MOODY SKIES AT CITY OF ROCKS

BETWEEN RAIN SHOWERS

A long time ago in a land far away when I was younger, the sound of rain on the old canvas tents always gave one a very cozy feeling. Last night, the rain on the RV roof just simply woke me up & gave me an annoyed feeling. Oh how things change as we age. A few wind gusts were thrown in for good measure just to keep me awake long enough to give up on going back to sleep. Fired up the computer, dashed off a few quick emails, surfed myself around the world a couple of times & went back to bed about an hour later. Awww, what a life, what a life:)) Those rains continued right up to the time we were ready for our morning walk. A few well placed sun splashes & we were out the door & on the move. It became immediately apparent that this is truly a beautiful State Park. It was hard to get the camera pried away from my face. What a great opportunity to get a few photos after an all night rain. With the 3 doggy guys we walked up around a column of rocks where another motorhome was parked & boy did we set off a huge ruckus. All of a sudden that motorhomes dash erupted in 5 fiercely barking dogs. That's right, 5 dogs all trying to pile through that windshield. And they weren't small dogs either. Wished I had cracked off a couple shots with the camera but I was too busy trying to keep our guys under control. Felt bad for the people who were obviously still sleeping so we quickly hustled ourselves down the road, round the corner & out of gunshot range. The rains began again just as we got back to our rig & so it was to be for the rest of the day. Heavy rains followed by short bursts of sunshine. Managed to take Max for a walk up into the big rocks between rain deluges & bang off a few more photos. Kelly caught up on her reading while Checkers & the little Motormouse caught up on more snoozes.I SEE AN INDIAN MAIDEN'S PROFILE IN THIS ROCK

About mid afternoon Kelly was setting the lawn chairs out to dry when a couple from British Columbia walking by, noticed our satellite system & stopped for a chat. They had not been able to access their Outlook Express since their ISP Provider had made some changes back home awhile ago. We had encountered a similar problem one time so Kelly had an idea what the problem was. Lynn & Addie walked back to their camper, picked up their laptop, & brought it back to our place. Wasn't long & Kelly had the problem solved, making for a couple of very happy campers:)) Always feels so great to be in a position to help people from time to time. Lynn & Addie are a couple our age with all the same interests in boondocking & hiking that we have & we've all been to some of the same places. Nice folks. Sun was going down quick in a mass of broken clouds so grabbed the cameras, raced up the hill & managed to grab a few parting shots of the day. What a totally beautiful park this is & what totally lucky people we are:)) OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

A SHORTER DRIVING DAY

IT'S EARLY MORNING & WE'RE AWAITING OUR FATE AT SUNLAND RV.....SEE THAT LITTLE PUDDLE OF WATER AHEAD OF THE COACH....Hmmmmmm:))

We were up early in case we had to move the rig out of the employee parking area where Sunland RV had let us stay. Didn't want to get off on the wrong foot by parking in the number one mechanics spot.

Service manager was on the job by 9:15 & moved the motorhome into one of the big service bays. Because of insurance policies we were not allowed to stay in the couch, but the dogs were so I can imagine the mechanic guy working on our leveler problem most likely had lots of furry help.

We waited patiently in the customer lounge while I mathematically calculated in my head what $89.50 an hour shop rate was going to do to us, not to mention any parts that had to be replaced. Surprisingly, the
motorhome re-appeared in the parking lot about an hour later. Oh no, was it so bad that they had given up on it already. This is not a good thing I thought, so it was on shaky legs that I approached the service counter looking for any signs of shock & awe on Kelly's face. Well, there was shock & awe alright. The bill was only $56.62. IS IT OUR TURN TO GET OUT YET DAD??
Turns out the hydraulic fluid was low in the reservoir & that had caused an air lock in the shock furthest from the system which happened to be on the rear passenger side. We never did receive a manual on that HWH hydraulic leveler system & just weeks before leaving Ontario I had requested via email a manual which apparently arrived by post after we left. Thanks to the folks on the RV Net Forum I was able to locate the reservoir but was unclear on how to interpret the dipstick reading because it was not like a car's oil dipstick & I was confused. With my track record of making bad situations worse I was reluctant to add fluid last Saturday for fear of blowing a hydraulic line so decided to err on the side of caution & just take the rig in to have the problem diagnosed properly. We will just stop eating for the next two weeks & that should make up for the lost $56. Thanks to all the people out there who offered their tips & suggestions.

We were happily back on the road & headed west by noon. Great stormy cloud formations were in the sky as we swung north at Deming heading for the Silver City area. We had heard a lot of good things from friends about a State Park on the way called, City Of Rocks, so that's where we headed. http://www.gilawilderness.com/travel/cityofrocks.htm Just 4 miles off highway 180 this park is like no other we have seen. Not many people here but we had a hard time finding a suitable site because very few of them are level if you don't want electricity. Had hoped to find a site where we could utilize our solar panels which meant the coach has to face east/west. Only flat site we found was north/south so we took it anyway. Not the absolute best spot in the park, but nice nevertheless. Hope to take some nice photos here over the next few days. THIS IS GOING TO BE A PLACE TO DO SOME GREAT EXPLORING
No problem setting our satellite system up & within about 20 minutes we were online surfing our way around the world once again. Amazing things these computers.
Have booked in for 2 nights so far at $10 a night so depending on the weather we will either do a bunch of exploring & rock scrambling here to-morrow or head off for Silver City first. We will decide that to-morrow morning. We're still a little stiff from our Dog Canyon hike. Ohhhhh, I do not like this aging process!! OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

DOG CANYON HIKE & WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT

THE ROCKY DOG CANYON TRAIL

Decided yesterday we would leave for Las Cruces on Tuesday afternoon instead of early Wednesday morning. Figured it was better to be at Recreation America/Sunland RV well in advance rather than dragging ourselves in at the last moment, first thing in the morning.

