Road Runner Short Term BLM Camp

After a morning soak, we headed out to the fabled Quartzite for our very first stay on BLM land. We stopped in town and bought a cable to connect the two new batteries. We had called around to see if we could find someone to install the batteries, but no one was available on a Saturday, so we decided to do it ourselves. The hardest part was lifting the heavy (66 lbs. each) new batteries into the compartment. We were proud of ourselves for succeeding at this task.

The area where we camped is called Road Runner. It's a 14-day free camping area. You just pull off the road south of mile marker 99 and pick a more-or-less level spot.

Our new batteries held out fine for the night. We were pleased that we were able to install them ourselves after we bought a cable in Quartszite to hook them together.

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El Dorado Hot Springs

We pulled out of Usery Mountain Regional Park this morning and headed west on I-10 to the small town of Tonopah, where we are spending the night at El Dorado Hot Springs. This is our first experience with soaking in hot springs. Don't know if the minerals are especially helpful, but spending the afternoon soaking and sunning was very restful. Right now the restful tone is being disturbed by the flock of Great Tailed Grackles that decided to roost in the bamboo outside our rig.

The trip here didn't start too well, since I sent Ken south of the Loop 202 instead of north. This wouldn't have been too much of a problem, except that route 60 was closed because of an earlier fatality, so we sat in stop and go traffic for several miles before being routed north on Hwy. 101, so it was near 2 p.m. when we arrived, a bit more than an hour later than we had anticipated.

For supper we had salad and leftovers from last night--parmesan crusted tilapia, mashed potatoes, and asparagus--all still delicious.
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Last Day in Mesa

We spent our last day in the Mesa area visiting Jan and George, doing laundry, and shopping. Jan was nice enough to go to both Sam's and Costco with us so we could use her membership. At Sam's we got two 6 volt deep cycle golf cart batteries. We are hoping to have them installed when we arrive in Quartzite so that we'll have a bit more reserve capacity for boondocking, along with our generator. We are still planning on getting a solar system, but it looks like that might wait until we get to Oregon.

Jan and I left the guys at home and went clothes shopping at Costco and Savers (a really nice thrift shop). We also went to an unusual bargain store, a combination of a hardware store, a dollar store, and a thrift shop. They even had two Segways, very cheap. I broke down and bought a travel iron.

After dinner we had Snickers ice cream bars for dessert, and the two dogs (Happy and Sweetie) had "Frosty Paws." Yes, it's doggie ice cream, and Sweetie was crazy about it. She will miss being spoiled at Jan's.

Tina and her boyfriend came over after dinner. As always, Tina has lots going on in her life and was quite entertaining. She travels as a representative of a prosthesis company.
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IRS, Redux (Sigh)

I got another letter from the IRS about my mom's estate return for 2007. They lost it and want me to send another copy--a pain, but straightforward. Wrong! Nothing is ever straightforward with the IRS. Their letter indicates that they are as thoroughly confused as I usually am about the original versus revised 1041 (that's another long story), so now I have a call in to the agent....

This afternoon we broke away from our computers long enough to get out on our bikes for a short ride around the park. At one point we locked the bikes up and followed a hiking trail for a while. The scenery is ever-changing and always breathtaking.

An army of saguaro march up onto the mountainsides from the center of the park.

The ocotillo buds are getting ready for their spring opening.

We spotted a smallish black bird with a crest sitting on a cactus. According to Kaufman's Field Guide, it looks like it's probably a Phainopepla (means "Silky Robe"). They eat desert mistletoe berries.

Ken looks for another good shot.

Edward just joined Facebook and invited me to be his friend. His profile photo is handsome and distinguished looking--even I might buy a used car from him 8-)

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Jeff's Visit

Jeff arrived today in time for lunch. We had steak quesadillas and soup for lunch, and then Ken and Jeff played some chess. When they needed a break, we went for a short hike on a trail just off the campground. It's a .5 mile loop, with marked specimens of several desert plants. We actually recognized some of them from our stop here last year.

