April 2nd and 3rd - Austin, Tx. and Fredericksburg

Arrived in Austin on the NW outskirts of the city. Stayed at Emma Long Park on the Austin River. As usual we got there later in the day but still had enough time for a long walk. Pretty here even though spring has not yet arrived.

We were situated on the water, with two tent campers on either side of us. Planned to go into Austin for some music but told we would lose our site if we left without putting a tent up. Stayed the night as the weather was still blowing and high winds were expected. Can't seem to escape the high winds. As expected the winds were so high that they blew apart our neighbors tents and they ended up in their cars.

We reflected on our experience as young adults camping on Cape Cod with my cousin and her husband in the middle of a
thunder and lightening storm. After we convinced Michael to sleep in the car where it might be safer we took the next step which was to move our camping experience underneath the pool table at my Aunt's Condo - club house. We surprised the maintainence man when he found us sleeping there in the morning.

Next day needed to stock the frig. so headed to Whole Foods. Not easy to go to Whole Foods when you have a small frig.
We did manage to buy some nice fruit and seafood for dinner. The Whole Foods in Austin is even more extravagent then the one in the U. district. with a large Chocolate section.

Spent the afternoon at the LBJ Library. Very nicely done and free. He passed a lot of good legislation during his terms in office but suffered greatly from the Viet Nam travesty. Some of the legislation passed: medicare, head start, space program, civil rights, voting rights and many others.

We were told we would probably see lots of flowers planted all over the state of Texas. This was Lady Bird's program.
Unfortunately, either they had not bloomed or the drought that is a significant problem here has taken it's toll.

Now on the road for Fredericksburg, Tx. This is the hill country of Texas. Some territorial views. Fredericksburg was settled
by Germans and is known for their shops. Stayed east of town at Fredricksburg KOA RV Park.

Fredericksburg lives up to it's reputation. Very quaint town - beautifully done in what looks like limestone. Good German food
if you like bratwurst and sauerkraut which I had never tried and actually thought it was very tasty. I didn't order it
but managed a few bites from Mikie's plate. I had the quesidilla's which were just ok.

The shops were cute and we couldn't see them all but managed to escape without buying anything. However, we did go to the music store where they had Mike play there out of tune Hammer Dulcimer. This is the part of the country that likes Mt. Dulcimers and they seem to be everywhere. We missed a Mt. Dulcimer festival in Palestine Texas by just a few days.

What we did want to buy was a little country music so we asked who were the people to listen to and got a few names.
I never shop at Wall Mart but since it had the only CD collection in town I found 3 CD's that would could turn up high and sing
along with on the open prairie. The best is Willy Nelson, the others are Hank Williams, Jr. and George Strait. Strait has a good song about truckers and being on the road. We think our theme song should be "On the Road Again" by Willy - suits us perfectly.

Now heading for The Guadalupe Mts. in Texas near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The drive is too ambitious considering the amount of daylight left.. Tried to find the only Rv Park available without any luck so we bedded down on the perimeter of some small
motel. This is not our style but too tired to continue looking. Headed out early from this forsaken town of Pecos. Desolate, and depressed. Thankful that we live where we do.

March 29-30th Lake Bistineau, La.

Arrived late only spending the night and the morning of March 30th. Weather forecast predicting high winds and severe weather and honestly didn't want to spend another wild night.

This is a beautiful setting, a bit overcast.   Lots of creatures - snakes (coral, pit vipers etc.), brown recluse spiders, black widows.  Imagine these are not your every day experience although I'm  glad I didn't know about them until we were getting ready to leave. Trees growing in this man made swamp/ lake, beautiful trees in the park, all covered by moss.  Different then the moss we have in Seattle. It cascades down the branches hanging gracefully and blowing in the wind which is now picking up.  

Heading for Texas. Trying to look for the good in Texas.  I know it is there.  

Palestine, Texas April 1 and 2nd

After leaving Lake Bistineau we headed southwest around Shreveport and avoiding the freeways took some smaller less traveled roads on our way to Austin. This was pretty drive. Green rolling hills.

