Thursday, June 23: I spent the day with final preparations regarding readying Lil’House for the trip.  When DW (Dear Wife) arrived home from work, we pulled out at 4:30pm; destination — Brownwood Texas.  This is the first bounce on the way to Colorado.  It allows us to get an early start, 2.5 hours down the road.  We arrived at Shady Oaks RV Park around 7:00pm and “rigged down” for the evening.  Nothing special here, just an overnight bounce.  Chips and Queso for supper, early morning walk with DW, Pop tarts, coffee and garden fresh cantaloupe for breakfast and on the road by 9:00am.

Friday, June 24: Arrived at the Lubbock KOA at 2:00pm.  Man, Texas looks like a desert between here and Austin.  This drought is taking its toll.  The only place where the brush and grass is not dry is where it has caught on fire and burned to the ground.  After rigging down, we kicked on both ACs trying to get Lil’House cooled down.  The outside thermometer indicated it was 110.5 degrees at 3:00pm!  We had king ranch chicken, homemade brownies with cream cheese icing topped with ice cream for supper.  We spent the rest of the evening inside avoiding the West Texas heat.

Saturday, June 25: We were up by 6:00am with the same Pop tart breakfast and coffee.  We attempted a morning walk, but the West Texas wind made it a miserable experience, even at seven in the morning. So, we rigged up and were on the road by eight; next destination — Albuquerque KOA North.  We arrived at 2:00pm, after stopping at a Stuckys where I-20 and old Route 66 is one and the same:

Oh, the memories.  You can still buy the same old Stuckys pecan rolls, as well as their other name brand snacks and treats.  But other than that, a modern day Stuckys is just another stop-and-rob convenience store.  It was 90 degrees in Albuquerque, but it felt cool after the 110 in Lubbock yesterday!  This KOA is really nice, but like the rest of the country, it is a dust bowl.  The drought is widespread across the south.

Sunday, June 26 through Monday July 1:

We arrived at our feature destination; Priest Gulch RV Park in Colorado.  About the time I completed rigging down and setting up the mini-kamp kitchen:

Mike and Lynn Hutson arrived and rigged down in the site next to us.

The Huston’s are friends from “back home” that we have known forever.  After both camps were set up, we took a walk around the park. When we walked past the playscape, of course Lynn had to stop and play on the slide:

The four of us started the evening grilling steak and chicken while sitting around a camp fire, next to the Delores River in 60 degree weather.

Monday morning we awoke to temperatures in the low 40s and begin cooking breakfast (breakfast tacos).  We ate on the picnic table next to the river.  After breakfast all four of us were off on our first fishing expedition on Priest Creek.  It is a rugged, mountainous, wooded area; turning the fishing expedition into a hike.

A mile upstream and a mile downstream and we were back in camp; no fish, tired and thirsty – but the scenery was awesome!

After a short rest, Mike and I fished (hiked) up the Delores River.  Mike caught an eight inch brown trout; I caught an additional four miles of wilderness hiking in waders.   For the evening meal we had fajitas.  We sat around the fire next to the river until it got too cold to do so – which didn’t take long in the mountain air.

After breakfast on Tuesday, Mike and I drove 2 miles down the highway (downstream from camp) to the Bear Creek trailhead entrance.  We were told there is good fishing in Bear Creek, but you have to hike about ½ mile to get to it.  So, we put on our tennis shoes, threw our waders over our shoulder and took off up the trail.

Up is the key word here; as in a switch-back, straight up a deer trail complete with bear tracks!

After a half mile we found a sign with an arrow pointing to a trail that goes further up the mountain.  But we could see the creek below us and we knew there was no way a trail up the mountain could lead down to the creek, so we bailed off into the wilderness to find the fish that no man has found before us.  After sliding down the mountain, we ended up in a swamp.  But not to fear, we had waders – so we quickly changed and headed off through the underbrush.

Good thing we had mosquito spray, these mountain skeeters are as big as quarters!  After about an hour of rough and rugged upstream, uphill hiking through almost impassable brush and over fallen timber, we decided we needed to find a trail again.  The water in these parts was running too fast and rough for fishing anyway.

So we took off climbing straight up; clawing and sliding, slipping and grabbing.  Note to self: be careful about what type of bush you grab to help anchor yourself on the steep grade, some have thorns!

Just when all hope was lost, Mike found a beer bottle and we knew a trail was near.  And sure enough, just another 15 or 20 feet further up we saw people walking.  So we climbed our way back to the trail (that we should have never gotten off of) and continued to hike to the best fishing spot ever.  Two and half miles up and we finally found a meadow where Bear Creek was fishable, in spots.  But the water was mostly too swift for decent fishing.  Colorado is experiencing heavy snow melt this year, so all the creeks and rivers are running faster than normal.  Not good for fishing.  We quickly figured out that the only thing we are going to catch up here on this mountain was beautiful scenery, clean air, and plenty of exercise.  We put our tennis shoes back on and started the three mile hike back down the hill.

So, all we got out of this little fishing expedition was over seven miles of rugged exercise in a clean, cool atmosphere.  No fish for supper, we had grilled hamburgers and chips.  (Note: Hamburgers sure do taste better in the mountains, next to a river.)

Wednesday, after a well-deserved rest, Mike and I fished the Delores River of the camp area.

He caught a 16 inch brown trout!  I caught sunlight.  It was about this point that I was starting to remember why it is that I don’t like to fish!  We spent the rest of the day and evening resting – chilling out in camp just enjoying the mountain atmosphere with the girls. Lynn had this wonderfully jalapeño jelly marinated pork steak.  Guess what we had for supper?

On Thursday, Mike and Lynn rigged up and pulled out.  They had a 2 PM tee time on a great golf course in Durango.

Sherri and I drove to Telluride and shopped the tourist stores.  It was 61 degrees at 1PM and I have proof!

I found a great fishing hat and we bought T-shirts for the kids and grandkid.

The snow melt falling off the mountian made for some beautiful scenery.

Upon returning to camp I fished the Delores River along the banks of camp again.  Nothing!  Looks like I will go to bed without catching any fish today.  Guess I’ll just have to eat steak instead (and I did).

On Friday, I decided I couldn’t let these mountain trout beat me, so I got determined.  I switched from silver to gold spinners, and focused on fishing the Delores River along the banks of camp.  No way was I going to waste time and diesel driving somewhere to fish this fishless state!  Besides, it just takes about 45 minutes to walk up both sides, fishing in waters near the banks that are calm enough.  I could do that and be back in my lawn chair pretty effortlessly.   So I would put my waders on and fish three or four times a day.  During my mid-day fishing excursion I finally caught some fish: a 3 and 10 inch rainbow.  I let the 3 incher go, but the 10 inch guy will be dinner by Saturday.

Later that evening, I caught a 5 inch brown.  I let him go, but probably should have kept for frying too.

During my Saturday morning fish, I caught some good sunshine.  Standing in 40 degree water in 50 degree temperature the sunshine felt good.  At this point I was coming to the conclusion that just being here, standing in this Colorado River in this mountain atmosphere was good – fish or no fish.

Today (Saturday) is the last day of fishing, my 6 day Colorado fishing license expires.  I decide to make one last trip up river where Mike and I fished on Tuesday.  So I walked the highway to a bridge about a ½ upstream from camp, worked my way through the brush to find a spot that forks off of the Delores River.  The water ran slower here, and there was a bend up ahead that appeared to be 4 or 5 foot deep.

