Big Bend National Park

12/10/2018-12/15/018

Monday – Moving day. Today we start our two day journey to Big Bend National Park. It is 310 miles to the park entrance then another 54 miles in the park to the campground we want to stay at. Too many miles for one day. Its been pretty cold most nights so in the mornings we have had to wear coats and gloves while hooking up. Well at least I do. We had plans to stay at Amistad Recreational Area Governors campground near Del Rio. Once there we drove through and did not find any sites we liked. They were small and not very level. So drove another hour and a half to an RV park in Sanderson. We arrived mid afternoon so we took advantage of the sunshine and sat outside for a bit. It was a very nice little RV park, however a little noisy as it was situated between the highway and the railroad tracks.

Where we are parked: Canyon RV Park – Site 6 – Full hook ups $30/day for a full hook up site including free WI-Fi.

Canyon RV Park

Tuesday – On to Big Bend today. There are long stretches of road out here with very few towns so we have been careful to keep the fuel tank as full as possible. There are a few fuel stations in the park but I am sure they are pricey. From Sanderson to the park border is 94 miles with one town in between. We stopped there for fuel then headed south on 385 to the park. It was early afternoon when we arrived at Rio Grande Village Campground. We stopped to talk to the host as we saw several sites with blank reserved tags. She directed us to the non-reservable area and the sites she thought would be suitable for us. We found a site and set up.

After a quick bite for lunch we visited a few spots in this area. We hiked the 2 mile Boquillas Canyon trail, checked out the Boquillas Canyon Overlook and visited the Hot Springs. We did not have our swim suits so may revisit the Hot Springs so we can take a soak. It is very beautiful here with many unique rock formations.

Boquillas Canyon

On the trail

Rio Grande River

Donkeys grazing across the river

Wednesday – First thing this morning was a “short” drive (35 miles) to Fossil Discovery Exhibit to attend a ranger led presentation on the dinosaur fossils found in the park. We learned that this park is unique in its fossil variety. From there we drove back to the Panther Junction Visitor Center and watched a short film about the park. By that time it was nearing noon so we headed over the the Boquilllas border crossing. There is a port of entry there. For $5 we were ferried across the Rio Grande then walked to a small Mexican village and had lunch. The restaurant owner spoke very good English and we chatted with her about her solar installation. We were not concerned for our safety for a couple of reasons. First it is 150 miles from the next nearest Mexican town so why would there be any illegal activity here? Second, this village is supported by the visitors coming from the park so they do not want any problems because that could jeopardize there lively hood. We checked out dugout wells and while on the nature trail met someone that knew someone that worked at Cray in Chippewa Falls. I told them Pam's name and they thought they had heard it from there friend. Who knows!

Just a little snack!

The ferry service

Crossing the Rio Grande

Lunch in Boquilllas

Boquilllas Bar

Visiting with the natives

Vintage transportation

Thursday – It was a cool blustery day today. We headed way to the other side of the park to see the Santa Elena Canyon. All park roads have no more than a 45 mph speed limit and the canyon is 60 miles from our campground so it took over an hour to get there. I have to say the drive was spectacular and diverse with lots of winding turns and elevation changes. Once at the canyon we took a trail into the canyon which required us to cross the Terlingua River. We got our feet a little wet crossing the river then ascended a path to access the canyon. There were some steps and rails but still a little scary in spots but worth the effort. On the way back we drove into the Chisos Basin which is also very spectacular. We stopped at the Chisos Basin Lodge for a late lunch and got a table by the window with an awesome view. There were several short hikes we could have taken but it was pretty cold and windy in the Basin with temps around 38 degrees. Back at the campground which was 3800 feet lower in elevation is was much warmer.

Approaching Santa Elena Canyon

In the Canyon

The Rio Grande River

Great Scenery

Friday and Saturday – We extended our stay so we could hike to some of the off road features in the park. Friday we did the Burro Mesa Pour-off, the Burro Springs and the Tuffs Canyon Trails. We also stopped at the Sam Nail Ranch. We noticed lots of birds in this area. I would estimate we hiked at least 5 miles on desert trails. We were going to leave on Friday but decided to stay one more day to go see Balanced Rock. This trail required a 6 mile drive on gravel road to the trail head then a 2.2 round trip hike. The first part of the trail was very level and easy but at the end we had to climb up about 80 feet on rocky boulders. Very fun!