Oliver Lee State Park has a steep rock strewn trail running 5 miles into Dog Canyon just behind the ranger station so we decided to at least see if we could maybe get a mile's climb in first thing this morning. Apache Indians used the steep canyon as a stronghold because of water located there. The Cavalry led 5 different raids into this canyon in pursuit of the Indians. On one of the those pursuits, the Indians escaped & the only thing left behind was a stray dog, thus......Dog Canyon.
KELLY GETS AL TO POSE FOR A PICTURE
The trail was very steep in many places with a lot of loose rocks so we had to pay attention to what we were doing. Didn't take long for the huffing & puffing to start but it felt great to be getting into some good healthy exercise again. Rock scrambling like this is one of my favorite things because of the moderately easy challenges it presents. Not life threatening but not just a boring walk on a hard flat surface either. Following the switch backs Kelly made it up about 800 feet & went a few hundred more beyond that. What a perfectly great way to start the day. The view out over the valley floor easily stretched for 70 or 80 miles. Maybe more. And, not a sound in the canyon, not even a bird. Only the beating of one's own heart. Prickly pair cactus, Agaves, & Ocotillo, were but a few plants that filled the rocky landscape sweeping up the canyon walls to the towering mountains above. Be sure to check the photo album for some of the photos I took along the rocky path. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ WE COULD HEAR A SMALL CREEK TUMBLING DOWN THROUGH THE TREES

The descent is always much harder than the ascent. It's on the descents that most accidents happen for hikers. The legs are in a totally different dynamic situation when feet are pointing downhill instead of uphill. I sure was glad Kelly had made me get a new pair of good Merril hiking boots before we left on our trip. Had I been wearing my old smooth bottomed Rockports this morning I very likely would have been upside down at some point for sure. Our rock scramble lasted about an hour & a half & by the time we made it back to the parking lot my legs were beginning to feel rubbery. I was glad we hadn't pushed ourselves any further on our first real hike of the trip. COMING DOWN IS ALWAYS THE HARDEST PART
The climb had really spiked our appetites so a bit of breakfast was high on the priority list when we reached the motorhome. Began packing things up for departure. Slides in, furniture squared away, satellite dish dis-assembled & put away, doggies loaded up, bins locked etc. Always so much to do but it sure beats sitting at home watching television & looking out the window. We stopped at the dump station & emptied our gray & black water tanks & it was at this point I made a little mistake that would embarrass me later in Las Cruces.

Rolled out of Oliver Lee State Park about 11 a.m. & headed for the White Sands National Monument which was on the highway to Las Cruces. An overcast cloud cover had rolled in on our way there & I figured things might not look as nice at White Sands but upon arriving I immediately realized the stormy skies were perfect for some great photos. We drove the motorhome on the 8 mile drive through the dunes stopping only one time for pictures & the rest of them I shot from the rig's window. Especially the people ones. This is quite a place to see & I'm glad we took the time to stop here.

Photos here... http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT 8 MILE DRIVE The highway between Alamogordo & Las Cruces is a straight & flat drive until you reach the base of the San Andres mountains & the hefty climb over the mountains begins. It's a long uphill grade to the summit & we were down to about 40 MPH & sluggin it. Then, all of a sudden it's over the top & hang onto your shorts Lucy, we're heading for the bottom. The descent into Las Cruces is like an inverted rocket ride. Gear down, short bursts of brakes, more gears, more brakes, more "holy craps!!

Las Cruces is a very spread out city but we found our way through the 8 lane highways, ramps, & turn offs alright & were able to drive right to the Sunland RV dealer in the southwest end of town with no problems.
Pulled into the parking lot & checked into the service department. They said it would be ok for us to stay right in their lot for the night & they would supply us with electricity. Shut the rig down & decided to go out for supper for a change because we had spotted a Crackle Barrel a few blocks away. Grabbed myself a nice long hot shower in the rig & thought about life & everything great & wonderful. A few minutes later I noticed a couple workers walk by looking under the rig. Remember me saying I made a little mistake earlier in the day that would later embarrass me. Yep, I did alright. I had forgot to close the gray water valve back at the dump station at Oliver Lee so all of my shower water went down the drain, into the holding tank, out the holding tank pipe & right out into the parking lot. There was so much hot soapy water under our rig that I swear I saw a flock of ducks coming in for a landing!!

It's the first time I've ever had supper at Cracker Barrel & "wow" was it great. Roast beef & real live mashed potatoes with gravy. Kelly makes me eat a lot of ho-hum leafy green healthy stuff all the time so this was a real great blow-out for me. Yes Toto, there is a yummy food God afterall.

So, here we are, tucked away in the Sunland RV parking lot for the night awaiting our financial fate in the morning when they check out our hydraulic leveler problem. If you don't hear from us for a very long time it just means we are sitting on a corner in downtown Las Cruces selling pencils to pay off our mammoth repair bill here at Sunland................... wish us luck:((

OUR OVERNIGHT SPOT AT SUNLAND RV IN LAS CRUCES

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CLOUDCROFT, PISTACHIOS, & OLD ROCKETS

INTERNATIONAL SPACE HALL OF FAME
Another cool start to the day but that is normal for this part of the country. Thought I would take a chance & head over to the parks shower facility. I think orders from headquarters must have come down the pipe to all State Parks regarding some cost cutting measures. I'm sure they save an extra few dollars by turning the dial down on the water heater for the showers because the water was hardly warm again. I would never have made a good Eskimo!! And for sure whoever designs these showers for parks & campgrounds, has never used one!! For the most part, they are not well thought out at all.

