R & E TRAVELS

11 March 2011

2011-03-11T19:19:00.004-06:00

In July of 2009 Emily and I decided to have someone do a total restoration on our 64 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport Convertible. I had planned to do it myself but came to the point where I had to admit that I was no longer up to doing it all myself. We found a guy that we were convinced would do the kind of quality work that we desired. He is only about 15 minutes from where we live. He moved here several years ago from California where he had been in the auto body repair business for many years.

For those who don't remember (or in some cases never knew), Emily and I bought the car new about three months after we were married. We wore it out once and did a cosmetic restoration before wearing it out a second time. We parked it in the shed where it stayed from about 1992 until we pulled it out in 2009. The good times and approximately 230,000 miles are still fresh in our minds. We want to enjoy the car again like we did when it was new. While we realize that you can't go back, we intend to do the next best thing.

The restoration process has been going on now for about 21 months and we hope for it to be completed by summer. I will try to provide details and photos of the process during the next several posts.

Here are a few photos of the car in it's latest stage. These were taken on March 11, 2011:

February 27, 2011

2011-02-27T17:26:00.004-06:00

Wow, it's been a long time since the last post. I will have to get organized and try to condense the period between May 2009 and now, just to have a somewhat complete chronology. After I have a chance to review the last postings so that I won't repeat, I will convey as much as I can remember.

Monday May 4, 2009

2009-05-04T21:59:00.003-05:00

In the last two weeks we have received about 3 inches of rain. It is still pretty wet but the garden should do good as soon as the sun comes out and it drys a little. We picked English peas on Saturday and got two quart bags. We ate one bag on Sunday and they were really good. Here are a few pictures of the garden:

April 18, 2009

2009-04-18T22:40:00.003-05:00

It's been about a year since the last post here so I thought that I would post a few words just to make sure that I still can. I will get organized soon and post a few pictures to update the last year.

We have been at Grandview for about 16 months now without traveling any. We are enjoying our time here catching up on a lot of things.

We have a pretty good garden going. Got some rain the last couple of days that has helped a lot. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow. We have English Peas, onions, Sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, collard greens, Blue Lake Beans, Pinto Beans, Purple-hull peas, Crowder peas, Cream peas, Okra, Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers, beets carrots, potatoes and lettuce. Everything looks pretty good. We had to put a hot wire around it to keep the rabbits out.

May 22, 2008

2008-05-22T09:42:00.002-05:00

Carly and Dominick and The Zebra Strings went to Branson last week and played at The Pressleys, The Haygoods and The Dick Clark shows. Emily and I went with Drew, Rebecca and Caitlyn and enjoyed watching the kids and the shows. We left on Wednesday morning and came back on Sunday. Saturday night we went to The Shepherd Of The Hills outdoor drama. We had seats down front and really enjoyed the play.

April 25, 2008

2008-04-25T10:35:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday night we had a bad storm come through our area. There was high wind and blinding rain with a small amount of hail. About 7:30 pm the electricity went out. Rebecca and Drew had gone to Burleson a little earlier and had a difficult time getting home because of the hard rain. Emily called Rachel to see how they were doing and Rachel said that they still had electricity. Since our power comes off the same line as Rachels down in the woods, I figured that our problem must be local. Sure enough, when I got a flashlight and went outside to survey the situation I found that the ceder tree west of our trailer had blown down and fallen across the power line to our houses. The line had been pulled loose from the transformer. Several other trees were also down and one had fallen across the line that runs to our trailer, the water well and the shop.

Rebecca and the girls made it okay getting ready for school and Emily and I had to go to Fort Worth for my follow up at my doctor's. Drew got out and cut the tree off of the power line. We used our neighbor's portable welder to provide power to three refrigerators and two freezers all day Thursday so we didn't lose any food. The electric people came late yesterday and replaced the transformer and re-attached the lines. Drew and I still had to re-connect the lines to the well and our trailer. Since all of the poles were broken down, we just left the line temporarily laying on the ground. We will have to put in new poles and hook up the shop later. We are thinking about going ahead and burying the wires.

My checkup was good. The doctor said that I was progressing normally but would have to continue doing nothing for nine more days and then I would be able to do whatever I wanted (just in case my doctor is reading this, I should point out that I just supervised Drew's work on the wires).

Here are a few more pictures of some of the damage.

April 14, 2008

2008-04-14T10:39:00.003-05:00

As Sheryl reminded me this morning, it's been a month since I last posted. It's been a busy month. Emily is having a lot of dental work done and I had my prostrate surgery last Thursday. I spent three days at Huguley Hospital and came home on Saturday. The surgery went fine and they found an unexpected kidney stone in the bladder and removed that. I can't do anything for a couple of weeks which will be hard. I feel good however.

We got the tractor about 98% finished before I went to the hospital. We don't have any real good pictures yet but will post some soon. I will post a couple today. It is a little dirty since we had to mow the front pasture.

March 13, 2008

2008-03-13T22:10:00.006-05:00

We decided on Tuesday to do the brakes. When we got the left axle off, the carrier bearings were badly pitted. I ordered the necessary parts and got them today. Got the brakes and new bearings finished on the left rear axle today. Drew and I drove to south of Waco to get a seat for the tractor. It was not perfect, but has some pieces that are better than our old one.

Carly came down to check on us with her cowboy outfit on.

March 8, 2008

2008-03-08T20:46:00.002-06:00

Had a good day today to work on tractor. Recruited Emily, Rebecca, Drew and the dog to help.

March 7, 2008

2008-03-07T19:10:00.003-06:00

Woke up to snow-covered ground this morning. North Dakota has nothing on us.

March 1, 2008

2008-03-01T22:14:00.004-06:00

I recruited some more help today. Carly is a good parts washer and painter.

February 29, 2007

2008-02-29T20:37:00.002-06:00

It was a really nice day today. Started putting the tractor back together (between naps).

February 28, 2007

2008-02-28T18:41:00.004-06:00

Finished painting the chassis today.

February 27, 2007

2008-02-27T20:42:00.005-06:00

Got only a little done today. Here's why:

Larry, you need one of these.

It looked this way about 20 years ago when I last painted it.

February 26, 2007

2008-02-26T19:36:00.003-06:00

Tractor update: The chassis has been completely cleaned and sprayed with primer.

February 24, 2007

2008-02-24T21:20:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a month since I last posted. The tree that blew down is almost history having been burned in the shop stove. Our weather has been pretty nice with warm temperatures during most days. I spend most days in the shop working on the Massey Ferguson tractor. We started out just doing a few repairs and then decided to clean it up and paint it. It's been slow work since Drew has been working a lot of overtime at the fire station. I work a little and then sit in my recliner in the shop (thanks, Dawn) and rest and take short naps. I enjoy my time even though I don't get a lot done. Emily spends a lot of time at the kids sports events (soccer, tennis, basketball, track, jump-rope, etc).

I will post a few pictures as the tractor progresses.

