In Pigeon Forge - Summer Loosens its Grip

At Waldens Creek RV Park, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee...

After the 370-mile leg from Biloxi to Gadsden, Alabama on our way here, we decided to take a two-day breather at Noccalula Falls Park, run by the city of Gadsden. This is a very nice wooded park with lots of shady RV sites, concrete pads, full hookups and cable. Best of all, it was only $22 a night with a senior discount. Another great bargain:

TV addicts will notice that Phannie is tucked into a heavily wooded space not likely to be satellite-friendly. Well, no matter; for an old coach, Phannie has been outfitted with some very up-to-date technology that allows us to stream on both TV sets via the Internet almost any program available via satellite. With the cable available at the park, however, we didn't need to use the gee-whiz stuff this time.

The weather was hot all the way to Pigeon Forge and, thankfully, all of Phannie's air conditioning has been working perfectly. When we arrived in Pigeon Forge, we were amazed how much the place has grown since we were here a few years ago. There are lots of new attractions, and the traffic was pretty awful, arriving on the weekend as we did. It reminded us of Branson before that city built the reliever roads parallel to the main drag. In fact, Pigeon Forge is looking more like Branson all the time. Like Branson, it now has a Titanic attraction, a wax museum, a Ripley-like, upside-down mansion, a big Ferris wheel and more theaters. And, of course, there's Dollywood, a theme park much like Silver Dollar City in Branson. 

After we had been here for a short time, we had a couple of days of rain, and then the weather moderated after that. It is clear that summer has finally lost its grip and that autumn, my favorite season, has finally arrived. Thank heavens!

We met up with Phaeton-owning friends Larry and Carolyn, whom we met last winter in Branson. They, in turn, introduced us to their friends, Larry and Vickie, all of us attending the Gospel Quartet Convention at LaConte Center.  Here's a photo of these four great folks, Arkansans, all:

In the background is Doc's 321 Cafe, part of a small compound of derelict quaint cabins that house, in addition to the cafe, what appears to be a collection of very old and rusty farming tools and memorabilia from more than a hundred years ago. These relics obviously are offered for sale, but there doesn't appear to be a crushing demand, as there were no customers when we were there. 

This is probably because the place is in the middle of nowhere, in a heavily wooded and hilly area on highway 321 (hence the restaurant's name) not far from the North Carolina border. Driving here from Pigeon Forge, I even looked out into the forest to see if I might spot a moonshine still and, at times, I could swear I heard banjo music playing the theme from the movie, "Deliverance!"  

Although not discernible from the photo, the main structure of the cafe is a derelict yellow school bus, in the rear of which is the tiny kitchen that serves customers who occupy three booths inside and several tables outside. The kitchen is not partitioned from the customers, so we could see clearly what the chef was doing. Perhaps due to being slightly afraid of what I might see, I was careful to keep my gaze elsewhere. The ceiling and walls of the bus were festooned with hundreds of names of customers, who are encouraged by the staff to write something, even supplying them with a marker pen.

Sandy and I had a barbeque pork sandwich that was surprisingly tasty, along with a cup of chili and a small serving of collard greens, both of which were also quite good. I'm glad we didn't judge the place by its appearance; we try not to do that, as some of the best restaurants we've patronized have been truly dives, in every respect. We decided this place was probably worth the trip for the quirkiness alone, but the good food sealed it for us.

Besides attending the daily concerts at LaConte center in Pigeon Forge, we also took in a show at the Comedy Barn that was very funny.

Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are located in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, a place we could very easily choose to live if we wanted a stick and brick now. I wish we would be here about a month from now when the leaves are ablaze. You can see a small tree changing colors in the photo below: 

Many parts of the area had damage from the forest fires two years ago, but new growth is coming back strong. Gatlinburg still has some of its quaintness, but it is definitely becoming almost too touristy for our liking.

We will be leaving here for Gaffney, South Carolina and our first visit to the Freightliner factory for some service on Phannie. I'll keep you posted.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I don't appreciate it as I should each day.

You don't stop playing when you get old; you get old when you stop playing.

A Stop in Biloxi for a Seafood Fix

At Majestic Oaks RV Resort, Biloxi, Mississippi...