A few more adjustments to our satellite system this morning & Kelly was able to use our Skype phone set- up with the computer to phone HWH, the hydraulic leveler company. We were given the phone number of Recreation USA in Las Cruces who service HWH hydraulic leveler products. A second Skype call to Las Cruces & we had an appointment for Wednesday morning at 9:30 to check the problem leveler. HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WHERE WE STEP
Hopped in the car around 10:30 & headed into Alamogordo. Nice sunny morning with temps in the low 60's. We had heard about the nice drive up to a town in the mountains to the east of Alamogordo so off we went. A few grades, a few tight curves & a tunnel led us up 16 miles & 9,000 feet to the small Alpinelike town of Cloudcroft. It was another 15 miles to the solar observatory so we decided not to go that far. I had been up to Kitt Peak in Arizona two winters ago so had seen lots of observatories up there. Back down the winding road to Alamogordo again & headed off to the International Space Hall of Fame, a fairly new complex with a nice display of old rocketry on the grounds. There is an IMAX theater here & a large 4 or 5 story building with more artifacts relating to the White Sands Missile Range. A TUNNEL ON THE WAY BACK FROM CLOUDCROFT
Kelly wanted to check out a Pistachio farm she had noticed a few days before on our way in from Tularosa so we headed off to Eagle ranch where the Pistachios are grown & processed. Nice neat & clean little operation & we bought ourselves a stash of Pistachios. A few more errands, coffee, frozen custard, & we were back out to our RV site at Oliver Lee State Park. This picturesque park is nestled into the Sacramento Mountain Range. Just before getting there we deaked off the road & took a drive around some dusty old laneways & ramshackle tumbledown dwellings in some kind of community cluster. I was able to get a few pics from the car window. Reminded us a lot of Slab City in California. Hard to imagine people living in some of these places......but they do. A NIKE MISSILE USED TO INTERCEPT HIGH FLYING AIRCRAFT (ALAMOGORDO IN THE BACKGROUND)
The doggy gang welcomed us back with lots of barks & wagging tails. Awhile later we heard & felt a detonation of some kind so assumed it had to do with rocket testing. There was also the sound of jet aircraft in the direction of the missile range. Holloman Air Force Base is here & it is the home of the F111 Stealth Bomber. KELLY CHECKS OUT THIS DUSTY LITTLE WESTERN STORE
Kelly lit up a nice campfire & roasted a couple of hot dogs for supper. Pretty sunset over the San Andres mountains & that was about it for another day. Took Max for a short walk under a crystal clear canopy of stars around 7. The wavering multi colored lights of Alamogordo off in the distance, the peeping of frogs in the desert darkness, & the twinkling of diamonds in the black satin sky made for a beautiful night. Now, if we could only get a little heat into this nightly desert air................. THE SAN ANDRES MOUNTAIN RANGE
I will start the next photo album to-day.
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A BUSY PROBLEM SOLVING DAY:((

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 23/08 CHECKERS OUT FOR A STROLL NEAR OUR CAMPSITE
Nice to wake up to 54 degree temps instead of the 32 F stuff of the past few mornings. Decided to try setting up our satellite system this morning because that way we could get in touch with the hydraulic leveler company either by email or Skype phone. Had been over eight & a half months since the last time we set up that system so we were pretty rusty in getting things going. Out set up times last year were about 5 to 10 minutes & this morning it took us three quarters of an hour. Two thirds of that time was spent just getting the cobwebs out of our brains but between the two of us we finally managed to get things working & we were back on line. A BUSY DAY FOR GETTING THINGS RE-ORGANIZED, SET UP, & PROBLEMS SOLVED
In the meantine I had devised a plan in my little problem solving head on how to get that rear leveler retracted. So, with hammer, hatchet, & a small flat wrecking bar & crawled under the coach & began digging a hole just behind the grounded leveler. My theory was to dig a hole deep enough to set my scissors jack into, put a block of wood on top, pry up the leveler about half an inch off the ground & then back the motorhome up about 5 inches until the leveler was directly over the jack & piece of wood. Figured I would then jack the leveler back up into it's retracted position. Well, it all sounded good in theory.........................and it worked:)) Why it worked I don't know, but it did work. We will contact the company to-morrow & find out where the nearest HWH facility is & take the motorhome in to have that leveler problem checked out & repaired if necessary.
TOOK ME OVER HALF AN HOUR TO GET THIS LITTLE HOLE DUG
In between getting our satellite system set up & digging my hole under the rig we did manage to stretch ourselves out in our cushy lawn chair recliners & soak up a bunch of New Mexico sunshine on a beautiful 75F day. We are far enough off the beaten path that no human sounds reach us & we just have the twitter & flitter of small birds & coyotes in the distance. Small yellow butterflies dart about amongst the prickly pear cactus & miniature yellow flowers grow in abundance around the campsite. This American southwest is such a beautiful place & despite our little problems from time to time we absolutely love being here. Can't imagine going anywhere else. KELLY MOVES THE MOTORHOME INTO PLACE
We plan to stay here for a few days & take in some of the area attractions. White Sands National Monument, the Space Museum, tour a Pistachio farm, take the scenic drive to Cloudcroft & check out the Solar Sun Observatory, Petrogyphs north of Alamogordo, & anything else we can think of. Maybe we can slip into the missile range itself & play on the rockets:))
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THE DAY STARTED OUT OK, BUT...............

