Tonight we find ourselves parked amidst heavenly smelling ponderosa pine at the "Square Dance Center and campground" off hwy 12 west of Lolo and Missoula, Montana. The entire ride today had us in awe. From the huge grassy basins to the snow capped mountains in the distance. We've never been this far west in Montana, and it was incredible crossing the continental divide. I had been a little concerned about pulling through the mountains, but our wonderful truck is fully up to the challenge. Other than a drop in mileage, she pulls almost like there's nothing there. (smile) I just tried uploading photos again, and again the server refused them. I think I'll upload them from the computer to the tablet and try that. I'm finding the small screen size of the tablet to be awkward to impossible, but I'll get it. The energy on this side of the continental divide is tranquil. I don't know how else to describe it. The land here is older and weather worn; the mountains are smoother. The water is sweet and has a taste similar to the air which is also sweet and clear - lovely. Super tonight is rice and vegies with salad dressing as the sauce - it's really quite good. Not the steak John wanted, but it will do. We're both really tired - road wear, and altitude I think. Tomorrow we'll make Orofino and the Dworshak Dam - our final destination. The road is a twist curvy and the 140 miles could take 3-4 hours we're told. It will be beautiful:)
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Louisianna to Wisconsin to Montana
Wow, I'm finally catching my breath, and we have good wi-fi so here we go. Time to get caught up!
We spent 2 days at Poch's Fishing Camp and RV Park www.pochesrvpark.com/home
swimming, fishing, exploring and just relaxing. Although all we caught were some little bitty sunfish, we saw a couple HUGE catfish. We also had lunch at the Pont Breaux restaurant. The catfish and gumbo were wonderful. www.pontbreauxscajunrestaurant.com. Don't know what we were expecting, but the whole experience was very nice. The town and surrounding area was all neat and tidy, and the people were so friendly. Our noses were the only problem - allergies! BLAH. We had planned on taking The Great River Road north along the Mississippi River, but the radar and our allergies changed our minds, so we hopped on Interstate 55 and made it to Hugh White State Park in Mississippi http://www.stateparks.com/hugh_white_state_park_in_mississippi.html. There were only 3 RV's in the park that night, and it was full moon, and the trees were 100 foot tall. It was truely breathtaking!
I'll have to upload photos later, the server rejected them here.
I had several melodies coming to me also which I got on my little digital tape recorder, so when I have some time in Idaho, maybe I'll be able to finish them.
We awoke to stormy skies,so headed north. We got through Memphis just before the storms hit, and that was the story the rest of the day. A tornado touched down 40 miles behind us as we passed into Southern Illinois on Hwy 57, then slid over to Hwy 51 to make a straight shot to Rockford; unfortunately, the navigator fell asleep, and we ended up in Urbana Champlain instead of Bloomington, so we lost an hour there. We had planned on staying over one more night, but ended up driving straight through to Menomonie. Got back to the house at about 9:30 pm and planted ourselves in our driveway.
The next morning we went into the house for a look, and it's amazing what you see after being away so long, and being emotionally detached from it. Oh MY! We had 14 showings since last fall and no offers, and looking around, no wonder why. We took inventory, made a list and went for supplies. The whole upstaris needed painting, the summer sleeping porch needed finishing and painting, the yard we won't discuss...... two and a half weeks later (with a trip to Green Bay for my mom-in-law's 97th birthday party - which was simply wonderful!) we finished the painting, trimming, sun room, kitchen ceiling......... and the third showing brought us an offer!!!!!!!! We weren't as happy when we saw what the offer was, but it was cash, and they wanted to close in 2 weeks, so we countered back and forth, and in the end, we closed 1 week later. Then picked up our new 27' 2002 Jayco Eagle that has the most wonderful kitchen I've seen in any rig! It has one slide and the interior is in blues. 3 people could do chi gong in here at the same time! I'll get pictures up as soon as I can.
