Chama to Pagosa Springs, Colorado

This is Chimney Rock which is on the Ute Reservation.

 

We arrived at Pagosa Springs before noon and got set up.  This is the view of the fountain from our site.

Here is the clubhouse with the deck overlooking the San Juan River.

 

And the walkway between two fences to the right of the coach on the left leads down to the water where there is a covered picnic table and places to fish.

The owners of the park, Vic and Mike, and their wives, Diane and Tammie, host a Meet and Greet every evening at 4:30 on the deck at the clubhouse.  The are very friendly and helpful.

Here is a view of our park from the deck at the clubhouse.

As you can see we have a shed with a covered seating area beside the motorhome site.

Wednesday evening we went into town for dinner and on the way back I took these pictures of the San Juan Mountains.

Tonight the owners are providing the main course of an Italian dinner and we are all bringing side dishes.  This is a fun place to be!!

Alabama to New Mexico

We got up Saturday morning in Red Bay, Alabama.  The generator started so we left headed to cooler weather.  We made it as far as Van Buren, Arkansas before stopping.  Unfortunately the generator didn’t make it that far.   Or rather the two inside ACs refused to both work on the generator.  We’re not sure exactly what the problem is.  We stayed at Park Ridge RV Campground where they had a long pull-through so we didn’t have to unhook.  It is right on a river.

We were parked right next to a pop-up camper that I’m sure was not too happy when we pulled out at 6:30am the next morning.  We were trying to beat the heat.

We made it to Amarillo, TX the next night at around 3:00pm.  It was a record day—111 degrees.  We stayed at the Overnite RV Park which also had long pull through sites.  We stayed in the coach to stay cool.  At 7:00 the Big Texan limo picked us up at our site and took us to the famous Big Texan Restaurant.

The reason it is world famous is that you get this 72 oz steak free if you can it it and the accompaniments in one hour.  The record is 8 minutes and 52 seconds.  We didn’t even attempt it.

The decor throughout the restaurant is western.  All of the waiters and waitresses were in great western dress.

 

This is the stage where people who try to eat the 72 oz steak sit and they set a clock for 60 seconds and it counts down as you eat.

There are also country western singers milling through the crowd and singing requests for a fee.

They also had a bar and a shooting gallery.  All the little red dots are what you shoot at.

 

The experience was interesting but the steak left a little to be desired.  We got up early the next morning and headed out towards New Mexico.  The air was cool so we didn’t need the AC in the coach.  We stopped at Clines Corners for lunch.  It is at the intersection of old Route 66 (now Highway 40) and Highway 285/84 to Chama

I had forgotten just how beautiful the drive up to Chama is.  After we got past the smoke from the Los Alamos fires the sun hit the rock formations just right and it was great.

This is the area where the Ghost Ranch is.  It is where  Georgia O’Keefe painted.    Wikipedia, notes, “she returned to New Mexico in the summer of 1934. In August of that year, she visited Ghost Ranch, north of Abiquiu, for the first time and decided immediately to live there; in 1940, she purchased a house on the ranch property. The varicolored cliffs of Ghost Ranch inspired some of her most famous landscapes. In 1977, O'Keeffe wrote: "[the] cliffs over there are almost painted for you -- you think -- until you try to paint them.” 

Ghost Ranch is now a conference center owned by the Presbyterian Church.

We arrived at Little Creel RV park in Chama hoping to see Ray and Ann who work camp here.  We met them when we spent the whole summer here about four years ago.  Unfortunately they won’t arrive for two more days.

This is the view of the river to our back.

Tomorrow we will drive for about an hour to our summer home in Pagosa Springs Colorado.

New Cabinets and Lights

Here is the new woodwork that we had done on the coach.  This is the opening by the front steps where we always put our keys.  Now they won’t fall out.

They determined that our cabinets over the passenger side couch were sagging a little so Tiffen put in a new brace.

These are the new lights over the microwave.  They really add to lighting up the kitchen counter top.

This light replaced the fluorescent light over the sink.

And this light replaced the fluorescent light on the other end of the counter.

Here are my new cabinets under the window where the couch used to be.  They will house my craft materials.

They also worked on the generator, awning, replaced the seal around one of the driver’s side slides, and made us a test coach for the new slide solenoid that we had been having trouble with.

Bay Diesel replaced the fan clutch today and if the generator starts in the morning we are out of here and headed to Pagosa Springs, Colorado until the middle of August.

New TV and Refrigerator

We went out to Custom RV on Wednesday morning at 7am and Brannon and his crew put in the new Refrigerator, inverter, 4 new batteries, and electric cord reel. The new refrigerator is only a little taller than the other one but the difference is inside. This is a 22 cubic foot refrigerator and I’m guessing the old one was maybe 17 at the most. Without the gas workings behind it, it is much deeper. This one also has an ice and water dispenser in the door.

After we got back to the RV park, Chris came out and installed the new 40” TV and sound bar. It is amazing that the new one fits in the same place as the old 34”.

We spent Thursday emptying the craft cabinet and taking out all of the shelves including the upper one where the old woofer was. Then we put both woofers in the same area and secured them and put all the shelves back.

At about 2:30 Brannon called and said that the last 2 batteries were in so we drove back out so that he could install them.

That evening several of the other couples in the park came over to see the computer desk that TJ built for us several years ago.

Friday we got up and got new LED bulbs to replace several of the bulbs in the coach. They are much cooler and use less energy.