I waded out into the river, downstream from the bend and crept up close enough to cast my Panther Martin silver spinner in just the right spot.  Bam!  A big rainbow hits my bait and I fought like a dog to get him reeled in.  He must be at least 18 inches and I had no net!  I could have pitched him to the bank but was all high grass.  So, I tried to hold the line up with one hand and grab the fish with the other.  He shook off of the line into the shallow water where I stood.  I jumped to my knees, wrestling the fish.  As my waders fill with 40 degree water, I watched the slippery devil slide though my fingers and swim away.

So, I got up, wet feet and all, and cast out to the bend one more time, Bang!  Now I got a bigger one – had to be 20 to 25 inches.  My fishing real clutch was singing; as the rainbow easily pulled all the line he wanted.  The fight is fierce – and then he jumped about 3 feet out of the water, looked me in the eye, spit the spinner bait out of his mouth and splashes back into the beautiful clear blue water I tried to pull him out of.  Darn, I guess it is true; the big ones always get away.

I tightened up the clutch a couple of notches and tried one more cast to the bend.  Much to my surprise – Wham!  Another rainbow.  It also was a big one.  I fought and wrestled with him – this one was not going to get away.  When he got close enough I yanked him from the water and slung him onto the grassy bank. Climbing out of the water I jumped into the grass and place a death grip on his slippery butt!  With a big smile on my face, I removed the hook from his mouth and drop him into my fish creel.

After the mile or so walk back to camp; I proudly showed my catch to DW, did the photo op and then cleaned and dress him.

BTW; I had a very taste, fresh trout meal this evening:

Man, how I love fishing!

Sunday was a lazy day.  I packed away everything except the bare camp essentials.  We pulled out early Monday morning, bouncing our way back home – Albuquerque, Lubbock on Tuesday, home on Wednesday.  We hoped we could slowly acclimate back into the heat, but that didn’t work out.  We left Priest Gulch in 47 degree weather, and arrived in Albuquerque in 100!

Lubbock wasn’t so bad.  It was over 100 degrees when we arrived, but a short rain shower cooled West Texas off a bit and the evening ended up very nice.

We arrived home on Wednesday about 2pm.  The cat was very glad to see us, two weeks alone at home is a bit much for a social feline.  We spent the rest of the week cleaning the truck and Lil’House.  The kids came to the house on Saturday for a belated Father’s day. Guess what they brought dad  - – - A fishing vest and a FISH NET!

Boy could I have used that last week . . .

Until next time, happy traveling!

We decided to travel east to the Texas Piney Woods country; to a little RV park 6 miles south of Giddings Texas called “South Forty:”

http://www.southfortyrvpark.com/

I made reservations a few days ago online, and paid with my American Express card.  I don’t leave home without it, but it sure is easier to use online.

As you enter the park, you are first greeted with wrought iron and white stone fencing, and the South Forty sign.

The roads are gravel packed:

So there shouldn’t be any problem if you are visiting during the rainy seasons.  As you enter the park, the big building on the left is the club house and swimming pool:

There are restrooms with showers, which like the club house and swimming pool, are very clean.  The pool is mostly 3 feet and 5 feet at its deepest point. Add the TV, coin operated pool table and vending machines; and the club house makes for a great place to get together with a few folks.

There is a big room with a kitchen that I assume you can rent and throw a big shindig. There is an ice freezer stocked with bags of ice.  Grab a bag and place a dollar in the ice honor box, you are trusted to do the right thing. This is a very nice facility!

You will find no office.  Just a sign instructing you to drive on down into the park and an attendant will meet you, or if not, just pick a site and pay using the honor box:

A short drive down the main road and sure enough — there’s the honor box:

Now, that right there lets you know you are in rural Texas, where you are trusted to find your own site and put your payment in the box on your way out.  You just don’t hardly see that anymore.  We have stayed in one other park like this (in Brownwood Texas).  I like it.  No hassle, no golf cart to follow, no camp guide to get in your way as he miss-directs you into your site.  Just honest people trusting you to be just as honest as they are.  Very refreshing.

No one met us, and since I had paid online, I didn’t bother with the honor box.  We just drove through the park and found the site we wanted.  Rigging down was quick and easy, and we were “camping” in no time.

There are some great landscaping effects in this park; flowers and bushes, but particularly a water fall and a horse drawn buggy:

The South 40 is is a working Texas Longhorn cattle ranch, and you can get up close and personal with the friendly cattle, just don’t cross the fence. They are beautiful creatures:

The sites (44 in all) are gravel packed and slightly elevated on one side where necessary to compensate for the hill the park is laid out on:

All-in-all, the sites are pretty level and plenty wide.  This is not a sardine camp; lots of space between sites:

There are plenty of Texas Whitetail deer hopping about as well. The South Forty is a member of the Wildlife Management Association and the back pasture makes for some wonderful views:

There are a few full-time residents.  The only down side I can find to this park is a couple of junky trailers:

But you don’t have to worry, The South Forty is not an RV “housing project.”  One of the “junky trailer” residents is a nice elderly couple and these trailers are the only two “eye sores” in the park.  Hopefully the owners won’t let that get out of hand; this is a really great park with a great Texas country atmosphere.

The Texas Pines and majestic oaks provide plenty of morning and evening shade.  They also do a pretty good job on windy days of blocking the wind.  It was really windy when we arrived, but in camp you could hardly tell the wind was blowing:

Each site has a picnic table and a BBQ grill:

The 50 AMP service was very good, I had no low voltage issues. Water pressure and sewer hookups are well placed.  The Wi-Fi is free.  It was a little week (2 bars) in the site I was in, but not to worry, I just set up my Jefa Tech repeater and external antenna and pulled the signal in at 5 bars.

We didn’t meet the park owners on this trip.  There is a real nice country home on the property and I assume this is where they live. They have a big garden in the back that I sure would have enjoyed taking a look at.  And that John Deere parked out back sure lets me know they must be good folk! ;-) Maybe we’ll catch them next time.

At $25 per night ($29 for 50 amp service) or $280 (plus electricity) monthly, the South Forty RV park is a hidden gem for full timers who winter in Texas.  An hour from Austin and two hours from either Houston or San Antonio, this park is prefect for quite country living with easy access to three of Texas’ major metropolitan areas.

I almost regret writing this review in fear that the park will be discovered, fill up with campers, and I will no longer be able to just drive in, pick a site, and enjoy a quite weekend get-a-way beneath the pines of the South Forty.

We have stayed at this park many times.  It is a quite little park close to the house, so there was no worry about pigs on a bumper issues popping up, or catching on fire before we arrived.

Berry Springs allows us do short weekend get-a-ways and not even use a 1/8 tank of diesel.  When DW (Dear Wife) and I pulled into the RV park, we noticed some improvements; paved roads, some sites with concrete patios (soon all will have them), and across the road there is a new entrance/trail to access Berry Springs Park (the Williamson County park next door).

Camp was set up quick (thanks to the Bigfoot leveling system) and we were anticipating a great football Saturday with the 32in flat panel TV outside and the 37in inside.

The Huckabays were hanging with us this weekend.  Friday evening we did Queso and chips and enjoyed the cool evening brought in by the cold front.  Nice!

Saturday morning DW and I went for 7am walk through Berry Springs Park. I was surprised to find a very nice “natural” park with a concrete walking trail.  The whitetails were hopping through in front of us on this cool mid 60s morning.  It was a very nice.

Upon returning to camp, I fired up the mini-Kamp kitchen and Bobby and I whipped up breakfast tacos for the girls and the man’s country breakfast for the guys. Later on that afternoon, we walk Berry Springs park again with the Huckabays.  We learned this park is full of Williamson County history.