Burro Mesa Pour-off

Hiking to Burro Spring

Tuffs Canyon

On our way to Balance Rock

Some of the terrain we negotiated

Careful!

We made it!

We have both really enjoyed this park and the weather has been great. Cool at night with frost some mornings but day time temps in the mid 50's to mid 60's. Great for hiking. We saw some wildlife including coyote and deer along with lots of birds. The highlight was seeing a Vermilion Flycatcher, a very colorful and beautiful bird.

Vermilion Flycatcher

Desert Flowers

Where we are parked: Big Bend National Park Rio Grande Village Campground – Site 64 – $14/day, $7/day with senior pass. Park entrance fee is $30 was waved with the senior pass. No hook ups, gravel parking pad with a grill and a bear box. No ATT cell service at this campground but some out in other areas of the park. Free Wi-Fi at some of the visitor centers.

Rio Grande Village Campground

San Antonio and Barbecue Judging

12/6/2018-12/9/018

Thursday – Moving day today. Left Fredericksburg early in the morning and headed south. Destination today was an Escapees SKP Park in Hondo TX. Is was about an hour and half drive but good road and nice scenery. Although this park is a good 45 miles from San Antonio where we plan to visit the Riverwalk it is fairly reasonable at $20 per day plus electric. It is also adjacent to the US 90 that we plan to take west to Big Bend.

Friday – Forecast was for rain all day. Not a good day to go to the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Good day for a drive through more of the hill country. I was a little concerned though as there was a flood watch in this area and a lot of the roads in the hills have low areas that can flood. However as we drove, most of the gullys were dry so we were in no danger. We started west on highway 90 to Sabinal then turned north on RR187. At Vanderpool we headed west n RR 337 to Leakey then picked up Highway 83 north to RR39 toward Kerrville. About ¾ of the way to Kerrville we came upon a truck blocking the road with his flashers on. It turns out someone pulling a large load on a semi got stuck on the wet road going up a hill. In his attempt to get going he fish tailed across the road and completely blocked it. We turned around and went back to Leakey. From there we turned onto RR337 west to Camp Wood then south on RR55 to Uvalde.

In my research of area events I discovered there is a BBQ Cook-off being held in Uvalde this weekend so we drove to the fairgrounds to check it out. There was a lot of campers and smoker rigs there but the competition is tomorrow. We went on the web site to check it out and found out they were looking for judges so we signed up. Tomorrow we will be spare rib judges! How cool is that!!

Saturday – Our judging time was scheduled for 2:00 but we headed over to Uvalde early to walk around and talk to the competitors. Dennis got tips on different techniques to cook ribs. Around 1:00 we went to the judges waiting area and talked to some of the other judges. At 2:00 we entered the judging room. There were many tables set up with cups of forks and knifes. No plates. Our section was going to taste 15 different ribs. We were given a judging sheet where we were to give each rib a rating from 1 to 10, 10 being the best. A box of ribs was set before us, we cut off a piece, tasted it, scored it and passed it on to the next person. Each time we got a new box we had to use a new fork. It was fun and delicious! People we talked to who had done it before said we would be stuffed at the end. Well both Dennis and I could have gone another round, we were still hungry! However they do not let you do back to back judging so we were done judging for the day.

Sunday – San Antonio day! San Antonio is one reason we came through Texas on the way to Arizona. It was about a 50 minute drive but being Sunday morning the traffic was light. First we toured the Alamo. We purchase auto guides and listened to them as we went through the site. We learned a lot about the history of the Alamo and how Texas became a state.

From there we walked over to the Mexican Marketplace on the other side of downtown. We strolled through the marketplace and were able to catch some Mexican dancers performing. From there we went back to the Riverwalk and strolled along the river. We ate a early dinner then went to the mall downtown to wait for dark. Around 6:00 we boarded a river boat ride to enjoy a tour and the lights along the Riverwalk. It was a wonderful day despite the chilly temperatures (high was around 56).