SATURDAY NOV. 22/08

HEADING WEST FROM TEXAS TO NEW MEXICO

Another cold 32F degree morning with frost on everything, but no wind, so not too bad. Quick doggy walk in the park, packed up the motorhome, dumped the tanks, & we were on the road by 8 o'clock. The land is very flat here just like the Canadian prairies with gently rolling hills and the road from Brownfield to Roswell New Mexico is as straight as an arrow with little traffic. We would drive for miles & miles & never see another vehicle. Grasslands with scrub brush & very few trees. It is the land of the huge Buffalo herds a hundred years ago. A quiet land, a peaceful land.

Saw the dim line of our first mountain through a thick haze along the far horizon. Probably 75 miles away & about an hour later we rolled into Roswell, New Mexico. I knew exactly where Wal-Mart was because we had spent a night in their lot early last March on our way home from the west. When you travel in a solitary mode like we do without a lot of human contact along the way it's always kind of nice walking into the big Wal-Mart stores with all it's hustle & bustle & people skittering around to & fro. Wal-Mart is where we get the majority of our groceries while traveling.
Gassed up at the Wal-Mart gas bar as well & according to Kelly's calculations we have spent about $200 less in our first week of travel than we did last year in our first week of travel. Our grocery expenses are down over last year as well. Average gas prices we encountered have been around $1.89 a gallon. Didn't fill the gas tank because we had some moderate mountains to go over so lighter is better.

The drive from Roswell up into the foothills is a gentle climb & it soon becomes apparent the plains are behind us as we see forests of pine trees beginning to fill the fields & roadside ahead of us. We roll through towns like Picacho & Hondo. Soon we are in Ruidoso, birthplace of Billy The Kid. Mount Sierra Blanca is near here. We reached the summit of Apache Pass & began our gentle descent to the picturesque little town of Tularosa. Another 14 miles south we were at our destination for the day, Alamogordo New Mexico. Another RV couple we had met in Brownfield told us there was free RV camping at the fairgrounds in Alamogordo so that's where we went, pulled in, & quickly pulled right back out again because the whole fairgrounds parking lot had just been coated in small crushed stones & fresh oil. What a mess that would have been!! Well, plan B. Noticed a State Park about 12 miles south of Alamogordo on the highway to El Paso Texas so that's where we headed.

Oliver Lee State Park is a great little place with 48 privately quiet sites about 4 miles east off the highway & snuggled right up against a mountain range. Found a neat-o site with a view of the whole valley floor below & nobody near us. We were on the eastern side of the large valley & the San Andres mountain range was on the far distant horizon to the west. The White Sands Missile range was to our north. Unhooked the car & drove the rig onto the slightly uneven site. Put the right hand levelers down on the passenger side of the coach but it was a little more uneven than I thought so decided to retract the levelers, put some blocks of wood under them & re-level. When I got out to get the blocks I noticed the rear leveler had not retracted & no matter what I did I could not get that leveler to come up. Big problem 10-4!!!! The motorhome was now immovable & I had visions of huge expenses coming up because it looked like were going to need the assistance of tow truck personal with experience in dealing with hydraulic problems. Not a nice way to finish an otherwise real fine day. Nothing we could do about it to-day so now I can now I get to lay awake all night & worry about the problem. RVing......ya just gotta love it!!

OUR RV SITE AT OLIVER LEE STATE PARK NEAR ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO

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Will add new photos to the photo album shortly..........

A DAY OFF FROM TRAVELING

COLEMAN CITY RV PARK IN BROWNFIELD, TEXAS

After checking the weather back home this morning I had better not complain about waking up here in Brownfield, Texas to 32F. Big sunny day going on right now but it's going to stay cold all day around the 40 degree mark. A friend from back home just emailed & said they had more than a foot of snow come down in the last 48 hours with more on the way.

Because we have free high speed internet service, water & electricity we've decided to stay right where are for the day & rest up from our 6 days of traveling. Had a better look around on our morning walk & this is a nice RV spot with a huge park area for walking, flying kites, landing small aircraft, or whatever you like. 12 sites complete with a dump station, cold water showers & a washroom. Will probably head out in the morning for either Tularosa or Alamogordo, New Mexico, with a short stop in Roswell to check for any recent alien encounters. Kelly said she would like to book me aboard a spaceship & send me off to the far side of the Universe for a few days. Wow, I think that would really be Neat-O:)) So thoughtful of her..........

One year ago to-day we were standing on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. If you go to our blog here..... http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2007_11_01_archive.html & scroll just about half way down to November 21 you can read about that, & if you check out our web album at......... http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ALBUM17GRANDCANYONNORTHRIM you can have a look at a few photos I took that day.........................................................

