“Let’s go to Luckenbach, Texas With Waylon and Willie and the boys This successful life we’re livin’ Got us feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys Between Hank Williams’ pain songs and Newberry’s train songs and Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain Out in Luckenbach, Texas ain’t nobody feelin’ no pain.”
Ok, Waylon Jennings sang a catchy tune that made Betty & I look for this small town near picturesque Fredericksburg, Texas. When we arrived at our Harvest Host destination – the Messina Hof Winery – we asked the staff for directions. Turns out the road we took from San Antonio through Texas Hill Country passed by Luckenbach, so I guess we blinked and missed it. lol
Since travelling far enough south to avoid the cold that seemed to chase us all the way from Canada, Betty & I are now westward ho, to our winter destination in Arizona.
After taking one last visit to the beaches of North Padre Island and Mustang Island, we headed inland to San Antonio, where we had an appointment at Iron Horse RV to repair the leak in our fresh water tank, and replace our now-destroyed microwave oven.
It turned out the leak was just a matter of tightening a loose connection – no parts required. Yeah! But our microwave was another story. The old oven had won the battle when Betty & I tried to remove it, but it was no match for Iron Horse super technician, Tony, who removed it and replaced it with a new more energy efficient convection/ microwave/ grill that looks like it has always been there. No small feat for this odd-sized space! Tony was also able to seal up an unnecessary vent that did nothing but channel cold air into our coach whenever the temperature outside dropped.
There are a number of wineries in Texas Hill Country, and Betty & I were able to sample and purchase a selection of Messina Hof Winery tasty offerings, before crashing for the night in their parking lot.
We marvelled at the wide range of terrain as we travelled west, with the next night spent in a dirt lot adjacent to the Fort Stockton Walmart. For the last couple of days we have been thoroughly enjoying camping in the dunes of Monahans Sandhills State Park, but are now headed west toward El Paso.
As we head west, this may be our last day in the everything’s bigger state of Texas. It’s been a great adventure so far, and there ain’t nobody feelin’ no pain.
Well, this post was intended to be entitled “On The Beach!”, but you know where good intentions can get you. No, we are not on the paved road to hell: We are at Padre Balli Park on North Padre Island. While it is fairly hot – currently 29c – it is far from hell on earth!
Let me explain how we got here.
As previously noted, our travel plans are best written in jello – or in this case sand. From Palo Duro Canyon we had planned on heading west to Santa Fe, New Mexico, but the cold weather was arcing down, bringing below freezing overnight temperatures. So we cancelled our reservation at Hyde Memorial State Park and headed southeast instead.
The end of our last post had us situated at Guadalupe River State Park, on the northern outskirts of San Antonio. And it was our intention to head east from there to camp ON THE BEACH at either Magnolia Beach or Port Aransas, Texas – two Gulf of Mexico locations that allow free ocean-side camping.
This all made possible, of course, by our new lithium batteries. But in addition to electricity, one needs water, and somehow our fresh water tank sprang a leak. We have an appointment next Tuesday at Iron Horse RV in San Antonio to have the tank repaired, but in the meantime we booked a full service site at a Nueces County park, next to the beach, just outside Corpus Christi.
As many know, Betty & I are not DIY people, but since we were here for Black Friday week, we thought we’d take the time to switch out our old microwave oven for a new one. Some time back the little plastic post that rotates the glass tray broke off, and crazy glue has not fixed it. More recently the button one pushes to open the door also broke, and we have been forced to use a crowbar to open the microwave: Likely not the safest method. lol. So we were due. All we needed was to remove the old oven and verify the available space. Easier said than done. Betty & I fought with the screws and bolts that hold it together for more than an hour before throwing in the towel. We just hope Iron Horse RV has the time and better luck in removing the obstinate oven!
In the meantime, we are forced to sit back and relax at the beach. My margarita at the Iron Cactus restaurant on San Antonio’s Riverwalk came with a souvenir mug, so I have been obligated to keep it filled and in reach ever since.
Betty & I would say that Padre Balli Park is far closer to heaven on earth than the other direction. Regardless of our intentions, we are more than happy with the paved road that lead us to our heavenly spot at the beach.
Cheers, and congrats to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for their Canadian Football League Grey Cup win!
“The stars at night Are big and bright Deep in the heart of Texas
The prairie sky Is wide and high Deep in the heart of Texas…”
The song Deep In The Heart of Texas, was written by June Hershey and recorded by a number of artists in 1942 – including singing cowboy Gene Autry. It came to mind last week as Betty & I watched the stars in the clear night sky at the ever-amazing Palo Duro Canyon State Park, just south of Amarillo, Texas. We have covered a lot of territory since our last post, with almost all deep in the heart of this supersized state. So this post is a bit of a catch-up.
