Grand Canyon AZ

May 31, Wednesday

Leave camp and head north back into the Grand Canyon Park, there is a bit of a delay as vehicles slow to look at the huge elk on the road side.  We head east to check out Desert View, Grand Canyon and stop to again be awed by the amazing sights. 

We travel through all sorts of different terraine, from Ponderosa Pine forests, to technicolour canyons and arid desert.

Ooh, looks a bit skinny!

We did plan to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon but the road which would take us there has severe switchbacks so we decide to go on to Page AZ.  Happily there is a McD’s there and we need some WIFI so there we go!

Just across the State Line to Utah we get to the primitive camp we sussed out on Lake Powell but find we need a camp pass plus $14/night camp fee and yadda yadda yadda we cough up the $64.00 for an annual park pass which enables us to visit any National Park or Federal Recreation Land in the whole of the USA so actually very good value.

We arrive at Lone Rock - it’s a beach and the tracks down to the lake are sand (RV’s are warned against possible soft sand) but we have a recce and decide we will be OK so make our way down to the lake shore. It’s very busy with campers and day trippers but we find a flat spot overlooking the lake and set up camp.  It is beautiful, about 29C, with a slight breeze which is just enough to cool us in the shade.  We sit on the beach for a while and make friends with our new neighbours and their dog.  We learn about Verizon vs AT&T, a new app called Campendium for finding off the main track camp sites, and take in an amazing sunset and we are  good for the night.  The stars are brilliant too, just like in the Sounds, but the sky just seems bigger here.

Nearly sunset, very calm

Lone Rock on Lake Powell

Grand Canyon

May 30, Monday

Brr it’s cold this morning, 7 C.  The AC’s work on heating, that’s a bonus we’re grateful for.  

We are at the Grand Canyon again by 10 am and spend around five hours exploring the Red Route from where we catch glimpses of the Colorado River more than a mile down. It's truly spectacular!

Colorado River way down!

Having photo taken under Hermits Rest Bell brings luck in Vegas!

Elk come to visit the campground this evening.  We saw lots of them at the GC and also the cutest little chipmunks!

Elk watching Kim wash front windscreen

Tomorrow we are moving on to check out the North Rim of the Grand Canyon where there are lots of State Forest and Pubic Land areas so we are thinking of doing some dry camping between now and when we hit Vegas on 5 June, so we might not have WIFI or phone access for a few days.  Will blog again when we hit Vegas.  

Camp Verde to Grand Canyon

May 29, Sunday 

Have to say, last night’s buffet at the Casino was extraordinary!  Kim was so happy - it was Beef Rib night. The carvery lady (bless her) seriously cut a slab at least 1 inch thick, Kim opted to have his “slice” put on the grill but I had mine medium rare, as it came off the cow!  She guessed correctly, as it turned out, that I wouldn’t be back for seconds, but I sure did justice to the firsts!  We timed it perfectly as behind us were a bus load of Asians.  For the record, we didn’t just have meat… really good mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, salad etc. and manged to fit in dessert as well, topped with icecream.  Happy and very stretched tummies….

So this morning we get organised early and are on the road by about 9am.  We first follow the I17 north to Flagstaff then take 180, the scenic route, before branching back onto the 89 to drive to Tusayon where we have booked for a couple of nights at the Grand Canyon Camper Village.

We got pretty high (as in elevation) getting here, as far as 9,000 feet above sea level and we had an 8% grade to climb back down again but the scenery was beautiful.

Snow on the mountain tops - in Arizona?

Trees, Mountains, Blue Sky

The weather was perfect, just a few white fluffies which kept the temp down so we did not have to deal with the 3 digit high temps they forecast.  It's probably somewhere around 22 C by the feel.

After checking in to the camp, we suss out the shuttle to the Grand Canyon, it picks us up right across the road from the camp.  Takes only about 15 minutes to get to the Visitors Centre, where we catch a blue bus to the Village.  Once again we are astounded at our first glimpse of this natural wonder, it is absolutely breath taking!!

It was interesting seeing the Bright Angel Lodge again, we stayed here on our bike trip back in 2006, it looked exactly the same!  We are still surprised that there are areas in these built up areas where there is no impediment to falling over the edge, no railing or walls. We did see a posted sign showing a missing person so I guess they lose one every now and again.  OSH would have a fit!

