Home again

Home again, or at least our other home. After spending almost 5 months and 14000+ Kilometers in our trailer we forgot where we put stuff in our home here in Hastings. It is nice to use a full size keyboard and monitor again.
We started out on November 21, 2009 heading south through Gananoque into New York state, then Pennsylvania, a bit of Maryland and West Virgina then skirting the Appalachians through Virginia and Tennessee, a few miles of Georgia, into Alabama where we arrived at Rainbow Plantation park on the 24th of November. We stayed in LA (lower Alabama) for Thanksgiving (American) and Christmas, then on the 27th of December we moved to a park called Betty's in Lafayette Louisiana, where we celebrated the arrival of 2010. From there we traveled into Livingston, Texas and stayed at the park that is the headquarters for the Escapees, one of the camping clubs we belong to. After a week there we dropped down to Rockport, Texas on the Gulf of Mexico where we were joined by our friends Terry and Barb. We stayed there about 5 weeks then headed over to Big Bend National Park. On the way there we stopped at another National Park that encompassed Lake Amastad, a lake formed by a damn of the Rio Grande River that forms the boarder between the US and Mexico. We also spent a few days at a state park called Seminole Canyon where we went on a guided tour of the canyon to see areas where aboriginal people have lived for thousands of years. Their rock paintings are amazing.  Big Bend covers an immense area of the Chihuahian Desert and completely encompasses the Chisos Mountains. After a spectacular week in what I like to call "Gods gravel pit" we traveled north into the Davis Mountains where the highlight was a tour of the McDonald Observatory, home of the 4th largest reflecting telescope in the world. We also had to get the front left wheel bearing replaced on our truck. Luckily it didn't happen in Big Bend because there were no repair shops for many many miles.
We started to think about our journey home at this point and headed north again to a disappointing place called Pecos where we were told nothing ever happens. While we were out on our first day there was a shoot out between  the police and one of the long term campers at the park. The policeman was wearing a vest so he survived but the bad guy in this case didn't as he shot himself. The park was evacuated during a short standoff and we missed everything.
We went further north into New Mexico staying at another Escapee park called The Ranch for a week. We liked it there and probably should have stayed another week. Roswell, the home of flying saucers and the US government top secret aircraft test center "Area 51" was one of the places we visited. I know because I bought a T shirt.
Now we turned east stopping at Abilene Texas (bad weather and poor campground) continuing east to a very nice campground north of Tyler, Texas. We stayed there a couple of days then moved NE to Hot Springs, Arkansas where we also stayed a couple of days. The main street of the town of Hot Springs is surrounded on both sides by Hot Springs National Park. The area has many bath houses (only two are still being used as bath houses). In the late 1800's and early 1900's many people traveled to the baths hoping to cure any number of ailments. The Veterans Administration built a huge hospital overlooking the town to care for injured armed forces personel. Today many people still come to the baths to relieve aches and pain. At several spots on the main street you can fill your water bottle with hot water fresh from the ground.
Still heading ENE we stayed in Natchez Trace State Park in Tennessee then on to Raccoon Valley, another Escapee park in Tennessee. We had to decide at that point which way to proceed, north through Detroit, northeast through Buffalo or return up I 81 to Gananoque. North was the shortest but we have never liked going through Detroit. We also wanted to stop in Mississauga and see Kevin, Sarah and the grand kids, so we went north. The weather had been quite warm and I had always wanted to see the Air-force Museum just outside Dayton, Ohio so off we went. The closest campground to the museum sounded nice and probably was once upon a time. It is terribly run done now and sits between 2 major highways and a railroad level crossing. Talk about noisy. The museum though was spectacular. 4 hangars full of any kind of aircraft you can imagine. All the planes used by previous US Presidents are there as well as the experimental planes I remember from when I was growing up. I had no idea there were so many different aircraft involved in WWII.
The passage through Detroit would have been uneventful except we wanted gas, so we took an exit sort of at random. Big mistake. Before we even got off the ramp the road deteriorated to large cracks and potholes and all the surrounding buildings were closed and boarded up. Of course there were no gas stations in sight. Luckily our GPS was telling us how to get back to the highway. We found gas just before the on ramp to I 75 and filled up. Canadian customs was smooth as well with almost no wait. We spent the night at the Flying J Truck stop just south of London then on to Mississauga the next day. After a nice visit we left the next morning (Good Friday) for what we thought would be an easy drive across Toronto. Not so. It was by far the worst drive of our whole trip. Bumper to bumper from Young St. all the way to Oshawa then still very heavy to Highway 45 where we went north again to HOME! All in all a great trip. Thanks for coming along with us.
I'll try to put together a picture slide show in the next few weeks that I can share on line.
Till next time, happy trails.

