August 22 - Albuquerque, NM

Doctors, doctors, & doctors. This was the week for all the annual appointments. It looks as though we managed to keep ourselves healthy this past year. Now we are ready to hit the road.

August 15 - Pendaries RV Park, Rocidia, NM

This has been a great week for Tim. It was filled with sadness, great joy, and pride. Many years ago, 1976 to be exact, Tim met Dr. T. John Gribble and little did he know how his life would be changed forever. John became Tim's teacher, mentor and close friend. Tim became involved with the pediatric hematology / oncology division at the University of New Mexico Hospital. John taught Tim everything he needed to know to become a nurse specialist in pediatric hematology / oncology. Together they developed the clinical oncology nursing operations, the NM Hemophilia Program, and the pediatric oncology program. John wanted Tim to continue on to follow in his foot steps. Tim chose to join the Air Force and complete his military career. Today the program has expanded Tim's wildest imagination. He's just so happy to see that.


John, unfortunately, had passed away before his time. This week though brought great honor to Dr. T. John Gribble as an endowed chair was established at the university in his name. It was wonderful to relive John's accomplishments and hear the praises of his peers.


It was also a great time for Tim as one of the parents of a Hemophilia patient came to him and thanked him for the advice he gave them when he first met them 30 years ago. Their son has grown into a fine young man with a family and they felt that Tim had played a big part in his well being. Needless to say, Tim was flying high.


It was also great to see the Gribble family. The only problem was that we realized just how much time had passed and how grown up they had become. That just means that we got a lot older. Still a great time for us all.


We're then left to go back to Pendaries RV Park. This is a great place for us to hang out with a bunch or other RV'ers. We have laughed and laughed this week. Saturday was hobo night too, more laughs.

August 8 - Albuquerque, NM

This was kind of a lazy week. We are still at "Sierra Vista RV Resort". That's our friend Joy's front yard for those who don't know Joy. She's a fellow Excel RV owner and has invited us to stay with her and keep her company. I also offered to help her as much as possible to get ready to have an estate sale later in October. Little did I know what I was getting myself into. You just can't imagine how much stuff she her husband had accumulated. OMG! Glad we could help though. Besides next week we'll be going out with a group of other RV'ers for a while into northern NM.

August 1 - Phoenix, AZ

This week brought us two birthday parties and a wedding.

Our nephew Daniel celebrated his birthday and is growing so fast. He really reminds me of his dad when he was young. It'll be fun watching to see if he follows his dad's ways.

The high point of the week though was our very dear friend Cass Wenz got married. Now this is not just any wedding. We've known Cass since the time we lived in Hawaii. She was Rose's boss at the contact lense office. This was one event we were not going to miss, even if it was in PHOENIX, AZ. Can you imagine Phoenix in July? We can and it meant HOT, HOT, HOT and more HOT. We arrived Wednesday night and at 11:00 PM it was still 100 degrees. That's right 100 degrees. Oh well, we'll have fun for sure. I guess we'll just have to have lots of cold drinks to help us tolerate the heat.

With the wedding on Friday, we decided to do our errands on Thursday. First stop, Cabela's Sporting Goods to see what I "need". We wound up buying more things for Becky & Joel than for ourselves. I did wind up with a great deal on a PFD, personal flotation device, that I'll use with my new float tube. We also looked at some of the bass boats that they had on display. WOW, they were something else. Too bad I can't tow one of them behind our rig.

Then there was supper with Cass and her future husband Mike. What a neat couple. We wish them the very best.

Friday morning found us running errands, errands and more errands for the bride to be. I was volunteered to take movies of the whole event and had to learn how to use the camera. That was easy compared to the event that happened while I was fooling with the camera.