We get back to camp about 4ish and make friends with our neighbours, he a police officer and she an ex police officer and their kids and uncle plus Diesel the dog, all staying on a 40 foot Winnebago. They were really interesting people and we find out they are carrying on with a similar route to us, so you never know, we may see them again. Perhaps in Vegas.

No phone coverage here and WIFI is limited.  No TV here either so we start to watch a movie but don’t make to the end.  Busy day!

Distant Drums RV Resort AZ

Saturday 28 May 2016

Nice sleep in but it’s starting to get hot and there is activity happening, don’t want to miss anything so get up and check it out - scenic flights from the nearby airport and all sorts of comings and goings.  Gary’s Mobile Power Wash is cruising up and down the loops scoping for business, yesterday it was an RV Repair outfit.

It's only 8.30 am and it’s already 25 C and not a cloud in the sky. We decide against going over to the Casino for the $8.99 all you can eat breakfast buffet, opting for the healthy option - fresh strawberries and cereal. 

Pretty soon it is 30 C and we are off to the pool to cool off – the pool is supposed to be heated but probably just as well it isn’t – it is very refreshing as is!  It's very peaceful for an hour or so then the families and kids start to arrive, so we bail and have some quite time at the coach.

Relaxing by the Pool

Here are some photos of the Distant Drums RV Resort

Running Bear Lane, we are third back from right

View over the edge of Resort, looks like a sinkhole!

Just seen the weather for the Grand Canyon tomorrow, forecast for 105 F!  It is forecast for 3 digits for the next five days.  Oh well, just have to take lots of water!  Rather that, than in Houston where they have yet more life threatening floods.

We are off to the Casino for dinner shortly and will stay and watch more of The Rhythm Edition Band. 

Found out why the US dollars are green, that was the colour most readily available in large quantities when paper money was being printed.  Before the days of paper money Americans traded animal skins including elk and deer bucks.  That where the word "buck" comes from.  There you go - some trivia for you.

Payson to Camp Verde AZ

Friday May 27 

Woke to another beautiful sunny day.  No messing around this morning, we are on a mission.  We get underway early and stop just down the road at Walmart to reprovision – the parking lot looked like an RV park, it was so full of campers and boats - we could hardly find a space for us.  And once we got on the road, about every third vehicle was an RV heading away for the long Memorial weekend and the start of summer.  

Highway 87 (the Hashknife Pony Express Route) was a nice two lane road with some overtaking lanes but we were a little concerned about Highway 260 from there, but there was only one option. However, apart from the winding road and a few steep grades it was absolutely fine, no worries at all.  It was reassuring to see big rigs coming the other way though.  Amazing scenery!  

Hills for Africa

Desert Country

Can see forever

We take a little break for a caffeine fix at Pine, great coffee and lovely people.

We stop at the Camp Verde township to have a look around before checking in at the Distant Drums RV Resort (the ones who wanted to see photos of the coach before they would accept our reservation) and it is a really nice place!  We were escorted to our site and immediately got both front and rear AC going and we are off to hit the pool - it is hot!  Started  to cloud over around 4.30 pm but anyway it is time to grab a cold drink, sit outside in the shade and talk to the neighbours and those cruising in their golf carts.

The Cliff Castle Casino is just across the highway and their free shuttle came to collect us so we could check it out.  Didn’t take long to lose my $5 in the poker machine then we watched the automated roulette, number 32 came up four times in a row, not sure what was going on there but we didn’t play.  Perhaps we should have!

There was live music tonight, the Rhythm Edition Band with eight members and they all sing, with one female lead singer. They do old school stuff and Top 40 plus dance music.  Kim was fascinated that the whole show was being run by a dude sitting next to using an IPAD!  He sang as well.  

Headed back to the coach, it’s still warm and it time for zzzz’s.

Still at Oxbow RV near Payson AZ

Thursday, May 26

Woke again to another sunshiny morning and decided to stay another day.  Don’t know where it went though!  We spent some time sorting out accommodation for Grand Canyon, hope we haven’t left it too late, it is looking a little full. Had a cook up for brekkie, did some work on the RV, read a bit and now it’s time for dinner!

Interesting - in trying to book our next stop at Camp Verde for the long Memorial weekend, because our coach is older than 10 years, they wanted to see photos before they would take our booking!  At least they came back with nice compliments and approval to stay, so I am expecting extremely good things from this RV Park!

Kim relaxing in the sun!