Pat and Carolyn

Moving East

Tomorrow we start on the trek home. New Mexico is a nice place that we hope to see more of someday. On Wednesday we went to Roswell. Not sure what I expected but Roswell is a lot bigger than I thought it would be. Roswell came to my attention quite a few years ago. Some of you might remember back in the late 40's on a ranch 75 miles outside Roswell something crashed in the desert. The descriptions given by the rancher at the time are very strange. Just before midnight July 4 1947 he heard a loud noise, different from thunder.The next day he discovers a debris field 300 yards wide and 3/4 of a mile long. The story has developed from there with the military declaring it was nothing more than a weather balloon. I remember my mother telling me she believed there certainly could be aliens visiting us. The universe is so large that almost anything could be out there and probably is. Whether or not they want to visit us is the question.

 Happy belated St. Patty's day. We had a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner here at The Ranch and today the folks here sang Happy Trails To You and wished us a safe journey. The Ranch is one of the friendliest Escapee parks we have visited. It does give new meaning to the phrase "middle of nowhere". It's a nice middle of nowhere. It's the people that make the difference.The plan is to spend a day or two in Abilene then on to Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.
Be well. Talk to later.

Pat and Carolyn

Weather report

After several days of bright blue sky and warm temps (some days over 80F) we now have rain. The forecast says possibly snow showers and a little north of here I-40 near Albuquerque was closed due to snow.  We are presently in New Mexico at an Escapee Park between Carlsbad and Roswell called The Ranch. They call themselves the friendliest park in the system and so far I'd say they are right. They even ring a brass bell when a new arrival comes  into the park so nearby people can come over to greet you. The Escapee system has two kinds of parks, the Rainbow Parks and Co-Op parks. The Ranch is one of the latter. All the sites in the park are owned by individuals and when you visit you get to stay on a site where the owner is absent. I'd say about 20% of the sites are empty.

Yesterday, on the advice of one of our neighbours we drove into The Lincoln National Forest to Sitting Bull Falls. It turned out to be quite a nice place although a longish drive. Then the local camp host told us about a little town another 20 miles into the forest where a restaurant has a very popular smorgasbord every Sunday. So off we went and he was right, a great meal. Somehow the drive out seemed shorter and the scenery was spectacular.




Before coming here we spent a few days in Pecos, Texas at an Escapee Rainbow Park. It is not much of a park. Just a big gravel lot with RV's crammed together. OK for overnight I guess. It didn't help that there was a police officer shot while serving a warrant to a resident of the park. We were away for the day so we missed everything. Seems there was a standoff with the local swat team and the park was evacuated for several hours. And we missed it all.
Tomorrow we are traveling to Roswell the home of Area 51 and the alien museum. More later.

Hope all is well with you.

Pat and Carolyn

Fort Davis, Texas

We are currently sitting in our trailer with a fairly strong wind storm happening outside. The sky is blue and sunny but the wind is fierce. We plan on moving on to Pecos Tex. tomorrow but there is a small problem with our truck. The left front wheel bearing is failing and the new part will not be here til 9am tomorrow. The mechanic says we will be on our way by 11am but I guess we'll see. I'm just glad we found it here rather than on the road.

Yesterday we went on a scenic drive on a winding twisting  big loop that took us through some very pretty countryside. It also brought us to the McDonald Observatory where we spent an entertaining afternoon. The road up the side of the mountain is the highest paved road in the US. Almost 6000 ft above sea level. Did I mention that Fort Davis is the highest town in Texas? The pictured telescope is considered the 5th largest in the world and the mirror (in the middle of the second picture, you can see the bent reflection of the support structure.) is actually the biggest but only 80% of it can be used because of movement limitations, so there are bigger telescopes. The mirror is cleaned 2-3 times per week using carbon dioxide snow. Not really sure how that works but I was assured it does. We spent a pretty intense 3 hours learning things about our closest star (the sun) and our galaxy. Did you know that the sun is not on fire? It's really a ball of hydrogen gas being held together by it's own gravity and the pressure of the gravity creates a nuclear reaction. (at least that's the way I remember it. Luckily there were no tests.)