 It was late when we arrived in Palestine, Tx. and after looking in Woodall's RV guide we found the Bar S Ranch, a B and B which just happened to have a couple of RV spots.    Caroline,  owns at least 10 acres with 2 old western themed cabins for guests and a third place for "corporate people" to stay - a little house.  On one end was a piny woods and the other a wedding chapel for weddings and other events. There was a music stage, a pond for fishing, and vegetable and flower gardens.  It was an interesting place with antique rusted carriages, bed frames in the garden, cowboy relics all over, and an old windmill. The dogtrot house had bedrooms on one side, living room and kitchen on the other and a breezeway in between for the dogs to catch a breeze in the summer and stay warm in the winter.  Chickens were free range and she gave us some mighty fresh eggs.   She purchased the B&B from another couple who spent many years putting it together.

Caroline is  a retired mechanic from American  Airlines.   Actually she has had many jobs  -  taught health in the schools - but mostly involved with heavy work that 20 30 years ago was considered a man's job.   She spent time teaching some men in those fields how to treat women with respect " sometimes it took a court battle to do that."  Some of her stories reminded me of movies  with Jody Foster or Sissey Spacek just can't remember the name.
Spent 2 days at Caroline's then headed southwest to Austin.

March 27th and 28th and 29th Alabama - Louisianna

Stayed in Gunter Hill Army Corp of Engineers Park last night just outside of Montgomery, Alabama. We walked the dogs along the river banks and the reflections of the trees in the river were very striking but not easily  photographed with darkness approaching.  The river was high and we were told to expect severe thunder storms and possible tornados.  The campground host promised to wake us if he heard any tornado alerts.  Some time in the early hours of the morning we had heavy rains and  thunder/lightening. Both Sam and Luna jumped into bed with us - needless to say not a restful night.  There was flooding throughout the area we were in but nothing that impacted our travels.

Next morning we traveled a short distance to Montgomery to see the Civil Rights Memorial and Museum and the Baptist Church where MLKing delivered some of his well know sermons. The Civil Rights memorial is black granite or similar stone, circular in design with water flowing across the top. Forty names of those who fought and died for the Civil Rights movement were carved into the stone, just beneath the clear flowing water. These were ordinary people who used non violence to change our nation. Unfortunately, non-violence was frequently met with violence.  Behind it on a black granite wall was a quote from Martin Luther King.

The museum was created by the Southern Poverty Law Center and was simple and powerful.   We were both moved by what we saw and  made a commitment to fight for justice, equality and human rights. From there we walked half a block to the Dexter Street Baptist Church where King delivered many powerful sermons.  We missed the last tour of the day but the tour guide said she was waiting for a private group and would be glad to give us a tour.   She did a great job describing the mural on the wall of the church which portrayed significant events and people in King's life.

What was striking about Montgomery, the capitol city, was that the streets were empty -no cars and no people.   It felt like a ghost town.  All the government buildings were there but no hustle bustle, not even a little.   It was Saturday.  No one coming to visit the capitol building.   Only a few were at the memorial and museum.  A group of African American students arrived for a private tour of the Dexter Street Baptist Church.  That was about it.  

When we were on the outskirts of town it was surprising how many large malls were shuttered.  Car dealerships - closed. Widespread poverty was evident in the parts of town we traveled through.

We headed for Selma where civil right protesters marched in the mid 60's to Montgomery 's State Capitol. It was the result of these marches that led to the passage of the voting rights act in 1965.  I remember the bus station bathrooms and drinking fountains being segregated. Very glad that changes have been made although I think there is still much work to be done.

Planned to stay at Demopolis Lake - Foscue Creek Park.  Arrived in the dark but couldn't help but notice how nicely laid out the park was and how beautiful it would look in the daylight. .   As we were driving to our campsite I noticed and industrial complex just to the right of the woods bordering the park.  It looked rather large and I had an ominous feeling that we would be camping on the "Love Canal." In the morning I took a walk around this expansive and beautiful campground.  Apparently they had also had the big storm and the lake was about 4 feet from reaching our campsite a few other campsites were underwater.  They had many trails for hiking and biking.   The trees were beautiful and some of the wildflowers were just beginning to bloom.   When I asked the camp host about the plant next door - she thought it was a concrete plant but as we were leaving I noticed the sign Hexion Chemical.   If you don't mind being adjacent to a Chemical plant - it's a great park. Just don't hook up to water, be sure and wear your respirator, and all should be good.

Tonight we found another lovely park just east and a little south of Shreveport, LA. Lake Bistineau State Park. We may have to stay her for a night or two - we'll wait to see how it looks in the morning. Temperatures tonight 47.

