Still at Potter Creek.....

I decided to stay an extra few days because of the cold snap coming in. No sense being out on the road having to use up my propane for heat when I could have electric hook-up here and could get caught up on some painting. (been having too much fun and not tending to business...)

Miss Izzy and Curley Joe were in agreement, so it was unanimous!

Meanwhile the deer have been coming back and I got some pretty good photos today, I thought.
I happened to see this buck passing as I was sitting at my table painting. This photo was taken through the window.

They were crossing in back of my rig, so I went quietly out the door with my camera.

There were several of them....

I just kept snapping pictures

Three in the photo below. Can you see them?

This brave buck walked right toward me...

Then more followed. Wow! Three bucks plus a few does!

I zoomed in a little on this one

Then he turned and they started to leave. I shot the next photo so quickly that It came out dark with the eyes of the deers glowing. Had to lighten it to post. 

Here is the best-looking doe I have seen since being here. 

Then they were off, looking for food elsewhere. They did not find much here to their liking.

 It has been a beautiful day after an extremely cold night.

This is tonight's gorgeous sunset. I feel so very blessed to be able be out here in all this wonder!

Good-night all!

What are Your Thoughts on This?

Boon-docking Rally in Quartzite, AZ

http://www.rv-dreams.com/boondocking-rally.html

 

 

Ever been to one? Any kind of RV rally? Says its for beginners as well as seasoned RVers, that you will have access to learning boondocking tips from other RVers. Just not sure I could handle being around so many other people I don't know. I have a tendancy to get overwhelmed, except if some of you all were going, someone I knew through the blog-world. Any of you planning on going?

Just comtemplating.....

But I'm basically a loner

 

Planning on being in AZ anyway...

Canyon Lake - Potter Creek Park-COE

Part of the 8,230-acre lake with 80 miles of shoreline.I found this by putting the coordinants in my Garmin GPS. Love Garmin! It's a GPS for dummies, er, it was a wise investment for me.

Anyway this is looking toward the lake from down below my campspot.

Below, the campsites of the left loop. Nothing for shade except for the roofed picnic shelters, which I guess is ok.

Far across this field is the right loop down closer to the water.

The fur-pals and I took a long walk across this field this morning and they got their sniffing, running, pottying time in.

Of course I had to watch out for holes like these, about the size of the first half of my shoe.

They were all over that field.

At least the dogs tired out before I did this time ;-)

(The down side of this campground is the little burrs that are all over. They had to be combed out of the dog's fur everytime I took them outside. So if you visit here be prepared if you have dogs.)

Back to the camp we went, where I had parked near some trees on the back side, which is the west.

The cement pads are pretty level and backing in was not a problem.

As I had electric hook-up, last night and today were crock-pot days.

(except that, reading "Traveling with John" made me realise I was eating like I was still up north in the cold) Well, got to fix what I have , no matter the temps. So here's my dried bean, lentil, veggie, polish sausage hearty soup.

...and my cooked apples because I had left home with a peck of good northern apples and some I had left are starting to wither, so I cut up the worst ones. Still good, mind you. I can have these with pancakes or make a biscuit topper, or just plain eat them; there are many ways to use these.

I carry a 3 qt and a 1 1/2 qt crock-pots with me.

Thats what I do when I get to a place with electric is cook up enough for several days. It saves my propane for boondocking and I don't have to eat at Burger King.

 

Opps! I downloaded the wrong picture of the deer.... just a minute....

There, that one is better.....

This is right in back of my RV. They are not scared at all. There is a ban on feeding them now, in fact a huge fine if you do, because of over-population. They hope to eliminate 130 deer this year because they have been eating off the trees for lack of proper grazing per number of deer. It seems that way in alot of places.

I am kicking myself tonight because there was a beautiful sunset and I forgot to carry my phone with me when I walked the dogs. And I leave tomorrow to head west....

Got to plan my route. Have a wonderful evening and may the Lord keep you all safe.

Vitamins.... and on to The Alamo!!!

As I left Dallas on Wed about 11 am I took the 635 loop to I-20 planning to then go south on 35E. I spotted a TA sign in the distance and wondered if it might just be the other one that is supposed to carry my brand of vitamins. I stopped and  YAHOO!  got the last 2 bottles they had which will last me at least 2 months! Plenty of time to order once I get to Tucson.

 

Meanwhile I drove to New Braumfels and spent the night at another TA. I had wound up in the slow traffic in Austin for quite a stretch, and it was to dark to try to find the Potter's Creek Park, one of the campgrounds of Canyon Lake, also a COE campground (gotta love these!)

However, after touring The Alamo today, thats where I am now.