While I'm checking out the camera, the caterers show up and are asking for Cass. I direct the man to one of the other people there and then turn around to look out the window at their vehicle. I immediately spot FLAMES shooting out from under the truck and see that the asphalt under the truck is also on fire. Then I see the two helpers, who were still in the truck, look out the rear view mirror and get a look of great fear on their faces. I call for someone to call 911 and get out the fire exstinguishers to put out the fire. Another attendee and I run outside and find the diesel is free running. The ignition is off and the engine keeps speeding up. One other man jumps into the truck, while it's on fire, puts it in gear and stalls the engine. About this time the fire truck shows up and finishes up the job. Thankfully no damage was done to the food and the wedding went on as planned.

Saturday was a day of travel with a side trip to the Painted Desert in eastern Arizona. I think this is what we like the most about our life choice of traveling. We get to experience the beauty of this land of ours. Each day we are on the road, we are more confident that we made the right decision.

July 25 - Albuquerque, NM

We finally got back into Albuquerque on Wednesday from Jemez Falls State Park. Spent Wednesday evening at a potluck dinner with our Faith Sharing Group and some of the priests from the Newman Center Church. It's been a while since we've seen everyone and it was good to catch up on all the happenings.

The rest of the week was spent taking care of little things around the rig. Saturday gave us another fun day with our grandson William. It just amazes us on how fast he is growing up.

July 18 - Jemez Falls, NM

What a wonderful time we had this week. We decided to go to Jemez Falls, NM and spend time with our daughter and her family. We took our grandson, William, with us and waited for the rest of the family to join us later in the week.

William was in heaven. He had a bike to ride when ever he wanted. He had trees to climb, hikes to take, and yes there were even chores to do. I got tired just watching him play. We even took some time to try our luck at fishing at the local hatchery. The hatchery is setup for children under 14 yrs to fish without restrictions. Unfortunately our luck wasn't good that day. We did get to see a snake though. That brought a little excitement to William's voice. We took a road trip to the Valles Caldera, http://www.vallescaldera.gov/ and to Bandlier National Monument, http://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm It was really neat cllimbing with William up to the cave dwellings.







Then the rest of the family came and it was food, hikes and "hand & Foot" card games. Laughs a plenty.

July 11 - Pecos, NM

What an experience I had this week. Our long time friend, BJ Ruiz, asked me to join him and his father for a weekend of fishing at his father's cabin in Pecos, NM. We left late Friday afternoon to join his father who was already there.

Now I'm talking about being in the near wilderness of the Pecos. There was a steam running right through his property that we were able to fish. Fish we did. Over the three days we caught enough trout for all of us to have a meal plus enough to take home and have a great meal with our families. WOW! Thank you sooooo much BJ for a great time.

July 4- Pendaries, NM

What a great way to spend a holiday that celebrates our freedom. We are here at Pendaries RV Park. It's located about 20 miles from Las Vegas, NM and what a great place. The sites are level, the people are great, and service has been wonderful. Besides the fact that we are here with a great group of friends. Fortunately for us we are able to stay a little longer than everyone else. What an opportunity to explore the local sites once again.

We found a local herbalist that, I think, has something for everyone. It's amazing, to me, that we can have so many different ways to address our health issues. We just need to take control of it and do it.

I tried my fishing luck at Morphy Lake and Storie Lake. Out of both lakes I was only able to wind up with one small trout. At Morphy Lake, the people in the boats were doing the best. I watched 3 people pull 8 good sized trout out of the lake in 40 minutes. They were only about 50 yds from shore too. It'll be so much better when I get the float tube out. Oh well, we'll be back.

We all gathered at the Walker's place for an evening get together. What a wonderful evening, eating great food, watching the sunset, and great friendship. Steve and Pat have really done a super job in fixing the place up. It's their get away place for now. His gazebo is really a work or art. It even has a fireplace to help stay cozy as the night cools down.

We also got to share in the Stegman's joy of traveling for the 1st time in their 35 ft Excel TKE. I was able to help out with a few tips & tricks on living in it and running the various pieces of equipment. That's the fun part of RVing, sharing experiences with others.

The other nice thing about being here over the 4th was the fact that there were no fireworks allowed. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy seeing them but not hearing then at midnight. The park did not allow any fireworks of any kind because of the fire danger. It's just not worth the risk to life and property.