More later,
Barb and Mike

February 23 Benson AZ. to Panama City, Fla. and everything in between!!

 

Hi All,

 I don't think I've written since Arizona.   We are now on the white sandy beaches of the Fla. Panhandle in Panama City.  Actually, we haven't yet seen the white sandy beaches but are about to get on our bikes and explore. 

In Arizona we visited the Kartchner Caverns in Benson about 8 miles off of 1-10.   Two U of Arizona Students in the early 70's discovered these caverns.  They managed to keep it a secret wanting to protect this treasure until they could be assured that it would be properly preserved.   They eventually  shared their find with the family who owned the property and who were also interested in protecting it.   It was sold to the State Park Service and they have done a great job of making it available to the public in a very controlled environment.   Apparently this cave is noteworthy not just for it's beautiful and unusual formations but also for it unusual minerals.   

Black clouds were coming in and  we knew that bad weather was approaching so we drove on to Deming, NM.  We decided not to stop at Roswell or Carlsbad Caverns on this leg of the trip.  It snowed that night but only lightly.  In the morning  we listened  to Tim Geitner lay out his economic recovery plan.   One of the women in the room said that if Regan were president we would have never gotten into this mess.  I had to control myself from making smart remarks.   The hispanic women who was tending to the breakfast room said that the people of her town have lived without for so long that this poor economy is not a big change for them.  Always interesting to hear 

another perspective or two.

As we passed through El Paso we noticed the border patrol in action.    Random stops with flashing lights - patrols jumping out of their vehicles onto the median to stop a truck or vehicle they thought suspicious.   Random inspection stations - which required us to wait in line only to be flagged through when it came to our turn.

  

We met two cute hispanic girls working behind the counter at Starbucks.  I asked them how they felt about a fence dividing Mexico and the US.  They found it comforting because of all the recent violence in Juarez, just across the border.  They said that Juarez in the past was a great place to go for a good meal and to shop but now the drug cartel and it's lackeys are murdering each other and innocents.   The girls were alarmed as some of these outlaws had recently come into the US and kidnapped - so they were quite happy with the building of the fence.

As we drove through El Paso  you see run down multicolored houses and garbage strewn yards.   This is when we realized that at this location,  the border was a stone's throw away.  We took lots of pictures, hoping to to get a shot of the fence hopefully one or two will turn out.   We also saw some interesting mountains with black ridges parallel to one another not far out of town.   More pictures. 

As we were heading through west Texas we came upon a  15 vehicle wreck - mostly Tractor Trailers, 2 RV's and I car - unrecognizable.  The car was shredded and the tractor trailors badly damaged - all the result of a dust storm'.   This must have happened shortly before we arrived because only one EMT was on the scene..  Apparently this dust storm came  up quickly and blinded everyone.  We could see the dust still blowing but decided to get to the next stop  Ft. Stockton and spend the night.  Ft. Stockton as is most of  the west Texas we saw off of 1-10 very dry, dusty and desolate.   It became apparent that you really have to plan you stops because it can be a long way to the next town. Towns in West Texas had names like Welfare, and Iraan.

We were unable to locate any state parks  so we stayed in RV Parks.

Most states have viewpoints and places to pull over. We saw one off of I-10, but couldn't find the view.  It is very clear that if we want to find good things in Texas we have to get off the interstate.  After leaving Texas we were advised that the Austin area and 

just west of it are very pretty areas.  Although Texas is not high on our list of places to explore we still have to get to Big Bend which everyone says is a great National Park.  

Traveler's World, another RV Park was our choice in San Antonio.   It was close to  the Alamo and the Riverwalk - about a mile from tiny homes with fences and bars on the windows, graffiti covering several buildings and Gang Control Units driving around.     I feel like I have already written about this so If I have just scroll down.  We took a city bus to the Alamo and Riverwalk.   The Alamo was originally a mission and later became a fort. It was much smaller then I had imagined.  The tour was not as interesting as I had hoped for but some of the visual panels explaining the history were well done.  That night we went to the Riverwalk and had our Texas Bar-be-que.  Very tasty.