 

So yes, one of my almost lifelong wishes was to see the Alamo..... you know, the place where that awesome Davy Crockett (my childhood hero) breathed his last! I remember watching the Davy Crockett movie and TV series as a young girl. and my mom had the sheet music to it and played it on her piano and we all learned the words and sang it over and over.....

 

I felt it was worth taking the guided tour, and found out things the movie or history class didn't teach us, or taught us wrong... did you know Davy's sidekick, Georgie Russell, never did go with Davy to Texas and die there beside his pal?????
There were only 200 defenders against Santa Ana's 2000 soldiers.
Senseless slaughter? Not when you learn all that went on before and after.

 

Anyway, I also learned that the actual Alamo mission, had quit being a mission. I also learned that it was located at the back section of about a 4 acre complex. This is what it looked like at the time of the battle.... That part at the right top corner? That was the mission building. That wee little piece... The courtyard in front of it with a diagonal right side, and the rest of the perimeter was mostly long row houses where at first settlers lived,  and then the 200 men that were defending .

 It would be too long to tell you more, so I'll just post some of the pictures I took.  I drove all around the Alamo before finding parking available where my RV could fit into. It was 2 blocks away, a huge parkinglot across from the Scottish (?) Museum and Library. I was very careful as I walked to commit to memory the direction I took. These horse-pulled carriages can be seen traveling the streets near the Alamo. I did not ask how much for a ride; figured I could walk it.

There are also trolleys (maybe just fancy busses, they don't run on tracks)

Cute little things!



When I neared the Alamo I saw this first, a monument commemorating the defenders.

Thier names are all written there. II was surprised to see on of the men's last name was "Bonham". Same last name as my husband's cousin. I put in a phone call and found that indeed it was a relative. How interesting....

The mission looked much like in the movies.

We were allowed to go inside but not take pictures there. I was told it had something to do with the artifacts, and possible ruination or deterioration of the walls, which, I was also told, this IS 80% of the original mission building. Here I am standing in front of the commemerative monument.

This photo below was taken from what would have been the outside southern wall, lower left point

These are other buildings and structures of the Alamo battleground. I cannot remember the names of them all, but I love the architecture.

This is one end of the long barracks museum (below)

 

I think the photo below houses the gift shop and more, which displays Crockett's rifle and powder bag, as well as guns carried by others.  You can also see a bell above the doorway. I don't know if it ws the original mission bell.

This sprawling tree below was planted 100 years ago as a 40-year-old tree, brought in also to commemorate the fallen soldiers. Hauled in and planted at 40 years old!!!!! That must have been an awesome feat in those days (1912)

A Spanish canon

Col. William Travis's famous words...

Our tour guide, has been doing this for many years and is very knowledgeable. He gave us facts on the Mexican revolution and why the battle at the Alamo was so important. He also told us the real reason Davy Crockett went to Texas.

If you have never been, and have a chance to do so, I highly recommend this as a important historical stop. It makes one stop and think about the sacrifices others have made in the name of freedom.

 

After walking around almost 4 acres and the standing on cement during the tour while being given pertinent info, my feet hurt so bad by the time I got back to the RV. I almost wish another carriage had come along just then......

More tomorrow......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Last Night in Dallas

I did the last of my laundry today and washed my few dishes, mostly cups and spoons. I supervised the piano practice with the Grand, and we walked the dogs. In the evening we all had a very tasty spaghetti supper and sat down to watch a movie I had purchased at W*M for $5. It was "Second Hand Lions" with Robert Duvall and Michael Caine.

Talk about funny! I will watch this one several more times I am sure. We all enjoyed it! Since I had "pre-viewed" it, I went to the RV and got a pkg of brownie mix I had and made brownies for desert. (Of course that was to score extra points with the S-I-L so's I can stop back in the spring)  ;-)

Grand went to bed and I went in to give him his nightly kiss and hug. Oh, its going to be hard leaving tomorrow am. In fact, I won't leave till after his bus takes him off to school, cuz then I'm not leaving him behind, if he has already left for school, you see......

After the movie I came back out to the Rv and took Miss Izzy and Curley Joe for their last out. It was a cool mild night so I enjoyed the walk. I took several pictures on my phone of the homes with Christmas lights on. Nothing really special at first but the last one I thought was especially nice.

You all have your decorations up yet? I will have as soon as I get my hands on some of those plastic ties. I'll probably need to stop at a hardware store down the road.....

 

Keeping busy while waiting.....

I have been delayed on getting my vitamins that I usually take and have felt like I was dragging for the last several days. I had intended on picking them up in OK when I went to visit Susan but now that that trip has been canceled because of the bank card issue, I won't be going after my year's supply of vitamins as well. I have taken these same liquid vitamins since going on the truck with my husband in Jan of 2002. I was one of their first hundred or so customers.