June 27 - Albuquerque, NM

We are back in Albuquerque for a short time. We need to take care of some issues with our house and get it ready for the renters. We contracted with a great management company, Tyson Properties, and they got the job done. Hurray!

The plan now is to stay around the Albuquerque region for the summer until our doctor's appointment are finished and then head out for the winter.

Being here in Albuquerque also gives us a time to help out our friend Joy as she gets things ready for a HUGE estate sale in October. There is a lot of work for her to complete and with our extra hands, we can share our time and lessen her load.

June 20 - Heron Lake, NM

This was our grand daughter's, Anna, week at the academy sports camp for volleyball. Friday came and she was ready to go. They really work them hard during the camp. Friday's play-off game was a bummer. Anna's team came in second. Oh well, there's next year.

Now we are off to Heron Lake, NM to pick up parents and great grandma Eleanore. We had a smooth drive other then a slight delay due to construction on I-25.

The pull through the Chama pass was interesting, to say the least. We really had to slow down to keep from over heating the engine. I guess I'll have to do a weight check just to make sure that we're not putting our safety at risk. The drive to Heron was just beautiful through the mountains. The setting sun put off some very vibrant colors on the mountain sides. We are so privileged to be able to see the wonders that occur during our trips. We are learning each day more about the gifts and blessing that we have received.

Heron Lake State Park is really a nice place for staying a while. Not all the sites are full H/U but are great for everything else. Ours was very wide and deep beside having water and electric. We can go about 10 days with out empyting our tanks. This is perfect for the next six days.

We went to the lake to fish from the shore and only wound with one large sucker fish for the whole time. This is definitely a lake that you either need a boat or a float tube. Hopefully I can get a life jacket soon and use my new Father's Day gift, a float tube.

June 13 - Colorado Springs, CO

We are at what is, so far, one of our favorite places to stay. The United States Air Force Academy, located in Colorado Springs, really has a beautiful FamCamp. It's surrounded by pines with large full service sites. The base is located in a very beautiful mountainous setting. It's a great place to stop and "smell the roses".

We're here this time because our grandson, William, was attending the swim sports camp at the academy. It's 4 1/2 days of grueling training. He was the youngest here but kept up with the "big" guys. He sure has slept well each night. The only complaint he had was that he'd get cold by the end of the day. That's from him not having enough muscle on him yet. He sure did learn a lot though. I highly recommend this sports camp for any child that participates in a just about any sport. Next week is our grand daughter's 3rd year in volleyball camp. It sure has helped her in many ways.


There is also some great fishing here on base. We met up with our full timing friends, Mel & Karol, and Mel & I have done some good fishing. So far we've pulled 21 good sized trout from the lakes on the academy grounds. William has pulled his share of crayfish. He thinks they're neat pets until one "got" him good. Talk about great tasting fish. WOW! It's superb.

We took a ride up towards Denver to spend the day with one of our grand daughter's friends from the sports camp. We had a great time with everyone including the pets. On our way back we ran into one of the worst storms ever. The rain was so hard it brought us to a stand still on the highway. I never saw so much water at one time.

June 6 - Albuquerque, NM

Sunday came so quickly. It's time to leave Smith Center. We are again traveling back to Albuquerque with Joy and Ralph. It' can only a 2 day trip back because we all have things to do on Tuesday.

The drive back was froth with high head winds. It really affected the gas mileage. We went from 10+ mpg to 7.5 mpg. Oh well, sometimes we'll get a good tail wind and make up for it.

The first night took us to a small park in OK. It was a self serve place, if you can believe it. For an overnight, it was great. On Monday, we stopped in Moriarty at RV Sales so that Ralph could help me out a little. THANK YOU, Ralph!! You're the best.

Tuesday brought us back to Joy's place. She needed some help getting ready for her next journey. It works for all of us.

The rest of the week was filled with making sure the grand kids got to places they needed to be and getting ready for our summer journey. We were on the go from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. I'm ready for Saturday to get here.

