May 19 - Albuquerque, NM

We were once again settled in at the Sierra Vista RV park along with our host & good friend Joy. We enjoy staying here and helping her out when ever we are in town.

Becky is getting better as the days go by. She is doing her exercises very religiously. Hopefully she'll recoup faster than expected. She can drive next week. HURRAY!

We were also able to spend some extra time with our faith sharing group. Bob Rodgers is on the recoup from his fall, thank God. He's really looking good. He did not recommend his method of weight loss though. I tend to agree with him too. It was good to see everyone else too.

This was a lot of time for visiting with friends and family. We spent an afternoon with my uncle Rich & aunt Joyce. This was the first time that they saw our setup. It was a fun afternoon for us catching up on family news.

Then there was our time spent with Larry & Roz Gibble. We haven't laughed this much in a long time. Larry sure had a big smile on his face when we went for a ride in the truck. He's a Volvo car enthusiast and is currently restoring an older Volvo. He really is meticulous about it too. He does that in between his 100 mile bike rides with Roz. They have this really neat tandem bike and just finished the "Santa Fe 100". My butt is sore after 10 miles. I can't imagine 100 miles.

We popped in at Missy & Gerald Simnacher's place to see their remodel project. Oh how it reminded us of our big project. They had the kitchen down to the studs and then some. It's going to turn our really good. To our surprise the person doing the remodel was an old friend of ours.

Dinner with Fabian Gagnon & my mom was again a fun filled evening. It was laughter and remembering the good times we all have had together. Besides Fabian is a really good cook.

Then there was dinner with mom & Joy. Mom surprised us with our special quilt. WOW! What a mom. We will cherish it forever. It looks great on our bed too. It really dresses up the place.

Mom sure hasn't forgotten to cook either. As always we were treated to a great meal. We are truly blessed to have her still with us and for us to be able to share some really great times with her. We have the "million dollar" memories of our times with her. We wish her many more years of good health and thank her very much for all that she has done for us through out her life.

It seems like all we did was visit friends and eat. We had a special treat when we visited Mike & Chelsea. He taught us how to make bar-b-que grill pizza. It was soooo good. That's the only way to eat pizza as far as we're concerned. Those others will never taste the same again.

We were able to get some time in with my brother Stan & his wife Joyce. They were hiding out from the kids. As he said he just needed to get away for a little bit. I just can't understand why with two teenagers home for the summer. Ha Ha. I remember those times well of needing a little peace and quite.

Well now it's time to pack up and get on the move, finally. We are getting anxious to head up north for our summer excursion. Besides it's supposed to hit 100* this week in Albuquerque.

May 13 - Moriarty, NM

It's time to get some annual maintenance completed at RV Sales. There's not much to do but I like to have Ralph and his crew do the things that need done for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, they are real good at what they do. They know their stuff. If they spot something that I've missed, they will let me know and fix it. There are also things they can do that I can't because they have the equipment.

This is also the weekend for the annual "flea market" at RV Sales. They open the lot to the community people to have a place to have one huge sale. It also helps on their exposure. We were able to help with answering questions about our setup and what it's like to live full time in the RV. All in all a fun time for everyone.

Sunday and Monday was spent visiting friends from the surrounding area, Kathy & Robert Andrews. We have known them since the mid 80's and have watched their son grow up into a fine young man. Rose worked with Kathy for many years at the New Mexico Organ Donor Services.

By Wednesday afternoon all the repairs and maintenance was completed and it was time to head back to Albuquerque.

May 4 - Albuquerque, NM

We arrived back in Albuquerque before the high winds blasted the highways once more. It was great to come back and visit with our good friend Joy and her 2 dogs Sammy & Foxy and the 2 cats George & Tizzie. We were amazed at how we were greeted by the animals. They just made themselves right back at home. We continually find George on our doorstep. I think he's trying to edge his way into our home before we move on again. I don't think so. There is just not enough room for George in this rig.


Our 1st visit was to the Smart car dealership to show them just how their Smart car was transported on the back of BigBit. Carlos was happy to see the setup and took his share of pictures. We hope that it'll help with his sales.