This evening we joined Jan and George at Outback to celebrate with her brother (my cousin) Ron. His girlfriend, J.C. was there too. They've been together for a year and are clearly very happy in their relationship. George ordered the Blooming Onion he's been talking about for a week, and the table shared it. Ken and I had the Outback Griller Chicken with pineapple and veggies and rice, which was quite delicious with our Margaritas. We ordered a dessert sampler for the table to share--just enough sweet to top off a good meal.

Tonight the president addressed the congress, laying out his budget plan and encouraging the country about our prospects for economic recovery. Political exigencies, as usual, appear to compromise positions for change.

Jeff is sleeping on the converted magic sofa. He may get up early and head out for Vegas, where his dog, Pink, is waiting for his return after two months at school.

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Last Dance

When the alarm went off at 7 a.m., Ken's first words were, "The only thing worse than getting up early is getting up early to go to the dentist!" It wasn't really that bad, since we were just getting cleanings. Dr. Wolfe is an older man, a professional in every sense of the word, and he spent an hour with each of us. When we got back over to Jan's house where we had left Sweetie, we found her relaxing on a quilt on Jan's bed, looking right at home.

Tonight we danced to Bill Haynes again. He called some interesting figures and put us in unfamiliar positions, so it was an enjoyable way to end our square dancing in the Mesa area. We'll be leaving town Friday and have other things to keep us busy the next few days. We were glad to get a chance to see Paul and Dalya and the Perrys again, along with other dancers we've met in the last week.

I soaked in Jan's tub for twenty minutes with the water very hot, and it seemed to help my sore hip. It's definitely getting better every day now.
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Killer Dinner

We went to Jan and George's for dinner tonight. It was, as Jan said, a dinner by committee. Karen roasted a chicken in the Nu Wave Infrared Cooker, with a delicious marinade including rosemary from the bush in front of the house. [Time out for an infomercial here: it was moist and flavorful, cooked quickly, and didn't heat up the kitchen!]


Jan prepared baked potato fans from a new cookbook. Ken made a lovely salad, and we had green beans fixed in Jan's handy dandy steamer. Desert was leftover tiramisu. All yummy, and great company.

After dinner I took a twenty minute nap on the Beamer (electromagnetic therapy pad) to see if it would ease the pain in my hip. I certainly felt more relaxed 8-)

Earlier in the day we got our 2008 federal income tax 1040 ready to mail.
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Blue Tank

Last June, while we were camped at Lewisville for nearly a month without a sewer hookup, we bought a blue tank. Those of you who are RVers will know that this portable tank is for draining the holding tanks. The blue tank is then dragged behind the truck to the dump station. We watched others use theirs and decided that we needed one--but didn't buy it until we were about to leave town. Somehow we've successfully avoided having to use it for the last 7 1/2 months, but today was the day. It's not a pleasant job, but it beats having to unhook the rig and move to the dump station....

Tonight we danced to John Steckman. His choreography is the most challenging and interesting we've found in Mesa, so it's too bad we won't be here next Monday to do it again.

My left hip has been bothering her for two days now. I made it through the dance with ibuprofen and grit, but it was quite painful at times. Sweetie continues to have problems with her back legs too. We're all getting older it seems.
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Sikorsky Dance

This afternoon we went to Las Palmas Grand to dance A-2 DBD to caller Mike Sikorsky. We'd been warned that it was a mostly "nonstop" dance--very few short breaks between tips--and it turned out to be an even five squares, so everyone danced every tip (after the first two, when fewer were there). Mike was very upbeat and kept the dancers moving.

We were happy to see old dancing friends Don and Diane, whom we have met many times at Romney's weekends in Southern California. It turns out that they are good friends of Paul and Dalya too and will stay with Paul and Dalya during Nationals in Long Beach. That will be very convenient, since Paul and Dalya's home is in Seal Beach.

