One star faintly glimmered in the morning sky, that is to say the sky at 0:dawn-thirty. The promise of a wee bit of sun today. Yesterday was glorious, sunny, bright and clear. A little ice here and there especially clinging to the water grasses in the lake. They sported a shimmery show of little multi colored diamonds. A wonderful gift after the driving rain and gloom.
I took the opportunity to open the blinds in the Casita letting in the warmth and assessed the "milk" damage. As far as I can tell, no smell. But, and that's a big "but", it was very cold so could have masked the odor. I was encouraged. I cleaned up and washed the rugs. Fox (who is now lounging on my lap with his chewy) and I took a walk around the grounds. The grass is starting to turn green and buttercups are blooming. Spring comes early to north Texas. And as far as I'm concerned you can have spring in any state. I, personally, hate the wet and cold.
Every hour or so we have a weather check of places on the road south. Not good. Looks like rain everywhere until Sun. I am considering going straight to Brownsville where the temp yesterday was 80. That seems civilized.
I will join Jill for lunch in McKinney today and try once again to find the right thermostat for the Casita. Also need to restock the frig. Sitting around in the rain is not my idea of fun. It drives me crazy not to be doing things. Of course, I have a big bag of yarn and a couple of sweaters to knit but that involves sitting.
The Fox is antsy, too, and after his hyper run yesterday I had to put him in the sink for a bath. So much mud everywhere.
Must move the Casita before I unhook her so I need to scope out the situation. Need to find more level ground. Thank goodness the big 3 bad luck events are behind me. Now I can move her with confidence. Ho, de, ho, ho. Also need to get the oil changed, yes, in the car not the trailer you old fart! Plenty to do in McKinney today. I've almost talked myself into an exciting day! Oh Yeah
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Hunker Down
After almost 700 miles I had arrived at Hunker Down (Jill's place on the lake) and was about to back into a preapproved area with the help of Jack, next door neighbor's 30 some yr old son who operated on a little less than 2 AA batteries. He was so sweet, and so very confused. I always do much better backing on my own (when I can see the road). Jill also chipped in to offer a hand. At least she kept me out of the ditch. After a week of rain the place was like soup. Thanks to the jeep "Chili Pepper" I managed not to get stuck and parked appropriately after about 30 min of left and right. The only mishap was when Jack put his hand in the window to welcome Foxy @$#%^&* Ah, Jack, wadya do that for? No broken skin due to Jack's quick reaction jumping out of harm's way. Did I mention it was raining? Oh yes.
It was good to get into the house, get into dry clothes, take a muscle relaxer (Jill's a nurse practitioner) for the back pain, maxalt for the migraine (yes, another one) and sip my hot chocolate while relaxing on my heating pad. It didn't take long to want to crawl into bed and snuggle up with the Fox for a good night's sleep.
Next morning it was raining. Neither of us was in a hurry to move so Jill fixed scrambled eggs, bacon and biscuits for breakfast. What are friends for? After breakfast we napped a bit then dressed and hit wal-mart. I was still looking for a thermostat but no luck. We were going to see a movie but my head was still in a bad place so I opted out. Jill took me to a place for lunch with real home cookin.
I guess I had been away long enough to forget that home cookin meant lots of grease and fried stuff and that north TX was cowboy country. We ate at the TNT. Since it was Sunday after church the place was full of folks and families. Two little boys around 6 and 7 were dressed in Sun best down to their polished pointy boots, hats and string ties. Mama had on her sparkly dress and Daddy his best black leather jacket and hat. A real Texas cowboy family. As they were leaving I noticed a middle aged couple (30s) come in. She was sporting an 8" long 3" wide silver cross around her next and a sharp lookin black vest embellished with silver sparkles in the shape of a cross on each breast and on the back. Of course, she had on the usual black boots and jeans. A baseball cap with a large, silver sparkle cross on each side completed the outfit. I think she went to some kinda Christian church.
I couldn't finish my hamburger with grilled onions and let some of the onions slide out onto the plate. No forks or knives, just napkins and I was thankful for those. After lunch we stopped by Braums for ice cream. At last, real food, I had a cuppachino with choco chunks. Goooooood!
Back to the house in time for a nap before dinner. By this time the place was swimming in water and Jill kept saying "Don't, worry, it won't flood." Who, me worry???? Right about that time the neighbor, Cheryl, came over with homemade goat cheese for us. She is a delight. Former engineer who quit to become a goat farmer. She raises Nigerian Dwarf Goats and one had just had a baby that morning. I can't wait to visit the farm and help her feed the babies. That will happen when the rain slows down or ends. I was gifted with 3 kinds of cheese; honey fig, apricot, and heavenly "plane".