We are on our way to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, taking a southerly route this time. This will be the second time we've attended the week-long National Quartet Convention there, something we always enjoy. On our last trip a few years ago, thieves broke into Phannie at the RV park and stole my new Apple MacBook and some of Sandy's favorite jewelry. (Here's a link to that post.) Hopefully, we won't have such an incident this time to dampen our enjoyment.

Since we were leaving from Conroe, it was handy to stop near Beaumont to see Ronnie and Kathy, friends from our RV club. It was great to see Ronnie doing better after having suffered a broken ankle. We also got a tour of their beautiful home after its having been completely remodeled and refurbished after being flooded in the hurricane last year.  

Although this has been a challenging year for them, these folks are fun to be around as always. I was especially taken with his newly-acquired and completely restored '65 Corvette. He said it has taken away some of the pain of having lost two other vintage cars in the flood:

In keeping with my aforementioned determination to push for longer legs and more stopover time, Phannie handled the 312 miles to Biloxi without a hiccup. I-10 was in pretty good shape, although it was rough and under construction in places all the way from Beaumont to the Louisiana border. The interstate was actually in much better shape in Louisiana and Mississippi, something that surprised me, as Texas highways are usually some of the best in the country.

Making a two-night stopover in Biloxi gave us a little time to do some sightseeing and finding some good seafood. And that we did, adding two of these to our favorites list linked on this blog. The first was Wentzel's, where we had a blackened red snapper topped with mushrooms, crab and shrimp in a lemon butter sauce:

Yes, it was nothing short of fabulous. Sandy had their daily special--ten fried shrimp for ten bucks--what a deal!  As it turned out, she confiscated a good bit of my snapper, relegating me to finishing her shrimp. Yes, we were stuffed, but my excuse was that I had eaten only a cup of chili during the whole day. And no, I'm not sorry; it was that good.

The next day, we went to nearby Ocean Springs to give Bozo's a try. Bozo's is a combination seafood market and grill that has been around forever. It is a local legend for good reason: Incredibly fresh seafood, expertly prepared and cheap. It was mid-afternoon when we arrived, and the place was packed. Toward the end of our meal, the crowd had thinned out enough for me to take this photo of the interior, showing the seafood market to the left and the grill alongside to the right:

We dearly love finding wonderful little dives like this that usually only the locals know about. We got a scrumptious shrimp po-boy that was ample for us to share for only $5.75. Unbelievable! 

It's not often that two restaurants in a row gain placement on my favorites list, but such is the case here in Biloxi. 

Even though it was hot and humid, I had to spend a little time walking on the beach near sundown, marveling at the powdery white sand so different from that on Texas beaches:

I also found this colony of seagulls (yes, that is the correct term for a group of seagulls) standing on the beach, mostly facing east. I determined they were probably Muslim seagulls:

Looking west, I had to get this photo of the setting sun:

I am a sucker for sunsets, and I find the pursuit of these simple pleasures much more enjoyable than watching the insufferable news on TV. Having always been a news junkie, this has not been easy, but I'm sure my blood pressure has lessened a good bit now that the TV is turned off more often than it's on.

From the same location, I pointed the camera to the northeast and caught this photo of a late afternoon thunderstorm that was collapsing and dissipating now that the sun, its source of energy, was slipping below the horizon:

So, had we stopped here for only one night, as has previously been our practice while en route somewhere on a schedule, we would not have had the experiences I have related here. So, I think we're on the right track, so long as we don't overdo it. It would be better, of course, to give ourselves a generous number of travel days when we have to be somewhere by a  specific date. Due to other obligations, we couldn't do that this time, so this is a decent alternative, I think.  

I took a couple of photos of our RV park here in Biloxi, a very nice Passport America park. Another bargain!

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I fail to appreciate it as I should each day.

You don't stop playing when you get old; you get old when your stop playing!

Doctor Visits Complete - We Go Flying to Celebrate!

At the Lake Conroe Thousand Trails, Willis, Texas...

Thankfully, our semi-annual visits to medical professionals in Houston revealed no serious flaws (other than those painfully evident in a mirror).  Sandy even endured a colonoscopy that was due, as did I earlier before we left for the summer in Colorado.

Please allow me to take just a moment here to encourage every reader to have this examination at the appropriate stage of life. I devoted an entire previous post to the importance of this procedure in preventing needless illness, hardship and even death. If you don't do it for yourself, please do it for your loved ones. 