Las Palmas Grand is quite an upscale resort, with extensive amenities. The housing is modular, but the effect is of a well landscaped neighborhood (with no RVs). The ballroom had a wood floor and was very pleasant to dance in.

The dance level was not as high as we had hoped, but we've been spoiled by dancing with Romney and recently in the Rio Grande Valley with Darryl Lipscomb and other great callers. Winter Texans flock to square dancing in the RGV, and fewer dancers are coming to the Mesa area these days.

By the time the dance was over, Ken's leg was really bothering him, so we decided to stay home and rest instead of going out. Jan and George had invited us to join them at Sal's for dinner with Jan's friend Karen, and the square dancers were going to a dinner show. We enjoyed the peaceful desert scenery at the park. Jeff called to say that he is planning to leave San Antonio on Monday and travel to El Paso, so he'll be here earlier than he had earlier planned on Tuesday. We'll have more time to visit, and he'll join us for dinner with Jan and George and Ron, etc.
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Doggie Beauty Shop

This morning we took "the kids" (Sweetie and Happy) to Bark 'n Babies, Happy to be groomed and Sweetie to be bathed (she was definitely a dirty dog). After some (very expensive) TLC, Sweetie smelled like baby powder and looked cute with her red and white bow. She likes to drink out of Happy's Bark-Tini. Yes, it's a doggie drinking bowl shaped like a martini, complete with "cocktail napkin" mat and green olive toy. Happy has his own family portrait to look at (just at doggie eye level by the water bowl).


While we were out Jan dropped off her laundry and we stopped at Fry's to pick up some of the wild caught sockeye salmon they had on sale to have for dinner.

Jan and George took us out to lunch at one of their favorite watering holes, Sal's. Ken and I shared the grilled chicken breast with mushrooms, which was delicious, and tried the toasted cheese lasagna Jan had leftover. "Toasted" is polite for "deep-fried" and as Jan says, deep-fried must be good. The marinara sauce was great. Sal's is one of those places like Cheers, where everyone knows your name--especially if your name is George or Jan! The food is always great, the prices are reasonable, and the people are very friendly--a great combination that makes Sal's recession proof.

Later we went to Costco, where we picked up more goodies for dinner. Dinner was baked salmon dijon, steamed green beans and asparagus (cooked in the double decker steamer), and broccoli salad, with tiramisu for desert.


Lee found some black Liz microfiber capris at Costco that turned out to fit perfectly. Jan liked them so much that she decided to go back tomorrow for a pair of her own.
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Welcome Home McBrides!

The McBrides are really back in the USA after their flight delays in Portugal, all safe and sound. We are so glad to have them back home. Now they just have to find a house and school for Molly and get settled in (but they're old hands at moving, like all Navy families).

After wrestling with the internet dish and cussing Hughes Net for two days, we finally got connected this morning. Third time's a charm (and we figured out that one small but essential step had been left out earlier).

This afternoon we gathered up our laundry for the week and headed for Jan and George's for a visit. Jan slaved over a hot stove making a lovely dinner--pecan encrusted tilapia, steamed asparagus, and mashed potatoes, with frozen Snickers Bar ice cream for desert. Actually, Jan said the hardest part was cleaning and snapping the asparagus, which was steamed in her excellent electric steamer and came out delicious just plain.
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Islamorada

We are again enjoying the desert flora and fauna at Usery Mountain Regional Park. Ken looked out this morning and saw a hawk soaring overhead with something caught in its talons. The vista of the mountains and the city in the valley below is especially impressive at dusk, when the sky is lit by the setting sun and the lights are beginning to twinkle in the valley.

The campground is right at the foot of Pass Mountain.













