Lovin Our Life

Indestructible....Not

2012-02-14T22:50:00.000-06:00

Remember way back when......when we thought we were indestructible. We ll of course I was one of those fine folks, it wasn't a conscious thought, just more of an attitude. We took dumb risks, however well calculated we thought they were, and usually survived unhurt.
Well, it seems my turn finally caught up with me. Last Saturday, while hiking Alamo Mtn, on the way out, I twisted my right knee pretty good. It hurt a bit, but not much, however I could tell something wasn't right. I pressed on to the parking area and the car (not much choice as we were miles and mile from anywhere). The next couple of days I rested and it seemed to be ok, then Monday evening, I stood up and ouch at the back of my knee, and not just a little ouch either!!! Ok, better see the doctor and have it checked out. Today, I get the appointment, see the doc and explain what happened. He says ok, let me see, I take off the brace I put on and.........can't be good, when the doc looks and says Ooooooooooo, yea, you really did it, and that's without even touching it yet. Knee looks like a softball and after the exam believes I tore a couple of the ligaments. He wants to do an MRI to see the actual extent of the damage, but says we'll have to wait a couple of weeks for the swelling to go down or we won't get a proper image. Rest, Motrin and a Knee Brace until then. Oh Joy.
Worst part is, may have to stay put for a bit longer, depending on the results and treatment........dang, that wasn't in the plan.........we'll just have to play it by ear and see what happens.
With all the chances I've taken in life, it's almost funny that this happened walking on fairly level ground, with just some loose rocks.
Moral of the story, if your out there, be careful, bad things can happen and I for one will tell you, I won't be taking any unnecessary chances anymore if I can jack myself up just walking!!!

Take Care and to quote the Sgt from Hill Street Blues......Hey, lets be careful out there.

Alamo Mtn, NM.

2012-02-12T16:28:00.001-06:00

I have been telling some of the folks here in the RV park of places to go and things to see in the area, both on and off the beaten path. One of the areas is Alamo Mtn, located south of Alamogordo, NM. What is unique about this mountain is its location and contents, it is located on one 1.2 million acres of BLM land called the Otero Mesa and it contains 10,000 ancient petroglyphs. Due to it's location it is seldom visited by anyone and I have yet to met anyone who has heard of it......my kind of place.
Saturday, myself and fellow fulltimer Ed went for a drive out to show him the Mesa and petroglyphs.

Once leaving the pavement, our destination was in sight, a mear 60 more miles of dirt road.

Along the way we ran across a small heard of Antelope.

Almost there.

Arrival. There's a small parking area and access gate. Unless you know exactly where your going it's pretty difficult to find, hundreds of miles of county dirt roads and no signs.

First stop, the old Butterfield Stagecoach Route Stop ruins. There are a couple of remaining foundations, stone walls and the remains of a stone fireplace. The first photo shows a stone marker. On top of the marker is a engraved compass.

After the ruins, it was a good hour of bushwacking (since there are no trails) up the mountain, before we came across our first petroglyph.

After the first one, we found a few other small ones, then hit paydirt with one of the largest on the mountain.

Right behind the large one was this smaller yet still good sized artwork. By this time we had been hiking for a good 3 or so hours, up and around the mountain. A cold wind was blowing and we were starting to wear down.

Another hour or so hike down to the parking area and we were headed home. Coming down off the mesa, you are greeted with this stunning view of the mountains to the west.

We had a great day out, a little tired as it's been a long time since I've done much hiking like that. On top of that, while hiking down, I twisted my knee pretty good, so a few days of rest our in order.

I was asked a couple of times about Sheryl's surgery from last post. She has been living with a hernia for a couple of years now as a result of her heart surgery. She finally decided to go ahead and get it taken care of, as long as were here, plus it's been bothering her more and more. It was a pretty basis surgery so she is doing well now. We look at it as another check off the list so we can head back out on the road.

Trying to make the most of our time here, and showing folks some of our favorite areas is a great way to spend it. Hope to get out on a few more adventure before we leave and open up a whole new box of adventures.

Take Care and see you back here soon.

It's A Boy!!!

2012-02-10T09:56:00.000-06:00

So whats a green dressed teddy bear got to do with the title you ask??? Well it's a very cute story I'll share with everyone. Our daughter Kayla is expecting here first baby in June and Wednesday they were to find out if it was going to be a boy or a girl. There is one thing to be sure, these two never seem to do things in the traditional way, and this was no exception. Kayla and Chris head off to do the sonogram, however with the results in hand, they had the sonogram tech seal it in a envelope without telling them. They then headed off to the mall and the Build a Bear store. Once at the store, they pick out two outfits a boys and girls respectively. The sealed results are giving to the store clerk with instructions to read the results, dress the bear in the proper attire, box and wrap the bear (along with the results) and they would be back to pick it up later. Wednesday was also Chris's birthday, so the plan was a nice diner out, at which time Chris would open the present (bear) and that's how they would find out what sex the little one would be. I just thought it was very unique way to find out such an important piece of their life and hence the It's a Boy!!! Of course they are both thrilled as we are and the rest of the family.

Wednesday we also had the pleasure of meeting Paul and Marti, they are fellow fulltime RVers and bloggers. We have been reading each others blogs for some time now and it was great to finally meet them. Funny how when following along with someones blog, they seem like old friends when you finally meet them in person, ahhhh the computer age sure has changed things. They stopped by Holloman to say hey and spend the night on their way through New Mexico.

It was a great day, meeting new friends and finding out about the new little Grandson on the way. Sheryl is still healing from her surgery, getting better each day, but still having a rough time with it. Things are coming together and we hope to be back on the road next month, Woo Hoo!!! So until next time, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours and see you back here again.

Fit As A Fiddle

2012-02-08T13:24:00.000-06:00

Had my yearly Physical today and as the title says, Fit as a Fiddle. Last year my Cholesterol was a bit on the high side of normal, but today it was well with in range.....woo hoo!!! Doc said, what ever you are doing, keep doing it. For me, it was eliminating all salt, except what comes in processed foods, hard to stay away from that. Plus a few vitamins and I was good to go.

I'm sure you remember from last post, our little elec heater burned up, so the hunt was on for a new one. I looked here at the base first and found one similar to the one pictured above. However at $80.00 it was a little more than I really wanted to spend. I knew I had to go into town the next day, so I thought I check out what Wally World had to offer. Well low and behold, they had the same one on sale for $45.00 and with the woodgrain front.....sold!. This little baby sure puts out some heat, but the main reason for such a large unit, is our little toddle Scrappy. You see he has this thing with dragging his little bed around the rig and leaving it most anywhere he wants. The last thing we need is him leaving it in front of the heater to catch fire. The heating element on this unit is up at the top with just the air intake down low.......much better and it's really not as big as it looks.

Another small project tackled, was to tie down the generator which lives in the back of the truck a little better. I've always had it tied down, but just at some preexisting points in the truck bed, this only allowed the cover "plastic bin" to set 3/4 of the way down over it. A couple of eye bolts and drilled holes later, the cover sits nicely over it with nothing to reveal it's contents. A small thing, but something I've been meaning to do for a while. Oh it is also secured with a couple of cable locks, you know just to keep honest people honest.

Ok, time to go change the laundry out, so until next time, we'll see you back here.

Lucky, Lucky, Lucky

2012-02-04T13:38:00.000-06:00

This morning we awoke it a little bit of a mess and to a puppy with that "What are you looking at me for" look, it was so cute. Some how during the night Scrappy managed to find and destroy a paper bag....that'll teach that mean ole bag!!! He is just too cute sometimes....our little toddler.

Now for the Lucky part as the title states, as I was having my coffee on the cold New Mexico morning, I looked down at our little space heater and noticed it was a bit deformed. Holy Cow, I exclaimed and ran over to unplug it. I guess after two winters it finally gave up and had it's own little meltdown. We were very lucky as we could have had a fire, and you know how well these RV's stand up to those. Looks like I'll be off to the store for another one to help fend of Old Man Winter for a little longer.

The rest of the week has been day to day life and finally getting into our medical appointments and procedures. Sheryl did have quite the week though, with a steroid injection to her back to help control her chronic back pain and a hernia repair she has been putting off for a couple of years. Nothing like getting it all taken care of at once. Depending on how the injection works, she may or may not go with further treatments. We are also seeing a new Neurosurgeon, to see if her back has gotten any worse over the last year. I'll be taking care of my yearly physical next week along with scheduling that ever popular over 50 appointment, the dreaded colonsoscopy.....lol. Of course I'm sure you all will be waiting with baited breath for the outcome of it.......lol

That's all for now, need to go look for a new heater, so until next time...............well you know the drill.

Horse Ridge Trail Shooting

2012-01-28T11:04:00.000-06:00

Friday afternoon, myself and fellow fulltimer Ed took a ride out to one of my favorite areas in the Lincoln National Forest for a little shooting and off roading. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors especially since the weather is turning cooler on Saturday.

We only ran a few rounds through our pistols, as Ed mainly want to check the alignment on his laser sight. I shot a few few just to keep up the ole double tapping skills.

After the shooting was done, we started up Horse Ridge Trail. The trail climbs approx 1500 feet in a mile or so. There are some pretty steep parts, but the main obstacle is the loose rocky trail combined with the steep grades.

Once at the top, the views of the White Sands National Monument and the Tularosa Basin are just amazing.

We also found a Geocache I had never seen before, I was surprised, considering the number of times I've been up here. Guess I never walked over to that particular spot.

We stayed at the top for a while just enjoying and taking in all the views. Great thing about 4 wheel drive vehicles, is the ability to go places and see things the average person never gets a chance too. After an hour at the top it was time to start the slow decent back down and towards home. It was a good day out and I enjoy showing folks some of my favorite places. You can see more pictures on the photo page Here

The past week, has been busy with medical appointments, housekeeping and just living life here at the park. Nothing exciting to bore you with, unless of course you call laundry, dishes and walking Scrappy exciting.....lol

Ok, until the next go round......keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!

Alamogordo Downtown, Southern New Mexico

2012-01-21T09:08:00.000-06:00

Took a walk around the Downtown area of Alamogordo, New Mexico. We love small towns and these downtown areas give you a nostalgic look at there past. See more on the Photo Page

Warming the Pipes

2012-01-19T11:05:00.000-06:00

You may have remembered a couple of post ago, I was trying to figure a simple way to keep the pluming warm during some of these cold winter nights. The 5ver does have a heating vent going to the area, but that requires running the furnace all night, something we would rather not do. So instead I found this alternate heat source. A work lamp with a 60 watt bulb should do the trick. I also chose a plastic work lamp instead of the metal kind, to prevent the metal housing from getting to hot and presenting a fire hazard. I remember my dad used to tell me, they would put these lamps under car hoods to help keep the engine from freezing when he lived in Michigan.

As luck would have it, our 5ver has all the water connections for the rig in one central location next to the water heater and in enclosed area. There also just happens to be a small hole in the floor where the washer pipes are routed up into the closet above. I hung the work lamp off of one of the pipes and ran the cord up thru the hole.

Of course being a washer/dryer closet, there are two elec outlets inside and I was able to plug the lamp in there. Another thing I found was an on/off switch that plugs into the outlet, then the lamp plugs into the switch. This allows us to turn the lamp on from the closet at will, without going outside to the compartment. Total cost for the project $8.00 and resulting in a little peace of mind.

While we were out yesterday, we also wanted to see a movie, specifically "War Horse", figured we'd hit an early matinee and be home to do dinner. Well early matinees don't seem to exist here in Alamogordo, as the first showing was at 3:00pm. Since it was 12:00 we decided on an alternate plan, see what was playing at the Space Museum's IMAX Theater. The IMAX had Mount Everest showing at 1:00pm, so that it was. This is our second IMAX movie experience, and it's just amazing, we love how your are just immersed in the film. "War Horse" will have to wait for another day.

That's it for the big project of the day and the day out around town. So we'll see you next time, with warm pipes and a happy heart.

Sand Storm, White Sands National Monument, NM

2012-01-17T11:16:00.000-06:00

The wind was screaming and the sand was blowing at the monument. I went out in an attempt to capture it in pictures, while being sand blasted myself. See more on the Photo Page.

Bike Riding Weather

2012-01-16T09:59:00.000-06:00

The weather took a turn for the better the last couple of days, upper 50s/low 60s and yesterday was the best so far. We decided to get the bikes down and go for a ride. Then we had a thought, hmmmmm I wonder if Scrappy would ride in Sheryl's basket?? without trying to jump out. Well there was only one way to find out, give it a whirl. In he went and off we went, he did great, he loved just sitting in there with his little head up and just watching the world go by as mom peddled away.............boy were pitiful, aren't we......lol

Of course with great weather come great grillin, out came the Weber and a couple of steaks. Baked potato's and a nice salad rounded out the meal. It's been a couple of months since we've had he grill out and it sure was nice to get that flavor again.

The day ended with another amazing New Mexico sunset. It's sure has been nice settling back into day to day life and not worrying about running here and there, as the last couple of months have been. We sure enjoyed visiting everyone across the country, but now a little down time is in order.

That's it for today, we'll see you back here in a day or two, so keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours..................hmmmm..............I wonder if Scrappys going to need a helmet now???