The weeks we've spent here at Thousand Trails have been fun, since the kids are nearby, and I promised the grandsons another airplane ride--something they really love to do (as does their grandfather).

We picked them up at a small airport in a north Houston suburb in the little Cessna 172 they like because it is a high-wing airplane, and they can see well the landscape below. 

We flew over their house at a low altitude, and their exclamations were like music to my ears as they viewed it from above. The weather was beautifully clear and the air was smooth, so I let both boys handle the controls a bit. Pryce proclaimed that the experience was "Epic!" 

Here are a couple of short videos of the boys handling the controls for a moment. Pryce, the younger grandson, was a bit more skittish, snuggling up to my shoulder each time he handled the yoke. (Poppy loved that.)

Here's a photo of my older grandson, Mason, with his Poppy on this fun flying day:

I am happy to announce that Sandy and I are going to be  grandparents again! Number three will be due in the spring, and I'll give you more details when they are available. Mom Mindy and Dad Tyler are excited, of course, but so are we (maybe more so)!

We will next be heading out to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee--one of our favorite places. We'll keep you posted, of course.

I might also mention that I have added during this calendar year quite a number of new RV parks to my "Best of the Best RV Parks" list, linked in the right margin of this blog. These new parks are identifiable with a red triangle. As always, please let me know if you discover a park that is worthy of adding or one that I might need to rethink.

And one final reminder:  Strongback chairs are still available at a 15% discount at strongbackchair.com if you use the code phannieandmae15 at checkout. If you order from the website, you'll get a two-year warranty. If you put "strongback" in the search box on this blog, you'll see several posts that give more details on these fine chairs. (I get no kickback, by the way; I just like 'em.)

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I don't appreciate it as I should each day.

You don't stop playing when you get old; you get old when you stop playing!

A Stopover in Texas and a Fulltiming ModeTransition

At the Lake Conroe Thousand Trails, Willis, Texas...

We had been dreading our departure from the cool Colorado environs where we spent the summer. We were fully aware of the late August heat we would encounter as we slowly watched the altitude unwind on the GPS as we left the picturesque mountains behind. 

Our first night's stopover was in Roswell and, noticing the 99-degree reading on Phannie's OAT gauge, we braced ourselves for the furnace-like blast when we opened the door on arrival and stepped outside. And yes, it was just as we feared. We almost stumbled as we tried to catch our breath. 

This was not the end of the unpleasantness, however. We were immediately besieged by a swarm of houseflies so numerous that four of them flew into the coach before I could even close the door. I'm not sure what was going on with the flies in Roswell--maybe there was a housefly convention or something! But it was bad. Really bad. After we left, it took us a day or two to find and swat all of the little varmints. We lamented to each other how pleasant it was in Hawaii and Colorado, where flies were almost nonexistent. 

The next day, I decided to drive all the way to Killeen, Texas, where we were to attend a 50th anniversary celebration of longtime friends, Rev. and Mrs. John Abbey. We had a great time with this wonderful couple and their family, agreeing that our time with them was much more important than our constant whining about life's little discomforts:

Arriving in Killeen from Durango, Colorado was the culmination of two 500-mile legs in Phannie with only one overnight stop. This represents about twice the normal distance that we usually travel in a day, and I think it represents a change in our philosophy about what our travel days will look like going forward. But I also think this is part of a new paradigm of sorts from fulltiming 'vacation' mode to fulltiming 'destination' mode. 

This change in travel modes among fulltimers is a very common phenomenon, we have learned; in fact, it is almost a rite of passage. Put simply, it is a shifting of new fulltimers' priorities away from the usual frenetic pace of travels at the beginning of their new taste of freedom. Being unfettered then by obligations at work, they typically think they have to get out there and see everything at once. 

However, as they begin to check off more and more of the myriad places that have been on their bucket list, they realize that a more measured pace perhaps yields more satisfying results, so they slow things down and begin to spend more quality time at fewer stopovers. Maintaining a furious pace of driving, then setting up and tearing down at campgrounds can be exhausting and, after doing this for a while, you begin to realize this isn't exactly fun any longer. This is why vacation mode is usually not sustainable over a long period of time.

