4/20–4/28/2013–Cleaning Up the Lot, Etc.

Since getting back to the lot in Spring Branch, we’ve been busy cleaning up the yard and I’ve been taking advantage of the burn ban being lifted to burn up the excess.  And it’s a good thing that I did that as the burn ban went back into effect on Friday.  Other than the work in the yard, I’ve been reading and completed a couple of puzzles. 

We got a vent cover for our fantastic fan and Ken installed that.

And of course there have been several happy hours and socializing with our friends here.  I never seem to take the camera to those functions…and that could be a good thing.  We’ve been running an ad on Craigslist to sell our lot, and we’ve had a few calls and a couple of people have come out to look at it, so I’ll continue to renew it and see how things go.

We did get out a little while ago to check out the night sky.  Saturn is supposed to be at it’s closest to earth and we think we spotted it….also had a 3+ minute sighting of the International Space Station passing through.

4/19/2013–Trip to New Braunfels

We had to pick up our mail at the post office today, so we decided to make a day of it hitting a few yard sales and then driving to New Braunfels for the shopping to be able to avoid a weekend store trip.

These next two photos don’t really show it well enough, but they are of a convenience/gas station in New Braunfels called Buc-ees.  When we were last in the area over a year ago it was still under construction.  We may have to take a look at the inside next time we’re over there.

Before doing our shopping, we had lunch at a sandwich shop at the mall called The Ord’s.  We’ve been there many times in the past and it’s always been good.  It did not fail us today.  After lunch we went to the nearby Verizon Wireless store to get a few questions answered.  Once that was completed we continued to Camping World where I wanted to try to find a vent cover for our ceiling A/C and heat vents…no luck on that, but Ken managed to find a few other items.

Our next stop was Walmart to pick up some needed grocery items, and before heading back to the RV, Ken stopped at Home Depot to have a key made.  When he got back out to the truck, he said the guy actually threw away 6 keys that he had done wrong, and when Ken went to try the finished product…it was also wrong!

So that was our day today and we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

 

4/17–4/18/2013–Cleaning Up the Lot

We spent most of the day Wednesday outside checking out the property for ants, weeds and debris.  We had them all, so it kept us very busy.

As I was spraying weeds near the roadside on our property I found this cactus and transplanted it to another temporary area.  I’m not sure what variety of cactus it is, but we’re thinking about getting a flower pot to put it in so we can transport it to our place in Arizona.  If anyone out there recognizes what variety of cactus this is, I would like to know.  Jerry and Sue’s lot next door also has one like this.  Otherwise, it seems like it’s mostly prickly pear around here.

We visited Pete and Jo last night for happy hour.  They’ve extended their deck and it’s looking very nice.  Jo had me helping her on a 3-D jigsaw puzzle she had picked up at a recent yard sale.  It is a difficult one and she claims not to like my 1000 piece puzzles!

We had rain and cold weather early Thursday, but once it cleared up we were out working in the yard again.  Ken stacked up a few branches by the burn barrel to let them dry out.

We had tried several settings on our antenna the last few nights trying to get the local digital channels without any luck.  I tried a scan again this afternoon, and now we seem to have all except the ABC affiliate.  It’s nice to see what’s going on in the local area news.  After three very humid sleeping nights here, it looks like we may be in for a more comfortable night and hopefully that means a more restful sleep!

I finished reading another Kindle book today:  Never Smile at Strangers…my usual kind of mystery, thriller genre and it was very good at a bargain of $.99…here’s a link to purchase it if desired (it helps support my blog):

4/15–4/16/2013–Valero Estates–Spring Branch, TX

We left Llano, TX and went a bit out of the direct route to Spring Branch so that we could fill the fuel tank at the Walmart in Marble Falls at $3.669 per gallon.  While there, we also picked up a few items that we thought might be needed for cleaning up the lot…fire ant powder and weed spray, etc.  We arrived at our property, got set up, and visited with several of the neighbors we hadn’t seen in over a year.  The temperature had to be close to 90 and it was very humid and it was not pleasant sleeping weather without having the power connected.  We were both sure we made a good decision to have that connected the next day.

Today (Tuesday) after my walk, I was out with the weed spray tackling the weeds that were taking over the lot.  After lunch, we made a trip to Bulverde so I could get my hair cut, pick up a few items at Home Depot, and then to the HEB for a couple of things.  Back at the lot, we did a little more on the lot and then went to COD’s for happy hour with a few of the neighbors.  We returned to our lot to meet someone who had contacted us on our Craigslist ad.  She’s just getting started looking at property so you never know how something like that will turn out.

