Fort Worth, TX

Sandy and Donna getting their picture taken by Mike

Catching up with Danny and Francis Stewart

The visit with Sandy & Mike Hopkins and Danny & Francis Stewart comes to an end.  In the morning we head out west bound, again, continuing on our 2011 Friends and Family tour.  It's been 10 years since we'd seen Sandy & Mike; 30 years for Danny and Francis. 

We've had a great time while here!  Good food and good visits.  We've actually grown to be fans of Fort Worth despite the high temps and high winds.  It's given our two ac units a good workout!  It was also unique to visit a town for the first time and not be there for work, too!

It appears the ac mixing doors on the truck are fixed this time.  We've replaced the hub caps and the truck is washed.   Before we head out, here's a few pictures of Fort Worth to give you a feel of what we saw.  Happy Memorial Day! David

Canyon pool at the Water Gardens

Statue in the local Barnes & Noble

Modern transportation!

Trinity Trails

Only natural falls in Ft Worth, TX

We've have a good time so far being around Ft Worth, TX.  We dodged the worst of the storms on Tuesday.  We had a great visit and dinner with Mike and Sandy at Yucatan Taco Stand on Wednesday plus a tour of downtown Ft Worth.  We also ran across Trinity Trails - walking and hiking trails along the Trinity River throughout Ft Worth.  So Wednesday and Thursday we walked a couple of sections. Wednesday we walked a section along side NAS Dallas. 

We were serenaded by Lockheed Martin playing with one of it's Joint Strike Fighters  as we walked by the only natural waterfall in Ft Worth.  Thursday we took advantage of mid 70s with low humidity and walked along the southwest section which passed by two parks and near upscale subdivisions.   

While here, we've also bought out Lowe's and had good lunches at Riscky's BBQ and Black-Eyed Pea.  Hubcaps arrived, but mail hasn't.  Wonder what's up with that? We've also upgraded the bike cover to a large outdoor BBQ cover.  I think it's gonna work much better.  Donna's been out shopping.  It appears an IPAD2 may be in our future.

We also spent sometime at a local Verizon store troubleshooting the Mifi.  Verizon found some questionable info on the file for our Mifi on its servers.  So while the computer was connected to the internet via our Mifi, we pulled the Mifi battery and SIM card and reinserted.  So far, so good.  Still curious how the Mifi can show 4 bars of signal strength when the cell phone shows only one bar.

Security

Also got the water softener out, setup & started.  I thought I'd be smart and do all the hookups with brass quick disconnects.  These attachments have worked well with our water connections, so I thought it'd help setup and breakdown the water softener when we move.  Nope - not for me.  I have a choice: 1)  have the disconnects tight so that water doesn't leak, but the disconnects won't stay connected, or 2) have the disconnects stay connected, but all the hookups leak like a blown levy.  I'm beginning to get really concerned over all the stuff Donna and I buy that, in the end, really doesn't work.  Not sure this is how you get your economy back up to speed.

Anyway, Memorial Day is fast approaching.  More rigs are coming into the campground.  Happy Memorial Day!

Later! David

Keene, TX

Well, we still had hubcaps at this point.

Yesterday we arrived at Keene, TX for a week.  This was a long day for us - about five and a half hours of driving. It's also been one of the most expensive as we lost three hubcaps by the time we arrived.  Pretty expensive cosmetic items if you ask me.  We'll take some time, check and tighten all the plumbing fixtures we can reach while we're here, too.  To say Texas roads have deteriorated in the last 20 years would be an understatement.  Maybe I shouldn't be so rough on Illinois.  At least it put up a sign warning you its interstate was rough!  You know, I always thought Illinois would have been smarter to take the money from the "rough road" signs and fix the roads.  Apparently, that's what Texas is doing.  I don't think it's working.

However, Texas does have some good rest areas.  Pictures at the bottom are from a rest area near Crabbs Prairie, TX along I-45.  This one had nice picnic pavilions, short nature trail, playground, and the museum type showcases inside to tell the local history.  Hard to say if the nice rest area was worth the price of three hubcaps, though. 

Mike and Sandy Hopkins drove down and visited yesterday evening.  We had a great time and hope to meet back up later in the week.  Maybe Mike will take me flying!  Anyway, I hope they enjoy us being around.  We can be a little burdensome.  We're using them as a mail drop/shipping drop (for hubcaps, of course)! 

Day-to-day life continues.  We've got the truck at Cleburne Ford for an oil change and to get the air mixing doors for the a/c system replaced.  They're already shot after having been replaced at Sunrise Ford after Thanksgiving last year.  The real concern is that we've got a couple of aftermarket items attached to the dash which can be easily damaged when the dash is removed & reinstalled.  Ford says they're responsible but next time we're having all that stuff  installed, we'll have it connected with quick disconnects to make life a little easier for anyone having to work on the truck.  It just never occurred to me that we'd have to have the dash removed twice a year. Reminds me of a VW Jetta we once owned...