Show Low to Overgaard AZ

Tuesday, 24 May

Another sunny and windy morning.  It was nice to snuggle under the duvet and have a sleep in.  Planning a short trip today and get on the road around 10.30am.  Drive along highway 260 and pull off 50 odd miles later at the Elk Pines RV Resort, picked because it has WIFI (but still no cell coverage) and that it is a Passport America member so we get the 50% discount, but it turns out the new owners are no longer participating.  We decide to stay anyway, but just for one night.  The hosts are lovely and very chatty.  We pick our own site and there are trees so we are shaded, should it get hot!!  Still blowing though and I think it’s increasing.

There is a Dollar General (like a $2 shop but most things are $1) right across the road (Jenny referred to it as The Mall - hah).  Anyway Kim needs a 9 volt battery so we go to "The Mall".  Came back with the batteries, loads of Herscheys chocolate and sweeties and even a pack of the famous Pop Tarts you hear about, just to try of course - but they were quite yummy for preservative laden American treats!

No TV reception nor Cable so we peruse the list of movies we have on file and choose one at random, Million Dollar Baby which stars Clint Eastwood and about a girl boxer, so it was a good night all round.

Overgaard to Payson AZ

Wednesday, May 25

Spent an hour or so this morning using the excellent WIFI to book accommodation for the upcoming long Memorial weekend in Camp Verde which has a Casino over the road, also accommodation and the Mariah Carey show in Vegas.  Now we have some dates to work with we can plan what we are going to do before getting there, including which rim of the Grand Canyon, or both south the north rims…

On the road around 10.30 am (dammit, we forgot the blocks under the jacks - until we ran over one) with only a short hike to the next big town of Payson.  The road (SH260) was very scenic. We drove out of Overgaard surrounded by trees, luckily missing a grey fox cutting across the four lanes of traffic in front of us.  We come to a road sign warning of a 6% grade of decline over the next couple of miles.  Sounds worse than it was to drive it, so we now know we should have little problem on the next leg of the journey which has more than a couple of those 6%-ers along the way.

Starting the descent the vista opens out to distant mountains and it is truly spectacular.

We are enjoying this part of Arizona, hence the short mileage between stops.  It seems to be a lucrative state, the towns are well laid out with brick suburb signs, reasonably well looked after roads and towns that seem to be full, no empty buildings, at least alongside the roadway.

Hallaluia (spelling) we just got cellphone coverage back - the phones go crazy all of a sudden with a bunch of latent txts which have been backing up!

We are staying tonight at The Oxbow RV Park just out of Payson, it's a Passport America park and we do get the discount today!  It’s a quiet little country place and we have a nice site under the trees.  There don’t seem to be many other residents here at the moment but most of the sites are full.  The sun is out with just a bit of wind and it’s nice enough to sit outside around the picnic table with our kindles for an hour - or two!

We have Cable TV (233 channels yay - but only about 90 work well) and the news covers a tornado emergency in Kansas, a shooter targeting multiple drivers in Phoenix, violent anti-Trump clashes at Anaheim, California, Hillary Clinton broke the rules with private email server, Obama's campaign that in Texas transgender students can use whichever toilets match their identity, troubled flight passenger throws a tantrum on a Denver flight, stats say 111 similar incidents occurred last year, staggering sums ($60 billion) spent to upgrade old fashioned computers currently being used (ie with floppy discs) in Defense and Medicine - oh dear, that's not good!

But all in all, a good day in the USA!

White Mountains, AZ

Monday 23 May

It was a cold night in these mountains, around 12 C, needed to dig out the duvet in the middle of the night. Woke to sunshine and wind again but it slowly warmed up to around 18 C during the day.  We head further west along highway 60, a two lane scenic highway in the White Mountains. The land is indeed very white but morphs into more green as we travel.

White Mountains AZ

Some green in the distance

The road is OK, perhaps a bit narrow for the wind gusts which were forecast for 45 mph (40 knots) and we do get knocked around a bit.  The engine starts working harder and we realise we are actually pretty high.

7,550 feet high - rarified air!!

Maybe its imagination, but the air seems harder to breath up here in the mountains and our noses get dry!

Stop at a little town called Show Low to fuel up.  The town got it's name in a poker game, the lowest card won the winner the right to stay in the town, it wasn’t big enough for the two of them.  One pulled up the 2 of clubs, that’s pretty low!  We stop in at the Visitors Centre on the main drag (called Deuce of Clubs) and load up with info on the surrounding areas.  The lovely lady there chatted to us for ages.