Holloman AFB FamCamp

2012-01-14T10:56:00.000-06:00

We rolled into Alamogordo a few days ago, setting up camp at one of our favorite RV Parks (Boot Hill RV Resort). We were hoping to stay at Holloman AFB, but when we called they said they were full. Skip ahead a couple of days, we had a medical appointment on base, along with some time to kill, so we took a drive over to the RV park, low and behold there was an empty site??? We stopped by the Camp Host (Who we've know for a while) and they said, no, the site has been pen for a while now, hmmmm. Well it seems, the folks that run the RV Park (Outdoor Recreation) don't talk to the Camp Host and frequently get it wrong!!! Ok, enough whining, long story short, we picked up and moved out to Holloman, even though we had paid for a month at Boothill. WHAT!, Why you ask would we do that?? Well first, for some reason, we can not get a cell phone signal at the park, and with all the appointment we have set up, we need to be in contact with our doctors. Secondly, TV reception is very poor at the park, here Cable TV is provided. Lastly we are close to all the base amenities. Yes, we lost alittle money, but we have paid higher monthly rates at one RV park than we did here at two, gotta love the rates in this area of NM.
The past few days have been pretty busy with appointments, moving and getting our Black tank taken care of. Speaking of which, we took the trailer back to the RV repair shop where they quickly found and fixed the issue, seems it was just a lose fitting on the tank. They were very accommodating and stood true to their work about taking care of us, we have no problem with using them again if needed.

Today is Saturday, so we'll take a ride over to the BX, need to pick up a new water filter and look at a way to heat the area with all the water piping in the storage compartment. It's well below freezing each night now, so need to take all the precautions we can. Did the water leak thing in our last rig, not fun and don't want to do it in this one.

That's all for this episode, we'll catch up later, so take care and enjoy your day.

Goodbye OKC, Hello New Mexico

2012-01-11T17:18:00.000-06:00

It's after the New Year and we have left OKC, however before we left we had some work to do. Josh and Kaileigh received a few hundred dollars in Lowes Gift Cards to help with their new home. So off to Lowes we went, a couple of hours and several decisions later, we began work on the house. All new fixtures were hung and paint went on the walls. We must say, the house looks much better and with their character all over it, it's truly their home now.

Another surprise we go was the return of our little granddaughter (she was visiting the other grandparents in Atlanta for Christmas) and Christmas all over again. I'll tell you, the little one really made out with two Christmas's and double the toys!!!

Sheryl got in all the quality time she could.

As did I. Ok, how many grand dads would let the little one paint their toe nails bright pink!!! Yea, I'm a great guy. P.S. you know how hard that stuff is to get off your toes............sheesh.

It was time to say our goodbyes and start heading toward New Mexico. We had a great time for the last month visiting with all the kids. Here are Sheryl, here daughter Kaileigh and the little one Clara.

While in OKC we watched the weather and saw our original route may have some pretty poor weather. We changed our plans and decided to head south to Dallas and take I-20 into El Paso. Well we were out smarted (which doesn't take much) and ended up in a 7" snow storm in Midland TX. We did a little Wally Docking before the weather cleared the next afternoon. One fun thing that happened while we were holed up, is Scrappy got to experience his first snow, and we must say, he had a ball in it.

We have finally arrived back in Alamogordo, NM. We'll be here for a month or longer depending on how our Doctors appointments go. We are also getting our black tank re-fixed, as what ever the repair shop did in Nov, something went awry and we still have a leak.

That's it for now, so stay tuned for more form sunny southern New Mexico.

2011 the Finally!!!

2012-01-04T12:58:00.000-06:00

Aug 2011

Staying true to our decision to move around (even if it's just in the area) we moved back up to Alamogordo, NM and the Boot Hill RV Resort. This turned out to be a good move, as the hosts were the friendliest and most helpful of any we have seen on our travels. They were also the reason we decided to stay with them until our departure in late Oct.

We also made the decision to get out and see the sights alittle more. Sheryl was feeling better so off we went. On a trip combining business with pleasure (needed to finish up some paperwork from the sale f our old trailer) we took a trip to Silver City, NM. After the business end we cleared up, we stopped of at the City of Rocks State Park (between Deming and Silver City) we spent several hours exploring and hiking around and through the rock outcroppings.
It was getting late and we needed to start heading toward the house, we did stop in Deming for diner and found the Mimbres Valley Brewery, where we discovered Green Chili Beer and Chocolate infused wine, a very interesting experience and more than yummy!!!

We also took a trip down NM 28, we had travelled this scenic hwy before and just wanted to check it out again. The drive takes you along the southern Rio Grande Vally of New Mexico, with mile after mile of rich farmland and the high desert mountains as a back drop. The road is also home to several southern NM wineries.

Sheryl being Sheryl, could not stand the early 90s decor of the new rig, so out came her sewing machine and in came new valances and matching accessories. Definitely gives the rig a more updated look.

Aug also brought the purchase of a new camera for yours truly. I wanted to expand my photographic horizons and creativity, hopefully it helped and it's a purchase I have really been enjoying.

September 2011

Fall is beginning here in the high desert and what better way to see it than head to the mountains. Alamogordo is located at the foot of the Sacramento Mountain Range so it was just a short drive up to some beautiful scenery and our favorite little mountain town of Cloudcroft.

Just down the street from the RV Park were two Pistachio farms and wineries. The high desert climate of this area seems to be prime for pistachio growing. Both farms offered tours and wine tasting so it was a no brainier for us to check out.

During our travels I have become fascinated with what I call Highway Ghost Towns. One that we drive by a couple of time a month is just outside Las Cruces, NM. so one day I decided to stop and shot some photos which now has me hooked on checking out these little gems of history we all drive right by.

Sept is also Sheryl's birthday, it was a nice day so a drive up into the mountains for lunch and sight seeing sound like a great way to spend Sheryl's B-Day.

While we were out, we stopped by the ghost town of White Oaks, an old mining community out in the desert mountains. It's in the process of being restored, so not as deserted as we thought, very interesting to explore though.

Speaking of desert mountains, it was time to give Big Red his first off road test. While I was in the Las Cruces area one day, the Dona Ana mountains were just looming there calling my name. I pointed Red in the direction and off I went for the day. The mountains are very rugged with rugged two track roads winding through them. I had taken the Jeep there a couple of times, and Big Red, held his own during the day.

Oct 2011

In Oct we stayed really busy, a bit of a contrast to earlier months were we were mostly just hanging out. The beginning of Oct brought the Trinity Tour, a twice a year tour of the first atomic bomb test site. Very interesting to see and learn the history of the atomic age.

Even though we had lived in Alamogordo for almost three years before fulltiming and spent time here afterwards, we had never gone out to the White Sands National Monument together. Nice thing about white sands is, you can spend just a little time there and still see most all there is to see.

Another day out was a really cool dinner show held up in the mountains. They put on a Chuck Wagon style dinner, then a great western show afterwards. We had a great time out with friends from the RV Park.

The end of Oct drew near and so did the medical appointments, we were off and running once again! First stop southwest Kansas and Sheryl's Family Farm which her Grandfather Homesteaded in the early 1900s. We had a big old style family gathering with more food and fun than you can shake a stick at!!!

We also experienced the first snow of our RV season.

One highlight was getting to meet up with fellow fulltimers Ron and Elena. They just happened to be in SW Kansas on there way back from there Alaska adventure. We met for lunch and had a great visit before they had to continue on.

While in KS we also stopped in at one of the local history museums, it's always fun to learn the history of these areas and there is no better place to do it.

Nov 2011

November brought a fast run for Florida and our sons wedding at the end of the month. Alot of driving and many miles covered in a short period of time, but we did stop to catch our breath once in a while. First real stop was more Moochdocking at Sheryl's Cousins home in North FL.

While we were there, fresh seafood was in order and a local place was just the ticket to put a dent in our craving.

Hit up the local museum for another history lesson.

and explored the North FL. scenery.

After a couple of days rest, the jaunt was on again, net real stop, St Augustine, FL. The weather was pretty poor for a couple of days but finally cleared and gave us a day of sightseeing before the push on to Miami.

And of course the whole reason for coming to FL was to see our son marry the lady of his dreams. It was a great week, with lots of fun and wedding bliss.

Dec 2011

December was another busy travel month, we had agreed to watch Sheryl's bothers kids in Austin TX. while they took a couples vacation and we also agreed to spend Christmas in Oklahoma City with our other batch of kids, so off and running we were.

First stop after Miami and a quick rest stop from the crazy busy wedding week was McDill AFB in Tampa FL. We were able to get a spot (highly unusual for this time of year we were told) for 3 days off. We fixed a flat on the rig, eats some good food and just enjoyed some more great FL weather.

Hitting the road again we did a long push into North FL and Apalachicola for some of the best oyster known to man. We had to stop at our favorite place for oysters, Raw is the only way to go for me, however Sheryl differs in opinion, Rockefeller for her.

We made it into Austin TX a couple of days later. Watching the kids was a joy and we managed to keep them entertained. Good thing Austin has lots of activities going on during the holiday season. Of course what is TX without eatin some good BBQ, luckily one of the best places in TX is just down the road form the house, yea we put a dent in their inventory.

Dec also brought us a new travelin buddy by the name of Scrappy Doo. On his registration paperwork he will be know by the stuck up name of Sir Scrappious Doobeious, however to us he's just a bouncing bundle of fur named Scrappy.

After Austin, we made a quick stop in Dallas to say hey to Kayla and Chris and also pick up our daughter Kaileigh from DFW airport. She'll be catching a ride back up to OKC with us.

Once in OKC we fond hat Santa had come early one morning and dropped off a nice new table in our rig, man wasn't that nice of him.

During our stay, we all went to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and Museum.

Of course there was tree trimming to be done

and lots of Christmas holiday fun to be had by all.

Whew, 2011 was quite a ride and we are hoping for a great 2012, abit at a little slower pace. However, we were advised of a couple of surprises that are to take place in 2012, but we'll keep that secret for now.................Ok, 2011 has come to it's end and here's to a great and happy 2012 to everyone!!!!

2011 Favorite Photos on the Photography Page

2012-01-03T17:33:00.000-06:00

Just posted some of my favorite photos of 2011 on the Photography Page. Some of these you may have seen before and some not. These were photos I took prior to developing the Photo Page, so they are only for the first part of the year. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them. The rest of 2011 can be seen by checking out the previous entries as they are all from 2011.
Of course, the standard disclaimer applies, I'm not a pro by any means, just someone who enjoys taking pictures.

2011 Review Part II

2012-01-02T14:41:00.000-06:00

March 2011

We began our the last leg of our journey back to New Mexico with a trip across the south western part of Texas. Two things we discovered were, gas stations are few and far between in this part of the world and when you did find one, it was not guaranteed they would have gas. We also discovered just how bad the Jeeps gas mileage was 5-6 mpg with a small tank, 80-100 mile range at best towing up and down the hills.........had us plenty worried a couple of times but we made it

Our first stop, by mistake, looking for gas, was the Judge Roy Bean Museum in the middle of No Where Texas. We are actually glad we found it, as it was a good tour and lots of info on this colorful old west character

Speaking of middle of no where Texas, there is alot of it west of Del Rio, miles and miles of nothing, but yet full of it's own beauty.

So after a two day drive across the state, we pulled into the Ft Bliss RV Park and set up to this fantastic sunset.

We had only planned on staying in the West Texas/Southern NM for a month or so at max, however one thing lead to another medical wise and we ended up staying for 8 months. Lots of ups and downs during that time, but in the end worked out for the best.

By the luck of the draw, the Military Jeepers, El Paso Chapter had a trip pan a couple of days later to Arden Crater in the desert west of Las Cruses, NM. I never had a chance to make it out that way, so I jumped at the chance to go. Arden Crater is one of several volcanic craters located between Las Cruses and Deming. You don't need 4 wheel drive to get to them (but it helps) and is worth finding them as they a little know to the travelling RV'er.

The next thing that happened was, well as you can see, we traded the Jeep for a diesel truck. We had been discussing moving up to a larger travel trailer or 5th wheel, so we went ahead to bought the truck. I sure do miss the Jeep, it took us to some great places, but the truck will do the same, as 4x4 was a mandatory option.

April 2011

April brought a lot of day to day life, not much in the traveling department, however we did move to Holloman AFB RV Park after a month at Ft Bliss. Figured if we moved from park to park in the area, it wouldn't get so old so quick. The month was also filled with general truck maintaince to ensure she'd be in tip top shape to future travels.

May 2011

Come May, we had decided a 5th wheel is what we wanted, so the hunt was on. Not wanting to put the carriage before the horse, we bought and installed the 5th wheel hitch so we'd be ready when the time was right. Being the truck is of the short bed variety, we opted for a sliding hitch, and went with the Pullright one. I can say one thing for sure, at 200 lbs, it's well built and my back can vouch for that!!!

Another milestone in this aging thing, was I came to realize hearing aids were in order.........Sheryl is much happier as not to listen to me say what??? nearly as much. Nice thing was, after just a couple of trips to the VA Hospital, they were ordered and arrived.

One other thing we finally got around to doing, was to visit the museum at Holloman AFB, and what better day to do it that Memorial Day. The museum is small but they do have several planes on display.

June 2011

June brought another major change in our fulltiming lifestyle. After scouring the Internet for a couple of months we happened upon our new home, and what do you know it was just down the road in El Paso. So after a little haggling we landed on a good deal for both of us.

It still amazes us how much more room we have. Our trailer served us well and got us fulltiming, even if it was a little cramped at times.

Of course as with anything new, you have to make it your own. We started by getting rid of one chair and the couch, replacing it with a more residential style couch. Much more comfort and room.

And of course as with any pre owned rig, it had it's share of hic-ups and a trip or two to the RV doctor was needed. First was the black tank flushing. I'll spare you the yucky details. You'd thank me later.