Having said that, I have determined that a 500-mile driving day is too much, even though Phannie doesn't really tire me out. The comfy captain's chairs and air ride suspension make for a very pleasant driving experience. However, we know better than to push ourselves beyond what is a safe limit, but we are likely to make longer legs than we used to--especially if our stopover is at a place we have already been or that holds little interest for us. So, it seems we are definitely getting into a 'destination' mode; we want to get where we're going and stay there a while. 

We had to hurry to Conroe and participate in another round of doctor checkups to get prescription refills before we depart for Tennessee in a couple of weeks. Arriving at Thousand Trails on Lake Conroe, we noticed there were no shortage of spaces:

That's because most of the sane people weren't here in the blast furnace like we are!  We must do a better job of scheduling our appointments next year. 

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I don't appreciate it as I should each day.

You don't stop playing when you get old; you get old when you stop playing.

Leaving the Front Range for the San Juans

At Sky Ute Casino RV Park, Ignacio, Colorado...

We leave behind our wonderful stays on the eastern side of the Rockies and head to western Colorado, careful as we are to remain high up in elevation as long as possible. We will always remember our stay in Estes Park and the companionship of Joy and Glenn as we beheld the wonders there. 

I suppose our future visits to Estes Park will always be short ones, as I just have a hard time accepting the usurious rates charged by the RV parks. Any time I have to pay more than $2000 a month to park Phannie, I expect luxury, not tiny, dusty dirt sites like those at Elk Meadow. I have since learned that the city will not abide the building of any new RV parks there, so the rates have no where to go but up, I suppose. Of course, this represents the law of supply and demand, so I guess I need to get over it.

As is our custom, we try to facilitate getting under way on departure day by omitting breakfast and stopping on the road somewhere for an early lunch. This usually consists of a sandwich as we are parked at a roadside turnout of some sort. On this departure day, we had the pleasure of enjoying our lunch beside a clear stream that flows along highway 7 southeast of Estes Park:

Notice that Sandy has a death grip on her iced tea glass, which is never far away.  I think if she were to fall in, she would ask rescuers to save the tea first.

We had an almost uneventful trip westward on I-70, except for an hour's delay at Glenwood Springs while firefighters battled a grass fire.  This has been another disappointing summer in many places in the mountains due to the smoke from the California forest fires; I hope they will be under control soon.

We made an overnight stop in Grand Junction where we stayed at a very nice KOA, and it was there that we got our first taste of really hot weather again at the lower elevation. Daytime temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees, and we were reminded of what it would be like when we return to Texas. Ugh!

We made our escape from Grand Junction down Highway 50 toward Ouray and the relief  that would be provided by its 7700-foot elevation; we weren't disappointed as its surrounding mountains came into view as we passed through Ridgway:

Here we are, finally parked at the Ouray RV Park (below) in the little town that bills itself as the 'Switzerland of America:'

Here are some photos of this historic old mining town:

After enjoying the sights around Ouray for a few days, we headed out toward Durango, where we were to meet up with Bubba and his clan. We love the drive from here through Telluride and southwestward on highways 62 and 145, part of the San Juan Skyway. It is almost as scenic as Colorado 550, the Million-Dollar Highway, and much less arduous for a motorhome pulling a toad. Here's a great view from the San Juan Skyway:

Once we reached Durango, we parked at the Sky Ute Casino RV Park in nearby Ignacio, a beautiful park that is a favorite of ours. Here's a photo from a previous stay and yes, this park is listed on our 'Best of the Best' page:

A Passport America park, the $19.50 per night charge here is an amazing bargain!

We had a great cookout with Bubba and most of his clan at Priest Gulch Campground (I forgot to get a photo), and we will bid them goodbye in a few days.  We will be hanging around here for as long as possible before beginning the trek back to Texas at the end of August. We're trying to get prepared for the summer heat there to greet us. But seeing the kids again will soon make us forget that minor discomfort. It has been a great summer for sure, and we're looking forward to more adventures in the fall.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I don't appreciate it each day as I should.

You don't stop playing when you get old; you get old when you stop playing.

Estes Park With Friends as Guides

At Elk Meadow RV Campground, Estes Park, Colorado...