After our new tire was installed in Clarksville, Arkansas, Betty & I made our way to a nice little campground called Lovin’ Life RV Park, just west of Texarkana. It is owned and operated by Sirron & Nicole, who obviously have a deeply warm heart for Texas. We stayed a few days while Tom Dansby of RV Medic and Solar installed four new lithium batteries in our coach. What a joy to be able to maintain and monitor our power supply while boondocking!
From Texarkana we headed across northern Texas, stopping for the night at a quiet rest area west of Wichita Falls.
Next day we arrived at the truly breathtaking Palo Duro Canyon, where we spent three nights in site 91 of Mesquite campground. We had originally booked six nights, but that cold front from Canada continued to chase after us. With forecasts of below freezing overnight temperatures, we decided to move back up the side of the canyon, and then on down the road to the south.
We are currently in site #85 of Guadalupe River State Park, just north of San Antonio, and are hoping to make the mandatory visit to the Riverwalk tomorrow.
The Texas Society of Professional Surveyors (measuring by satellite the exact distance between the state’s four borders) places the “geodetic” center of Texas 18.5 miles west-southwest of Eden. And it was in a rest stop deep in the heart of Texas – just outside of Eden – that we spent a quiet night between Amarillo and San Antonio. While you can’t get much closer to the heart of Texas than that, we continue to be blessed by the friendliness of the good people we have met so far in this state where everything just seems a little bigger.
“The coyotes wail Along the trail Deep in the heart of Texas
The cowboys cry “Ka-yippie aye!” (Woo-hoo!) Deep in the heart of Texas
The doggies bawl And say “you all” Deep in the heart of Texas”
Well yes, before Betty & I set out on our marvellous adventure, we both retired. In fact, we both failed retirement and had to do it over again. But this post is not about that experience. Yesterday began a whole new re-tirement experience.
We were on Interstate 40 between Fort Smith and Little Rock, Arkansas, when two men in a pick-up truck pulled up beside us and waved for us to pull over. We had blown a tire on our Smart car!
Given that we have a Tireminder tire pressure monitoring system (tpms) on all motorhome and towed vehicle tires, you might wonder why we didn’t already know that. Well, let me explain.
Nearly all summer long, the rear tire on the driver’s side of the Smart would lose about 1 -2 psi a week: Not much, but enough for the internal tpms to trigger every couple of weeks. I added a little air each time and we were good to go again. But before we left on this trip I finally took it into Fountain Tire in Winnipeg, where the tires had been installed (We installed all new tires on our motorhome and car last year), and they determined that the leak appeared to be from a loose external tpms sensor, not from the tire.
So we left Winnipeg in an attempt to outrun the cold front that was moving in, and everything was good until yesterday morning. Before leaving the nice rest area in Joplin, Missouri (with dedicated rv parking adjacent to attractive picnic shelters) I ran the Tireminder through its cycle, to ensure that all tires were good to go. Unfortunately, that same rear Smart tire registered low. But fortunately, I had purchased a new lithium battery air compressor at Canadian Tire, to replace the compressor whose battery had finally died after over 10 years of use. I pumped up the tire, and off we went.
Not far down the Interstate, I got a slow leak warning message from that tire. As soon as I could, I pulled over and topped it up again. When the slow leak warning returned a few miles down the road, we Googled local tire repair shops, and pulled into a small tire shop in Neosho, Missouri, to have it checked. A friendly staff member topped up the tire and did a quick check for leaks. He tightened the valve stem, and volunteered that he thought the tpms sensor was causing the leak. He recommended removing them from all tires, but then I would be flying blind. Because he had tightened the valve stem and sensor, I hoped our problem was solved.
When we got to Bentonville, Arkansas, the warning returned, and Betty & I pulled into a Walmart parking lot to check it out. While I re-filled the tire, Betty re-filled our wine rack with wally wine from the store. At that point I removed the tpms sensor and put a regular cap on the valve stem. We decided I would pull over again at the next rest area to check the tire with a gauge. But the rest areas on Interstates 49 and 40 were few and far between. Eleven miles from the rest stop we had programmed into our gps, the tire blew…
With heavy traffic whipping by us at 70 mph, I pulled to the side and called AAA. They were great in getting a flatbed out to us, and we followed it and our Smart to Murders Automotive in Clarksville, Arkansas. That’s where our Smart sits, until a new tire can be delivered and installed, hopefully next Monday.