Shortly after Cheryl left Jill took off for McKinney and back to work on Monday. I dined on banana and cereal before falling into bed at the first hint of darkness. Then the rains came, hard all night complete with thunder and lightening.
It was good to get into the house, get into dry clothes, take a muscle relaxer (Jill's a nurse practitioner) for the back pain, maxalt for the migraine (yes, another one) and sip my hot chocolate while relaxing on my heating pad. It didn't take long to want to crawl into bed and snuggle up with the Fox for a good night's sleep.
Next morning it was raining. Neither of us was in a hurry to move so Jill fixed scrambled eggs, bacon and biscuits for breakfast. What are friends for? After breakfast we napped a bit then dressed and hit wal-mart. I was still looking for a thermostat but no luck. We were going to see a movie but my head was still in a bad place so I opted out. Jill took me to a place for lunch with real home cookin.
I guess I had been away long enough to forget that home cookin meant lots of grease and fried stuff and that north TX was cowboy country. We ate at the TNT. Since it was Sunday after church the place was full of folks and families. Two little boys around 6 and 7 were dressed in Sun best down to their polished pointy boots, hats and string ties. Mama had on her sparkly dress and Daddy his best black leather jacket and hat. A real Texas cowboy family. As they were leaving I noticed a middle aged couple (30s) come in. She was sporting an 8" long 3" wide silver cross around her next and a sharp lookin black vest embellished with silver sparkles in the shape of a cross on each breast and on the back. Of course, she had on the usual black boots and jeans. A baseball cap with a large, silver sparkle cross on each side completed the outfit. I think she went to some kinda Christian church.
I couldn't finish my hamburger with grilled onions and let some of the onions slide out onto the plate. No forks or knives, just napkins and I was thankful for those. After lunch we stopped by Braums for ice cream. At last, real food, I had a cuppachino with choco chunks. Goooooood!
Back to the house in time for a nap before dinner. By this time the place was swimming in water and Jill kept saying "Don't, worry, it won't flood." Who, me worry???? Right about that time the neighbor, Cheryl, came over with homemade goat cheese for us. She is a delight. Former engineer who quit to become a goat farmer. She raises Nigerian Dwarf Goats and one had just had a baby that morning. I can't wait to visit the farm and help her feed the babies. That will happen when the rain slows down or ends. I was gifted with 3 kinds of cheese; honey fig, apricot, and heavenly "plane".
Shortly after Cheryl left Jill took off for McKinney and back to work on Monday. I dined on banana and cereal before falling into bed at the first hint of darkness. Then the rains came, hard all night complete with thunder and lightening.
Second Day Out
The rains came down all day from Amarillo to Bonham. Never ending. Just short of Wichita Falls a guy flags me over to let me know I am about ready to throw some rubber on the passenger side tire. I pulled off the road and into a service station at Electra, TX. What nice folks. That had the spare (a new tire) on in five minutes and charged me $5. I drove on and stopped in Wichita at Wal-Mart and bought 2 new tires for the trailer. I told the sales clerk, (an old fart) that I needed 2 tires this size handing him the paper I had written the tire specs on.
He looked at it and said these are trailer tires (like I didn't know), yes, I replied. Well, what have you got on it now? I said, 2 trailer tires. He said well your not supposed to put trailer tires on a vehicle, where is it? I said it is on the back of my car parked out front. he says, and you want trailer tires on it? I said well, yes, ITS A TRAILER, I didn't add you stupid old fart. He says Oh, I thought you had them on your car. And I said why would I have trailer tires on my car???(you old fart)! In the end I got the tires and went on my merry way. NUMBER 3
At least I thought that was #3.
We stopped for lunch and I opened the frig, mistake. . . milk again and a lovely yellow pool of something in the bottom of the frig with several fuzzy islands floating in it. The milk had not spilled but looked to have "leached" out the sides along with the yogurt. Oh man, BIG YUKIE. It was safe to say that Grandma was not happy. This was the rest of #2(excuse the pun). I cleaned it out, put in a cup of coffee grounds; however, the milk stuff had seeped out of the frig onto the carpet where Foxy was busy licking it up as fast as he could. I spread towels on the floor to soak up as much as possible and got back in the car. I actually stopped at Big Macs and got a hamburger which I regretted as soon as I ate some of it. Topped that off with half a bag of ginger cookies and a cup of coffee.