Where we are parked: Lone Star Corral SKP Co-op Park – Site 109 – Full hook ups $20/day plus electricity for Escapee members.

Lone Star Corral SKP Co-op Park – Site 109

UVALDE - BARBEQUE COOK-OFF

SAN ANTONIO

The Alamo

The Church at The Alamo

Mexican Marketplace

Dancers

Our view at dinner - loved the cozy ponchos!

Seafood Enchiladas and Grilled Stuffed Quail

Beautiful Riverwalk

Fredericksburg History

12/3/2018-12/5/2018

Monday – We had breakfast then while Dennis was outside talking to Scott I got the camper packed up and ready to go. We said our good-byes and left around 10:30. We took highway 281 all the way to Johnson City then turned on to 290 for the last stretch into Fredericksburg. I drove for the first two hours then Dennis drove the rest of the way. The road was good and we went through approx. 15 towns which was not too bad the that distance, 320 miles. It was another long day as it was close to 5:00 when we arrived at the fairgrounds in Fredericksburg where we are parking. The scenery improved the furthers south we got and entered the Texas hill country.

Tuesday – Dennis and I both had some issues that we took care of today. A few days ago the band on his Garmin watch broke and one of the wires on my hearing aid broke. Well he ordered a new band from Amazon and had it sent to an Amazon locker in Kerrville TX. I reached out to my audiologist back in Wisconsin and she found a Audiology office that carried the brand of my hearing aid that would have parts. It was at Boerne (pronounced Bernie) TX a few miles down the road from Kerrville. This morning we headed to Kerrville to pick up Dennis watch band. The locker was located at a gas station and was real easy to retrieve. Nice to know this works well if we ever need it again. Then we proceeded to Boerne to the Audiologist office. Once there they replaced the wire and we were in and out in about 10 minutes. Nice!

Once we got that out of the way we headed back toward Fredericksburg on 1376. This was a nice drive through rolling hill country. We stopped at Luchenbach to check out the bar and dance hall. As we were trying to take a selfie a couple came out of the bar in full Green Bay Packer gear. Hmmm....where do you suppose they were from. It turns out they were from Lacrosse but now live in Alamo TX. We also met a couple from England.

From there we went to the Lyndon B. Johnson National and State Historical Parks near Stonewall. LBJ was born here and spent his childhood in nearby Johnson City. His aunt and uncle owned a ranch in Stonewall that LBJ and Lady Bird purchased. This became their home and respite from the stresses of the presidency. He often hosted dignitaries at the ranch and hosted large Texas Barbecues on the front lawn. He often traveled home in a smaller jet from Washington DC that could land at the ranch. They donated the ranch to the national park service while they were still living there.

After that we spent a couple of hours walking in downtown Fredericksburg then went back to the camper for the evening. It was a little cool today, high of 57, but a very beautiful sunny day.

Wednesday – Little overcast today but some peaks of sun. Today we visited The National Museum of the Pacific War located in downtown Fredericksburg. A large and nicely done museum, laid out similar to the World II Museum in New Orleans. Our $15 admission included the Pacific War Museum as well as the Admiral Nimitz and the Pacific Combat Zone Museums. We spent most of the day there but you could spend multiple days there is you stopped to read all the exhibits. In the early afternoon we took a break from the museum and ate lunch at the Der Lindenbaum Restaurant. The food was good but it was kind of expensive. Once we were finished with the museum we took another stroll along the main street then went back to the camper for supper. Later in the evening we went back into town to a bar, Honda's on Main, to listen to a live band. It was a great way to spend an evening.

Where we are parked: Gillespie County Fairgrounds – There are 20 gravel back in spots, 5 with full hookup and the remainder water and 50 amp electric. There is a dump station as well. We set up on site 20.

