WOW!!!  Can't believe we've been on the road for six months now.  And, OOOHHH, the things we've seen during that time.  After leaving Arizona we headed for New Mexico and explored some of our favorite areas.  Love, love, love the scenery, the culture, the food, the architecture, the people, the history.  All like nothing else we've experienced. 

One of the spots we visited was the Bosc Del Apache Wildlife Refuge and we were fortunate enough to be there when the Sand Hill Cranes were showing up for the winter!  In addition, lady luck also smiled by enabling us to be there the week before all the flocks of birders and photographers flew in for the big annual festival.    This meant I didn't have to elbow my way between tripods to get a look and make an image.  As I have mentioned before, the only time I photograph wildlife is when the critter comes up to me and strikes a pose.  This morning, there were several birds that elected to do just that, which made my 4:00 a.m. wake up all worth while!  Of course, in order to get Jerry out that early, I had to promise to buy him a yummy breakfast when we were done . . .

 

While traveling from New Mexico into the west side of Texas, I somehow missed the "Come Back Soon" sign when leaving New Mexico and the "Welcome To Texas" sign when entering the Lone Star State.  But, we immediately noticed a change in the landscape.  Right away, we were driving through acres and acres of very flat cotton fields ready for harvest - - a landscape new to these northwest kids! What made this view even more 'unique' were all the praying mantis-looking oil derricks operating in the middle of all those cotton fields.  Actually, they remind me of those toy birds I had growing up - - the ones that you stood next to a glass of water and once the bird's beak was wet, it continued to 'drink' until the water disappeared - - up and down; up and down.  I realize that some of you reading this may be too young to remember those birds but they were one of my favorites, and the oil wells brought them to the top of my memory bank (a hard job at my advanced age!!!👵).

Then I started noticing the ranch entry gates that all have names.  When I saw one that read "Duck Stud Ranch" I knew right away that I had arrived in Texas!  I also observed that when driving through all the small towns on a state highway, the speed limit, as usual, was reduced ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 60mph!!!  Yep, we were now in Texas!

So far, I am disappointed to say that we haven't spotted any armadillos or javalinas.  We have seen a herd of feral hogs, a few buzzards, some wild turkeys and a dead cockroach, none of which met my criteria for wildlife photographs, especially the dead cockroach🐞.  About the only 'critter' I've photographed here was this big fellow who I caught napping in a field next to the road - - I must say, he seemed very unimpressed with the fact that I was taking his portrait!  Not much of 'poser' . . .

The landscape in this very large state has surprised me.  I was not expecting all the trees, green rolling hills, beautiful ranch/estates, lakes and rivers.  Not just the Hill County - - also the east Texas region as well. 

🎼 We went to Luckenbach, 🎵Texas but no Waylon, Willie and the boys🎶; we looked all around but didn't 🎼see the Hatfields and McCoys🎵

Seriously, what you see in this photo IS all there is to Luckenbach, Texas.  This building is a gift store, a dance hall, a tavern, a post office and live music venue, all under one roof (well, there is another building next door for use when they have REALLY BIG shindigs!)  Oh, yeah, there are a couple of farms in the area as well.  Who knew!

Many of you probably don't remember President Lyndon Johnson (Vice President who took over when President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963).  His 'Texas White House' was located in the Hill Country of Texas and is now a national park.  Gorgeous!  This image was taken at that historic site and shows some of the amazing Live Oak trees we see so much of here.

Under 'things that we've learned' for this blog, we discovered another road issue (by doing!).  In the rolling hills of central Texas there are many rivers/streams, and on the downhill run, the roads go right through those waterways!  Each one has a high water marker that goes up to five feet shown on a stick placed along side the road to let you know when the water is too deep to cross!  Whoa . . . the first one we encountered caused this driver a bit of a freight!  But, the water level was low so I continued through the stream without incident.

We are now exploring in east Texas where my father and his family hailed from.  I have located a little of our history in the form of graves and historical data.  We'll soon be meeting up with our daughter and her family where we'll spend the holidays with them in their new Texas home.  From there, we'll head to the Gulf areas for the winter months.

The holiday decorations we have seen are really 'over the top' in this neck of the woods . . .

Until next year, and until I get busy and create a new blog, may you and yours be blessed with love and peace this holiday season that will last into the new year.  Happiness to all!

Now that we've been on the road for more than five months I have come to realize why folks decide to become 'snow birds'.  We've stayed and camped at state parks, BLM public lands, store and casino parking lots, national parks, small rv parks and huge rv resorts.  We recently spent a week at one of the huge rv resorts where people own or lease their little piece of heaven, and were amazed to learn that the people who stay there, usually during a particular season, are not the 'walker and cane' set, but rather very active adults who enjoy all sorts of fun.  These resorts are truly that - - resorts!  The big difference at these resorts and those where all ages go to vacation, is that they attract people who enjoy meeting others and being part of a community of folks similar in age and interests.  These snow birds get together to go hiking, biking, take excursions to remote areas to ride their ATV's, swim, take meals together, do community/volunteer projects, discuss books or current events, sing together, play instruments, take classes, do crafts, and take part in special interest clubs too numerous to count.

Now, having said all that, this was simply an eye-opening observation rather than a plan for our immediate future!  We're still happy being on the road and exploring all the places our cameras have never seen.  It was simply a realization for us to find out why there are so many retired, or nearly retired, folks who elect to live this way.  Interesting . . .

During our travels for the past couple of months, the word that kept coming to mind was 'color'.  We cruised through parts of Nevada, southern Utah, much of Arizona and are now exploring New Mexico.  Every place we've visited has been ablaze with colors so vivid that it can hurt one's eyes.  I have seen many photos of the parks and monuments, but nothing prepared me for the sights we were fortunately enough to see. 