Then it was time to unload. We now have a good feel for the time it really takes us to unload because this time we didn't have a large gathering watching us and asking questions. I was surprised that we were able to unload in just under 40 minutes. That's setting up the ramps, unloading the car and then storing all the equipment. It wasn't a contest to see how fast I could do this but just a measurement of the time it takes to unload the car. Loading the car adds about 20 minutes to the time.

There must have been something in the air this past week causing people to lose teeth. Our 2 granddaughters had their wisdom teeth pulled and Roseann had her last wisdom tooth pulled. This all happened over a three day period. Our granddaughter here in Albuquerque, Anna, had the worst time of all. It caused her to miss three days of school because of a swollen jaw. No fun.


Then our daughter Rebecca had to have surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in her right shoulder. UGH! Not anything I want to have done soon. They tell her that she could have full function back in 3 -4 months. I know that she'll do it too. She's tough when it comes to rehab. I watched her rehab a busted up knee from skiing a long time ago.

Then it was Anna's confirmation day. It was busy from the start because now we have been charged with getting the kids to school. Yea, remember Rebecca just had surgery and no driving for a while. School, then errands with my mom, then my errands, visit with and show our friend Arnie Bigbit, pick up Anna from school, take her to the dentist for a check on her braces, pick up her friend for a visit at her house, take her friend home on our way to church at 6 PM for the confirmation service at 7 PM, save seats for the rest of the family who will be there around 6:45 PM. The service ended at 8:40 and I was there at 5:50. By my calculations, that's 2 hr & 50 min on the hard church bench. I hope that gets me a higher and softer seat some place when I die. My backside sure was flatter after that. What I really learned today, is that being a mom or dad never ends and is truly a labor of love. My hat is off to all the mom's ( dad's too) who have to run around and do all the things I did today plus HAVE A JOB. I salute you!

Thursday morning. It's moving day for us. The rig needs some annual maintenance and a few minor additions & repairs. It's out to RV Sales for Ralph & his crew to do their magic. I have to remember though that we still are driving the kids and helping to take car of our daughter. Oh oh, I think I'll be putting some miles on LilBit. Thank goodness for good gas mileage.

April 27 - Alto, NM

After leaving the Excel RV rally in Las Cruces, NM, we traveled to Ruidoso, NM to meet up with our Full Time RVing mentors, Mel & Karol. It's been about a year since we last spent some good time with them. We are looking forward to a week of lots of laughs.

This has been a winter to remember for sure. We have not been able to find a "winter haven" where we could spend our days in shorts enjoying nice balmy weather. Here we are at Little Creek RV Park in Alto, NM and it has NOT been shorts weather. I guess we'll keep our long pants & warm jackets available a little longer. The weather had cooperated a little. The sun was out most of the time except when we experienced 60+ mph winds, rain, hail & snow. Did I say snow? For sure because we awoke Sunday morning to 2 inches of snow. It was absolutely gorgeous. The only thing we missed this time here was seeing the deer near our rig. In our past visits, the deer were all over the place. We saw deer in town and there were fresh signs of deer in the parks but they not to be seen.

Alto, NM is a suburb of Ruidoso and is just very beautiful. We were able to spend Thursday morning exploring one of the famous sites of the area, the Spencer Theater for the Performing Arts. They offer a comprehensive tour of the facilities every Tuesday & Thursday morning. We were amazed that such a facility would exit in this small mountain town in New Mexico. The more we travel around this country of ours, we are finding little treasure like this "hidden" under our very noses. We are still learning just how to approach each stop with greater a curiosity.

After a week of fun, laughter and just great times with our friends, it's time to move on to Albuquerque, NM for more closs time with family and friends. It'll be good to visit with everyone.

April 20 - Las Cruces, NM

It's time for the Spring Excel Rally. Each spring & fall, the Excel Owners Club of New Mexico has a big get-together for a weekend. Some of the owner will come early and stay later, if they can. We can, so we did.

We arrived on Tuesday mid-afternoon, got everything setup and unloaded the car. That's becoming a real crowd gatherer. The official time of the rally if Friday through Sunday, so there are only a few people here.