Luckenbach Texas

Didn't see Waylon or Willie but met this guy...Jimmy Lee Jones

LBJ Home Decorated for Christmas

View from the front porch

School House

26-foot German Christmas Pyramid at Marktplatz 

Fredericksburg Library

National Museum of the Pacific War

National Museum of the Pacific War

Christmas at the Winery - Wichita Falls

11/29/2018 – 12/2/2018

Thursday – Today we left Bennett Spring State Park campground around eight. Destination....Lucky Star Casino west of Oklahoma City. It was 368 miles away so it was a long day of driving, five and half hours. We stopped a couple of times for fuel and a stop over at Camping World in Tulsa. Ended up to be eight hours on the road. Too long! Good thing is we are now only two and half hours (139 miles) from Wichita Falls.

Where we are parked: Lucky Star Casino – El Reno, OK – 10 full hookup sites - Free – 4 night maximum.

Friday – Got up bright and early again today. Dennis took advantage of the full hook up site and recharged the water softener, dumped our waste tanks and added some water to the fresh water tank. Steve and Li packed up as well. We left the casino about 8:15 and headed south toward Wichita Falls. We bypassed the toll roads and took Hwy 81 down to Hwy 70 then Hwy 79 into Wichita Falls. Steve and Li followed us as far as the Hwy 79 turn off. At that point we split up as they will continue on toward their final destination Tuscon AZ. We arrived in Wichita Falls around 11:30, found a place to fill our propane tanks, got a bite to eat then headed out to Scott and Linda Poenitzsch's house at the Horseshoe Bend Cellars Vineyard.

We certainly surprised Scott as we drove in with our rig. He was busy preparing for a Christmas Open House they were hosting this weekend. Scott offered a spot to park the camper so we set up in a field near the winery parking lot. After their daughter Gabby gave us a tour of the house we pitched in and helped hang decorations in the house and string lights to light the parking area. Later in the day we got a chance to catch up with Scott.

Scott and Linda purchased the winery last November after Scott left the company he was working for. At that point he was fed up with the corporate world and started looking for other opportunities. When they found this winery for sale they decided to purchase it and give wine making a try. After being here just over a year is sounds like they are truly enjoying it. It is a beautiful property with a large 4 bedroom house on 75 acres, wine making facility and tasting room.

Toward sunset a few storms popped up to the east. We sat on the deck outside the winery with a glass of wine watching the lightening show along with some of the many guests that came for the event. It was a great evening and we were so glad we stopped.

Saturday – Saturday morning we helped with additional decorations and added more lights to the parking area. Later we went to the grocery store to pick up a few essentials. The remainder of the day we chilled and chatted with many of the folks that were visiting the winery for the open house. High temperature today was around 73 degrees.

Sunday – Another beautiful day in Texas. A little cooler today (high 57) but blue skies and lots of sun. Today we took a drive to check out the area a bit. We went into Wichita Falls to see the World Smallest Skyscraper. It was built in 1919 by J.D. McMahon. The story goes that he raised $200,000 from investors promising to construct a high rise office building. The investors were expecting a building 480 feet high. However they misread the blue prints. All the dimensions were inches instead of feet. At that time it probably did not take $200,000 to build a 40 foot brick building. The investors brought a lawsuit against McMahon but the deal was declared legally binding. Eventually McMahon left with the balance of the investors money.

Then we went to see Wichita Falls Falls. The cities original falls was washed away in the early 1800's. In 1987 a new man made falls was constructed. We also drove out to Lake Arrowhead State Park. We did not drive through the park but took a road around the lake. The lake was pretty but there was little else to see

We are leaving for Fredericksburg tomorrow and I will be sad to leave. We have had a great time visiting the Poenitzsch's and the winery. It was especially fun to be here for the Christmas Open House and meeting so many wonderful people.

Where we are parked: Horseshoe Bend Cellars Vineyard – parked in the field next to the winery parking lot.

Our spot at Horseshoe Bend Cellars Vineyard

Our spot at Horseshoe Bend Cellars Vineyard

Texas storm clouds

Texas Storm

Relaxing at the Vineyard

Christmas decorations

Worlds Smallest Skyscraper

Wichita Falls

Dennis, Linda, Cheryl, Scott, Gabby and of course Penny and Gracie

On Our Way to Warmer Weather...We Hope!