In the meantime, Betty and I are enjoying a beautiful riverside site (D3) in Spadra Park, Clarksville. It includes 30 amp service and water for $17./night, a couple of cement patios and sturdy picnic table, and wonderful water and sunset views. It’s a very quiet park, except for the last train to Clarksville that just went by a few minutes ago. lol (For the younger crowd reading this, you may need to Google The Monkees, who sang about that in 1966.)
So retirement has its ups and downs for Betty and me. Sometimes we are deflated by unforeseen experiences, but for the most part we are pumped about our overlandish odyssey. Best wishes for enjoyable times without the blow-outs!
As mentioned in our last post, a cold front is moving into Manitoba this week, so Betty & I have decided to move out. We are now in a race to stay ahead of the cold, which appears to be following us south.
We had one last enjoyable visit with some of our family before leaving Winnipeg. Our border crossing was uneventful, and we made our first stop in Fargo, North Dakota, to top up with gas and food.
After a quick power nap in the Walmart parking lot, we drove south on Interstate 29 to a rest area near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, arriving shortly after midnight. The next day we made it to Waubonsie State Park in Iowa, and felt the sun starting to warm us.
Next was a side trip to Hamilton, Missouri, a small town that is home to 12 quilt shops! Who would have thought that people from all over the world would travel to this spot with a dozen stores focussed on all things quilting? I guess the answer to that is “Betty”. lol.
After a couple of warm days at A Country Charm RV Park in Hamilton, the cold weather was starting to catch up to us, so it was time to leave. Passing through Kansas City, we headed down Interstate 49 to Joplin, Missouri. Thanks to a school project our granddaughter, Isabella, is working on, we stopped in at the National Cookie Cutter Historical Museum in Joplin, taking a tour, a few pics, and free cookie cutter samples along the way.
We had a warm night at a nice Interstate 44 rest area just east of Joplin, but the cold air continues to follow us. Time to keep going…
One of the benefits of living in a home on wheels is we can move it if need be.
This fall has been unusually wet and cold in Manitoba. Heavy rains in September caused the Red River floodway, that diverts water away from the City of Winnipeg, to be opened later in the year than ever in its history. Even so, the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, that converge in Winnipeg, are overflowing their banks.
As previously mentioned, an early blizzard on October 11 brought down 3,000 trees in the city, as the leaves had not yet fallen and the weight of snow was too much for them. Thousands of residents lost hydro power, with some in the dark for almost three weeks. Some major city parks are still closed as the clean-up continues into November.
Betty & I had planned on leaving Manitoba on Nov. 8, after a Fleetwood Mac concert on the 7th. We have had good tickets for the concert since April and fully expected the weather to co-operate until we were ready to go. But then two nights ago the water froze in our motorhome. Time for a change of plans…
The park where we have been staying this summer shut the water off to all of their sites a week ago, due to unseasonably cold forecasts. We have been drawing water from our fresh water tank and keeping our plumbing bay warmed with our furnace and a small supplementary heater. But somewhere between the fresh water tank and the water pump the line iced up, and we no longer had water to wash or flush. Bad news!
Looking at the long-range forecast, the temperature may go down to -12c or -13c during nights next week, with daytime temps never above the freezing mark. As much as we like Fleetwood Mac, and would have enjoyed further visits with family and friends, it’s time to get outa Dodge, as Betty would say.
Today we are parked at our daughter Valerie’s home. We have added another heater to our basement and topped up our fresh water tank. Tomorrow Betty & I have dinner reservations as we celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary. And the day after tomorrow is splitsville!
Sometimes it’s necessary to carve our plans in sand rather than granite. This is one of those times when we need to just roll with the punches. And as we roll on down the road, we hope you also can make the required adjustments to deal with whatever comes your way.
Cheers!
“So long ago Certain place Certain time You touched my hand All the way All the way down to Emmeline
But if our paths never cross Well, you know I’m sorry but
If I live to see the seven wonders I’ll make a path to the rainbow’s end I’ll never live to match the beauty again The rainbow’s end” Seven Wonders, Fleetwood Mac
It was freezing cold this morning when I got up. (We turn the furnace down while sleeping in our cozy bed, to save energy). But I soon warmed up with the music of Canned Heat going through my brain. Betty & I are getting closer to heading out again on our overlandish odyssey, and this upbeat tune from back in the day just came rolling out:
“I’m goin’ up the country, Betty don’t you want to go? I’m goin’ up the country, Betty don’t you want to go? I’m goin’ to some place, I’ve never been before I’m goin’ I’m goin’ where the water tastes like wine I’m goin’ where the water tastes like wine We can jump in the water, stay drunk all the time…”
Ok, so we likely won’t stay drunk ALL the time. lol. And we may not jump in the water too much either, as a lot of this trip will be inland Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. But only time will tell where we end up, and what the water & wine will taste like when we get there.
