Coming Soon!

In May, Carol Ann and I will begin an almost 4-month long trip from Texas, across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and into Virginia where we will spend some time touring Civil War Battlefields and museums.  From Virginia we will travel through Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and finally, after 2,000 miles of driving, will arrive in Bar Harbor, Maine. This is where our 7-week Fantasy RV Caravan Tour of the Canadian Maritime Provinces will begin.

In preparation for this trip, our longest one to date, I feel like a modern pioneer, loading our wagon and preparing to venture into the unknown.  Well, not exactly the unknown thank to a few modern conveniences.  We have a few things that weren't available to the early pioneers. Such as maps, directories, GPS devices, digital communications, the Internet, and of course the Interstate Highway system!  

On The Banks of The Rio Frio

We said goodbye to Van Horn, TX at 9:15 AM yesterday (Thursday) and after 389 miles (all but last 60 miles on I-10) pulled into Parkview Riverside RV Park at 3:45 PM.  We were only about 5 or 10 minutes behind the members of our RV club who had left Alpine, TX that same morning and with whom we will be going to Mission, TX on Sunday.  Everyone was tired so we all just crashed in our coaches last night. 

The RV park is located in the Texas Hill Country and is on a bluff overlooking the Rio Frio (Spanish for “Cold River”).  This morning I walked down to the banks of the Frio for a look around and to take some photos.  The river was very still, hardly a ripple, and the blue water was crystal clear.  The morning sun was low and behind me, casting its light on the opposite bank and providing some really great lighting for photos.  Large oak trees, mirrored in the calm water, hung over the banks of the river.  Rope swings hung from branches of several trees and the clay banks near these ropes were worn smooth from the many people who have used the bank to launch themselves out over the river and drop into the cold water.

This afternoon we drove to the nearby small (very) town of Leaky (pronounced as “Lakey”) to buy a few groceries at the Mercantile & Grocery Store.  It was located next door to the open air “Hog Pen” BBQ establishment (bikers welcomed).  On the way back to the RV park we stopped to take some pictures of the Frio from the bridge.

Tonight our small group will get together for a cook out and potluck supper, preceded by Happy Hour, of course.

Life is good.

D-Day is Tomorrow

Tomorrow is D-Day, or Departure Day, for our 72 day motorhome trip throughout the southwestern USA.  Are we ready?  Of course not!  We still have a list to get through so we will do what we can this evening after the temperature drops into the 80's and we will get up early in the morning and complete our preparations.  Our goal for departure time is 10:00 AM.  If we make it great, if not it's no big deal.

We will spend tomorrow night in Wichita Falls, which is 303 miles and about 6 hours of driving time.  As long as we make it by dark I'm happy.  Our second day (Sunday) will be 334 miles to Tucumcari, NM, so maybe 7 hours max.  Over 600 miles in 2 days and we will just barely be out of Texas (would be a lot further if we weren't driving through the Panhandle).  On Monday should be relatively easy Tucumcari is only 168 miles to Santa Fe.

We will have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to tour the Santa Fe area.  One place on our "must see" list is Bandelier National Monument where evidence of human habitation goes back 11,000 years.  I'm not sure what we will find there because of recent fires and the resulting flooding.  According to the National Parks website the short trails to the main archeological sites are open, plus there are shuttle buses that go to other parts of the park.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I will be attending a "Hill Country Photo Workshop" led by Bob Pearson and his wife, Cynthia Hunter, both professional photographers.  There will only be 9 students, which should translate into a lot of one-on-one instruction.  I attended this workshop last year and it was excellent (I've placed a few of them on the page named "Santa Fe Preview."  I'm expecting this year's workshop to be even better.  Saturday will have us treking out to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument to photograph hoodoos and a slot canyon.  On Sunday we will spend some time on Santa Fe's Canyon Road where there are over 100 art galleries in a one-mile stretch.

Check back often to keep up with us and to view the photos that I will post.