Snow on the Prairie

2008-02-04T11:04:00.001-06:00

Thought the snow would make you lonesome for the "Great North". I haven't read what National Geographic had published about North Dakota, but were there any pictures as pretty as this in the article? Probably will get 4 inches of snow today, according to the weather man, but I think we already have that and it is only 11 Am.

Sheri

January 29, 2008

2008-01-29T19:34:00.000-06:00

It was warm today, but the wind was blowing hard and gusting up to 50 MPH. The big cedar tree next Rebecca's house blew down and fell just short of hitting our truck. Fortunately Drew and Rebecca were at work or else it would have crushed BOTH of their cars. Drew and I will have to cut it up tomorrow. Carly's biggest concern when she saw it was where her mother was going to park.

Go Bearcats!

2008-01-28T11:45:00.000-06:00

January 18, 2008

2008-01-18T11:21:00.000-06:00

Wow how time flies. We have been home for a month and a half. I've gotten lazy about posting on the Blog so I will try to catch up.

Today it is snowing a little even though it is only about 38 degrees (that's ABOVE zero for our ND friends). It does look like winter. Emily has been busy with the Grandkids and their ball games. Dominick and Carly play basketball on Saturdays while Miranda plays on Thursday night. Rachel is the coach of Dominick's team. Caitlyn is busy with soccer; practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights and a game once a week.

Emily and I have started our round of doctor visits and tests. We have completed several and have several (at least) more to go. Maybe by next month we will know how we are doing.

December 26, 2007

2007-12-26T21:46:00.000-06:00

We had a very enjoyable Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve Emily and I went to Rebecca's house and watched the kids open their gifts. Yesterday morning we got a call from Caitlyn at 6:00 telling us that we should come over and watch them opening their Santa gifts. After that we went to Rachel's and watched Miranda and Dominick open their Santa gifts. Christmas afternoon we all had lunch at Rebecca's. We had a good time eating and playing cards. Cindy Moore joined us in the afternoon and stayed the rest of the day. We always enjoy having Cindy spend Christmas with us.

CHRISTMAS DAY 2007

2007-12-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

December 24, 2007

2007-12-24T18:03:00.000-06:00

Well, Christmas is almost here. There has been lots of shopping going on around here. Yesterday Emily took the kids shopping and then took them to Christmas In The Park at Six Flags Over Texas. They didn't get home until about midnight last night and they were all very tired. Today was mostly spent wrapping packages and getting the meal ready for tomorrow.

December 22, 2007

2007-12-22T20:46:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Emily and Rebecca shopped all day long. I stayed at home and cooked barbeque. Today we went to Drew's parents at Denton and had Christmas dinner with them. Thursday night Emily, Drew, Rebecca and Caitlyn went to the All-Sports Banquet at the school. They were all dressed up and Caitlyn had a new dress and shoes.

Merry Christmas, From the Phillips Family

2007-12-20T08:30:00.000-06:00

Trevor (15), Travis (almost 12), and Meredith (18) above, and Travis below as a wise man in the church Christmas pageant.

December 18, 2007

2007-12-18T19:41:00.000-06:00

This morning we went out to eat breakfast with Emily's brother Robert and her Aunt Mettie. Afterwards we went to Walmart for a few things and then got home at about 3:30. Tonight Rebecca and Caitlyn have gone to soccer practice and Carly is staying with us.

December 16, 2007

2007-12-16T19:45:00.000-06:00

Last night we went to see Miranda and Dominick perform in the school Musical called Ozapolluza. It was an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz with Miranda playing a Poppy and Fire. Dominick was The Mayor of Munchkinland and one of the Monkeys. They had a dinner before the show that we enjoyed. Rachel was one of the ones responsible for the show and dinner. We attended the dinner and show with Tim and Charlie and Lillie (Tim's mother and Dad). Dominick is the one with the pink top hat and Miranda is the poppy in the middle of the picture. Miranda is on the right in the picture with her friend Raven.

December 14,2007

2007-12-14T22:54:00.000-06:00

It rained most of the day today. Tonight we went to Fort Worth to attend Rebecca's graduation ceremony at the Will Rogers Auditorium. She got her Masters of Science in School Counseling. We are very proud of her.

December 13, 2007

2007-12-13T18:16:00.000-06:00

Emily and I went out to eat today since the weather was so nice. We ate at The Cheesecake Factory in Arlington. Afterward, we walked around the mall for a while. We got a call from Larry and Evelyn last night wishing us happy birthday and anniversary. Today we got cards from Larry and Evelyn, Sandra and Floye and Marshall.

I forgot to wish a happy birthday to Brenden yesterday so, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDEN. And for today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIRANDA. We love you both.

December 12, 2007

2007-12-12T21:20:00.000-06:00

It was so cold and miserable outside today that Emily and I just remained inside and stayed warm. Rebecca brought us barbeque for supper and we enjoyed that. All the kids called or came by and wished us happy birthday and anniversary. Maybe we will get a chance to go out to eat when the weather gets better.

December 11, 2007

2007-12-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we met Floye and Marshall at Cleburne for lunch. They had been at Dawn and Greg's house and were returning home. Drew went with us and we had a nice visit at The Cotton Patch. Last night Emily went to the basketball games. She said that Miranda's team won their game and that Miranda made 5 points.

Today it is rainy and foggy but the temperature rose considerably overnight. It is now about 65 degrees outside.

December 8, 2007

2007-12-08T21:00:00.000-06:00

We went to the Christmas Parade in Grandview. Carly and Miranda were jumping rope in the parade. Carly is on the right-hand end of the second row and Miranda is on the left side on the same row (fifth from the left).

December 7, 2007

2007-12-07T15:20:00.000-06:00

Another nice day in Grandview with a temperature of 80 degrees. Emily has a cold and is not feeling too good. I went and got the truck inspected and filled one of the propane tanks.

Patty sent a picture of little Brenden Richard who will be 1 year old on December 12. I told Patty that it looked like we needed to send him a Beach Boys shirt.

December 6, 2007

2007-12-06T21:30:00.000-06:00

It was a nice warm day here today. Didn't do much but rest. Emily went to pick up the kids from school and went to Cleburne to get some shoes for Carly. Carly had a violin concert tonight at the school and we went with Rebecca and Caitlyn. The kids did a good job and we enjoyed the show. Carly is in the middle with the black dress.

December 5, 2007 HOME AGAIN

2007-12-05T21:30:00.000-06:00

Well after 15,472 miles we have arrived back to where we began last March. It has been a fantastic trip and a good year, but as always it is good to be back home. Drew surprised us by bringing in a couple of loads of gravel for our parking spot. It is level now and we were able to get in without any backing by going out into the pasture and turning around. Rebecca said that the upgrade would probably require them to charge us more rent. I'm just glad that they didn't put in a swimming pool.