We have spent most of the week here at Estes Park, enjoying the incredible high mountain weather with daytime temperatures in the seventies and needing to turn on some heat on the chilly mornings. When we see the reports of triple-digit temperatures in Texas, it seems far away and unreal. However, when we return there at the end of summer, it will still be hot and all too real, I'm afraid. We wouldn't think of going back so soon, but we need to make our way to Tennessee and points east, to fulfill our autumn plans. Before we do that, we need to make our semiannual appearances at the offices of various medical professionals in the Houston area. This will facilitate the prescription renewals of the chemicals that largely hold our aging carcasses together.

While enjoying the cool mountain climate here, we have been in the company of Glenn and Joy, fellow Phaeton owners whom we met recently at Colorado Springs. We find it amazing that we would run into a couple who are so simpatico, sharing as they do my deep roots in the beautiful forested hills of far east Texas. (We grew up only about 75 miles apart.) We find that our backgrounds are remarkably similar, having many of the same family customs and preferences, borne from our mutual rural heritage.

Joy and Glenn

Glenn and Joy have spent many summers in Estes Park, so we have had the unexpected good fortune to enjoy their role as tour guides, a favor they seem to delight in performing for us. Had it not been for our daily pilgrimages together around the area, we would have missed some very interesting and beautiful parts of this picturesque area. We traveled into Rocky Mountain National Park several times, seeing new sights and learning more about the beautiful area each time. Aside from an ascent to the highest point in the park at 11,000 feet, we saw numerous places we hadn't seen before, including these scenes from near the beautiful, crystal-clear waters of Bear Lake:

Sandy, Joy and Glenn at the Alpine Visitor Center at the top of RMNP

We also enjoyed a very entertaining western show at the Lazy B Chuckwagon in Estes Park. This was a talented troupe who were great musicians and who kept us laughing throughout:

Our good time was well worth the small price for the dinner and show, and we highly recommend it if you are in the area.

This post serves as a nice follow-on to the previous one, where I discussed friendships, old and new. We know that Joy and Glenn, while actually new friends, are already forever ones. And so it goes with this lifestyle. That's why we always close our posts with these thoughts:

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I don't appreciate it each day as I should.

You don't stop playing when you get old; you get old when you stop playing.

Fulltiming: Do You Lose All Your Friends?

At Goldfield RV Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado...

We have been enjoying the afternoon showers that are often present here  in the mountains. The rain brings a freshness to the air and often a little chill that chases away the heat of the day (if you can call temperatures in the eighties 'heat'). Temperatures in the fifties and sixties are the norm at night here and yes, we feel for our fellow Texans whom we have abandoned in our flight from the hot weather down there. However, based on the gang that we've run into here in Colorado, we're thinking now that we didn't leave all that many of our friends behind after all!

Believe it or not, we have counted no fewer than three dozen of our friends--mostly RVers from Texas--with whom we have visited here this summer!  You've already seen photos of our local friends Phyllis and Vicki and the large contingent of RV friends occupying spaces at Mountaindale, about 15 miles south of town. Amazingly,  we have also been blessed with the presence of perhaps five or six additional couples, most of whom are members of our Tiffin Bluebonnet Club in Texas, but they also include new friends Glenn and Joy, whom we will see again in Estes Park. Here are photos of some of the bunch from our Tiffin club:

So what is a favorite pastime of the group?  Eating out, of course! This is a seafood boil-in-the-bag orgy at a place called Krabby's in Colorado Springs. It was a little messy but good, and we were well protected, as you can see. No one was injured in the process.  Left to right are Sandy, Chip, Hank, Jackie, Steve, Shirleen, Diane, Shirley and Art. A great time was had by all.

Hank, a member of the Elks, got us into an Elks lodge for an inexpensive but tasty taco dinner, after which some of the couples danced a bit to tunes from the jukebox. Art and Shirley in the foreground and Hank and Shirleen on the right. Suddenly, it was the fifties again!

Normally, we sit around outside in the cool early evening, but on this day, a rainstorm forced us to take refuge in Art and Shirley's coach. Not too shabby!  We engaged in a trivia game, and I think the guys won. We're not entirely sure, because we think Russia might have rigged the scoring.

I mention all of the camaraderie among these friends to illustrate a partial answer to the question I posed in the title of this piece--whether you leave all your friends behind when you begin fulltiming. The answer is that you not only don't lose your old friends, you gain many new ones!

In today's communications age, the world is a much smaller place than it was a few decades ago. We may not see the friends from our old neighborhood as often as we used to, but that doesn't mean we don't keep up with them through social media and visit them from time to time. It has been my observation that good friends are good for a lifetime, and the reunions are all the sweeter after a little absence.

