Thursday, May 19, 2022 I took my first real shower in three days in the campground bathhouse. (While boondocking, we had been conserving freshwater in our storage tank.) Employing leftovers, we breakfasted on Janie’s famous Tex-Mex omelets and toast (made from Oswald homemade bread). We then drove south to the […]
Wednesday, May 18, 2022 We left the Oswald Vineyard about 9:30, stopped for diesel fuel along the way, and arrived at the Carlsbad KOA Campground (about 12 miles north of Carlsbad) around 11:30. We entered both a new state, New Mexico, and a new time zone, Mountain Daylight Time. At
Tuesday, May 17, 2022 I fell asleep last night with winds rocking the RV and flashes of lightning all around us. Jane said I slept through the worst of the storm. For all its fury, only a few tenths of an inch of rain had fallen and the ground was
Monday, May 16, 2022 Crossing into Another State We left the Oklahoma City campsite around 10:30 am filling up with diesel and propane before hitting the highway. The 3.5 hour drive went smoothly. As we proceeded west, the landscape became flatter with occasional short rocky mountains and the soils became
Sunday, May 15, 2022 We had a leisurely breakfast of eggs, toast and coffee in the RV before heading out to the First Americans Museum. The museum explored the collective stories of 39 tribal nations who were removed from their ancestral lands to what is now Oklahoma. We saw displays
Saturday, May 14, 2022 We had a pleasant departure this morning navigating by dead-reckoning until we were back into cellular reception and could use our GPS. We headed west through McAlester then north up the Indian Nation Turnpike ($2.75 toll, speed limit 80), then took I-40 west into Oklahoma City.
Friday, May 13, 2022 We left Lake Catherine State Park around 10 am, had a nice uneventful drive through the Ouachita Mountains, ate a lunch Jane had prepared while rolling along, and only stopped once in Mount Ida to diesel up. After about three and a half hours, we arrived
Thursday, May 12, 2022 Lake Catherine State Park is the most peaceful campground we’ve visited so far. I guess we were too tired last night to perceive the foreshadowing of the lift truck parked nearby. Around 7:00 this morning, Chainsaw Serenade, our journey’s leitmotif, suddenly reemerged. Jane was asleep but
Wednesday, May11, 2022 Hot Springs Tower After taking care of a couple of mundane tasks, recycling our plastic containers and purchasing a replacement sewer cap plier, we drove up to the Hot Springs Tower. When living in Hot Springs, Jane owned a pass and would visit the tower monthly. I
Tuesday, May 10, 2022 We left Memphis relatively early, crossed the muddy Mississippi River and were soon in Arkansas. After a little over three hours of driving, we rolled into Lake Catherine State Park near Hot Springs. Hot Springs is a special town for us. We met here working at
Monday, May 9, 2022 Due to the time zone change, I rose early (5:30 am CDT) and was coffeed, showered, Wordled and Quordled by 6:45. Jane got up around 7:00 and we broke camp, hitched the car, dieseled up, and were on the road by 8:00. The trip went smoothly
Sunday, May 8, 2022 Today was a great day for travel starting out cloudy with blue patches of sky that eventually changed into solid blue skies. Because it was Sunday, traffic was light, especially early morning. We drove for about 2 hours (85 miles) west before entering into Tennessee. The
Saturday, May 7, 2022 Siyo (hello) from ᏣᎳᎩ (Cherokee). Mingo Falls The weather this morning had improved to partly cloudy with patches of blue sky. We first drove to Mingo Falls about 1 mile from our campground. After a short but steep hike up stairs and wet paths, we found
Friday, May 6, 2022 We’re off! Chainsaws, tree parts thudding to the ground, and wood chipping serenaded our breakfast and departure preparations. This cacophony was music to our ears. Our neighbor was having all her sweet gum trees removed – no more gum balls for her and us. After locking
Thursday, May 5 The last several days have been filled with a myriad of preparatory activities: Driving 3 round- trips to Kenly (1 hr each way) to replace a generator valve and propane regulator in the RV Diagnosing and fixing a problem with the RV hot water heater Finalizing the