Fisherman's Cove, Palmetto Florida

Hi to all......

We're here in sunny Florida.....but it's cold. Sweatshirt and jeans kind of cold. And windy! There is a strong breeze off from the bay, which is really cold. We're told this is unusual for here. Let's hope so!

Anyway, we're here for around 5 mos. This was kind of a last minute decision, as we were offered a work camping position here. 20 hrs/week in exchange for a FHU site, with all utilities paid. So.....we took it.

I am mostly doing cleaning here and Tony is doing the maintenance. I clean the laundry room, bath house and clubhouse. We can schedule our time any way we see fit. We have a little golf cart to run around in. It's really a very nice park, and it's also 55+, so most of the people are our age or older.

There is a fabulous fishing pier here, and they catch quite a lot of fish off from it, we hear. Also, a private boat landing for the residents here which we'll be using, once we decide if we're going to go back to Michigan to get our Florida boat! We may do that, once we see how things go here.

There is a great Tiki hut here, with picnic tables underneath it, a heated pool, and a nice hot tub. The clubhouse is nice with lots of tables, a library, billiard room, and a kitchen. They have a Thanksgiving dinner here with turkeys for all the residents, and you just have to bring a dish to pass. Same for Christmas, as most residents here will be away from their families for the holidays. They have a Christmas Day ham dinner for all, and a take away type of gift exchange for all the residents. It seems they provide for us all the way.

There are people here who are full timers, who live here full time. Others come here just for the winter, and have been coming for years. There's just all types. This was only our first day of actually working here, so we will reserve judgement until a couple weeks have passed. But.......I must say, most everyone here has been extremely friendly and helpful in welcoming us here.

But not all is fun and games. On Monday, Oct. 27, we buried our friend. Chang Xiong, a man we loved and respected. He and his wife owned the restaurant that I worked at near Baldwin, Michigan for a while. He was hit by a semi and killed instantly, 3 weeks ago. What a loss to this world. He was loved by all who knew him. They have a house here in Plant City and a huge family. They had a funeral here for him that lasted 4 days! On the last day, that we went, there were over 200 people at his house.......and that was the small group of friends and family! I will miss him so. He has a lovely wife, Song, who will continue to run the restaurant near Baldwin, with the help of her son and wife, most likely until it sells. But...she is heartbroken......as are all who knew him. We will be there for her, as will her many friends. God has a plan for us all, and while it's hard to understand sometimes, I know that Mr. Chang is in heaven with his Creator....no more pain, no more physical problems. While we have lost a friend, heaven has gained an angel.

On a rather sad note, I close this entry. We'll see you down the road.

Love........Kathie

Battleship Park...Mobile, Alabama

Hi everyone......

We're here in Mobile, Alabama. It's warm and humid and feels so nice. This humidity will be wonderful on my skin.......that's what I notice right off.

We're here for a couple days.......kind of a respite from the rigors of the road. And....pulling a fifth wheel across the country is rigorous. Tony is getting so good at driving now....but, he still doesn't like city corners. They're just tough when you have to swing wide to turn.

We went to Battleship Park today, in Mobile, Al. It's dedicated to honor all Alabama Veterans who have participated in all conflicts of the US Armed Services. Buying a ticket here admits you to the Battleship USS Alabama, Submarine USS DRUM, and the aircraft pavilion.

The battleship was so interesting........I'd never been on one before. The USS Alabama had a crew of 2,500 men aboard. She earned 9 Battle Stars, and shot down 22 enemy airplanes during World War II. She is so enormous, that there are 3 different color coded tours on-board, so that you can see it all.

Everything from a dental office, to a hospital, a brig, a cobbler shop, to mess kitchens, barbershops, crew quarters for the enlisted and the officers. There is a tailor shop, laundry room, a soda fountain, a butcher shop, sick bay, and even an isolation bay. It's so big that you get lost on it. And.......there is a room with every person who ever served on it, with their name listed. It's quite the sight to see.

This battleship was armed with nine, 16" guns in three turrets and 20, 5" .38 caliber guns in 10 twin mounts. Her main batteries could fire shells as heavy as a small car accurately
for a distance of more than 20 miles. Her steel side armor was a foot thick above the waterline, tapering to 1/2" at the bottom. The mighty "A" as she came to be known, safely carried her crew throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean campaigns and never suffered any casualities or significant damage due to enemy fire. Now she is docked and opened to the public as an independent agency of the state of Alabama.

