More of this and that!

As Dick recently posted, we were without dependable, if any, internet for a few months, so we were very behind on our postings. I would like to start with a brief synopsis of our life since I last posted through the end of July 2012 – since our blog is also memorializing our life as fulltime RVers.  I promise to break this down so as not to bore all of you following our blog – hopefully!

As we continued our patrols around Mary’s Lake Campground during August, the does were having their babies, and this pair was frequently spotted strolling through the campground.

We worked with some super employees at the MLC store, and here is Dick checking in with Sarah (from LA) and Zac (who has now moved on to FL).  Y’all keep in touch!

During our stay at MLC, Dick was able to pursue his hobby of making cigar box guitars, and Ranger Daniel bought one of his first ones.  Daniel, we hope you are enjoying it!

September found us reorganizing and getting ready to head back to TX on September 16th – to arrive at Fort Parker State Park near Mexia on October 1st.

I loved the rainbows we saw from our site at MLC, and here is an awesome one that we viewed on September 1st.

On September 8th, my high school classmate Charles Woodard, his wife Karen and their two (2) daughters drove to Rocky Mountain National Park for a quick visit, and invited me to join them for lunch at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park.  Thanks, y’all!  My only regret is that I was unable to spend more time checking out the history of this beautiful hotel.

One item on our to-do list before leaving the area was to witness the elk in rut and, on September 10th, as we were heading into RMNP, we witnessed a herd at The Stanley Hotel, and what an awesome site they were.

Our trip back to TX was uneventful, with Dick traveling all the back roads in order to avoid lots of mountains and traffic.  We actually increased our diesel mileage by two (2) gallons per mile, so it was worth it – although we did not see anything exciting. 

We did make a detour to visit our friends and former co-hosts Dave and Sue at Cedron Creek on Lake Whitney – where they were gate attendants and will be again this spring and summer.

After dropping the RV off at Fort Parker State Park, we headed to Tomball to see the kids and grandkids – after not seeing them for a few months.  On Saturday, September 22nd, Mike and April hosted a barbeque so that we could meet Michelle’s boyfriend (now fiancé) John, who has definitely become part of the family.  Our daughter-in-law April and daughter Michelle had fun hanging out, and our grandsons (Colby, Ben and Logan) enjoyed playing together.

On September 27th, Dick and I made a whirlwind trip to Lake Charles, LA to visit friends and family.  Our first stop was for lunch with my cousin Ginny and 92-year-old Aunt Ruby – and Ginny picked up boudin for us to enjoy, which was a treat for Dick and I.

We then made a quick trip to visit our friends Bob and Kathy and see their new home.  We had a great visit and are happy for them and their move – eventually – back home!

We then met my brother Jim and sister-in-law Sharon at one of our favorite eateries in Lake Charles – Steamboat Bill’s.  Thank you, Jim and Sharon, for treating us to an early dinner!

Finally, before returning to Michelle’s in El Lago, we stopped in Beaumont, TX to visit my brother David and sister-in-law Tresa.  Brandon, our great nephew, showed us his expertise with the guitar and we had a great, although short, visit.

As I said, it was a whirlwind one-day trip and, still, so many people we were not able to see!  Oh, well, other trips are definitely in our future!

Before heading back to Fort Parker SP, I went to visit my cousins Gordon and Linda and, although the visit was short, we had a great time catching up.

Well, all good things must come to an end – for awhile!  It was time to head back to Fort Parker SP on September 30th to start our three (3) months as volunteer park hosts, so more to come.  Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!  ~judy~

We’re Back…

Well, I’m finally getting over the withdrawals from the lack of internet.  We are now back in civilization and will resume posting our trials, tribulations and excursions.  Judy, as before, will be posting our daily lives and family “stuff”, while I will continue posting the excitement of the bounties of nature.

There is no way we can go back and post all that has happened since last July, but let it be said that our sojourn at Fort Parker State Park near Mexia (pronounced “may-hay-ya”) was great.  Fort Parker is a beautiful, small state park that I would recommend to anyone looking to get away from it all.

Judy has been assigned to work in the headquarters and I am in maintenance doing everything from cleanups and patrols, to building fire rings and picnic tables. Once again, we feel fortunate to have made a great choice in accepting this volunteer host position.  So on January 1st, we said our good-byes and drove down to Brazos Bend State Park, located on the Brazos River near Needville and Rosenburg, Texas.  Brazos Bend is in many ways the opposite of Fort Parker.  It’s huge, containing over 5,000 acres with 36 miles of beautifully maintained trails for hiking and biking.  There are numerous lakes and oxbows that contain myriads of waterfowl, gators, wild hogs, bobcats, otter, fox, and deer.

This posting will be centered on what we have been up to since we arrived and the weather has cleared.

We arrived with the advent of the rains.  I say “rains”, because that’s what it did for the first two weeks we were here.  Our saving grace is that we both purchased Frog Toggs last year and with muck boots, stayed dry and warm.  The weather did keep us inside, getting settled in, and I turned our dining table into a workbench while working on a guitar, ordered by Tom, Judy’s brother.  Because we are close to Houston, Logan, our grandson, has been able to visit for two weekends and spend some thoroughly enjoyable time with us. 

