Pancho Villa State Park, New Mexico

Wish I could remember who told me about Pancho Villa State Park in New Mexico. I’d like to thank her. It is really a beautiful RV Park built on the remains of Fort Furlong. We’re about 3 miles from the Mexican boarder and 35 miles south of Deming. A flat arid land surrounded by Owyhee like mountains. Cactus abound, as well as birds.

The State of New Mexico is building a new museum, opening in March, but we got a preview (by just walking in), so I snapped a few pictures. There are even a few of the original “tanks”. In about 1911, the first motorized military machines were here. Of course they had to bring gas in by mule and horse. Makes sense.

We stayed a couple of nights in El Paso. Took a drive up to Cloudcroft and Alamogordo. That area is booming. New subdivisions everywhere. It was cold in the mountains, but pretty. At 8 or 9,000 feet there were Ponderosas and other pines. No fir. We kept a look out for wild animals, but only saw deer and turkey. There are so many of them, we don’t even consider them wild anymore.

The library here in town, (Columbus) has great internet service, it’s warm, TV reception is good, we have electricity and water, so we’ll probably be here for a week. Amazing how little it takes anymore to “survive”.

Fort Clark Springs

January 24, 2006, 39 years ago our first son was born, and now Rod is 39. Happy Birthday Rod! I told him he and Jack Benny had something in common, he probably wondered, “who’s Jack Benny”? Time does get away from us. Keep moving.

We enjoy Fort Clark Springs so much. Most people have never heard of it, and the locals seem to want to keep it that way. White tail deer and wild turkeys roam freely throughout the entire property. The RV park is full of friendly people who really know how to cook. There is a huge swimming pool, 68 constant degrees (as if that’s a good thing.) The river from the Las Moras Springs is beautiful, and so is the countryside. It’s a hidden side of Texas, and believe it or not a building lot can be bought for $4000 or $5,000. Set your clocks back 20 years. Maybe I should start selling real estate again. So here are some pictures for y’al to enjoy. It’s friendly country, just very remote.

We moved across the southwest corner of Texas and are now in Alpine. It’s near Ft. Davis where the telescopes are. Very desolate and beautiful country. On our way to Arizona via New Mexico, of course.

Uvalde

Do you see anything funny about this picture? What's even worse is it was right next door to the corrections institute in Uvalde.
In this same town the roads are built around the trees. No fooling. And the last pictures are a little friend we met along the highway. Ross kept trying to get him to roll up. Enjoy.

San Antonio to Concan

We are just having way too much fun. Spent several days in Fredericksburg, a German settlement. Ate in the same restaurant as 12 years ago when we were here with Art and Karen. Been in business 17 years and it was still great. Kerrville has an amazing Western Art Collection Museum. I wish I could have secretly photographed the Pat and Bill Kennedy Collection that was being featured. Superb paintings and bronzes. This place is so well hidden we passed it by 3 times before spotting it. A real hidden treasure.

We only spent one day in San Antonio. Weather still gorgeous, and we spent the time on the River Walk. The canal had been drained so they could clean it, and we got some interesting shots. Had a marvelous meal at “The Fig Tree” restaurant. That was our anniversary gift. More fat, just what I need!

For the next 3 or 4 days we’ll be camped in the most beautiful spot overlooking the Rio Frio. Look at that crystal clear water. It runs through limestone, and this particular river is fed from springs, much like Fort Clark Springs, a place we visited last year in Brackettville. Across the river is Garner State Park. Ross has lots of exploring to do. Texas doesn’t have many gravel roads, and most land is fenced and gated, cramps his style.

Luckenback, Texas

In Luckenback, Texas, ain’t nobody feel’n no pain. Now that I have Willie and Waylon and the boys running through your head, that’s where some of these pictures were shot. It’s amazing what some people find “quaint”. The town consists of one store, the very old kind with the Post Office in front. (Did you buy your extra two cent stamps? Postage went up to 39 cents on the 1st.) Then the one aisle is crowded with dusty old toys Luckenback memorabilia and armadillos lying on their back drinking whiskey. Dead of course. In the rear of the store is the tavern where hopefuls try to sound like Willie or someone. The tavern at noon held three people from England and one German. The German came to see Fredericksburg, a very large settlement of his ancestors. It’s a tourist town and has one long main street with hundreds of shops and restaurants. A large hospital and nice looking schools and lots of parks. Great place to visit.

New Braunfels, TX Hill Country

Today we drove to New Braunfels a lovely town in the hills. There is a spring that feeds the river. Lots of ducks and geese and crested cormorants. We haven’t seen too many wintering birds yet. Did see a green jay, like a blue jay, squaky and ugly acting, but beautiful, yellow head and green body. My cousin Judy would love this area, would be nice to have her here to tell me what all these birds are. Enjoy the pictures.

One of the best things about traveling is the friends you meet along life’s journey. Here are our Minnesota friends in Mexico. What fun we had in the RV Park in San Benito. Thanks guys for a great time!
We went fishing in the bay at South Padre Island. Had a very good time, and caught whiting, and one fellow caught a shark! We had a great fish feed. Very tasty!
Two weeks of almost ideal weather. Warm, some days a little muggy, but mostly just 80 and great. It was very had to leave. But on January 7th we took off for San Antonio. We camped about 13 miles north in the Hill Country, Canyon Lake. To be continued……

Happy New Year 2006

Happy New Year ya'll. We're just loving Texas and 80 degree weather.




We’re learning to adjust to change. We’ve been a lot of places and seen a lot of people, but I am really loving this place. We’re in San Benito, Texas, it is warm, in the high 70’s and sunny, the people who live in this RV park are exceptionally friendly.

A man came over first thing and invited Ross to ride with the motorcycle people next Wednesday. We’re signed up for Christmas dinner, so I won’t have to cook. We went to breakfast yesterday morning and met some more people, and friends from Minnesota will be in next week. The retirement life style I think I can get use to.

I don’t believe I wrote about Natchez, Mississippi. It’s on the Mississippi River! A pretty town, but much smaller than I had imagined. There are at least 20 Antebellum homes, very narrow streets, and lots of poor people. Mississippi, the state, got hit harder than Louisiana, but all you ever hear about is New Orleans. There are people living in tents and trailers, of course so are we, but that’s our choice.

We read about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ferriday, Louisiana, so we drove over there to check out this small old post office turned museum, with pictures of Jerry Lee Lewis, Rev. Jimmy Swagggart and Mickey Gilley. All from this tiny town, all cousins, and all formerly famous, some infamous.

We had summer at the Kings Tavern in Natchez. The building was constructed in 1769. That’s over 200 years ago. Of course it’s haunted, any building that old has to be, right? I didn’t personally see any ghosts. Food was excellent, but it was cold and drafty.

We drove through Houston, Texas without a bit of problem. I was very leery about the traffic, there are so many people and so many freeways, but it was the right time of day, and we we’re out of there before it got bad. These big towns we go through, I grab the camera, and before I can get a picture, we’re gone, so just imagine a lot of really tall buildings, and lots of cars and people. Not our kind of place.

Our cell phone decided to take this time to not work. We can not call out, to anywhere. We’ve gone to a phone booth and reported it, and they say they will have it fixed in a week or two. Good grief. Well, the weather is wonderful, so I’m going out to sit in the sun, with lots of sunscreen on my face.

Wish we could send all of you some oranges and grapefruit, they are just wonderful right now.