Sheryl and I also celebrated or 3rd Wedding Anniversary, dinner at a nice place in town and a peaceful evening at home.

July 2011

July brought another trip to the RV Doc, seems as if the ole girls front legs gave out and needed replacing. Turned out to a good thing as we had a much better system installed.

We also changed RV Parks once again, back to El Paso for a change of pace. We also had a mighty bad scare with Sheryl's health, she ended up in the hospital for a week, but in the end she came out fine.

Once again, we'll leave this post and start a new one to finish out the year. We are enjoying our new rig and are really looking forward to getting out on the road for some seriou travelling (not all at once of course) Ok, See you on the next post. Oh, thanks for the nice comments, we sure have been enjoying this lifestyle and glad you have enjoyed riding along with us............so until next time........

Happy New Year in Review 2011

2012-01-01T16:10:00.000-06:00

Happy New Everyone!!!, this year I thought I'd do my first year in review. The post won't be loaded with stats, as we're not ones to keep up with all that, more over, we just sit back and enjoy our travels. I may break up the post into several separate posted depending on how long winded I become. So kick back and have a look at 2011 with us.

January, found us just north of Atlanta, GA. visiting with our daughter and little granddaughter for the holidays. We left and headed south on New Years Day 2011 headed for warmer weather.

First stop, Mayport Naval Air Station and the Pelicans Roost RV Park. As you can see the park is right on the water. It's a great park and we enjoyed a few days rest there after the hectic holidays.

Speaking of waterfront parks, our next stop was the Low Key Hide-A-Way in Cedar Key Florida. We had reservations for a month long stay and enjoyed every minute of it. Our Hosts were (and still are) Pat and Cindy Bonish of Every Miles a memory fame. There were fellow fulltime RV'er for several years before taking some time out in Cedar Key. We can't say enough good things about Pat and Cindy, so if you find yourself in FL, stop in and say hey to them.

We also visited and explored the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. A vast preserve along the FL Gulf Coast. The refuge was installing an RV pad for workcampers while we were there, so if interested in work camping there give them a shout.

February, found us still in Cedar Key and our wonderful host took us out for a boat ride around the Cedar Key Bay and outer islands. Interesting how you can be several miles from shore and only be in 1-2 feet of water. We also got to see and photograph some White Pelicans on some of the outer sand bars. A great day out.

Mid February and our time at Cedar key had come to an end. It was time to start our trek towards NM for some medical appointments in March. However we did make several stops along the way. Just northeast of Cedar Key was Manatee State Park. Sheryl had never seen a Manatee so we thought we'd stop in and see if any were in the springs. As luck would have it, there were two, we watched them for a while and explored the park for abit before heading north once again.

We made it to the FL Panhandle, where we stopped for a week in Panama City Beach at the Naval Support Center RV Park. We enjoyed great weather and white sand beaches.

From Panama City Beach it was a nice drive along the coast to Destin FL. and the Army Recreation area RV park. Again a very nice park right on the bay. We spent our time exploring the area and showing Sheryl around. I spent 4 years at Eglin AFB near here, I also wanted to show her the house we lived in on base, however...............it seems to be missing.....ahhh progress. Eglin also has a really nice museum dedicated to AF weapons testing.

Once we left Destin it was just a short drive north to Crestview FL, for a moochdocking stay with one of Sheryl's cousins. Sheryl has never met her, but Linda and her husband were very welcoming and all around great folks. We spent 4 or so days with them, mainly relaxing and visiting.

While Sheryl was visiting with Linda, I took the opportunity to do alittle exploring. Crestview is on the northern edge of the Eglin AFB reservation, which spans 3 counties in the FL panhandle. The reservation which is home to many test sites, also has miles of undisturbed wild lands. With miles of trails to explore, it became a day full of adventure.

With Florida just a memory and our sights set on Dallas and Austin TX we saved exploring the southern states for another time. We spent a couple of days visiting our daughter in Dallas before turning south to Austin. Pictures seem to be few and far between when visiting family, as we are too busy just enjoying our time with them. Kayla and Chris did take us out to dinner at a very unique Brazilian restaurant. The food was great, and more than you could ever eat.yumm.

We finished off the last days of February just south of Austin at the Military RV park at Canyon Lake. We stayed for a week, visiting Sheryl's brother and enjoying the Texas Hill Country. There are 2 military RV parks as well as several private ones here at Canyon Lake, and well worth the visit if you make your way to this part of Texas.

Ok, I think I'll give it a break here, March and beyond, still to follow.

Christmas Catch Up

2011-12-31T10:50:00.000-06:00

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas this year and are enjoying their holidays. Ours were spent with family here in Oklahoma City, where all but one of our kids were able to attend, needless to say, we had a houseful. Like most all Christmas Days, we opened presents............

Cooked and ate till our tummy's bulged...............

And just spent the day enjoying each others company.

We did go out to dinner a couple of times during the week with the kids. Here we are at a really good and authentic local German Restaurant and Brew House, you can see how terrible the beer was......lol.

On a sadder note, poor Scrappy had his first official Vet visit. Seems he got a scratch on his little eye which became all yucky.

However the vet gave him some ointment and said he would be fine in a week or so. We were so worried it may have been something worse. While we were there he also got his second round of puppy shots and a physical. Other than he eye thing, he's a healthy, happy little Scrappy Doo.

It's New Years Eve and we'll be spending at our kids house, popping a bottle or two of bubbly and ringing in the New Year there.

Hope everyone has a Happy and Safe New Year and as they say.................See Ya Next Year!!!

OKC National Memorial & Museum

2011-12-23T15:05:00.000-06:00

09:01, 19 Apr 1995, Domestic Terrorism struck Oklahoma City, OK, with the Bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. 168 individuals were killed, including 19 children, this memorial and museum honors them.

Yesterday, we all took a trip to downtown OKC, to visit the Memorial and Museum. It was cloudy, misting and very cold, but we had a very moving experience. The grounds consist of a Reflecting Pond with large walls at each end. A grassy area containing 168 bronze, stone and glass chairs, representing each victim. an Orchard, large Elm tree as well as the Museum itself.

The Field of Empty Chairs, each adorned with a Christmas Wreath for the holidays.

The Museum is housed in the building that was across the street from the Federal Building, it also sustained substantial damage from the blast.

The museum is very well done and the displays bring out many different feelings as you walk through it. Above is a collection of key chains recovered from the rubble. There are several displays showing a collection of items found at the site, toys, watches, etc. Very moving.

Stuffed toy found at the site. Remember there were 2 child filled Day Care centers in the building at the time of the blast.

The original flags that were flying at the Federal Building on that day.

Original damage sustained by the building which now house's the museum and made part of the exhibit.

The memorial grounds as seen from the museum.

Children's area in front of the museum. The tiles on the wall were given to the museum, each contains a child's hand print.

The Survivor Tree, A large Elm Tree which stood in the parking lot across from the Federal Building and now stands as part of the memorial.

Part of the original fence installed to protect the blast site, still stands as a place for people to leave mementos and well wishes.

It was good to see the Memorial and Museum and it evoked many different feelings in all of us. It's good to remember. We had a great visit, even if it was bitterly cold, burrrrrrrrrrrr. After the visit, t was home to a good hot meal and good conversation.

Until next time.....................we'll see you then.

Santa Came Early

2011-12-22T09:32:00.000-06:00

We put up our Christmas decorations the other day, lights, garlin, , various decorations and of course our little Christmas Tree. Apparently Santa was so impressed, he left us a new dining room set, right under the Christmas Tree!!!

Ok, well it was a nice thought, actually we were out Christmas shopping with Josh and Kaileigh. They were looking for a new dining set for their home and we ran across this little jewel at just the right price. We had been wanting to replace our bar heigth set with a lower regular height one. Do you realize just how difficult it is to find furniture that will fit into an RV, we have been looking all over to no avail. This set turned out to fit just right, it came with 4 chairs, but we gave two of them to the kids so they'll have extra, it's light weight and very well built.

Santa has been good to us this year already, he has allowed us to spend Christmas with our family, meet new soon to be family, and of course dropping off our new dinette set.

Merry Christmas all, we hope your holidays are going as good as ours!!!

OKC II

2011-12-18T12:57:00.000-06:00

We've been having a great time visiting with the family and getting ready for the holidays. Having dinner each night with Kaileigh, Josh and assorted other family members as they stop by

Of curse in preparation for Christmas, there is the ever popular tree trimming, and this year we got to help.

Scrappy Doo modeling the latest in Grand Daughter presents. She's been wanting a bike for some time now, so she'll be stylin as a Princess Biker.

Josh is in the USAF here at Tinker and the other day he took us to a Moose Milk Christmas Party being put on by the Canadian Air Force stationed here at Tinker. The party was held out on the flightline, so no pictures allowed. I did get to sample a couple of beers brought in from Canada, and the Moose Milk was quite the interesting drink. I know it contains assorted liquors and ice cream. It tasted alot like a White Russian with nutmeg sprinkled on top. Maybe one of our Canadian friends can chime in with just what the ingredients are, I sure would be interested to know.

That's it for now, as we spend the days here in OKC enjoying ourselves and visiting everyone

OKC

2011-12-16T09:39:00.000-06:00

With our goodbyes said and Austin in our rearview mirror, we had Dallas in our sights for the day. Our mission, to pick up our daughter at DFW and then spend the evening with Kayla and Chris. The mission went off with precise military precision. Hit the campground, check; Unhook set up, check; fight traffic to the airport, check; picked up Kaileigh, check, arrive at Kayla's for dinner, yummmm.

Fat, Dumb and Happy after dinner.................of course fat being a figure of speech......had to clarify that for the ladies you know. We had a nice visit with Chris and Kayla, but we were off and running the next morning as Kaileigh had to get home to OKC for a finals test.

We are here at the Tinker AFB campground. They had plenty of open spaces and we scored one right on the lake, nice. We've been spending the last couple of days catching up with family, so not much in the way of exciting travel. We maybe getting out and about a little bit while ww are here, but mostly it will be about the holidays and spending time with family.

We would like to say hi to our new followers, we are glad you enjoy our blog enough to follow along with us on our travels, and of course to all of you who check in on us to see what were up to. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!!!

Christmas Festivities in Small Town USA

2011-12-11T07:46:00.000-06:00

A cold, cloudy and windy day brought the holiday season into town yesterday, Budafest here in Buda, TX. began. We gathered up our Niece and Nephew and headed to downtown for the parade.

We also let the kids pick out a unique Christmas gift for their parents from one of the many vendors along the parade route.

They had a ball shopping and looking at all the different and unusual items for sale.

In my usual fashion, I had the camera with me, but got so wrapped up in the festivities, I forgot to take very many pictures. We had fun with the kids and they had fun watching the parade, getting candy and shopping for mom and dad. George and Steph come home tonight from their couples retreat, hopefully refreshed and rejuvenated. This was their first vacation without the youngins. As much as we love our kids, it's nice to have some alone time also.

Tomorrow we leave the Austin area for Dallas and to pick up Sheryl's daughter Kaileigh from the DFW airport. We'll be visiting Kayla and Chris while we are there for a couple of days. Then off to spend the Christmas holidays in OKC.

So, until we see you again from Dallas, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours........

Texas BBQ and Scrappy Doo Too!!!

2011-12-07T10:27:00.000-06:00

If you are a fan of "The Food Network" then you have probably seen or heard of the Salt Lick BBQ near Austin, TX. Well we had, and since we are here just outside Austin and it just happens to be down the street a bit from us, BBQ for lunch was in order.

The Salt Lick is known for Good BBQ, but mainly for the open pit in the middle of the kitchen, just inside the front door. The sausage is hung over the pit for hours until time to serve. When you first walk in you are hit with that great BBQ smell and then get to see your meal right on the pit.

One of the pit masters serving up some yummies.

The final stage in the process, Pork Ribs, Brisket and Smoked Sausage.........man it was good. They serve it up with German Potato Salad, Cole Slaw and Baked Beans, more than enough food to keep you happy and your tummy stuffed!!! In our travels we have had a chance to eat at several places featured and recommended on the Food Network, and have mostly been disappointed, However we were pleasantly surprised by the Salt Lick. So if you are in the Austin area, point your ride towards Driftwood, TX and give it a go, you'll surly enjoy yourself.

We are staying here in the Austin area with Sheryl's bother and family. They have a couple of Shiatsu dogs which had a litter of puppy's not to long ago and all the puppy's were sold. Well, it just happened that one of the puppies was returned, because he didn't get along with their other pups. Of course you can see where this is heading......................yup Sheryl fell head over heels for the little guy, and I must say he tugged at my heart strings also. So after a couple of days trying my best to hold out, I finally caved and we now have a new member of our clan..............Scrappy Doo!!!

He is just too cute for words, and has taken to following me everywhere, as well as making my slippers his favorite sleeping spot. He'll be a welcome companion during our travels and I'm sure many hours of entertainment and love. Welcome to the family Scrappy!!!

Cross Country Catch Up.......Whew

2011-12-06T08:39:00.001-06:00

With the wedding over and the new couple on their way to honeymoon bliss, it was time to make our escape from the Miami area rat race. Since we had come down the east coast of FL, we thought we'd travel up the west coast for a little change of scenery. At around 10:00 it was off across Alligator Alley and the Florida Everglades. Of course in typical tourist fashion, we didn't know I-75 was a toll road until it was too late, (and we don't carry cash on us) it was a mad scramble for the laundry change cup to scrounge enough to pay the toll. We also ran across several more toll roads that have sprung up since I lived in FL many moon ago, and decided we must avoid these next time as you can go broke pretty quickly.

