Flamingo on a Stick

View of campground and lake from the ridge We have enjoyed Roper Lake. It is a quiet place and we’ve met some very nice folks while we’ve been here. The other night we spent it around a campfire with the couple next to us from Colorado. He was the Postmaster at Yellowstone for quite awhile but recently retired and they have some land in Colorado they eventually want to build on. He has had some health problems so they are just traveling full time this winter. They had a lot of great stories and we all laughed a lot and enjoyed a beautiful Arizona night.  Steps up the trail On Thursday we went out for a hike. There is a trail that goes up along the ridge behind the campground. It wasn’t too steep or too long but make for a nice little hike. Another of our neighbors, a couple from Albuquerque, told us they had seen a Great Horned owl in the trees at the day use area so we went to find it. Met them out there looking again too. Laurie was just sure she had found it, pointing to ...

Well, John is working on some research things so it may be a little while before I get him back to the blog. We are going to add an exhaust brake to the truck, so far I think it is the Banks system he is going to go with. We’d like to get it done when we are in the Phoenix area. Pulling this trailer he’d just like to be safer on the mountain passes. Gamble or California Quail We are really enjoying Roper Lake. Not many people here but the ones that are here are very friendly. A couple from the Albuquerque and another from Colorado. It looks like there should be more people coming in today as most of the reserve sites have tags on them. We look right out on the lake and the rushes. This park was one of the ones set to close due to budget cuts here in Arizona but the local communities saved it. The cattails have really grown up here and you can’t see as much of the lake as previously but there isn’t money in the budget to control their growth (or so we were told). However, the birds ...

I know we didn't write much about Deming. Nice little town, good to see my aunt and cousins that I haven't seen in 15 years. They had 2 nice wineries too - St Clair and Las Lunes. Of course we had to try the local product and now after our NM visit we have lots of wine to drink - oh, how we suffer. The campground was basically a gravel parking lot with hook ups but what you do find at Escapees parks are wonderful people who are willing to share their vast knowledge on RVing, something we always value and a good price. View from our camper door  Marshes across from site We left this morning for Roper lake State park in Arizona. Only a 3 hour trip and this is a great place. The campground isn't anything special but the views are outstanding. Mountains in the distance and the lake and marsh area right out our door. I've already seen a couple birds that are new to us. I'll write more on that later when I get a few more photos. For now we are just taking in the...

Guadalupe Mountains on our way to Deming NM Well, I am writing this as we travel along US62 on our way to Deming NM. We really enjoyed our time in the Carlsbad area. Brantley Lake is our kind of place. A nice campground with beautiful views. I met a lady here that is a snow bird. She stays all winter between Brantley Lake and another NM park north of here Bottomless Lake. She just loves this area and I have say at $14 a day, it is economically. I could see staying in this area about 2-4 weeks but after that I think I would want to move on.  full moon over the campground One of the things we really haven’t talked about is that Carlsbad is where John was born. His dad was a mining engineer and was here with the Potash mines. Potash is still being mined in the area. Neither of us has a clue as to what they use potash for. They lived in Carlsbad until he was four.  He has a few memories of the area. His first girlfriend, Vicky, lived across the street and the house they ...

John's still writing! Yipee!! to Judy, the flamingo's stick has been ailing lately and John hasn't decided how to fix it yet, soon he should be back up, that would be cool  if the aliens visited him. Now for the real post: Site1-Human One of the local trails here has numbered posts along the route with a guide that explains something about whatever it is you’re looking at. In this case, what you’re looking at is a concrete impression of what various local animal tracks would look like if that animal had stepped in wet concrete. (Just to be thorough, the first station was for a barefoot human although you would have to be demented to be walking through the scrub without shoes. Thick soled hiking boots would be best.) We never saw tracks of anything other than in the concrete patches, but we did see a jackrabbit. And some bugs. I was washing the rig today and got to wondering if it might be possible to identify bugs by the splatter pattern they leave. They’re not as...

We’ll give John a break today. I am amazed I got him to do 3 posts in one week.  He is a talented writer and a funny guy and I encourage him to share his talent. I don’t mind writing but I enjoy his posts so much that I’m hoping I can get him to do at least a couple  a week. Yesterday we drove up to Roswell NM. We may have been abducted but I am not sure yet. When we were at Carlsbad Caverns it did look like another planet. Many of you know this is where an alien craft was suppose to have landed with a couple aliens that the government quickly stepped in and covered up. The UFO museum and research center is here and it lays out all the info of the time to support the theory that it was really aliens. It is all pretty interesting but I’m not sure I buy it. I don’t discount that life could exisit outside this galaxy but what I do have trouble with is how they are always portrayed. Have you noticed they always seem to have a humanoid form. I mean not that they look just like us ...