Ask Bobby about hiking 3 or 4 miles in flip-flops!

This trip was the first trip we actually got to spend time with the new Lil’House III.  So appropriately, we christened her by applying the name decals and the map decal of the States we have traveled to since we started RV’ing.

By 2:00 pm we were starting to get hungry and it was 30 minutes from game time. Time to get the hamburgers out and start pounding out the patties. 

We were tailgating RV style for rest of the day.  The horns won the game that evening.  Hook’em!

Sunday morning DW and I walked Berry Springs Park again.  The early morning fog made for a beautiful meadow. 

After the walk, we got together with the Huckabays for another great Kamp breakfast. About noon, daughter Tara and her husband James came to visit.  Tara is expecting her first child within the next to week!  Later in the afternoon, The Bobby’s bother Gary his wife arrived. We grilled steaks and chicken for a great Labor day BBQ (and I wasn’t the main course this time).  In the evening, Bobby’s Daughter Ashley, husband and 3 kids came to visit.

It was a really nice, lazy Labor Day weekend.  Good friends, good family and good food.  (Is “lazy – labor day” an oxymoron?).

We pulled out on Thursday (08/19) afternoon at 5:30pm for the maiden voyage.  We were on a quick weekend trip to the TX Panhandle for my parent’s 60^th anniversary celebration – first stop was Abilene KOA.  I like to split up the 9 hour drive by “bouncing” Abilene over night.

The trip started out with a screech and sudden stop!  As we turned right onto the highway from our subdivision, the emergency trailer disconnect cable got tangled up with the hitch and locked the brakes on the trailer.  So there I was, blocking both lanes of the small two lane highway.  I jumped out, climbed in the bed and re-engaged the safety switch to release the trailer beaks.  I backed up to allow the now backed-up traffic to pass, and we were on our way.

We stopped at the Dairy Queen in Lampasas for hamburger #1.  Question, why does it always seem like there are more flies in a DQ than in any other place on earth?

About 26 miles east of Abilene on HWY 36 at 9:45pm, we were traveling 64 MPH and all was well.  Nice night, smooth road.  I don’t usually travel after dark, but we are almost at our destination.  Then out of the darkness came Pork Chops!  Before I cold blink, that feral pig was kissing the bumper on my 1 ton dually – thump, bounce, bang!   I could tell the right front tire tendered him up as it bounded over him, and the rear duals ground him into sausage.  I slowed down and pulled over.  Damage assessment didn’t look bad.  Knocked the plastic chrome covering off of the right corner of the bumper, knocked out the fog lamp and broke loose the plastic fender well.  Didn’t look like much else happened — except for all the pig matter splattered all down the side of the truck and on Lil’House.  Luckily Lil’House didn’t receive any serious damage.

A DPS trooper stopped by and checked on us.  Really nice guy. We talked “Police Shop” for a bit.  I asked him if there was anything back there that I needed to go pickup up (thinking bumper parts).  He said, “No, the truck behind you finished splattering the pig all over the road.  The buzzards should have it cleaned up by noon tomorrow.”

We traveled on down the road and set up camp at the KOA.  Where were my keys?  I couldn’t find my keys to Lil’House.  Darn, I bet I left them on the side of the road at the pig-on-a-bumper crime scene.  Good thing Sherri had hers.  Setting up camp was a snap.  The hydraulic leveling system is awesome, and the air-conditioners froze us out all night. Good sleeping, except for the sausage and bacon nightmares.

The next morning (Friday) I tried to assess the damage.  It didn’t look too bad, but we couldn’t really tell – pig guts and stomach matter was splattered from the front bumper of the truck to the rear bumper of Lil’House!  It smelled like we butchered a hog on the front steps.  Oh, I guess we did! 

We hitched up and drove on down the road looking for a truck wash, but did not find any.  I finally stopped at the Wal-Mart in Sweetwater, way out at the end of the parking lot.  Since I carry water, I decided to use Lil’House’s outside water faucet/sprayer hose to wash Pork Chops off.  So I sprayed with one hand and wiped with saturated paper towels with the other.  As Pork Chops cleaned off, I begin to see there was more damage than originally thought. There was a dent on the lower front passenger door, and one on the front right fender of the truck.  The steps on Lil’House were bent causing some minor damage to the sheet metal just behind them.  Pork Chops must have started at the truck’s front bumper and tumbled-and-rolled until he exited from under the rear bumper of Lil’House.  Very messy under there!  Yuck!   I got enough washed off to finish the trip.  At this point I was thinking; “A power washing will be in order when we get home on Sunday. “

We arrived at the M&J RV Resort about 3pm. They had installed a new 50 amp service for us this year. The M&J (Mike and Johnna) is my brother-in-law’s front yard.  The power at the new 50amp service is better than any RV park I have ever been in.  I think I could turn everything on and not pull the amp meter down one bit, but I wouldn’t want to spin Mike’s house electric meter off the pole.

Sherri’s parents and brother’s family came over for a hamburger cookout, so we ate hamburger #2.  It was nice visiting with her family.

7am Saturday morning in the Texas Panhandle was very nice. Cool, calm, low humidity.  Very refreshing; until the little breeze picked up carrying the dairy farm smells.  Ah – emergency brakes, lost keys, hamburgers, pig guts and cow poop.  What a trip this has been thus far!

I got to spend a few hours with the new Lil’House III this morning.  Besides the wonderful hydraulic leveling system and awesome air-conditioning, there are a few other noticeable improvements with this 2011 model.  The water pump is much better.  It provides a high pressure shower and recovers much faster, keeping the water pressure consistent.  The toilet bowl is deeper, more like a residential toilet bowl.  This is great for sit down work; keeps your tools from dragging on the bottom — if you know what I mean.  Though we didn’t need much cooler space this trip, the double fridge is going to be great for long trips or those short UT football weekend trips to the hill country when I cook big meals for many people. The 37inch TV is great, which will also be wonderful for football season.  The previous Cameo only had a 32 inch.  We are really ruffin’ it now.

At noon we left to go visit my parents before the anniversary party began. The anniversary party that afternoon was really nice.  Saw people I haven’t seen in many years.  Later on that evening, the family gathered at brother Larry’s house for a hamburger cook-out.  Yep, you guessed it – we ate hamburger #3. It was fun. The Rector family has not been together like that in a long time.

Sunday morning we hit the road early – had a 9 hour drive home.  We stopped at a Wendy’s in Sweetwater for a quick lunch (hamburger #4) and made it home by 5:30pm.

Had a wonderful time and can’t wait until we get to take the new Lil’House out for a longer trip to test and enjoy all the new features.

BTW, we are not going to eat any hamburgers for a while!

Happy Traveling,

Roy

It is Friday morning. The Lil’House is packed and we are ready for a much needed 4 day Memorial weekend excursion in the Texas Hill Country. I have on shorts, tennis shoes and a T-shirt in anticipation of enjoying the Texas heat. The Fridge is loaded with all the goodness of a BBQ weekend it can hold, and running on propane. Yep, RV refrigerators are both electric and propane, so one can keep their food cold while traveling without an electrical source.

The dear wife (DW) and I pulled out of the driveway about 9:30am and drove to our most favorite Hill Country campground — Cottonwood Creek RV. We arrive about 10:30am and greeted the park owners, Sherry and Les. We have stayed at this park so many times that Sherry and Less are more than just “the park owners” they are dear RV friends. Ok, back to the story . . .