We were able to see our friends, Joy & the MacAlexander's that evening. It was a time to catch up on all of the happenings with each other. God my side hurt from all of the laughing. They are all a really great bunch.

Then our friends Mel & Karol arrived from their winter home in Arizona. It's always great to see them and share stories. Mel is going to be one of the seminar presenters this weekend on "tips & tricks" of owning and maintaining an RV.

Then we took a side trip to Deming, NM to visit the St. Clair winery. You can get wine there straight out of the cask into your own jug. We had them mix the wine and walked out with our own special blends. Now the best part is that there are no added sulphates in the wine. That means that Roseann can enjoy a glass every so often. Total cost of this fine wine is $3.25 / qt.

Thursday start to bring in more & more rigs. All in all 60+ rigs showed up and we had a great time. I spent a lot of time answering questions about our setup with the truck and car. People were really surprised to find out what bottom line costs were to do it the way we chose. Now that they know it's affordable, we just might see more big rigs on the road as rv tow vehicles.

We received some good news from our friends Daryl & Cindy this week. They are going Full Time in their rv after they leave the rally. They go back home, pack things up and move on down the road. We'll see them in early June as they begin their journey north to South Dakota to get their driver licenses.

I was able to get the truck washed and waxed while there. That's always a trick because the truck is 13.5' tall. Getting to the top and waxing it gets to be a challenge. A lot of people got their rv's washed and waxed while they were there. A company comes around and makes everyone a special deal. For a lot of folks, it's a lot easier for someone else to do it.

Monday came fast. It's now time for us to load the car and be ready to close up tomorrow for the move to our next stop on our journey to enjoy the sights and sounds of the U.S.

March 26 - Ft Sam FamCamp, Canyon Lake, TX

We sure are glad that we are retired and able to be very flexible with our schedule. Three weeks into our five week stay in Mission, TX, we received a call from our daughter Jean telling us that she was going to have surgery the next day. She had had previous surgery and there were some complications that developed from that time. Nothing serious but it was going to keep her down for a couple of days and needed some help.

Well, that afternoon we loaded up the Smart car in getting ready to move up to Canyon Lake the next day. Wouldn't you know it too. The weather was finally warming up really nice after a cold winter. Fortunately we were heading just a little north and there would be some fishing. I hadn't been able to do too much up to this point in Texas. It's just been too cold and rainy most of the time.

On our way to Canyon Lake, we seemed to have picked up a extra piece to our rig. Just on the south side of San Antonio, we went through a highway construction zone. We have no idea what happened but when we stopped, we found this piece of rebar stuck in the front of the trailer. I have no recollection of going over anything in the road. We were very grateful that it didn't penetrate any further because it possibly could have gone through a propane tank. I just perish the thought of the possible consequences of that event.

We were very fortunate to get a great spot at Ft Sam Houston's FamCamp at Canyon Lake near Jean's house. I say fortunate because it is a 1st come 1st serve facility. There are no reservations taken. Ada, Jim, Billie and their spouses and the rest gang were really great.

We also had a little more excitement there than we needed. Early Friday morning, I was sitting watching the morning news and I heard the fire engine sirens in the distance. I was thinking that they were on the main highway. Well the siren kept getting louder and louder. When I looked out the door, I saw it coming down the access to the park. I ran out of our rig and saw a bunch of my neighbors at a rig three doors down with fire extinguishers in hand and smoke just pouring out the side of the rig. Not what anyone ever wants to see. It seems that the refrigerator caught fire. It was due for a recall fix the following Monday. Needless to say they didn't need that appointment on Monday. Instead they had one with the insurance company. The rig was a total loss.

We made sure that Jean was well recouped and we had good times with our granddaughter, Jessica, and our grandson Mac & his girl friend Jennifer. Mac's a pretty good cook. He learned a lot from working at the Olive Garden. I learned that pasta is pasta and nothing else. Every time I used another name, I was reminded that we were having "pasta".