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BIG TEXAS WINDS & OLD WESTERN TOWNS

COTTON BALES

Nice Texas sunrise but it didn't last long as high winds brought in a solid cloud cover. We were on the road by 7:30 & it immediately became apparent that the strong cross winds from the north were going to make for an interesting driving day. The weather front also brought in much colder 50 degree temperatures which in turn caused a wind chill factor probably in the mid 40's.. Wednesday we were basking in 80F temps & to-day I was back into my winter clothes. Despite the cold gray morning the drive was nice as we ambled through quaint little towns like Aspermont, Clairemont, Post, & Tahoka. They are old & truly authentic western towns with old buildings, old streets, & old memories. Tumbleweeds blowing across the roadways, old pick-up trucks with even older pick-up truck drivers. Big cowboy hats on real cowboys. The once bustling towns are pages out of history. Signs of hard times are apparent from the time you drive into the town, down the bumpity main street, & out the other end. Empty store windows stair blankly out onto the street & there doesn't appear to be many people around. Just the blowing dust & the tumbleweed. Once cozy & elegant homes now in various stages of disrepair & abandonment. Couldn't help but think of John Steinbeck's book, The Grapes of Wrath. I'm sure many of those people left from these very houses & the only thing remaining of those people & their memories are these old boarded up & tumble down buildings. The old timers are long gone but their houses are still here.

Same thing applies to the rural countryside. Many old abandoned homesteads with timeworn windmills still creaking in the Texas wind. Rusting farm machinery & remnants of a life few of us younger folks will ever understand. We don't see this sort of thing back home in our pristine & tidy Ontario but it is a part of the old west that has drawn us here for the past 5 years. It is part of our adventure as well as it will someday be a part of our memory.

Stopped in the town of Post at a McDonald's for a coffee & internet update. Checked our emails & I was able to catch the blog up & add a few photos. Thought I had solved the bicycle carrier problem the day before but upon leaving McDonalds we noticed the bikes were at an odd angle again. Off came the bikes, more adjustments, swearing, a few more adjustments, a lot more swearing, re-mounted the bikes, more finagling & more bad words. Finally, enough was enough & off we went. Oh how I miss my big comfy chair & simple home life on days like this. UPDATING THE BLOG THURSDAY MORNING IN POST, TEXAS
We reached the town of Brownfield about 1 o'clock. Kelly had checked our, Free Campground Book Western Edition, & it told us the Coleman County Park at the south end of town had electricity, water, flush toilets, etc. What it didn't tell us was that there is also HIGH SPEED INTERNET HERE:)))) Wow, what a bonus find, & it's all free. The Haskell RV Park was free for one night but this park is free for five nights.
14 RV sites here at Coleman with a big walking area, pool, basketball, & track sports complex. A tad noisy with the highway close by but what the heck......free is free:))

Kelly called her Mom & Dad in Spencerport using our computer & Skype phone network. What a great thing this Skype stuff is. What a great thing this whole technology era is. And to think that when I was a small boy we didn't even have running water in the house. KELLY TALKING TO HER MOM & DAD ON SKYPE
Looks like the weather is going to be cold & windy to-morrow again so we just may hang out here in Brownfield for a day or too. The rush to get to the west is over. Time to relaaaaaaaaaaaaax:)) BEDTIME FOR THE BONZOS
Just added the first photo album for the new trip. Will add a few more photos to this album over the next few days & will then start the next album. Maybe from the White Sands Missile Range near Alamogordo, New Mexico.

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BLOG UPDATES FOR NOV 17, 18, & 19TH

SPENT A NIGHT IN A TRUCK STOP REST AREA
This blog update is coming to you from Post, Texas. We are at a McDonalds & it's Thursday morning 10:25 Texas time on Nov. 20/08 I am going to do the update starting with Nov. 17th to Nov. 19th. When we get our satellite system up & running I will post the week's pictures into the first photo album of the trip.............

MONDAY NOVEMBER 17TH
ONLY IN AMERICA:))
We knew that parking for the night in a rest area's truck stop section was going to be noisy but we were too tired to go any further after the day's fiasco with the bad bump & the State Park campground disappointment. We put the rigs television antennae up & were pleasantly surprised at how many channels we could get & the clarity of those channels. Watched Barack & Michelle Obama interviewed on 60 minutes Sunday night. Didn't put the slides out because of it being a rest area & knowing we would have trucks coming in & parking right beside us on both sides.. We were both asleep before 8:30. Trucks came & went during the night but for the most part we slept fine until one fellow (the truck with the cross in the grill) pulled in right beside us around 3 a.m. & left his engine running. We got up & hit the road about 3:40 a.m. Well, afterall it was a truck stop.

A lot of people don't like driving at night but I have always enjoyed it. Not much traffic & I always like looking at all the neato-o colored dash lights. We saw 3 or 4 dead deer along the road so knew we were in heavily populated deer areas. It's the down side of night driving & we were both glued to the windshield watching for the tell tale sign of deer ahead. We later saw a big Class A motorhome pulled over with a dead deer under it. All & all we saw close to a dozen dead animals alongside the road before sun up.

Crossed the Mississippi river from Illinois into Missouri, hooked up with I-57 & headed in the direction of Memphis, Tennessee. Slipped into a McDonald's for a coffee because we saw a sign saying they had internet. Checked the emails, hastily updated the blog, & we were back on the road again. Just west of Memphis we climbed on Interstate 40 & made the big swing to the west. The sun finally came out after 2 dreary days & lit up the beautiful autumn Arkansas leaves. It looks like the first October week in Ontario here. Two years ago on our way home from Arizona we stumbled across a little used RV park just off the Interstate in Hazen, Arkansas. Called T-Ricks, it's on the south side at the Citgo gas bar. We were tired from being up so early so decided to call it a day around 1 o'clock. Only 2 other rigs here. Electricity, water, sewer hook-ups & cement pads. Not all sites are equal so chose your site carefully. Lots of trees & a nice spot for an overnight stop along the way though. Plenty of room & safe for the dogs to wander & romp. Twenty five dollars a night but we got the site for free. Kelly is such a wheeler dealer. Spent the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine & 60F temperatures. Cleaned up the rig, made some changes here & there, had hot showers, & just basically relaxed for the remainder of the day. Nice to be off the road & out of the traffic for awhile. No signs of any further damage from the Kinmundy bump on Sunday........yet!!