We left Cabot, AR on Tuesday morning and traveled to Greenville, TX. Since we couldn't find a good RV park in or around Greenville, we just spent the night in the WalMart parking lot. That way, we were able to just get up this morning and head out without any hooking up. We slept good since we were tired and it didn't get too cold last night. Sheryl, it was difficult, but I got a picture of the clinton library (Arkansas' largest mobile home) just for you.

Here are four of the reasons that we are glad to be home:

December 3, 2007

2007-12-03T16:30:00.000-06:00

It was dry by this morning and the sun was shining, but it got pretty cold overnight with the temperature at 28 degrees this morning. I was tired from yesterday and didn't relish the thought of getting up and getting ready to move out this morning. So, we decided to get things together today and be ready to leave in the morning. Also, the wind blew the satellite dish over and broke it so I had do some repair work. I got it fixed so Emily can now watch the Mavericks tonight even though cuban is a jerk (spell check wants me to capitalize his name but I refuse).

We rested today and went to WalMart for a while. Hopefully it won't take much to get ready to leave in the morning. We won't have to leave too early since we will probably only go as far as Texarkana (about 170 miles). We got a GPS so maybe we won't get lost. Note to Larry and Carla: Emily has gone to the barbecue place to get us some ribs to freeze and take with us. I am posting two more pictures of the White family and would like to say one more time what a good time we had visiting with them. Hanna and Haley were Toy Soldiers in the Musical and are on the back row first and second from the left respectively. As a reminder to everyone, if you click on the pictures you can see them full size.

December 2, 2007

2007-12-02T15:41:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we drove into Little Rock and then went to Camping World, Best Buy and Circuit City. We got Emily a new camera that is somewhat smaller than the Panasonic that we now have. Before returning, we ate at Golden Corral.

This morning we went to Mt. Carmel Baptist Church and heard Larry preach from Malachi. We really enjoyed the service and hearing Larry preach again. Larry's sermons are available at the
Mt Carmel Baptist Church website
Click on "CLICK TO LEARN MORE" on the home page to hear the sermons.

After church, we were invited to their house for lunch. Carla and the girls had fixed a really good meal which we enjoyed and then we had time for more visiting. Larry has put Perth, ND on his weather widget on his computer screen and had Perth marked on Google Earth.

It has been raining on and off all day and is raining pretty hard right now. If it dries up tomorrow we will probably leave and head toward home.

November 30, 2007

2007-11-30T21:54:00.000-06:00

Larry and Carla took us out to eat at noon today. Carla had the day off from school. We went to a really good Barbeque place. After lunch we went back to the trailer and visited until they had to go to pick up Hope. Tonight we went to their house and ate pizza and then went with them to the Christmas Musical at their church. It was very well done with Carla singing a solo and Haley and Hanna dressed up as Toy Soldiers.

November 29, 2007

2007-11-29T19:57:00.000-06:00

We drove over to Conway today to visit with Larry's parents. We had an enjoyable time visiting with Dan and Sue. They don't seem to have changed any since we last saw them 16-17 years ago. They are really swell people.

November 28,2007

2007-11-28T21:37:00.000-06:00

It was a beautiful day in Cabot, AR. The sun was shining and the temperature got into the 60's. Larry came at noon and picked us up and took us out to eat. We had a good meal and a very nice visit. After we ate we rode around Cabot some and then rode by their house and the girl's schools and dropped in to visit Carla at her school during her break period. Tonight we went to Larry's church and ate the wednesday night meal with them. After the meal Larry led the Bible study in the book of Revelation. It was so good to hear Larry teach again after all these years. We are going to stay at least until friday night to see their Christmas Cantata that Carla and the girls are participating in. We got to see Haley and Hanna tonight and they have grown into pretty young ladies. We are so glad that we looked them up and we are really enjoying our time here. We haven't been able to get them all together for a picture yet, but when we do I will publish it here.

November 27, 2007

2007-11-27T22:00:00.000-06:00

Today we traveled from Omaha to Cabot, AR. It took much longer than we anticipated since the road is narrow and winding with lots of uphills and downhills. We found a nice RV park very close to where Larry and Carla live. When we got set up we called Larry and he and Hope came over and visited for a couple of hours. Carla, Hanna and Haley had practice tonight for the musical that they are performing in this weekend. We really enjoyed the visit and look forward to seeing the rest of the family.

Sandra called this afternoon and said that it was 20 below zero in Perth today. Looks like our timing was about perfect.

Here are a few pictures from last winter when Larry and Sidney were in Grandview. Larry is in his natural environment, even in Texas. Larry, Sidney and Richard are standing in front of Willie's home church in Abbott, TX. Larry, Sidney, Emily and Richard playing a game of Golf (woops, it looks like Tic).

2007-11-25T15:55:00.000-06:00

Gloomy day here at Perth.

Sun shined a little bit.

Temperature 34 or so.

NICE!!

Wish you were here.

November 25, 2007

2007-11-25T04:15:00.000-06:00

It started raining during the night and was about 34 degrees this morning. When we woke up it was cold, rainy and foggy. We rode in to Harrison, AR and went to WalMart and ate at McDonalds. We plan to stay here for two more days and then go south if the weather clears up as forecast.

Larry and Carla White lived close to Conway, AR when we last heard from them. I Googled Baptist Churches in Arkansas and found a listing of Churches and Pastors. I found Larry's church and sent him an email. This morning early we got a call from Carla. We plan to stop and visit with them when we get down there. We will try to find an RV park close to them.

BLOG TEMPLATE CHANGED

2007-11-24T13:00:00.000-06:00

I made some slight changes to the blog format, so if anyone has trouble please let me know. I think that the changes should be transparent. I will also start to show links to RV parks that we particularly enjoy.

November 24, 2007

2007-11-24T12:51:00.000-06:00

We had a good rest last night in this very secluded quiet park. It only got to about 31 degrees last night. This is a really nice place so we may stay a few nights depending on the weather. It's supposed to be rainy for the next several days so we had rather be sitting somewhere than on the road.

November 23, 2007

2007-11-23T19:08:00.000-06:00

Today we left Marshfield and drove south a little ways to Omaha, AR. It was only about an 80 mile trip so we didn't have to leave until 12:30 or so. We stopped by Lamberts Resturant (the "throwed rolls" place) but the wait was going to be an hour and a half so we didn't eat. We are not too far from there so maybe we will go back. We found a nice little campground here on top of a hill with a nice view out our back window. The fireplace picture is from Bass Pro.

THANKSGIVING DAY 2007

2007-11-22T11:20:00.000-06:00

It got down to about 27 last night but we stayed warm. Thanks for the propane, Larry. It is supposed to warm up above freezing today and the sun is trying to come out now. We are going to eat our Thanksgiving lunch at the Country Kitchen that is just around the corner from where we are camped. Dana emailed me a few more pictures of combining that he took. Thanks, Dana.

The RV park owners recommended that we go into Springfield and eat at the Shoney's Thanksgiving Buffet so we went there for our Thanksgiving meal. It was okay, but nothing special. After we ate, we went to Bass Pro Shop but were too full to walk around much so we just sat by the fireplace. Overall we had an enjoyable Thanksgiving Day.