Our hasty escape, landed us in the Tampa Bay area and the RV Park at Tyndall AFB. Original plans had been to stay the night and move on, however a couple of things changed our mind. First, after the crazed week of wedding hustle and bustle, a couple of days off were in order.

the next reason to stay a day or two longer was the blown tire we were informed about when coming through the main gate. We figured it had happened coming over the Tampa Bay bridge, we hear what sounded like something falling over in the back of the truck, but didn't see or feel anything wrong so we pressed on. From what I've seen and heard from others, we were really lucky no damage was done to the rig during the blow out.

So with having to find a new tire and the rainy day we had, a couple of days off is just what the doctor ordered. The sunsets were great as usual. The RV park at Tyndall AFB is really nice, even with 200+ spots. They have activities for the RVers as well as several discounts around the base. This is also quite a popular place for winter RVers, even with the 200+ spaces they already have a 200 person waiting list for next year. Guess we won't be headed back here again anytime soon.

Something you don't see everyday, we spotted a few of these while poking around the marina by the park.

After a couple of days of much needed R & R, it was off again. Next stop, Apalachicola and the best raw oyster bar we've ever had. We stopped here last year and just had to come back. I had a dozen raw, which you actually get 14-16, and Sheryl ordered up a dozen (15) Rockefeller style, along with a couple of beers after a long travel day, we were in heaven.

We had gotten in pretty late and not wanting to mess with finding a campground, the folks at Papa Joe's let us dry camp in the parking lot for the night. The food and folks here at Papa Joe's are great and also RV friendly, so if you are in need of some of the best oysters around, drop in and you won't be disappointed.

The rest of the travel days were pretty uneventful, standard overnight stops at standard RV parks. We are now in Austin, TX for a week or so visiting Sheryl's Brother and his wife. You maybe asking so why the mad dash across the south again, well, there's a method to our madness. We were asked by Sheryl's brother if we would watch their house and kids while they went on a couples vacation. The date just happened to be right after the Miami wedding, but that's ok, it's good to see them again and have a week or so off.

Were now all caught up, we'll be getting out and seeing the Austin area a bit while were here, so stay tuned for more from the Texas Hill Country.

Presenting Mr & Mrs Michael & Jamie Lehmann

2011-11-29T13:00:00.003-06:00

Our son Michael and his beautiful girlfriend Jamie were wed 26 Nov 2011

But of course all the festivities leading up to the blissful marriage began a couple of days prior. First there was everyones favorite the Rehearsal (held the day before, so us old folks can remember what to do)

Followed by the ever popular Rehearsal Dinner, a favorite of the grooms parents, since we have to pay for it. Michael and Jamie found a nice setting at the Yardhouse here in North Miami. The weather was perfect for outdoor dining.

The next day, all the ladies were off to become more beautiful than they already are, hair, make-up and of course nails.

The Newlywed couple.

The Bridal Party

Sheryl, Myself, Michael and his mother Mary.

Parents of the Bride, Joe and Wendy.

The wedding went off beautifully, a nice chapel ceremony with the reverend being a friend of Jamie's family, made it very personal and unique.

Ahhhhh the reception...............wow what can be said, it was a great time. Held at a Florida Nature Conservatory it was of course a beautiful setting and the inside was decorated in pinks and white. I must give Micheal and the wedding party a at-a-boy for some of the unique ways they did the speeches and the Guarder Removal. Even the DJ/MC said they had never seen anything like it before, and that it was great!!!

We had a great time here in the Miami area. meeting new family and just gerenaly having a good time. We'll be off again and headed north along the west coast, so stay tuned for more.

I'll leave you with one last parting shot of Michael and myself, GQing it. So until next time, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from Sunny South Florida!!!

2011-11-24T09:05:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone from sunny Ft Lauderdale Florida!!! As you may or may not know, we are here for our sons wedding this coming Saturday. However the days leading up to the grand event have been busy, busy, busy with running around, food and fun.

The RV park we found is nice, just a little tight, but we did get ne of the larger spaces, couldn't imagine getting in some of the other ones. The park is a Passport America park, so we did pretty good for Nov in south Florida, 1/2 price for 8 days, gotta love it!

Food Food and more Food!!! Thats my son Michael caring up a great pot roast.

We did get to relax alitle though, threw some bags during a game of Cornhole.

Enjoyed a litle water fun with our Grand Daughter.

She was having toooooo much fun.

I even hit the water from the roof of our son in laws parents house. Thank goodness for good health insurance!!! Thankfully the old man didn't break anything!!!

And for those of you suffering through the colder temps around the country, well this is why all the snowbirds flock to the south. It's was a beautiful day and a busy week so far and it's not over yet. Of course more to come on all the festivities. Happy Thanksgiving again everyone and we'll see you back here in a day or two for the round-up.

Patrick AFB, Florida

2011-11-19T18:22:00.003-06:00

After our time in St Augustine was up, we headed south for a few hours stopping at Patrick AFB and the campground here. The campground has full and partial hook ups as well as a dry docking area. All the full hook up sites were taken, but we did score a nice pull through partial site (elec and water)

We did have a nice wide open space to our left.

The campground is located on the banks of the Banana River, with several waterfront sites, alas, we missed out on one of those.

The base is also located right on the Atlantic Ocean. The weather has been cloudy and very windy, making for some pretty angry looking seas. The temps have been in the 70s, but still not very good beach going weather. You can also see, we wer'nt the only one having bad luck with the weather. This poor guy had his boat washed ashore.

I also celebrated my XX something or so birthday while we have been here. My darling picked me up a couple of traditional birthday gifts (underwear and jeans, can't have enough of both) as well as a tripod for the new camera.
Sunday we leave for Ft Lauderdale and our sons wedding. It's not till next week, but we wanted to arrive early for the Thanksgiving holidays and of course to help out where we can.
Ok, that's it for now, see you in a couple of days from (hopefully) sunny Ft Lauderdale, Florida.

St Augustine, FL.

2011-11-16T16:23:00.000-06:00

We left Crestview and made a leisurely trek across northern FL. to the Country's Oldest City, St Augustine. We found a nice RV Park just outside of town so were here for a couple of days.

Of course the first order of business was to check out the beach and get the infamous "US" picture. The beaches here, sure are different from the panhandle gulf coast beaches. Crushed shell type sand versus the snow white sand of the gulf coast.

Next it was on to the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. Construction started in 1672 making it the fortress one of the oldest standing structures in North America. The fortress was built by the Spanish to protect the bay at St Augustine.

It's a very well preserved structure and as always, the National Park Service has done a great job.

Once we finished up touring the fort, we took a quick driving tour around town and then over the bay bridge to check out the St Augustine Lighthouse.

We checked out the Lighthouses Welcome Center and Gift Shop, but decided not to do the tour. It's pretty pricey and Sheryl wasn't sure she'd make it to the top. We were able to walk around the grounds though and get some nice pictures.
Only having the day to check out the town, we just hit the high points. The Old Town part is really interesting to see if you can look past the thousands of tourist shops and eatery's inhabiting all the old buildings. We'll come back again one day when we have more time to explore. We've had a good time here, but tomorrow it's off again and headed south.

Last Days in Crestview

2011-11-13T21:13:00.000-06:00

Our time here in Crestview is coming to a end and we've had a great time. The past couple of days has been busy with parades and sight seeing. Yesterday was small town USA Veterans Day Parade (Crestview, FL) of course it always helps to have a military base nearby (Eglin AFB). The town put on quite the show and we were pleasantly surprised at both the size of the parade and the turn out of it's citizens. Made me proud to be an American and a retired veteran as well. Here's a few shots from the day.

Today (Sunday was church and road trip day. After church, Glen and Linda took us out on a sight seeing tour around the local North Florida countryside. Of course it had to start with lunch and we found another great little local place, serving up fantastic food at the right price.

After lunch and with full bellies to walk off, we stopped by the Baker City Museum. The inside of the museum was closed but we did get to walk around the large display of old building from around the area that had been moved there and preserved in there original state.

My Darling having a good time, can you tell!!!

From the museum, it was off to enjoy a Sunday drive around the area. We did drive in and around the Blackwater River State Park, which is highlighted by the...........can you guess..........Right, the Blackwater River. We enjoyed our drive around the rolling hills of the North Florida countryside.
Tomorrow we are off and will be heading towards Jacksonville, FL. I think we'll stop for the night in Lake City and head into the city on Tuesday. Of course that plan may change depending on availability at the Mayport NAS RV Park. We are always prepared to change plans on a dime, so we'll see what happens. So until next time.......................well, you know the drill.

Crestview Florida

2011-11-12T13:13:00.000-06:00

We are currently in Crestview, Fl. It's been quite a week and with no Internet service, I'll get us caught up in one swift posting. Swift, because we did cover some miles, but during some yucky weather, so we didn't do much at all.
We left Dallas, headed for Louisiana, we thought about staying in Shreveport, but after driving the really bad roads there, we pushed on about an hour south. We stayed at a nice little campground in the middle of nowhere I-49 just for the night. The next day it was up and on toward Gulfport MS. Now mind you, we don't have anything against LA. we just wanted to spend some time along the gulf coast. Well, just our luck, our time in Gulfport was spent in a drizzly cold rain, so we spent most of our time inside just hanging out. We stayed at the Navy Seabee Base in Gulfport, the campground was nice, however their WiFi was down. So after a couple of rainy days in MS. we were off and runnin again..........................

Which landed us here in the FL. Panhandle in the small town of Crestview. We are visiting on of Sheryl's cousin and her husband, they have graciously allowed us to park the RV next to their home and hook us up with water and electric.

We're having a great visit and last night we went out for dinner. Glenn and Linda have a favorite little seafood place they hit up on Friday nights, so off we went. Wow I forgot what really fresh seafood was like, I had the catch of the day fish dinner and Sheryl opted for a pound of fresh peel and eat steamed shrimp. A great dinner with more than enough to eat for a very reasonable price.
So here we are for a couple of days, soon we'll be off for the FL. east coast and down towards Miami. Ok, were caught up for now, as you can tell it was a pretty uneventful trip into FL, we're hoping the weather holds out for the rest of our journey south. That's it in a nutshell, so we'll leave you with, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours and until next time....................

Dallas Visit

2011-11-06T16:39:00.000-06:00

We made it to Dallas or should I say Grand Prairie after a seemingly non stop trek across Texas. We stopped to visit our kids Chris and Kayla. We are staying at the Texan RV Park in Mansfield, just a couple of miles from their house (worked out great!!) The park is really nice, gravel spots and WiFi and they just became a Passport America Park, so that was an added bonus for us (love saving money) We are only staying a couple of days so not alot of activities planned, however.......................

We did get introduced to the game of Disk Golf, Chris and Kayla took us out for a round of 18 holes and a beautiful city park course. If you have not seen or heard of it, it's just like playing golf, same rules, of course, you play with special throwing disks (Frisbees) and try to put them in metal chained baskets. I must say we had a blast and are thinking of getting our own disks and playing courses as we travel. It's great exercise with out being tiring and gets you outside.

Sheryl letting one fly!!!

Kevin giving it a go, the fairways can be quite narrow, but it adds to the fun.

Kayla shooting from the rough.

Chris showing his professional form.

We've had a good time here, but the road calls. We'll be leaving on Monday, stopping for the night in Louisiana and heading for Gulfport, MS. where we're thing about stopping for a couple of days to relax. So depending on WiFi access, we'll see you again from Mississippi, so keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!

New Black Tank

2011-11-02T21:18:00.001-06:00

The day to have our new black tank installed finally came, so it was off to the RV Doctor for the surgery. Of course having other appointments we had to run off to, I was a bit late in taking pictures.

By the time we returned, they were putting the rig back together. I really wanted to check out the underneath while they had the underbelly off, just to see how everything was ran and put together, oh well.

I did however get to check out the old black tank. It may be difficult to see, but if you look just below the large pipe you'll see a separation. The tank separated where the tank is pressed together at the factory. We thought it was going to be a break.crack in the tank, we were surprised to see what actually happened.

On top of having a new black tank (and hopefully no more issues) the doc pulled out all the old wet, yucky insulation. The old stuff was the standard home fluffy pink stuff (think Pink Panther) and was replaced with a newer 2" foam. Hopefully the new insulation will work well and give us piece of mind in the upcoming colder months.

Ok, tomorrow we start towards Dallas, will prob only make it half way, but plan on being there late Friday afternoon. We'll be visiting my daughter and her husband for a couple of days before continuing on towards Miami for the big day.

Until next time................you know the drill by now. See you then.

Cimarron National Grasslands, Kansas

2011-11-01T21:59:00.006-06:00

Since we have been in Kansas, we have wanted to see the Cimarron National Grasslands. So Saturday, we headed out there. The grasslands are 35 miles from Hugoton, in the SW corner of Kansas and encompass over 100,00 acres of preserved prairie land.

True, it may not be a very exciting area to visit, or have stunning sights to see, however just to imagine how it must have been before the land was farmed.

The largest portion of the Santa Fe Trail on pubic land also runs through the Grasslands. The trail is marked by these stone markers. The wagon tracks are long gone now, but are supposed to be visible in some areas (just our luck, we didn't see any in the areas we checked out.)

One area of interest is called Point of Rocks, a large rock outcropping used as a landmark along the Santa Fe Trail. The Cimarron River runs close to this part of the trail and is easily spotted by the only trees in the area.