We were surprised at the clarity & number of TV channels available again by simply putting our antennae up. Something has changed for the best in the past 6 months in regards to all these digital television waves & things. The picture quality is amazing for antennae television. I'm sure our flat screen television with digital tuner has a lot to do with it as well but if we continue to find this kind of reception throughout our travels this winter we may very well consider making some changes to our present television/internet set up.

While sitting here typing this I glanced out the window to my left & noticed two people about 50 feet away. Needless to say, they immediately caught my attention. Whispered to Kelly to grab my camera & got one shot off before they disappeared from view. Very strange & Kelly said............we must be in America:))
(Keep in mind......Kelly is an American)
Kelly later talked to this couple & it turns out they travel full time in their motorhome which is parked a near us. They told Kelly they are homeless, unemployed & not looking. They only travel on Wednesdays & drive no more than a hundred miles at a stretch. They are heading for Florida. While talking to them another old timer pulled in with an old pick-up truck & a big dinosaur of a 5th wheel. Been on the road for the last hundred years I think. Another couple pulled in with a Class A Airstream on their way from Aurora New York to Yuma, California. Said they have been doing this trip for years & always stop at this campground for an overnighter. While Kelly was in the Citgo store earlier there was a disheveled woman walking around in there mumbling something about the shadows in her life. The clerk said she was homeless & living in her car out the back beside the dumpster. We later saw her there pacing back & forth beside her car. When we left early the next morning, the lady & her car were gone. Hopefully, help came for her in the night.

A long day for the Bayfield Bunch & we were out like a bunch of light bulbs by 8:30 p.m.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 18TH
TO-DAY WE WERE IN PARIS......TWICE!!!!

A good night's sleep for Al so no excuse for being grouchy to-day. Ya right!!

Fueled up at the Citgo station & we were westbound on I-70 by 6 o'clock. An uneventful morning as we crossed the Texas State line in Texarkana about 10:45. Clear skies, lots of sunshine, & temps somewhere in the high 50's. A nice driving day.

West of Texarkana is the town of New Boston & just beyond there was our turn off for highway 82. Had decided earlier not to try going through Dallas. We've been on the Interstates since Port Huron so figured it was time for a break. Some people on the RV Net Forums had suggested the 82 route north of Dallas so we're giving it a whirl. Coming home last year we came across north of Dallas from Jacksboro through Denton to Greenfield & found that route way to congested & that was not an option. KELLY TOOK THIS PIC OF DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS
Lots of construction going on in the city of Paris, Texas but we were able to thread our way through the traffic cones, around the workers, past the detour signs, & somehow remained in the narrow pot holed construction lanes. Nearly missed a turn at a particularly nasty intersection but we made it through & breathed a big sigh of relief as I watched Paris disappearing in the rear view mirrors. Next big town would be Sherman. Into a bit more construction & a couple sweeping curves to the left. The sun caught my attention when it appeared in my driver's side mirror. Odd, it should be high up on my left side, not in my mirror. More construction & congestion & before I could logically figure out the strange positioning of the sun we nearly missed a turn at a particularly nasty intersection. AWWWWWW NUTS!!!!!! It was the exact same intersection we had just bounced through about 20 minutes before. We had traveled in a complete left hand circle & back into the construction area of Paris. *!!#^>"+! How did this happen!! Watched Paris disappear in my rear view mirrors for the second time. I was beginning to see shades of Bill Murray's movie, Groundhog Day. What if we have entered the Twilight Zone & are doomed to repeat this route around & around forever & ever. We were totally glued to every road sign going by dreading the thought of making the same mistake again. Finally, there it was, a big green sign with the number 82 on it & an arrow pointing to the exit west. How had we missed that before!!!! Had it been any bigger it would have jumped out & slapped us in the face..................
LITTLE CORA'S FAVORITE TRAVELING SPOT
Motored on to the town of Bonham & noticed on the map it had a State Park about 5 miles to the south. Figured we would call it an early day again so headed down to the park. Well, once again, it was not going to be. The park was small with no sites for a pull through set up. Got us on a narrow road with an undo-able hair pin turn to the left so went right round a sign & wooden barrier on the road that said, No Admittance!! A short distance up the road was the park's work yard & luckily it was just big enough for us to make a sweeping tight turn around to the left clearing a wooden building by about a foot. Back on the road, around a wrong way road sign & back out of the park across a narrow bridge alongside the lake. (picture) Beautiful little park with RV sites right on a small lake but no spaces large enough for the Bayfield Bunch. Back to Bonhman & discovered the town actually had a Wal-Mart. I think the day will come in America when there will be no more small towns. Just big behemoth Wal-Mart complexes with little houses scattered around the fringes of the mega parking lots.

Picked up a few groceries after supper & that was it for another day.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19TH

An uneventful night except for the ladies voice booming out over the Wal-Marts parking lot speakers in the middle of the night saying something like......."Attention Wal-Marts shoppers, take advantage of our indoor 2 a.m. special now in the ladies ware department. A free pair of men's socks with the purchase of every fully automatic shotgun!!"

Had forgot to turn on our blue flame heater before going to bed so by 4 a.m. I was up picking the icicles out of my beard. Despite the warming days, most nights still take on shades of the Arctic.
Said our good-byes to the little town of Bonham, Texas & resumed our journey west on highway 82 through Sherman & Gainesville. Good roads all the way with lite to moderate traffic. We will probably use this same route on our return as well. Nice horse farms, little cowboy towns, & just a nice rural feel to the countryside. The Dallas route would be a quicker & shorter but give me the quiet & picturesque countryside anyday.