On the way out of town we see the sign to Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area so stop in for a look and decide to stay the night.  It’s a well laid out camp ground really and our site backs on to the lake but there are trees between us so only see glimpses.  There is a nice walk along the lakeside to some caves.  In the neighbouring RV is one of the camp hosts and he has suggested many options for places to go and good roads to get there on.  He inundated us with books and maps and was so helpful, our new BFF!

Cooking up a roast for dinner tonight!  Lots of stars out and it's getting cold but I already have the duvet out ready for tonight. Zzzz.....

Truth or Consequences NM to Arizona AZ

Friday 20 May NM to Truth or Consequences

Woke early enough to see the sun rise in the bright blue sky : )  The blue seems really intense here!  We get on the road with a brief stop at Walmart to replenish, as we hope to dry camp for two nights at the Paseo del Rio State Park, just out of Truth or Consequences.  This town got it’s name from the popular US game show back in the 50’s - the first town to change it’s name to Truth and Consequences got the rights to have the show hosted from it and therefore make it famous.  It’s a much more interesting name than Hot Springs!

Main Street of Truth or Consequences

On the way north on the I25 we were stopped at the Inspection Station, not much traffic on this road and even though all vehicles were pulled over, there were no real hold ups.  We were waved straight through so didn’t get to find out what they were inspecting.

The land is arid but we could guess where the Rio Grande flowed as there were lush patches of green alongside, pastures, orchards, crops on one side of the road and desolation on the other.

 

We arrive nice and early in the day and choose the best site for us, a back-in just a little back from the track.  We have our own adobe shelter and a fire ring and are right across from the Rio Grande River, which is pretty fast moving!

Paseo del Rio State Park

We stay for two days, hot and sunny, windy but warm wind. Don’t see many critters, just a very long-eared hare of some sort, some lizards, huge ants and birds. We do a few walks along the river walk, some bike rides, watch the kayakers who came for the weekend, do some cleaning and maintenance, read some books, practise guitar….  I think we have this dry camping handled, seems to work pretty well and we are set up for it.  Only thing here is no cell coverage and of course that means no interweb either.  Surprising how much you rely on that to stay in touch with people and to sort out the next stage of our adventure.

Sunday, 22 May NM

Another beautiful day in Paradise, so we stooge around a bit more, reluctant to leave, do another bike ride, supply some drinking water to some neighbouring campers with a very cute puppy, who were waiting for a ride into town to get water and supplies etc., pack up and we are back on the road.  We head north passed the Elephant Butte Lake and decide on the lesser route 60 across some mountain ranges, rather than the directly north on the I25 to Albuquerque, as we have been there before on a previous trip on the bikes.

Amongst all the wide open country we see three tiny country towns (one called Pie Town, hah – who ate all the pies!!) some ranches, some 'beeves', lots of land, both extremely hilly and pancake flat, plus a paddock full of satellite dishes in the middle on nowhere (weird??) – the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.  Anyway it ends up a nice 200 mile trip to get over the state line to Arizona. 

 

Pie Town

National Radio Astronomy Observatory VLA Telescope

Already we are in another whole new State.  We must have crossed a dateline, honestly I don’t know how you are supposed to know, you just end up arriving an hour earlier than you planned!  Anyway we stop at the Casa Malpais RV Park in Springerville, Arizona, chosen because they supposedly have internet (NOT) but at least we can empty the tanks, do laundry, use power etc.   It’s very windy here and it has been all day through the mountains, but the wind calmed once darkness arrived and it's very dark here!

Texas to New Mexico

Thursday 19 May, to Las Cruces, New Mexico

OMG - the insurance bill for severe weather related claims for the five months of this year alone is over $3 billion for Texas alone!  Just as well they found oil here I guess.

Lots of bunnies sharing our camp, pretty tame and very cute!  The camp doesn’t have much green, but we do have Mexican style adobe and terracotta tile covered patios. Would have been nice to sit out there if the weather was only warmer.

Balmorhea State Park TX

This morning we woke to a cool, grey overcast day, just 12C.  We have a bit of a delay while we top up the fluids in the jacks as the warning light wouldn’t go off.  Eventually we are on the road again.  Head off along a two lane country road where we see little wild pigs on the side of the road and a real life Road Runner ran across in front of us (looks just like the cartoon), before joining the I10 west once again.  Within the hour the weather brightens substantially - yay sunshine!  We come across lots of different scenery today, from a small bit of green, to just brown arid desert and the Texas Mountains to Mexican Mesas.  I find it a fascinating landscape, you can imagine how hard the settlers must have found it and why would you settle here anyway, bugger all water and not much protection. Good for making cowboy movies maybe!