Fishing was good. I caught enough to have a good fish fry for us and the family and then still have enough in the freezer for about 4 more meals. The fish were crappie, large mouth bass, perch, catfish, & carp (I threw that back). Roseann finally said that we had enough and if I caught any more I had to throw them back.

We got to go to Austin and visit with our friend from Albuquerque, Sherry. She's doing very well and really enjoys Austin.

We also visited with our other FTing friends, Alan & Ann, who came down to Canyon Lake from their current stay in Austin. We always enjoy our time with them & sharing our adventures.

Everything is now OK with Jean. It's time to head out and go the Excel rally this coming weekend in Las Cruces, NM. We are really looking forward to that. We'll get to see our good friends, Mel & Karol, as they get back on the road after hunkering down for the winter south of Tucson. We have the Smart loaded and we'll leave in the morning, Monday.

As you can well see, Roseann sure has a big smile on her face when she is driving BigBit. She's actually getting very good at it. Shifting is still in need of more practice but time behind the wheel will cure the ills.

March 20 - Mission, TX

We are now half way through our stay in Mission, TX. It has really been nice here. The weather is finally clearing and warming up. We have actually been able to spend some time in the sun at the pool except for today. We are able to have great times in the picnic area which is right across from our rig. The grounds here are very well maintained.

Last week Wednesday we decided to go to Albuquerque and get some needed doctor visits done. We flew in and stayed at our daughter's house and helped her celebrate her ??? birthday on Thursday. It seems like yesterday she was born in Idaho Falls.

Thursday morning we were "treated" to SNOW. We've been trying to get where it's warm with sunny weather this winter to no avail. It was nice to see the snow though. It was a typical snow for Albuquerque and by the afternoon it was all melted. We also had snow off and on throughout the day on Sunday. I'm sure glad we brought our winter clothes with us.

On Saturday Roseann, my mom and I were able to see Anna in a club volleyball tournament. That sure was a very very long day. They took about 9 hrs to finish. WOW! Anna's team, Blaze, came in 2nd. I think they're really good for just starting the team in the club ball arena.

On Sunday, our son-in-law, Joel, was given command of the New Mexico Air National Guard's Air Craft Maintenance Division. We sure are proud of him. He's done very well for himself. Now he's is charge of making sure that the F-16's are ready to go and do their job for our freedom. Thank you Joel for your dedication and service.

Rebecca recently retired from the New Mexico Air National Guard as a Captain after 25 yrs of service. It seems like yesterday that I swore her into the Guard and she was starting college. We're really proud of her accomplishment of going from enlisted to officer. Not many people are able to do that in the military. Without a doubt both Rebecca and Joel have sacrificed much in order that the rest of us can continue to enjoy our freedom.

We came back home to Mission late in the evening on Monday. Now we are hoping for warm & sunny weather for the rest of our stay. However, here it is Saturday and the wind is up gusting to 35 mph and it's 62* with clouds all over the place. We're still optimistic though that the sun will come out real soon.

The RV parks here are starting to clear out. With Easter around the corner, more and more people are starting to head back home. Also the Canadians are starting to go back home because of the 6 month rule for them. We'll be here until after Easter and then start heading up north through Las Cruces, Albuquerque and Colorado Springs.

We also spent a day in Progresso, MX. It's a very small border town who's main industry is dental work for the foreigners. I'd swear that there were 100's of places to get dental work done. Then there are the pharmacies and the knick knack shops. We did meet our friends, Tom & Donna Clapham, there for lunch though. It was good food and lots of fun.

March 2 - Mission, TX

Today was moving day. We left Alamo, TX and moved all of 24 miles west to Bentsen Palms RV Park in Mission, TX. We didn't load LilBit because it was too much work for such a short distance. It is right next to the World Birding Center Headquarters and the Bentsen Rio Grande State Park. We are looking forward to hearing all the sounds of the birds as we walk around the area.

The rest of our stay at Casa de Valle RV Park was better with each day that the weather got better. It finally got good enough for us to spend some quality time in the pool and hot tub.

We were also able to spend real good times with other Excel owners. It's always great to hear of their travels around the country, where they stayed, about the local area and the people they met.