Before coming here we spent a week in God's gravel pit (sometimes referred to as Big Bend National Park) or as one gentleman we talked to said it was miles and miles of miles and miles. The park is in the Chihauhaun (like the dog) desert so its full of plants that are out to get you. Big nasty thorns and such. The Chisos mountains are completely encompassed by the park. We went on several hikes and learned more about this amazing place that most people in the 1800's considered worthless. The few that came here had a harsh life but they found that cattle and sheep actually liked it.(Something about the quality of the grass.) They liked it so much that the grass has all but disappeared due to overgrazing. So the park got started (65 years ago) to protect it from us.
The park gets its name from the big bend in the Rio Grand River which is the international border between Mexico and the US. There were many times on our hikes that we felt you could almost reach out and touch Mexico. It's a beautiful stark place. I'm glad we finally made it. I would like to include a map of our travels, but haven't figured that out yet.

 

Lunch after one of our hikes.

Hope this finds you well.

Pat and Carolyn

Warm weather at last.

Hi all,
I’m sitting on a comfortable couch at a place called Stillwell Ranch and RV Park, just outside Big Bend National Park in Texas. They only have Wi-Fi at the office so it’s difficult to check Email.
 The gold medal hockey game is on so if my spelling and grammar suffer I’m sure you’ll understand. I couldn’t get our satellite dish working though another Ontarian I met had. He says we are on the edge of Bell Satellite coverage and dish alignment must be perfect.
We arrived on Wednesday and have spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday driving (mostly driving) and walking in the park. This place is big. We have to drive over 1 ½ hours just to get to the main visitor center then an hour to most of the other sites.The speed limit is 45mph. That doesn't help.  It’s a very impressive place. If you have ever seen a desert you’ll know what I mean. The Chisos Mountain Range is encompassed completely by the park.
It’s hard to believe that people actually lived and thrived here but we have been assured they did. For over 4000 years too. The aboriginal peoples lived and traveled throughout a huge area as their many petroglyphs and other artifacts attest.
(I think I’ll put the computer down for a bit as there are less than 7 minuets in the game and I can’t concentrate.) Oh no! Over time!
One negative watching the games here in the US is just that. Everything has a US slant. But, I can’t really complain.
I almost forgot. The temp got up to 81F on Thursday. We have finally found heat. Lucky for us it’s a dry heat and the nights are cool. Right now the clouds are gathering and we may get rain. That might get interesting as rain in the desert is a rare thing and the plants will bloom very quickly. Of course it snowed less than a week ago so go figure.
CANADA SCORED! GO CROSBY! GO CANADA!!!
The wind has really come up out of the northwest.  It looks like we’re having a dust storm. The rain is still coming.
We plan on moving tomorrow to a RV park on the other side of Big Bend. If we get wifi I'll try to update with pictures.
Take care till then.


Carolyn and Pat

What a differance a day makes

Yesterday was sunny and warm. We went on a 6 mile (round trip) bike hike to panther cave. It's only accessible by boat but we could see it well enough. It's in a rock outcrop where the Seminole Canyon and the Rio Grande  meet. Speaking of meeting, on this little hike we met 3 groups of Canadians. One from Hamilton On. another from Red Deer Alberta and one from Quebec. How bout that eh!




                                                                                              See the Panther? ^ In the top half.
Then we had a spectacular sunset (red sky at night is good, right?)

     Over night the wind came up and this morning about 9:30 it started to hail and snow. Nothing stayed on the ground but still, I felt cheated. We drove a long way to get away from this. Maybe one of those other Canadians brought it with them.
Any way we carried on and went to visit Langtry the home of Judge Roy Bean, the only law west of the Pecos.     You can learn more at  Judge Roy Bean        

                                                                       
We plan to leave tomorrow and Carolyn hopes there will be no wifi at Big Bend. We'll see.
Below is a view out our window.  Take care, hope I'm not boring you.

Back in the desert again.

We arrived yesterday after a short drive (about an hour) in Seminole Canyon State Park. It was a pleasant drive on a nice sunny day. The park area reminded us of our time in Arizona a couple of years ago. Lots of prickly pear cactus as well as many other thorny plants out to get you. It's hard to believe that people actually lived here but as our hike leader said everything needed for survival is here. We were on a 2 hour guided hike into the canyon to see were people have lived for over 4000 years. They are not sure who the people who lived here were or how long they were here. Judging by the number of pictographs on the canyon walls they spent a lot of time and effort here.

It was nice to have shorts on again. We even put the air on in the trailer for a while, but rain and possibly snow is forecast for tomorrow. I think we'll sit tight. The desert is supposed to be interesting after a rain. We will see. In the meantime there are several bike paths in the park so we'll check them out today.