It's here Saturday and we are hitched, jacks are up and we're on our way. It's back to the Air Force Academy. Our grandson, William, is attending the swimming sports camp next week and granddaughter, Anna, goes to volleyball camp the following week. This is a time for both kids to grow by leaps and bounds in their sport.

The ride up to the Springs had a great tail wind. See, I said we'd make up for the head wind from Smith Center. Rose drove a good part of the way. I was glad to catch a nap. She's a great driver, so I can really relax and take naps along the way. Setting up was smooth and we have a great site. Looking forward to visit from our good friends next week. Lots of excitement next week.

May 23 - 30 Albuquerque, NM

What a rushed week this was. On Monday, we flew back to Albuquerque from Chicago. We had the roughest flight ever as we were coming into Albuquerque over the mountains. It was up down and side to side for about 15 minutes. I sure am glad those planes are put together so well.

Anyway, we finally got back to our home, the 5th wheel remember, and now had to get ready for our trip to Peterson Industries in Smith Center, KS for the Excel Family Reunion. Every 3 yrs., Peterson Industries, the maker of the Excel 5th Wheel, throws a "family reunion, for the owners. It allows everyone to get together, share stories, visit with old friends, make new friends, attend seminars and have fun. They also used this time to announce a new model, The Winslow, and a new interior wood, Hickory, to the market place. WOW!

We left on Friday, together with Joy, to Raton, NM. There we met up with Ralph & Kathy from RV Sales, the Excel dealer and friends, in Moriarty, NM. We stayed at a neat little park just off I-25 on the south end of town. The owner, Buddy, is a hoot. He and Ralph go back a ways and the stories they tell. Your right, we're laughing again.

Saturday took us all to the Air Force Academy FamCamp in Colorado Springs, CO. The weather was OK for travel but with little grey skies. While there we visited the famous chapel. This was graduation week so there were many weddings going on there. The cadets are not allowed to be married until they graduate. Something about being distracted with family affairs while going to school. It made me proud to see the new officers knowing that these are the men and women who will continue to help keep us safe and enjoy our freedoms.

Sunday we went to visit the Miramont Castle Museum. This was a fascinating place to say the least. The rooms just go on and on.

Then there was the experience in the Tea Room. A simple lunch took 2 hours. It was a lunch that I don't think we'd like to repeat. We had a Psychology student as our waitress who was new to the job and gave us the eating experience that will be cause for a lifetime of laughter.

While at the restaurant the rains started. Did it ever rain. Parks were being closed because of the flooding. We headed back to the FamCamp on base. Fortunately the rains had let up and quit during the night. We were able to leave Monday without rain.

The ride to Prairie Dog State Park was pretty clear except for the rare spotty shower. There were a few clouds that we paid close attention to though because of the shape and color. We arrived at Prairie Dog at 4:00 PM and the rains started at 6:00 PM and did not end until very early Wednesday morning. Something close to 2.5 inches fell in the 48 hours. The front support jacks on the rig were in water. I hate it when that happens. The best part though was we were going 60 miles west and they only had 0.1 inches in the last 48 hours. Everyone was happy about that. We had hoped to spend time with some of the other 30 Excel owners who came there with the idea to start the party early. Instead we all spent 2 days inside.

Then it was Smith Center, KS and let the fun begin. This was our first time attending a reunion so we were looking forward to meeting some new friends and visiting the "old" ones. There were around 310 rigs from all over the country attending. There was even a 1972 rig. We sure have come a long way since then.

It was also going to be our first Full Timing Seminar presentation to a large audience. We have been doing a Full Time seminar to small, 20 people max, gatherings for about 8 months now. It has been very well received thus far. This though was going to be a little larger crowd. We had about 50 & 80 attending the seminars and great reviews. The main comment was that the seminar was way too short. We couldn't cover it all in 45 minutes. Who knows, maybe this our new calling in life.

There was the food and more food. We had breakfast and dinner served most days. We sure didn't go hungry. That was really evident when I stepped on the scales. There was more than enough for us. There was the special chili cook off by the various state Excel clubs. The different tastes challenged our New Mexican palats and gave us a new experience.