The fall colors were out in force, with most all the trees turning. It was a good day out and the weather was perfect. There is a 40 or so mile driving trail with several marked points of interest for your viewing pleasure. You could take most any RV on the road (dirt) however I would suggest just taking your truck or toad.

Today is Tuesday, we left Kansas Monday morning and are currently back in Alamogordo. Tomorrow we have our black tank installed, take in a couple of last doc appointments, and start toward FL. for our sons big day.

That's it for now we'll catch up again next time we have WiFi. So until then, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!

Hugoton, KS.

2011-10-28T12:39:00.000-06:00

After being out at the farm for a week, we decided it was time to head into town. The farm was nice when folks were coming and going, but became pretty lonely after a few days. Besides living on 20 amp service from the workshop made watching what you powered a interesting affair. Hugoton has one RV park right on the edge of town. It's a nice small park, ran by an older gentleman. It's also nice having the 50 amp service as the weather has been a changing for the colder.

As a matter of fact, the first real front came through while we slept, and we awoke to the first snow of the season. I know it's not much, but it's always nice to see, even if it's just a little dusting.

Hugoton is the county seat of Stevens Co., it is also home to the Stevens County Gas and Historical Museum. Sheryl had told me it was pretty nice, so we along with her Aunt Sandy, we paid it a visit yesterday. Outside there are various displays of the Natural Gas drilling equipment (which is very prevalent in the area).

Inside, well it's just amazing how much stuff they have packed into such a small space. There are displays of every kind, depicting early life on the West Kansas Plains.

Here one of the ladies from the museum, played an old pump organ, while Sandy and Sheryl listened. Sheryl got all teared up from the music, as her Mom and Gandma, used to play a Pump Organ which was out at the farm. Yes, believe it or not, in that small house, there was both a Piano in the living room and a Pump Organ in one of the bedrooms. It was a nice visit and well worth seeing if you are ever out Southwest Kansas way.

It's been nice being in town, we been visiting with relatives most every day, and of course being closer to shopping never hurts. Ok, stay tuned for more from SW Kansas, as we will be exploring the National Grasslands in the next day or two, before heading out on the 31st. Take Care and see you back here soon.

Family and Friends

2011-10-24T13:57:00.001-06:00

Crazy, Busy but relaxing days here at the ole homestead. I know that's a contradiction, but that's the only way to describe it. It's good to be here at the farm, away from everything, no TV, just a radio. No Internet or video games, just make your own fun. Lots of family have come and gone these last few days and each day it has been evening supper, just the way it used to be.

Lots of food and organized chaos is the theme at the table. Of course Sheryl and her family is used to it, you see Sheryl is one of 6 kids, so imagine, 6 kids, parents and grand parents plus assorted other family members in this small kitchen/dining room all at once for supper! Well, now that I have experienced it, it's quite the feat!

The house only has 4 rooms plus the bathroom. In the day, after supper the family would retire to the living room for more conversation and piano playing.

The younger generation trying their hand at old school entertainment, it was great to see.

While we were here, we met up with fellow Fulltimers and Bloggers, Ron and Elena. They just happened to be coming through this part of Kansas, so we got together for lunch in town. They are really nice folks and we sure our glad we were able to meet them. They are on there way south to AZ for the winter and we hope to meet up with them again if we are able to make back out west for the last part of this winter.

As with most places, the sunsets out here can be amazing, this one taken at the end of the farms driveway. That's it for now, all the family (except, for the couple here in town) have headed home, so peace and quiet for the next few days is the name of the game. I have to come into town for WiFi, so again it may be a couple of days for the next installment. Until then, Keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours and se ya soon.

Kansas!!!

2011-10-19T13:18:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a whirlwind couple of days and it has landed us in the SW corner of Kansas!!! The saga began a couple days ago when we got a call from the RV Repair Shop. Unfortunately for them Sheryl answered the phone, I knew something was up as my sweet darling wife was becoming enraged!!! (I was happy it wasn't directed at me) Now you remember the black tank issue from a couple of posts ago, we need a new one installed,so the shop ordered us one 3 weeks ago (delivery and installation with-in 3 weeks they told us). Well, news was, it would be another 2 weeks, and getting it installed is all we have been waiting for in order to get on the road. Anywho, Sheryl has been dying to get back to Kansas to visit her family, and waiting another 2 weeks was just out of the question!!! I'll spare you the unpleasant details of the calls she placed to the Tank manufacturer, distributor and back to the shop, needless to say it wasn't pretty, I was just glad I wasn't on the receiving end.....lol. In the end we have to travel back to Alamogordo on the 2nd for the tank to be installed and take care of some other business.

We decided we would just go ahead and head out (returning on the 2nd) after paying our final elec bill and getting the rig ready, we finally got on the road around 4:30pm. We had given thought to just making it a long day and pushing on through to Kansas, however, while eastbound on I-40 a trucker pulled up next to us and was pointing at the rear of the rig (never a good thing). We pulled off at the next exit and found we had no tail lights on the trailer, ok, not good, but better than we thought. Tucumcari, NM. was just up the road and about the half way point, so we decided to spend the night there, courtesy of the Flying "J" and continue on in the morning, no tail lights required. So we did, arriving at Sheryl's family farm around 11:00am yesterday.

Her family's farm was homesteaded in the early 1900s by her Grand Parents, no one actually lives on the property today, but the original house and out building are being kept up by her brother and other family members as they can. The land itself has been leased to a gentleman who is farming the land. More on the farm later with better pictures. We are using the WiFi connection at the town library, so updates may take a couple of days when we come into town for postings.

Kind of a quick get going, but it sure is good to be out traveling again, we'll be here until the 31st when we'll head back to Alamogordo and then onto Dallas and Miami from there. So, take care for now and we'll see you back here in a couple of days!!!

Church Day in Tularosa, NM

2011-10-17T08:08:00.001-06:00

Sunday was church day for the first time in a long time for both of us. Now you see, Sheryl has always enjoyed going to church since she was a little girl, but has gotten away from it the past several years. Myself, I've never been a big church goer. So, you maybe asking yourself, so whats the big deal?, so you went to church........ True, in the grand scheme of things it is no big deal, however, in light of recent events (Life Happening) we have decided to start attending again.

We began looking around for one to attend, we both agreed we don't care for the large or super churches. Well the other day, I was out taking pictures in the small town of Tularosa, NM and ran across this old church, built in 1922. I told Sheryl about it, small town, small old school service, so it was our choice. We attended and it was a great service, the folks were so friendly and we spent lots of time chatting with most everyone there afterwards. We know being Fulltime RV'ers it maybe difficult to find a church to attend every Sunday, but when we can we will seek out, small town ones as we enjoy the small local atmosphere much better than the large impersonal ones.

On a different note, churches are great photo subjects, there architecture (especially the older ones) can be very unique and beautiful. Ok, that's it, and just a few more days before continue our adventure.

Good News, Bad News, Good News................

2011-10-15T21:41:00.000-06:00

Good News, Sheryl finally had the last procedure to relieve her chronic back pain....Yea!!! She is a happy camper now!!! The Doc said this procedure should help for quite some time and for at least 6 months, hopefully longer. It's hard to believe we started this journey 8 months ago and it is just finishing up. We are so ready to back on the road.

Bad News, We have been having issues with our black tank for some time now, it overflowed for a 2nd time...........yuck doesn't come close to describing it, I'll save you all the gory details. We took the rig in to have it looked at (hopeing for a simple repair) well, it seems there is a large crack in the top at the vent inlet and the tank must be replaced.

Good News, the tank is supposed to be in later this week and the repair folks have blocked off time to install the tank either Thursday or Friday, depending on when it comes in. So as soon as it's installed, we're hitting the road!!! We're heading toward Southwestern KS, for a week or so, then making our way toward FL. We're so excited, 8 months in one place is just way to long!!!

That's all the news that's fit to print for now, see you back here soon for Hopefully more good news!!!

White Sands National Monument

2011-10-06T11:26:00.001-06:00

Wednesday we had to take a trip out to Holloman AFB to pick up some paperwork, and since the Monument is just a few miles down the road, we thought we'd take it in.

The White Sands National Monument is located in southern New Mexico, between Las Cruces and Alamogordo. The Monument encompasses a large portion of the 275 Sq Miles of pure white gypsum dunes. The dunes average 30-40 in height and are always moving.

The Monument has several walking and hiking trails, one of which is a boardwalk, for those who do not wish to walk in the sand.

The dunes are so white, if your are walking in them the landscape all blends together and sometimes you can not even see the dunes or tell where they begin and drop off, quite the illusion.

There is also a 8 mile loop road through the monument, you can see it is very defined, due to the constant plowing of the shifting sands.

We didn't spend a whole lot of time there, as there isn't really a lot to see (other than the dunes) and it really dosn't take long to see. That being said, it is a very beautiful place and otherworldly place, well worth a stop if you find yourself in the southern New Mexico area. If you would like more info n the Monument you can find visit their web site here: White Sands National Monument

It was a great day for sightseeing with perfect temps (love autumn in the desert). We still have a couple more adventures here in southern New Mexico, so stay tuned and we'll see you then.

New Photography Page

2011-10-04T20:06:00.000-06:00

You may have noticed a new element on the Blog, just below the header photo. First thing I must say is, I'm no Pro Photographer, but I do enjoy taking pictures and try to learn to take better pictures every day. I started this page to showcase what I think are some of my better photos from each adventure. The photos will usually not help tell the story of the main blog entry, so I will be posting them there. Please feel free to comment with any constructive criticism as I take alot of inspiration from you excellent Photographers out there.

I hope you enjoy the new page, so click over and check it out after each new entry or just to see if any new shots have appeared.

Take Care and we'll see you back here again

Flying "J" Ranch Chuckwagon Dinner and Show

2011-10-03T10:59:00.000-06:00

After returning from the Trinity Site the other day, we hooked up with friends, Chuck and Sharon, for dinner. Of course this wasn't just any ordinary dinner, it was a Chuckwagon dinner and show, up in the mountain town of Ruidoso, NM.

The dinner and show take place at the Flying "J" Ranch. They have set the place up as an old western town, with plenty to keep you entertained while waiting for dinner to be served. There are several shops with all kinds of goodies for sale.

And this is what happens when you tell Sheryl she can't buy anything from the shops!!!

Sheryl found this original RV, needs alittle work, but all in all not bad.

There is also a gunfight in the street to keep you entertained. Best part is, they add alot of comedy into all their routines, which helped make for a fun evening.

Our friends Chuck and Sharon.

After dinner, the show began, it was interesting to see, the same folks who worked the shops and served dinner were also the entertainment. We were pleasantly surprised at how good they could all sing and perform.

Even Granny came out for a surprise performance!!!

We had a great time, of course after the fact it dawned on me, I was so hungry, I forgot to take pics of the dinner. The dinner was served Chuckwagon style on old metal plates and drinks in tin cups. The brisket was so tender you could cut it with your fork, plus beans (I got an extra helping just for Sheryl.....lol) fire baked potato, biscuits, rustic applesauce and cake........yummy!!!

We got home around 10:00 after the hour or so drive down the mountain. It sure made for a looooong day after getting up at 5:00 for the Trinity Tour, but we had a great day. Again, if you are ever over this way in southern NM, check out the dinner, it's a great time and great dinner.

So, until next time, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!

Trinity Site Visit

2011-10-02T11:31:00.002-06:00

Oct 1st, was the second of only two tours per year of the Trinity Site (site of the first nuclear explosion in 1945) in central New Mexico. I toured the site a couple of years ago, however Sheryl had not had the chance yet, until now. There are two ways to get out to the site which is located on the White Sands Missile Range. First is to drive to the main gate area and then drive out to the site. For those of us in the Alamogordo area, the Chamber of Commence arranges with the Army to convoy across the missile range, thus cutting 50 miles off the drive. That is the route we took this year, we all met at the local High School, approx 75 vehicles and headed out at 8:00.

Once in a while the convoy would have to stop or slow down for various reasons, so Sheryl jumped out to snap this shot. The drive was approx 70 miles across the missile range to the Trinity Site. There is photography allowed on the way to the site, so no pics of the vast expanse of the range.

We arrived at the site around 10:00. Once you arrive it is a 1/4 mile walk from the outer fence line to the inner fence and the actual site. At the outer fence there are a couple of displays and various goodies for sale.

The site itself contains the monument, a small patch of preserved area under cover (which you can not see) and a example of one of the bombs dropped on Japan.

The monument marks ground zero, the exact spot of the device when exploded. The device was placed on a tower approx 100 feet high (which was vaporized during the explosion) to simulate the above ground detonation when dropped from a plane.

Around the fence line there are several pictures depicting life at the base camp and the testing itself.

You can also take a 2 mile bus ride out to the McDonald Ranch House where the scientist assembled the Plutonium Core for placement in the bomb. There are also several displays in the Ranch House explaining the process and what went on there.

At the Ranch House, there are other out buildings you can explore (stable, windmill and bunk house). It was a good tour and I was glad we were in the area so Sheryl could see it. The site is located way out on the missile range and in the proverbial "middle of nowhere". It was a good but long day and we had a great time together. I highly recommend the tour if you are ever down this way. There is really not alot to it, except the feeling of visiting such a place that shaped history forever.

Our day wasn't over yet, we met up with some friends for a Chuck Wagon Dinner and Show up in the mountains, but we'll save that for the next post as this ones long enough already.

Take Care and we'll see you back here soon.

Happy Birthday To Sheryl

2011-09-26T12:31:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to my lovely young bride. This birthday is very special to both of us as it marks a new chapter in our lives for various reasons we will keep to ourselves. But I will say they are very good reasons.