I’m backing the RV into site 11. It is our first time in this site and we were really looking forward to it. Surrounded by cedars and oaks on 2 sides, shade all day long, spacious with a plush grass lawn. As I am backing in, with Les behind providing directions, I see something along the roof line of the trailer on driver’s side. It is so faint, but I can see it rises above the trailer and is highlighted by the sky blue background. So I’m thinking: Is that smoke? Is Les smoking a cigar? Wait a minute, Les doesn’t smoke cigars. Then I point and shout, “Is that smoke?” And Les says, “Something is on fire!”

Obviously something inside, on the “off-door side” of the trailer, is burning. (Did I mention this is the side where the fridge is located?) I ran around the front of the RV, as Les ran around to the back, to get to the door. What happens next is somewhat of a blur, like a slow motion moment in an action movie.

I reach up and grab the door handle, with my left hand because I am left handed (duh). In the back of my mind I tell myself “Don’t open that door” but I already have a hold of the handle and it is not hot. I hear Les say “be careful opening that door, it could . . .” and I open the door. KABOOM! Flames shot out from under the door, and from around the open (left) edge. Les, who was standing behind me a few feet, is blown backwards by the blast concussion (no flame thank God). The rugs fly out of the RV, and smoke billows out. As the fire demon exits the RV looking for prey, I rotate clockwise and step to the right to avoid its grasp. My upper body is protected by the door but the demon saw my lower extremities as a “pig on a rotisserie stick” as I rotate out of its path. BBQ’ed Roy Don anyone?

Interesting note here: being left handed saved most of my hide. Had I been right handed and opened the door like a right handed person would have, my upper body and face would have been in the direct path of the fire, instead of shielded behind the door as it opened. Back to the story . . .

But there is no time to worry about me, I gotta save my Lil’House. The blast concussion seemed to snuff out fire but the RV is full of smoke. So I jump onto the steps and turn on the kitchen ceiling exhaust fan to draw out the smoke. The smoke begins to clear. Darn, the demon returns — fridge is on fire! I jump down and grab a spare fire extinguisher from the basement compartment. (Sure glad I added this little extra.) Les grabs the factory installed extinguisher mounted just inside the door and begins fighting the demon from the inside. I run around to the outside where I first saw smoke. Flames are shooting out of the top fridge vent and burning up the outside wall of the RV. My poor Lil’House, on fire with parts melting and dripping onto the ground. I leap onto a nearby picnic table, giving me an adequate height advantage to battle the demon on his level. I let him have it – full frontal assault with my little red extinguisher. “Take that you devil, how dare you burn Lil’House!” As soon as I was sure the demon had been slain, I gave him another shot from the extinguisher for safe measure. That felt good. It was like kicking the SOB after he was down! But what if he flares back up again? He has already done it once. I better get the truck unhitched, which I did in recorded time! I did it so fast and efficient that I hardly remember the unhitching. My truck is safe, and the demon does not return. Man 1, fire 0! We win, this time, but not without some collateral damage!

Now that the demon has been defeated and time has begun to move at a norm pace, feeling returns. My left leg is burned all the way around, knee to ankle. “Must have been the pivot leg when the demon first attacked,” I though. My right leg has a few burns on the inside ankle, and my left elbow took a hit as well. Battle worn and fatigued, with adrenaline rush subsiding, I’m thinking I should get the BBQ pit out and start the weekend. Looking at my leg; “Nothing a little water won’t clean up,” I say to myself. But everyone else in the camp, specifically DW, is telling me I must go to the hospital. So, DW drives me to Seaton SW Hospital emergency room. She hates driving that 1 ton dually, but will when she has too. It was only a 30 minute drive; which by the time we got there I was in some kind of pain. I stepped out of the truck and the sun kissed my charred leg. OMG! I thought I might cry. A quick check-in, an IV and three syringes of some really good stuff and I am doing quite well. My co-pay was $100. That pain freeing buzz was worth every penny, at the time.

So, now it is Sat morning. Lil’House is still sitting at Cottonwood Creek RV Park, in good hands with Sherri and Les and insured by Allstate. I am at home reclining on my bed, my left leg smeared with an antibiotic cream, wrapped and elevated — from the knee to the ankle: 1st degree burns, full circle. At least 6 places with 2nd degree burns the size of a half dollar or bigger. Not much pain, as long as nothing touches my leg. Bath time pretty much is no fun. Why does water make a burn hurt anyway? The burn surgeon who examined me in ER doesn’t think there will be a need for grafting, but wants me to come see him on Wednesday to re-evaluate.

Don’t really know what caused the fire, but it appears that the fridge malfunctioned. My biggest concern right now – we have plans for an 18 day trip to Tenn., Kentucky and S. Carolina in June/July. I have been planning this trip for over a year. Can I get my RV fixed/replaced by then? Probably not. What a bummer.

Everyone enjoy your weekend. Don’t forget to thank those in the military that have sacrificed so much for our freedom. And remember — if you see smoke, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR!

We pulled Lil’House out of the Lil’House House (our backyard storage) and headed down the road at about 10:20 AM.  Once we hit the 45 toll road it was smooth sailing, so I thought.  About 10 miles from home Sherri said, “What is beeping?” I looked at my tire monitor console and discovered the sensor on Lil’House’s right rear tire was flashing 80, 79, 78, 76 . . .  Oh no!  Rapid deflation, code red, code red!              

I bought that tire pressure monitor last year, and was hesitant to spend the $300, but right at this moment I realized it was the best $300 I have ever spent.  Knowing the rate in which the tire was deflating allowed me to first know there was a problem, and second, plan my escape from the highway.               

I took the next exit watching the monitor 62, 63, 61 and pulled off of the frontage road and into a big parking lot.  I turned the Lil’House so the leaking tire was on the shady side (no need changing a tire in the sun if you don’t have too).  I got the Lil’House stopped 55, 54, 53 and put the jack under the axel  45, 44, 43 safe!  Whoo, that was close!              

I changed the tire and we were back on the road in no time.  But not before I took a look at the failing tire – humm, separation on the outside edge where the tread meets the sidewall.  Dang ole cheep Chinese tires they put on new RVs!  Looks like Lil’House will be getting a new set of American made shoes after spring break.              

We arrived in camp safely.  I rigged up, staked out our flag and set up the mini Kamp Kitchen.  This kitchen is set up under the 5th wheel overhang, after the overhang is skirted.  It makes for a great little “sit-down cook” kitchen: 

Sherri and I went for a walk.  The rain gods have been good to the Hill Country this year, and Cottonwood Creek actually has running water:         

This creek has been dry the last couple of years.

Dinner tonight was nothing special.  Just your typical camp meal of Chicken Cordon Bleu with garden salad and red wine.  

03/14/10 (Sunday):  Breakfast taco’s in the morning followed by a one mile walk.  It was a breezy but beautiful day – clear skies and 83 degrees.  I decided to make it a lazy Sunday afternoon and do nothing.

Its 3:00 PM — how does chocolate cake and ice cream sound?  Don’t you just love RV’ing!  

I think last evening’s Chicken Cordon Bleu was a bit extreme for a “camp meal” so I decided to tone it down a bit.  Today we had green chili chicken enchiladas, Spanish rice and refried beans with flour tortillas.  Man, I could really get use to this roughing it stuff!

We took a walk after dinner and met some of the campers.  There is a really nice couple from Nebraska, Dale and Betty Vaughn.  They are retired farmers and remind me of folks I know from my little home town farming community in the Texas Panhandle.  Good “back home” people.  

