April 30 - Las Cruces with Fran & Rich

Another absolutely wonderful day!  We got up and ready and headed to the clubhouse for breakfast - we had eggs to order, hash browns, sausage, toast, juice and coffee for $3.50 each...what a deal!  We chatted with 7 or 8 folks, all very nice Escapees :) 

After breakfast we picked up Fran & Rich and we took off for 'cruses'.  We had a plan - sort a - we first stopped at the Verizon store to take care of a little bill issue :(  and then Fran and I went into Hobby Lobby while David and Rich went to Hastings (oh what a mistake!).  We then were on the hunt for a Sam's club - we wanted to get a couple things - turned out to be over $100...shesh, we only had 4 things! 

Then we went to La Mesilla - the market place in old town square. 

First the guys noticed a car show - all British cars...here are a couple of them:

We shopped at a couple stores then we went to Peppers Cantina (AKA Double Eagle)...it was so incredibly, fantastially, awesomely, good ...well, I'll let the pictures tell you...no drooling on your keyboard now :)  And here are Fran & Rich...



Mexican Plate #1

 Spinach Enchiladas - to die for (according to David)

Banana Enchilada's...YUM!

Afterward we shopped some more, then headed home.  We got back here to the park about 3:30...and have just vegged ever since!  It is cool out now, probably about 65.  We did get to talk to the kids/grandkids in Okinawa - we miss them and love them so much, don't know how we will wait another 16 months to see them! 

More adventures tomorrow :) 

April 29, 2011 Dream Catcher

As planned, we left El Paso at 9:15, and were out of the city by 10:00, lots of traffic but very manageable, and David didn't swear once!  We cruised down the road, and before we knew it, we were in Deming!  Of course we stayed at the Escapee park - $12.50 per night, plus electric - what a deal :) 

As we were getting set up, our friends Fran & Rich came over to welcome us - we chatted a few minutes then agreed to meet later...we finished setting up and then made a Wally world run - where would we be without them???  I got some much needed provisions and we came back home and had lunch - we went over to the neighbors and we chatted from 2:30 -  4:00 when we went to social hour - there were about 9 people there, they have social hour EVERY DAY!!!!  We met the guy who is cooking breakfast for us tomorrow morning - eggs to order, sausage, hash browns, toast, juice, coffee for the princely sum of $3.50 per person - what a deal!

After social hour we found the Moose club here in Deming, they were very nice and invited us to imbibe in their happy hour, they had sandwiches, chips, veggies & dip and birthday cake!  We came on home and had ramen noodles for supper along with some cheese and crackers.  It really hit the spot, being light but filling.

I took Cinder for a walk up to the dog run - it was so windy here that I threw the ball up in the air and it flew over the fence and down the street!!!

We finished the day once again at Fran & Rich's - solving the problems of the world :) 

April 28, 2011 El Paso - Mission RV Park

We had such a great day today!  We got hitched up quickly this morning - we wanted to get out of the smoke from the fires as fast as possible - also, the winds seem to crop up after noon, and we wanted to be as far up the road as we could!

We took 17 from Ft Davis to Marfa, then headed down 90 towards Van Horn...we stopped for a potty break - and decided we had gotten away quickly enough that we could have some breakfast - I made us each a fried egg & cheese sandwich on multi grain rounds - and we shared a banana - pretty healthy breakfast! 

We caught 10 and the driving was so smooth that instead of stopping at Sierra Blanca where we planned, we just kept going - I got out the Passport America Book and found Mission RV Park just 20 miles from downtown El Paso...called them and they said come on in!  I read the instructions to her, she verified and I thought we were set.  We got off the correct exit, but missed a 'loop' turn...then to compound the error, David turned into a car wash that he 'thought' he could get around...unfortunately we would not make it under their carport...so, out we got, unhooked the car, I directed him back around some tricky obstacles - and off we went again, this time straight to the park!  We were pleasantly surprised - it is a terrific park, nice wide sites, pull throughs, and a wonderful swimming pool!!!  We got settled in, went into El Paso to the big blanket/knick knack place, came back and napped, had a swim, then we went out for Chinese...

What a great day!  Tomorrow we will head out - next stop, Deming, NM.

April 27, 2011 Fort Davis & Fires

We got up this morning to 66 degrees!  Woohoo, it felt great!  We checked the McDonald Observatory sight and it said they expected to open at noon.  We planned our day so that we would be there by 1:30 - the tour and fun stuff was to start at 2.

We had some great oatmeal - if you need to try something different for breakfast, make some OLD FASHIONED rolled oats or steel cut.  The last couple of minutes add dried cranberries infused with blueberry juice.  I have used dried blueberries in the past, but the cost of them has gotten outrageous!  Now I buy the cranberry/blueberries and you really can't tell the difference!  I make a pot of this and refrigerate - we then nuke it for as long as it lasts :)  On top of it I sprinkle some walnuts, and a little syrup or brown suger - healthy!  We also had a toasted english muffin with peanut butter...YUM!

After breakfast we headed out first to Fort Davis, the National Park Service one...with David's access card, we got in free - and since he was having such a hard time breathing, they let us borrow their golfcart - talk about touring in style!  It was very interesting, but unfortunately we forgot our camera's (I know, silly huh!).  We came back to the campground and got the camera's, some bottled water and headed out for the observatory. 

