October 31, 2016

October 21, 2016

 We’ve been at the Fort Bliss RV Park for two days and so far have not left the park except to go the main part of the base.  At this huge Army post there really is no need to venture out much.

 This park is large with 133 paved and spacious sites.  The laundry rooms are very nice as are all of the other facilities.  There is no WiFi available at the individual sites but it is provided in the family room.  The only negative is that the sites nearest the highway are very noisy.

 As I said, Fort Bliss is with all the amenities you can think of and then some.  The PX is large as is the commissary.  The base also has several restaurants on post in addition to the normal fast food joints.  How about a Texas Road House, a Denny’s, a Buffalo Wild Wings and several others.  Also on post is The Grand Theater where we went to see The Magnificent Seven yesterday.  Check out The Freedom Crossing at Fort Bliss here:  http://freedomcrossingatfortbliss.com/directory/

October 22, 2016

 We left the Fort Bliss RV Park at 9 AM and after stopping at the Exchange gas station to top off with fuel, we got on Hwy 54 then made our way onto I-10 east.  Since it was a Saturday traffic was light (if there really is such a thing for El Paso) so we made it through town without much trouble.  The rest of the trip was mostly clear sailing all the way to Fort Stockton and the Parkview RV Park.

 Parkview is a nothing to write home about but with 50 amp electric and good water it’s okay with us for one night.  Our Passport America rate is $14 so we’ll deal with the lack of amenities.

October 24, 2016

 We left Fort Stockton, got on I-10 eastbound and made the run to the Triple T RV Resort in Kerrville, TX.  Hey folks, that is two days of 245 miles.  This hard driving has got to come to a end.

 We have been at Triple T before.  A few years back we spent a long night under tornado warnings here.  The weather now is pretty darned good with temps in the mid 70’s with partly cloudy skies.

We took a drive to Frederickburg.

October 25, 2016

 We left Kerrville this morning and made the 137 mile drive up to Jim Hogg Corps of Engineer park on Lake Georgetown where we will be for the next few days.  We do have a lot of running around we need to do while we’re here but I do hope we can get into Austin one day.

A great site on the lake.

October 28, 2016

 Yesterday we drove up to the north Dallas area to visit with Jim and Linda Holtz, our good friends who we met at Goliad State Park several years ago.  We had a really nice visit and then we went to lunch.  We hope to see them again soon.

 Today we did a little maintenance around the rig then went for lunch at Bob's Catfish-N-More Restaurant in north Georgetown.  What this joint lacks in ambiance they more than make it up in  fixing great food.  Both of us ordered the catfish dinner, Joyce getting the senior portion and of course the old fat boy went for the full meal.  The plates come with pinto beans, a delicious cold slaw and jalapeño hush puppies.  Outstanding meal.

 After stuffing ourselves we decided to go see the new Tom Hanks movie Inferno.  Based on the Dan Brown book by the same name, it’s another thriller that takes watching very closely in order to keep up with the story.  Since I have read the book the story line was much easier to follow.

 While doing some research on my Alabama Crocker’s today I ran across a Joel Franklin Crocker who lived in Tyler, Dallas County.  On his World War I Draft Card dated 12 September 1918 he listed his present occupation as: Running Gin.  I’m guessing he was a pretty honest guy.

October 30, 2016

 We left Jim Hogg park yesterday morning around 11AM for what we thought would be an easy run to Lockhart State Park in Lockhart, TX.  Well, that didn’t work out so good.

 While dumping our holding tanks at the dump station I noticed that our left back outside tire looked low.  When I checked the pressure it was at 50 PSI which ain’t good.

 I asked a ranger where I could get some air and he thought that I could get into an Exxon station so we headed that way.  That station proved to be too small so Joyce Googled for truck stops near us and found one six miles away up I-35.  When we got there the attendant in the store said that their air compressor was broken.  He said the Shell across the interstate has an air pump.

 Pulled in there and wouldn’t you know that a truck was parked in the no parking area next to the air machine.  Got that straighten out but the pump was too weak for us to get enough air to completely fill the tire.  We did get the darned thing up to 75 PSI.

 After getting on TX-130 toll road I started getting a tad antsy about it so Joyce found a tire dealer in Hutte that was open.  But when we got there the place was locked up.  We then found another dealer in town that told us to come on over and just pull in front of his bays.

