Epilogue

 Tomorrow we make the final push to home, about 150 miles or so. That will make about 1650 miles over 19 days on this short little trip. Not so small when you put it in those terms


 Choke Canyon is a nice state park. Sites are spaced nicely and one does not feel crowded. When we got here Wednesday it was empty. Today it filled up quite a bit and will be full for the holiday weekend. Once again, joy of retirement allows us to be here midweek, quiet time. We will return many times I am sure as we like it here


 This travel blog will take a little hiatus during June and most of July. We leave July 28th embarking on a four plus month journey. I will of course document our travels then. In the meantime, preparations for that trip, some doctors and a lot of water volleyball.


 Thank you Wes for the feedback relative to the map. I will do it again this fall out of curiosity and record keeping. With 24 plus stops planned, I will far exceed the capabilities of the program. It may be divided into segments


until late July....


carpe diem

Choke Canyon

 Why Choke Canyon you might ask. Valid question

1.Never been here
2.Steve and Judy have stopped here several times
3. On the way home.
4.We do not want to go home yet.

 This little 19 day foray is fast coming to and end. Been fun and not ready to return to normal living. But return we must. Have seen deer, Javelina, plenty of birds and three camera shy wild turkey


 A few scenes from Choke Canyon

sorry,photo taken thru front windshield

Mary and the girls

May travel map


a few more rosebuds to gather

Kerrville

 The predicted monsoon never developed and we have enjoyed some decent weather. Once upon a time these small country towns along the river; Kerrville, Ingram and Hunt had a lot of charm. Small towns with rustic cabins or campgrounds where people came on vacation, or just the weekend. Well the people came and they forgot to leave. Kerrville has more arts and cultural centers than many places a lot larger. It is midweek and the traffic is non stop. Wait till holiday weekend crowd gets here. Still in a pretty part of the hill country, just not the quiet country setting. People fleeing Austin and San Antonio I am sure. A lot beautiful homes and several retirement/assisted living places. Who knows maybe our future home is here. In spite of the negatives we shall return again. Very different from the RGV and within a days drive.


  There obviously was a rip in the space time continuum. Easter Island meets Stonehenge!

 The camera in Mary's phone, a Samsung Galaxy S7, consistently takes better pictures than my Canon DSLR, especially in low light conditions.

 Some better photos of the park than those previously posted.

 Because we pretty much had the park to ourselves, we invited some guest to join us.

 Some times my partner does not want to be my model...

 If your mama looked at you like that, a whipping was probably coming!


 Tomorrow it is on to Bandera, dude ranch capital of the world and points south.



gathering rosebuds and making memories...

Plan C?

 Might try a plan C but where would you go?

On a different note, if you are of a certain age you might remember Gibson department stores. There are only two left in Texas, one in Weatherford and one in Kerrville. We have been in both. The one in Weatherford, while nice enough, is not remarkable. The one here in Kerrville is a tourist destination into itself. If they do not have it, you do not need it. From sporting equipment, to a hardware department that makes Lowes and Home Depot look stupid. Add in a housewares area to find those things you just can't find elsewhere, Clothing, nicknacks, just an amazing collection of items. We went into the store several years ago and were amazed. Went back today to see how it compared to our memories. Believe it had even more items, not including the $100 worth of items we bought. If you are ever in Kerrville with some time, stop in and browse.


can't always be sunshine and lollipops....

Joy of retirement

 When we arrived yesterday our corner of the park was full. Kids running around, people gathered in groups talking. Later on campfires burning, good time being had by most.

 It is now 10:30am and most have already left, others packing to leave. Looks like it will just be two campsites occupied, us being one of those.

 Remember those days fondly when we were one of the ones leaving Sunday morning. Damn happy to be one of the few staying now.

 Time marches on...



carpe diem

Kerrville-Schreiner

 At one time this was a state park. About 10 years ago the TPWD in a cost saving move deeded several parks to the local city. This is one of them.

  We started out 13 days ago on the banks of the North Llano river. Now we are on the banks of the Guadalupe river. A river well known in Texas.

 A couple of scenes from the park

growing out of a bald cypress stump

 Our route took us thru San Angelo so it seemed a good time for a lunch date. We consider Rachel as a daughter. She was born the same day as Gary,our oldest son. Her mother and Mary were neighbors and grew up together. Accordingly we have watched Rachel grow thru the years.

 We will be here four nights with no real plans so we shall see what develops.

May 2017 map


 Has anyone checked the map link? Informative? Useful? Waste of time? Let me know as I plan to do it in the fall if of some value.



taking it easy on the banks of the Guadalupe



carpe diem

Plan B

 Mary has a plaque that says in part, "life is all about how you handle plan B..."

 Well we are executing plan B now. Originally we were going to head south,turn west and visit Balmorea SP for a couple of days. Did a drive by of the place but that was 25 years ago. After learning the nightmare of highway 285 to Pecos, we turned to plan B.The weather gods are predicted to wreck havoc on plan B, so there yet may be a plan C.

 You know it is going to crap when you spend the night near Big Spring Texas. Nice rv park, just not located in my top 1000 or so places I desire to be.

 Lunch date with a pretty young lady tomorrow so that will help


May 2017 road trip

this morning heater full force, now a/c full force



rosebuds have thawed...