All in all, our little visit to Wisconsin turned into 6 weeks, but the house is gone, and we are truely full timers now! The door to door moving took us over 4 hours! I was trying to put things away as they were brought in, and all in all, we're pretty well moved in. The underbelly needs a bit of work, but the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are in real good shape. Still need to get rid of the books. We picked up a Samsung Galaxy 7.0 Tablet through T-Mobile and got a $100 rebate so we now have secure internet. We're a little disappointed with the battery charge time, and there's much to learn in running it, but John has a new favorite game (aha, there's the battery life problem!) and I loaded out a few helpful apps: mileage, finances, chess, spider sol - um, yeah, I like games too, and a calorie counter, chromatic tuner and metronome.
The house closed on Friday the 11th and we couldn't pick up our new rig until the 16th, so we moved out to the Highland Ridge Campground near Spring Valley. This is a Corps of Engineers park, and it's beautiful! We stayed there 5 nights, and had the best family picnic (mothers day) that I think we've ever had.
We finally hit the road on the 16th around 3:30 pm. 4 hours later than planned, and we made Alexandria, Minnesota the first night. We stayed at the Alexandria shooting Range and RV Park www.alexandriashootingpark.com. There wasn't a tree in sight, but the folks in the club house were very friendly, and we had our choice of all but one campsite which was occupied; so we pulled up close to the shower house, hooked up, set up, and hit the sack. It was peaceful and we slept like rocks. The new mattress has a pillow top, and it is very comfortable!
Nights 2 and 3 were spent at Theodore Roosevelt National Park www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm ! Dry camping. Bison walking past the rig, wild horses walking through the campground, prairie dogs, sage brush, and a little bit of heaven every which way you turn! It was remarkable! We stayed at the Cottonwood Campground in the Southern Unit. John used his Golden Age Pass for the first time, and it got us into the park for free and our camping was $5 per night! Yesterday we took the 20 mile loop through the southern unit. It was simply spectacular. Again, pictures later. We met some wonderful people, and we all shared a venison dinner, along with a chocolate cherry cake that I made. The new kitchen is great!
This morning was a bit interesting. Our Rig battery was dead. Seems it wasn't a 2012 model - 2008 is more like it, and it was deader than a doornail, so, our slide wouldn't come in. I got out the book, and slid underneath and unlocked the brake on the motor, but the little ratchet we have wouldn't even budge it, and we couldn't push it either. I had the pleasure of sitting on some ground wetted by a passing bison, so had to go change pants - lol! Thank goodness for good neighbors. The couple across the way had a generator, and that did the trick! We finally found a Walmart in Laurel, MT (just west of Billings) and got a new battery, and tonight we're in a cute little RV park that honors Passport America in Reeds Point, MT. It's called Old West RV Park and is just off exit 392. Clark, the owner just purchased the park a couple weeks ago, and it looks like we'll be stopping by here on the way back through! :) stay tuned!!
We spent 2 days at Poch's Fishing Camp and RV Park www.pochesrvpark.com/home
swimming, fishing, exploring and just relaxing. Although all we caught were some little bitty sunfish, we saw a couple HUGE catfish. We also had lunch at the Pont Breaux restaurant. The catfish and gumbo were wonderful. www.pontbreauxscajunrestaurant.com. Don't know what we were expecting, but the whole experience was very nice. The town and surrounding area was all neat and tidy, and the people were so friendly. Our noses were the only problem - allergies! BLAH. We had planned on taking The Great River Road north along the Mississippi River, but the radar and our allergies changed our minds, so we hopped on Interstate 55 and made it to Hugh White State Park in Mississippi http://www.stateparks.com/hugh_white_state_park_in_mississippi.html. There were only 3 RV's in the park that night, and it was full moon, and the trees were 100 foot tall. It was truely breathtaking!
I'll have to upload photos later, the server rejected them here.
I had several melodies coming to me also which I got on my little digital tape recorder, so when I have some time in Idaho, maybe I'll be able to finish them.