 When we got over there and pulled in, we discovered there was no way out except to back up the same way we came in.  So, we unhooked the car while the attendant was filling the tires and then checking all of the others.  I offered to pay him but he said there was no charge.  We gave him $5 for his trouble.

 The rest of the trip down to Lockhart was thankfully uneventful.

 For those of you that are asking yourself why we don't have a tire monitoring system.  Well, as a matter of fact we do.  I’m not going into all the details why we aren’t using it at the present time but you can rest assured that I’m going to correct that situation very soon.

 And guess what?  We have an onboard air system in the motorhome that I can use to air up our tires.  Where are the hoses?  You guessed it, Barry hasn’t bought any yet.  Gonna take care of that too.

 This is out second time staying at Lockhart State Park.  We were here several years ago and where we met our good friends Jim and Linda Holtz.  We have a very nice back-in site with 50 amp service and full hookups.  There is some shade but we were able to get a good satellite signal even with the trees around us.

 The town of Lockhart is known for it’s barbecue joints and of course we had to get us some.  We decided to go to Kreuz Market since we had been there before and had their brisket.  We ordered some “lean” and a 1/2 pound of ribs, some tater salad and cold slaw and proceeded to stuff ourselves.  Man, that stuff is good.  We did think that the ribs were a tad tough but it was late in the day so they might have been sitting around for a while.

 

Couldn't wait to get started.

 There are actually three other barbecue places in town, Black’s Barbecue, Smitty’s Market and Chisholm Trail Barbq.  Some have said that Smitty’s has the best sausage but I think we’ll give Black’s a try before we leave.

 Today we drove north of San Marcus to visit the village of Wimberley, a small artsy community in the Texas Hill Country.  There are a lot of shops selling just about anything Texas and a few restaurants as well.

 

Boots similar to this one are all over town.

 

 For lunch we chose Ino’z Brew & Chew just off the main square.  We sat outside under the huge oak trees and enjoyed a live band playing country/bluegrass music.

 

Joyce's lunch!

 Next stop was one of our favorite places in Texas, the town of Gruene.  This is the home of Gruene Hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas where many great bands have played.  Joyce and I saw Randy Travis there a few years back.

Gruene Mansion Inn.

 That’s all folks.

Barry & Joyce

October 20, 2016

October 15, 2016

 While at Davis-Monthan we got a very spacious site in the new section of the park with excellent 50 amp power and great water pressure. The base has all the amenities of most large bases and of course we took advantage to get some shopping done at the exchange and commissary.

 We left the base this morning about 9:30, jumped on I-10 headed toward Deming, NM.  For a Saturday there was a lot of traffic out on the boulevard.

 A couple of weeks ago I bought a Cobra Drive HD dash cam and today we came very close to needing to use the video freeze feature.  Not going to go into a lot of detail but to say that some people need to go back to driving school and learn how to merge onto an interstate.

 We arrived at the Hi Low Ranch RV Park, a bare-bones Passport America facility.  Actually, this is the home park of the Loners On Wheels RV group but accept other travelers as well.  Not a bad deal at only $19 a night.

October 17, 2016

 After a restful night sleep we headed up Hwy 26 then onto I-25 to Truth or Consequences, NM.  Why go to T or C?  Well, we had never been there'd that is a good enough reason for us.

 We arrived at Elephant Butte State Park around 1PM where we are going to spend three days.  Even though the lake is really low this time of the year it is still beautiful, in a desert kind of way.

 After getting situated in our site we drove into town, first stopping at the visitor center where we picked up several brochures and travel guides.  Did you ever wonder how T or C got it name?  Well read on.

  Back in 1940 there was a radio program hosted by Ralph Edwards called Truth or Consequences.  During a T or C broadcast in late 1949, Edwards made an announcement:  the show’s produces wanted to hear from any town or city that would be willing to change its name to “Truth or Consequences”.  Edwards and his staff received letters of interest from several cities, the most interesting one coming from Hot Springs.  The show’s producer, Ed Baily, traveled to Hot Springs to check out the town.

 After a vote by the town residents on 31 March 1950, the resolution was passed.  The very next day on 1 April 1950, the first T or C Fiesta was staged which included Sheriff’s posses and other groups from all over the state and even a delegation from Chihuahua, Mexico.  That Fiesta is still celebrated each year.

 Now you know the rest of the story.  There was also a long running television program hosted by the same name.