03/15/10 (Monday):  Just a typical day in camp.  Slept late, had a wonderful mid-morning walk with the dear wife, a country breakfast, an afternoon enjoying the Texas Hill Country, Dinner [Chicken a la Caraway (that is cream cheese and chopped green onions tucked into chicken breasts, wrapped in bacon strips and grilled over charcoal), queso baked potato and a garden salad], an evening walk with the dear wife and bed time. Nothing special today, just quality time with Sherri.  

03/16/10 (Tuesday):  It was a cold and rainy day today, looks like the weather forecast was dead on!  Never got out of the low 50s with light rain all day.  We stayed indoors and just enjoyed being inside Lil’House.  Sherri spent the day with her past-time passion, crocheting.  This is what she spends most of her time doing when we RV.  She makes purses, scarves, cowls, hats, booties, afghans — you name it.  She sure is good at it.  Here a sample of her work: 

No she didn’t make all of these items on this trip, but she did create a couple of purses, a cowl, a couple a pair of booties, and who knows what else.  

Friends have told Sherri that she should sell her creations, so she decided “why not?”  Since it is too cold to be outside this day, and the camp has WIFI — I spent the day tweaking a web site I created for marketing her wearable creations: http://rectornet.com/lilhouse.  This web site is not ready for business yet, but it is getting there.  I definitely am going to have to change those hat mannequins to something a little more realistic looking, so while sitting here I found a more life-like mannequin online and ordered one! 

03/17/10 (Wednesday): It is a beautiful day!  Bobby and Alita Huckabay (The Neighbors) arrived at camp about 2 PM and rigged up their Cameo.  I broke out the bag toss game and we spent the late afternoon and evening playing bag toss and grilling T-bone steaks.  

03/18/10 (Thursday): This morning, The Huckabays and park owners (Sharon and Les) joined us for breakfast.   I brought my buffet server on this trip, so Bobby and I cooked up a big breakfast taco buffet:  

After breakfast we sat around outside for a little chit-chat.  Dale came over.  We all just talked and enjoyed the Hill Country outdoors.  Good weather with good people.  

In the evening we grilled steaks with The Neighbors.  Bobby and I played a few more matches of  bag toss.  I won a few sets but Bobby always seemed to come out with the match wins.  I’m going to have to practice more.

03/19/10 (Friday): This morning, once again, Bobby and I whipped up a breakfast taco buffet.  Dale and Betty joined us.  It was so much fun talking with the Vaughns.  Betty brought over some honey dew melon.  It was so ripe and sweet, umm umm!  

A cold front is supposed to come through tonight and bring us cold rain and wind.  So, I decided to rig down the Kamp Kitchen and pack things away a day early, while the weather was decent.  

For the evening, the park owners sponsored a BBQ.  Les smoked a brisket.  A few days ago, Sharon gave me a call and asked if I would cook a turkey for this outing.  She had the turkey, so I brought my Big Easy oiless fryer.  I started cooking the turkey at 2 PM, and by 4:15 PM most all the campers were gathered together at the park covered picnic area.  We met, dined, and enjoyed talking with all the camp folks.  I can’t remember all their names, but there were people from all over, good people.  

Sharon had a cake in celebration of Rick and Nancy Farquhar’s 50th anniversary.  Rick and Nancy RV in a big tandem axle coach. Rick had a lot of great travel stories to tell.  

This little get-to-gather provided an opportunity to talk with veteran RV’ers.  The most notable thing I learned from these conversations is that all RV’ers carry guns or have dogs, and most have both.  I also learned that it is the wives that are the straight shooters.  RV burglars beware!  

Here are a few pictures from our camp BBQ: 

We had a great time at the camp get-to-gather, and exchanged a few email addresses.  Who knows, maybe we will cross paths with some of these folks again someday.  

03/20/10 (Saturday):  Looks like the weather forecasters were correct.  The northerner came through about 5 AM with rain and thunder.  Temperature at 8 AM was 40, and by 10 AM it had dropped to 36 and very windy.  Sure glad I rigged down the Kamp Kitchen yesterday.  Since this day is obviously an inside day, we’ll just hang out and enjoy our Lil’House on this last day of spring break.  Sherri worked on her crochet, I worked on this post you are reading now – and we just took it easy.  Tomorrow we return to reality, and back to work.   

Until next time, happy traveling.

12/19/09 (Saturday): Pop-tarts, coffee and on the road by 8:30am. We stopped for lunch in Lubbock and went to Wal-Mart.  Arrived “back home,” pulling into Mike and Johnna’s front yard about 2:00pm.  The Pahandle has change over the years.  Man, all the dairies that have been built have sure “stunk” the place up.  With cattle feeding lots and dairies in every direction, there is no way to not be downwind from one.  I think the dairies stink more than the feed lots.

The kids (soon to be daughter-in-law Angie, Tyler, Tara and James) drove down today and joined us for a Panhandle Christmas. This is the first year in a long time that all of Sherri’s family (her parents, their children and spouses, grand children and one great grandson) were in the same place at the same time.  Of course a picture had to be taken:

We visited with family through Monday, returning home on Tuesday. Tuesday night the kids came over to the house for Christmas.  Mike, Johnna, Shane, Tiff and Austin arrived Wednesday and stayed through Sunday.  It was really nice having them here. We did a lot of eating.

12/27/09 (Sunday): With holiday guest gone, Sherri and I loaded up the RV and headed out to Leisure RV Resort in Fentress Texas (located 70 miles from home on the bank of the San Marcos River) to finish out the year with fireside socializing and college championship bowl football.

Rigging up on the concert pad was quick and easy:

Looking around I could tell they had an exceptional pecan crop this year – pecans are everywhere and the squirrels sure seem content.  We like to camp here during the last week of the year because there are cabins the kids can rent.

And they can join us for New Year’s Eve around the campfire.  We also enjoy Leisure RV Park because this time of year all campsite and cabin rentals are half price!

After supper, Sherri and I sat snug-as-a-bug in Lil’House with Dallas Cowboy football playing on the 32 inch.  As an occasional pecan fell from the trees and landed on the roof with a thump, the tension in my shoulders subsides — life is peaceful here.

12/28/09 (Monday): After a brisk morning walk with Sherri, I got the Kamp Kitchen setup.

Bobby and Alita pulled in around 1:00pm and “rigged-up” their Cameo.  I used my rubber mats to build a bridge across the soggy divide in order to connect the two camp sites:

We grilled steak, shrimp and chicken for supper. I was having a bit of a sinus issue so we cut the evening short.  After a nice warm shower, it was hot green tea time with Monday Night Football.  The Minnesota Vikings played the Chicago bears.  The Vikings’ Brett Favre came back from a 17 point deficit to put the game in overtime. The bears ended up winning but it was a good game.

12/29/09 (Tuesday): Bobby and I cooked breakfast tacos.  It was a cold raining day outside but we were all nice and warm in our RVs.  We love this park in the winter.  Hardly anyone is here this time of year.  The concrete sites make for a mess-free campsite when it rains, and the forest of huge old “winterized” Texas Pecan trees creates a peaceful environment.

College bowl football started at 3:30pm with the EgleBank Bowl, Temple vs. UCLA; followed by the Champs Sports Bowl, Miami vs. Wisconsin. Wow, seven hours of college football RV style!  Who cares who is playing, it is championship football and these college guys want to be pro football millionaires. It is their last chance to make a showing to the recruiters so they always play hard!

12/30/09 (Wednesday): The cold rain stopped. It was still cloudy and in the mid 40s, so the atmosphere continued to be wonderful winter peacefulness in a Texas Pecan forest.  We had breakfast tacos again.  Sherri drove the dually truck into Austin this morning.  She meet Angie at a bridal shop to do the wedding dress thing. As I watched her drive off I was thinking, “Um, sure is something sexy about a woman behind the wheel of a one ton dually!”