The best part for some people was that is was an opportunity to buy a new rig. In our opinion, this is the ultimate setup. It has the power to tow a heavier load, go up the steepest of hills, stop a lot quicker and handle a large level of testosterone. The rig can store more fishing poles for Tim and carry more "stuff" to quench Roseann's needs. Oh well, because I can dream, I might as well dream HUGE. Who knows what tomorrow brings.

May 16 - Albuquerque, NM

This was a great week. We flew to Chicago to celebrate Roseann's mom & sister Mary's birthdays. Her sons David & Jason, with daughter in-law Jamie, took her & us out to a Greek restaurant in Chicago. Can you believe 3 + hours for the meal and drinks. Definitely a good time was had by all.

The food was the best Greek food we've had in a long time. It must have been an exceptional place to eat because when we were leaving at 10:30 there was still a line waiting to get in to eat. Way too late for us "old retired" folks to be out and about.

It was also a time when we were able to cherish the moments with Roseann's mom. As she matures, we realize more and more how precious our time with her is. We have been gifted with her presence for many long years and look for many more to come.

We were also able to visit with Roseann's aunt Ann and my aunt Florence. Longevity runs in our families. I just hope that we've inherited them.

Then there was the surprise visit from our niece Jennifer and her boyfriend during our dinner with my recently married sister Margaret & husband Paul. What a great time we had that night. I just hope that we didn't scare Paul too much with our stories.

May 9 - Albuquerque, NM

Here we are in Albuquerque working on the storage shed again. Wow I can't believe how much stuff is gone. We are working on having an estate sale to get rid of most of it now.

We stayed at our friend Joy's house this time. She has a full hook-up site and we are able to help her out with the things she can't do by herself. Besides she keeps us laughing with her stories. Laughter is great for the soul.

May 2 - Albuquerque, NM

We left Las Cruces on Monday and headed to Caballo Lake State Park, NM. What an awesome view. It's a real treat to wake up each morning and enjoy the sounds of the migrating birds, the local families of dove & quail and the sound of silence. How restful and comforting it is.

Some friends from the New Mexico Excel group joined us for a few days before heading their own seperate ways. Some we'll see later this week and others later this summer. It's always great to spend time, share meals and tons of laughter with them. Help keep my blood pressure way down.

I tried some fishing this week and got nothing other than good practice in casting with my new minnow lures. Had a few nibbles here and there but managed to only lose a few hooks in the rocks. Overall, fishing was slow for eveyone.

Friday saw us packing things up and heading for Albuquerque. It's back to working on ridding ourselves of so much stuff in storage. The big goal is the take thing down to a minimum kept long term in storage. So far so good. It's amazing how much "stuff" we thought we'd need to keep and when looked at a 2nd time we decided to let it go. It really is a relief to see the pile reduced to almost nothing.

April 25 - Las Cruces, NM

This has been a busy week. We finished up The Rally on Tuesday and headed to Elephant Butte Lake State Park for three days. We were just here with the grand kids but now I have my fishing license. Caught a Striper Bass and Catfish. They made a great supper.

It sure was windy for a couple of days here. The weather is a lot warmer than it was in Albuquerque. I'm beginning to like the fact that I'm back in shorts and sandals.

Friday we headed to Hacienda RV Park in Las Cruces, NM. The NM Excel Club is holding their spring rally here. There are over 60 Excels gathered in one park. It's always nice to catch up of what everyone been doing and their travels.

Mel & Karol, Rose & I gave a seminar on Full Time RV'ing on Saturday. There sure is a lot of interest in extended and full timing. People asked us questions all weekend long. It great to able to share what we have learned in the short time that we have been living this lifestyle.

April 18 - The Rally, Albuquerque, NM

"THE RALLY" - What an expereince this is. There are thousands of RV's at Balloon Fiesta Park for Good Sam's "The Rally". It's hard to believe how fast they got us all parked. We are with, Mel & Karol, Pat & Becky & Roy & Betty. What a fun time with them.

