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About this blog

An account of our travels and tribulations.

Entries in this blog

 

Out of the Icebox into the Fire

After a short stay in Denver, we headed west to California. In Denver we had a couple of days of nice weather followed by snow, rain and cold. We were busy visiting, but the cold and wet weather was something we don't find pleasant. It even managed to snow enough one morning to turn the foothills white. I took care of a few tasks around the motor home while Louise assisted her mother with trips to the beauty shop, grocery and other shops. Our friends Bill and Laura stopped by for a morning visi
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Our Favorite Places - In Love With Deserts - Part 3

The previous two adventures occurred in our first year of full-timing in the motor home. By 2005 we had been in our new motor home for several years and were in our fifth winter in south Texas. We were getting a little stir crazy sitting in one place for four months, so in early March we decided to take a couple of weeks and head out west to Big Bend National Park. We would arrive during the peak season at Big Bend, spring break for colleges. Big Bend lies at a road to the end of the world! It i
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Our Favorite Places - Among the Giant Trees

The giant sequoias and redwoods of California are trees without parallel. To walk in a forest of such magnificent size is a privilege that few people in the world have. There is no way to read about the sequoias and redwoods and truly appreciate them. Our base camp was at Visalia, CA. We hiked numerous trails in Sequoia National Park. To see trees partially burned out and still standing tall and strong was amazing. Realizing that the branches of these trees are the size of the trunks of wh
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The Year of the Puddle

In China this is the year of the Tiger. Here in South Texas it is the year of the puddle. We are in temporary digs at our winter resort. We sold the improvements on our home lot for the last several years and moved to a different lot until we can get a mobile home on what will become our home address in coming years. So, we are right across the street from the office and community room near the entrance of the park. It is the "oldest" part of the park and the roads are beginning to show it. Now
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Patience Is Wearing Thin

We have been home from the sea for just over three weeks now. I had grand plans for our return. I had outlined on my calendar the progress of work that should take place upon our return. We are in the process of putting a manufactured home on a lot at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg, Texas. The home was ordered in December 2009 and delivered to the sales lot in late January. The lot which would be our home was occupied by another couple who had decided not to follow through on their commitme
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And Finally Patience Pays Off

For almost a month we have been trying to get concrete poured for a manufactured home at our winter home in Edinburg, Texas. Today we finally achieved our goal. We have concrete. It is curing and we will have our home moved onto our lot next Tuesday... if the weather holds. Heavy rains could still make the move impossible but we are looking at good forecasts with temperatures in the 90's, sunshine and low humidity. Meanwhile, we have picked out the furniture for three rooms and just went sh
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Excitement Builds!

There are just four days to go until our manufactured (used to be called mobile) home is moved onto our lot at Sandpipers Resort. I guess they renamed them because they tend to be parked pretty permanently once they arrive on their home location so they really aren't that mobile. Now a motor home, that's mobile! What a funny language we have. Here in the Rio Grande Valley the mobile homes do usually move one more time. Local residents, many of them recent immigrants will buy them for pennies on
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Making a House a Home

Our house arrived on schedule and we are in the process of turning it into a home. Even when the house arrives fully constructed there is so much to be done to make it a home. I watched in fascination as the house was leveled and tied down to its foundation. Being a do-it-yourself kind of guy, I then set about hooking up the water, sewer and electric. To a specialist, these things go quickly. For me, they take somewhat longer. Not content to simply hook up water to the house, I planned a remote
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Heat Lightning

I am at our new home in Edinburg, Texas. Louise is in Foristell, Mo., with the motor home. We've been meeting in the evenings via phone to catch up on the day's happenings. I was hoping to be able to tell her I would be leaving in the morning to join her, but construction continues on our home. At the end of the day when all has quieted down, I have been enjoying the evening on the porch of our manufactured home. We have been staying at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg for nine winters now. They
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The Weather Takes One Last Swipe at Our New Home

There must be a message here. Perhaps we should not be setting up household but should continue to stay full time on the road! We have had no end of weather delays this spring while trying to get our manufactured home on site and ready for occupancy. Each of three stages of concrete pour had to be delayed, some several times, due to heavy rain. Once we had concrete we had to wait several weeks for the ground to dry enough to bring in the manufactured home. Construction of an addition also h
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I'm Still Alive!

I was reading a recent editorial article in which the writer had Googled himself and found that he was dead! So, perhaps I should add to my blog lest I end up with the same fate. After all, if you don't stay active in the "net" world I guess someone could conclude that you are deceased. Why else would you not BLOG? For the last five months we've been living in our new mobile home (yes, some people don't know the difference between a mobile home and a motor home). Ironically, a mobile home isn't
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Enjoying the History Channel on This Holiday Weekend

We've enjoyed the History Channel the last few days as they do their annual replay of US history. As we watch the programs it occurs to me that our experience traveling in the motor home for the last 9 years has given us a much closer connection to so many of the places that are mentioned on these programs. Our understanding of any idea or concept is easier and more complete if we've had some personal experience with some part of the background or context of the idea. When it comes to history,
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Friends, Family and Fun

I've enjoyed reading a number of recent BLOGs from fellow travelers. It is good to see so many continuing stories. We each have different stories that illustrate the joy of traveling in a motor home. For our part, we have been "stuck" in one spot for two months now with just a short trip for a break. Stuck really isn't the proper word. We are at my daughter's home in Foristell, in eastern Missouri. We have attended my son's wedding, tended my mother after a fall in her home, returned to Texas fo
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We Have Turkeys

We are currently in the gold hills of California near the town of San Andreas. The abundance of turkeys in this area is amazing! Today we were sitting outside beside the motorhome and I saw a turkey fly by behind Louise, along the main entrance to the park. It landed within view and then circled around the motorhome next to us and back up the road behind me. We went to look and there was a whole flock, more than 20 turkeys. They were just across the road from us. This flock wanders through the
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On the Road Again!