I'm pretty much convinced that Verizon's 4G service with 3G compatibility is really just a fantasy (or a civilian version of NMCI).  We've had one good stint using the Mifi for 30 minutes while in Pearland, TX.  We typically get about 2 to 5 minutes of connectivity before we receive the "insufficient signal" flag on the computer and everything comes to a halt.  Kinda surprised to see this as the Mifi will show 4 bar signal strength through the whole episode.  This occurs whether we're in a 4G or 3G area.  And...did you know that if you have a contact on your "smart" phone that's also a Facebook friend and you link them, that you can no longer edit that contact?  Try deleting that 1 from the 1+ area code+phone number that magically gets added as your contacts' phone number.    Try adding a phone number.  Try going to the Backup Assistant online and edit the contact's info.  Try even finding the contact in Backup Assistant!    Stay with your simple phone, Theron!!

Nature trail

Playground

Picnic pavilion

Houston - Galveston

Sharon & David

We've had a wonderful time with Sharon and her husband, Bernie.  They took us everywhere.  All we had to do was show up!  First stop was San Jacinto where Texas won its independence from Mexico.

San Jacinto Monument

San Jacinto is the site of the last battle where Texas defeated the Mexican Army and became the Republic of Texas.  I was surprised to find that the Republic of Texas had a navy.  I wonder what else they didn't teach me in military history.  Next up was a trip through Houston to the school where Bernie teaches (Lamar).  Then down to Galveston and dinner at Gaido's.  Tomorrow we leave for Keene, TX where we'll visit Mike and Sandy Hopkins, spend Memorial Day and, hopefully, get a redo on some warranty work on the truck.  Pictures of the area follow.

Houston skyline

Pier 21, Galveston (close as we could get - pier was closed)

Advanced RV Resort, Pearland, TX

Artwork at the campground

Houston, TX

We're here...

Technically, we're a tad further south this evening.  We've been moving about 200 miles a day after leaving Steve & Susan at Murray, KY.  A stopover at Little Rock let Donna visit Mary Casebolt.  Good catch up-time, great BBQ and a great visit!  We'll drop by, again.

Today we moved on down to Pearland, TX to visit my cousin Sharon and her husband for the weekend.  The pictures here are of a rest area along US 59 near Seven Oaks, TX where we stopped to eat lunch.  Unusual to visit an interstate style rest area while along an uncontrolled access US highway. As always, I'm captivated by all these little museum style exhibits.

Since getting all our high-end, 4G electronics, this is the first area we've been in that has 4G connectivity.  Updating the Garmin worked really fast - downloading map updates in about 30 minutes.  Thinking, "this is cool!", I started downloading a windows driver to support our 4G phone.  That went a lot slower, so I checked the download speed.  We were getting about 44 kbps.  Wasn't that about what we got with a good dial-up modem in 1999? 

The RV industry always surprises me, too.  Our sewer connections are state of the art, screw-in style that don't require gaskets when screwed into the campground's sewer lines.  So how is it the elbows are threaded so that when they're tighten snugly, the thing points the opposite direction of a normal flow of water from the trailer?  Is there some advantage of the water making a 180 degree turn just as it goes into the sewer drain?  This is the second campground this week we've had this happen.

Anyway, we're here and looking forward to some more great visiting time!  David

Crossing the Mississippi River

The best thing about being retired and having a fuzzy schedule is that you don't have to take the route you told everyone you'd take.  After talking with the RV Park owner's son, we got a different way to cross the Mississippi River.  The Garmin liked it and after a quick check to ensure it was generally following truck routes, we headed north out of Murray vice south toward Memphis.

This route took us along I-155 near the area where the Obion River enters the Mississippi. From here it was an hour's drive down I-55 to our planned stop.  BTW:  Do you know what the difference is between the Oregon Trail of ol' and I-55?  I-55 doesn't generally get muddy when it rains.  Anyway, stuff generally stayed where we put it in the trailer. 

Only issue we had was that the washer/dryer combo unit didn't work.  After checking the troubleshooting guide, we found we had hooked up to water, but didn't turn the water on.  Oh, well...sometimes you are your worst enemy! 

Gettin' a little close!

Anyway, God does look out for you.  We weren't aware President Obama was visiting Memphis, today.  After we got here, we saw on TV live camera shots where they were blocking the interstates in Memphis for the motorcade.  Seems this new, suggested route for us was just fine!