November 21, 2007

2007-11-21T17:30:00.000-06:00

We have decided to stay in Marshfield, MO for a few more days. The front came through here at about noon today and it has already fallen from 62 to 39 degrees. Tonight's forecast is for a low of 28 degrees. It has been misting rain all afternoon with a strong North wind. It's a really good day to just stay in and keep warm.

Emily and I wish everyone reading this a very Happy Thanksgiving Day tomorrow. We know that you all will enjoy your day with family and friends. Everyone should thank God for His blessings this and every year and pray for our military who make our observance of this day possible. There are many (including some of our own citizens) who would take this day away from us if they could. Stay aware and vigilant. He is the only one that can save this country and they want him removed from the government and American life. Our great nation will not stand if we delete HIM from all aspects of our government as the atheists want.

GOD'S WAY OF SAYING "HAVE A NICE DAY"
Thanks to Patty for the pictures.

November 20, 2007

2007-11-20T22:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we made it to St. Joseph, MO. One night was enough there since they were anticipating sub-freezing weather and were turning the water off. I guess that will be the way to tell if we are far enough south (i.e. the water is left on). We drove to Marshfield, MO today (only about 250 miles) and found a really nice RV Park. We are about 25 miles from Springfield and 65 miles from Branson. The temperatures here are forecast to be okay for the next several days even though it may rain some. We don't mind the rain (or snow for that matter, Sheri) as long as we are sitting still. We may stay here for several days.

2007-11-19T08:07:00.000-06:00

It is a fine day at Perth, ND. The ground is white. White enough to make Richard & Emily cringe! Melissa's drama club production "Murder in the Heir" will play Tuesday and Wednesday at the Audi in Cando. Basketball begins with 2 away games... one in Fordville and the other in Cavalier, ND!
Then the music boosters get busy. Emily will be missed when it comes to making up the puppy chow and working at these games, as well as the other 23 hours of the day. Richard got the TV to himself far to much when the volleyball season was on. We all hope that Murder She Wrote doesn't cause too much stress in their home!
Love you. May the pizza ranch's guide you safely home to Texas!
Sheri

November 17, 2007

2007-11-17T19:48:00.000-06:00

It was another nice day in Mitchell. We went to The Corn Palace and to Cabelas. It looks like it is going to get a little colder tonight. We will probably leave here on Monday or Tuesday.

November 16, 2007

2007-11-16T11:00:00.000-06:00

SANDRA and HER "NEW" CAR

We woke up yesterday morning and it was 11 degrees. Fortunately, we had hitched up the night before and had everything but the TV antenna and the electrical cord disconnected. We had planned to leave by 8:00 but it was 9:00 before we got away. Sheri and Sandra came out and had coffee with Larry, Evelyn, Emily and me so we got to tell them goodbye one last time. It was sad leaving, and they said that they would miss us (but, Sheryl, as Mom used to say, "it'll be a good ole miss".) We were at Perth almost three months and we really enjoyed it. Everyone's hospitality was wonderful even though Evelyn had to do too much cooking.

Last night we made it to Mitchell, SD at about 6:00. It was 408 miles from Perth and we were pretty tired. We found a nice RV park that has 50 amp hookups but with no water. We feel fortunate to have found anything since most of them close in September or October. We stayed warm last night and the temperature this morning was only down to 34 degrees. We will probably stay here two or three days since the weather is supposed to good for awhile. This morning we ate breakfast at Perkins and now Emily has gone to Walmart. The sun is shining brightly and it is 48 degrees outside.

It really feels good to be back where we have telephones that work and we have internet right in the trailer. There is a Walmart and Kmart nearby and the Pizza Ranch is just around the corner. Life is good (but we already knew that).

November 14, 2007

2007-11-14T13:14:00.000-06:00

Well, it snowed a little last night so we plan to leave early in the morning. The weather reports show a few days of nice weather in the middle of the country so we will try to get a little ways south. We have really enjoyed our stay and already look forward to coming back next year.

Evelyn's first posting

2007-11-13T20:49:00.000-06:00

Hi Richard and Emily, We miss you already and you're not even gone.

Sandy's introduction

2007-11-13T14:48:00.000-06:00

Richard, Sheri, and I have been playing on the computers today. It's alot of fun. We are also enjoying hot chocolate.

November 13, 2007

2007-11-13T14:05:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday, we made lefsa at Sheri and Bill's house. It was a lot of fun and the lefsa was great. Here are a few pictures of our day.

November 12, 2007

2007-11-12T13:38:00.000-06:00

Testing to see if I can get photos from Evelyn's computer.

November 6, 2007

2007-11-06T18:32:00.000-06:00

I am back in Devils Lake tonight. This time I am at the McDonalds. Emily, Sandra and I came over this morning to shop and do some business. Tonight, Emily and Sandra have gone to the vollyball games here in Devils Lake. They will ride back home with Sheri. I think that if they win tonight and tomorrow they will go to State Playoffs in Jamestown next weekend. Emily want to see the State games if they make it that far. It is getting very cold at night now with temps in the lower 20's. I don't know how much longer we can stay without running the risk of bad weather.

October 31, 2007

2007-10-31T12:43:00.000-05:00

Been busy again. I am at Devils Lake at the Pizza Ranch. I came to town to get some ribs to smoke for a get-together that we are having tomorrow night. Emily is helping Sandra get ready for the holloween party for the Bisbee kids tonight. Sheri is meeting me here in a little while for lunch.

The nights are starting to get cold so we will really have to get everything together to leave before too long. We still have a few more friends to visit before we go, but we are running out of time.

Here are a few pictures of our camping with Don and Sue.

Additional Pictures

2007-10-08T15:54:00.000-05:00

Here are a few more pictures from North Dakota.

October 8, 2007

2007-10-08T12:51:00.000-05:00

We've been here at Perth for about seven weeks. Harvest is over and we are doing Fall work in the fields. It has been a very busy time and we are getting tired. Harvest was a fun time. I drove one of the three combines nearly every day for about three weeks. Every evening, Evelyn, Emily and Sandra would bring supper out to the field. They would set up a table and serve the meal to everyone. It is sort of a tradition with them and they call it "meals-on-wheels". It was a lot of fun.

We gave Brenden his rocking horse and he will be riding it before long. He is really growing and is on the verge of walking.

Last Saturday was Larry and Evelyn's 55th wedding anniversary, so we planned a cook-out and grilled rib-eye steaks. We invited about 20 friends including five of their six children and four of the grandchildren. We have fixed a picnic area next to where we have our camper parked and have a fire-ring. We all sat around the fire until late in the night. Larry and Evelyn seemed to enjoy themselves and appreciated everyone coming.

The weather is cooling off considerably with night-time temperatures getting down in the upper 30's and 40's. Most days are very nice with temperatures in the 60's. There have been a few sprinkles but no real rain since we have been here. They are beginning to need rain.