Our winter this year was spent in our new mobile home in Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg, Texas. The motor home has been seriously neglected during this winter. We don't have to winterize in the normal sense. Tanks are drained and the refrigerator emptied and unplugged. We left the heat on and air conditioning when needed. Tires were inflated to maximum inflation pressure and we were parked on wooden blocks. I did wash the motor home several times through the winter and we were in and out moving i
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Role Reversal

Today we become house sitters. Our daughter and her family are off for a family vacation. They are leaving, our motor home remains parked in their driveway. The summer continues to melt away and we aren't going anywhere. Normally, we're long gone by this time of the summer. One of our reasons for buying the motor home in the first place was to escape the unbearably hot mid-west summers. This summer we're stationary and the rest of the world is on the go. Despite my whining about our being parke
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It's a Great Life

I was standing at the window of our daughter's home looking at our motor home parked in their driveway. I was baby-sitting two of our grandchildren, the payment we make for camping in our daughter's campground. I do the early shift because our son-in-law and daughter leave for work earlier than Louise likes to rise and shine. I enjoy the early shift. If I'm quiet, the children will sleep until my shift is over. I can use the time to read the paper and catch up on my computer communications. Any
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Bad to the Bone

Our travels after Denver were easy to plan. We drove about three miles from Golden Terraces RV Park to I-70, headed east and stopped when we got to Foristell, Missouri. Another three miles south of I-70 and we were at our daughters' home where we are parked for an extended period of time. Our activities since arriving here have included a dance recital by our granddaughter, a barbeque on Memorial Day weekend which included several killer games of croquet, and now a brand new knee for me! We've
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Knee Knews

It has been two weeks since my last entry. In that time I've made great progress in my recovery. I had doubts about the wisdom of doing the recovery from my knee replacement while living in the motor home. After two weeks any doubts have been erased. Actually I believe that the recovery has been easier in the motor home than it would have been in an actual home. From the time I opened the door and faced the five steps to get into the motor home I found everything worked very well. There are gra
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Preparing for Departure

The weather is taking one last lash at us. Temperatures have been in the high 90s and into the 100s the last three days. Friday and Saturday are forecast to be in the 100s and then we should see cooler temperatures for the remainder of our stay here in Missouri. My right knee was replaced on July 28 and is now 5 weeks old. I'll see the surgeon for the 6 week check on September 7 and then we are leaving. I will need to come back for a 12 week check and will do that by flying back to St. Louis fo
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Granddaughters on Board - The First Day

Our trip to California had one commitment, taking care of our two granddaughters, ages 5 and 3, during their two week school break. The school is on a year round schedule which explains the vacation this time of year. We look at this as a special privilege of grandparenthood. Monday we stayed with the girls at their house. Tuesday morning Dad dropped the girls off on his way to work. The girls would be ours for three days and two nights. Mom had several night events at the school where she work
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Paradise for Trees is Also Paradise for Loggers

Anyone who visits the Pacific Northwest will see ample evidence of the logging industry in this part of the country. As you drive the roads you will see hills and mountains that have been give hair cuts. Sometimes a whole hill or mountain is devoid of trees. In other locations you see patches removed from the rest of the forest. You are sharing the road with trucks loaded with logs and the empty trucks folded up for their return to the forest. The Olympic Peninsula which has been our primary obj
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Pictures Scrolling Across the Computer Screen

When my computer feels neglected it starts running through my photo files. One by one, pictures from our life and travels pop up on the screen. Some pictures fade in and out, others come in pairs. After a while they switch from color to black and white so I'm seeing them in a completely new way. They remind me of the rich life Louise and I have. Clearly, we are not wealthy in the conventional sense. Our bank account would not impress anyone. Still in so many ways, we are in the current vernacula
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Gems Everywhere We Go

We've been on a discovery tour for the last month. We left familiar territory at Coulee City, Washington. Traveling south we decided to stop in Yakima. The decision was more about taking a breather than exploring. We had arranged to have our mail delivered there and we decided to stay a week just to catch our breath and wait for a service appointment. So we played golf at one of the most beautiful golf courses we have ever seen. Apple Tree Golf Resort is a resort housing development in an apple
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Putting Nature in a Box

We have been on the Olympic Peninsula for just over a month now. Starting on the east side of Olympic National Park and moving north, west and now south we have explored the fringes of this vast wilderness park. We have also explored the towns and villages surrounding the park. There are so many things we have seen and done that I won't even begin to write about all of them in one entry. I'm starting with nature because that is the focus of the national park. We have walked many miles of trails
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