This was the fifth time we had to hitch the big truck to the trailer and it went really well. Roseann sure is good at guiding me into the hitch. She reminds me of a ground crewman guiding an airplane into the gate. She's right on the money.

Hopefully we'll be seeing some warmer weather without all of the wind real soon. I'd like to be able to put the awning down, sit out and listen to the sounds of all the birds around us.

Where has the time gone?

I decided to get back on track and continue to journal our travels. As you can see it's been a few months since my last post. A lot has happened to us and the family during this time. I'll try to catch you up on the last few months events.

We spent all of September in Creede. CO. What a wonderful time we had watching the fall changing of the Aspins happen right before our eyes. When we got there everything was an emerald green. Then by the 2nd week, the green started to fade and the yellows, oranges and brown hues started to appear. Every morning we'd walk out of our door, look up to the mountains and just be amazed by the glorious colors. It was great to see the full thing happen.

There were 2 Excel rallies held while we were in Creede. First it was the Colorado group and then the New Mexico group. All in all there were some 80 Excels there over the 2 weeks. We really had a fun time with everyone. We even made plans to catch up with a few during the winter in the Rio Grande Valley.

The fishing in Creede was fabulous. Our fridge was full of Rainbow trout when we left Colorado. We finally finished it all just a few weeks ago. It sure was good.

We then spent October and November helping our friend Joy Sierra get her house and property ready for sale. We were able to stay on her property with our rig during this time. It was great to help her achieve what almost seemed like an impossible task. We sure made a lot of runs to the dump. I actually wore out two sets of leather gloves.

With all that was going on we just had to take a 'vacation'. early November found us in Cancun at our favorite place on the Mayan Riviera. We were there for a week with our good friend, Barb & Howard, from MN. We were very lucky to being missed by the last hurricaine. It passed just to the east of Cancun. We wound up with two days of rain and then a lot of clouds during the week. We were able to take a side trip to the Mayan ruins. That was really something to see. All in all, it was a nice break from making 'dump runs'.

October also brought a big change to us. While we were in Creede, we met Virgil & Jo. They are also Full Time RV'ers and use a HDT to pull their 5th wheel. Needless to say, I asked for some help to get some questions answered about their setup. We had some issues with our truck during our recent trips through the mountains of Colorado. I was beginning to think that we were going to have to look at a larger truck to insure our safety in pulling our trailer.

Well, we wound up buying a new truck, selling our old truck and buying a Smart car all within a two week period. The Dear Lord had taken care of everything for us. We just knocked on the doors and they flew open real easy. We found a '06 Volvo 670, 465 hp, 13 speed, that was really clean in Rochester, MN. I flew up to see it and wound up buying it. From there I drove it to Herrin Welding in Kilgore, TX for a make-over.

Larry Herrin did his magic so that we'd be able to put the Smart car on the trucks back and haul the trailer wherever we went. That was a six week project and finally finished up the 1st week of December. Roseann and I drove out to Kilgore in the Smart car, LilBit, and picked up the truck, now named BigBit. We loaded LilBit on the new bed and headed back to Albuquerque to pick up our 5th wheel. Two days later we were off to New Braunfels, TX to see our daughter Jean and her family for the holidays.

We spent Christmas with Jean and Marshall's family. What a fun time we had. We stayed at Fort Sam Houston FamCamp for the time. I tried fishing but it was just too cold.

We left for Corpus Christi on December 28th. We needed to get warm. Were we ever in for a surprise. Rain, Rain, Fog and more Rain. We spent the month of January there and only had about seven nice days where we were warm. UGH! No fishing in Corpus Christi. Every day that was nice we went exploring the area.

We did find that we could get all the fresh shrimp that we wanted to eat. That was a huge benefit for both of us. We did have fun though, even with the foul weather. On January 28th we headed further south to Alamo, TX in the Rio Grande Valley for hopefully warmer weather.

Well that brings us up to the present. We are now at the Casa de Valle RV park in Alamo, TX. Guess what? The weather hasn't changed. It is still rainy & foggy most of the time. It's been a little warmer here but still not warm enough. This weekend is supposed to be sunny and warm. We can only hope.