When we began this adventure, we would never have guessed that we would meet so many new friends who, like us, share a common interest in this kind of travel and who enjoy each other's company. We feel doubly blessed that we have the health and resources to enjoy this window of opportunity to experience the freedom of movement around the country, enjoying God's creation. It will not always be so, of course; we will eventually have to hang up the keys, and we will rely on our memories (or what's left of them) and this journal to remember all the good times. But right here and right now, with so many of our friends around us, it is a sweet time we will always remember.

Oh yes, and we shouldn't forget that there is another contingent of friends I haven't mentioned who are touring other parts of the country now, with whom we will certainly get together in the fall when the great RV migration begins from the north back to the south. And, of course, with social media, we keep up with them and know when and where our paths are likely to cross. We are certainly looking forward to seeing them again.

Friends? We never had so many. So, if this is something that you're worrying about as a potential fulltimer, you can scratch it off your list. 

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I don't appreciate it as I should each day.

You don't stop playing when you get old; you get old when you stop playing.

Gatherings of Friends in Colorado

At Goldfield RV Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado...

After an uneventful 300-plus miles from Santa Fe, we settled in at Goldfield RV Park here in Colorado Springs. We don't normally stay at parks of this stripe, but suffice it to say that beggars can't be choosers. We made these reservations a few months ago after failing to find any other long-term accommodations here in the Springs. Apparently, if you don't make reservations here at least six months or more in advance, the more desirable parks will simply be unavailable. 

Goldfield RV Park in Colorado Springs

Goldfield has only one positive that comes to mind, that being close to Old Colorado City with all the attractions a short drive away. The main problem is that RVs are parked incredibly close together--so close that I think we could hear someone sneeze in the coach next door!

There is a woeful shortage of RV parks in the Denver-Colorado Springs-Estes Park areas, and the owners of the ones that are here know it: A space at mega-crowded Goldfield runs over a grand a month; Dakota Ridge in Denver is around $1800, and some campgrounds in Estes Park soar to over $2000 per month! Now I realize that the summer season is short and that this brevity has a significant effect on pricing, but this seems pretty breathtaking for a place to park! On the other hand, the law of supply and demand hasn't been repealed; they can charge a big price because they can get it.

Okay, enough ranting; let's move on to the fun part. While summer here on the front range is a little warmer than I had hoped, being with old friends and making new ones is a warmth to which we have looked forward. The day after we arrived, we joined a familiar group of RVer friends at Ed and Marilyn's Mountaindale campsite for snacks and laughter as nonstop harassment ensued among the guys; there was no place to hide. One cannot survive in this group with a thin skin, that's for sure. 

On our first Saturday here, we strolled around the farmer's market in Old Colorado City. This market, occurring every Saturday in the summer, was a much larger group of vendors than we had anticipated, and there was a crowd of onlookers moving slowly among the tents. We bought some fresh fruit and vegetables, along with some homemade sausage and pickles that we have really been enjoying. 

Fresh Colorado Peaches.  Yum!

Wares from the La Baguette French Bakery. So good, it's truly sinful.

 Soon thereafter, we met some new friends right in our RV park, by virtue of their stopping and chatting with us upon noticing Phannie's Texas license tags. We learned that Joy and Glenn are from a small town not far from my ancestral homeland of Nacogdoches in east Texas; they are headed to Estes Park for the rest of the summer.

Joy and Glenn and their beautiful Phaeton 

We hit it off so well that we went out with them several times to nearby restaurants. We happily add these fine folks to our constellation of friends whose paths we love crossing from time to time. 

We also visited with friends Vicki and Phyllis, who introduced us to a really good Chinese restaurant that served good-sized portions at a bargain price. It was exactly the kind of mom-and-pop joint that we love to discover:

These two delightful sisters are longtime residents of Colorado Springs--friends whom Sandy has known since high school. It was good to connect with them again.

At another lunch gathering, we met at Nairi Siam, a great Thai restaurant with some of our Mountaindale friends to enjoy fellowship with Trent and Teresa, who were visiting from Canada. By the way, this restaurant appears in my "Favorite Restaurants" page in this blog. (Few are able to achieve that honor.)