This evening we grilled hamburgers for supper.  The football menu consisted of the Humanitarian Bowl, Bowling Green vs. Idaho at 3:30pm, and then a game I had been waiting for – the Holiday Bowl, Arizona vs. Nebraska at 7:00PM. I could hardly wait to watch Nebraska’s defensive lineman, Ndamukong Suh, reek havoc on the Arizona offense.

12/31/09 (Thursday): It is New Year’s Eve morning.  Breakfast tacos again.  The weather was beautiful!  It started out cool and foggy, which was great outdoor coffee weather in this Pecan tree forest, then broke to sunshine and calm.

But the forecasters were predicting a cold front for this afternoon which was supposed to bring 15 MPH winds out of the north and temperatures in the upper 30s by midnight.  So, this morning I rearrange the camp kitchen in case we needed to move the New Year’s Eve party into a sheltered environment.

Tara, James, their two dogs and Shane arrived in the late afternoon.

“Bobby and Dude”

I had the fajita buffet going by 5:00pm.

 Shortly after dark the cold front slowly crept in, covering the full moon with a spooky effect.

Then it hit with a vengeance, worse than predicted.  Sustained winds had to be at least 30MPH with gust to 50MPH!  We were hanging onto the kamp kitchen canopy trying to keep it from blowing away.  As someone held onto the corner legs, others begin moving tables and things outside.  Once we got the interior cleared, we lowered the corner legs to their lowest position and re-anchored the canopy – effectively creating an igloo.

But it was now short enough to withstand old man winter’s wrath and tall enough for us to sit inside to get out of the wind.  So we did!

With satellite TV, heat provided by a Kamp Kitchen cast iron Dutch oven on a propane burner and electric heater brought over from the Neighbor’s camp, and fresh baked cookies

we brought the New Year in.  It was sure a one of a kind experience.

01/01/10 (Friday): I got up at 8am and prepared a breakfast taco buffet in the now Kamp Kitchen Igloo.  Everyone had plenty to eat, and everyone was gone by noon, except Sherri and me.  I spent the day cleaning and packing away the Kamp Kitchen, while watching football of course.  I got it all put up by 3:00pm, just in time to go inside and enjoy the Cotton Bowl in the comfort of the Lil’House.

01/02/10 (Saturday): We rigged down and pulled out of camp around 11AM, on our way back to reality.  Until next time Happy New Year, and happing RV’ing to all.

Roy Don

Following is a gallery of all the pictures above.  It provides captions.  You can also see a larger veiw and add comments to any picture by cliding on it.

Well, we have been planning for this day since July of last year, and finally it is here – - Vacation 2009!

We pulled out of the driveway at 1:30PM, gazing at the fish bone skeleton of our new RV shelter:

 

It has been hot and dry here in Central Texas!  Temperatures have been in the 100s for almost 2 weeks.  We did manage to get a ¾ in. rain two days ago, but forecasts are all 100s as far as the eye can see.  Time to get out of here!

Day 1 – Thursday July 2:

 We started with a short three hour drive to Junction Texas.  It rained just enough to mess up the Lil’House and truck with road grime.   We pulled into the KOA at 4:20pm. This KOA sits on the Llano River.  It is a really nice campground.

 Camp was quick to set-up because there will be no un-hitching until we get to Arizona.  This is bounce stop 1 of 3  in route to the Grand Canyon.  We had queso and chips for supper.  After a three lap walk around the park, Sherri and I kicked back in the Lil’House for the 1^st night of R&R away from home.  Late in the evening a little rain shower popped up, so I took advantage of it and wiped the road grime off of the truck.  The Lil’House will just have to stay dirty for the duration of the trip.

Day2 – Friday July 3:

We were up at 7:00am.  A 30 min walk got our blood circulating. A quick breakfast (pop-tarts and banana for me, breakfast bar for Sherri) and we were on the road headed for Carlsbad NM.  After a roadside sandwich stop at 11:00am (I am sure glad the Lil’House has a generator) we rolled into the Carlsbad KOA at 2:30 Mountain Time.  Weather is nice, upper 70s and overcast with a dry north breeze.  No sightseeing planned here, this is another bounce.  I grilled hamburgers on the Webber Jr.  Then we enjoyed another evening walk, followed by evening R&R.   This RV park is the best KOA I have seen in a long time.  It is in the middle of nowhere.  Camp Folks are super friendly and the camp is well kept.  There are semi-tame cotton tail rabbits everywhere – adult and babies.  We saw road runner birds and big tarantulas too! Tomorrow we are heading for Grants NM – the 3^rd and final bounce on the road to the Grand Canyon.  

Day3 – Saturday July 4:

We made it to Grants NM by 4:00pm.  It is a small park dug out in an ancient lava river bed.  After setting up camp (still an easy no-unhitching camp setup).  I pulled out the Webber Jr. and gilled hotdogs, so Sherri and I had 4^th of July chili dogs for supper.

We noticed an incredible amount of lava piles all around the park.

Come to find out, we were right in the middle of an ancient 17 mile long lava bed from the Bandera volcano.  There are 20 plus volcanoes in this area.  So, we decided to adjust our travel route and do a little exploring on our way to Williams AZ.

Day 4 – Sunday July 5:

Up early.  Did the “now vacation routine” of a 30 minute walk and then pop-tarts and breakfast bar.  Rigging down was quick and we were off!  Instead of I-20, we headed West down Hwy 53. We stopped at the Bandera Volcano and paid $10 bucks a head to walk the trail.  It was darn well worth it.

About ½ mile downstream is an ice cave in the lava bed where the temperature never gets above 31 degrees.  Apparently lava is a really good insulator.  The pond at the bottom of this cave is frozen solid. Literature states the Indians used this cave as a freezer, and in the 20s, ice was cut from the cave and sold.

After walking to the cave, we made our way up the volcano to its crater.  Many of the trees growing from the lava bed are growing in a twisted manner.  This is caused by the shallow root system due to the trees not being able to root its way through the lava.

Trees in this area are also more susceptible to lightning strikes because of the iron content they carry up from the lava.

The walk to the crater was steep in places, but the trail was pretty solid.  After about a half mile we were standing on a ledge overlooking the crater.  Pretty cool.

 The same family has owned this land for 4 generations (120 years).

After leaving the volcano, we headed on down the road and came upon the Elmorro National Monument.  Of course we had to check it out.  It is a sandstone cliff in which there is a fresh water pool.  The water is snow melt and rain runoff and is the only fresh water for a gazillion miles, so in the early days it was a required stop for all travelers.  Many of them carved their names in the sandstone.  This area was turned into a national monument.  You can walk a path to the pond, down the side of the cliff and read the inscriptions (some dating back into the 1600s), and the up a 200 foot incline switch-backing trail to the top of the cliff to see the Indian ruins.  The entire hike was 2 miles, and well worth the walk.

So, Grants NM was not planned as a place to see stuff.  It was merely a convenient overnight spot which turned into a pleasant surprise.  If you ever pass through Grants, plan for 4 or 5 hours to see the sites along Hwy 53.  Bring you hiking shoes; you won’t be disappointed.

About 1:00pm we finally got on the road to Williams, landing in the Circle Pins KOA about 7pm.  This is a really nice park located in some Piney Woods.  Lots of shade.