Ok everyone, I've really got him going now, lets see how long I can keep him blogging. Oh, and to Laurie and George, John liked the You Tube idea now if he could just convince me that we have $300 extra to buy one. (lol) Here's Johnny!!!! Sunset Brantley lake Carlsbad (DH) We’re camped out just north of Carlsbad enjoying some great views. The evenings are cool enough to be outside, so we made some margaritas and Janie’s taking pictures of the sunset. I’m trying to ignore the mosquitos. They’re ignoring my bug spray. Earlier I was out here by myself veging out with a book when a roadrunner walked right up to me, gave me a quick once-over and walked back into the scrub. It might have been a sign that I should live in the desert and follow the ways of the roadrunner. Or maybe it meant I should have another margarita. Today we visited our first National Park: Carlsbad Caverns. Totally impressed. Did you know bats pollinate the cactus tequila is made from? So without bats,...

Sunset Lake Brantley Oct.17th Verizon has been promoting their latest slogan to “rule the air” with their cell phones, but my brother was having fun with it by suggesting it might apply to other situations also. I was pondering this while we were camped at Quartz Mountain (did I mention we had no TV stations that could be reached by our antenna?) thinking it might be more applicable to the United States Air Force: they’ve demonstrated they “rule the air” on numerous occasions by applying superior technology and training to their battle space. So I was contemplating my local air space in the RV where a few flies were kicking my ass. These were the normal annoying flies that like to hang out inside the RV like they owned it. I had the clear advantage of brain power, but I didn’t have the technology to control my air space. The best I could do was a fly swatter, and then only if the flies would land in a spot where I could smash them. I had nothing to knock them out of the air. I nee...

Today was a day to just get things done. We needed to do laundry and get a few groceries. The closest laundromat was in Altus about 16 miles away - not bad. It is big enough to have a Super Wal-Mart so we knew we could get groceries too. We had heard the little town of Blair was having a Bluegrass festival and it was on the way to Altus so thought we would check it out on the way through. It would make a fun activity. Well there was one sign that said “Bluegrass Festival”  but no sign of the festival???  Oh well so much for that and it is back to the weekly duties.  Heron on the reservoir  On the way into Altus we passed a Walgreens and the sign reminded me we hadn’t had our flu shots yet so in we go. I always hate this shot because it makes my arm sore but I had Influenza B once and that was enough. True influenza is hell - first you think your going to die then you just wish you would and then you finally get better, very,very, slowly. So as much as I complain a...

Told you he was working on this so here it is........ The Retirement Party This blog has two voices; mostly Janie but occasionally I contribute also. I’m the DH but I don’t always cooperate as much as some would like so maybe “dear husband” doesn’t fit as well as baseball’s “designated hitter”. I think I like that better anyway: I’m not the featured player, but sometimes I get to bat. When I graduated from college in 1975, I figured I should get a job. The Navy had a job for me, but they wanted to send me back to school for nuclear engineering (I graduated as a mechanical engineer). That was ok, and it had the added incentive of being my only offer. That was until Rockwell came back for their second round of interviews. They wanted a mechanical engineer and I wanted a job. Perfect.  Rockwell apparently was hiring a bunch a new grads that year. It was like being on campus again, only with money. Lots of new friends and we had lots of fun. None of us thought we would be workin...

On the road in the Flint Hills of Kansas We have now added Kansas and Oklahoma to our states visited in the RV. We arrived around noon at Quartz Mountain Nature Park. We are in the Scissortail campground in a long pull-through site with FHU and 50 amp and it is only $22.00 a night. We are happy campers. We have just started investigating the park. There is a short paved bike trail, only about 1.5 miles long but it is nice. Looks like there will be some great hiking opportunities too. We are going to check that out tomorrow. Besides the “Mountains”, more like big rocky hills there also is a reservoir lake which is beautiful. There are deer every where. It is deer hunting season in Oklahoma and the deer seem to know that there is no hunting in the state park so they are hanging out here with us. The ones we came across today seem unaffected by our presence. Along the lake It has been a hard day for John. He started today by cutting his head on the vanity door. He has a nice long...

Yes we are parked in a Wal-Mart in western Oklahoma. To all our friends who told us we weren't real RVers until we had an overnight here --we have arrived!

We’ve been in KC for almost a week now and it has been a busy one. Our main reason for being here was to visit family. We have had a wonderful time doing just that. John’s brother and his family are here with the exception of one son (Mark) who is teaching in South Korea. If you are catching this Mark, we missed you! Niece Mary and her husband Daryl have a little boy, Bennett, that just turned one about a month ago. This was our first time to see him and what a cutie and of course a photographers dream. He is learning to walk which is a treat to see. It just takes me back to when my own sons were doing that. Where does the time go??? Daryl and niece Julie both had birthdays this week so Friday we went to a local Pizza place, Stone Canyon, for a great night of pizza and then back to Mary and Daryl’s new house. Just a nice night with family. Hockey anyone? Saturday, brother Walt and nephew Andy took John and I to a minor league hockey game. We have seen plenty of junior hockey and c...