Anyway I called the company and was told the TA at x 68 on I-30 east of Dallas carried them. They would cost more but at least I could get a bottle to get me through. So Friday I pulled together enough cash to get my Lady Blue fueled up and get my vitamins. I got there, fueled,  and went to look for the stand with the attendant who sells the vitamins at this particular TA. I found the stand, but the attendant was nowhere to be found.... just a small sign with a phone numner to call if you wanted to make a purchase. Sooooo, I called and got a viocemail saying to leave a msg. I ...left ....a .... msg. This is Monday evening. My call was never returned. No vitamins. Nada. There is a slim chance I can pick some up at another TA when I leave here. Don't cha just love it when life hands you all these little irritating little monkey-wrenches one right after another?? Just got to plow through and weather the storm, find something good to keep yourself occupied till the storm passes.....

 

Sunday afternoon Daughter's family and I met with cousin Connie and husband Bud over near Fort Worth and had a nice visit and dinner at golden Corral. Connie and I both like GC pretty well and it was not too far from their home. After that we stopped back at the ATT store and they finally conceded that my wi-fi unit was not working properly, and replaced it with a new one. I tried it out this morning and all the issues I had with the other one were gone. This one is working perfectly! So now that problem is solved.  I have been knitting in the evenings. I have about 4" to go and this pair of socks for D-I-Lwill be done. The Grand sometimes comes out to the RV and will watch a movie with me. Last night we watched "The Willows in Winter", a grand old classic.

This morning after walking the dogs, having breakfast and putting in a load of laundry, I got out my paint and went to work again on the painting of my grandson's piano lesson. I spent a good 4 - 5 hrs on it, working mainly on the checked shirt the piano teacher was wearing. This painting is quite different for me than my usual landscapes  but so far I am pleased with the results. This evening daughter and I went to another thrift store and I found another "working" string of Christmas lights, some clips to hold it to the awning, and a garland for over my doorway. Also found a few more VCR tapes; some oldies, but goodies.

 

Yay! I got my new bank card in the mail this afternoon, so now I can be on my way moseyin' over to Tucson, AZ. Want to make a couple stops along the way. Thinking about the Alamo, maybe...

I will be leaving here Wed morning. Bet my S-I-L will be glad to have my RV out of his driveway, LOL.

 Oh yes.... now I can call and have my vitamins shipped to my brother's home in Tucson!

 

Well, I'm tired so goodnight to all.

Pleasant dreams and safe travels!



Another delay.....

Yesterday and today have been very busy days.

Yesterday, because I went to do my online banking and found several hits to my checking account that I did not, and could not, have possibly made. Long story short ......... someone, somehow, had gotten my debit card # and decided that it would be easier to live off of my funds than to work honestly to earn their own living. Having eight hits totaling $2028.00 between Nov 23 and Nov 26, my bank and I are glad I keep a close eye on my account. They found where the debits had been made from, put a stop on my card, and set in motion for me to be reimbursed said funds. There is only a 2 day wait on my funds, but a 7 - 10 day wait on my new bank card to arrive at my daughter's home where I have been camping out in their driveway. I had planned to leave later toward the weekend to continue my way to AZ. However I had 2 people I had wanted to visit before going very far, and now cannot as I have limited funds until my card comes in the mail. 

 

Today errands were to take the dog-pals to the groomer recommended by a near-by neighbor, a Chik-filet stop for the daughter and a StarBucks stop for me, then a doctor appt for my daughter, Wal*Mart shopping for a small electric heater and other needed supplies, a stop at the thrift store, pick up the dog-pals, pick up the Grand from the school bus, pick up the husband from work (hers.... not mine) Papa Murphy's for pizza supper, drop the husband , Grand and pizza at home where he baked the prepared pizza's while we drove to Aldi's for some grocery items and filled the car up with gas. Whew!! Wore me out. We were back to the house just as the pizza's were ready. The guys had ham and mushroom pizza and we girls had thin crust chicken, spinach, and artichoke pizza. Yummmmmy!!

 

At the thrift store I got a VCR movie for $1.49 (which will play in my tv set) of  "The Willows in Winter" and a cheerful Christmas cappucino mug for myself for $.89 .  I had picked up a documentary VCR film on the History of the Railroad Steam Engines, but had a notion to check it, and glad I did as it had on corner broken on the edge that fits into the player, so I decided not to chance it. I would have loved to watch it :-/

Daughter found a few clothing items. She always finds good deals at these places. We had wanted to hit another thrift store she knows of but there just wasn't enough hours in this particular day.

And my doggie-pals look just gorgeous! I will try to get a picture of them tomorrow to post.

 

Among all the busy-ness today, and the frustrations of the day before, I realize how very blessed I am. My troubles are few compared to many, and I am humbled by the goodness of the Lord to me.

I have so very much to be thankful for......

 

Count your blessings,

          Name them one by one........