The submarine, USS DRUM, a World War II veteran with 12 Battle Stars, joined the USS Alabama, on July 4, 1969. We toured the sub as well....every square inch of her was covered with equipment, gauges, beds, and torpedo hatches. Absolutely amazing. Her crew was 7 officers and 66 enlisted men. You go down the forward hatch into the FORWARD TORPEDO ROOM , walk the length of the boat, and come up the after hatch in the AFTER TORPEDO ROOM. The hatches are very small, so ducking becomes natural after a couple of head bumps!

Since we're so close to Pensacola, we hope to hitch up with our nephew Jason, who is
stationed at Eglin Air Force base tomorrow. We'll let you know how that goes....down the
road.

Love........Kathie

Texas

Hi all........ ,

Boy........they say everything in Texas is big......it's so true. The entire state is huge. We're going to take 3-4 days to travel thru here. It's just enormous. Since we're in no hurry to get to Florida, we're only traveling 4-5 hours a day. Just enough to make some progress, yet take our time to see the sights.

Texas started out, from west to east, much like New Mexico. Lots of sagebrush, sand, and rocks. Now, it's changing.......the mountains are flattening out, the sagebrush has turned to cactus, and it's much more grassy. We're in Abilene now, and are starting to see plowed fields, cattle in huge numbers, wind farms, and oil wells everywhere. Oil must be big business here, as we see new wells going in, and oil storage tanks in multiple places.

We took a picture of this bug here.........even IT was huge. It was black, with red horizontal stripes. Luckily, they stayed outdoors........ if I saw this in our fifth wheel, you'd hear me scream from here to the East coast. I don't have the faintest idea of what it is or what it's called........ neither did the neighbor here. All I know is ........... I didn't like it!

While the landscaping seems quite barren right now, we did see these plants a few places now. It had a palm tree type of trunk, with a yucca type of top. Kind of interesting I thought and quite appropriate for the area. It seems very dry here .......lots of blue skies and sunshine prevails here, I would guess.

Today, we travel past Dallas and most likely will spend one more night in this state. On to Louisiana after this. We'll see you down the road.

Love..........Kathie

Albequerqe, New Mexico

Hey to everyone;

As you can see, there is a definite Spanish influence to this end of the country. The dominant style of housing here is adobe........ even the new houses going up are of the adobe style......flat roofs, and the wooden post/rafters sticking out the front. It's a very colorful area, with lots of shopping and restaurants.

We ate lunch today in a little outdoor Mexican type restaurant. We had an Indian taco....very good stuff! It was so nice to sit outdoors in the sunshine, listening to a small band play their flutes.

There is beautiful jewelry for sale here, and while it's pricey, it's absolutely stunning. Even the outdoor vendors ply their jewelry wares on blankets, spread on the ground.

The weather has been beautifully warm, around 70 during the days, and cool at nights. Wonderful for sleeping, as there's nothing more comforting then to have a heavy quilt on at night, in a 40 degree room!

The Church is St. Phillip de Niri, in Albequerqe. It was built in 1732, and still stands today. Again, it was made of the real adobe mud.........and been restored a few times since then. You can see the straw sticking out of the hardened mud. The walls are 2' thick, and it's very cool and quiet in the Church. The Church was beautiful and a real point of interest in the downtown square.

We have decided to take a work camping position in Florida. It will be in the Palmetto,
Florida area, just south of Tampa. This will be a 3-4 month position, and since it's in a real
maritime area, it appeals to us. This is in an RV resort called "Fisherman's Cove". We can see it's right off Tampa Bay, in an area called "Terra Ceia" bay. We'll be just north of
Bradenton, and south of Tampa. Since it's an area right on the water, many residents have their own boats there, which really is right up our alley. We may have to take a quick trip home to get our boat.....we'll have to see after we get a better lay of the land.

So......with that end in mind, we'll be traveling thru the southern states, taking pictures along the way, as we make our way to Florida. We start there Nov. 1, so it's time to be on the road again. We'll see you there.

Love.......Kathie

Taos mountain towns

Hello again my compadres;

Hey.....I might as well take in some of this Spanish influence, eh? What a beautiful area. Today we took in an 84 mile loop drive, starting and ending in Taos, NM. We circled Wheeler Peak, at 13,000' and snow capped. This peak is stunning, and is visible from just about anywhere on this drive.