Can you see John Wayne?

We moved into a new time zone too, Texas Mountain time and gained an extra hour in our day. 

Drove across the border and got the photo of the “Welcome to New Mexico” sign.  A little disappointed though that the Welcome Centre was closed so we don’t have much info about this state except it’s nick name is the “Land of Enchantment”, the Road Runner is the national bird and John Denver hailed from here.

Into New Mexico we saw some kind of a cattle holding right alongside the interstate.  Thousands of cattle, all bunched together under huge weather protection structures.  No grass to eat, lotsa dust, poor things!  

Cattle

On the eastbound lanes there was an Inspection Station and all trucks and cars were banked up for miles as they filtered through.  We are only a few miles from the Mexican border so can only surmise that is the reason for the inspection.  Donald Trump would have a huge job on his hands to build his wall…

Stopped at El Paso to fuel the coach and the tummies.  Diesel is still very cost effective so far, at around $2.05/gallon.  At that rate we are up for about $140-150 to fill up which gets us nearly 500 miles.

El Paso's housing spreads out in the valley and reaches up into the foothills of the surrounding mountains. There seems to be a mix of poor and the opposite here but there is substantial investment in extending the motorway system.  El Paso is the gateway from Texas to New Mexico state and Mexico.  The two cities, El Paso TX and Ciudad Juarez which is a big Mexican city seem to be intertwined.  I am not sure how they handle the flow of people backwards and forwards across the border here and of course we don't see anything of the Mexican side.

We arrived at our camp, The Coachlight RV Park in Las Cruces around 4pm so it has been a big day and now tiime for a relax in the sun and a cold drink as for us it is already 5pm!  There is not much for us here so will only stay the one night and continue our New Mexico adventure tomorrow.

PS  Some of the roads we travelled were rough today so our kiwi ingenuity coat hanger fix got a good test and I can happily report it worked a treat!   

Tuesday 17 May, to South Llano River

Left San Antonio in overcast conditions, and headed west on the I10.  It turns out to be quite a big city to get out of with almost as many over and under passes as Houston. 

Leaving San Antonio TX

Our plan is to try free camping tonight and we choose Junction City Park, TX 76849 about 120 miles away.  On arrival we find it’s a pretty spot right on the shore of the South Llano River and has a picnic table, BBQ  fireplace and even bathrooms.  There was one other van camping here but quite a way from us.  However there is a sports arena and a pool in the park too so there is lots of traffic coming and going.

South Llano River, Junction TX

Enjoying a nice evening grooving to the music on the country station KOOK 93.5FM until just as it was getting dark the radio and our cell phones alarm us to severe weather conditions for the next two hours – thunder storms, half dollar size hail and flash flooding in Kimble County, yikes that’s us and we are right on the river - although it is about 30 feet down from where we are parked!  It starts to blow, not as bad as home, then there’s lightening and deafening thunder right above us.  Bring on the torrential rain and now we have a doozy of a storm!  The lightening, a mix of sheet and fork, was so overwhelming it was more like daylight with intermittent flashes of black – I have never seen anything like it in my life!  We figure we have enough height between us and the water even if it does rise dramatically but we (I) keep a very close eye on the little islands we can see above water to make sure they don’t disappear too quickly.  Once they do disappear we find another land mark until that too sinks out of sight.   We would have to back out of the site if necessary as a tree branch blocks our movement forward.  However the trees we are parked under would help protect against the hail if it comes.  Getting seriously nervous!

Eventually a good couple of nail biting hours later the rain eases, the lightening seems to move off and the thunder dwindles.  After another nerve settling cup of tea, hit the sack with one ear still on the weather.  Have to admit I was a tad concerned…..  Kim’s already asleep!

  

Our little outdoor mat floated away sometime during the storm, hope it’s gracing the doorway of a critter’s home somewhere around the Llano River.

Wednesday 18 May to Toyahvale TX 79786

We were moved on early in the morning as traffic wanted to use the loop we were parked on but that gave us a good start to the day as we aim to get some mile s under our belt today.  Leaving Junction we see it is just a little country town, not at all busy.  Don’t know where all the people playing sport last night came from.