We awoke to stormy skies,so headed north. We got through Memphis just before the storms hit, and that was the story the rest of the day. A tornado touched down 40 miles behind us as we passed into Southern Illinois on Hwy 57, then slid over to Hwy 51 to make a straight shot to Rockford; unfortunately, the navigator fell asleep, and we ended up in Urbana Champlain instead of Bloomington, so we lost an hour there. We had planned on staying over one more night, but ended up driving straight through to Menomonie. Got back to the house at about 9:30 pm and planted ourselves in our driveway.
The next morning we went into the house for a look, and it's amazing what you see after being away so long, and being emotionally detached from it. Oh MY! We had 14 showings since last fall and no offers, and looking around, no wonder why. We took inventory, made a list and went for supplies. The whole upstaris needed painting, the summer sleeping porch needed finishing and painting, the yard we won't discuss...... two and a half weeks later (with a trip to Green Bay for my mom-in-law's 97th birthday party - which was simply wonderful!) we finished the painting, trimming, sun room, kitchen ceiling......... and the third showing brought us an offer!!!!!!!! We weren't as happy when we saw what the offer was, but it was cash, and they wanted to close in 2 weeks, so we countered back and forth, and in the end, we closed 1 week later. Then picked up our new 27' 2002 Jayco Eagle that has the most wonderful kitchen I've seen in any rig! It has one slide and the interior is in blues. 3 people could do chi gong in here at the same time! I'll get pictures up as soon as I can.
All in all, our little visit to Wisconsin turned into 6 weeks, but the house is gone, and we are truely full timers now! The door to door moving took us over 4 hours! I was trying to put things away as they were brought in, and all in all, we're pretty well moved in. The underbelly needs a bit of work, but the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are in real good shape. Still need to get rid of the books. We picked up a Samsung Galaxy 7.0 Tablet through T-Mobile and got a $100 rebate so we now have secure internet. We're a little disappointed with the battery charge time, and there's much to learn in running it, but John has a new favorite game (aha, there's the battery life problem!) and I loaded out a few helpful apps: mileage, finances, chess, spider sol - um, yeah, I like games too, and a calorie counter, chromatic tuner and metronome.
The house closed on Friday the 11th and we couldn't pick up our new rig until the 16th, so we moved out to the Highland Ridge Campground near Spring Valley. This is a Corps of Engineers park, and it's beautiful! We stayed there 5 nights, and had the best family picnic (mothers day) that I think we've ever had.
We finally hit the road on the 16th around 3:30 pm. 4 hours later than planned, and we made Alexandria, Minnesota the first night. We stayed at the Alexandria shooting Range and RV Park www.alexandriashootingpark.com. There wasn't a tree in sight, but the folks in the club house were very friendly, and we had our choice of all but one campsite which was occupied; so we pulled up close to the shower house, hooked up, set up, and hit the sack. It was peaceful and we slept like rocks. The new mattress has a pillow top, and it is very comfortable!
Nights 2 and 3 were spent at Theodore Roosevelt National Park www.nps.gov/thro/index.htm ! Dry camping. Bison walking past the rig, wild horses walking through the campground, prairie dogs, sage brush, and a little bit of heaven every which way you turn! It was remarkable! We stayed at the Cottonwood Campground in the Southern Unit. John used his Golden Age Pass for the first time, and it got us into the park for free and our camping was $5 per night! Yesterday we took the 20 mile loop through the southern unit. It was simply spectacular. Again, pictures later. We met some wonderful people, and we all shared a venison dinner, along with a chocolate cherry cake that I made. The new kitchen is great!
This morning was a bit interesting. Our Rig battery was dead. Seems it wasn't a 2012 model - 2008 is more like it, and it was deader than a doornail, so, our slide wouldn't come in. I got out the book, and slid underneath and unlocked the brake on the motor, but the little ratchet we have wouldn't even budge it, and we couldn't push it either. I had the pleasure of sitting on some ground wetted by a passing bison, so had to go change pants - lol! Thank goodness for good neighbors. The couple across the way had a generator, and that did the trick! We finally found a Walmart in Laurel, MT (just west of Billings) and got a new battery, and tonight we're in a cute little RV park that honors Passport America in Reeds Point, MT. It's called Old West RV Park and is just off exit 392. Clark, the owner just purchased the park a couple weeks ago, and it looks like we'll be stopping by here on the way back through! :) stay tuned!!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Off to Louisianna - April 1
We're tucked into the
most peaceful park we've ever been to, Quiet Oaks. Hidden Oaks was peaceful, but this is
soothing.I hear an owl in a tree, and the crickets are chirping. Dragon flies
were just all over the place, but it's twilight now and I'm sitting outside!