The day started with giving Sheryl her gift. She had seen this purse at the gift shop here at the RV park when we first pulled and fell in love with it. So a week later I just knew it would be the perfect gift for her birthday.

Next, it was what to do for the day??? We decided to head up into the mountains for the day and escape the desert heat. Our first thought was lunch in the mountain town of Ruidoso at one of our favorite little lunch spots.

Well on our way up the mountains, Sheryl said she wanted to check out the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino that everyone here brags about. We both had our reservations about what it would be like, however we decided to check it out. One thing I must say is, we were very pleasantly surprised. The resort is beautiful and is situated on a clear mountain lake. They had a Sunday Brunch going at the Buffet, but we both said that would be such a waste for the cost as we both don't eat that much. We found the other restaurant in the resort and had a great breakfast there.

We were lucky and scored a window seat with views of the lake and mountains.

After lunch it was still pretty early so a Sunday drive through the mountains was in order. We drove through Ruidoso, but decided not to stop as it is just one big tourist trap (we hate places like that) and just spent time driving and enjoying the scenery.

As we were coming down out of the mountains I remembered hearing about a small ghost town a few miles away. Ok, well more than just a few miles, but still in the same area as things go, so off we went. Upon arriving we were a bit disappointed, the town was there, however several of the buildings and homes had been bought and were being renovated. Most had no trespassing signs out so we could only look from afar.

One that still had some public access was the old School House built in the late 1800s.

There was this old safe on display outside, the sign says it was blown open during a robbery.

As this was a mining boom town in its day, the wealthy town folk, built some beautiful homes out here in the middle of the desert mountains. After that it was just the ride home. All toll, our Sunday drive consisted of 150 miles of beautiful scenery and great company.

I leave you with this parting shot of just what this duck thought about having his picture taken. We had a great day together and looking forward to many more during our travels as Sheryl's back gets better and stronger.
Ok, that's it for now and keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours.

Eagle Ranch Pistachio's

2011-09-22T22:10:00.000-06:00

I know, I'm a bit behind in this post, but as I said before, dang if that life thing just didn't throw a monkey wrench in the works. Good news is, we beat life back and are on our way to living and loving it again. Ok, on to the post. We visited the Eagle Ranch Pistachio farm a couple of days after visiting the other one. I must say this one was a much better experience. The farm offers a tour as well as wine tastings and much nicer facility.

During the tour, we learned, there is a male tree and a female tree. The male tree is larger and the branches point upward (typical male...lol) The female tree is smaller and the branches naturally point downward from the weight of the pistachios. The male tree are planted along the prevailing wind edge of the grove, so the wind can pollinate the female trees. We also learned the pistachio nuts are covered by a soft spongy membrane, this membrane allow the nuts shell to split open when its ripe and time to pick. So the nut splits on its own, and we all thought it split during the roasting process.....ahhhhh how Mother Nature has her way of fooling us.

As with all modern plants the pistachios are first processed by machine.

However, the final process is done by human eye, by these hard working ladies who have a keen eye for the bad ones that slip by. Below are some of my favorite pics from the day.

It was a good day, we did have to leave early as part of the tour included the final processing. In this processing room, the chili dust used to flavor the nuts was just unbearable for both of us to breath and affected us for a while after we left.
If all goes well, we should be headed out on the road again in just under 3 weeks......woooo hooooo!!! We ave a few places we want to see before we leave, so we'll be hitting those soon. Take Care and Keep Lovin Your Life as we do Ours......see ya next time.

Organ, NM.

2011-09-18T10:30:00.000-06:00

Organ, NM. is located east of Las Cruces at he foot of the mountain range separating it from the White Sands Missile Range. The small town started as a mining community in 1883 before drying up. It hosted military personnel during the Atom Bomb testing days, as the testing wore down, so did the little it. The town now stands empty along Hwy 70, you may just see it as a few abandoned buildings and annoying drop in the speed limit as you pass by. Here are a few pictures I stopped to take the other day. Enjoy.

Stop and check out some of the old abandoned towns during your travels, and relive a small piece of American History.
Take Care and remember to Love Your Life everyday!!!

Ole Glory and a Trip to the Mountains

2011-09-15T12:01:00.000-06:00

Ever since we bought the 5th wheel, I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to mount a flag on her. As I have said before, sometimes the simplest solutions avaid me, then one day I'll have that Ah Ha moment!! Well this week that Ah Ha moment came around, simply drilled and mounted the flag pole holder to the Kingpin box.

A couple of metal screws and it's solid as a rock. Ole Glory's mount has even been tested pretty good, as we've had some pretty windy days lately as some cool fronts have been pushing through. I must say, I love the way the flag looks flying in the breeze mounted on the front of the rig!!!

This week I also had some business to take care of over in Las Cruces, NM., so while I was there I thought I'd do a little exploring in the Dona Ana Mountains. The mountain lie just northeast of Las Cruces, between the White Sand Missle Range and I-25. The mountains are public land belonging to the BLM.

I have been to the mountains before with the Jeep, but that was much farther north. I have never been to the southern area so that was this days adventure. I was ony out for a couple of hours and manly stuck to the easier trails as I was alone.

All the trails out here are actually pretty easy, no real tech rock crawling reqired. What makes them give you alittle pucker factor is they can be very very steep both up and down as well as alittle sidways. I'll leave those for a later trip when I have some other folks around.

I love the vastness of the west, you can lose yourself for days out here and never see another sole, it's great when you just need to get away from it all. I must say ole Red performed very well out there, she's not the Jeep by any means, just have to get used to the stiff suspention and light rear end.

Just a quick update, it's been a crazy week or so as life hit us square in the face again, but we're fighting the good fight and thats all we can do.

Take Care and see ya next time.

McGinn's Pistachio Farm

2011-09-08T11:52:00.000-06:00

This week we have been doing the tourist thing again and hitting up a couple of the pistachio farms in the area. First stop was the McGinn's farm conveniently located across the street from the RV Park, so we just walked over. The big draw for this place is the giant pistachio nut out front, ah la, old school roadside attractions. Of course we had to have our picture taken with it!!

The farm has that old country store feel and decor, how ever it is not set up very well. There is one door in and they have the sample pistachios set up right as you walk in, so you have to push your way through all the kids and adults in the way.

The farm also has a winery and you can sample their wine, and of course buy some if you so desire. Now Sheryl and I are not wine snobs by any means, but it seems as if all their wines had a very acidly taste, just not very pleasant to us. Below are some shots I took from around the farm.

All in all we were disappointed in the place, too small and too crowded, the wines were not all that good. We wouldn't tell anybody not to stop here for a look, but it just wasn't for us. We did stop by another Pistachio farm down the street and had a much better experience, so stay tuned for that in our next post.

See Ya Then!!!

Found It!!!

2011-09-06T22:41:00.001-06:00

You may remember a couple of posts back, we took a trip to Silver City, NM. On the way home we stopped in Demming for dinner at a local Brew Pub. While perusing the beer selection I noticed they had a Green Chili Beer, so I just had to try it. The beer was very good with a truly New Mexico twist. I wanted to talk to the brewmaster and complement him on his beer. Well low and behold, this just happened to be the only beer on the menu he does not brew, he actually buys it from another brewery. We chatted for a bit and he told me the name of the brewery and we left for home. Well as you can imagine, my memory stinks, and I couldn't for the life of me remember the name he told me.....ahhhh whats new. A few days later I was still intrigued with the brew, so I set about on an internet search to find the brewery that crafted this fine cerveza. After a bit of searching I had found my elusive prey.....you gotta love the internet.
The beer was brewed by the Rio Grande Brewing Co. in Moriarty, NM. Now my next task was to find it locally, I didn't set out on a mission to find it, rather I just looked in all the normal places we shop. Well, today while at Walgreens, there it was sitting proudly on the shelf, with all the other specialty beers. Of course I picked up a six and am enjoying a cold Pancho Verde Chile Cerveza.....ahhhhhhhh good stuff. I believe 'll be picking up a case to take on our travels to share with friends and family and let them taste a true New Mexican beverage.
As I enjoy my cold one, don't forget to Love Your Life as we do ours.....Take Care and Cheers!!!

Cloudcroft and a Day in the Mountains

2011-09-02T09:03:00.000-06:00

Thursday was a day to get out of the house for a bit. Since we are going to be here for another 6 weeks, we thought we'd take a look at some of the RV parks up in the mountains. We have givin thought to moving to one of the mountain RV parks for a change of scenery and cooler temps when our time is up here.

On our way up we stopped in at the Old Apple Barn, it's a typical tourist stop which sells all kinds of goodies and trinkets in a old country atmostshere. It was fun looking at all the old stuff and things for sale. We only stayed for a 1/2 hour or so and then it was farther up into the mountains.

I'll spare you the blow by blow on all the little RV parks up here. Most are pretty tight, small spaces, no TV reception and no WiFi. Great places for a weekend getaway or week long stay, but for any longer it could get old quick. However if you have satellite TV and don't depend on wifi, these mountain RV parks would be a nice getaway from the desert summer heat. So we decided to just stay where were at until it's time to head out, as the temps should start cooling off a bit soon.

One great thing about spending the day in the mountains, was the wild flowers were in full bloom, everywhere you looked it was just beautiful.

The day was getting on and we had planned on being home for dinner, however, our tummies had different plans, as we got pretty hungry staying out later than we planned. We stopped in the small mountain town of Cloudcroft for dinner at one of our favorite places, the Western Bar and Grill. We got into town just after 5:00pm and as you can see the sidewalks roll up pretty early here, but that's the charm, it's not so touristy that is loses its small town roots. Well after filling ourselves with Chicken Fried Steak and Honey Battered Fried Chicken (yes, we chose the healthy heart options.....lol). It was time to head home and back down to the desert heat. One can get used to 70 degree temps pretty quickly after a few months of upper 90s and 100s.

Ok, that was our quick day out, take care and we'll see you back here again in a few days.

Great People

2011-08-31T16:28:00.000-06:00

Like most RV'ers, we have the standard Winguard TV antenna for receiving over the air TV. Since we don't use Dish Network or Direct TV, we rely on our antenna at parks that don't provide cable hook ups. We've also found that when you have 200 channels of nothing to watch, network TV really isn't all that bad, and heck, it beat paying for those 200 channels of nothing.

Ok, on to the reason for today's post, it is to tell you what great folks the owners of the Boot Hill RV Park are. You see, when we pulled into our spot and got all hooked up and settled in, it was time to tune in the TV. Well after the standard channel scan we ended up with 1 channel, when it felt like coming in......what the heck??? Tryed a couple of more times with the same result, even the bedroom TV fared no better??? Ok, figured it was a bad day for TV and tryed again the next day, same results.....darn. Everything worked fine in El Paso so I know it wasn't our system, so I stopped by the office and chatted with the owners. He was stumped also, but he did remember someone a couple of spots down from us had the same issue, so it seems that here along the back fence, the Winguard antennas just have a hard time picking anything up.
So here's the great part, the owner says, since you guys are going to be here for a month or more, 'll just take down the digital antenna on the office roof and hook it up over at your rig and see if it does any better. Of course I said no, you don't need to go through all that trouble, 'll work something out. He still insisted and said give him about an hour. Well less than an hour later, he was knocking on our door and telling me to try and retune the TV and see what happens. Darned if he didn't come over with a ladder, climb a pole, mount the antenna and hook it up to our rig, before I even knew he was out there. Ok, long story short, the TV comes in great now., What a great person to do that for us, it wasn't like he had an old one laying around, he actually took it down from the office to give to us to use...........We just can't say enough good things about them. So if you are in the southern NM area and need to stop for a visit, we highly recommend this park!!!

That's it for today, so keep on lovin your life as we do ours!!! See you next time.

Boot Hill RV Park, Alamogordo, NM

2011-08-28T20:59:00.000-06:00

Saturday, we decided to leave El Paso (we really needed a change of scenery) and head back to Alamogordo. We had planned on going back to Holloman AFB Campground, but they were full, so plan "B" it was. We remembered a nice RV park on the north side of town, so that was our destination. The Park had plenty of spaces and you just can't beat their prices at 225.00 per month (metered elec extra). The park also has an old west theme and feel to it.

We chose a site on the back row, away from the highway and with great views of the mountains to the east. This park is out in the country away from town, so it's pretty quiet, There are no trees to speak of, but the sites aren't bad and the owners are great.

As you can see, the owners also have a bit of a sense of humor to go along with the parks name "Boot Hill" We also chose this park over the ones in town and around the area as there are no homesteaders with trashy trailers and junked up sites as most of the others have. We're glad we made the move as things have changed once again, so with a long story, looks like we'll be postponing our travels for about 6 weeks. Being here on the north side of town and close to the mountains again, we'll be getting out and sight seeing some of the sights we never got around to before, so stay tuned for those.
Ok, adios from Boot Hill, New Mexico and see you here next time!!!

City of Rocks State Park, New Mexico

2011-08-19T11:33:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we had to take a ride to Silver City, NM. to correct some paperwork on our old trailer so the new owners could register it in their name. On the way back, we thought we'd stop by the City of Rocks State Park, just north of Demming, NM. The City of Rocks is a large outcropping of rocks and boulders in the middle of an otherwise barren area of the desert. The rocks were formed from a volcanic eruption, as the lava and ash cooled, it split, along with years of erosion, this interesting formation came to be. In the photo above, you can see the formations just above the sign and the park is approx 1 square mile in size.