I10 west towards Fort Stockton

Carried on heading west on the I10, in the patchy drizzle and/or rain.  It’s a bit cold too, at 15C.  Decided against staying at Fort Stockton, the RV Park was just off the Interstate  with little ambience, although it did boast a restaurant.  Kept heading west to come to a stop at the  Balmorhea State Park, near Toyahvale.  It was a good effort today -250 miles trip in all and a good way to spend a wettish day.  We will get over to New Mexico tomorrow, unless the sun comes out and we decide to stay another day here.

San Antonio TX

Sunday 15 May - San Antonio TX

Had some light rain during the night and it has cooled down some, it was even a bit cold for just the sheet on the bed overnight.  Woke to a bit of a grey day - a good day for travelling so we head west on Interstate 10.  It’s a bit drizzly so we get to test our new window wiper blades, much improved visability thanks Kim. It was a pretty good trip until we came across an 18 wheeler on fire which delayed us for about 30 minutes. We turned on the CB to get all the goss, for once the truckers were using it.  By the time we got the accident site, the road was open again and we were happy we did not have to take the exit and wind our way through town.  The truck cab was just a cindered blob on the road when we got to it, but the trailer looked intact.  Missed the photo dammit so can’t show you, sorry!

Came across our first Starbucks sign since getting on the road so we pulled off at the next exist for our caffeine fix. 

Starbucks caffeine fix

Shortly after we stopped at the Home Depot - thought we might be able to use our Kiwi ingenuity to construct something to stop the coathangers jumping off the rail in the closet right in the back. the bouncy bit. I will let you know how that goes : ) 

Arrived at the Travelers World RV Resort, San Antonio, the home of the Alamo and we plan to stay here for a couple of days.  We stayed at this park back in 2014 so it feels quite comfy.  The weather is still grey and a bit drizzly, but a balmy 26 C.  We have WIFI (yay) and cable TV (yay from Kim) – he is watching the news which so far has been 15 minutes of Trump and Clinton, nothing new, just opinions.  I have just gone on "Stuff" and see you guys have had pretty rough weather – hope everyone is safe and nobody has sustained any damage.

Tomorrow we will catch the bus right outside the resort which will take us into town to the famous River Walk and the Alamo.  There are numerous restaurants and cafes so will do some eating out tomorrow.  Also shopping!!  

Monday 16 May San Antonio

It rained pretty hard most of the night, but it’s quite nice to hear the patter on the roof of the coach while we are tucked up all snug inside.  By morning the rain had stopped and we saw the caretaker using a snow blower to blow the puddles off the driveways and RV sites!  The sun came out later in the morning and we caught the bus into town.  About 15 minutes later we were dropped right at the river walk just a block from the Alamo.

  

Kim at the Alamo

The actual San Antonio River has been diverted to make man-made canals.  The canals are about 20 feet below street level and the sides are lined with lovely trees, multi-cultural restaurants and cafes, original old historical buildings, churches, etc two and sometimes three stories high. It’s really beautiful.

San Antonio Riverwalk

We noticed yellow ribbons tied to the trees and found out they are ribbons of honour to show appreciation for those who serve or who have served in the armed forces.  There is a parade this weekend which will be televised, to salute their efforts.  Just another glimpse of how the Americans show their support for those who serve,

Sat down for some lunch at Mad Dog, a British Pub – venue may have been chosen for the girls with very short kilts or the English food!  They even had fish and chips. A margarita and a beer to start and then for me a very delicious coconut shrimp salad, Kim's Beefeater burger was relished also!  

Got back to the coach in time to do a load of washing, have a sit in the sun and relax while Kim pottered and checked out the scooter ramp he bought.  No scooter yet, the jury is still out on that : )

Houston to Columbus TX

12 May 2016

Say goodbye to Quality Suites Intercontinental, Houston East (adjacent to the airport).   Awesome place to stay, lovely people and very helpful - we will be back!

Headed out of town via DeMontrond RV to talk about the paint finish of our repairs and then drive about 70 miles west to a town called Columbus and our camp for two nights, the Colorado River RV Resort.  Who would have thought there were two Colorado Rivers here, one in Texas and perhaps the more famous one in Colorado State.  It is not busy here, only just opening this week after severe flood damage three weeks ago.  We do a drive by all the sites, dodging multiple squirrels and select a nice shady site right on the shores of the Colorado and make camp.  Surprisingly, it doesn’t take long to set up and we get some chores done - flush the water pipes, replace the wipers, install our new Tyre Tracking system, shine up the tyres, clean the bikes etc.