Well, a couple mosquitoes, but nothing like back in Lamar! John heard turkeys
earlier. We're 1/2 mile N. of Fenton off 165 north of
Lake Charles. Louisianna was a huge suprise to us. It is lush with huge trees
and the woods are very thick. I don't know what I expected, but this is wonderful. Everywhere we look it is sooooo clean
and tidy. It's amazing. Did the hurricanes hit this far west of New Orleans. I
suppose they did since they cover huge areas, but there's not much sign of it. The
trees don't show it at all.
Well, maybe I do need
to go in, mosquitoes. We sat outside for at least an hour though, and it's
only now at dusk that they're out.
Anyway, I didn't think
we were ever going to get around Houston. The Galveston Island route was a no
go. The road was closed for construction, we had to turn around and go
back, so we ended up taking 2004 to 147 on up to 10. It seems there just isn't a good way
around Houston, but there was some beautiful scenery. The bridges we went over were incredible. One crossing the W end
of Galveston Bay, then another one on 210 around St. Charles (it was a detour). We stopped by the Welcome station when we entered Louisianna and got a good map and lots of information, so we'll see what we find tomorrow!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Murals and other services
The other two murals turned out like this - full view.
More is written on these in the Hidden Oaks Post.
I've been trying to figure out for years what I want to do with my life. The answer finally came to me; I want to help lift people up. With all the schooling I've had in all the different areas, here's what I can offer. Everything is pretty much negotiable. I'm loving the workamping and I think barter is a wonderful thing. Win-win!
Deb & John - Dragons Lair Music
Performances (@1 hr.) + CD sales
CD - Meanderings $12.50
Deborah Peters - Services offered
Music Lessons- Dulcimer or Guitar
Private lessons $12.50 1/2 hr.
Group Lessons
Workshops 40 min. - 1 hr.
Digital lesson Book & midi (dropbox or memory stick) $12
Physical Copy with midi data
Lesson DVD (coming soon)
Craft & Chi Gong (exercise) Classes 40 min - 2 hr Negotiable
Card Weaving
Loom Beading
Making your own patterns
Tatting/Knitting/Crochet
Basketry
Mural Painting Negotiable
Reiki Treatment suggested $35 1/2 hr.
John Peters
Barbeque extraordinaire! & pig roasts
Dulcimer jams and performances with/without Deb
Computer - problem solver
Workamping is the most wonderful way to do all this, it is so flexible, and it takes us to places where we would never even have considered sharing what we do. If you are interested, or know someone who is interested, contact us at the above link.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Solar Cooking
I've waited 20 years to have a nice solar oven! Tried building one when my girls were little, but either we didn't do it right, or the sky wasn't sunny enough for long enough when we tried to use it. In recent years I built a solar reflector that I used with some success. The pot went into an oven cooking bag to hold the moisture & heat in.