The reds, purples and golds in the Grand Canyon,

the pinks and oranges of Zion and Bryce Canyons,

 
and the incredible red rocks near Sedona, AZ and in Red Rock Canyon, UT.

Even the greens of the cactus in the deserts following record monsoon rains were sights I had not expected, nor was I prepared for the wonderful colors in the water reflected from the London Bridge in Lake Havasu.

While our travels did not take us to Winslow, Arizona,  I was able to grab this image of Jerry 'taking it easy',  and 🎵standing on the corner in Tombstone, Arizona🎵. 

Unfortunately, there was no girl driving by in a flatbed Ford, although I did find "Big Nose Kate" (of OK Corral fame) and "Gold Tooth Sue" (notorious in the Palace in Prescott), but neither were willing to have their photos taken with this cowboy.  I had to settle for making images of the iconic ghost/gold rush towns of Bisbee and Tombstone, (including Boot Hill), among others📷.

After spending time in the desert states, I have a new favorite bird!  I saw my first roadrunner, and fell in love with the critter when I found out that they can take out rattlesnakes!  They are very cute, especially when they are running.  They look just like I remember, when I was just a wee sprite, watching the old roadrunner cartoons .  They're too fast for me to catch with my camera, and they certainly won't hold still and strike a pose, so I had to settle for this Las Cruses icon at the edge of town.

As for lessons learned, we finally found out exactly how long it takes to completely run down our battery in 'Kermit' the Tahoe, when leaving our cooler plugged in while we were exploring a ghost town.  We just weren't real sure before this happened - - sooooo, now we know!  (Thank goodness for roadside assistance insurance!!!)

We hope you've enjoyed reading about our continuing RV adventure and seeing the images we so enjoy making.  We'll bring you up to date again when we've explored the rest of the southwest, eaten our share of red and green chilis and joined the hunt for extra terrestrials!

 

🎵'On the road again', 'cruisin' down the highway', 🎵'long and winding road', taking the scenic route', 'endless highway' 🎵- - I've been humming all these and more lately, because we really have gone 'on the road again'!  After many months spent getting my health back in order, we've re-started our full-time RV adventure and we're thrilled!  (Still having a little weakness/stiffness issue with my foot and leg, but I continue to use pool workouts and bicycling to gain strength, and it seems to be working.  'NUFF said about that!!!)

When we were deciding where to go first, we realized that there is no place with better summer weather than the northwest, so we spent two months exploring the Willamette valley area of Oregon - - wine country, and all that.  Although we have been to Oregon more times than we can count, this is the first time we took the time to really explore both iconic places as well as those roads less traveled.

We found the farmlands in this area are really spectacular but we agreed that maybe the 'powers that be' could find a better way to trim the trees along those roadways . . . 🚫!

We found soooo much to do in this area of Oregon . . . we re-connected with old friends, toured factories (sausage, cheese, beer, and pies - - oh, my! - - I might add that none assisted us in reducing our number of belt notches, unfortunately), visited historic sites like the covered bridge at the top of this page, went to festivals . . .

took in museums . . .

and, yes, that really is a 747 atop this building, sitting in a vineyard.  And, the tubes coming out of the plane's belly are water slides that descend into the pools that are housed in the building below!  A most amazing water park that is part of the Evergreen Air and Space Museum in McMinnville.   The museum is a 'must see' whenever you go to Oregon.  One building houses the famous Spruce Goose; another is dedicated to the space program.  We were parked in an RV park next door to this facility so we got to spend some quality time there.  Well worth a stop.

I had a great time getting reacquainted with my camera as well.  Had fun with the super moon, enjoyed a foggy day at the coast,

and even got 'my abstract on' in a small town in the valley.

We couldn't bring ourselves to head back into the hot weather after leaving Oregon, so decided to stay cool and go south down the coast of California.  Enjoyed some train art work . . .

some big surf . . .

some amazing back roads with wonderful trees . . .

historic lighthouses . . ,
 

and the craziest surfer I have ever seen . . .

Not only NO, but H**L NO!!!

As in the past, we have learned some lessons on our adventure.  We learned that sometimes, as we have more birthdays (I really HATE that saying🎂!), it is OK to give ourselves permission to throw caution to the wind and just have a big slice of pie for dinner!  (Oh, and please don't tell our kids we do that occasionally - - they will surely send us off to 'shady acres'!!)

The other lesson I learned is that when you drive around the back of a building on what turns out to be a dead end road, and then have to back out to go a different direction, make darned sure an old motor home is not coming up behind you, going too fast to avoid your stopped vehicle.  Not much harm done; just a little bruising on 'Kermit's' bumper.  But, rest assured, Kermit bruised that beast right back!

Also, in our stays at RV parks, state parks, casino parking lots (free!-my favorite word), forest land campgrounds, and county parks, we have gotten the experience necessary to successfully deal with the maneuverability of 'Kodi' the trailer, although sometimes - - since I do the driving/backing - - my executive director of motion (that would be Jerry) still has a few problems with his hand signals.  But, we're working on it . . . ⬆️⬅️⬇️➡️ 

Next stop:  Sequoia National Park - - a place neither of these ex-California kids have seen.  Then, FINALLY, we'll make our way to all the parks and monuments in Utah and Arizona.  The holidays will be spent in Texas with our daughter, Crista, and her family.  (I'm already practicing my 'ya'lls' in preparation for our visit there!)

Hope you enjoyed my new 'ramblings' - - - more to come.