We joined Paul and Dalya in their Alfa motorhome for a pre-lunch glass of wine and sharing, then went on to Islamorada Fish Company. This restaurant started in the Florida Keys ("Islamorada" means "purple island"--a name given by early Spanish exploreres). The restaurant in Mesa is located in the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World. Presumably the connection is that Islamorada is renowned as a fishing spot. The macadamia encrusted mahi mahi that Ken and I shared was very appealing. Dalya ordered calamari, which she also shared with the table since the order was quite large. The calamari was tender and flavorful, crispy but not oily, so it was very tempting.

Then Dalya ordered Key Lime Pie to share. It was served in a bowl, so it didn't look much like pie, but it certainly had the creamy tart/sweet melt-in-your-mouth flavor of authentic key limes. Thanks, Dalya!


This morning we spent a few more frustrating, fruitless hours trying to get our internet dish connected. There's one more thing we can try, but we put off another attempt until tomorrow.

We wanted a light supper after our lunch out, so we had a toss-together version of shrimp fra diavolo without the pasta, plus chilled applesauce and yogurt with cinnamon, which made a coooling contrast with the spicy shrimp.

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Small World

This evening we went to an A-2 DBD dance called by Bill Haynes. Paul and Dalya were there, and we got to talking with a couple who also own an Excel. They just bought it and used to have an Automate. Now there are not that many Automates in the world, and we recalled that when we were last at Peterson for a tour of the factory, we were in the waiting room with a couple who had an Automate and were looking at Excels.... Of course it turned out that Chuck and Marlene Perry were the very same couple we had briefly chatted with in Smith Center. Our RVing and square dancing worlds have crossed once again. We traded contact info and will try to keep in touch with the Perrys. Tomorrow we're planning to have lunch with Paul and Dalya and catch up on their adventures.

For breakfast we had hot chocolate, hot oatmeal, and hot tea (plus oranges)--the hot part is to warm us from the inside, since we were in overflow dry camping and didn't have any heat. For lunch we had ham and swiss sandwiches and apples with yogurt. For supper we had salmon Alfredo with mixed veggies and salad.
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ESCAPE DAY!

Today is the one year anniversary of our new life. We left Midway City the morning of the 15th of February, 2008, and headed to Solvang for a square dance weekend with Romney Tannehill. The 14th had been our last day at work, so we are also celebrating one year of retirement. How quickly the time has passed, but we are also aware of how much we have experienced and learned during the past year. We are hoping for many more years of travel and adventure.

We got an email from Terri this morning reporting that their flight back to the USA had been interrupted in the Azores on the island of Terceira, Portugal, by crew and airplane issues. They had spent all day the 14th waiting at the airport and were hoping to get on their way today.

We arrived at Usery Mountain Regional Park around noon and were put in overflow with number 10 (last year we had number 9). The number is the order in which camping sites are assigned as they open up in the morning. We set up and called Jan, who said she'd "whip something up" for dinner, so we headed over to visit her and George and catch up a bit.
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Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a good time to hear from old friends. We got an email from Marlyn Evans. The Evans will be leaving soon for a trip to Africa, but will be in town (briefly) while we're in Southern California, so we're looking forward to seeing them, and all our square dancing friends.

We called the Benson Post Office this morning to check on our General Delivery mail. We had asked Sandy Riverfront where we'll be staying in May/June to send the application packet to us there. It hadn't arrived, and the post office actually didn't have any window hours on Saturday, but the very nice lady who answered the phone offered to forward it to our next destination. We had to go to the post office to sign a forwarding order. By way of explanation, an application packet is required by all Oregon parks to stay for a month or more. We both have to submit to a criminal background and credit check, for which we have to pay $30 each.

Meanwhile, we've been having problems with our Sprint USB modem and had asked Millenicom for a replacement to be sent to Jan's address in Mesa. Instead they sent it to our Texas mail service address, so now we'll have to wait for it to be forwarded. We don't usually have mail problems, but sometimes it is a bit cumbersome to have our mail chasing us around the country.