Right after arriving in Texas, we ordered a nice solar oven http://www.solarovens.org/, and 2 months later, the sky is finally clear enough to use it! Yesterday I made Hard Cooked Eggs (for egg salad) and cooked turnips - nicely done! Today (4/5/12) was the real challenge. I made a Molasses Rye/wheat yeast bread complete with 2 risings. It was done before noon! This is amazing since the heavy dough usually takes forever to rise (I should mention that I grind my own flour, so it was 1.5 cups of rye berries and about the same of wheat berries), but I put it in the solar oven and set the oven in the sun but not aimed at it so it was under 150 degrees and it rose quickly. I took it in and punched it down and set it back in the oven (inside its enamel pot) and in no time at all it had risen again and was ready to bake. I put the reflectors on the oven and went on with my rig cleaning (the ceiling vents needed cleaning and the only way to clean them is from the roof - brilliant! So I got the extension ladder out of the shop and hauled my pan of water and rag and cleaner up to find I needed a crescent wrench to get the vent covers off - it took a while, and a few trips up and down the ladder, but I finally got it done, and when I did, the bread was also done! Perfect! Then I got out some chicken thighs (frozen) and cut up a couple potatoes and tossed in some frozen vegies, squeezed lime over the chicken and added a bit of rosemary and put it all in the pot and back out in the oven. WOW! The flavor was unbelievable. It cooked at 250 for about 4.5 hours, and the chicken fell off the bone. Juicy and just wonderful.
As I continue playing with my oven, I'll add to this blog, so stay tuned!
Right after arriving in Texas, we ordered a nice solar oven http://www.solarovens.org/, and 2 months later, the sky is finally clear enough to use it! Yesterday I made Hard Cooked Eggs (for egg salad) and cooked turnips - nicely done! Today (4/5/12) was the real challenge. I made a Molasses Rye/wheat yeast bread complete with 2 risings. It was done before noon! This is amazing since the heavy dough usually takes forever to rise (I should mention that I grind my own flour, so it was 1.5 cups of rye berries and about the same of wheat berries), but I put it in the solar oven and set the oven in the sun but not aimed at it so it was under 150 degrees and it rose quickly. I took it in and punched it down and set it back in the oven (inside its enamel pot) and in no time at all it had risen again and was ready to bake. I put the reflectors on the oven and went on with my rig cleaning (the ceiling vents needed cleaning and the only way to clean them is from the roof - brilliant! So I got the extension ladder out of the shop and hauled my pan of water and rag and cleaner up to find I needed a crescent wrench to get the vent covers off - it took a while, and a few trips up and down the ladder, but I finally got it done, and when I did, the bread was also done! Perfect! Then I got out some chicken thighs (frozen) and cut up a couple potatoes and tossed in some frozen vegies, squeezed lime over the chicken and added a bit of rosemary and put it all in the pot and back out in the oven. WOW! The flavor was unbelievable. It cooked at 250 for about 4.5 hours, and the chicken fell off the bone. Juicy and just wonderful.
As I continue playing with my oven, I'll add to this blog, so stay tuned!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Hidden Oaks Dec 10 - April 1 2012
Mid February has snuk up on us like a hungry puppy! I don't know where the time has gone. Dec. and Jan. saw the Red Tide and millions of fish killed along with probably millions of jelly fish too. I managed to get a couple good pictures of the beautiful jellyfish.
3 weeks were spent banging my head against the wall developing a data base. John found what we needed online for $25 bucks and a huge sigh of relief was heard from me. Hidden Oaks now has a reservation system that works - very nicely. So I got it up and running, all the data input and did a little training along with writing up a very thorough users guide.
Another week was spent on the mural. This is the first painting I've done in probably 10 years, and I must say, I'm thrilled with the results. I've got 28 hours in the painting, and probably 3 weeks of thought prior to beginning; and the cost of the paint......under $40! I was able to use some of the paint that was been left from other projects at the park and it worked out beautifully.The area here is so incredibly beautiful that inspiration has surrounded me since we arrived.
Larry and Lea Chrestman arrived mid January, and we've been enjoying their company alot. We'll all be here until April.
Along with the beauty, comes the little problems - little fleas, little - no wait, Texas sized mosquitoes and they are all overly abundant much to Sam's (our dog),the girls and my dismay. The water here is from a well, and it is caustic - eatting right through the male end of our hose, cloggin up 2 water pressure regulators and disintegrating the screen at the input spot on the rv. Chemically it's safe to drink, but it tastes terrible. Fortunately, the Exxon Station up on hwy 35 sells 5 gallons of fresh good tasting water for $1, so that works.