The entertainment has really been good. It's been Neil Sedaka, Rita Coolidge & Osmond Bros. for us. Then there are the constant laughs when we all go out to eat. What a great time with everyone.

The seminars were very informative. They covered all kinds of topics, travel, RV repairs, RV cleaning tiips, cooking, RV parks and much more. Rose and I would split up so that we could attend more of them. There were a few that we caught together. All in all, it was well worth the effort.

Then there were all the people that we met. They came from all walks of life but with the common goal of enjoying the RV experience.

Walking through some of the new RVs was an experience in itself. I'm not sure I'd ever bring myself to spending some of the money they were asking for some of those rigs. They looked nice but I'm not so sure about functionality of them for full time RV'ing. I could not figure out why in the world I would ever want a drop down porch on my RV. They had that and much more. They are fun to look at though.

There were bunches of vendors for every one's wants, needs & desires. They also had those things that you didn't know you needed until you saw it there. We left those things there. It's real easy to fill the RV with those kinds of things.

April 11 - Albuquerque, NM

We're still sorting the stuff. It's getting easier though. The "for sale" pile keeps getting bigger & bigger. We should be done pretty soon. Thank goodness. I want to go play! Oh well. next week is "The Rally" from Good Sam Club. There is supposed to be a few thousand people at the conference. It should be loads of fun.

April 4 - Albuquerque, NM

Grandkids are home and now it's working on sorting through all those things we thought we needed to keep in storage. Oh why did we ever think that we needed all this stuff. We should have listened to our mentors, Mel & Karol. They said that we'd wind up doing this someday. I'm glad we're doing it now and not waiting another year or two. I'll be glad when we're done and the only things we have left are pictures and other mementos from our travels.

March 28 - Albuquerque, NM

This was spring break for our grandchildren, Anna & William and they wanted to spend the time with us knowing that we'd do something different with them.

We sure did. We stayed at Elephant Butte Lake State Park, http://www.truthorconsequencesnm.net/area_eb_lake.htm. There was the afternoon at the Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences, NM. This was not like anything they've done before.

They wanted to go to the lake. William fished for a while and then started throwing rocks at the bobber. Oh well, we can always go out for fish dinner. Anna on the other hand was interested in getting the tan thing going before summer. It was a little too cold for my liking.

Then there was the trip to Chloride, NM. It was an hour drive on winding roads to the town. There are now only 10 people living there but what a history. You can find more information with pictures here, http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/nm/chloride.html.

It also happened to be a time when the March winds kicked up. The last night there, we had very high winds. William kept asking if the RV would blow over. He sure did cuddle up that night.

March 21 - Albuquerque, NM

We are going to try something a little different with the blog. Rather than post every time we move, we are going to try a post each Saturday with a recap of the weeks events. We hope you find this blogging informative, interesting and a way to share in our life's adventures.

We left Smith Center, KS and headed back to Albuquerque. We had some of the best fried chicken ever in Hays, KS at Al's Chickenette. It was fabulous and so was the atmosphere. We'll definitely stop there again when we're in the area.

We stopped in Moriarty at RV Sales to say "HI" and decided to stay for a couple of days. We always enjoy the company there. We wound up giving a seminar on "Full Time RV'ing" on Saturday. There really is a lot of interest in our lifestyle. Next week, more excitement coming.

March 15 - 16 - Smith Center, KS

Did we ever luck out. The weather has been absolutely on our side, PERFECT. Smith Center is the factory location for Peterson Industries, the makers of our Exce RV. We are back here for some work that was scheduled back in December. As usual, the work was completed ahead of our expected time and still with the best customer service around. During this time in the economy, I'm especially glad I have this Excel. The company, in my humble opinion, is the best.

We spent the days traveling around the countryside and enjoying meals in the local diners. It is truely a treat hearing the world's problems being discussed by the people in the heartland.

The center of the U.S. is also nearby to the East. There were fun times meeting other Excel owners too.

