One More Driving Day...

Gulf Shores/Pensacola West KOA
Lillian, AL
October 20, 2015

We have been in the road five days...yesterday was the longest day as we clicked away 454 miles...all the way from Weatherford, TX (just west of Fort Worth) to Scott, LA (just west of Lafayette). Tomorrow will be the last leg of the trip...a long boring 409 miles on I-10 across the Florida Panhandle to the Atlantic Ocean. 

Sunday morning, we were up and on the road before the sun was shining on the Lone Star State...an appropriate nickname for a Texas. It is the only state that was a Republic at one point in its history. The lone star symbolizes this as well as the state's fight for independence from Mexico in the 1800s.

Just outside of Jacksboro on US-281, we were slowed down by horses and buggies. We are not sure what the occasion was, but their Sunday morning ride seemed like lots of fun.

 Cotton fields along the way...

Sunday morning was the perfect time to pass through several small towns like the one in the picture below...the streets were bare.

The early Monday morning glow on the skyline of Fort Worth as we pulled in the reins and headed towards Louisiana. 

Keep Louisiana Beautiful became the motto of this state in 2000. It's focus is on education, enforcement, awareness, litter removal and beautification. Communities are encouraged to promote a litter-free state by involving Everyday Hero's to do their part to protect their state and beautify their community. It did not go unnoticed that the stretch of 212 miles on I-49 between Shreveport and Lafayette were spotless. Go Louisiana!

The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge measures 96,100 feet (18.2 miles) and is listed in USA Today as one of the ten most memorable bridges in the world. It is amazing to be traveling over these waterways thinking how did people do this before the bridge was built. Today, this impressive bridge is part of I-10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge. I read it is the second-longest bridge in the US and the fourteenth longest in the world...

We spent about two hours today crossing Mississippi...The Birthplace of American Music. The state claims to have "literally shaped the course of modern music with its contributions to blues, jazz, country and gospel". Other claims to fame include...1. shoes, in America, were first sold in pairs in 1884 at a shoe parlor in Vicksburg, 2. Belzoni is the "Catfish Capital of The World" with 70% of the nation's farm-raised catfish coming from there, 3. Elvis was born in Tupelo. 

Tonight we are settled in at the Gulf Shores/Pensacola West KOA in Lillian, AL located on the Perdido Bay. Our drive was short in "Alabama the Beautiful" with highlights being a flock of herons...

the George Wallace Tunnel...

and the skyline of Mobile.

And, yes, the flags at a park in Foley.

The plan is to be settled in at the Stagecoach RV Park tomorrow in St. Augustine, FL for a glorious 12 nights. The weather looks iffy with rain showers almost everyday...but I don't care! 

Take care and until next time, let the good times roll...

HAPPY TRAILS!

Moving On, But First...

Amarillo KOA
Amarillo. Texas
October 17, 2015

Our last week in Moab was highlighted by meeting blogger friends Hans, Lisa (Metamorphosis Road) and their kitty Rosie. We had two dinners together...one at our home and yummy chicken tacos with roasted veggies at their home. I do wish we had had more time to hike and/or search for petroglyphs. Hans and Lisa are avid hikers and their blog is full of beautiful pictures from their adventures. Joe and I are looking forward to meeting up with them this winter in San Diego. 

Also, Joe and I had one last trail ride before leaving. We were eager to help Dee take water to a team of archaeologist who were surveying Golden Spike trail. 

Sally and Jack enjoyed the cool mornings at the park...

...and Dover enjoyed trips to town with Joe.

We are on the move, headed east to St. Augustine, FL for some beach time and a very important wedding. Our nephew is getting married. We are looking forward to seeing Will and meeting Jan and visiting with JoEllen (Joe's sister) and Chuck (her husband). Today was day two of a seven day haul. Belle's wheels haven't rolled this far in two years! 

Until next time...let the good times roll!

HAPPY TRAILS!

Last Post for Tucson This Year...Heading to Moab!

Tucson/Lazydays KOA
Tucson, AZ
August 3, 2015

Whoopee...was my reaction just now as I typed the date for this post. I can't believe it is August already! I love making plans! And I LOVE it when the wheels are rollin'! We should be heading north on Wednesday as Joe's stitches will be removed in the morning...

These dark clouds moved in about 4:30 pm last Tuesday.

Our biggest news in the past few days have been the storms. Lightening and winds have made for interesting late afternoons. In fact, last Tuesday, the wind was so bad it blew over a power pole behind the KOA and we did not have electricity for 2 days. Thank goodness for the generator! 

The puppies x-pen has blown over several times this past week along with chairs, bikes and plants. The huge pot of geraniums that were sitting on the table were face down behind the bus :(.

I found my watering can (weighted down with rocks) about 5 sites up and have yet to find a big black pot we keep by the door.

The puppies and I enjoyed the trimming of the palm trees a day or so before the storm. These palms are King Palms that grow to about 50 to 80 feet tall depending on which variety. The leaves (fronds) grow 6 to 10 feet long.  There were also clusters of berry like produce cut from the trees.

Another tree that seems to grow well here is the olive tree, however, they haven't fared very well with the winds we have experienced lately. Lots of broken limbs and even a couple uprooted in the park here. It seems strange to me that olive trees even grow here...when I think of olives, I think of the Mediterranean. 

I did read up on the health benefits of olives. They are good for you and you only need to eat 6 to 10 a day to reap their benefits. Guess what we bought at the store? We now have green and Kalamata (which is really a black olive even though it is dark purple) olives in the fridge. The nutritional value of black and green is mostly the same. And I did read that canned black (ripe) olives may contain chemicals that artificially turn them black. That's a bummer, because I really do like them!  

If you have been to the Lazydays KOA and return, you will notice a big change. Two separate rows in the middle of the park will be covered in solar panels. It should be finished in October.

The rendering below came from www.rvbusiness.com. This is a first of it's kind Power Parasol allowing some light in, and safe to park and grill under.

Yep, that first MH in the picture is Belle! Ahh, the magic of photoshop.  The picture of Belle was used in a survey the KOA sent out last winter to allow RVers to comment on whether or not this was a good idea. We were quite honored!

With the snow birders gone, this is what our back-in row has looked like the entire time we have been here. Most of the folks pulling in for a day or two prefer the pull-thrus. That is fine by us!


The rest of the pictures were taken along the highways and byways somewhere between Montrose and Tucson...

Until next time, let the good times roll!