Ch ch changes...

 

 All good plans are just tentative at best. Plans called for us to depart Edinburg Monday the 26th for Mathis. Due to family emergency we departed on Sunday. Quickly thought up plan was to drive coach to home, unload then drive car to Mansfield. Ch ch changes..

 When on west loop in San Antonio we detected sudden loss of pressure in one tire. We exited loop and found safe spot in Academy parking lot. Called roadside assistance, waited in que to be answered for ever. Finally got answered Told them did NOT have blowout, just airpressure drop. Ended up sitting in that lot for 2 plus hours. We were safe and sections of remaining trip did not offer safety. I kept investigating and determined problem was with valve stem extension. Excuses for non dispatch was didn't have tire (did not need). I was able to get sufficient air in tire so we decided to risk it. Made it home after 9pm, after having left at 10 am that Morning. It was after 10 by the time we unloaded the coach. Dead dog tired we wisely voted against driving to mansfield. Short, restless sleep but up at 5am heading to mansfield. Oh, and for good measure we had already paid for Motel room in Mansfield last night which went unused.

This trip is done...

carpe diem

useless trivia

  For all those nerdy, fact needy readers i have some numbers for you. They are roughly right and directionally correct. I rounded off both gallons and cost. In addition I utilize a fleet diesel discount program that saves me money off the pump indicated price. And we started out with fuel so with those variables in mind, here are some figures

 Total mileage to date 3638

 Total gallons of diesel purchased 464

 Total cost of fuel $1336

 One cannot simply divide gallons by mileage to compute miles per gallon. The genset, which runs on diesel, uses about one gallon per hour. It was running anytime we were driving.

useless factoids in case you were curious...

carpe diem

Edinburg

 

 After a wild, wet, crazy drive we arrived safely in Edinburg. We are back at our former home meeting up with friends. A lot of fun, food and fellowship over the next 4 days. However not much if any thing blog worthy From here we head to Lake Corpus Christi state park. It became our go to park when we lived down here. I will do some fishing for sure but we are killing time waiting on Mike and Cheryl to arrive in Rockport. There we have a couple of days fishing for trout and reds. Below is todays catch for a group. Hope we have the same luck

 Should be fun if we can hit the surf as opposed to the bay.

gathering rosebuds...

Bastrop Finale, for now...

 

 All good things must come to and end and so it is with our stay here in Bastrop. Has been relaxing and we got caught up on laundry and reprovisioned the coach. And in all truthfulness we ate out 2 of the 3 nights we were here. Tomorrow comes a 280 mile or so drive we know all too well. We head south for the mexican border to meet up with Tom and Diane. This little trip is down to its final two weeks, but more friends and fun before we are done.

 Thought I would share a couple of photos with you. Let us refer to them as Mary thru the ages. One from April 2007, the other July 2021.

"...down on the border, down Mexico way..."

gathering more rosebuds...

Bastrop State Park

 

 As previously stated we are in Bastrop State Park for 3 nights. Have been here at least 4 previous times and this will not be the last time. We discovered things today we had not seen before.

 Some readers may be wondering about my mention of pre and post fire. I will try and explain and do your search for you.

 The reason this park exist is because of pine trees. What you say?

 They should not be here but they are.

 Now about the fire. Read more H E R E

How about some before and after photos courtesy of Google Earth

 I am not fond of the color but you can plainly see the devastation to the forest in the second image.

 One last perspective from this very blog that I posted 7 years ago. Click H E R E

 Trees were the start but our heros, the Civilian Conservation Corp, are who we owe our enjoyment to.

 The original plans, and indeed the existing park included a golf course. Sadly the concessionaire who ran it when out of business. You have heard of rails to trails, how about cart paths to trails?

 keeping the history of the park alive thru repurposing the land.

 I told you earlier we discovered something we had missed in previous visits. How I do not know but it is a special place.

 These cabins, which you can rent, are a testament to the skill and efforts of the CCC's

 I believe there are about 14 in total. I want to come back and stay in one of these beauties.

 When I was checking in I noticed a cooking book I wanted. When we stopped to buy it we made a wonderful discovery, at least for us it is. When you see below you will agree it was a book that had to come home with us.

 We are very passionate about our state parks and the work done by the CCC's. So much so, a significant portion of our estate is pledged and committed to the support and preservation of Texas state parks.

carpe diem

Ain't travel fun?

 A couple of days ago I described our day from hell. Well we were blessed with a very pleasant drive south from El Dorado KS to Thackerville OK. Had dinner in the casino at a fast food place we liked in past. The meal was very enjoyable. Decided we would donate a few bucks so we walked around the casino. It was a freaking madhouse nightmare. So much so we both wanted to leave. Total contribution on our part $8

 That brings us to Monday morning. It rained a little during the night but not much. This segment of our trip always concerned me because of construction in Fort Worth and Waco. I was not to be disappointed. The traffic was bad because of the construction but for added pleasure it poured and then it really rained. While it rained most of the trip, the heaviest downpours where were you would expect them. Construction delays/narrow lanes and road flooding during a torrential down pour will cause some stress.

 Thankfully we are now at Bastrop State park. A shadow of it's former self. While forest restoration is underway, the virgin pine canopy is not to be found. We last visited in 2015. Since then growth outside the park has far exceeded that inside the park. No longer a sleepy little country town.

 More later...

stop and smell the roses...

El Dorado

 No, not the John Wayne movie. The Kansas state park outside of El Dorado Kansas, about 30 miles northeast of Wichita.

 A big, spread out park with plenty of trails and activities. They have an archery range, a shooting ranges as well as the typical lake activities. Some strange ways but not a terrible spot to camp. Our site had room and plenty of shade.

 We stayed here one night when heading northbound and three nights southbound. In both instances it was all about location, location, location. Not a lot of choices in this area and it most closely matched the distance I was willing to drive. Strange policies and behavior to be found here. When I made my reservation on line it said 3 night minimum and would not let me book shorter time. In walking around the park seemed to be most people came in on Friday, leaving on Sunday. ???

 In the end it does not matter. We stayed here 3 days to rest after two long travel days with two more coming next. Getting old sucks. With FHU (short for full hook ups ie:water/electric/sewer) it gave us a chance to dump our holding tanks and to get caught up on laundry. We had been off the grid with no hook ups and Winterset did not have sewer at our site. A reason for all or at least most decisions.

 Tomorrow brings a 300 mile day to Thackerville Oklahoma, home of Winstar casino. They have a great rv park that we will utilize plus we will dine in the casino. Made many visits to Winstar thru the years when we lived in north Texas. Yes, we will probably donate a FEW dollars via the slot machines while there. Then Monday brings a 280 mile or so drive to Bastrop state park. Been there many times both pre and post fire. Sure looks different than it did pre forest fire.

 Been fun but look forward to returning to Texas

carpe diem