We passed thru four mountain towns on the way.......Angel Fire, Red River, Questa, and Eagle Nest. All with their own charms, but Red River was our favorite. It's the second picture here, and it really doesn't give it justice. The downtown has one main street, and the entire town is geared to it's skiing destination of Wheeler's Peak. It's absolutely the cleanest, tidiest, and cutest town. Many little shops, restaurants, and lodges of various sizes, all offering the best lift ticket prices. We stopped to have pie and coffee in the middle of the afternoon.........enjoying the comings and goings of this quaint little town. It was cool
this 12th day of October, only 60 degrees here......but sunny.

We stopped at a beautiful national forest campground, just outside of Red River. It's the kind of campground that we just love. We couldn't ever get our fifth wheel in here, as it's too big, but it's perfect for tenting or truck camping. But.......the creek running thru it was perfect. Tumbling over rocks and fallen trees, you just wanted to pull up your camp chair in the warm sunshine and let the peace and quiet fill your heart. At some point in time, Tony and I may sell our fiver and go smaller. We like these kinds of places. The trash receptacles here are "bear proof".....to give you some idea of the remoteness of it. Any kind of 4 sided camper here is a must in my book......a tent doesn't do it in bear country!

The rest of the trip was thru gorgeous mountains and stone outcroppings. We just couldn't seem to get our fill. Each curve brought new landscapes ....... ever seemingly prettier then
the last. We were sorry to have the loop come back to Taos. While the town itself is fun to see, it doesn't compare to the country around it. A place to fill the senses and calm the mind.

We took a walk thru the desert when we got back. We picked some sage from the sagebrush, and bundled it up. It's now in a small vase, and fills the fiver with the scent of sage.....what a nice rembrance from here.

We may take it easy tomorrow, as we leave for Albuquerqe on Tuesday. Time to read a book, do a little cleaning and a spot of laundry....same old, same old, wherever you are....even down the road. See you there.

Love........Kathie

Taos, New Mexico

Hello all.......

We're here in Taos, New Mexico. It's a beautiful place out in the high desert...altitude here is 7000'. It's a land of sagebrush desert....you can smell it in the air. The first picture here is of the desert......right outside our window. We have a great spot in the campground at the end of a row, and have a view of the desert with mountains in the background. Since this is high desert, there are no large cacti like you would think. There are low ones, and mostly just sage.

This town has an average of 300 days of sunshine a year, and 35" of snow in town. In the Taos ski valley, they get an average of 305". The mountains surrounding this town are towering.....we plan to take a loop trail today thru some of the mountain towns, to get a better feel of the area.

Today, Taos remains true to it's roots: a small, sophisticated, multicultural community combining traditional ways with progressive ideas. Historic buildings, once haciendas or trading posts,now house an intriguing mix of stores, restaurants and art galleries. There are 80 art galleries in the downtown area, with artists being 30% of the population here. There are six museums, including one of Kit Carson, 156 restaurants, and 62 Churches.

There is skiing, mountain biking, hiking, rafting, and horseback riding for the more adventurous. It really is a fun environment for just about any taste.

The Rio Grande River runs thru a beautiful gorge here, and we stood on this bridge to take some pictures. It was somewhat disconcerting, as you can feel the bridge swaying up and down with the fierce winds that blow thru here. Needless to say, we didn't stay on it long!

We're finding that no matter where we go, the land changes in a myriad of ways. But... it's always beautiful and we can appreciate the charm of each place. God knew what He was doing when He created this gorgeous country of ours.

Take care all, and I'll see you down the road.

Love.......Kathie

USAFA....Air Force Academy

Hello all again.......

What a great day we had......we visited the Air Force Academy, here in Colorado Springs. What a terrific institution. I so wish our nephew Jason had been here to tell us all about it. We did go on a tour of the Chapel here. It is really four chapels in one......they cater to Protestant, (the one in the picture here), Catholic, Jewish, and Buddist. They also have a smaller chapel that they use for any other denomination. There is beautiful stained glass in it, as well as a magnificent pipe organ at the rear of the Church. The all cadet choir sings at the services here. We didn't hear them, but hear that they are terrific.

We watched a noon formation today....a practice session really, that is held 3 times a week. All the cadets must participate...except those who are scheduled for other activities at that time. In this top picture, we were told there were about 3500 cadets, in 40 different squadrons, plus the cadets that are in the band. There are a total of 4000 cadets
enrolled, so 500 or so were involved in other endeavors. It was wonderful to see the precision of their marching and cadences.