This evening we watched Oliver Twist--not the musical version, but Roman Polanski's dramatic version. It was entertaining and more realistic than the musical, but not as emotionally engaging as the book.

I browsed through the Hofmeisters' book Movin' On because I wanted to return it to the library before leaving in the morning. It's entertaining but not much new for us.
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Saguaro SKP Coop in Benson, AZ

We drove from Las Cruces, NM, to Benson, AZ, today, returning to the Escapees park we stayed in last year. This time we were lucky enough to rent a leaseholder's lot for 2 nights, so we had a paved patio and picnic table and a larger site than last year. We walked around enjoying the view of the mountains rising across the valley from the park, which is situated on a hillside.

Everyone was quite friendly. One of our neighbors named Sandy stopped when I was walking Sweetie to ask what kind of dog she was. It turned out that Sandy and her husband also had a (probable) dachshund-beagle mix rescue dog. Theirs is named Mandy, and is only eight years old--bright eyed, energetic, and with a shiny coat, darker in color than Sweetie's, but with a very similar face and temperament.

We took advantage of the library to borrow a couple of DVDs and some books. One of the DVDs was Letters from Iwo Jima, a haunting telling of the story of the battle for Iwo Jima from the experience of ordinary Japanese soldiers. Unfortunately the DVD was defective, so it froze and pixilated at several points, but nothing could prevent the film from being extremely moving.

The night sky here is dark and lovely with stars, with the clarity of the desert air.

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Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin!

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, an event which is being celebrated in various ways all over the world. In Las Cruces the Black Box Theater presented a play called "Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin!" It was a light-hearted, irreverent look at the implications of the theory of evolution and a celebration of life in all its diversity and beauty. Bob Divin, who wrote the play and music and starred as "the not-so-reverend Bob" is quite clever and entertaining. We enjoyed the play and the birthday cake and champagne in the lobby afterward.

We did our laundry in the park laundromat in the morning. For lunch we had chicken soup, and for supper chicken tenders in peri peri sauce, baked potato, green beans, salad, and pumpkin custard.
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Another Long Day

We left Balmorhea State Park at 8:25 a.m., a record early start for us. The fuel tank was very low, because our fuel efficiency had dropped under 9 mpg driving into the strong head winds yesterday. We did manage to find some diesel before we had to resort to calling our emergency road service, fortunately. During the drive we listened to another one of our set of Prairie Home Companion cd's.

As we drove, the terrain shifted from the Edwards Plateau (largely flat with scant desert vegetation) and actual mountains and ridges came into view. The weather was much more pleasant than yesterday, and the Las Cruces RV park we're staying at is also quite pleasant for an urban park. We arrived at 2 p.m., but the trip was 5 1/2 hours (we crossed into Mountain Time).

Tomorrow we'll do our laundry and some research on solar systems before attending the theater in the evening. For lunch we had tuna salad sandwiches, baked Doritos, and apple slices. For supper we had leftover curried chicken casserole, brown bread, salad, and stovetop cookies.
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Balmorhea State Park

A long travel day turned into a really harrowing experience when we found ourselves in the middle of a severe dust storm. When we arrived at this little state park it seemed like a haven from the worst of the storm. We stayed here last year--it was the first Texas state park we stayed at--so we knew we'd find an easy pull-through site with a covered picnic table. Since it was cold and windy, we didn't spend much time outside, but I looked at the multitude of stars when I took Sweetie for a walk.

We stayed hooked up so we could pull out early in the morning. We called Sandy Riverfront RV Park outside of Portland, OR, where we plan to spend a month mid-May to mid-June. It turns out that if you stay a month at an RV park there, landlord-tenant law comes into play, so we'll both have to have credit and criminal background checks ($30 each).