Day 5: Monday July 6

Up early.  Since Arizona does not participate in daylight savings time, the sun come us very early!  After a morning walk, breakfast and coffee, we drove to the Grand Canyon National Park.  Your 1^st look from the rim is jaw dropping.  Then you start walking the trail.  After walking about 3 miles of trail, you begin to realize the view hardly changes.  That is when you learn to appreciation the magnitude of the canyon; for you can never walk far enough to see anything different.  You are but a spec in its presence.  So, if you really what to “see” the Canyon, save up for the helicopter tour.  But if you don’t want to fly, then take a little time to learn the bus routes.  The bus rides are free, and you can see the view from each observation point without walking a gazillion miles.

Day 6: Tuesday Jul 7

Today was just for R&R.  After the 30 minute morning walk, I cooked breakfast toco.  We just chilled in camp most of the day.  We Drove into Williams and stocked up on groceries.  Tomorrow we head out for Colorado, with in route stops at the Painted Desert and 4 corners.

Day 7: Wednesday July 8

After the morning walk and travel day breakfast (yep, pop tarts) we headed for Colorado.  The drive through the Painted Desert was pretty cool.  Lots of God given colors out there!

There was a lot of road construction on the way to Colorado, but it didn’t slow us down too much.

We stopped at the Four Corners, where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado all come together in a single point.  It was pretty cool, and the inscription is great: “Here meet under God four states in freedom.”  But I didn’t care for the atmosphere.  The monument is located on Indian land, so the tribe charges $3 per head to get in.  Nothing about the area is improved.  It is pretty much all dirt all around the monument and there are rows of “flea market” booths where the Indians sell their wares.  It is a hot, windy, dusty place.  Good thing we had our RV – we have a nice clean bathroom instead of the port-a-potties the tribe provides.

Even with the flea market environment — of course you must stop here so you take your pictures standing in 4 states at once, but if you are not a flea market kind of person, you won’t be here long.

We arrived at Priest Gulch Camp around 4:00pm.  I “rigged-up” and set-up the mini-version of my Kamp Kitchen.  By 6:00PM camp was all set-up and we were chillin’ beside the river.  By 7:30PM it was 53 degrees!  Needless to say, the cool night made for great sleeping!

Day 8: Thursday July 9

We were up at 7:00AM and it was 41 degrees!  After our morning walk, I made breakfast tacos utilizing my mini Kamp Kitchen:

For dinner I grilled T-bone steak and BBQ Chicken.  We just chilled today, enjoying the San Juan Mountain scenery.

Priest Gulch is a really nice Mountain RV park.  It is unusual because all the sites are very spacious.  Normally, in a mountain RV park, you are packed in like sardines!  We are parked right on top of the Delores River.  Here is a short movie clip of the view from the inside of Lil’House:

Following is a view of the Delores River from the Lil’House’s lliving room. (Note: If you see black squares, please wait – depending on your internet speed, it may take the movie player a couple of minutes to load.)

The river water temperature is 62.8 degrees.  The fishing is reported to be excellent, but I don’t fish.  I really can’t describe this camp in words that do it justice.  The sound of the river, the shade of the pines, the cold nights and warm days, the free firewood, the spacious sites, the reliable WIFI signal, the no cell phone signal – all of it makes for a great place to unwind, recharge and escape.  So, since I can’t describe it, I’ll let the pictures tell the story:

Day 9: Friday July 10

Up at 8:00AM.  Morning walk and breakfast tacos of course.  About 11:00AM, we jumped in the truck and drove the “San Juan Skyway.”  This is a 236 mile circular drive to Telluride, Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Delores, and back to Priest Gulch.  We saw some great mountain scenery and did a little tourist shopping in Ouray and Silverton.  We had dinner in Durango at the “Serious Texas BBQ” restaurant.  After a quick stop at Wal-Mart, we headed back to camp, arriving at 7:00pm.

Day 10: Saturday July 11

Spent the day in Camp just hanging out and enjoyed the mountain climate.

Day 11: Sunday July 12

A day of leisure.  We hung out in camp.  We worked on our rock, for the camp rock pile.  Of course we had to do a UT theme; our son would have never forgiven us otherwise.

A real nice mountain rain fell this afternoon.  Rain in the mountains smells so good!

 For dinner I center cut some prime pork chops and wrapped them in bacon.  We had them with green beans, salad and “better than granny’s cream corn.” 

 Day 12: Monday July 13

This morning we planted our rock in the rock garden, and then started our morning walk, which was abruptly interrupted by a light rain.  So, I made breakfast tacos and spent most of the rest of the day packing up camp.  This is our last day in Colorado.  Tomorrow morning we will head out for Albuquerque, a bounce stop on the way to Friona TX (back home).

With the Kamp Kitchen packed up, I grilled T-bone steak and BBQ chicken for dinner.  Grilling is the easiest way to cook because the only thing that has to be unpacked is my Webber BBQ grill.

Day 12: Tuesday July 14

Up by 7:00AM — today is a travel day, destination: Albuquerque.  After the morning walk, we did the standard travel day breakfast (that’s right – Poptart, banana and breakfast bar).

The drive to Albuquerque was nice.  We arrived about 4:00PM.  It was hot!  94 degrees, which is hot after spending a week in the San Juan Mountains.  By the time I got the Lil’House rigged up, it started raining.  I thought, “Maybe this rain is following me home.”  I sure hope so.  It was only a light rain and didn’t last long, but it was refreshing driving the temperature down into the 80s.

We ate dinner at Las Salina, a “New Mexican” restaurant.  It was very good.  If you are ever in Albuquerque, I recommend the Chili Rellenos!

After an evening walk (to walk off the dinner we stuffed ourselves with) we just chilled in the Lil’House.  Another travel day tomorrow.

Day 12: Wednesday July 15

Travel day –  same old walk and breakfast routine.  Made it to my brother-in-law’s front yard (Mike and Johnna) about  3:30PM.  We call it the M&J RV Resort. This year they have added free WIFI!

We just chilled and visited this evening.  Light rain fell over night.

Day 13: Thursday July 16

Mom and Dad are moving off of the farm into town after 70 plus years.  I met them at the farm house to pick up some photo albums and family heirlooms I wanted.  I’m working on our genealogy and the documentation, photos, and artifacts will be very helpful.  Then we went to their new home in town, and I spent the rest of the day there.

My Uncle Floyd and Aunt Eva Lou came by.  I haven’t seen them for at least 20 years, and they look great!  Floyd brought me some terrific albums and documentation regarding the genealogy on my Grandma’s side of the family.  A couple of really cool items are Grandma’s handwritten diary that she kept until she was 16 years old as well as a binder that contains the handwritten story of her life.  It is pretty amazing to read about the travels in horse & buggies, surviving Oklahoma winters in a dugout, whooping cough, Typhoid, and all the other hard times of that time.   In reading her writings, it is clear that people survived those times by sheer determination and a strong belief in God.  This is some amazing reading!

Then my oldest brother (Larry) stopped by.  It was nice talking with him.  It has been a long time since we have had a chance to do that.  I hooked him up with a Facebook account.

 Sherri traveled to Amarillo (60 miles away) with her sister Johnna.  They had a fun trip. On the way back they had a flat tire.  A good Samaritan stopped and changed their tire.  Come to find out he knew Sherri’s dad, her uncle and my brother.  That is the Texas Panhandle; it is a unique place full of unique people.

Once the tire was changed, they got on the road only to have fuel pump problems – stranded on the road a second time.  But luckily, the car finally started, and they were on their way back home again, only to have the car quit a third time!   We finally got them home and were able to laugh about it (thank God for good Samaritans.)