We've been to Goliad several times now. Goliad State Park is a beautiful place. John and I toured the old restored mission/museum and on a second trip Larry & Lea and John & I had lunch in the park and checked out the mission again. The second time was the 2nd Saturday of the month, which is the market day on the square in Goliad. What fun. Lea and I bought a big bag of Grapefruit for $5 and split it. Ooooo those were good grapefruit, and they lasted a long time (John and Larry don't eat grapefruit!) The history in Goliad is extensive and dark. The things that happened there were much worse than the Alamo. We went to the mass grave and several other spots in the area with history written so we don't forget. For more information on Goliad, click here www.goliadcc.org/index.php/Goliad-TX.../goliad-tx-history.html I don't like writing about such awful events.
We've also been looking at rigs - we do need to find something a little bigger. Fell in love with a 32' Ever Green travel trailer that has an outside kitchen! Quite a bit bigger than want we want, and way more than we want to spend, but very very nice! We found the price of rigs down here is MUCH higher than those up north, so we won't be pulling a bigger rig back with us! Must be a Texas thing - everything is bigger in Texas!
Port Aransas is one of our favorite day trips and lunch at Moby Dicks - they have an incredible Mahi Mahi sandwich. The dolphin watching out there is wonderful too. Take the first left after you get off the ferry (I love riding the ferry!) and park by the marina. Then walk along the sea wall. They are wonderful to watch. We went to Charlies Pasture and Leonabelle Turnbulls birding center (There's a great overlook tower there and a BIG aligator, along with tons of water birds; the trail there is also short and easy) the Texas Marine Science Institute has lots of aquariums and information on local habitat and flora and fauna, Mustang Island State Park (No comparison with Goose Island State Park which is a mile from Hidden Oaks and on the inland waterway) is amidst the sand dunes and the big waves of the Gulf, we also went riding on the beach and just enjoying the beauty.
Doris Mader - the bird lady - came and did a great presentation here last month. She had a cara cara, great horned owl, screech owl and kestral with her. John got to hold the cara cara, and I got to hold the great horned owl. That was neat!
Our oldest daughter was here in January and we had a wonderful visit. The best in many years! Our youngest and her boyfriend are coming week after next for a week. We're looking forward to their visit too.
This Moon Jelly is about 8" in diameter.
They call this one a cabbage head.
3 weeks were spent banging my head against the wall developing a data base. John found what we needed online for $25 bucks and a huge sigh of relief was heard from me. Hidden Oaks now has a reservation system that works - very nicely. So I got it up and running, all the data input and did a little training along with writing up a very thorough users guide.
Another week was spent on the mural. This is the first painting I've done in probably 10 years, and I must say, I'm thrilled with the results. I've got 28 hours in the painting, and probably 3 weeks of thought prior to beginning; and the cost of the paint......under $40! I was able to use some of the paint that was been left from other projects at the park and it worked out beautifully.The area here is so incredibly beautiful that inspiration has surrounded me since we arrived.
The Whooping Crane Wall in 2 parts
The Pelican Wall - the pool table sits just behind me.
There are White pelicans and cormorants out on the sandbar.
This is Isabelle, the Pelican closeup
Here's Stanley the Pelican, sitting on a piling
The fishing has been iffy at best. Nothing like Branson's fish fry 4 nights a week. I think in the 3 months we've been here we've had four meals of speckled Trout and one of Flounder. We've been doing all our fishing at Goose Island State Park (don't need a fishing license as long as we stay in the park) either on the jetty or on the 1625' pier. The scenery is spectacular! We see dolphins often and usually catch something, though they're usually too small; 14 3/4 " with the lower limit being 15" - frustrating, but fun. We also learned about shrimp eels - nasty little creatures that look like snakes, but love to eat shrimp!
Larry and Lea Chrestman arrived mid January, and we've been enjoying their company alot. We'll all be here until April.