We were also eager to move on.  Heading for The Johnson Space Center outside of Houston we stayed in another RV Park on the Gulf Coast  just a few miles from NASA.    We were on the water - probably a bay or tributary leading to the Gulf of Mexico.  People

advised us not to go to Corpus Christi or Galveston because Hurricane Ike had really damaged the area. 

We enjoyed NASA but realized that it is old and needs to be updated. It is clear that any money they have is not going into renovations for this facility.   We liked some of the exhibits describing the missions and part of the tram tour to Mission Control.  Found the building that houses the Saturn Rocket which propelled the Apollo Missions into Space quite impressive.   Would have liked more info on upcoming missions to Mars in a manned craft.   Their current focus is on the international space station which is really an international effort and returning a man to the moon for a longer period of time.  

We spent most of the day at the Space Center and decided to travel at night

until we were worn out. As we followed Rte. 146 towards 1-10 east we began to see miles and miles of refineries and off shore oil rigs.  A rather sobering experience when you consider the environment around this area.    

 Another storm was coming with severe thunderstorns predicted so we moved on east hoping to avoid it.    No dice - the rain was coming down in sheets making visibility impossible so we proceeded to look for a cheap motel.   After 5 tries we went back to the first - paid the extra and settled in for the night.  One of the motels we went to had rooms but couldn't find any keys.  I don't believe I have ever had that experience before.    I'm quickly realizing that the night time travel is not for me.  I think Mike is in agreement that we get to where ever we are going in daylight.   

Our sights were set for New Orleans and we were in Louisianna at last.  Apparently Mardi Gras  was in progress but still a week till Fat Tues.    We didn't mind because we would  see some of the hoopla leading up to it.   We decided to stay and found a wonderful RV park just two blocks from the French Quarter.  It's official name is French Quarter RV Park an is only a couple of years old. The architecture was in keeping with the French Quarter.   The streets were lined with pavers in a particular pattern and the old street lanterns were at every site.   It had a pool, hot tub and clean bathrooms.  The people at the desk were exceptional, always accommodating and offered rides day and night to get us close to the French Quarter.  We would ride in a golf cart for 11/2 blocks and walk past the police station 1 block to the Quarter.    The negative this was formerly a high crime area that seemed to be better over the last two years.

New Orleans was fabulous.  Lots of good food, music and colorful people.   Our favorite restaurant was NOLA  one of Emeril's restaurants.   I had the best duck I've ever had.   The Pecan Pie at the French Market Restaurant was also a hit - and the Oysters were delicious.   Mike liked the Beignet's at Cafe Dumond and we both enjoyed the Muffuleta from the Central Grocery.  Thanks Michael Cross for telling me about that place a number of years ago.   We found ourselves dancing to Zydeco music on Bourbon Street

which

 was filled with festive, partying, crazy and curious people an abundance of drunks and  police on horseback.

Colorful beads were being tossed from 2nd story balconies and some people were covered with beads, masks and costumes.  

 

We took the St. Charles Street Car to the end of the line and tried to walk back.  It is a very long walk so we finally agreed to hopping on the street car for the rest of the trip to the French Quarter.  Got to see the Garden District and Tulane, Loyola and the Audabon Park. 

On our last day we went to the lower 9th ward which was in ruins after Hurricane Katrina.  The destruction is everywhere and the homes are mostly vacant   The progress has been slow and it will be 4 years this Aug./Sept. We had many questions but didn't really get very informative answers.  Some homes have been rebuilt - but the work ahead looks 

daunting. 

Since starting this letter we have now left Panama City and are spending the night on beautiful St. George Island. 

 In Panama City we biked and ate Oysters and crab cakes at Hunt's restaurant - a unique  and popular hang out for the locals and tourists. The locals break into song by Hank Williams Jr as they are eating dinner - it was pretty entertaining.  After staying at Emerald RV Park which was nicest of all the RV parks we finally found a wonderful state park called St. Andrews.  Beautiful dunes, white sandy beaches, lots of birds, deer and coyotes.   Alligators were in a specific area not close to where we were camped  Great places to walk and bike..  Met a wonderful couple Vic and Fred also traveling  in a Road Trek.  They will be traveling for a year and have 6 months to go.

We had much to talk about and ended up having dinner together at their campsite and sharing stories and information and lots of good tips.

We are on a narrow barrier island tonight and arrived just as the sun was setting and the colors of the sky surrounded us.  Beautiful oranges, reds, pinks blues and yellow everywhere. Gorgeous. 