We were practically airborne again as we came through the little town of Jacksboro. The main intersection had just been paved with a layer of asphalt about 2 or 3 inches high from east to west. Of course we were traveling from north to south. No warning sign about bump ahead as we motored through the interection on a green light & bounded ass over teakettle across the asphalt hump. Bounced out of our seats with all the familiar sounds behind us of bedlam in the cupboards again. I swear the townspeople were lining both sides of the street in the landing zone with score cards as vehicles launched themselves over that intersection. We got an 8 out of 10!!

And a big thanks to neighbor & friend, handyman Bruce from back home who expertly installed our wall mounted television this past summer. It has survived the Jacksboro bounce & thump plus the Kinmundy lateral whiplash wobble. Bravo Bruce, the television is still securely swing mounted to the wall.

Decided to stop at a rest area for a doggy pit stop & a stretch. Did a walk around the rig & noticed the bicycles didn't look right & on further inspection we realized the bicycle carrier had shifted somehow. Probably from the Jacksboro jump about a half hour before. Undid the ropes & took the big green tarp off the bikes. Removed the bicycles & set about repairing the carrier which I was actually able to do using some well placed heavy nail wedges. Good as new. RE-ARRANGING BICYCLES & BIKE CARRIER REPAIRSWHEN I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT BIKE CARRIER PROBLEM, KELLY SUGGESTED I CALL DIAL A PRAYER!!

Last year on our way home we stopped in the little town of Haskell, Texas where they have a free one night stop RV park courtesy of the town. Electricity, water, & sewage. Replenished our fresh water tank, dumped the holding tanks & got ourselves re-organized. Hooked up to shore water so hot showers coming up. This is actually a nice little RV park with about 25 sites. A restored 1883 house sits in a park like setting right beside the RV park & across the road is a pond & a nice large treed city park. Uptown is about a 4 block walk.
Did I mention the great weather yet. Sunny to-day with temps in the low 80's. And we also knew we were in the west again when the big Texas winds welcomed us with gusting head winds just west of Throckmorton. Looked up the library in Haskell with hopes of updating the blog there because most libraries have wireless. But, not this one. Wireless, what's that?? The library had their own bank of in-house computers so we were at least able to check & send a few quick emails. Hoping to stop in Brownfield Thursday morning at an internet savvy McDonalds we had used on our way home last spring.....Well, here's hoping:)) RELAXING IN HASKELL, TEXAS

THE 1883 RESTORED HOUSE BESIDE THE RV PARK IN HASKELL

ON THE ROAD AGAIN:))

SATURDAY NOV. 15/08

LOADING UP THE BAYFIELD BUNCH

It's been a long day coming so we were up before the chickens & on the road by 7:15. Pouring rain so we had 12 little paws & 4 big human feet hauling mud into the motorhome right off the bat. Rained all the way to the border at Port Huron & as expected......they put us through the meat grinder again when we got there. Flagged us for an agriculture check & told to pull into a designated area. The guy who came up to my window was cranky, miserable & rude just like the weather. Exit the motorhome, leave the dogs inside, proceed to the building & get in line with about 25 other frustrated people. Not good!! The border officers were brusk with people, firing questions at them & not the least bit personable at all. Finally it was our turn at the counter but fortunately we didn't get the grilling some of the other people were undergoing. Our guy didn't seem too bad in comparison. After a thorough passport check Kelly had to wait inside while I went back to the motorhome with the officer. He stood well back as I put the leashes on the dogs & got them outside whereupon they immediately tangled me in a hopeless jumble of cords. Did I mention the pouring rain, high winds, & cold temperatures. A totally miserable day!! While I wrestled the guys over to a sheltered spot the border officer entered the coach & spent the next 20 minutes in there doing whatever border officers do. By the time he was finished, the 3 doggy guys & myself were totally wet, cold, & frozen. Very traumatizing for the dogs because they didn't know what was going on. Checkers actually slipped out of her collar & started heading for home before I was able to call her back. Finally loaded the gang back in the coach & trudged through the rotten weather to the building for more questions. Finally, our passports were handed back & we were free to go. Total time wasted.....over 1 hour. Couldn't help but notice while I was standing outside earlier that every RV coming across the border was allowed right through. We were the only ones nailed for an agriculture check again. That makes 3 times in a row now!!!!!!!!!!!

The rains continued all the way to the Indiana State line & I figure we have driven through more rain in the past 6 hours than we did for our whole trip last year. Those new expensive windshield wipers of ours were on overtime & worked perfectly. And well they should!! A RAINY PIT STOP SOMEWHERE IN MICHIGAN
By 2 o'clock we were totally road wrecked & decided to pack the day in early. Noticed a sign for Pokagon State Park just after we crossed the State line into Indiana on I-69. Nice park & reminiscent of the Pinery Provincial Park near Grand Bend back home. Found a pull through site, leveled the coach, & called it a day. The doggy gang was glad to get outside & tear up the near empty campground. Took us awhile to get our RV heads on & begin the frustrating process of re-learning our mobile lifestyle once again. Patience Al, patience!!!!!!!

SUNDAY NOV. 16
Up at 3:30 & made the cold walk in the wet snow/rain to the shower building about a hundred yards away. Building was heated but cold. Shower was luke warm. I'm used to boiling myself like a lobster every morning so a luke warm shower in a cold shower building did not make for a happy camper. Back to the warmth of the motorhome & awaited the eventual awakenings of the rest of the troop. What a bunch of snoozy heards!!