Larry and Evelyn's granddaughter Melissa plays volleyball and Emily goes with them to most of the games.

August 20, 2007

2007-08-20T18:30:00.000-05:00

We arrived in Perth, ND yesterday morning. The Lindbergs are busy with harvest but it rained today so things have slowed down somewhat. I am not at my computer, so I don't have any pictures for now. I will update later.

August 9, 2007

2007-08-09T19:27:00.000-05:00

Since the trailer was clean and looked so good, we got up this morning and washed the truck. Now they both look good for a while. About 11:30 we left Williston and drove to Minot, ND. We are at The Rough Rider Campground on the western side of Minot. We plan to meet our friends Don and Sue tomorrow and camp with them for a few days.

August 8, 2007

2007-08-08T15:22:00.000-05:00

We stayed a week in Glendive, MT and then moved to Powers Lake, ND. Our friends Roger and Lorriane and June live there. Roger and Lorriane manage the Bunkhouse Motel in Powers Lake. There is a little city park with electrical-only hookups and four spaces. We stayed a week without sewer, water, cellphone service, Walmart or internet. It was really roughing it. We had a good time and ate at the senior center on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The other meals we ate with Roger, Lorriane and June. On Saturday they all came out to the park and we cooked steaks. On Friday we went to Stanley, ND to their Crazy Days. All of the stores put stuff on the sidewalk and mark the price down. We had a good time and made some new friends named Ray and Dollie Lindberg.

On Wednesday we drove over to visit Roger and Lorraine's son Ronny and his family. They have a new house that is really nice. Their kids have grown a lot since we last saw them. June opened up the Museum one day and let us tour it. On Sunday night they had the monthly church service at the Methodist Church that had been moved to the Museum from Columbus, ND. On Sunday morning we went to church at The First Baptist Church in Powers Lake. After church we went to June's house for Pizza.

On Monday we moved from Powers Lake to Williston, ND. There is a nice RV Park here that we have stayed in several times before. We now have full hookups, cellphone service, Wi-Fi and Walmart . They also allow you to wash your RV here so we got that done finally. The trailer was very dirty and had lots of bugs on the front. It looks much better now.

July 27, 2007

2007-07-27T21:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning we decided to drive over to Medora for the day and eat at the Pitchfork Fondue and see the Musical. I made ticket reservation on-line before we went over. It was the first time that we have ever paid for tickets, but at least we didn't have to do any work. It is only about 60 miles from Glendive, MT to Medora, so we just left the trailer in Glendive and drove over. We spent the day looking up most of our friends and visiting with them. We enjoyed catching up on not having been to Medora for the last two years. We saw everyone that we were looking for with the exception of Randy and Lyle. A lot of our friends have changed jobs and many of the young ones are advancing into positions of greater responsibility.

The Fondue and Show were as good as always but we missed having Wade Westen in the show. He has been in every one that we have previously seen. We did get to visit with Wade and his family (they have two children now). Teddy Roosevelt is played by a new actor this year and he brings a lot of enthusiasm to the role.

This morning we were tired since it was midnight when we got home. We slept late and just rested all day. The weather is still nice with high temperatures in the low 80's. We will probably stay here until monday and then go by and visit our friends in Powers Lake.

July 25, 2007

2007-07-25T20:11:00.000-05:00

Well, to catch up a little now that I have a good internet connection. We left Boulder, WY on the 19th and moved to Cody, WY. That put us a little closer to Yellowstone National Park. The campground at Cody was nice, but the Wi-Fi never worked a single time for the four days that we were there. One morning we drove from Cody into Yellowstone. It was a long drive but was very pretty. Many of the ponderosa pines were dead due to beetles and fire. It seems that they re-seed rapidly though. We saw places where the old trees were dead, but new ones were coming in almost solid.

Since it is such a long distance to cover the whole park, we just drove the so-called lower loop. We saw Old Faithful (Note To Floye: do you still have Daddy's walking stick?) and Yellowstone Lake along with lots of waterfalls and mud and sulfer geysers. We also saw lots of deer, elk, buffalo (that's Bison to the tree huggers), swans and other birds. It was an interesting day, but after the 250 mile mountain drive we were really tired. We just rested the entire next day.

On monday we left Cody and headed north not knowing where we were going. We hit Interstate 94 at Billings, MT and then hesded east. We made it to Glendive, MT and stopped at a nice little RV park that we had stayed in several years ago. This is our third day here and we might stay a few more. We are having a good rest. Today has been cool although yesterday it got up to 112. It was so hot in the trailer that we had to get in the truck and drive. We went the state park just outside of town and then stopped at a fast food place that was cool and read our books.

July 15, 2007

2007-07-16T00:30:00.000-05:00

We had another storm last night with strong winds and hard rain. The satellite antenna was blown down and I had to wait until the wind and rain stopped to put it back up. This morning I got up and went to church in Pinedale. The First Baptist Church is not very large and there were only 25-30 people there. The pastor was a good preacher (and Music Leader) and we sung hymns from the hymn book. I really enjoyed the service. I went back tonight since he was preaching about end-times and the antichrist. There were only about 8 people there tonight but it was a good service with a lot of singing. The preacher said that he graduated from Bob Jones University many years ago.

Sheryl, I met a family that were from Ore City, Texas this morning in church. He is a pipe-line welder and has worked out here for about four years. They live in an RV but are not in the park where we are. They said that Ore City was about 20 miles from Hallsville.

July 13, 2007

2007-07-13T19:29:00.000-05:00

With Emily gone, I just rested yesterday and today. The only extraordinary happenings yesterday were that the electrical power was off from about 1:30 till 10:30 last night, there was a large grass fire just north of Pinedale near the lake, and it rained for several hours last night. Fortunately the rain helped put the fire out and the clouds cooled it off enough that I didn't miss the A/C. I heard that they had to evacuate the RV park that is on the shore of the lake. They wouldn't let anyone hitch up their RVs but just the people had to leave. I haven't heard if there was any damage to RVs.

Today is somewhat cooler; only about 80 degrees now. I went in to town and had one of the propane bottles filled. No excitement, so that's all for now.

July 12, 2007

2007-07-12T19:32:00.000-05:00

Emily made it home safely. It was a hard trip since she was delayed in Denver about 5 hours and didn't get home until 3:00am or so. I heard from them this morning and they had rested some.

July 11, 2007

2007-07-11T20:09:00.000-05:00

EMILY MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR FLIGHT

This morning we drove back to Jackson Hole so that Emily could catch a flight to Fort Worth. It is a long hard drive and I was very tired when I got back. I will stay another week here in Boulder and will go back to pick Emily up next Tuesday.

July 11, 2007

2007-07-11T10:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we drove up to Teton National Park. It was about a 250 mile round trip from where we are camped, but was well worth the drive. We had never been there before and the mountains are spectacular. We went through Jackson, Wyoming and stopped for a while. It is a very touristy place and there were lots of people. We walked around town, visited the museum and ate lunch. An interesting note is that the town is named Jackson and the valley in which it resides is called Jackson Hole (originally, it was named Jackson's Hole, but was later changed to Jackson Hole).