Wednesday – November 28, 2018 – Bennett Spring State Park – Lebanon MO

We are on our way to Texas. More about our plans for the winter later on. The original plan was to leave on Monday, Nov. 26. However there was a major snow storm to the south of us. It probably was not snowing on Monday but they were predicting windy conditions and there could have been blowing and drifting so we decided to leave on Tuesday. We left our house at around 7:50 Tuesday morning. We were meeting up with our friends Steve and Li Bub to travel together for a few days. They left Sheboygan about 10 minutes later. We kept in touch with them and rendezvoused with them at a rest area on I-43 near Elk Horn. We planned on driving to Springfield IL but ended up driving an additional hour to Staunton IL. We stayed at a Motel 6 for the night since the lows that night were predicted to be in the low 20's. No need to freeze to death in our campers!

We took advantage of the hotel breakfast then got on the road around 9:30. We drove straight through downtown St. Louis. Traffic was fairly light at 10:30 in the morning. Our destination for today was Bennett Spring State Park outside Lebanon MO. We arrived there around 1:00. The park has full hookups but the water is shut off for the winter. We stopped at the dump station to flush out the anti-freeze from the campers and add some fresh water to our tanks. Lows tonight are predicted to be in the upper 30's so we don't have to worry about our water freezing. After getting set up we headed back to Lebanon to get a bite to eat. On the way we saw a billboard for Dowd's Catfish House so we headed there. It is located on old Route 66 in Lebanon. Dennis had the catfish and I had barbecue brisket. Both were very good.

From here we are heading to Oklahoma City then to Wichita Falls. Someone Dennis used to work with lives there so we plan to stop for a visit. From there we are going to San Antonio. We will check out the sights in SA for a week or so then head to Big Bend National Park. The plan is to be in Benson AZ at an Escapees park for Christmas and New Years. This is the park where the group is from that we hung out with at Quartzsite last year. They are a great group of people and they have lots of fun at their Christmas and New Years Parties.

From there we will make our way to Quartzsite. We will probably stay there until close to the end of January then head south to Yuma and spend most of February there. March we have reservations at a RV park in Apache Junction. We have some friends that are staying there for the winter so we are going to go hang out with them. Once we leave there we are planing on heading up to Moab to see the sights up in that area. We will probably be home mid to end of April.

Where we are parked: Bennett Spring State Park – Lebanon MO, Campground 1 Site 108, $17/night with senior discount, water (shut off for the winter), 50 amp electric and sewer.

On our way

Snow!

The Motel 6 in Staunton

Frosty morning

Our rigs at Bennett Springs State Park

2018 Summer and Fall Adventures

Friday - November 23, 2018 – At Home

It is the end of November and we are getting ready to head south for the winter. I took a break for the summer from writing and posting my blog. Once we are on the road I will begin my regular blog posts again. First I thought I would summarize what Dennis and I have been up to the last few months.

We spent the month of May as Campground Hosts at Kohler Andrae State Park. During our stay we helped with cleaning up the park including chipping brush, cleaning campsites, removing leaves and cutting grass. It was nice being in Sheboygan near Sheila and Henry. However the park is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and it is always very cool in the spring.

We were home most of June. We built and installed a new dock and just enjoyed living on a lake. The end of June we helped Alex and Monica move to a new apartment in downtown Madison. Then Dennis hitched up the camper and headed up north to begin a month of hosting at Lake Richardson National Forest Campground. I stayed at home for a few weeks and after taking Henry to the Kohler Picnic I headed up north to join Dennis. We left Richardson Lake on July 30^th to head to Michigan. We attended the Michigan Chapter of Escapees Rally in Ludington Michigan. Our friends Ed and Jill were the rally organizers so it was good to catch up with them. We last saw them in Quartzite in January where we met.

We were home a couple of weeks in early August then headed to Lake Dalton to attend a Heartland Owners Rally. We skipped the rally last year so it was really nice to reconnect with everyone.