It was snowing lightly as we pulled out of Pokagon State Park at 7:15 heading south for Indianapolis on I-69. Would have liked to have gone through Indianapollis earlier in the morning but it was mid morning by the time we reached the outskirts. Signs warned of heavy construction on the westerly route around the city so we ended up joining I-70 & rocketed right through the center of town. Turned out OK because we got to see all the downtown skyscrapers & stuff. Thanks to our GPS system (Garmin Gertie) we kind of breezed right through town despite Gertie telling me to, "button it up big mouth I'm doing the navigating!! If you travel & don't have a GPS....GET ONE!!

The next 5 hours were uneventful until we decided to look for a State Park & exited highway 57 south of Effingham, Illinois at a little town called Kilmundy. We snaked through the town until we came to a set of railroad tracks. Too late I noticed the rails were angled across the road presenting a huge angled bump. Because of that angle it set up a severe rocking from side to side motion in the motorhome. Despite braking hard & stopping right on the tracks, it was too late as I heard the crashing & breaking of glass in the coach behind me. Cupboard doors flew open as dishes, cans, food, & just about anything else that wasn't nailed down became airborne. The coached rocked violently from side to side about 6 times before I got it eased off the other side of the tracks.

We were so upset we didn't even stop or look back to survey the damage. Kept on going down a rough narrow road for about 5 miles until we reached the Steven Forbes State Park. We were sooooooo upset with everything. And then the park turned out to be a big bust as well. Rickety old wooden bridge to cross & then we couldn't find a pull through spot plus it was the first day of a deer cull in the park & there were pick up trucks & guns all over the place. Found a quiet area to finally pull over & at least shut things down, have a coffee, & survey the damage. Broken mirror frame & a glass measuring cup that was smashed to bits with glass all over the place. Stuff all over the floors, dogs upside down & us with rattled brains. Took awhile to clean things up. Looked around the outside of the coach for any damage but didn't see anything except for one of the bicycles being slightly shifted on the carrier. I haven't opened any of the bins yet. With all the deer hunters around we decided to get out of there before we ended up with bullet holes in the coach as well.

Headed south west to a town called called Salem, picked up a few things at a Wal-Mart & climbed back on highway 57 south again. Minutes later the CB radio crackled with truckers talking about an accident in the southbound lanes ahead of us so we pulled into a rest area & waited about 40 minutes for things to get cleared up. Drove another 40 miles & pulled into another rest area for the night. We had started the day in the dark & ended it in the dark. We are nestled in with a bunch of noisy diesel belching 18 wheel trucks but we're so tired we're going to try & get some sleep here before heading for the Memphis area early in the morning. What a day, what a day!!

Monday morning Nov. 17...This update is coming to you from a McDonald's alongside I-55 in a town called Portage. It's 7:50 Ontario time.......

AWWWWW NUTS I'M ALREADY MISSIN MY STUFF:((

We haven't even left yet & here I am already missing my big cushy recliner chair, 42" flat screen TV with big stereo mega bass sound, our toasty warm computer room with more stereo sound & a whole host of other nice things that make life way too comfortable & spoil us totally. But here's what I'm going to miss most.....those long hot showers every morning with that unlimited supply of water in a nice spacious shower/tub configuration. RV folks will understand what I'm talking about here. Water is always a limited & top priority item for anyone traveling & if your accustomed to boondocking it becomes a real challenge to conserve & wisely use every last drop of water. Showers are limited & they have to be quick. Showers in most RV's are small, so if you can imagine having a shower in your clothes closet, that will give you some idea. It can be quite a performance!! We have a total 1,122 sq. ft. of living space in our house but when we move to the motorhome that drops to 264 sq. ft. Ouch!! I won't get into all the things we won't miss!!

Here's an observation I've made over the past few RVing years about transitioning from the house to the motorhome. A dramatic change takes place in mere seconds when one drops into the driver's seat, turns the ignition, & pulls that gear shift lever down into into drive. It's like two different worlds suddenly changing places in an instant & all those cushy home perks are soon left behind.

Our house world immediately begins to slip into memory & with each passing mile that lifestyle drifts ever farther away. It is a huge sense of relief to finally be underway. No more waiting & worrying. No more packing & running around taking care of last minute details. No more lists to be checked & no more schedules to be attended to. No second thoughts or doubts. Time to replace that over all apprehension & let in a big smack of excitement. Time to switch into RV travel mode. Traffic to deal with, weather to watch, destinations to consider, motorhome systems to monitor, dogs to keep an eye on for pit stops, & Cracker Barrels to watch for:)) I'm on a diet so I'll just have to sit & watch Kelly stuff herself:(( Setting out in an RV is almost like putting to sea in a small boat. For certain there will be clear & sunny sailing days ahead, but you know the rough stormy seas are awaiting as well & you can't seem to have one without appreciating the other.

Aw yes, like Willy Nelson sings, "On the Road Again:))" And just in case your wondering........."YES, I AM FINALLY A HAPPY CAMPER:))))))))))))))))))"

Don't know when I will post the next blog because it may be a few days before we stop along enough to find a Wifi site to check for & send some emails. But, as soon as I can, I will be back banging on the keyboard...............................:)) Photos.....Now, if I can just remember how to tie the car on the back of the motorhome again before we leave.....Hmmmmmmm:((
Rain, rain, go away will ya!!!!!!!!!!!
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/