Emily got a call yesterday telling her that her Uncle had passed away at 11:00am in Fort Worth. We managed to get her a flight out of the Jackson Hole Airport at 4:35 this afternoon. She will return on Tuesday the 17th. We were originally planning to leave here tomorrow, but I extended for a week.

July 9, 2007

2007-07-09T22:22:00.000-05:00

Today we went to the lake and spent the morning on the pontoon boat. The lake is beautiful and the water is crystal clear. We started at 7:00 am and just rode slowly around the shoreline and then stopped in a sheltered cove and ate our lunch. The weather was perfect. The temperature when we started was about 50 degrees but it warmed up quickly and there was very little wind. The boat had a canopy so we could alternate between shade and sun. When we got home we were tired but had had a great time.

July 8, 2007

2007-07-08T11:09:00.000-05:00

Our friends from Iowa that were camped next to us for a few days left this morning. They are Leroy and Carole Rodgers and we enjoyed getting to know them and visiting with them.

July 7, 2007

2007-07-08T00:45:00.000-05:00

IT REALLY IS AS STEEP AS IT LOOKS

We arrived in Boulder, Wyoming the day before yesterday. The RV park here is Wind River View Campground which is our Coast-To-Coast home park. Even though we are allowed to stay here for two weeks free every year, this is our first time. We are now at about 7000 feet elevation so it is considerably cooler than it was in the Salt Lake City area. This a beautiful area between two mountain ranges with snow on the mountain tops. Yesterday we rested from the 300 plus mile trip here. It was fairly difficult driving due to several steep mountain passes which make pulling the trailer hard. Fortunately, most of the trip amounted to driving fairly level on the high plains.

This morning we got up and drove in to Pinedale which is the nearest town of any size (population approximately 1400). We ate breakfast and then drove around the town and then drove up into the mountains to a beautiful lake. Fremont Lake is supposed to be among the deepest lakes in the US at about 600 feet. While there we made a reservation to rent a pontoon boat for half a day on Monday morning. We got rain this afternoon, so hopefully the weather will be good on Monday.

Last night we met a couple that are camped next to us and had a nice visit. They are leaving in the morning so they invited us to go out to eat with them this afternoon. We went back to the place where we ate breakfast and then came back and visited with them for a couple of hours. Coming in this afternoon we got a picture of the Bald Eagle that has a nest in the campground.

July 5, 2007

2007-07-05T10:33:00.000-05:00

We stayed in Springville, Utah for 6 days. It was pretty hot during the day, but cooled off at night. We drove in to Salt Lake City and spent a morning visiting the Temple Square. I had been there many years ago, but it was still impressive. Emily had never seen it. A couple of LDS volunteers took us on a tour. We saw the Chapel, the Tabernacle, the Visitors Center, Brigham Young's home and The Temple. Only LDS members are allowed inside the Temple so we only saw it from the outside.

We drove out to the Great Salt Lake and then went to see the Golden Spike site above Salt Lake City. It was about 100 miles to the site and when we were about 20 miles away we saw a sign that said it closed at 5:30. Since it was then almost 6:00 we turned around and didn't get to see it. Since it was such along drive, we didn't get to go back. A trip to Cabellos took its place. At Cabellos I bought a digital altimeter and compass that has been useful.

June 29, 2007

2007-06-29T22:34:00.000-05:00

Well, we ended up staying in Las vegas for three nights. We drove in to the strip the first morning just to see where to go. It was so hot that we decided to wait until that night to go back and walk around. That didn't help much since it was just about as hot and there were the same crowds. We went to see the collector cars on display in The Imperial Palace. When we got there we only had about thirty minutes before they closed so we decided to come back and finish seeing the cars the next day.

The next morning we got up about 9:00 and drove in. This time we knew where to park in a little better place. We finished seeing the cars, ate the noon buffet and started walking up and down the strip. It was about 105 degrees so we would duck inside the Casinos occasionally to cool off and then go again. We went to the Coca Cola store and to the M and M store. We saw the M&M movie (3D) and then went to Caesers Palace. They have a huge shopping area and lots of ancient Greece looking stuff. They even had a Trojan Horse. When we decided to go back to where we were parked, we were so tired that we caught the monorail and rode it. I don't think we could have made the walk back. We were worn completely out by the time we got back to the trailer.

This morning we got everything together and drove north as far as Provo, Utah. We don't know how long we will stay here, but will decide tomorrow.

June 26, 2007

2007-06-26T23:35:00.000-05:00

We decided to stay another day in Williams, so yesterday we got up and made a drive down to Sedona which is about 30 miles south of Flagstaff. Since Sheryl had asked about Sedona in her comments to Sunday's post, we decided that we should go and check it out. Sedona was as beautiful as we had heard with it's location in the red rock canyons. Rather than drive south from Flagstaff we went west on I10 and made a loop into Sedona from the west. It looked really good on the map, but as it turned out it was a narrow winding high mountain road that required 10 MPH speeds on a large percentage of the trip. I am not too keen on mountain driving so I was a nervous wreck when it was over. Needless to say, I didn't see too much of the scenery since I had to concentrate on the road.

Today we left Williams at about 9:30 and drove to Las Vegas. We will probably stay a couple of days and then move on north into Utah since it is so hot here.

June24, 2007

2007-06-24T19:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was our day to ride the train to The Grand Canyon. The train was scheduled to leave at 9:00am and we were afraid that we would miss the train, so we got up at 5:30. At least this gave us time to go eat breakfast and to watch the early morning gunfight (they have several each day). The trip to the canyon took about 2 1/2 hours and passed through some very pretty country with lots of big ponderosa pines. Riding the train was a good idea since the canyon area is so congested with cars and parking places are hard to find.

The canyon is much more impressive than in pictures that you see. We took the shuttle bus to several of the overlooks located along the South Rim. Lots of people were taking hiking trails of various distances down into the canyon but our days of that kind of activity are over I think. Emily took one picture of hikers on a trail near the bottom of the canyon and the people looked like little ants. They surely had a long climb back out. We spent about 5 1/2 hours at the canyon and enjoyed it very much. On the trip back we rode in the dome of one of the cars. I took a picture of one named the GRANDVIEW, but it was not the one we rode on. The views on the trip back were great from the dome and we enjoyed the ride back even though we were very tired.

About five miles north of Williams, the train was held up by mounted outlaws. The train stopped and they got on and robbed the passengers. They only got a dollar from us since we told them that was all we had. I don't know if they believed us or not, but it worked. They wanted Emily's earrings, but she wouldn't let them have them. I told her to let them have them since they were not worth getting shot for. She said no and they went on to someone else.

When we got back we extended our stay by one night since we knew that we would be too tired too head out this morning. Therefore we slept in this morning and then got up and went to church.