For supper we had the yellow squash and black bean stew I made last night along with some of Carol's recipe quick brown bread, some salad, and some stovetop candies.
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Geocaching

South Llano River State Park has three geocaches. We were only able to locate two, because one is in an area that is currently closed to protect wild turkey roosts. After lunch we got the bikes down and set off to find the other two.  One was at an overlook point, and the road up was posted "no bicycles" so we had to walk up. Good exercise, and a nice vista. 

The cache was in an ammo box hidden under a plant.

The other was relatively easy to find in the walk-in camping area. It was a small coffee can covered by camouflage tape--well concealed. We haven't done any geocaching in some time, and found that our earlier account had been purged, so we started a new one (nleemarks).

Earlier we spent some time at a bird blind where we saw a number of sparrows, cardinals, a pair of wild turkeys, and some reddish birds we think were house finches.

Texans seem to be good at building bird blinds.

It rained last night, and some of the windows were dirty, so we started out to clean them. One thing led to another and we ended up wiping down the truck and the rig.

We played our Clans game that had been so rudely interrupted last night when I spilled my drink all over it. Ken won. That's what I get for knocking over my drink--I was whipping his butt last night....

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Travel Day

We got up early to hit the road, since we had a fairly long travel day, but we ended up spending time talking with some of our fellow campers. One couple of Escapees were interested in looking at Venture. We got quite a few compliments from several people on our rig while we were in San Antonio.

When we arrived at South Llano River State Park, south of Junction, we decided to spend a couple of days here. It's quiet, peaceful, and attractive, with bird-watching opportunities and hiking trails. We camped in site 33, with a great view of the wildlife. We saw deer and armadillo, and of course lots of birds. Not every site here is long enough for our rig, but the very helpful ranger offered us use of a handicapped site if we needed it's extra length.

For supper we had curried chicken broccoli rice casserole.
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Burgers and Banana's

We picked up Jeff at Lackland and after a brief foray into the BX went to Chris Madrid's for burgers. We got there after one, but the crowds from the rodeo made for a line snaking through the restaurant. The burgers are famous in the San Antonio area, and they were unusually good. Then we went on the Banana's Billiards and let Jeff beat us at 9 ball.



Jeff and Ken found the beer to be as good as the burgers.















Ken and Jeff played some more chess. For supper I made pork chops, sweet potatoes, green beans, peppers with pineapple, and cranberry sauce.
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A Night in Harlem

Our first evening in San Antonio found us at one of Lee's alma maters, University of the Incarnate Word. It's Black History Month, and the Black Student Association hosted an experience of the Harlem Renaissance, including soul food (fried catfish, greens, yams, and mac n cheese, with tabasco on the side). A presentation on the poetry, dance, and music of the Harlem Renaissance was set in the historical context of Reconstruction and Jim Crow. The event description on the web said: "Experience the Harlem Renaissance, the era of pivotal economic, social, intellectual and political progression of the Negro in America. Dinner will be catered by Mr. and Mrs. G’s Home Cooking and is free of charge."

We are definitely no longer in the paradise we'd grown accustomed to over the last three months. Mission Trails is an urban park, just off the interstate, with no aesthetic redeeming features.

We talked with Jeff and invited him over for dinner, chess with his dad, and a movie tomorrow night.
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Super Bowl, Super Party

Hardy and Judy hosted a great Super Bowl party this evening. The game was engaging and the food was delicious--all made even better by sharing it with friends. In addition to Hardy and Judy and us, Bob and Pat, C. B. and Nancy, John and Sandy, and G. W. and David were there. David had the winning square, which means that he and G. W. will host the party next year. G. W. says that David makes a wicked lasagna, so we are all looking forward to Super Bowl XLIV. It's a good thing Ken and I didn't win--it would be tough to fit 12 in Venture to watch the game.

For breakfast we had grapefruit, sweet potato cubes, veggie frittata, and toasted English muffins. For the party we took a veggie tray and some pumpkin spice cookies. The party menu included ham sandwiches, Calico beans, potato salad, and an assortment of pudding and Cool Whip pies.
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