We were the only ones next to the river when we arrived around 1pm but now there are two more motorhomes parked alongside us.  They have been entertaining us, along with the deer, squirrels and bright red birds.

Bright Red Birds

We seem to be pretty tired today so after a read outside in the shade and having a quick dinner we opt for an early night in our very own bed - not quite the king size we have become used to over the last three nights, but it is ours! 

13 May 2016 (Black Friday - but not for us!!)

We had a really good night sleep, lulled by the distant lightening show. Not too early a start this morning and after a couple of cups of tea we start our day.  Beautiful morning, deer and squirrels galore and a nice hot sunny day looming.  Took the pushbikes off for an explore along the hiking trails, saw a skink/lizardy thing and more white tail deer.  It’s started to get hot so off to the pool which we have to ourselves to enjoy for an hour until it gets a bit more populated.  On the way back a mama deer and her teeny tiny fawn crossed the track right in front of us, baby was all long legs and an itsy bitsy body.  So cute!!

We have ticked off a few more chores this afternoon, generator drawer adjusted, bike brakes readjusted, kindles read.  Our luck with the weather seems to be holding for this year too (so far at least, long may it continue). We have avoided severe thunderstorms and torrential rain just the other side of Houston, but we haven’t even had any rain here, 70 miles west!  This evening we were treated to more lightning and thunder in the distance but it still didn’t rain here.

14 May 2016

Woke late - we must just about be caught up with our sleep now and decide to stay here another day.  There are rain storms forecast further west so we will wait for a day.  We can easily fill in one more day here relaxing and pottering.  Being the weekend there is much more activity and lots of incoming campers.  The sun is out after a foggy start to the morning and it’s going to be another hot one (30 C) so might hit the pool again.

This whole park used to be a pecan orchard and there are still 200 year old pecan trees around our site.  The nuts ripen in autumn and guests are welcome to gather them.  Might have to stop here on our way back to Houston in five months time.

200 year old Pecan trees

There is WIFI, but only up at the activity centre which is quite a hike on the bikes so will wait to our next stop to post blogs.  Stand by!

Houston to 11 May

Yesterday, after many hours of lovely sleep and our complimentary brekkie at the hotel, we picked up the rental only to find a fuse had blown which meant no GPS : (  Changed over to a Kia Optima and that works fine so we are on the road.  Made our way to AT&T to sort phones and find we need new numbers!  We get over that.... and actually we are quite pleased with our new numbers, very easy to remember and only one digit different between the two phones.

Then we pick up our mail and packages (oooh exciting, just like Christmas) from Andrew, who has been looking after the coach for us then drive to UHaul to see her for the first time in 7 months and she's looking pretty good!  Just one big hiccup - the fridge is not working - yikes!  Call Andrew (bless him and AT&T - now we have comms) and he organises one of his colleagues to drop around  in the evening to check it out for us.  A simple magnet to reset the thingy with the red light puts a smile on our faces.  Having no fridge would be catastrophic as you can imagine!!

Been a busy day so we choose an easy option - Popeyes for Chicken takeaways and happy tummies!

Today, Wednesday, after another good sleep (still love the American king beds and awesome pillows) and another brekkie (waffle and banana for me today and Kim again had yellow stuff which looked a bit like scrambled eggs) we are off to visit the coach again and check fridge still working!  Yes!!  But, notice the big mirror which should be fixed to the wall on the side of the fridge cabinet is not stuck on the wall any longer.  Hmm, we passed a Home Depot on the way so off we go to obtain the necessary affixing bits.  Put it all back together and life is good again, yay!

We decide to bring the coach back to park outside the hotel overnight, which all transpires with no angst, Kim driving RV and me following in rental.  Arrived safely but very hungry, its nearly 4 pm, quite late for lunch, so off to Walmart via Wendys (yummy chicken apple pecan salad) to fix the burning need for food and then we are into the grocery shopping.  Back to load all our goodies in the coach and now just having quiet time for an hour or so waiting to get hungry for dinner.  We want to go out tonight while we still have the car.  Sorry, no photos this time (I did take some of the back of the coach as I was following in the car) but all the cables are packed away.

Tomorrow we plan to be at a State Park so might not get to post a new blog but don't go away, I'll be back.