Our preparations have included trips to the dentist, the optometrist, fresh pedicures and haircuts, and today we got our flu shots. We’ve renewed our motorhome & Smart car insurance, confirmed out-of-province coverage with Manitoba Health, and arranged for extended health travel insurance. Our bikes are tuned up and mounted on the back of our motorhome. We just need to pack our BBQ into a basement compartment, bring in the slide-outs, raise our levelers, and away we could go!
We have a few preferred campsites booked in Palo Duro Canyon (Texas), Sante Fe (New Mexico) and Lake Havasu City (Arizona), but for the most part we’ll wing it – deciding on the fly whether or not to boondock or stay in a campground. Really looking forward to adding those lithium batteries in a few weeks to extend our options!
As it stands, we’re counting down the days until departure, and closely watching the local weather forecasts, hoping we don’t get another dump of snow before we leave. The motorhome and car are prepped and ready to roll, and we’re ready to sing along with Canned Heat:
“We’re gonna leave this city, got to get away We’re gonna leave this city, got to get away All this fussin’ and fightin’ man, you know we sure can’t stay So Betty pack your leavin’ trunk You know we’ve got to leave today Just exactly where we’re goin’ we cannot say But we might even leave for the U.S.A. It’s a brand new game, that we both want to play…”
As much as Betty & I enjoy our travels – meeting interesting new people and experiencing engrossing environments – there is nothing quite so pleasant as getting together with our family for another milestone celebration.
This past week we gathered at Andrew’s home to enjoy a great Thanksgiving dinner. With four family birthdays in October (Luke, Lisa, Andrew, and Georgia) we were also able to recognize the indomitable aging process – the never-ending movement, until death, from birth to childhood, to teenager, to maturity, to senility (for some). OK, so Betty & I aren’t quite senile yet, but as our kids and grandkids get older, there seem to be more and more things that they can do, and fewer and fewer things that we can do. On that point, Betty says I should speak for myself, since her daily yoga practices have contributed to her much greater range of motion. Point taken…
In any event, there is much to be thankful for, and we are truly blessed with a wonderful family. It is a joy and honour to engage with each of them as they experience the highs and lows of navigating life on this earth.
As we return to our travels, Betty & I hold each of them in our hearts, and look forward to future opportunities to share celebrations together.
We hope that you also can know love and acceptance in ways that contribute to a healthy, stimulating, and satisfying future, whether you are travelling or staying put for awhile.
Some reading the above title might think that I am about to reveal the secret of this most important existential question. But you would be wrong! You’ll just have to wait for another post for the answer to that one. lol.
Betty & I awoke yesterday to a blanket of white – and it wasn’t on our bed… It’s still only mid-October, but Manitoba is experiencing its first blizzard of the season. Yikes! With leaves still on the trees, the weight of snow has downed many branches, and in some cases, whole old trees. Many have lost hydro power. All major roads out of Winnipeg were closed yesterday, and many businesses shut. We were scheduled to have our brakes and tires checked before our departure in a few weeks, but the garage was closed as a result of the storm.
The weather in Winnipeg has not been great this fall, with far more rain than usual flooding our campground and the fields around. So sorry for the farmers who haven’t yet finished harvesting their crops. But for us this winter weather is the icing on the cake – or some other kind of frosting!
In some ways we have been preparing all summer for our imminent departure, but now it can’t come soon enough! For those unfamiliar with snowbird rules, we cannot spend more than 180 days a year in the U.S.A. without being impacted by U.S. immigration and tax laws. As previously noted, the calculation is not based on a calendar year, but any rolling period. So for us, if we were to leave prior to November 8, we would have to return before April 30 of next year, and who knows if this snow will be gone by then… Looking forward, we must be careful in counting days, as next year February contains 29, rather than the usual 28. Therefore, this requires 2020 foresight. lol (or groan…)
Unfortunately, the bad weather has not been our only setback. Our last post on “Tinkering” noted that Betty was enjoying quilting with her Pfaff sewing machine again. But the machine broke down just after the post, and she was only able to get back to quilting today. Time is running out to complete all the birthday & Christmas presents before we leave.