Then it’s back to relaxing time with computer, tv, and book.

4/14/2013–San Angelo, TX to Llano, TX

We both expected a noisy night being parked in the Walmart lot in San Angelo, TX.  However, we were pleasantly surprised and got a very good night’s sleep.  We arrived in Llano a little after noon, and did a double take when we saw the long line at Cooper's Old Time BBQ.  We had planned on just stopping for lunch and then continuing to our property in Spring Branch.  At that point we decided to check out the Llano River Park which is run by the City of Llano.  They had back in sites on pavement with 50amp electric, water, and sewer for $15 a night.  At that price, we got set up for the night and went to Cooper’s for a late lunch and also got some extra bbq meat to bring home for a few meals.  We still had a long line when we returned, but after about 20 minutes we approached the bbq pit.  It was looking pretty good!

After lunch, we returned to the RV to finish up a few projects we had going on and then went for a drive around town a little later in the day.

This is the former Llano jail which is on the historic register and there is a fundraiser going on to renovate it.

At the east of town on Hwy 29, there is a store that has some unique yard art and bottle trees.

Then it was back to the RV for a quiet evening of tv, computer, and reading.

4/13/2013–Roswell, NM to San Angelo, TX

For a travel day and changing time zones, we probably got started a little later than normal.  After dumping the holding tanks we headed east on Hwy 380 from New Mexico to Texas.

There was the obligatory road construction.

 

This sign was at our first rest stop before getting to TX.

And we get the Welcome to Texas sign in Bronco, TX.

You can tell you’re in TX when you see oil wells.

And long stretches of farmland.

Windmills seem to be in every state now.

Our plan for today was to stay at a city park in Big Spring, TX.  Not sure what we would be getting into, we parked at the side of the highway and walked in to check things out.  It was full with tent campers, so we continued on to Sterling City where there was another possibility.  That turned out to be a rest area and there was no room for us to overnight there, so on we went.  We checked out a rest area further on and ruled that on and decided to continue to San Angelo and see what we could find.  We found it, checked in with the store to make sure they allowed for overnight camping, picked a spot and we are now enjoying our very first overnight stay at a Walmart!  So here we sit watching the NASCAR race and resting up for our trip tomorrow.

My latest book recommendation:

4/12/2013–Another Day in Roswell

After a late start this morning, we made a trip to Walmart to stock up on a few items to get us back to our lot in TX.  Our internet and Verizon service here is very bad and we’ve been fighting it trying to get some necessary things completed…I’m sure it has something to do with the local aliens! 

Late this afternoon, we went to our friends house for happy hour and dinner and to say our goodbyes.  They’re leaving in the morning to see their son in the Phoenix area and we’ll be on the road headed toward our lot in Spring Branch.  Not much to report for the day…but that could be a good thing.

 

4/11/2013–Roswell, NM

Today was a day without any photos…and that may be a good thing as things started out incredibly bad.

We received a phone call from Ken’s mail order RX company and I passed the phone to him…before he knew what was going on, they gave him a number to call back and a long extension number…before he could write it down….the call ended.  So there were multiple calls to mail order RX company and doctor offices to get things figured out.

Here at the Roswell Elks we’re in a site with 50amp power and water and there is a dump at the lodge.  When we pulled in here we dumped the holding tanks and I knew I could use the washer dryer for a couple of loads before we left.  I stuffed a very large load into the machine and got it started and all went well at first.  When I didn’t hear any of the usual noise, I went back to check on things and it just seemed to be sitting there doing nothing.  Checking again a few minutes later, there was a bit of noise, but the lock door light was flashing and that didn’t seem right.  I finally went through the routine to drain all water, reset things to be able to unlock the door and I got things ready to take to a laundromat.  We drove to the first place I found on the GPS and started to take things in only to find out their water had been shut off, so it was off to the next place.  The next spot we found worked out well, and we were out of there before 1pm with clean clothes to meet our friends for lunch.

We had a good lunch and talk with Glenn and Linda then drove to a tire repair shop they recommended.  Our driver side rear tire has been losing air and we knew it had to be fixed.  They sent us to a place called Forest Tire and that place was great…they had Ken drive the truck into an available bay and we were on the road again within about 15 minutes with $10 less in our wallet..not a bad deal!

From there we went to the Hobby Lobby so I could get a gift card to go with a birthday card I needed to get sent off in the mail and then we found an electric store to get some 30amp plugs that Ken needed for a project to replace some that were going bad.