It was named the City of Rocks for the wide areas between the rocks which resemble streets and walk ways through a rock city.

There are several balanced rocks throughout the park, however we really liked the one being held up by the small rock underneath.

There is also a nice drive up to a lookout area with great views of the surrounding desert and mountains. We visited the park for a couple of hours and just had a great time scrambling around the formations. However time was getting on and we needed to start heading towards home.

When we got into Demming, it was 5:00 and our tummies were growling from our adventure, so we decided dinner was in order. Since we had never actually stopped in Demming before, we settled on just grabbing some fast food. However when we got into town, this little place on a downtown corner caught our eye. It's a local brewpub, which of course brews it's own beer right on the premises, which of course I had to try!!! They also serve only local New Mexico wines. We split a sandwich and Sheryl had a glass of chocolate infused wine. We also shared a desert of fresh mini apple turnovers drizzled with caramel and topped with fresh whipped cream. Sheryl was in heaven as her eyes rolled back in her head with every bite!!! yes she liked them that much!!!

I in turn, spied something on the brewers list that was uniquely New Mexican. Green Chili Lager beer, the waitress served me up a sample and I was hooked. Wow, I was surprised at just how good it was, it had a hint of green chili aroma and background flavor. Just an all around good beer. After filling our tummies and enjoying the atmostsphere, we were off toward the house.
What started as a chore (3 hour drive each way) turned out to be a really great day spent out exploring and experiencing new delights.

Thats was our day out, we had a good time and are looking forward to many more as we hit the road again soon. Ok, take care and Love Your Life as we do Ours!!!

New Pillows and a Camera

2011-08-17T09:40:00.000-06:00

Along with redoing the valances in the trailer, Sheryl had some fabric left over. The new couch we picked up came with a couple of pillows, which of course didn't mach our new decor. So Sheryl broke out her sewing machine and went to work. She recycled the old pillow stuffing and zippers and created three new pillows, so now the rig looks even better and more put together. I think she did a pretty darn good job and we are very happy with the results.

Many moon ago when I was in my late teens/early twenties, I decided I wanted to get into photography and picked up a very nice 35mm camera. Of course this was back in the days of film and all the setting were manually adjusted on the camera lens. I got pretty good at it until one day in Florida, when a large wave crashed over the rocks and soaked the camera and thus sent it to an early grave. Well at that time a couldn't afford another one, so my hobby kinda went by the wayside. Then the age of digital came along, and all the pictures you could take for free!!! I still wanted a nice camera again, but just never seemed to find the money for it as life just kept happening, so again it just went by the wayside. Ok, getting to the point, I started longing after a nice camera again, so we pryed open our bank account and picked one up. We found this Nikon D3000 at the Base Exchange for a good price (compared to in town) and with no tax, just sweetened the deal. Now I know it's not the top of the line model or the latest in camera tech, but it's a big jump over the point and shoots I have been using for some time now. It will also allow me to (hopefully) be a little more creative in my shots. First I have to figure this thig out, it's pretty user friendly, just have to get used to all the controls being in the camera and not on the lens (old habits are hard to break, even after 30 years!!!)

That's it for this episode, looking forward to creating some good pictures during our travels and just Lovin Our Life. Take Care and see you here next time.

NM 28 and Some Preventive Maintenance

2011-08-13T15:21:00.001-06:00

Yesterday we headed back into New Mexico for a doctors appointment, we usually just head up the interstate as it's a 20 min drive that way. I like the new signs the state put up welcoming you to New Mexico.

After the appointment we decided to take the scenic route back. We headed over to NM 28 just south of Las Cruces and started back. NM 28 is a very scenic and popular drive between El Paso and Las Cruces. The road winds its way through pecan groves and rich fertile Rio Grande Valley farmland. When we came through here last year during the winter, all the trees were baron and the farmland just dirt. It was nice to drive through green tunnels of Pecan trees covering the road.

Many of the fields were rich with flowering plants. It was very interesting to see the green valley backdropped by the high desert mountains, what a contrast. Didn't take many pictures as there are several from our last posting of our trip north on NM 28 from last year.It was nice to just take a relaxing drive back and enjoy the scenery.

Today, I woke up early to get a early start on a project I have been wanting to do. When we bought the 5th Wheel we knew it had some issues (as most pre owned rigs do), one was the cracking between the the end caps and the rubber roof. The roof is fine, just seems the joint between has seen better days. We picked up some rubber roof repair tape at Camping World the other day, so today seemed like a good day to take care of it. As you can see in the first pic it was looking pretty shabby, so after a good cleaning, out came the repair tape. A little taping here and the little caulking of the seams there and I was finished in about two hours. I had previously caulked the seams pretty good (when we first got the rig) so today's adventure was just preventive maintenance and another layer of protection from possible leaks.

Well that's been our fun for the last couple of days, staying busy and getting the rig ready to hit the road in a couple of weeks, can't wait!!! That's it for now, so we'll see you fine folks on the next go round.

Busy Girl Again

2011-08-09T22:43:00.000-06:00

Well, we've been here in El Paso for over a week now and not really doing a whole lot. We have been catching up and finishing up medical appointments and they are just about over. Other than just living life, Sheryl has been a busy girl. She finally found the right material to redo the window coverings and has been hard at it. As you can see from the pics, it gives the rig a much more updated look (from RV designer yuck to simple elegance) and we are very happy with the results. I've also been busy, removing some old stickers from the rig and generally getting it cleaned up. The stickers we're pretty stubborn about coming off, but with alittle adhesive remover and a razor blade scraper, the job went pretty quick. We are thinking about having a professional come in and give the rig a good wax job before we head out. We'll let you know how that goes, if we do it. We both have a few more projects lined up we want to accomplish before we head out. Speaking of which, it's looking like (barring the river don't rise and the barn don't burn) we'll be heading out at the end of the month. So excited we'll finally be heading out on the adventure again.

I also picked up a new toy I'm still figuring out, so more on that later.

Take Care all and keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!

Back in El Paso, TX.

2011-07-31T14:27:00.000-06:00

After 3 long months at Holloman AFB, it was finally time to leave. We were up (kinda) early, had our couple of cups of Joe and began getting ready to head out. We stopped and said our goodbyes, actually see ya again, to some friends we had made and pulled out around 9:30. A quick stop at the McDonalds on base for breakfast (gotta love that dollar menu) we were on the road.

The drive was only about 90 miles, so it went pretty quick and uneventful. This being our first longer haul of Scout with Red, we were very impressed with her performance, as I knew we would be. We scored a site in the old section of the Ft Bliss RV Park (Mature trees, tables and a grill at each site) and got settled in.

There is a new section, but it is just basically RV pads in a field, no amenities. This is the view from our rig, the mountains are just a short ways from the park and make for some great sunsets. I also ran into an old friend here at the park, so it was nice getting to visit for a while. We'll be heading over to the base commissary for grocery's before long and to see what new around the base since last time we were here. I don't think we'll do much sight seeing while we are here, mainly just live life and get these medical appointments cleared off our calender.
Thanks for visiting and keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!

Gotta Love a Bargin

2011-07-28T13:21:00.001-06:00

Yesterday it was time to have Ole Red serviced (oil change) so we took her to our local Dodge dealer to have it done. Usually I do my own oil changes, however we were give 3 free oil changes by the dealers management for a less than stellar experience we had with them. Other wise they have actually been really good to deal with. Anyway while we were waiting, we noticed the parts department had a table with some clearance items on it. There just so happened to be a chrome wind deflector that just happened to fit our truck on it, and it of course caught Sheryl's eye. She asked how much they wanted for it and the girl came back with $100.00, I (being the tightwad I am) balked at that number as we really don't need it. Sheryl said, well, I'll give you $50.00 if really want to get rid of it........the girl thought for a moment, then said sold! So we are now the proud owners of a new factory wind deflector for well under the retail price, and heck they even installed it for free! Got to love my little wheeler and dealer.

We have also decided that our time here at Holloman is up, we have just a couple more medical appointments to go, but they are in El Paso, TX. So we'll be pulling up our Jacks and heading for El Paso and the Ft Bliss RV Park on Saturday. It's been pretty nice here at Holloman, but the change in scenery will do us both good. We are hoping to only be in El Paso for 3 weeks or less, depending on how things go, then we'll be heading out again on our fulltime adventure.

Were looking forward to the move and getting on the road again. We'll see you back here in a couple of days as we depart for West Texas. Take Care!!!

Life's Simple Pleasures

2011-07-24T22:32:00.001-06:00

It's been a bit since we posted, but we were handed a dose of reality last week. Sheryl had quite the scare last week (won't go into details) other than she spent 7 days in the hospital. After all was said and done (and several tests) we are happy to report she is doing well and all tests we negative. With that being said, and with inspiration from a fellow blogger, we take another look at some of life's simple pleasures. Some you do every day and don't give a second thought. Others you may notice but may not take the time to apprecate. But when the thought of losing a loved one/best friend/soul mate hits you square in the face, you take the time. So tomorrow as you get on with being busy, just stop for a moment and remember...........

The feeling you get walking hand in hand with that special person

That long hot shower

The way the day smells after a spring rain

A beautiful sunset

The scent of that rose bush as you pass by

Your first cup of coffee

Waking up and seeing how beautiful and peaceful your partner looks as they sleep

The deep down feeling of being in love

We could go on and on, but you get the idea. You hear it all the time, stop and smell the roses, but how often do you do it. Take the time and reward yourself, life is too short not to.

That was it, take Care and remember to Love Your Life as we do ours........more and more every day.

Roadside Sights

2011-07-10T09:21:00.000-06:00

We have been here in Southern New Mexico/West Texas for 5 months now and we both really miss travelling. So, I started looking at some photos of our past travels, and thought I share a few you. These are some of the odd roadside sights we've run across. You know, the kind while driving down the road you see something that causes you to do a double take and you just have to stop and take a look.

Just South of Amarillo, TX. a farmer did his take on the Cadillac Ranch. There were 8 Combines buried half way in the ground.

This restaurant was in Claude, Texas. The other half of the VW is on the inside and serves as a condiment bar. It was lunch time so we decided to give it a try, it was ok, but we've had better.

Outside of Crestview, Florida we saw this huge carving, belong to the DCD Cattle Ranch. We thought it was great what they did with the dead tree instead of just cutting it down.

In the Dallas Texas area, we saw this Jeep trailer, turned out to be an pretty inventive BBQ/Smoker. As a Jeeper myself we just had to get a picture.

Cedar Key, Florida, you don't often see a pink Edsel sitting on the side of the road.

Those are some of our favorites, We are sure we'll see plenty more on out travels.

Not much else is happening here, just day to day life, while waiting for doctors appointments. We are really wanting to get back on the road and Sheryl is ready NOW!!! But I keep telling her, we are not going to sacrifice your health to leave a little bit early. We'll be out there soon again and it's getting closer every day.

Enjoy the photos and see you next time.

RV Podiatrist

2011-07-08T06:37:00.000-06:00

Wednesday our little Scout had an appointment with the RV Podiatrist for a foot transplant. As you may remember we found a problem with the landing gear when we had the black tank valve fixed. The old landing gear had worn out and was just barley able to lift the rig (gears were shot). That seemed to be a pretty important item we needed to have taken care of (well, if wanted to travel anyway.....lol). We were up bright and early and headed out to the RV Doc for the surgery, they had the rig for 4 hours, so we just just bummed around town for a while and visited a friend while we were waiting. Bad part about this fulltiming thing, when your house is being worked on, your just SOL on having a place to go. Well they finally called and told us scout was out of recovery and sporting some shiny new feet. The system they installed is a duel motor setup, with a motor for each of the front legs. Our old system only had a single motor to lift both legs. With this set up we can raise and lower the legs both at the same time or individually to account for uneven ground. I think this set up will work out for us pretty well and it's a nice peace of mind knowing it's new. Well with any luck, that will be the last we see of the RV Doc for a while, with no health insurance on Scout, our wallet can't take too many more illnesses. Next up, another fun filled day at the DMV to get her New Mexico registration...................wish us luck!!!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Us!!!

2011-06-30T10:44:00.000-06:00

Seven years ago I met this beautiful lady, we chatted on the phone back and forth for a couple of weeks, then decided to met in person. Our first date was in Victorville, CA. half way between our homes. We met for coffee at Barns and Noble bookstore and instantly felt the connection, next was dinner at a local BBQ place (yes we know, don't eat messy food on a first date). But that was the idea, at our age, we just said, this is us and had a great time. Dinner went so good, we didn't want it to end, so a movie was in order, Meet the Fockers was playing, we laughed till we cried at some parts and just kept enjoying the evening. Before we knew it that first date was over, and we both knew we had found something special. Fast forward a few years, Sheryl's mom (who was quite the lady herself) wanted to know when I was going to make an honest woman out of her daughter?? We had been talking about marriage for a bit already, so it was time to make it official. On June 28, 2008 we married, it was a beautiful ceremony in the back yard of our home in Amarillo Texas. What made it really special was all of our kids were able to come from all over the country to attend.

This year the love of my life and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary with a quiet dinner at a local restaurant here in Alamogordo, NM. The restaurant is Memories and is located in an old 1900 style house which had been converted, imagine a nice Bed and Breakfast decor.

We started with a nice glass of wine and the best Clams in White Wine Sauce we've have ever had.

Dinner was a seafood feast, Grilled Shrimp for me and Grilled/Glazed Salmon for Sheryl. Dinner was excellent as usual for this place and the company even better.