Did I mention that my back had been hurting since I left La Veta? Oh, and that I had a migraine. Fox and I were so relieved to pull into Jill's cabin on the lake in the driving rain that I was almost jubilant. Well, until she indicated that I had to BACK into her property a total of at least 100 yds. to be cont'd
He looked at it and said these are trailer tires (like I didn't know), yes, I replied. Well, what have you got on it now? I said, 2 trailer tires. He said well your not supposed to put trailer tires on a vehicle, where is it? I said it is on the back of my car parked out front. he says, and you want trailer tires on it? I said well, yes, ITS A TRAILER, I didn't add you stupid old fart. He says Oh, I thought you had them on your car. And I said why would I have trailer tires on my car???(you old fart)! In the end I got the tires and went on my merry way. NUMBER 3
At least I thought that was #3.
We stopped for lunch and I opened the frig, mistake. . . milk again and a lovely yellow pool of something in the bottom of the frig with several fuzzy islands floating in it. The milk had not spilled but looked to have "leached" out the sides along with the yogurt. Oh man, BIG YUKIE. It was safe to say that Grandma was not happy. This was the rest of #2(excuse the pun). I cleaned it out, put in a cup of coffee grounds; however, the milk stuff had seeped out of the frig onto the carpet where Foxy was busy licking it up as fast as he could. I spread towels on the floor to soak up as much as possible and got back in the car. I actually stopped at Big Macs and got a hamburger which I regretted as soon as I ate some of it. Topped that off with half a bag of ginger cookies and a cup of coffee.
Did I mention that my back had been hurting since I left La Veta? Oh, and that I had a migraine. Fox and I were so relieved to pull into Jill's cabin on the lake in the driving rain that I was almost jubilant. Well, until she indicated that I had to BACK into her property a total of at least 100 yds. to be cont'd
"As The Rain Falls" North Texas
Here we are, on the road again. I had a "feeling" about this trip, not a good one. The first day out driving across New Mexico was bright and sunny. Snow had just preceeded us and looked to be about 2 to 3 feet, although, the highway was clear. Thanks be to God on that one. Highway 87 from Raton to Clayton, NM never fails to bring fond memories of travel times long ago. The landscape was even more spectacular with the snow and the grasses barely breaking through to form a caramel glaze on top of a foamy latte. Instead of the usual way to Amarillo via Boy's Ranch Road, we headed through Dumas. It occurred to me that I hadn't been to Dumas in about 50 years. We pushed on to Amarillo to stay the night, I had my eye on the AOK RV park east of town. Kinda fun going through town remembering my last year in high school and friends at the AFB. The AOK was a miserable choice, most buildings boarded up and mud and slush everywhere. I barely made it out of there with the Jeep in 4x4 and low gear. Thankfully, we didn't get stuck. I headed back to Hwy 287 and the Texas Welcome Center we had passed a couple of miles back. I was so tired, I had to stop for the night. Ran into a TX ranger who promised to keep an eye on me through the night. She was a case, big, big girl who barely fit behind the wheel of her truck. She didn't get out and I guessed there was a reason for that. . . probably took some real work to get in there.
Leave it to the Texans to build the most beautiful Welcome Center I've ever seen. Horzontial stripes of various colored bricks that gave the effect of canyon walls in Palo Duro Canyon. Foxy and I made our way around for walks and he had a grand time. Plenty of open spaces to run. By sundown it was freezing so I hung a wool blanket over the back window, towels over the side windows and one of those space blankets over the front door to keep out the drafts. Then I turned on the stove to heat water for tea and have my dinner of bread and peanut butter. Oh Boy!
Foxy and I got all tucked in with the down comforter and wool pendelton over us. My face was so cold I had to put my head under the blanket. No heater? you ask. Right oh, remember the guy who put in the wrong thermostat. Well, I have been unable to find a new one. So, you might say we roughed it.
In the morning, I suited up to take the Fox for a potty break and opened the door.. . . . I had to throw out my elbows to break a path in the frozen fog just like an ice breaker in the artic. Burrrrr. . . oh Misery. He did his duty and we crawled back into the bleakness of the camper.
Breakfast time. Too bad the refrig had stopped and the milk had fallen over. So of course, when I opened the door yuckie milk spilled everywhere. I cleaned that up and re-lit the frig. Had a gronola bar with coffee. Needless to say I hurried to ready for the day's drive and turn on that car heater! Bad things come in 3s, I had had 2, a very cold night, and mess in the frig. What next? Oh, I did brush my teeth but that was the extent of it and I wore the sweats I had slept in the night before.
Leave it to the Texans to build the most beautiful Welcome Center I've ever seen. Horzontial stripes of various colored bricks that gave the effect of canyon walls in Palo Duro Canyon. Foxy and I made our way around for walks and he had a grand time. Plenty of open spaces to run. By sundown it was freezing so I hung a wool blanket over the back window, towels over the side windows and one of those space blankets over the front door to keep out the drafts. Then I turned on the stove to heat water for tea and have my dinner of bread and peanut butter. Oh Boy!