 After getting back from town a couple pulled in next door.  Ron and Mary Koether are from Sweeny, TX, a small town south west of Houston who have been full-timing for just a year.  They are on their way back “home” from a volunteering gig at Capital Reef National Park in Utah.  After getting setup they came over for a visit.

 We had a nice time getting to know each other and talking about our hosting adventures.  Ron and Mary are also very knowledgeable of Texas State Parks and know Goliad very well.  We hope they can come up to the park to visit us.

October 20, 2016

 Monday Joyce and I drove the 94 miles up into the mountains to tour Silver City, NM, named for the silver deposits discovered in the area.  Founded in 1878 the city has a rich and colorful history.

 After walking around in the downtown area for a short time we made our way to the towns visitor center where we got a lot more information and a recommendation for a place to have lunch.

 The Little Toad Creek Brewery & Distillery is locally owned and operated and a place you need to visit if you are ever in the area.  I ordered the Pub Club that came on their home made
wheat buns that are made with the brewers grain.  Delicious!

 Joyce decided on The Toadstool, Portabella  mushrooms stuffed with herbs and cheeses deep fried in beer batter.  Both of us thought this dish was amazing and probably the best we have ever eaten.

 We will definitely return to Silver City.

 On Tuesday we went up to the little village of Chloride.  This once booming town now has only 11 permanent residents that are very proud of their community.

 Our first stop was at what used to be the town’s Pioneer Store that is now the museum. Linda, the curator is the daughter of the folks that bought the store in 1989 after it had been closed for 68 years.  Be sure to read the story of the store at the link above.  Each of the buildings and and the hanging tress are described in detail.

 Stopped here for a picnic lunch.

 Yesterday we made the easy 125 mile run down to the RV Park on Fort Bliss near El Paso, TX.  We plan to stay here for three days getting laundry done and stocking up on provisions at the commissary.

 Until next time.

Barry & Joyce

October 14, 2016

October 2, 2016

 Today we took a drive down the coast to Malibu and then up Malibu Canyon Road to US 101.  There are some really beautiful houses in that area and I’m sure most of them come with a very hefty price tag.  Heck, it looked some of the gates we saw cost more that our first house.

 We’ve had a good stay here at this Navy base and I’m sure we’ll be back again in the future.  With roomy sites, free WiFi, free washing/drying and all the other amenities, the $30 a night is really a bargain for this area.  You can read my review here:  http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/california/fairways-rv-resort

 Tomorrow we’ll head out to the Elks Lodge in Indio, CA.  It’s only about a 200 mile run but we have to drive out through Burbank, Pasadena and San Bernardino so we know traffic is going to be a mess.  I think we will try to get out of here around 9:30 AM so hopefully the morning rush hour will be over.  We have made this trip before going both ways so I know what to expect.

October 4, 2016

 All RVer’s, especially full-timers should expect the unexpected and yesterday was no exception to the rule.

 We left the naval base around 9:30, made our way up to the 101 and headed west.  After topping out on the 7% grade traffic came to a complete stop and then moved on for 5 MPH for a long way.  I had hoped that the 134 would be better and it was, a little.  Got into a couple of white knuckle situations with people cutting in and out of the traffic and idiots trying to merge onto the boulevard at 20 MPH.  We finally made our way down the 57 and then onto the 10 westbound.  How's that for LA lingo.  We did move along at a decent speed for most of the way to the Elks Lodge here in Indio.

 We got settled into the RV park around 2:30 then went to the lounge for a well deserved libation.  The lodge has several sites with electric and water for $22 a night and a few with sewer hook up’s at $27 a night.  Since we are only here for two nights we selected one of the pull-through sites with electric and water.

 Joyce went to the Morongo Casino leaving me to keep the bartender company.  Linda told me about the Desert Trip Music Festival that will be starting on Friday in Indio.  This is a huge festival, staring The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and others.  Not only are they having the festival starting on Friday but their going to do it all over again on the 14th too.

 Starting this coming Thursday they lodge is going to be charging $100 a night for members to park here.  Now I understand the lodge wanting to make a few bucks and even at a C-note it is still cheap.  We hear that one of the casinos in the area is is going to charge $125 a night for dry camping and $150 for hookups.  That being said, I do question the lodge’s decision to charge members that high rate.  Seems like some gouging going on if you ask me.