We noticed on the way up a pretty curvy road that we could smell smoke - and lo and behold, about 5 miles from the observatory, they had the road closed.  A very nice Highway Patrolman told us that it was too dangerous, and we should go back to town - he then said that the road to Balmorahea (sp) would probably be closed as well.

We came back to town, walked around on 'mainstreet', looked in some shops, had lunh at the Fort Davis drugstore - we each had a patty melt and split an order of fries - drank water and our bill was 18.50...whew.  I went into a shop and they had T shirt dresses on sale for $98...yep, that's right, ninety-eight DOLLARS!  They wanted 11.99 per pound for fudge!  The gas here is $4.14 a gallon (the cheapest), and we went to the grocery store - wow, sticker shock!  I got a few groceries (fit in two of those little plastic bags), and no meat and it was 38.00...the people in this town must have a lot of money to live here - we sure couldn't afford it!

We came home and fired up the ac - the smoky air was giving David major trouble breathing.  I made wonderful steak salads for supper, using the leftover steak from the cook-out at LSC...boy, they were still yummy!

Here are a couple of pics of the campground we are in - and the view of some really gorgeous mountains!

April 26, 2011 Murphy's law :)

Got up this morning, called the garage that RV Mobile Lube recommended, Slim's Auto Sales & Wrecker Service in Sanderson TX.  He said he would be there in a half hour - and actually showed up in 25 minutes!  Amazing!  After just a few minutes, they determined that the 'plug' was bad...so they replaced that put in 5 qts oil, started the MH - still no oil pressure.  Someone mentioned bad seals, at which point I saw big $ signs...but, the mechanic got underneath and said he though it was the 'sending unit' that was not sending to the guage...the determined that we needed to go to their garage and see if we could find a new sending unit.

Yep, they located one - in Fort Stockton.  So, into the car we went, headed 66 miles to Ft Stockton, picked up the part, $25.62, grabbed some lunch at Pepito's - (excellent) and headed back to Sanderson.  The wonderful mechanic spent over 2 hours taking the old one out and the new one in, during which time Cinder and I sat in the shade of the garage and baked :)  The temps in Hondo today was 102 - here it was 93, but hot is hot!!! 

We had determined that if the MH was ready by 3:30, we were going to head to Fort Davis to try to get back onto our schedule - we had tentative reservations at Fort Davis Motor Inn RV Park - however, when we got here, we discovered that there was a fire that just started either right behind or right in the rv park - the road was closed and we couldn't get in...so, someone was watching out for us by delaying us - we would have been there if we had got here earlier...scary!

So - we are in a very 'not so nice' campground, but are safe. We one we had reservations for was $15 per night, and had a pool...this one is $28 for the night and nothing but dust and dirt!  We are hoping to drive up to the McDonald observatory tomorrow - barring any more incidents - tune in tomorrow for more of Koehler's Karavans and hopefully some pictures!

April 25, 2011 First Day of trip

After saying goodbye to many of our friends at LSC, we headed out at o'dark thirty (well OK, 9 am) and headed west on Highway 90.  We stopped at the very first rest area to check everything out, and all looked OK. 

We made very good time, had a little traffic in Del Rio, but kept on trucking - we shared a pop tart for breakfast while on the road...when I was reading the TX guide I realized that we were going to go right through Langtry - as in Lillie Langtry and Judge Roy Bean town...where we looked at the saloon and opera house and watched a 15 minute documentary about how it all came about.  It was very interesting.  We took some pics, I'll upload them later.

The ladies in the visitor center said that if we followed the loop road back to 90, there was a little cafe there that had wonderful BBQ sandwiches - so of course we stopped there - went in and it literally had two tables...we ordered 2 sandwiches to go, and while waiting for them I came back to the MH and got out the chips, dip, pickles and water...if you are ever in the area, I highly recommend the sandwiches - they were terrific!

We got back on the road and talked about David being tired, and if we should push on into Alpine (we'd get there about 4:30) or stop in Sanderson.  Well, our minds were made up for us when David looked down and said SH** no oil pressure - we watched the temp guage and it stayed steady, so we were on pins and needles until we got here to Sanderson...where we are in a little RV park that charges $20 per night and no real amenities - showers and electric, but with the heat, we really had to have electric. 

So we are sitting here getting cool - we didn't even unhook the car - and we're going to have leftover spaghetti & meatballs (me) and Taco soup - David!  He's working on a beer right now, and as soon as i get hydrated with water, I'm going to have a real drink (Black Velvet & coke)...

Stay tuned - more coming tomorrow!

April 24, 2011

Here we are at Easter time again - and still at Lone Star Corral.  Yesterday we had a lovely picnic, and golf cart races - a good time was had by all!

Mom passed away on March 8th, very peacefully, and I stayed with Dad until April 11th when I flew back here to Texas. 

Since then, we (I) have been in high gear - every cupboard, closet, drawer and all bays got turned out, cleaned out, stuff off loaded, organized and ready for travel!

Tomorrow morning we will head out on what we hope will be a wonderful cross country trip - first stop is Alpine TX where we will visit McDonald Observatory...

I will be blogging frequently as we travel - come back often as we enjoy the ride!