Marilyn, Teresa, Janet, Jackie, Denny, Bob, Ed and Trent

I found time one afternoon to replace one of Phannie's windshield wiper assemblies that was giving trouble. After having the driver's wiper deconstruct itself during a rainstorm on the way up here, I called the Tiffin factory in Red Bay, and their parts people sent out a new assembly to me right away. One of the nice things about Tiffin is that I can still order the exact part I need for Phannie, even though she is 12 years old now. 

On a recent Saturday, Bob and Janet invited us out to Mountaindale RV Resort for a wonderful taco salad lunch at their campsite. Most of our merry group were there, and we had a fine time sitting around and swapping stories. The 78-degree mountain breeze made for a delightful time there among the pine trees:

I suppose one could get the impression that all we do is eat and visit and, well, that's not far off the mark, I guess. However, we do make frequent excursions on our own or in small groups to see the beautiful scenery or visit the local attractions that appeal to our varied interests. Colorado Springs seems to have evolved into a summer gathering place for this group, and there are certainly worse places to enjoy our summer-long escape from the hot Texas weather. 

During the next couple of weeks here in the Springs, we'll be joined by several other RVing friends from Texas, and we'll be able to show them around to all the local discoveries we've made and introduce them to the Mountaindale group of friends; a good time will be had by all, for sure. After that, we will be heading to beautiful Estes Park, Colorado, where we hope to see Joy and Glenn again. 

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I don't appreciate it as I should each day.

You don't stop playing when you get old; you get old when you stop playing.

New Chairs, A Water Park Weekend and We Head North

At the Santa Fe KOA, Santa Fe, New Mexico...

Upon our return from Hawaii, we had only a few days to reset our body clocks and undo all the packing we did for the cruise. In the process, many vows were made as to what we would do differently in the future in regard to packing and limiting the number of pieces of luggage that would be carried. (Did you know that we had to buy an additional suitcase in Hawaii for dirty clothes and the extra stuff 'someone' bought while there? Well, we did, and this is not unusual for us.) 

It was such a good feeling to carry the excess clothes and suitcases back to storage, leaving our regular accouterments stowed in their familiar places in Phannie. Now, will our fresh vows be broken in the future? Probably; we have never been what you would call strict with that sort of thing or with anything else, for that matter. So, resolutions, for us, tend to be a bit short-lived. Perhaps because we don't take ourselves very seriously, we have a good life and a relationship that is about as strife-free and stress-free as one can be. On the downside, we're probably always going to look like the Beverly Hillbillies traveling with their belongings piled up in their old Model T.

When we arrived back in Conroe, son-in-law Tyler was kind enough to bring out some new recliners that we had ordered and had shipped to his house. They were too large, of course, to fit through Phannie's door, so he partially disassembled them and then put them back together inside the coach. (I wouldn't want him to know this, but he is a really good guy.)

We had absolutely worn out our previous recliners, so we were glad to find these--all leather and very comfy. By the way, we have  nap-tested these, and they passed with flying colors!  Thank you, Tyler, for your help!

On our way northward, we stopped in Burleson, Texas to join our kids at the Jellystone water park. We get a big kick out of watching our grandsons have such a good time:

Here is a fresh photo of daughter Mindy and grandson Pryce: 

Below is grandson Mason with pal Yogi:

Sandy and I seemed best suited for just sitting around and watching the spectacle. These boys are pretty special to us:

Reluctantly, we said goodbye to the kids and headed Phannie northward in our quest to find cool air. In doing so, we stretched our usual 200 to 250-mile leg to 373 miles before parking at Oasis RV Resort in Amarillo for the night. (By the way, I-40 is a mess all the way through Amarillo--lots of construction.)

Unfortunately, catching up on our rest after the long leg proved a bit elusive, as a cold front blew through Amarillo after dark. The  gale-force wind from nearby thunderstorms was so great that we had to bring in the slides and stow the satellite dish, after which the park's electrical power was interrupted.  A few minutes later, the park's water supply also went off, probably because the park's water pump was affected by the power outage. Things calmed down around four a.m., and we were able re-deploy the slides and satellite and get a bit of sleep. Also, it had mercifully cooled down into the sixties--nice!

