to complain about this one.

Next weekend we'll head to southern CA for a pool party at son, Eric and Holly's, house.

A mile down the road is a working dude ranch. Three nights a week during the summer they provide a trail ride, BBQ, and rodeo for $15. The hired hands are the rodeo entertainers. It ends with the end of August because they have to get ready for the big event.

Labor Day weekend brings the BIG cowboy and cowgirl event and cow cutting contests. Throw in lots of reasonably priced food and 600-700 cowboys and you have a good time. It’s not advertised, but the public is not turned away. The scoring, however, is quite complicated, so it's really designed for real horse folks.





These are all temporary stables that were set up the week before. The photo only shows less than half of them.



We met our neighbors Gordon and Juanita, and Lois and Terry at the event. Later that evening we sat around a campfire and chatted. It was a very pleasant evening and one of the benefits of this lifestyle.

The next morning the guys went fishing and the gals went out to breakfast. The menu turned out to look better than the actual food, but the girl chatter was fun. I’ve never been in a restaurant when each person at the table was served one at a time—about 5-10 minutes apart.

Tomorrow we’re heading back to Fallon for a couple of weeks of appointments, some shopping in Reno, and to empty the small storage shed we still rent. We’ll stay in the RV park on the Navy base.

It feels as though a nice long vacation is coming to an end and it’s time to go home. Then I remind myself that I am home. The next season should be interesting.