Not real smart people

 We are not real fond of cold weather. It is however necessary to endure some to see things and be places we wish to be. So it is with Cloudcroft. Rain and sleet yesterday, lows down to freezing. It will be clear and cool today with strong winds. Maybe we should not have given away so many of our jackets and coats...

  Had an enjoyable lunch yesterday with friends Wes and Lee. They treated us at a restaurant inside a lodge that is supposed to be haunted. Good food, good conversation, about all anyone can hope for. They have plans to come visit the valley in January and we look forward to their visit. Tried to go to Ruidoso yesterday but weather really started to deteriorate so will try again today. Suddenly running out of time as we leave Friday morning.

 Back here in Scenic Canyon we have enjoyed some campfires and roasted marsh mellows. Jim has a RAZR, off road vehicle, which we used to go get some firewood up in the National forest. Have seen deer and elk visiting our campsite. Has been a fun, relaxing visit.

 Today in Cloudcroft high will be low 50's, back home in the valley it will be 100. Quite a difference



a little ice on those rosebuds...

White Sands

 A little background information might be helpful before we get to White Sands. As the crow would fly it is about 12 miles, as the car drives more like 16, between Cloudcroft and Alamogordo. In those 16 miles you drop 4000 feet in elevation, or climb, depending on direction. Today that change resulted in a 17 degree temperature change. Alamogordo and White Sands are in the Tularosa basin, formed in part by the Sacramento mountains.

 We had visited White Sands before 10 years ago but came again just because. It is pretty impressive to see.

Maggie at rest

carpe diem

Dos Cloudcroft

 Just did a little touring and wine and artisinal cheese tasting today. Cloudcroft is a popular place for Texans to spend the summer. Just as surely as the northerners come to the valley to escape cold winters, Texans come here to escape the heat. At 8000ft elevation summers are quite mild. In fact we will get near freezing before the week is out. Neat little village, touristy in some ways, quiet and comfortable in others. We have been here before and will return again. Also drove out to Bluff springs and ended the evening with friends around a campfire and the obligatory marsh mellow roast. Tomorrow we plan a return to White Sands National Monument, Maggie wants a new magnet.

acting silly with Jim and Renee

carpe diem

Cloudcroft

 We have made it to Cloudcroft safely. Staying at a small camground owned by a nice couple. They bought it as part of their retirement plan. Like the way they think.

 To wrap up Carlsbad we had a nice lunch with John and Pam. They are friends from Decatur and live in Carlsbad. If I had known about John's deep roots and history knowledge of the area, we would have drug him around. They want to meet us in DC so will work the plans together and try and make that happen.

 Enjoyed our stay at the ranch inspite of the hail cannons on two days.  They shoot them off during storms.Loud, probably propane, cannons used to accustically disrupt hail to protect pecan groves. Shaky sceince at best, but damn are they loud.

 We will be here in Cloudcroft for a week. Jim and Renee will be here and we will visit with Wes and Lee in Alamogordo. Cool temps at our 7927 ft elevation, highs in low 60's, lows in 40's and 30's.

Travel map


 More from this area tomorrow



gathering some high rosebuds,

Carlsbad

 It was funny on our way into the caverns when a couple near us said what we were thinking..."I don't remember this..." That thought was to be repeated several times. We agreed not to blame it on advancing age.

 We have been inside several caverns or caves: Carlsbad, Caverns of Sonora, Longhorn caverns, Onyx Cave in Eureka Springs, Ruby Falls in Chattanooga  to name a few. They are alike, yet different in many ways.

 We did make the hike in from the natural opening. Glad we did but boy were our knees and hips talking to us by the time we left. Lugged my DSLR camera along to try and get some photos. As luck would have it the best shots came from Marys phone grrrr, could have saved myself a lot of trouble.

 At any rate a good day to be alive

my hero's. Bob, Mary's Dad was in the CCC's and built a park in Phoenix

cabins built by CCC's still looking good

wire ladder used by early explorers, oh hell no!

On to Cloudcroft tomorrow after lunch with friends today. We do have our modified itinerary on the way home worked out. Believe I like it better than the original.

 Forecast for the RGV tomorrow: 96 for high, mid 70's for low. Cloudcroft forecast tomorrow 62 for high, upper 30's for low.

 What a difference 8000 feet can make.



carpe diem

Tourist day

 Nice not having to load up and drive 300 plus miles. Decided to play tourist and visit places and things we have not seen before.

 They call it Sitting Bull Falls although he never came close to being here. The Apaches call it gostahanagunti which means hidden gulch. Seeing as they are the local native tribe and it is at the end of a box canyon, I prefer their name. Interesting to find a waterfall out in the desert and otherwise barren land. Also did quick tour of Artesia. It has a nice little downtown area that you drive thru. Probably should have stopped and walked around a bit but a thunderstorm was closing in.

 Random shots of the Ranch and the misnamed Sitting Bull falls.

love the work these guys did. My ongoing tribute to them.

Plan is to revisit the caverns tomorrow. Also plan to eschew the elevator and walk the mile plus distance using the original entrance. Hope these old knees can hold up...



"...gather ye rosebuds while ye may..."