The next leg to Santa Fe was longer than usual, too--the better part of 300 miles. I mentioned above our historical limitation in a day's travel because we're usually not in any hurry. However, that may be changing, especially if we are traversing some geography that is not particularly appealing or where there are no interesting stops.  Such is certainly the case with the numbing nondescriptness of west Texas and eastern New Mexico topography. In such cases, I just put on an audiobook and keep the big bus cruising 'on the step.' 

I should explain that term, for I'm showing my age here: On the step represents a very old flying technique that may be as much an old pilot's tale as anything else. According to this theory, a pilot can achieve a little better cruising speed at a given altitude by first climbing above then descending back to the altitude into a 'sweet spot' of a cruising configuration. This has been the subject of hangar talk and barroom speculation among pilots for ages, and I've tried it, but the outcome was hardly convincing. I remain neutral but skeptical.  

Anyhow, the passing around of this shibboleth among pilots has diminished rather pointedly since computers began to do more of the flying than pilots. In the more sophisticated airplanes these days, pilots largely monitor the automation rather than doing hands-on flying, and the younger fliers coming up probably have no idea what I'm even talking about. Frankly, I'm not unhappy that I missed most of the automation; I enjoyed flying too much.

It should be noted that Phannie doesn't have much automation either, except automatic transmission and cruise control. She certainly doesn't drive herself, but I rarely get tired of driving unless we spend a good deal of time in a high traffic metropolitan area, which I desperately try to avoid. If we're on Interstate highways and other roads with little traffic and few stops, I sometimes take advantage of this and drive longer legs when appropriate.

One disappointment in reaching Santa Fe was that the place was having a heat wave. In fact, Denver, which is not too far away, recorded its highest June temperature in history! Wouldn't you know it? The temperature was in the nineties when we got to Santa Fe and it didn't abate for a couple of days. This is a bit unusual for a place that's above 7,000 feet in elevation. Another disappointment was the Santa Fe KOA, where we are set up until after the holiday rush. The park itself is okay, but it's all dirt and gravel and, therefore, very dusty. As the place is down in a canyon, the AT&T cell service is weak. But the worst thing is the water, which has a strong mineral smell and taste and is not as clear as it should be. We certainly don't drink it, purchasing our drinking water instead. We would probably already have moved, but getting space elsewhere around the July 4th holiday is unlikely.

We took the opportunity to hop in Mae and take an air-conditioned drive up to Taos and then over to Angel Fire to meet some friends who were staying at the Angel Fire RV Resort. This was one of the nicest RV parks we've ever seen, and the daytime temperature there at 8,300 feet was, mercifully, in the 70s and low 80s. Now that's more like it! We had a very nice dinner with our friends at the Angel Fire Country Club and drove back afterward. What a great evening!

Angel Fire RV Resort

I got a delightful surprise this week from the author of Reflections Around the Campfire, a breezy and well written RV camping blog that I discovered a while ago and have been reading ever since. I think Mary, the author, and I are kindred spirits, to a degree, in our writing styles. We both strive to make our posts readable and entertaining by trying to achieve more of a conversational or storytelling tone than one that comes across as bookish or travelogue-like. This sometimes isn't easy and, coupled with my obsessive-compulsive disorder that requires me to edit these posts to death while trying for perfection, my rewrites are many and largely unjustified, I'm sure. I mean, would you really stop reading this if I were to leave out a comma or use a dangling participle? I hope not, but I've not had much success in finding a help program. As I've mentioned before, I think this neurosis of mine originated with Mrs. Reed, an English teacher in high school who actually rapped her students' knuckles with a ruler if they failed to recite properly the rules of grammar. Of course, she would probably be in jail today, but I will always be grateful--even with the trauma she administered--for insisting on excellence; that experience served me incredibly well throughout my career. Thank you, Mrs. Reed.

But I digress.

Mary sent me a note saying how much she enjoyed Phannie and Mae and that she has included it as a favorite in the new blogroll that she has now added to her site. She linked to it in her latest post, as I have similarly done with her blog title above. This may not seem like a big deal, and everyone likes a high five, but recognition from a respected peer is pretty special to me.  Thanks, Mary; I'm glad we toil in the same vineyard.

After July 4th, we will be making our way to Colorado Springs, where we will meet up with a number of friends who are already there and with others who will be dropping in later in the month.

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; 

please forgive me if I fail to appreciate it as I should each day.

We don't stop playing when we get old; we get old when we stop playing.