Foxy and I got all tucked in with the down comforter and wool pendelton over us. My face was so cold I had to put my head under the blanket. No heater? you ask. Right oh, remember the guy who put in the wrong thermostat. Well, I have been unable to find a new one. So, you might say we roughed it.
In the morning, I suited up to take the Fox for a potty break and opened the door.. . . . I had to throw out my elbows to break a path in the frozen fog just like an ice breaker in the artic. Burrrrr. . . oh Misery. He did his duty and we crawled back into the bleakness of the camper.
Breakfast time. Too bad the refrig had stopped and the milk had fallen over. So of course, when I opened the door yuckie milk spilled everywhere. I cleaned that up and re-lit the frig. Had a gronola bar with coffee. Needless to say I hurried to ready for the day's drive and turn on that car heater! Bad things come in 3s, I had had 2, a very cold night, and mess in the frig. What next? Oh, I did brush my teeth but that was the extent of it and I wore the sweats I had slept in the night before.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Another beautiful morning in Colorado. I am attaching two sunrise pictures and my camp site. We will leave sometime this morning for La Veta stopping along the way, of course. When we were strolling around Creed yesterday we ran into friends from La Veta who happened to tell us about free flu shots at the health center. Not wanting to pass up a good deal we all 3 trouped into the health center for our free shots. It's amazing what you can pick up on vacation! More later. . . .
Friday, September 11, 2009
Camping on the Rio
The air is pink. That happens sometimes at sunset in the mountains. . .the air itself appears pink, we call it Alpine Glow. There is nothing like the clear mountain air in the fall. The forest is changing color and the Aspen are taking on their gold color. This is spectacular country and as I drove along to Creed I thought about how much I had always wanted to live in the mountains. Watching the Rio Grande and shear rock outcroppings trimmed in pines everything around me was truly breathtaking. Creed is a lovely little mountain town with galleries, shops and white water rafting tours advertised along the river. I used to enjoy shopping in these little towns but now I am more interested in the art galleries and camping in this magnificent wilderness. When one looks around at the beauty it is hard to think about the hustle and bustle of the rest of the world. I am fortunate to be loving this life.
I will return here next July to kayak. The water is up then and should be great fun. When I get home tomorrow I am going to take the kayak out myself at Lathrop Lake in the National Park. That way I can practice. This is such a fun sport! Surprisingly, after my trip yesterday I'm not sore except in the abs. Paddling is good exercise. Until tomorrow, peace to all.
I will return here next July to kayak. The water is up then and should be great fun. When I get home tomorrow I am going to take the kayak out myself at Lathrop Lake in the National Park. That way I can practice. This is such a fun sport! Surprisingly, after my trip yesterday I'm not sore except in the abs. Paddling is good exercise. Until tomorrow, peace to all.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Camping on the Rio
A new day dawns on the Rio. Such a beautiful sunrise and I would post a picture if I hadn't left my camera in Carl's truck. Fox and I were out before dawn for his early morning breaking of water. Back to the Casita for my coffee and a maxalt for my migraine. A great combo to start your day. Thankfully, the maxalt worked and left my head without the axe in it. Lovely breakfast of eggs and precooked bacon for my protein load. Topped it off with a breakfast bar an hour later. Our plan was to be off for the river by 10 and spend three hours kayaking. Of course, that meant I would miss lunch so had a piece of cheese and a sloppy Joe just in case any trace of hunger should appear before the next planned meal. I am really good at keeping my weight up. You never know when you may need a couple of extra lbs.
Marilyn and I took the dogs for a long walk to tire them out before we left. We loaded up and drove up stream for 7 miles then found a place to put in. Marilyn and I were in one kayak and Carl was alone. As soon as we launched we became high centered on some rocks. Both of us got out and I promptly fell in up to my neck. How that was possible when there was no water to speak of is beyond me. But, there I was in the icy rocky mountain river water. No problem getting into the kayak after we carried it precariously over the rocks to the channel. A word of caution, under water river water are very slick, as Grandpa Bill would say "slicker than snot on a door knob." We slowly picked our way so as not to fall again. At last, we were both in the boat and headed down stream. Great fun despite problems getting in sync with the paddles. I was up front and only hit her in the head twice. I would paddle once on the right pushing the nose left and she would paddle again right pushing the nose straight into the bank then we would paddle like hell on the left. . . too far, of course, so we managed to get turned around. That was sort of the way it was. I'd say we were only high centered about four times so we were fairly fast at avoiding the rocks. The best part was going through the white water. Of course, we yelled and carried on as our 6" waves hit the boat. On a scale of 1-5 our rapids probably came in at a minus 2. Hey, we're just two old broads having a blast.