In the airstrip there, we watched small tow planes pull up gliders.......each student must participate in this experience while they are here. One after the other went up, into the bluest sky you ever saw. Up, up, up they went.......until some pre-determinded altitude is reached, and the glider releases the tow line......to soar, dip, perform loop de loops and somersaults.........all the while catching the thermals off the Rocky Mts right here. Then they would slowly glide back to their earthly restraints.........only to tip over on to one wing, after they've stopped. It was wonderful to watch.

And.......there is the jumpers. Again, all cadets must jump from a perfectly good airplane, to try their luck at landing. And were they ever good........I could see them pull down on a line on both sides, and slow down so much that it was just a simple step down to terra
firma. It was so cool to see them soaring over our heads in a puffy parachute. Again, a beautiful blue sky made a fabulous backdrop.

We're here for one more day, and then off to New Mexico. We'll see you on the road.

Love......Kathie

Pike's Peak....Colorado Springs, Co.

Hello again all......

We're here in Colorado Springs. What a huge city. It has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years. There is lots of building going on, as you can see new construction everywhere. No slow economy here.

This city has the Air Force Academy here, which we plan to visit tomorrow. How I wish I could have been here when our nephew Jason was there......but it was not to be. We'll think of him though, as we tour it tomorrow. It is set against the Rocky Mountains in the background.....absolutely as beautiful a setting as there could be.

Today we went up to the top of Pike's Peak in our truck. Whoa......that was scary. It had snowed up on the mountain the day before, so the summit was closed off for a while, due to black ice on the road. We were able to get to the summit, as we took our time going up
there, stopping off at different turn offs. By then, the ice had melted, and the final summit area was opened. It was spectacular to see. The aspen were turning now and were just beautiful. With an altitude of 14, 110' above sea level, Pikes Peak ranks 31st among Colorado's fourteeners (mountains with peaks 14,ooo' or more above sea level).

The mountain roads were steep, with many switchbacks. With our big truck, we had to go carefully around some of these, as it takes up more then one lane on the curves. Going down was even worse. With no siderails, it wouldn't take much to go off the side, to be seen nevermore! I didn't want to wear my seatbelt, in case I had to hop out! Tony is such a good and careful driver, that I was never worried about him, but the other drivers!

We spent about a half hour at the summit. There is a house up there, which has a gift shop and snack bar in it. I didn't spend much time in it, as I was feeling woozy in there. Tony said he did too. The fresh air outdoors (27 degrees!) made it ever so much better. The
oxygen level at that height is half what you would normally breathe down at the bottom.

We hope to leave Colorado on Friday, and head down to New Mexico. Our loosely put together plan is to travel west thru northern New Mexico, with stops at Taos, Sante Fe, and Albuquerque, into Northern Arizona, and then make a U-turn, going down into southern Arizona, then east thru that state, into southern New Mexico and ultimately into Texas. We'll most likely stay at these places at least a week.....as much to get to know the area, as to give us some relief from the high gas prices. We may even do another work camping stint, if we find something that suits us. We did have a job offer in Austin, Texas, which we're considering. We'll see what the area is like before we commit.

That's it for now. We have another few days here, and will be on the road again. We'll see you there.


Love........Kathie

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Hi everyone........

We're finally back on the road again. After a 2 month work camping stint in Custer State
Park, we were glad to start seeing other places again. While that was a blast, and we made some good friends, we were anxious to see what was down the road.

Our next stop was Cheyenne, Wyoming. A cowboy state and city for sure.......one of their biggest claims to fame, besides being the state capital, is their rodeos. They have a Big Daddy one every summer, where cowboys come from all over the United States to test their skills. The purse is huge, which accounts for the huge participation.

The capital building there was beautiful, with an outstanding sculpture of a rodeo cowboy and his horse just outside the doors. There is cowboy culture everywhere....in their stores, and malls and restaurants. Cowboy hats are worn here as much as ball caps back in Michigan. As a matter of fact, Tony bought a pair of cowboy boots here........the first pair he's had in a long time. He's always liked them and I said, "Why not?"

We left Wyoming, headed for Colorado. On the way is wide open spaces, as seen here in these pictures. There is so much praire and grasslands, you can't even see the ranches. You just wonder how many thousands of acres belong to a person. We saw cattle, and pronghorn antelope mostly. Some wind farms. But beautiful land as far as we could see.