March 14 - Russell, KS

Our drive to Russell, KS was uneventfull as far as weather was concerned. We left Dalhart with fog and freezing temperatures and great care. The further north we went though, the warmer and clearer it became. Hurray! It was a beautiful drive through the roads of Kansas arriving at the Triple J RV Park in the late afternoon.

Did you know that just 17 miles west of Russell, KS stands one of the 8 big attractions of Kansas? Saint Fidelis Church, built in 1909, is known as the "Cathedral of the Plains". What a magnificent structure. The stained glass windows were just georgous. What a role this church played and continous to play in the community.

We also drove around Russell and found that the streets are very similar to those that we had where we grew up on on the west side of Chicago. They were brick paved and who knows how old they are? You don't need speed bumps on these streets. You have to drive slow or else!

This is definitely "Heartland U.S.A." We really enjoy visiting these small towns and experiencing on a small scale how they influence the growth of our country.

March 13 - Dalhart, TX

The weather seems to be on our tail. It was a grey day for travel but no rain. We stopped in Moriarty at RV Sales & Service to turn in a warrenty part and wound up spending time with new RV owners John & Margaret. THey were just moving into their RV and had lots of questions regarding our experiences. Finally after 45 minutes, I had to suggest to Rose that unless she planned on a late night arrival, we had to leave.
Arrived at Dalhart, TX as an intermediate stop. Hopefully the weather will hold up. It's not looking too good for tomorrow. We just might have to wait out the storm. We'll see in the morning.

Feb 15 - March 12 - Albuquerque, NM

Back in Albuquerque and our job of helping with the grand kids begins. We had them stay with us in the RV for the whole time. That meant up early to get to school by 7:30. Nothing like trying to get up and going a full 30 - 45 minutes earlier than normal for the kids. Only for a short time, then the parents get to get them back. I wonder how well we can spoil them some more in a week.
We got more than we bargained for from the kids. We drop them off and come down with real bad colds. It was time to rest for a few days. The cough is the worst part.
Then it was time to work on the storage shed. Yes, we still have "stuff" in storage but have decided that it's time for it to go. We'll be resorting everything to get the "estate sale" over soon. Then we will really be "free" of the stuff.
It's amazing how fast time passes when you are busy. A month has passed already and we have to leave. We need to get warrenty work done on the RV, It's a trip back to the factory for this one. Hopefully the weather will be nice to us. Smith Center, KS isn't exactly a tropical island this time of the year.

Feb 13 - 14 - Moriarty, NM

RV Full Timing! That's the theme of the 2 one hour plus seminars that Rose and I gave over the past two days. We are finding that more and more people want to sit and find out how they can get to live the life that we have chosen. It was a real joy to share the stories and laughs that we have had over the past 10 months.
I wonder if there is a book in here somewhere? Time will tell.

Feb 11 - 12 - Albuquerque, NM

Well, we are back were we started from last April, Albuquerque, NM. We stayed at American RV Park on the west side of Albuquerque. It has the all important hot tub and if we want, a continental breakfast.
Our daughter, Rebecca, and son-in-law, Joel, are in the New Mexico Air National Guard and are scheduled to have an inspection to test the readiness of the unit. During this time, much like if they were deployed, they need help with the children. That's where we come in. It's our blessing to be able to help them out, support their efforts to insure our countries liberties, and spend great time with the grand kids.
We were able to surprise Anna and William by picking them up from school. The hugs were worth the world to us. Grand kid hugs are always invaluable. We can't believe how much they have grown in such a short time. It won't be long and they'll be adults.
Now it's off to Moriarty and RV Sales & Service for a couple of days.