Later! David

Back Westbound

We had a wonderful weekend visiting with Steve & Susan Burford who gave us a great tour of the Land-Between-The-Lakes and introduced us to Patti's 1880 Settlement and huge pork chops.  We also spent a great Sunday with them at their church and at the local Mexican restaurant.  I also got a great nap in while everyone else watched the movie "UP".  Steve and I finally decided that we did sit at the same table in the first grade. We also got our dog fix in as we tried to spoil their daughter Laura's dog, Julius.

We're more or less southwest bound from here to Houston and then back up to Ft Worth for Memorial Day.  Either we're going to dry out or we're bringing rain to Texas!

At Murray, KY

Wednesday at Cave City was too hot to bike & hike and so we jumped from frying pan into the fire to clean the truck and trailer (inside and out for the trailer).   Worked on my sun tan.  Thursday was back to the Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike trail.  We stayed on the easier portions and visited the Furlong Cemetery and biked around the Mammoth Cave campground for a few laps.  Biking in gravel just sucks the energy out of ya.

This past week was also a real learning experience in 4G with 3G backward capability.   Seems there's 4G, 4G extended, 3G, 3G extended, etc.  We've never had a good signal cell phone or modem/Mifi while in Fredericksburg and never got a good chance to really test the new 4G "Smart" phone and Mifi.  Once we got out of there, we've had limited access with the Mifi and connectivity would run anywhere for 2 to 15 minutes.  (Closer to two minutes when you were trying to do online banking, order something or making a reservation.)  Trading emails with Verizon finally got me to understand that we were typically located in 3G extended territory.  This means we were a low priority and not really on a Verizon tower (my understanding).  Moving into the lower use times (usually afternoon until about 5 PM) worked well enough to stay on for up to 20 minutes or so (long enough to upload pictures for an album on facebook) .  So I now know how to search the area locations on the Verizon Wireless website and see what I'm getting into.  I also know why Verizon dropped the "Can you hear me know?" guy.  They found they couldn't hear him!  The term "Save Often" has also taken on new importance for me, too.

Arrived about noon today safe and sound (but frustrated) at Murray.  Having both Donna and I work all day Wednesday to wash the truck and trailer to see it all go for naught in about 30 minutes this morning didn't set well with me.  At least the stains we gained from the trees while in Fredericksburg are almost gone.  Water is high along the creeks and rivers in this area and flooding is prominent along the Tennessee River north of the Land-Between-The-Lakes.  I'm sure it's nothing compared to the Mississippi River and what those folks are going through.

Today was the first time for us to back a 5th wheel into a spot where you sorta guess where the site is.  You kinda know from where the grass is worn and where hook ups are located.  Just when you though it was fine, a quick walk around found you cross ways in the "site" and the need to move the trailer over a foot. I think it takes a square mile to move a trailer over a "foot".  Always "fun" when those directions from the "How to Driver Your Fifth Wheeler Like a Pro" don't work like you think they should. (Special secret - when you watch the video, watch the out takes - it didn't always work for them the way they were describing the technique, either!)  

Anyway, we're located a few blocks behind Murray State University.  We here to catch up with Steve and Susan Burford.  Steve and I sat near each other in the first grade and attended the same church & school as we grew up in Gardendale, AL.  Like a lot of other friends and relatives, we haven't seem them in decades.  Looking forward to this visit!

Later, David

Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike & Hike Trail

Only this portion of trail seemed to follow a railroad bed.

Monday we decided to tackle & bike the 8 mile (one-way) Mammoth Cave RR Bike & Hike Trail.  It almost killed us!  We were expecting a trail that followed the railroad bed and would have gentle inclines & descents.  Only a portion seemed to follow the railroad bed.  The rest ran through the typical hilly terrain of Kentucky.

The trail bike trail did take you past some interesting stops that we went back to today and visited.  So today was easy walks and taking pictures of interesting spots.  A few are posted here.  Most are on David's Facebook page.

As some may know, we're beginning to get down to real planning to cross the Mississippi.  This weekend the plan is to visit Steve and Susan Burford over near Land-Between-The-Lakes, then on to Houston to visit David's cousin Sharon.

At the moment I-40 is open through Memphis, but closed near White River in Arkansas.  Our planned stopover in West Memphis, AR is flooded.  For now we plan to stopover north of Memphis.  Then travel due west on Hwy 64 and turn south on Hwy 67 to Little Rock.  From there it's on to Houston.

Bike trail had some really nice board walks on elevated areas.  This one is near the trestle for Doyle's Valley

OK. David's playing with the new camera lens, again.

Mother's Day @ Mammoth Cave Nat'l Park

New, hi-tech Cave Tour Center

Our first day ever in Mammoth Cave Nat'l Park.  We came here having been told it has good hiking/biking trails (and horse trails).  Seems it's all true.  Lots of horse trailers around the area.  Terrain similar to Shenandoah Nat'l Park - you start down and walk back up.  We're not cavers, so no pics of the cave.