 We now know how to find the state parks and that makes us very happy.

Heading tomorrow to Ft. Meyers and the Sanibel Island area to meet up with friends that we met on the Arctic trip.

Hope you are fine and we sure would like to hear from you. Please let us know - what you are up to.   

Barb and Mike

Feb. 24th - St. George's Island and Sanibel Island - Warm Sunny Weather At Last

I've just created my first blog and very excited about how easy this will be.

We arrived in Bradenton, Fla. spending the night at Horseman's Cove RV Park. Some nice RV neighbors gave us several fresh grapefruits from one tree and loquats from another. In the morning we drove an hour and 1/2 to meet up with our friends Nancy and Pete on Sanibel Island. We spent the afternoon walking along a beautiful stretch of beach with shells of all shapes and sizes, shorebirds everywhere and dolphins just offshore. The gulls were harvesting clams and fighting to see who could run away with the prize before a rival would snatch it away. The brown pelicans were not graceful and would splash down hard in the water and a beautiful white egret was about 3 feet from us - unaware of our presence. A beautiful bird - very delicate, wispy white feathery plumes, very graceful. Sanibel is known for its beautiful beach shells and lives up to it's reputation. The weather was perfect - blue skies and sunny.

Tomorrow we are heading to Ding Darling Wildlife Sanctuary and will spend the day with Nancy and Pete.

This is a picture of the sunset on St. George's Island taken two days ago. We were hiking on a trail looking to get to the beach but instead found ourselves in the middle of a beautiful pine forest. It was the best sunset we have seen so far.

Looking forward to tomorrow - every day a new adventure.

From Apache Junction near Mesa, AZ. to Benson, AZ. February 11, 2009

Hi from Benson Arizona,

  
Just arrived here tonight by default.  We were planning on visiting Tucson and had an RV Park picked out but changed our plans when we saw it.  It was tucked behind an RV lot much like you would see on 99 in Lynnwood with 1 palm tree, all black top, and 5 feet between RV's.  The location was nicely centered between the Tucson Airport and the local Air Force Base. Needless to say this wasn't the place for us so we continued south and east trying to find just the right RV Park.

For the past two days we have camped at Lost Dutchman State Park at the base of Superstition Mountain.  It is quite an impressive mountain, very rugged with steep trails that will take you to the top.  Our  campground was situated in the Superstition Wilderness which is about five miles from where the sprawl stops and the desert begins.  There were many saguaro, cholla, prickly pear and other cacti dotting the landscape. One of my friends who lives in Mesa, recommended this treasure. We learned quickly that staying far from the cholla cactus was mandatory.  Both dogs managed to come up lame with thorns in their pads and when Mike went to pull them out he got stuck himself.  The chollas emit a toxin so Sam was crying, and some helpful person took pity on the 3 and managed to help Mike remove the miserable sticker from at least one of the dogs.

My friend from childhood, Bob took us to a country western bar and restaurant on Friday night for some good country western music and dancing.  Lots of  older cowboys duded out in 10 gallon hats,  shiny large belt buckles, and boots. Some of the women wore skirts and vests, all wore boots. Mike and I learned how to do the electric slide, the waltz, and the two step.  At 16 I had to take cotillion lessons and that might have been the last time I did the two step.    The music was lively and definitely good for dancing so we kicked up our heels.  The fiddler, and two guitarists were very good musicians and we enjoyed their gig and the local culture.

We also enjoyed returning to our very quiet campsite that night and looked forward to the next day.   We had all kinds of plans for the next day but the one that won out was the "doing nothing" choice.   We needed the respite and it was in a beautiful place and so we read, took walks with the dogs, Mike played his dulcimer and I played the tin whistle, made chili for dinner, listened to a blue grass concert at the campground and invited Bob to join us for a meal under the stars.  All was good.      

What I didn't mention is that Mike's computer completely died so we bought an Apple Laptop.  The spilled Apple juice on the PC Keyboard was the death knell for the PC.  There must have been a connection between the apple juice and the apple computer.  I believe the stars even lined up in an Apple shape that night.  So now we are both proud owners of 2 Apples.  

 The weather was turning and so we headed for Tucson, bypassed it and ended up in Benson where I started this e-mail.        

Will send next installment soon.    

Hope all is good with you.