I highlighted work refurbishing our site marker: The Reddoch ReTreat. It had been a labour of love as I applied 15 coats of Varathane to the 40 year old tree slab. For some unknown reason, after the final coat was applied, I stood it up only to have the red ink from the Canadian flag on one side, and the motorhome on the other, run in streaks down the wood – under the Varathane coating! I had no alternative but to sand it down again. This time, I went to Staples and had the images for both sides laminated. I have now applied another 15 coats, and hope that the sign will stand up for a few more years to come.
While at the FMCA rally in Minot, North Dakota, Betty & I attended a session on RV fire safety. On return I confirmed that one of our fire extinguishers was subject to recall, so had it replaced and mounted horizontally, as recommended, to prevent the chemicals from compacting on the bottom. At the same time, we purchased another extinguisher which I mounted horizontally in the unlocked propane bay. Finally, we purchased a rope ladder which I attached to our bed base, just below the emergency escape window in our bedroom. We hope to never use it, but in the event of a fire, Betty & I now know that the window will open; the ladder will drop down; and we can evacuate.
Well, speaking of evacuating, Betty & I can answer the question: “Why are we here?” another way. In a couple of days we will be joining the rest of our family for a Thanksgiving dinner at Andrew’s home. It will be a great time together to celebrate our love for each other and all our rich blessings. And finally, we will also be voting on Monday in the Canadian election, with thankfulness for where “here” is, even if it is prematurely cold!
On the road, Betty & I are limited by size and weight in the number of tools and supplies that can travel with us. While we want to reduce those things to the bare minimum, we both likely have some way to go in reaching that goal. For me, maybe it was my Boy Scout training that taught me to always “be prepared”– you never know when you might need that extra wrench! But the old Boy can only carry so much, and we’re always thinking about what we can leave behind. I’m sure there are times when Betty considers me to be excess baggage, but for now she’s still lugging me around. Lol.
In any event, back in Winnipeg we are able to temporarily borrow back some of the tools and supplies we passed on to our children when we left. While Betty uses a lightweight Brother sewing machine during our travels, she was more than happy to get reacquainted with her Pfaff Quilt Expression 2046 on return. As previously noted, she has been sewing up a storm, with new pillow cases, place mats, runners, rugs, and quilts, to name just a few of her many new creations.
On our travels, whenever we stop somewhere for more than a couple of days, we set out our shingle, identifying our Reddoch ReTreat, highlighted by a planter of blooming flowers. But over the past year, that sign has become decidedly ragged, and I looked forward to restoring it this summer. With tools borrowed back from our sons and sons-in-law, I was able to sand and re-finish the tree slab recovered from the Rocky Mountains near Banff, Alberta forty years ago, in hopes that it can live a few more years as our campsite marker. So far I have about ten coats of Varathane on each side, and hope to finish off the can in the next week, before returning the brush to my son.
We had attached our Carefree of Colorado Buena Vista Add-A-Room to our coach for the summer, mostly creating a sewing room for Betty. Although the structure is fairly well designed and engineered, it came with two very weak rafters to hold up the side panels. Even a light breeze would dislodge the rafters, letting in rain and scratching the paint on our motorhome. Yikes! I contacted what maybe should have been called Careless of Colorado, as their “Customer Care” department was no help at all, even though I was very specific about what we needed: Did they make what we needed? We had purchased the room through Camping World in the U.S., and C. of C. simply referred me back there. In my experience, Camping World staff are largely uneducated about the products they sell, but would have been more than happy, if I insisted on their help, to charge me $100./hour in their service department to look at the problem. No thanks!
Instead, I went to Home Depot and picked up a number of small parts which, with the help of our neighbour, Brian, and son-in-law, Adam, were able to be “MacGyvered” together into a fix. Even in moderate winds and rain now, the structure is holding firm. I described the fix to Carefree of Colorado Customer Care, and would suggest that their engineers may want to improve their product before I patent the fix. Lol.
My tinkering has also included insulating some of our basement storage spaces in preparation for adding lithium ion batteries this fall; taking some golf lessons & getting out on the course with our son; and taking the photography course noted in the last post, among other large & small tasks. Attached to this are some of the pics from previous trips that I cropped after taking the photo course.
The summer has passed by quickly, and we are now in preparation mode for future travels. Tinkering with borrowed tools and supplies has been great, but it’s time to think about lightening our load again. Just hope Betty still isn’t considering me excess baggage!