Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow!

In February after the freeze hit Texas we knew we would be needing to head back to College Station to not only help out my parents but also get our house ready to go on the market. We still had a lovely family in our home and they were waiting to get into their new home in Bryan. Carpet cleanings needed to be scheduled, hard wood floors needed to be refinished, bathroom fixtures replaced, a new roof had to go on because of a stinking hail storm in April and so many other things. Not to mention my mom and dad were dealing with slow contractors and carpet to be ordered and installed in their home.

Heading home also gave us the opportunity to be with three of our grandchildren who were all born in April! Two of them share the same date!! Can you believe it?!!! It was good to spend time with at least 5 of the grandkids (we have 6) while we were in Texas. Plus we got to spend time with other family members too. So while getting our house ready to put on the market was a huge hassle, seeing family was well worth the trip home.

We also had an event to attend up in Addison, Texas. Our annual photography learning week is called Texas School and it is one of the largest professional photography schools in the country. We have attended for at least 12 years and last year it was cancelled due to COVID restrictions. But not this year! Everyone was great about wearing their masks and people were so excited about being back together again.

We are becoming seasoned RV'ers by this time...8 months in at the time but there are still things I forget to check-like making sure the desk cabinets are secured. My iPhone pictures tell of that disaster and we had just made the turn OUT of Palm Creek RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ. I mean, like our very first left hand turn onto a major road, the desk drawer comes sliding out and stuff goes everywhere and the front of the drawer comes off. Dang it! What a mess! But, hey, my dad is a handy dandy kinda guy and sure enough he glued that front right back on the drawer when we got home and everything works great. Won't make that mistake again.

It would be May 6th before we could get on the road again. We spent our 43rd anniversary with Scott Weaver, a college friend from Robert's outfit in the Corps of Cadets, then a night in Amarillo where we checked out the famous steak place, 1 night in Grants, New Mexico and 2 nights in Flagstaff with an impromptu trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on Mother's Day and then finally got into Cannonville for our time in Bryce Canyon National Park and the Escalante area.

March 31st, 2021

Casa Grande, AZ to Las Cruces, NM

Outside of Tucson, heading east is a rest area that we have been to at least twice. It's called the Texas Canyon Rest Area and it's outside of Dragoon, AZ. The rock formations there are really unusual and I wanted to get a few more images there. Plus it is a great place to potty Bruce Wayne and check to make sure everything on the rig is working like it is supposed to. We usually stop about an hour after we get started on the road to make sure things are ok with the rig. But every time we stop, we still look around. Just in case.

Anyway, there is also a historical marker at this location. In October of 1872, General Howard of the US Army and Cochise, chief of the Chiricahua Apaches met for a peace treaty. It is said that Cochise had his stronghold around the area of Dragoon. Cool little historical fact.

April 1st-April 2, 2021

Las Cruces, NM to Big Spring, TX

The trip out of Las Cruces was pretty uneventful, but the night before we started talking about how close we would be to White Sands National Monument and made the decision to head for it and take about an hour and drive around. We were able to unhook the Jeep from Hermione because of the spacious parking that national parks offer around their visitor centers. Within 15 minutes, we were on our way through the park. I wish we had known we could have rented sleds to do some sledding down the dunes but we will keep that in mind for another time. The day was so beautiful and the skies were a bright, clear blue. The crystals in the sand were highly reflective and I love the images I took with my Nikon D850. The iPhone images aren't too bad either.

After leaving White Sands, we were heading toward Holleman AFB, when we accidentally ran over a huge plastic water container that had flown off a Sparkletts truck. The guy driving the truck was nice enough to turn back around when he saw what happened. The container was stuck under the rig and by putting the jacks down we were able to push the rig up enough to get the water container out. Thankfully, no damage was done to the rig! So, it was back on the road. 

Instead of going back south to get to Big Spring, we decided to go through the New Mexico mountains-through Cloudcroft on Hwy 82 east. What a beautiful drive through there. There was even snow on the side of the roads. Took us a little bit longer due to chugging up the hills but the ride was so much more interesting. The iPhone images I have are reminders that we were back in Texas...HEB, a Texas flag and a Snoopy (as my kids just to call them because outside of Burkburnett, Texas there was a pump jack and it had a wooden cutout of Snoopy on the frame going up and down).

New homes and Birthdays to Celebrate

April 2nd-April 4th, 2021

Lago Vista, Texas

We left Big Spring, Texas as soon as we could. The camping area was nothing special and honestly, except for the fact that my middle sister was born in Big Springs, I don't ever have to go back there. But it set us up perfectly for heading into Lago Vista, just west of Austin where our youngest daughter and her husband and their 4 children live. This would be the first time we had visited their new home since they moved in and it is just so awesome. Their view is spectacular and they can see part of Lake Travis when the water is up and with all the rain Texas has had now, the creek that runs by their place is much higher than it was at the beginning of April. Two of their children celebrate April birthdays so it was nice to be there with them. Their dog Maisel and Bruce Wayne get along beautifully and it's fun to watch them together.

We stayed at the Idyll Glen RV park which was about 10 minutes from their new home. The park is great but it is really hilly there and I worried a little bit about getting level. It's not easily marked when you are coming in from the west so watch your speed on the road or you will go right past it (just like we did)!

Bluebonnets, County Fairs and Renovations

12th Park RV Resort, College Station, TX

April 4th-April 21st, 2021

The Brazos Valley in the springtime is so amazing. The bluebonnets this year were everywhere and I am so glad that my mom and dad have them in their front yard and around their place. They live in the country right off of Hwy 60 heading to Snook, Texas and we stayed at the RV park that is within 5 minutes of their place. It was such a great setup. If we hadn't had so much running around to do we could have ridden our bikes to my parent's place! Of course, Mom and Dad were going through having their breakfast room painted and the ceiling and walls replaced due to the February freeze. I can tell you that it is no fun, especially when you are in your 80's and insurance gives you the run around. But while we were there, the room was completed. Unfortunately, the flooring didn't get finished until after we left but they have new carpet and the house is finally back in order. It was also during this time that we were working with our real estate agent to get our house ready to go on the market. We had a date of March 31st, then it changed to April 15th and in all reality, it was actually May before we got it listed but it didn't stay on the market long and now we are without a sticks and bricks and can full time to our hearts content or until something major happens and we need to come off the road. 

This is also the same time of year as the Montgomery County Fair is on! Our daughter in law, Kelley is on the board for the Fair so every year the entire week is jammed pack with things to do and see. In the past, I've judged the photography event and even the baked goods event but with us on the road now, we just go to watch the kid's events like the Calf Scramble and the Wooden Horse race and the Mutton Bustin' for the little ones and then we watch the rodeo. Typically we are too tired after all that to stay for the concerts but maybe one year we will.

Two of our grandchildren attend school in Conroe ISD and it's always fun to meet their friends and watch their baseball and softball games. This year was no different. We were able to get several games in and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We even get to park our RV in our son's backyard and hopefully when we return this year, it will be set up for 50amp service. We appreciate that they tolerate us living in their backyard and because we can do that, we get to see the grandchildren a lot more.