 I always tell you about Joyce’s donations to casinos but I rarely talk about when she wins.  Well, night before last she played at the Morongo Casino and won a good chuck of change playing bingo.  Then last night she played at the Fantasy Springs Casino and came out a winner on a penny machine.  Congrats babe!

October 7, 2016

 We left Quartzite yesterday morning at 9:30, jumped on I-10 bound for the Elks Lodge in Tempe, AZ.  Since we only had just over a half a tank of fuel we stopped on the way and got diesel for $2.38 a gallon.  The next part of the trip was not bad but when we got into the Phoenix metro area the traffic picked up considerably.  After navigating through that we pulled into the Tempe Elks Lodge at 1 PM.

 The RV park here has has twenty-six full hookup sites and as I write this they are adding eight more specifically to accommodate rigs over forty feet.  All sites here have 30/50 amp electric service giving us the ability to run both our AC units.  Thats a good thing since the temperatures are forecasted to be well over ninety degrees during our stay.  At $25 a night this is a very good value for this area.

 There is an animal hospital right behind us so we had barking dogs all night long.  We did run our AC’s and fans so that provided enough white noise to block out most of the barking.

 After getting set up I went in the lounge to pay for or stay and Joyce went to do a little shopping.        Later my sister-in-law Ronna came by after she got off work and then my brother Mark came over when he got off work.  We had a really nice visit, making plans to get together today and then Saturday.

October 11, 2016

 Last Friday evening Mark and Ronna took us out for dinner at The Mission at Minder Binder, one of the most unique restaurants Joyce and I have ever visited.  I can’t begin to tell you all of the “stuff” on the walls and ceiling in this place.  A couple of things that caught my eye was a chariot and a for real stuffed horse.  The food was fantastic and the conversation lively.

 On Saturday we went to Mark and Ronna’s new home over in Laveen that they had built last year.  Mark grilled tri-tip and we watched football all afternoon.

 Our plans were to leave Tempe on Sunday and head south to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson but change three was put into effect.

  We found out that our good friends Ed and Cindy Kopic who we volunteered with at Sunflower RV Resort a couple of years ago were headed down this way.  They are going to be hosting at Val Vista Villages in Mesa for the winter this year so we thought, “what the heck”, lets go visit them.

 So on Sunday we left the Elks Lodge and headed east 16 miles to the Val-Vista Villages in Mesa, arriving here about 12:30.  After getting into our site Ed and Cindy made a delicious barbecue rib supper.

 We are staying here on our Passport America membership so we are only paying $25 a night plus tax.  That's a great price for this area of Arizona.

 Joyce and I had planned to stay just three days here but have now decided to extend that by one more day.

 Yesterday we drove up to Scottsdale to have lunch with our favorite bartender Trevor Garand who served drinks at Sunflower.  We met at Bootleggers in Old Town and ha d a ball.  Can’t wait to do that again in the spring.

The Gang's All Here!

October 14, 2016

 On Wednesday the girls wanted to go shopping so Ed and I made a road trip out to the Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction to see Willie Beck who is hosting out there again this year.  You might recall that Willie hosted with us at Valley of the Rouge State Park one year and we still stay in contact.

 After visiting with Willie for a while we drove up into the hills to Tortilla Flat near Canyon Lake for a bite to eat and a cold one.

 The walls and ceilings are covered in $1 bills.

Canyon Lake

Just had to throw in a couple of pictures of Travis.

   Yesterday after saying our goodbye’s to Ed and Cindy we left Mesa and headed down to the Agave Gulch FamCamp on Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ.

Be back soon.

Barry & Joyce

September 30, 2016

September 20, 2016

  When we got to Fresno the temperature was 99 degrees and getting hotter.  Later in the day it actually reached 103 which is the highest we’ve seen this summer.

  We are parked at the Elks Lodge in Fresno with 30 amp electrical service, water and a dump station.  With only 30 amp we can only run one AC unit at a time so we left the living room unit running when we left to visit my mother.  When we went back about 9 PM we discovered that the AC unit wasn’t working and trust me, it was hot in the RV.

  I did some troubleshooting and after disconnecting our surge protector and plugging directly into the power box the darned thing started working.  I’m going to do some more checking tomorrow.  Hopefully our surge protector hasn’t gone haywire.

  Today we drove down to Lemoore NAS to do some shopping at the commissary and exchange.  Mom picked up a couple of things and we got some things we needed as well.