I was the guest speaker at the home town Lion’s club.  After the fish fry I told the hometown folks about my work as a digital forensic examiner in the big city – a long ways from the farm I come from.  I enjoyed sharing my carrier experiences with the hometown folk.  The Parmer County District Attorney was present.  We went to High School together (of course we did – this is the Texas Panhandle, everybody knows everybody, and we all grew up together!)

It rained and rained this evening.   It rained straight down and sideways!  I haven’t seen a rain like this in a long time.

Day 14: Friday July 17

Met my older brother (Rick) at his barn.  He is a farmer and a collector/trader of classic and muscle cars. I had a good time with him, as he showed me his car collection and told me about the history behind each.  It is a pretty amazing collection, for a hometown boy!  If you like cars, you will like these pictures:

He also has this really cool “classic” 5^th wheel RV.  It is a 1971 Cobra and the interior is so 1970s.  It even has sea shell counter tops:

We spent the afternoon visiting with Sherri’s family.   A northerner came though and brought a big storm with it.  Raining sideways once again.  My farther-in-law lives on a dirt road 2 miles off of the highway, so I knew my truck would get pretty dirty when we had to leave.  Now, those of you who know me well  know  that I keep this truck spotless and hate to get it dirty.  But I wasn’t minding this mud thing too much.  It will be the first time I get to play 4×4 since I bought the truck.  So when we left I dropped her down in to four wheel drive, and yaaaahooo!  Loved it!  Of course, I will have to wash it in the morning before we leave to go back to Austin.

 Day 15: Saturday July 18

I rigged down the Lil’House this morning.  We drove to town and visited with mom and dad one last time (after I went by the car wash).  We left the panhandle around noon and drove to the Abilene KOA.  On last night in the Lil’House before Vacation 2009 come to and end.

 Day 16: Sunday July 19

Last leg of Vacation 2009. I’m writing this the night before.  We will get up early and do the routine travel walk and breakfast.  I will drain and double-back flush the holding tanks, and we will leave the Abilene KOA by 11:00AM.  This will get us home by 3:30PM.  We will unload the Lil’House and start the clean-up process.

By bedtime tomorrow night, there will be nothing left to do but start planning Vacation 2010.  May be Tennessee . . . .  Only time will tell.

Thanks for following. Unit our next outing, take care and may God bless all of you who have followed us on our Lil’House Adventures.

We arrived at 6:30PM.  Sherry and Les Elms (park owners) have a surprise for us.  They just finished a new site that sits back in the woods and we are going to be the 1^st to use it.  Can you say shade all day!

Backing the Lil’House into the site was going to be a challenge for a 36 foot 5th wheel and a crew cab long  bed truck; for the road was narrow and on a steep grade.  But fear not, for the Lil’House Hauler is a 4×4 1 ton dully Chevy.  So I locked her down into low (compound gear) 4×4 and got the job done, eventually!

We set up camp amongst the Cedars and Oaks and bedded down for the evening.

On Friday I installed my 5^th wheel skirt project (see review on this web site).  It worked far better than I could ever have hoped for.  I set up a mini-version of the Kamp Kitchen under the canopy and simmered homemade chili most of the afternoon.  We are having chili dogs and chili cheese fries for supper.  James, Tara and the two grand-dogs arrived about 7:00pm.  We invited Sherry and Les to join us for the char-grilled hotdog feast.

James brought his tent and we set it up inside the skirt.  James and the dogs sleep outside in the tent; while Sherri, Tara and I dozed in the comforts of our Lil’House interior.  It’s not that we make the son-in-law sleep outside, we just don’t let the dogs inside Lil’House.  So, someone has to stay with the dogs because these two dogs think they are people. (Note: the dogs can come in our stick house, but our Lil’House is scared ground.)

Saturday morning we had breakfast tacos.  James said he and the dogs slept great.  The air mattress and fan made all the difference in the world.

At about 2:00PM we begin preparing for supper.  Today we are frying a turkey in my new oil-less fryer.  Just as we put the turkey in the fryer it started to rain.  Luckily we anticipated the rain and had taken the tent down and stowed it away in James’ truck (did I mention that the weather forecast was originally rain free).  Putting the tent up allowed us to move the turkey fryer under the 5^th wheel overhang and inside the skirting.

We cooked the side dishes under the RV canopy (cream corn, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy).  Cast Iron Dutch Oven Apple Blueberry Cobbler was cooking inside the Lil’House’s oven.  Man, it poured!  Rained and rained; but we managed to stay dry under the canopy, and the weather just added to a great RV camping adventure.

At one point it was thundering pretty good.  Sherri and Tara were sitting on the picnic table, Sherri was holding Mia, and Tara was holding Dude.  Mia was obviously scared, and was trying to climb out of Sherri’s grasp and into Tara’s lap, but the girls didn’t want to switch dogs.  Sherri looked down at Mia and Mia had big tear in her eyes.  Mia was crying and wanted in Tara’s lap now!  This broke the girl’s hearts; they started crying and laughing because they were crying about a dog crying.  What a site.  Needless to say, Mia got her wish and spent the rest of the storm in Tara’s lap, Dude sat with Sherri for the duration of the storm.

At dinner time, the rain stopped.  I rang the dinner bell so Sherry and Les would know it was ready and could come join us.  The turkey was awesome!  I never had one so moist.  It was a Thanksgiving feast, RV style, and it wasn’t even Thanksgiving!  We were all fat and happy after consuming the cobbler.  I think if we were all hogs, we would have just rolled around in the mud after this delicious meal!  There was plenty of mud.

We went to bed early by camping standards (10:00PM). Being outside in the rain all day took its toll on us all.

Sunday morning we were up by 8:00AM.  Once again it was breakfast tacos.  I think they were better today!  The kids left by 10:00AM.  It took a lot of work putting things away this trip, due to the rain. Everything had to be washed.  I got it all done by 2:00PM with Sherri’s help.  It was thundering and looked like it was going to rain again, so I was moving pretty fast.  When I got it all packed away, the clouds went away.  I guess Mother Nature just wanted to fake me out.

So now it is Sunday evening Sherri and I are in the Lil’House.  We just finished a great meal of left-overs (with cobbler of course) and are kicked back watching a movie on satellite TV.  We’ll go home in the morning and start preparing for return to the real world, wondering where the next Lil’House Adventure will take us . . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I came up with worked better then I could have ever imaged.  Using some 3×1 oak boards, two cabinet door hinges, 6 tent support pole, weather stripping (so the frame doesn’t scratch my Cameo) and a skirt kit from Camping World, I got it done.

The tent support poles allow me to push the skirt up against the bottom of the overhand, and because they can be set at any height, it works anywhere I park, on any ground condition, level or not.

I think the next step is to find some aluminum tubing to replace the wood, but for now it works wonderfully.  I have a heavy duty skirt that stays in place under any condition and not a single screw has been drilled into my Cameo!

Here is the list of supplies I used to build the skirt support framework:

1.       3 – 10 Foot 3X1 Oak Boards - Home Depot

2.       2 – Cabinet Hinges – Home Depot

3.       1 – 5^th Wheel Storage Skirt Kit 64×265 - Camping World

4.       5/8 Inch Weather Stripping – Home Depot

5.       Tent Stakes – Academy

6.       1 – 5^th Wheel  Storage Skirt Kit, 64×236 - Camping World

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/5th-wheel-storage-skirts/1824

7.       6 – Adjustable-Height Tent  Poles - Cabela’s

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0005882512285a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Products&QueryText=tent+pole&sort=all&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

8.       6 - Tent Pole Feet - Cabela’s

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0019820515853a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=tent+pole+feet&Ntk=Product_liberal&sort=all&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1