June 22, 2007

2007-06-22T23:10:00.000-05:00

We got up this morning and drove to visit the Crator. After that we left about 9:30 and drove to Williams, Arizona which is a distance of about 75 miles. We have decided to stay here a couple of days and ride the train to the south rim of the Grande Canyon tomorrow. It is really nice here with high temperatures in the upper 80's and a low tonight expected to be about 50 degrees.

June 20, 2007

2007-06-20T20:40:00.000-05:00

Rebecca's Bunch At Disney World

Emily and I left Elephant Butte, New Mexico at 7:30 this morning and arrived at Meteor Crator close to Winslow, Arizona at about 4:00. We drove about 425 miles which is way more than usual, but we were trying to escape the New Mexico heat. I'm not sure about local time since Arizona doesn't go on daylight savings time. I think it is now 6:30 here though the clock set on Mountain Daylight Saving Time says 7:30. I don't guess that it really matters that much anyway. We plan to stay here two nights at least and then turn north hoping to find cooler temperatures. It is not as hot now as we were experiencing, but it should get considerably cooler tonight since our altitude is about 6000 feet.

2007-06-19T20:17:00.000-05:00

Here is Dom opening his card from you guys. He bought several nerf guns. He was so thrilled!

Love and miss you all bunches!

2007-06-19T20:09:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally made it!!! Miranda got her braces off! She was so excited she came home and took several pictures of herself.

She Was Always Pretty

So Are These

June 18, 2007

2007-06-18T15:22:00.000-05:00

We left El Paso this morning and headed north into New Mexico. Originally we planned to go at least as far as Albequerque, but we found a nice park in Elephant Butte, New Mexico and decided to spend a night. It is really nice with good internet so we may have to stay here a few days. It is still really hot so we need to get more elevation soon. The elevation here is about 4800 feet so it cools off at night.

June 13, 2007

2007-06-13T17:16:00.000-05:00

We have been without continuous internet service for the last few days so I have not kept up with our activities. I will now try to bring the blog up to date and fill in some of the places and things that I missed. I may backtrack some. Emily finally tried the swimming pool at Balmorhea before we left there. She said that it was cold but she almost got used to it. It didn't appear that anyone just jumped in and stayed. I don't think that the human body can stay in 72 degree water indefinitely.

While in Fort Davis we visited the old fort that is in the process of being restored. It was interesting and very different from the last time we were there over 40 years ago. On Sunday night there was a tour of antique cars coming through town and spending the night. The town people put on a bar-b-que for the visitors. We decided to spend the night in town at the hotel. It was fun for something different. We also went on a Jeep tour out into the Davis Mountains that lasted about three hours and let us see scenery that we would never see otherwise.

We are now in El Paso. We left Davis Mountains State Park on Tuesday morning and got to Clint, Texas at about 2:30. The park where we stopped showed to have Wi-Fi in the Trailer Life Directory, but when we got here it did not. We decided to go ahead and stay one night since we were tired. After checking several RV parks closer to El Paso we found one that has Wi-Fi (for me) and a swimming pool (for Emily). We will move there later today and probably stay for a few days.

Clint is about 20 miles east of El Paso which makes it close to The Cattlemans Steak House. Therefore we decided to go there to eat last night. The restaurant and menu were exactly the same as when we were there 30 years ago. It is really interesting place. There is very little advertising and no signs on Interstate 10 where you turn off. The road is about 7 or 8 miles out into the desert (it was gravel the last time we went , but is now paved). It is known just by word-of-mouth but always has a full parking lot when you finally get there. Their speciality is a 2 pound porterhouse steak (called the Cowboy) that is the best that I have ever eaten anywhere. I had it last night and it was just as good as I remembered. Emily opted for the beef ribs and brisquet.

June 9, 2007

2007-06-09T20:05:00.000-05:00

We have moved from Balmorhea to the Davis Mountains State Park outside of Fort Davis. We got here yesterday morning and have a very nice camping spot. Last night it came a storm and rained about an inch, but we stayed dry. Today we rode to Fort Davis and then to Marfa to see the Marfa lights. We are now waiting for dark, so I will report on the lights later.

At about 9:15 we started to see some lights on the horizon. There was no knowledgeable person there, so we don't know for sure what we were seeing. The sky was pretty cloudy. By the time we got back to the campground it was raining. We had a pretty bad storm and the electricity was out for about an hour or two.

June 6, 2007

2007-06-06T20:49:00.000-05:00

We left The Llano River RV Park last monday morning and drove to Balmorhea, Texas. We are staying at the Balmorhea State Park. There is a large spring-fed swimming pool, but it is so cold (72 degrees) that we are afraid to swim. Maybe Emily will try it tomorrow. We don't normally stay in Texas State Parks, but we bought the annual pass so we will probably stay more now. This is a real nice park and there aren't a lot of people here during the week. Some people come in during the day to swim, but they aren't camping.

The only Wi-Fi antenna is up near the office so I have to go sit at the picnic table to get internet. I have found that it is best just before sundown because the sunlight is too bright earlier. I guess that I need to get a hood to go over my head. Emily road up one night and took my picture.

Yesterday we rode up to Pecos, Texas which is about 30 miles north. It is really a sad looking town with nearly all of the businesses closed and people living in squalid conditions. They don't even have a Super WalMart. Tomorrow we plan to ride down to Fort Davis which is about 40 miles south.

May 22, 2007

2007-05-22T15:26:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went for a another ride in the back country. We planned to go to the bat cave that is southwest of Mason but found that it was only open on Thursday through Sunday. The drive to the cave was on a very rough dirt and gravel road where you could only do about 5-10 miles per hour. The scenery was very pretty though. There were several water crossings and we had to cross the James River twice and the Llano River once. When we cross the James River the first time the water was about 12-18 inches deep and running fairly swiftly. Emily was nervous. We made it okay though and ended up driving about 30 miles on the back roads. We saw lots of deer and even two jackrabbits.

May 19, 2007

2007-05-20T02:00:00.000-05:00

Normally we work on Saturday, but we didn't have to today since Rick had to be here anyway. We decided to go for a drive and see some of the country around the Mason area that we had not seen. Every drive that you make around here is pretty with wildflowers, streams and hills. Everything is especially nice this year since the rains and cool temperatures have made everything green. The prickly pears are blooming. The locals say that this is unusual weather for this time of year. It must be global warming.

After driving a good distance, we found ourselves in a little town named Doss. It is about twenty miles from where we are camped located in a beautiful area called Doss Valley. There was a Lutheren Church, a grocery store, the school and little else. A few people were gathered around the school grounds and it looked liked like they were having some kind of event. We parked and talked to some adults and kids and found out that they were having their end-of-school event. The 4H club was having a bake sale and we bought a nice looking lemon bundt cake.