With the shopping completed, we returned to the RV and while Ken worked on filling the water tank, I put the clean laundry into drawers and closet space.  Before long it was time to meet Glenn and Linda at the Elks for happy hour and dinner.  We had an enjoyable evening with them and their friends Don and Angel who we had seen last night and on a previous visit to Roswell.  Don and Angel are planning a trip to Fredericksburg, TX in May and we should be at our lot in that time frame, so we’re going to try to meet up while they’re there.  After dinner we said our goodbyes for the evening and returned to the RV for the evening.

4/10/2013–Las Cruces to Roswell, NM

The winds died down overnight and we were ready to hit the road this morning heading east on Hwy 70 out of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

We followed this manufactured home going down the road ahead of us and they actually travelled at a pretty good pace and we weren’t slowed down at all.

We’ve travelled past the White Sands National Monument Visitor Center several times over the last few years and decided today to stop and take time to check it out.  The visitor center seemed to be very busy with college age visitors intending to slide down the “sands” which are actually gypsum (sp?).  We could have driven the RV out the 8 miles and back, but we decided it was more important to get to Roswell and spend some time with our longtime friends

A couple of photos of the white sands.

And a photo of the “white snow” on a mountain top as we descended into Ruidoso, NM.

When we arrived at Roswell, we made a stop at the Sam’s Club to to fill with diesel which was priced at $3.679.  From there, we continued to our parking spot for the next 3 nights at the Roswell Elks.  Once we got set up, Ken called our friends and we met them at the lodge for happy hour and dinner.  We had a great time and made plans to meet up with them again tomorrow.

We’re so glad to be out of the windy weather, but it was only in the low 50’s when we got here.  The temperatures are supposed to drop close to freezing tonight and we are happy to be in a 50amp hookup site.  It should be warming up more again….we hope!

4/9/2013–A Visit to Old Mesilla

We went into the Elks last night and at that point we weren’t sure if we would be moving on in the morning or not.  Several people we talked to encouraged us to take time to visit Old Mesilla.  The high winds continued this morning and we decided to stay put for another day and decided to check out Old Mesilla and we’re very glad we did that.  It is one of the oldest towns in the area and was once the capital of New Mexico and Arizona.

As documented above, this is the oldest documented brick building in New Mexico.

Billy the Kid was here at one time.

There was even a Civil War battle fought here.

The Elks lodge members encouraged us to have lunch at La Posta in Old Mesilla.  I didn’t get any photos of our meals, but the next several photos were taken in the restaurant.  Both of our meals were excellent and we can highly recommend it!

The restaurant had bird cages in the entrance.  This one is a toucan.

There was this beautiful stained glass artwork behind one of the bars in the restaurant…this one depicting the Butterfield Stage Line which was once had a presence in the building.

The San Albino Church is one of the oldest churches in the Mesilla Valley.

There are several homes in town and this one was surrounded by a natural fence of cactus.

The winds are supposed to be dying down overnight and our plans are to continue on to visit our friends in Roswell tomorrow.

4/8/2013–A Windy Day in Las Cruces

When we got up this morning, we knew in advance that we were destined to stay in Las Cruces for another night.  The wind blew all night and continued throughout the day.  After lunch, we ventured out for a few errands to Walmart to pick up a few grocery items and Ken was looking for some electrical items at Home Depot and Lowes which we never found.

There are supposed to be 4 RV sites at the north end of the lodge in Las Cruces, but with newer RV’s and slideouts, that’s not really going to happen.  All of the electric hookups are at the far left side of the lodge and anyone camping to our right would need a long cord to connect to it.

The sun going down was pretty much covered by the dust blowing around the area.

So far, the weather predictions are not looking too favorable for us to be able to move tomorrow, but we’ll see how it goes.  Ken contacted his longtime friend from his school days in Moses Lake who currently lives in Roswell, NM.  It sounds like they’re home and we’re looking forward to a visit with them when we get there in the next few days.

4/7/2013–Willcox, AZ to Las Cruces, NM

We left Willcox, AZ this morning and continued east on I-10.  Ken told me to get the camera ready as we were going to be passed by a giant football.  That was just the moment my camera batteries died.  I quickly changed batteries and got this departing shot of the football.

Later in our drive, we saw it parked at one of the tourist traps along the highway and got a distant photo of it.

We crossed the continental divide

As we got to the Deming area, the winds were starting to pick up and we continued on to Las Cruces to the Elks lodge there.  We’re staying at least two nights to wait out heavy winds going through the area.  We got set up in time to catch the last of the NASCAR race and later watched the ACM award show.  It was a relaxing afternoon and evening for us.