May 22, 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

All of these memories!

This one is my favorite.

Family History

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