Mammoth Cave Nat'l Park is dissected by the Green River and to access some of the trails, you either take a small ferry or drive many, many miles around the park.  We got in about 2.5 miles of walking.  The Green River banks & Cave Island showed significant signs of damage from high and fast water.  Wouldn't impress anyone from Alabama right now, though.

The park is making a lot of improvements.  The Cave Tour Center is similar to what we've seen in Yellowstone.  The floor plan of the future Visitor's Center looks as if it's modeled from what we've seen as the floor plan for the Old Faithful Visitor Center.

Tomorrow, we ride the Mammoth Cave Railroad Hike and Bike Trail and tour the campground.

Sample of the trials we walked.

No walk around Mammoth Cave is complete without visiting old cave entrances

This is a sample of the trails we walked today.  For more pictures, visit David's facebook page.











Caves are everywhere around here.  Most of the springs are really where underground rivers break above ground.  Apparently, there's a big problem with the White Nose fungus affecting the bats. Caves (like this one) are not only blocked off, but signage warns visitors that they are in violation of the endangered species act if they enter any cave without appropriate permission.

Arrived at Mammoth Cave

As you can see, we've been truckin'!  After a night's stopover near Milton, WV, we've arrived at Cave City, KY.  It's cloudy as the rain moves in and out.  We're within walking distance of a Cracker Barrel.  (This could be very bad!)  We didn't lose the bikes or the bike cover.

Just the normal business at the moment: a quick lunch, cleaning the dead bugs off the front of the trailer, replacing a short hose from the water connection that fell through the bottom utility access door (which I forgot to close) onto the roadway, etc.  Glad I bought so many quick disconnects!  BTW: those little quick disconnects for cable and satellite TV cables are worth their weight in gold!  (Well, maybe not - maybe silver??) 

Fussin' with the new 4G MiFi.  Apparently, the new 3G/4G network is unstable (according to Verizon's 4G forum - not just my opinion.)  Normal internet connectivity over the last week is about 2 minutes at a time even though the MiFi shows a 4 bar signal strength.  So I'm back to using campground WiFi for the moment. Anyway, we're safe, sound (I know, that's an opinion!) and warm. 

Back to dead bug removal...

Westbound

Safe and sound at the Natural Bridge, VA KOA.  Nice campground, wooded, etc. We traveled a grand total of 115 miles, today.  But it was exciting. Saw the backup on north bound I-81 around the sinkhole north of Lexington.  And where else but in America can you get a trucker's GPS, set it for a vehicle combination weight of 14 tons, 55 feet long, 101 inches wide, 13 feet tall and the GPS by-passes two truck routes and takes you down a small road where one bridge has a weight limit of 3 tons???  We're keeping the database current, so I guess it's back to following the trucker's road atlas when we travel off interstate.

Almost westbound

Well after Donna retired in May 2010 and I retired in June 2010, we've been on our "Friends and Family Tour" as we learned to do this "fill timing RV" thing.  We've downsized from 2,900 sq ft to 400 sq.  Finally got to spend traditional holidays with Donna's siblings.  Traded in our first fifth wheel trailer and bought a new one. Ate some of the best shrimp I've ever eaten on the gulf coast of Alabama.  I've gone from taking up 60% of our closet space to 25%.  Upgraded to "4G" while most of America still sits in dial-up speed internet connectivity.  So much for "4G".  So here we are wrapping up almost a month near Fredericksburg, VA.  Doctors and dentists appointments are complete.  Truck and trailer's maintenance complete, each detailed, and both are dirty already.  We have new bikes to learn to ride.  I think we've gotten to eat with almost everyone here.  And to my surprise, Donna feels she's ready to leave.  Mountains aren't calling, but the west coast is (where most of her family is from).

It's taken a lot of people to help us get this far.  While we don't own a NuWa trailer, many, many folks on that owner's forum helped us get to this point. Bryan and Lee Ann survived our shake down cruise to Yellowstone.  Bill and Judy just tolerated us!  Ya done good, Wayne.  Special thanks to Greg and Judy Bahnmiller who did a lot of hand-holding with us as we sat through our first winter with an RV.

One eye-opening experience:  I found it strange and interesting to grow up, go to high school, go to college, follow a career I've dreamed about, and still end up under an RV awning with an ol' high school friend. It's what makes life.  Friends are the most important things, and I'm glad  facebook is letting me find them.  And SFCC - you're still our church.

Vacation's over.  It's time for the adventure to begin. Itinerary at this time is Mammoth Cave; Murry, KY; Houston, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Santa Fe, NM; Durango, CO, Zion NP; Bakersfield, CA; Coarsegold, CA; Napa Valley, Priest Lake, ID, Yellowstone NP; Gillette, WY (Escapade 2011); Dubach, LA (NOMADS).  Talk later!