By the time we put in at the RV park I was completely exhausted and soaking wet and cold. After a change of clothes Carl and I went back for the truck. I am just leaving South Fork when I revved it up to 55 mph just in time for a cop to notice. He swung around with those little lights flashing and I pulled over. Such a nice kid. He wanted to know where we were going so Carl gave him a quick 5 minute answer. I turned over my "papers" and the cop informed me that I was going 59 mph in a 45 mph zone. (I was parked right next to the 55mph sign). I looked shocked (yes, really) and panted that I was sure it was a 55 zone. He asked me when my last ticket was and I said maybe 20 yrs ago. He said they usually don't give warnings in South Fork but since he was the boss he would give me one. Oh how we thanked him and then Carl gave him a 15 minute summary of our kayaking trip. I could tell he was ready to go but was politely listening. It truly was funny. Needless to say, we retrieved the truck and made it back to camp with no further interruptions. I tried to take a nap but didn't work out. That's another short story.
Forgot to mention that I am on nightly oxygen due to sleep apnea, maybe?? Anyway, I have a travel machine that is about the size of a large shredder. It makes a humming noise and every 5 seconds it seems to belch. As a result, I had plenty of oxygen last night but didn't sleep until I turned the damn thing off. A fair nights sleep considering I got up 5 times to use the bathroom. IEEIP*)*&^%$$!!!!!Back to my nap. Hooked up the machine again for my nap figuring I'd make up for lost oxy and listened to hum and belch for an hour. Then I gave up and Fox and I went for 2 long walks. Dinner is over and I'm going to sign off. No oxy tonight (:-)
Marilyn and I took the dogs for a long walk to tire them out before we left. We loaded up and drove up stream for 7 miles then found a place to put in. Marilyn and I were in one kayak and Carl was alone. As soon as we launched we became high centered on some rocks. Both of us got out and I promptly fell in up to my neck. How that was possible when there was no water to speak of is beyond me. But, there I was in the icy rocky mountain river water. No problem getting into the kayak after we carried it precariously over the rocks to the channel. A word of caution, under water river water are very slick, as Grandpa Bill would say "slicker than snot on a door knob." We slowly picked our way so as not to fall again. At last, we were both in the boat and headed down stream. Great fun despite problems getting in sync with the paddles. I was up front and only hit her in the head twice. I would paddle once on the right pushing the nose left and she would paddle again right pushing the nose straight into the bank then we would paddle like hell on the left. . . too far, of course, so we managed to get turned around. That was sort of the way it was. I'd say we were only high centered about four times so we were fairly fast at avoiding the rocks. The best part was going through the white water. Of course, we yelled and carried on as our 6" waves hit the boat. On a scale of 1-5 our rapids probably came in at a minus 2. Hey, we're just two old broads having a blast.
By the time we put in at the RV park I was completely exhausted and soaking wet and cold. After a change of clothes Carl and I went back for the truck. I am just leaving South Fork when I revved it up to 55 mph just in time for a cop to notice. He swung around with those little lights flashing and I pulled over. Such a nice kid. He wanted to know where we were going so Carl gave him a quick 5 minute answer. I turned over my "papers" and the cop informed me that I was going 59 mph in a 45 mph zone. (I was parked right next to the 55mph sign). I looked shocked (yes, really) and panted that I was sure it was a 55 zone. He asked me when my last ticket was and I said maybe 20 yrs ago. He said they usually don't give warnings in South Fork but since he was the boss he would give me one. Oh how we thanked him and then Carl gave him a 15 minute summary of our kayaking trip. I could tell he was ready to go but was politely listening. It truly was funny. Needless to say, we retrieved the truck and made it back to camp with no further interruptions. I tried to take a nap but didn't work out. That's another short story.
Forgot to mention that I am on nightly oxygen due to sleep apnea, maybe?? Anyway, I have a travel machine that is about the size of a large shredder. It makes a humming noise and every 5 seconds it seems to belch. As a result, I had plenty of oxygen last night but didn't sleep until I turned the damn thing off. A fair nights sleep considering I got up 5 times to use the bathroom. IEEIP*)*&^%$$!!!!!Back to my nap. Hooked up the machine again for my nap figuring I'd make up for lost oxy and listened to hum and belch for an hour. Then I gave up and Fox and I went for 2 long walks. Dinner is over and I'm going to sign off. No oxy tonight (:-)
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