Today we went to breakfast at Swamp John’s (again I did not have the chocolate biscuits). Them we went to the grocery store and farmer’s market before coming home and taking it easy.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we leave Red Bay for Lecanto, Florida to see my cousin, Haydon, and his wife, Lisa. We are staying at an RV park in Beverly Hills, FL that is supposed to be about 15 minutes away. We will stay there a week and then come back to Red Bay.

Last Night in Lecanto

On Sunday afternoon Wayne and I and Trouble went over to Haydon and Lisa’s for our last visit.  Haydon was finally fever free so we sat and visited for hours.  Here are Lisa and Haydon on the couch.

 

A happier couple you won’t find anywhere.  Because of his cancer Haydon wanted me to tell everyone that he is a big supporter of legalizing medical marijuana.  We had some lively discussions pro and con on this issue.

We brought over a pot roast and mashed potatoes and Lisa fixed carrots and sugar free chocolate pudding with Cool Whip.  Everything was delicious.

Before we left I took a picture of their Lanai.  We had spent some time in the pool on Friday and even Trouble got on one of the yellow floats.

We really enjoyed our week in Lecanto and we will leave tomorrow for Red Bay.

Stumpknockers

We arrived in Beverly Hills, Florida late Monday.  Set up camp and rested.

On Tuesday we went over to my cousin, Haydon, and his wife, Lisa’s, house.  We visited with them for several hours and then went back to the coach to rest before dinner.  Haydon and Lisa came by to pick us up for dinner and to see the coach.  We went to a restaurant called Stumpknockers.  Here are Haydon, Lisa, and Wayne in front of the sign.

And here are Haydon, me, and Wayne.

We started dinner with Ahi Tuna and fried alligator chunks.  Both were a new and very good choice.  We all had to bring home food from our huge dinners.  This was the view looking out the window toward the Withlacoochee River.

Wednesday we went into Ocala to find a Lincoln dealer to have them work on our Sync.  Then we had a light lunch and shopped a little at Wal-Mart.  We had planned to go over to Haydon and Lisa’s but the weather had different ideas and we had a thunderstorm with some hail.  When I called Lisa, she said that Haydon had been running a temperature so it is just as well that we didn’t go.  Tomorrow he goes to Tampa to the doctor so hopefully he will feel better tomorrow evening.

Leaving Texas

Sunday morning we got up and left Waller, Texas and headed to Red Bay, AL.  We stopped for the night in Bossier City, LA at the Diamond Jack RV campground.  We ate dinner inside the casino and then played blackjack for a while.  I won enough this time to cover Wayne’s losses (it’s usually the other way around) and put some towards the RV fee.

Monday evening we arrived at Red Bay.  We are staying at the Red Bay RV Park which is just down the street from the service facility.  Full hook-ups for $20 a night and quieter than the park at the service facility.

Tuesday morning we went out to RV Custom Service and talked to Brannon about the residential refrigerator that he will be installing tomorrow.  This is the old refrigerator.

We are waiting on TJ to come by and measure for the cabinets that he will be building to go along the wall where the couch was taken out.  It will be about 6-7” wide and will go the length of the wall up to the bottom of the valances.

We are also waiting for Chris to come by and take the molding off the old TV and to take the new TV to his shop.  He will install the new 40” LED tomorrow evening.

 

Can’t wait to get everything done.  I’ll post pictures of the new stuff when it is finished.

Matt’s High School Graduation

We left Aransas Pass on Friday and drove to the Yogi Bear RV Park in Waller, Texas. We spent the evening at our daughter, Nola’s, house visiting.

Saturday morning we drove to Prairie View A & M University Campus where Waller HS was holding their graduation ceremonies. Here is Thomas Matthew Reay entering the auditorium.

They called out the names of the top 50 students in reverse order. Once Matt (#2) was on stage, he studied his Salutatory speech.

And here he is giving it. Needless to say we are very proud of him. He has been accepted to The University of Texas at Austin Engineering School next fall where he will study electrical engineering.

After graduation we went back to Nola’s and rested until time to go to dinner. Tom, Matt’s dad, had planned a dinner for family and close friends at Luigi’s Italian Restorante. He had put together a slide show of pictures of Matt.

There was wine, hors d'œuvres , a salad, a choice of four entrees, and cupcakes for dessert. All the cup cakes had pictures of Matt stuck in them. There were also M&Ms with his picture on it and lots of balloons. After dinner Matt got his cap and gown and we took family pictures. Here are Michael, Michelle, Nola, Matt and Tom.

You should recognize Wayne and I with Matt.

On the front row are Matt’s Aunt Catherine and “Mimi” Dee and behind Dee is his cousin Cassandra.

This picture has my brother, Murray, his wife, Sandy, their daughter, Tracy, her husband, Chris, and their children, Jacob and Grace. Murray and Sandy’s son, Chris, and his family were unable to come.

Papa Bob and Granma Doris were also unable to come. Here is a picture of Matt and his Dad, Tom, and his Uncle Todd.

Here is Matt’s cousin, Aaron, his wife, Stacy, and their children, (L-R) Jaydan, Tyler, and Aeryn.

Also in attendance were Michelle and Matt’s “sister”, Ashley, and her little girl, Hailey. Ashley and Hailey lived with them when she was just a baby.

Hailey likes wearing Matt’s mortarboard.

A good time was had by all.