April 15, 2012

03/25/2012

On Sunday the 19th we packed up and hit the road to the Triple T RV Park in Kerrville, TX.  Our plans were to just stay there one night then drive on to Fort Stockton and on up north to Roswell, NM.  Well, all those plans changed in a hurry.

The weather forecast for the Fort Stockton area was for high winds with gusts up to 50 mph with the same on I-10 all the way there.  The weather guesser's were calling for rain and thunderstorms for south Texas so we made the decision to stay put in Kerrville.  That turned out to be a mistake in a big way.  Buy the time we discovered that the forecasted winds across west Texas were not as bad as predicted, it was much too late to move.

As the afternoon went on we saw that the weather forecast's ranged from rain and thunderstorms to severe thunderstorms with rain amounts in the 3 to 8 inch range and possibility of a tornado or two.  Not good folks!

At 6 PM we decided to close up the rig and ride out the storms in the parks clubhouse.  After we settled in with several other folks we tuned the TV to the Weather Channel and we all broke out our smart phones, computers and iPads to track the storms.  Let me tell y'all, the picture wasn't lookin' good!

Around 7 PM, the sky unloaded with torrential rains like we haven't seen in a very long time, accompanied but lightening and some small hail.  To make the evening more interesting, we went into tornado warning mode three times, raising the "pucker factor" a few notches.  There were several reports of tornadoes touching down to the south of us  but fortunately we didn't get one in our area.

Around 1 AM things settled down some so we all headed back to our rigs to get some sleep.  When we extended our slides and going up to the bedroom we noticed that our carpet on both sides of the bed was wet and some water was dripping down through the bat-wing antenna crank tube.  We just sopped up what we could and then went to bed at that point and deal with the leak in the morning.

Around 2:30, we heard a tremendous crack from some lightening that shook the rig.  We immediately knew there was a strike somewhere close to us but we didn't how close until in the morning.  When talking to the park owner in the morning, he asked me if I heard that crack.  He told me that the lightening strike hit his neighbor's house and the resulting fire burned their house to the ground.  Those homes are only a mile from the park!

The source of our water leak was the wire tube for our antenna.  The calking was gone completely and since the rains were so hard, water ran down the tube, onto the top of our bedroom slide and then ran down onto the floor.  Got 'er fixed.

So, we had a very interesting and eventful time in Kerrville but something we hope to never see again.  We really dodged a bullet there!  Learn more about the storms here:  http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CFYQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.srh.noaa.gov%2Fimages%2Fewx%2Fwxevent%2F2012_0319_event_writeup.pdf&ei=uoJwT7zbA-SOiALpt4n7Dg&usg=AFQjCNHwf1QYN5ymvIAwVUlGofkdHTW1Yg

On the 21st we finally got on the road, spending one night in Fort Stockton, TX and then one night in Roswell, NM before arriving here at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, one of our regular stops when traveling on I-40.  The Famcamp here is huge with very large pull-through sites that is always welcome when your pulling a 43 foot rig.  Kirtland has all the amenities including diesel fuel at the gas station...at $4.09 a gallon.

Yesterday we made a visit to the Unser Racing Museum and has turned into the highlight of our stay here in Albuquerque.  The museum's displays tell the story of one of the most celebrated racing families in America, from Louis, Joe and Jerry, down through Bobby and Al Sr., to Bobby Jr. and Al. Jr.

Then there are the race cars.  The collection includes cars that were raced on Pikes Peak, AROC, dirt tracks and of course, Indy.

The Unser Museum is actually two in one.  In another building there are displays of art and the Unser collection of vintage automobiles.  Also housed here is the extensive trophy collection.

03/26/2012

Yesterday we went out to the Petroglyph National Monument.

After checking in at the visitor center, we took a hike in Boca Negra Canyon and climbed to the top of the mesa.  Some of the petroglyphs date back at least 700 years and it's believed some may be up to 3000 years old.

This is our last day at Kirtland.  Next stop, Winslow, AZ.

03/29/2012

We are now in Needles, CA.

We stopped for one night at the Homolovi State Park, just east of Winslow, AZ.  This was our second time at this park, which is a great place to stop when traveling on I-40.

We had a very easy run to here in Needles and spent the night at the Needles KOA.  We normally don't like to stay at KOA's but it was actually the cheapest place in Needles.  We did consider just driving on to Barstow but that would have extended our day to over 400 miles, which is about 150 miles further than we like to drive.

Heading to Edwards AFB today.

04/01/2012

We're now at NAS Lemoore in Central California.

We got into Edwards around 2 PM and found that there were only a couple of parking sites available.  This was the first time that we have seen this park completely full so we're glad we arrived early.  We have found over time to try to arrive early in the day when going to military RV parks that don't take reservations.

On Friday we made a day trip down to visit our good friends John and Sheryl Cain in Hemet, CA.  John has had some serious health issues of late but is now on the mend.  With all the problems they have been through in the past seven weeks, they both remain optimistic that the future will be good.  They are even planning a trip to Hawaii and then back to Nehalem Bay State Park in Oregon to do their hosting gig in 2013.  Way to go John and Cheryl!  Your the best.

We had planned to stay at Edwards until today and then drive up to Fresno.  However, the weather forecast was showing winds at 30-35 mph with possible gusts to 55.  So, we decided to head up here to Lemoore for one night.

After arriving here we made the Exchange and Commissary run and then went over to Spuds Pub and Grill.  Spuds has completely renovated since our last visit here with a new dining room and lounge.  They even brew their own beers which I found to be really good, especially the Porter.  It was very crisp and refreshing with just a hint of spices.  Outstanding!

04/04/2012

We are now in Fresno, CA visiting family.

RIP David.  I Love you.

Had a very easy run up Hwy 41 from Lemoore, arriving just after noon.

Yesterday I had the #8 cylinder glow plug replaced in our truck.  This is the second one to go bad in 125,000 miles so we're definitely not complaining.

04/07/2012

We had a nice visit with my family in Clovis.  My brother Mark and his wife Ronna drove out from their home in Ozark, MO, making the visit extra special.

On Friday morning we packed up and then drove up to Calistoga to visit Joyce's family.  Joyce, her mother, brother and sister-in-law left yesterday to spend a couple of days in Reno.  Since I don't gamble anymore, I decided to just hang out here at the Fairgrounds RV Park.
04/14/2012

We're now staying at the Travis AFB Famcamp.

Joyce, along with her mother, brother Frank, sister-in-law Joanne and their son went to Reno on Friday the 7th.  On Friday afternoon I made the walk into town and had supper at the the Calistoga Inn Restaurant and Brewery.  I can attest that their Red Ale and Pilsner are outstanding.

I did spend some time watching the Masters Golf Tournament, routing for Phil Mickelson .  Unfortunately, Phil had a meltdown on the par 3, 4th, shooting a triple bogey six from which he never recovered.

The big story was Bubba Watson's win on the second playoff hole against the South African Louis Oosthuizen.  Bubba made an amazing shot out of the woods that no one thought he could make for the win.  One of my bucket list items is to attend one day of the Masters in Augusta.  I think I had better save my pennies.

Joyce was a winner on this trip to Reno which made her very happy.

On Monday the 9th we made the long 52 mile drive to Travis.  We have been staying at the base RV park for a number of years so you have read me write about the manager Tony.  Well, he and his wife have moved on and the new manager is in place.  The customer service here has become a high priority with her and it shows.

The other night while Joyce was out with her girlfriends, I heard multiple sirens in the area of the main gate.  Come to find out there was a shooting at one of the bars near the gate where one guy was killed and another was wounded.