Along with the beauty, comes the little problems - little fleas, little - no wait, Texas sized mosquitoes and they are all overly abundant much to Sam's (our dog),the girls and my dismay. The water here is from a well, and it is caustic - eatting right through the male end of our hose, cloggin up 2 water pressure regulators and disintegrating the screen at the input spot on the rv. Chemically it's safe to drink, but it tastes terrible. Fortunately, the Exxon Station up on hwy 35 sells 5 gallons of fresh good tasting water for $1, so that works.
We've been to Goliad several times now. Goliad State Park is a beautiful place. John and I toured the old restored mission/museum and on a second trip Larry & Lea and John & I had lunch in the park and checked out the mission again. The second time was the 2nd Saturday of the month, which is the market day on the square in Goliad. What fun. Lea and I bought a big bag of Grapefruit for $5 and split it. Ooooo those were good grapefruit, and they lasted a long time (John and Larry don't eat grapefruit!) The history in Goliad is extensive and dark. The things that happened there were much worse than the Alamo. We went to the mass grave and several other spots in the area with history written so we don't forget. For more information on Goliad, click here www.goliadcc.org/index.php/Goliad-TX.../goliad-tx-history.html I don't like writing about such awful events.
We've also been looking at rigs - we do need to find something a little bigger. Fell in love with a 32' Ever Green travel trailer that has an outside kitchen! Quite a bit bigger than want we want, and way more than we want to spend, but very very nice! We found the price of rigs down here is MUCH higher than those up north, so we won't be pulling a bigger rig back with us! Must be a Texas thing - everything is bigger in Texas!
Port Aransas is one of our favorite day trips and lunch at Moby Dicks - they have an incredible Mahi Mahi sandwich. The dolphin watching out there is wonderful too. Take the first left after you get off the ferry (I love riding the ferry!) and park by the marina. Then walk along the sea wall. They are wonderful to watch. We went to Charlies Pasture and Leonabelle Turnbulls birding center (There's a great overlook tower there and a BIG aligator, along with tons of water birds; the trail there is also short and easy) the Texas Marine Science Institute has lots of aquariums and information on local habitat and flora and fauna, Mustang Island State Park (No comparison with Goose Island State Park which is a mile from Hidden Oaks and on the inland waterway) is amidst the sand dunes and the big waves of the Gulf, we also went riding on the beach and just enjoying the beauty.
Doris Mader - the bird lady - came and did a great presentation here last month. She had a cara cara, great horned owl, screech owl and kestral with her. John got to hold the cara cara, and I got to hold the great horned owl. That was neat!
We took a little ride out to the the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge this past week. It's 38 miles driving and probably 5 miles via water from here. We planned on getting our National Parks pass as John turned 62 this past June. Never thought about taking cash, and of course, they don't take credit cards! We had enough with us to get into the refuge, but not enough for the pass. silly us, we just don't carry cash! One of these days we'll get the National park pass. Anyway, the day we went was very humid, and the mosquitoes about carried us away! We saw 6 aligators (5 of them were really big!) an armadillo and about 6 whooping cranes way out in the marsh. The drought this year has been very hard on the whoopers. There are no blue crab this year for them to feed on, and the park has been conducting controlled burns to force insects, etc. out for the whoopers to eat. The main road is where we saw all the wildlife - the auto tour loop seems to go on forever, and this time as well at the last time 98 years ago) that we took the loop, we didn't see much. Most critters don't like the sound of a diesel engine, me thinks! It's an interesting place, and the wildlife of this world needs more safe havens where they and their homes aren't being destroyed by mans insatiable greed. Sorry, that just sort of slipped out. :Z
Oh my, I realized (3/6) I missed talking about the most wonderful part of this place! When we got here, we did not plan to workamp, but a week later found us doing just that, and getting this campground organized and cleaned up. As part of that, I set up an activities calendar, and began sharing music, exercise and crafts with our campers. That had never been done here before and we weren't sure if it would go over. Looking back at the past 3 months, now that almost all the Winter Texans are gone, makes me very happy. In January, Barb and I shared our crocheting knowledge with Karen, and just before she left she showed me a beautiful afghan that she made while her husband was up at the clubhouse playing cribbage every night. Karen also shared her beading with me and we made a couple beautiful spiral braclets. I shared card weaving with everyone in mid- February, and some beautiful straps were made and the craft will be passed on to grandchildren and others when everyone gets home. John and I played folk music every Friday evening from 4-5 or so, and we always had a crowd and got to share a few of our CD's. I had two Dulcimer students, and they both came knowing nothing about music, and left as very capable and excited beginning mountain dulcimer players. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10 am found us doing Chi Gong (energy cultivation) in the back room. I had probably 12 different people at different times, but Mary and Nancy were there for just about every class. We also put on 3 pot lucks and a Super Bowl party which were all very successful - and delicious, and I was able to demonstrate our flour mill and solar oven. Being a part of our Winter Texans lives was the most wonderful part of our stay here! I find I really love doing Activities - much more than working in the office, or doing maintenance. It was neat when everyone came in daily to check on the mural progress, or ask a question about something that I could help them with. Everyone I touched, also touched me, and brought new friendships; I am grateful to all of them!