Feb 5 - 11 - Elephant Butte Lake, NM

Lakside RV Park in Elephant Butte, NM was our stop for a few days. This is a very active RV park with a lot of long term people. There is the morning coffee with donuts meeting to help share information and "solve" the world's problems.
This is a good time for us to take a drive to Emory Pass in the Gila Forest. Talk about scenery. It was absolutely georgous. The road was winding and thank goodness we didn't attempt it with the RV. We could have made it but it would have really been slow going. We found out that there was a huge silver mine and there used to be a railroad to the top. Wow! What people had accomplished in days of old can be mind boggling at times. What they did by hand, mule and whatever other means available, they were a real hardy bunch.
Then is was a stop in Hillsboro, NM for a snack/lunch. Remember, our goal is to find the best eating across the U.S. This cafe was opened in 1879 and from the looks of some of the antiques inside, there is some of the original things still there. They sure make a great breakfast buritto. Talk about "filling the void." Then it was a walk through the art galleries. It's a good thing we only have so much room in the RV. We enjoy the work and leave it all for others who follow us to also enjoy their work.



On another day, we spent the time exploring the area around Elephant Butte. We were able to see the reason it got it's name. Here also, like Canyon Lake in Texas, the water level is really low . I hope that this coming year will bring good rain fall to all.

Now it's off to Albuquerque.

Feb 3 - 4 - City or Rocks State Park, NM

What a gem in the middle of "No Where", New Mexico. Popping out of the flat lands north of Deming is the "City of Rocks" State Park. We had attended an astronomy class here one night in January and decided to come back for a few days to explore it a little more.

There are wonderful walking trails through and around the rocks. One can spend days exploring this magnificant place.

One of the other surprising things we encountered was the absence of sound, silence. It came almost as a shock as we stood on a lookout point and stopped. We heard nothing. there was no wind, road or animal noises at that time. Nothing but the sound of our breathing. What an experience. We were amazed at just how noisy our everyday lives are.

The park is very nice for camping. We had water and electric at our site. We were very comfortable. This is a place that we will revisit once again.

Jan 3 - Feb 2 - Deming, NM

Little Vineyard RV Park in Deming, NM is our home for the next month. Pool, Hot Tub, trips to Mexico, hamburger cook outs, game nights and new friends were all found here.

We had Tres & Paula, our Navy friends since our time in Spain in '73 - '75 and Tres's sister Donna visit us. Paula & Tres with us for 5 days while Donna stayed in her Class C . What a great time we had with them. There was a lot of walking and hiking in the various parks nearby. The Catwalk, City of Rocks, Columbus, NM and Palomas, Mexico were just some the places we visited with them. It's always a fun time when we are with them. Many memories over the years that we'll never forget and cherish always.






We decided that this also was a time to get our bodies back into some shape, but pool areobics? Oh boy! I'm not too sure about this 9 AM in the pool thing. This is WORK!!!! Thanks goodness the pool is fairly warm. It is a lot of fun though at the end of the day and I'm feeling better. A lot more limber for sure.
The Gila Cliff dwellings was on our places to visit and explore. It's hard to believe that people actually lived in these caves. Talk about simple living. One thing for sure, they had spectacular views from their "living rooms".

Then there was the special night at the "City of Rocks". There was the astronomy class that was 2 hrs and seemed like 30 minutes. It was amazing. All those stars that can be seen when there are no city lights to interfere. The heavens are alive and there is definitely a God. The things we don't see because we just don't take the time to look and listen. This is our time to stop, look & listen to the world around us.








Silver City was another one of those places that we hadn't taken time to visit when we lived in New Mexico. Our walk through the downtown area was really full of exploring. There was the information about the historic floods that carved out the city's park. The multiple art shops brought all kinds of peoples dreams and visions to our eyes. The colors, shapes and forms were interesting to say the least.







Let's not forget our visits to the local vineyards. Deming's St. Clair winery has wine on tap. You bring your own jug and they'll make a special blend just to your liking. I've never seen Rose enjoy wine like she does theirs.


Time to head back to Albuquerque.

January 2 - Ft Stockton, TX

First stop on our way back to Albuquerque. Ft Stockton RV Park is really busy with RV'ers on the move. It's a very nice park with good Bar-B-Que ribs. I told you we're on the hunt for great food during our travels. We got in late and left early. Onward to Deming, NM