September 25, 2016

  Man, the last few days have rushed by way too fast.

  On Thursday Joe Thibault, Bob O’Brien, Mike Hargis and Jerry Rita came by the Elks RV Park for a short visit.  I went to junior high school with all of them and then high school with Joe and Bob.  I hadn’t seen all of them except for Joe in 50 years so it was great to see them and catch up on what everyone has been doing all these years.

  On Friday Joe and I attended the Hoover High School Class of 1966 Ice Breaker.  Since this is the first reunion I have attended I had no idea what to expect but I can say it was a lot of fun.  Hey, some of those folks look really old.

  On Saturday one of my classmates had a mini car show and gathering at his shop.  One of the guys that showed up was a C-141 pilot who flew out of Norton AFB, CA for several years.  Also there was Dennis Campbell who was a flight engineer with the 710th MAS at Travis.

September 26, 2016

  Yesterday we hooked up the car and left the Elks Lodge bound for Camp San Luis Obispo.  This is a small California Army National Guard base that has a long history.  The RV park is here is great and at $23 an night a outstanding value for this area.

September 29, 2016

  On the 27th we spent most of the day in Morro Bay which is only 8 miles north of here.  After having lunch at the Harbor Hut (don’t recommend this one) we drove out to Morro Rock and watched the surfer’s for a while.

  On the 28th we walked around downtown San Luis Obispo for a short time but the temperature was about 100 degrees so the time there was short.

  After stopping at America’s Tire to have the Honda’s tires rotated we headed south to the Pismo Beach area.  While driving around in Cayucos, this beautiful Ford Woody caught my eye.

  A couple of weeks ago Joyce ordered a new throw rug for our coach from Overstock.  At the time of ordering she had it sent to my mother’s home in Clovis but a couple of days later we were notified there was going to be a delay in shipping.  No problem, Joyce chatted online with them and had the rug sent to my brothers place in Laveen, AZ.

  Well, that didn’t work out so good.  The darned thing was sent to Clovis so rather than have my mother re-ship it or go through the hassle of getting Overstock to correct their mistake, we just drove over yesterday to pick it up.

  We were actually supposed to leave Camp San Luis Obispo yesterday but we just extended our stay on more day and then delayed our arrival at Port Hueneme.  RV’ers plans are always written in Jello.

  We left Camp San Luis Obispo at 10 AM and pointed the motor home south on US 101.  Traffic going down wasn’t  too bad so we made pretty good time, pulling into Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center, Naval Base Port Hueneme, CA. about 1:30 PM.

  After clearing the main gate we stopped for fuel at the Naval Exchange’s gas station and put 65 gallons of diesel in the motor home.  At $2.44 per gallon that is a real bargain in the Ventura area.

  Got checked into the Fairways RV Park without a hitch but after parking we had trouble with the living room air conditioner again.  So, the surge protector is the problem and after looking at the connectors I found the problem.  It can’t be fixed so Joyce has ordered a new one on Amazon.

October 1, 2016

  Yesterday we made a return visit to President Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Library and Museum.  They have added a lot of new exhibits the main one being the VC-137 27000, commonly called Air Force One.  A presidential helicopter is also there and of course the presidential limousine as well.

 A piece of the Berlin Wall, The American Sector and the Soviet Side.

  I had the privilege of being on C-141 crews that flew the President’s limo on two occasions.  One of these missions was to pick up the car at San Francisco International and fly it to Andrews AFB, MD.

  After we got airborne we got a call from air traffic control asking us to contact the Military Airlift Command’s command post at Scott AFB, IL.  After establishing a phone patch they asked to speak to the senior Secret Service agent on board and for us not to listen in on the conversation.  I was watching the agent’s face the whole time and I could tell something really bad was happening.

  This was during Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s visit to the United States.  Mrs. Thatcher had left San Francisco for a trip to Yosemite National Park.  Since the weather was very bad in that area they couldn’t fly her to the Valley so they decided to drive her.
  After the agent got off the radio he told us what had happened.  During the clearing of the roads up to Yosemite one of the Secret Service’s cars slid off the road and an agent was killed.  The rest of the flight was very quiet.

  Last night we had dinner at Little Tony’s Italian Restaurant and then went to see “The Light Between Oceans” at the base theater which is free.  So, a movie, some popcorn and a soda cost us $6.

More next time,

Barry & Joyce