We learned that the little school had 21 students in grades K through 8 with two teachers and two aides. They were surprised to have outsiders visit them so we had a good time talking to the kids and their parents. Several men were smoking barbeque on some huge pits behind the school. We bought some of the barbeque to take home since we had already eaten lunch. They told us that the school kids were putting on plays starting at 7:00 that evening. Since it was about 3:00 then, we decided to go home and come back for the plays.

We went back for the plays and thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Before the plays started, we bought some more of the barbeque since it was so good. I think that all 21 kids participated in the plays and skits. They were divided into what was refered to as "the small room" and "the big room". There were two skits by two younger groups and a three-act play by "the big room". They evidently worked hard in preparation and did a really good job. Between each skit and act they drew raffle tickets for variety of prizes. Emily bought six tickets. We don't ever win drawings, but since the top prize was a new Toro riding mower, I figured that we would probably win that (we didn't).

After the entertainment, they announced that the remaining barbeque would be sold for half price. I had paid full price for ours, but figured that was okay since it was for a good cause. When I bought the barbeque, they sacked it up and left it inside the smoker to keep it warm until we were ready to leave. I picked up our sack and was going to the truck when the guy doing the cooking met me and asked if I put some extra meat in the bag. I told him no and he made me go back and get more. We now have our freezer full.

Remember to visit Doss, Texas if you are in the area.

May 16, 2007 EMILY'S BIRTHDAY

2007-05-17T23:00:00.000-05:00

Emily had a good birthday. We got up early and drove to Kerrville. We got her watch fixed; all it needed was a battery, but I couldn't get the back off. I asked the watch repair man how he got it off when I couldn't and he said " you haven't been working on watches for 35 years". (HERE'S YOUR SIGN) Emily got her toes done at Walmart and I sat and read my book. Since we had bought her birthday present last week at James Avery, we then went back to Fredericksburg and ate lunch/supper at Chilis. She said that she enjoyed the day.
Emily's James Avery Cross

May 14, 2007

2007-05-14T20:37:00.000-05:00

Long-Range Photo of Emily Riding Across The Bridge

Today we made a drive through the backroads to Llano. The county roads here are usually gravel and sometimes dirt. There are a lot of cattle guards and low-water crossings (here they call them slabs). We went to a little town that is named Castell and is the oldest town in Llano county. There are two water crossings on the Llano River between here and Llano. At the first one we came upon a truck and trailer that had washed off the crossing. The wrecker driver arrived about the same time that we did and he told us that it had happened seven days ago, but the water had just now gone down enough to try and get it out. The water must have been really high when they tried to cross. We watched for about an hour and a half until they had the truck out. They unhitched the trailer and were going to pull it out by itself. It made for an interesting morning.

May 13, 2007

2007-05-13T21:03:00.000-05:00

We went to church in Mason Sunday morning. They sang all old hymns and we enjoyed that. After church, the youth had a fish fry on the courthouse square to raise money for their trip to Glorietta this summer. We went by and got our meal and ate under the shade trees on the courthouse lawn. The youth minister is from Cleburne so we enjoyed our visit with him. We met a young lady at church who looks to be about 6 feet five inches tall. Emily asked her if she was a senior in high school and she said "no mam, I'm in the seventh grade". Her name is Emily and I have included a picture of her here with Emily and the preacher's daughter named Rachel. Sunday night we went with Betty and Rick to eat at the mexican resturant in Mason.

Here is some good information on Mason:

Mason, Texas

MAY 8, 2007

2007-05-08T21:46:00.000-05:00

It rained all day yesterday and last night. Today was pretty with the sun shining. We stayed in yesterday and today with only a trip to Mason yesterday to mail the letter that I wrote for Caitlyn's school project. Tonight we cooked hamburgers outside since the weather was nice. Emily has gone to ride her bike.

MAY 6, 2007

2007-05-06T23:25:00.000-05:00

We have settled in at the Llano River Campground in Mason, Texas. We worked at the campground office on Friday and Saturday. It was pretty slow. We had five campers that came in on these two days, but they will all be gone by tonight. Our days to work for the rest of the month will be Thursday and Saturday. Last night we ate chili with Rick and Betty. This morning we are getting ready to go to church in Mason.

We went to the First Baptist Church in Mason. The service was very enjoyable and we liked the Pastor and Music Director. He said that he had selected all old hymns for next Sunday that weren't even in the Hymnal. That should be good. On the way home we stopped by the grocery store and bought some steaks and came back and cooked them for lunch. It rained all afternoon so we just stayed inside and watched it rain. We saw severals canoes come down the river in the rain. It didn't look like much fun.

Back In Mason

2007-05-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

We left San Angelo this morning and came back to the Llano River RV Park. When we were here last week, they asked us to consider coming back and helping as camp hosts. After our week in San Angelo, we decided to come back and help them out for a month. We will work two days a week when the managers take their days off. In return, we get our camping spot for free. It will be something different. There are still a lot of things in the area to see and do.

R.O.

2007-05-01T19:53:00.000-05:00

All of these memories!

This one is my favorite.

Family History

2007-05-01T17:01:00.000-05:00

I was helping Caitlyn get some info on where her family came from and found this picture on the McAdams.org site. It was just too good not to post. Dominick Olan sure looks a lot like Grandpa Richard Olan!

Love you!!!

Rachel

San Angelo Day 3

2007-04-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Rebecca and family got here late Friday night. We met them this morning at Caitlyn's first soccer game. After the game we went out to the park to show them where we are camped. We left there and went out to eat with all of the team and parents. The second game was at 4:30 this afternoon. They won both games. Tonight we went to eat with Rebecca and family and one other family. The first game tomorrow is at 8:00AM.

I've added a few pictures of the soccer bunch.

Mason To San Angelo

2007-04-26T17:29:00.000-05:00

We made 120 miles today from Mason to San Angelo. We hated to leave the park at Mason since it and the managers were so nice. Rick and his mother Betty made our stay enjoyable.

Note to Rick: You can click on the images and see them enlarged.

Mason Day 4

2007-04-25T20:50:00.000-05:00

This morning we drove to Federicksburg to go to Walmart. After Walmart we ate at the Sonic Drive In. We came back to Mason and walked around in town for awhile. This afternoon we took a drive out through the hills southwest of town. It was a nice ride with the prettiest Bluebonnets that we have seen anywhere. About half the drive was on gravel and dirt roads with lots of low water crossings and cattle guards.

Sheryl, we really like the new camera. However, we are discovering that having a good camera doesn't make you a good photographer. Maybe we will get better with time. I thought that the bull in the bluebonnets was good.

Mason Day 3

2007-04-24T17:59:00.000-05:00

We mostly rested yesterday and today. I helped the park manager work on the lawn mower yesterday. We took the blades off and carried them to town to see if we could find anyone to sharpen them. We had no luck. Today, he went to Fredericksburg and bought a bench grinder. We will sharpen them tomorrow. Yesterday afternoon, we drove in to Mason (about 10 miles) and looked around a little. We then stopped by Dairy Queen and got a blizzard.