We'll see you down the road. Next stop....... Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Love.........Kathie

Custer State Park fun

Hi all.......

Well........summer is rushing past and the daylight is waning. This has been such a fun, different kind of season for us. The large variety of animals here continues to remind us of God's plan for His wonderful Earth. There is a place and time for all things.......and we're seeing some of them.

This adorable burro is part and parcel of a small herd of them that have been released into the park. They originally carried miners and their supplies to the top of Harney Peak here. These burros now roam the park at will, delighting tourists with their antics of poking their noses into cars, looking for treats. They will readily eat from your hand or your bag, seemingly without a care in the world.

We came across this coyote, who was ever so slowly sneaking up on a prairie dog. The
entire praire dog town was up on alert at their holes, looking around and on the watch for predators. The coyote was ignoring us, as he closed in on his anticipated meal. But alas, the meal was not to be as at the last minute, the praire dog disappeared into his hole. Real praire drama.

We took a morning to go horseback riding here in the park. Bluebell Lodge has a large stable here for the visitors in the park. What a glorious morning to be out on horseback....we so enjoyed it. We went down into a valley, where a beautiful creek was running over rocks. The only sounds were of the creek, the birds singing, the grasshoppers, and the clop clop of our horses hooves. We hated to see the ride end. We'll for sure do that again soon.

We have another month here in the park. I'm doing better at the front desk now...this old brain is finally accepting the new computer system. What I enjoy most is interacting with
the wide variety of people that come thru here. They're from all over the world....Germany, Spain, France, and all of the states here. It's wonderful to hear their stories and see the anticipation on their faces as they ask questions about this wonderful park, and what to do next.

We're blessed and happy to have our health and each other. We don't know yet what's down the road, but we hope to see you there.

Love........Kathie

1880's train and Sturgis Bike Rally

Hello all.........

Wow......what a week going on here. The Sturgis Bike rally is everywhere........not just Sturgis. They are everywhere....in every town in the Black Hills. You see lots of black leather going on........and every kind of bike imagineable. They're beautiful.... from custom made jobs to trikes with gorgeous paint jobs. From my job at the front desk of the lodge here, the bikers I've talked with have been fun, polite, and interesting to talk with. We love the hustle bustle of this week......there are vendors everywhere, catering to the bikers. Cookouts, bands, concerts and traffic jams.........and I'm talking bike traffice jams.

Yesterday on our day off, we took the 1880 train from Keystone to Hill City. This is a 2 hour, 20 mile round trip thru the Black Hills of South Dakota on a historic, breathtakingly scenic and relaxing vintage steam train. The train follows the original route of the CB&O Railroad laid down in the late 1880's to service the mines and mills between Hill City and
Keystone. This train affords spectacular mountain scenery, including vistas of Harney Peak, the highest point between the Swiss Alps and the Rocky Mountains. The Black Hills Central Railroad operates three Baldwin steam locomotives and two diesel locomotives throughout the season. We sat in an open air car, enjoying the passing scenery, while the cool breezes of this beautiful day ruffled our hair. As we crossed different roads, people waved and took photos. It seems everyone here loves these old trains.

On Tues, another day off, we went to a wild horse sanctuary, up on a ranch in the Black Hills here. This ranch, if you can imagine, consists of 11,000 acres.......rolling hills, lush valleys, and the Cheyenne River runs thru it. Besides having corrals of quarter horses, and some paints for sale, along with some of their foals, there is a 500 wild herd of horses out on the range. These horses started with an original herd of 300 horses which the owner had bought out in California. At that time, the horses were near death........emaciated from too little food and poor care. They were nourished back to good
health and turned out on the range, forever more having the Black Hills to run and roam. Their foals now run free, as does the entire herd. We took a 2 hour guided bus tour out on the range to see them.......what a sight! There were stallions chasing each other, mares suckling their colts, and horses running everywhere, tails and manes flying. They were a sight to see.........horses free, as they were meant to be. We enjoyed seeing them so much...... I hated to leave them.

We love the Black Hills.........they grow on you. They're covered with Ponderosa Pines on their ridges. There is so much land here, it seems to get into your blood. The air is fresh and clean.....the winters very mild. They get around 14" of snow in their winter season. And the sky........ blue as can be........I find myself gazing up at the passing clouds as they pass over the mountains......I'm always wondering what's on the other side! That must be why we're out here.......always wondering what's on down the road. We'll see you there.

Love.......Kathie