While we were home in August we worked on finishing the pump house project we had started last year. We installed bead board on the interior, added a door, painted, added a Reverse Osmosis System and rearranged the water heater and water softener. It turned out really nice and improved access to the washer and dryer. The RO System rocks! The water straight out of the faucet tastes really bad. We were buying water to use for drinking and making coffee and tea. Now we can use our well water. Yeah!

Another thing we added to the house this year is a heat pump. Its main purpose is as an air conditioner but it will also heat. We had a window air conditioner that was built into the wall. It was right above the TV and was very loud. The heat pump is super quiet and is really good at cooling the house. In colder weather it supplements our propane furnace.

Henry and Sheila visited us often and we had lots of fun. Henry spent many hours swimming, fishing and kayaking on the lake. He also spent some time with us at Richardson Lake Campground. I took him to swimming lessons in Sheboygan and we enjoyed lunch together.

Some of the other fun things we did while home were attend a couple of Packer games. We took the camper up to Green Bay and stayed at the Oneida Casino Campground. It was nice not to have to buck all the traffic after the game. On Sept. 27^th we took the camper to a campground at the EAA grounds in Oshkosh to attend the Aerobatic Championships. For two days we had an almost continuous air show for only the cost of the camping which I think was only $25.

I had always wanted to see a Polo match. I found out there is a Milwaukee Polo Club that holds matches on most Sunday afternoons in the summer. The Polo grounds is about 50 minutes away from our house. The matches are open to the public and for $5 a person you can drive right up to the field, set up your chairs and watch a couple of chukkers of polo. Dennis and I were able to attend a couple of Sundays. It was awesome!!

In October mom and I attended the World Clydesdale show in Madison. The world show is held every three or four years and attracts competitors from all over the country. We watched two days of classes with the highlight being the eight horse hitch class. Imagine sixteen Budweiser hitches all in one place. It was incredible!

Also in October we hosted a wedding reception for Alex and Monica at the Fill-in Station in Chippewa Falls. It was attended by friends and family and everyone had a great time. After a family style dinner of pulled turkey and bar-b-cue pork we were entertained by singer Sean Jordan. The highlight of the night was Alex taking over the mike and singing Snow White Wedding. Who knew he could sing so well!

We also experienced some angry weather this summer. The afternoon of August 28^th we met some friends for lunch in Fond du Lac. After lunch we drove to Plymouth to meet Sheila to drop something off for her. I was watching the weather pretty close as they were predicting some strong storms in the afternoon. As we were driving home I saw a tornado warning issued directly west of us. Shortly after we arrived home our phones alerted us that a tornado warning had been issued for our area. Since we do not have a basement we called our neighbor Carmie, who has a basement, to see if we could shelter there. As soon as I got the ok I headed to her house. Her son David was already there along with our neighbors Pat and Donna. Dennis came a few minutes later after Carmie told him to get his butt over to her house. Carmie, Pat, Donna and I headed to the basement. A few minutes later Dennis and David came down after they saw a tree in Carmies' yard topple over! Shortly after the power went out.

Once the storm passed we ventured upstairs and outside. Holy Cow! Trees toppled everywhere, power lines down, trees and branches on top of houses. Our road was blocked on both ends by downed trees for a few hours until neighbors got out the chainsaws and got to work. Within hours the roads out were open and clean up had begun. It was pretty busy for the next week or so as clean up continued with help coming from many sources. We were lucky and the only damage we sustained was a small shed that went down. We were able to piece it back together. For the next week or so we helped out neighbors and used our truck to pull trailers full of trees and brush to the dump site at the Dundee Sand and Gravel. They had graciously opened the gravel pit up for people to dump their storm damaged trees and brush. We were out of power for approximately two days. We ran our small generator to keep the refrigerator running in the house. We stayed in our camper and had all the comforts of home but were glad when the power came back on.

The national weather service identified at least 17 tornadoes that touched down in the area but apparently our area was just hit by strong winds. All and all we were pretty lucky.

HARD AT WORK AT KOHLER ANDRAE STATE PARK

LAKE FUN!

PACKER GAMES

HORSES!

WEDDING CELEBRATION