We tood A second trip to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/
It was wonderful having Krystal and Kiff here for a week. We went dolphin watching out on Port Aransas, and got to see our first sea turtles (I didn't get pictures!) We had some cookouts and Krystal and I played music that we used to play at the Renaissance Fair! That was incredible. We laughed, fished and got too much sun. I'm grateful to Joyce at Hidden Oaks for the opportunity to bring my girls down for a visit.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
I can't believe we've been here 10 days! Sometimes I have to pinch myself to be sure this is real! The weather is cool, but the area is so beautiful, and the birds! There were so few birds in Missouri, but here, it's a never ending variety. I'm sad this morning as I heard all the gun shots and imagined all those little ducks being killed for a little bit of meat. Deer season - you get one deer and it feeds you for a very long time, but duck season. I'm sorry I just can't see it. Get a camera guys. If you need the adrenelin rush of killing something, go "kill" some of those flying disks .
Yesterday we saw Ibis, at least we think they were Ibis,yellow beak instead of the customary red, but every other part of the bird looked like Ibis, and so many ducks, so many varieties, and Roseate Spoonbills, Great egrets, Great Blue Herons, Skimmers, Oyster catchers, greater and lesser sandpipers, Common Snipe, lots of Rock Doves, and that owl - I'd sure like to see him, but we hear him every morning. We also had 5 deer in the campground yesterday morning, and I saw a small sting ray while out fishing on the pier.
The fishing was terrible yesterday. Terese caught a few, but all small, and mostly bait stealers. The shore line is littered with hundreds of dead or dying jellyfish - I think a result of the Red Tide. Night before, John caught our first keeper. a 15" Speckled Sea Trout. I got a 14.5" and a 13" but they have to be 15" to keep them. It was delicious!
We're keeping very busy with the campground, and I'm feeling very guilty this morning - I forgot a planned activity last night, and since I'm the activity director....... I have apologies to make. However, dinner with friends at China-A was DELICIOUS - that is no excuse though!
Yesterday we saw Ibis, at least we think they were Ibis,yellow beak instead of the customary red, but every other part of the bird looked like Ibis, and so many ducks, so many varieties, and Roseate Spoonbills, Great egrets, Great Blue Herons, Skimmers, Oyster catchers, greater and lesser sandpipers, Common Snipe, lots of Rock Doves, and that owl - I'd sure like to see him, but we hear him every morning. We also had 5 deer in the campground yesterday morning, and I saw a small sting ray while out fishing on the pier.
The fishing was terrible yesterday. Terese caught a few, but all small, and mostly bait stealers. The shore line is littered with hundreds of dead or dying jellyfish - I think a result of the Red Tide. Night before, John caught our first keeper. a 15" Speckled Sea Trout. I got a 14.5" and a 13" but they have to be 15" to keep them. It was delicious!
We're keeping very busy with the campground, and I'm feeling very guilty this morning - I forgot a planned activity last night, and since I'm the activity director....... I have apologies to make. However, dinner with friends at China-A was DELICIOUS - that is no excuse though!
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