On the weekend of the 7th, the weather was still pretty cool and the fauna were not moving about too much, but we did manage to get a few decent pics.

Our first stop was the Brazos Bend Nature Center maintained and run by the volunteer organization, “Friends of Brazos Bend”.

We attended a seminar on BBSP Owls where Ranger David dissected an owl pellet as Logan and others watched in fascination.

Next, we took a very short walk about a half mile along Elm Lake to begin to acclimate our “park legs”.

The following weekend, Logan returned (he’s really liking this place) and Saturday evening, as soon as it was dark, we made our way over to George Observatory where the Houston Astronomy Club had a number of their privately-owned telescopes (Big Bucks) as well as the university “Big Boys”.  We have no pics for this but loads of fun memories and vows to return.  It was definitely a class act as they allowed us to gaze on more close-ups of celestial bodies.

Judy had to work at the office on Sunday, so Logan and I took off on our bikes for what he called “male bonding time” to see what was out and about on the trails and get more pics.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and the wilds beckoned.

 

Yesterday, both Judy and I were off, and decided to get out early in the morning so I could show her some of the trails I had become familiar with.  We left our home at 10:30 A.M. and, before it was over, we had biked over 5 miles and we saw some awesome sites.   The sky was clear, the temp was mild and we had a blast.  Granted, we didn’t see a wide assortment of wildlife, but we did see A LOT of gators.  At one point, we arrived just in time to see a big bull tearing into a younger male trying to invade the big guy’s space.  At another point, we counted almost a dozen gators within a hundred yards.  Judy had her first experience going around some gators sunning alongside our trail.

Hope you enjoyed the pics…see you soon …

~dick~

We Are In One Of Those Black Holes of the World Wide Web

For you guys wondering why we haven't updated our blog, our only internet link is a telephone hotspot, and we are in one of those "fringe" areas that relies on a roaming connection with another service. As a result, to post a single picture takes waaaay too long.
As soon as we can we will resume posting, but that may take a while. We travel to our next camp ground in January, sooo...

In the meantime, we will be posting a few pics on FaceBook.  Hope you like them!

Final Days of July!

It's hard to believe it is the last week of September and we are back in Texas and visiting family, but that story is for another day!  First, it's time to complete the story of Michelle and Logan's visit to Colorado - old news to some, but memories for me!

Since Logan was completing the Junior Ranger booklet and had to see as many birds (and other wildlife, etc.) that he could, on Friday, July 27th, we decided to visit our friend and fellow workamper Donna at East Portal Campground (just down the road from the YMCA camp - for those who have been there).  Donna's feeder attracted up to 15-20 hummingbirds at a time, many of whom would land on her fingers.

Logan, Dick/Grampa and Donna at the feeder

From there, we drove up Highway 7 to treat Michelle and Logan to spring water directly from the pump.

  

Our day ended with hanging out at the campground, which Michelle truly enjoyed!

Dick and I were on duty the next 3 days and, after being on the road since their arrival, Michelle and Logan were content to relax (Michelle) and play on the rocks and at the playground (Logan).  On Saturday, July 28th, we did just that until Donna told us there was a big black bear in a tree a few miles away.  We headed that way and, when Dick later went for viewing and pictures, the bear cooperated and stood up; however, for us, he only slept, but it was still cool to see and another item to check off in Logan's Junior Ranger booklet.

Approximately 400-pound male black bear

Logan and Michelle - waiting for a better picture!

Michelle and Logan - still waiting!

Back at camp, we were treated to another awesome rainbow!

That evening, we had another campground program on bears and mountain lions, which was perfect, since Logan had to attend a program, write about it and get a ranger's signature for his Junior Ranger badge.  Thank you, Ranger Howell, for your sign-off for Logan!

Campground program on bears and mountain lions

Michelle and Logan at campground program

Logan and Dick/Grampa discussing campground program

On Monday, July 30th, Dick was on duty for both of us, and Michelle, Logan and I went "shopping" in Estes Park.  We first stopped at Dick's Rock Museum where Logan picked out a Geode to be cut.

    

Once in town, we bought homemade candies and Blue Bell ice cream - yummy!  When we returned to camp, Logan talked me into playing pool - first time since college - and it was fun!

Logan playing pool at the game room!

Judy/Grammy playing pool, too!

Well, all good things must come to an end so, on Tuesday,  July 31st,  before heading for the airport in Aurora, CO, we went to the Fall River Visitor Center for Logan to be tested by the ranger and sworn in as a Junior Ranger.  He was asked some pretty tough questions and aced them all.  We were so proud of him!

  

Logan really was pleased and proud of himself, too!

And off they went back to Houston!

  August was a much quieter month, with only 6 weeks left before heading back to Texas for the fall and winter, and that story will be told in another posting.

I hope you enjoyed visiting with us and please come again!  Until next time, see ya!  ~judy~