I could not ask for a more beautiful woman, both inside and out to spend my life with. Now we are both living our dream of fulltime RVing, wow I don't think life can get much better!!! So here's to many, many more years together and just Lovin our Life!!!

Off to the Pool, ah, er, Gym!!!

2011-06-24T22:06:00.000-06:00

Last week Sheryl's Physical Therapist began introducing her to weight machines at their facility along with other therapy. We asked her about going to the gym on our own inbetween sessions, and she said that would be really good for her. Well, since we are here at a military base, we have access to the base gym, and this one just so happens to be a really nice one. They have every different weight/aerobic machine you could imagine as well as many other activities. So we started going and hope to go at least every other day until we leave for the road next month.

An added benefit of the gym is the indoor lap pool, it's nice to jump in and have a relaxing swim after a good workout. Plus on these 100+ degree days it's great for cooling off. We'll miss this bennie when we leave here, but plan on taking advantage of the gyms at various bases web visit on our travels. The PT has also given Sheryl plenty of exercises she can do at home, so those will help keep her (us) limber when a gym is not available. Between the treadmills, weights and pool we have been getting quite the workout, and both hope to be in better shape before long.

That's it for today, we're just trying to stay cool and don't plan on being in this heat next year. Take Care and see you on the next go round.

New Juice for Big Red

2011-06-22T12:46:00.000-06:00

We'll, it seems as if Big Red has been getting jealous of the Scout with all the attention she's been getting lately. So ole Red decided to let her batteries peter out and just go bad all together (that'll teach them to ignore me!!!) I've been having to charge the batteries more and more lately, as when I hop in the truck to starter up, shes just dead. Well I finally had enough and took her into the dodge dealer to be checked out (incase it was something else) and they confirmed the batteries were bad. Ok, kinda figured that, however what I didn't figure on was what they wanted to charge to install 2 new batteries. The Service Rep gave me a call here at the house with the quote, and after I picked myself up off the floor, said I'd be down to pick the truck up and see if I could do better in town. The good news is, there was no charge for the diagnosis (have to hand it to this dealer, they have been very good to us over the years) but they were going to charge $380.00 to install the 2 batteries. (see why I almost fainted). I picked up Big Red, and drove down to the Car Care Center here on base because I knew they sold Interstate Batteries and to see what they would charge (at least I could save on the Tax). Long story short I walked out with 2 new Interstate Batteries @ $89.00 Each, compared to $175.00 each at the dealer. So for a total bill of $179.00 I saved $201.00, We're happy campers!!!

So after around a 1/2 hour of work installing them, Big Red has a nice new pair of batteries. I must also comment, that the new ones have 100 more cranking amps than the factory replacements from the dealer, so even a better deal.

I thank everyday that I decided to stick it out and make the Air Force a career. The end retirement check is not a good as some, but not bad at all. What does make up for it, is the other benefits you don't think about. These save us alot of money through out the year and add conciderably to our quality of life. The above is just a small example of that.

Well, another unexpected hick-up taken care of, and another day closer to heading out at the end of July. Thanks for stopping by and we'll see you on the next go round.

Little Change, Big Improvement

2011-06-20T11:52:00.000-06:00

It funny how the smallest changes can make the biggest difference. In this case, quality of life. I was reading the Scouts owners manual (I know, say it's not so) and it suggested a 60 psi water regulator to protect the RV's plumbing. We have been using a 40-50 psi regulator on the trailer and just transferred it over to the Scout when we hooked her up. and the water pressure was, lets just say, dismal. While we were at the RV Doctor the other day, we picked up a 50-55psi Hi-Flow regulator, brought it home and replaced the old one. All we can say is WOW what a difference that made, the shower now feels like a real home shower!!! Of course all the other faucets work that much better also, but the shower is best. The other big change (which actually came with the rig) is the 10 gallon Hi-Intensity water heater, we have yet to run out of hot water, and that's taking back to back showers and not turning the water off during each one. Ahhhhhh life is good!!!

We have a window behind the head of our bed with the Day/Night shades. We both like to sit in bed in the mornings, have our coffee and make some valid attempt at waking up. We found ourselves leaning against the shades, as well as the pillows hitting against them as we were going to sleep. We decided to look at putting a headboard up to save the shades from our daily assault on them. While at Hobby Lobby (you remember Sheryl's favorite store) we found this rustic but lite headboard. Sheryl's wheels started turning and she told me her plan for it, so we picked it up. Once we got it home, she went right to work with the transformation. She had some left over batting from a quilt she made, plus a bed skirt from the new bedding set. So after a little cutting, stapling and hot glue gunning, we had a headboard to match our bedroom. We both think it turned out pretty good, and it keeps us from destroying the shades protected behind.

That's it's for today's home improvement projects, really not much to do in the Scout, just little changes that make a big difference. So until next time.....you know the drill.....see you then.

A Day at the Doctor (RV Doctor that is)

2011-06-18T08:23:00.000-06:00

A couple of days ago, it was time to empty the black tank and well the ole girl just seemed constipated. Pulled the handle on the tank and nothing, not that lovely sound of rushing stuff through the hose, just dead silence. Of course my first thought was, oh this isn't good. Well after trying several different home remedies, she just wouldn't give it up, so an appointment was made with the doc. Our appointment was yesterday so we hooked up and made it to the doctors office around 10:00 for what should have been a 2 hour procedure. Sparing you the gorey details, 6 hours later, she was ready. The diagnosis, lets just say she was really constipated. Seems the previous owner (not a true RVer) who just lived in the trailer, thought it was ok to leave the black tank valve open all the time (which we were unaware of). Well, as all you fellow RVers, know what that leads to, yup, 6 hours of flushing out the tank and a new valve.

Knowing the surgery was going to take a good cut out of our wallet, we decided to rub salt in our wound and spend a couple of hours at the DMV. You see we have been in New Mexico of over three years now and finally decided to get our Drivers License's, heck we had nothing else to do. We thought spending a few hours with a bunch of happy like minded individuals was just what we needed to take our mind off our Scout being at the doctors office. We both walked away with a shiny new Drivers License and are now official New Mexicans.

A quick word on our choice to become New Mexico residents. Most folks in the fulltime RV world have their residency in FL, TX, SD and other states with no income tax. We chose to stay in NM, as all of Sheryl's doctors are here, the cost of living is low, taxes are low as well as vehicles registrations, etc. We did live in TX for a while and learned, even though there in no state income tax, the state sure gets their money out of you in various other ways, so it works out about the same in the end.

So towards the end of the day and with her digestive system feeling all better, we made it back to our spot at Holloman AFB. When we pulled up, I thought, we don't have any pictures of our new rig and our new truck together. So a couple of shots later and here they are. This was also our first time pulling the Scout with Big Red, and as you could imagine, she did just fine with her Cumins Diesel engine.

One last thing we discovered during our hook up and travel to the shop, is the front landing gear is shot and needs to be replaced. We had the repair shop order us a new system and it will be installed next week. (more on that later) We also knew going in that buying a pre owned rig, you take a chance with things going wrong. Good news is, shes paid for, so no big payments on top of issues coming up, and we also budgeted for any fixes that may rear their ugly head. Life is still good, just with a little lighter wallet

That's all for this installment, we'll see you next time and of course, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours.

New Toys For The 5ver

2011-06-15T20:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday and today we picked up a couple of toys for the 5ver and also got one in the mail. The first was the new Capture plate needed for the Pullrite Superslide Hitch to operate correctly. The capture plate fits over the king pin and up against the kingpin skid. The new plate is held in place with bolts. The top pic is the kingpin with out the plate and the second is with it. The Y at the rear of the plate matches the Y notch on the hitch allowing it to lock together and turn as one unit. Woooo Hoooo now we can actually tow our rig with our own truck!!!

The next items are more for convenience and to make life on the road just a little bit better. Back when we had our house I had a nice portable air compressor, however it was alittle to big to take along in the trailer. We ended up selling it, as I had a nice little 12v compressor that did the job. Well, with the 5ver and the larger tires requiring 80psi the little 12v job is just not up to the task. Today I found a nice small in size 120v air compressor at Home Depot, and just the right size to fit in the outside storage compartment. I tested it out on the 5th Wheel tires and it only took a couple of minutes to bring them up to 80psi from 60psi. I like it!!!

Our next purchase was a vacuum, we had been looking at small stick vacuums, since we only have carpet in the bedroom, we just need something small. Then while shopping for the compressor I ran across these little Shop Vacs. I talked it over with Sheryl and we decided it would work fine for the bedroom and do double duty as a regular shop vac if needed (we have needed one in the past). So for less than $100.00 for the two we walked away with life becoming just alittle better.

Sheryl hasn't quite finished her decorating project yet, so we'll have keep you in suspense just alittle longer. Sheryl's Physical Therapy is coming along nicely as well as good news from the pain management doctor, looks like she'll be running circles around me pretty soon!!! She can't wait!!!

Things are coming together and looks like our departure for the open road is going as scheduled, end of July, and we are both so looking forward to it.. That's it for this installment, so keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours.

Out With the Old and In With the New

2011-06-15T08:14:00.001-06:00

In famous Sheryl fashion, it didn't take long to begin making our new 5th Wheel fit our style. One of the first things to go was the that hideous futon it came with (the previous owner was so proud of it). We replaced it with a new small sized couch/chaise lounge, and wow is it comphy!!! Good thing is it fits in the same space as the original RV couch, maybe just a little longer. It looks kinda big it the space, however we like the way it helps define the living area and separate it from the dining/kitchen area. You also may think that with it's size comes alot more weight, good thing is, it's not very heavy at all. We also removed one of the 2 big rocker recliners to give us more room. So with replacing the original couch, and the extra chair, the weights for the trailer pretty much remain the same.

So our little house is coming together, once again it's beginning to look like a small apt rather than a trailer and that's the look we are going for. We are also awaiting a package from Brown Santa (UPS) which will actually allow us to move the trailer, so, we'll so you that when it comes in.

Ok, take care and see you soon!!!

New Shoe's and a Surprise???

2011-06-12T12:09:00.000-06:00

When we bought the truck, the tires were, well, just about worn out. So, with the sale of the trailer it was time for Big Red to get some new shoes. After scouring the internet for good deals, we decided on a set of Cooper All Terrains from Discount Tire. I prefer buying tires from national chains, mainly for their road hazard warranty and the number of stores located around the country. This way if something happens, theres a good chance There will be a store nearby. I know a lot of folks don't believe in buying the road hazard warranty, but with the number of miles we put on our rigs as Fulltimers and some of the rough off road travel we do, for us it's peace of mind.

I've never used Cooper tires before, but have read a lot of good reviews on this particular tire. Discount was out of the tire I originally had in mind, these Cooper's were a more expensive tire, but they came down on the price to match the ones they were out of. Some folds may disagree, but I've always had great customer service at Discount, and this time was no exception. So we'll see how the Cooper do out on the road.

While we were on our road trip for tires, Sheryl has some decorating ideas for the new rig, so a stop at her favorite store was in order!!! You can see she has a pillow from our new couch (too be delivered on Tuesday) to match up colors. You maybe wondering just what she has up her sleeve...................you'll just have to wait and see..............I know, it's not nice to tease!!! After a long day it was back to the campground, a lot of miles to take care of these couple items. I love the small town atmosphere of Alamogordo, however you have to travel abit for big city stores and amenities.

That was our day yesterday, and a couple more checks off the list to getting back on the road at the end of next month. Ok, thats it for now and we'll see you next time.

Sold!!!

2011-06-10T17:04:00.000-06:00

Our little trailer sold in just 3 days!!! Wooooo Hooooo!!! We had a couple travel 150 miles to look at it and bought it on the spot. We came down a little from what we were asking for it, but feel we both got a good deal. We also did a good deed for a family down on their luck, let me explain. The couple who bought the trailer are not true RVers, but rather a couple who fell on hard times. The gentleman had his identity stolen and this caused them to lose everything they had to include his job. Hard to believe criminals can have such power over you. The couple managed to save X number of dollars over the last year and needed to buy a place to live. Believe it or not, they have been living in a utility trailer for the past year, with no power or water at all, man that is true love to stay together through that. They drove the 150 mile here and their truck started acting up, to the point they can not tow the trailer back home, (bad luck strikes again). After talking it over with Sheryl, we decided, we would tow the trailer back for them (heck we have nothing else to do, we're retired!!!) You would not believe how grateful these folks were, on top of that, they were just the sweetest couple, and just down on their luck. There were some other issues that we worked together on, but long story short, we were able to sell our trailer and at the same time, help out some good folks in need, we feel really good!

So around 2:00 pm we all got on the road, we towed the trailer from Holloman AFB (south central NM) to southwestern NM. Sheryl had never been to this area of NM, so that was an added bonus for her. I'm sure most everyone has heard of the fires burning in AZ. In the picture above, that low cloud on the horizon is actually smoke from the fires blowing into NM, and this is the smaller one burning in southern AZ.

After dropping the trailer at their RV site (yes they were actully living in a small utility trailer, wow) it was getting to be dinner time. They recommended a local steak house for dinner, so we said our goodbyes and off we went. All we can say is the dinner was GREAT and one of the better ones we have had out in a long long time. As you can tell I've purposely left out the name of the town in which they are staying to protect their privacy. However, if you would like the name of the restaurant and town, just drop us an email and we'll hook you up. This place is well worth it if you are in Southwest NM.

So that's it, the trailer is sold, and a good deed done to boot. We're one step closer to getting back on the road, can't wait. Ok, until we meet again, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!

Cleaning Day

2011-06-06T20:38:00.000-06:00

We finally got everything moved over to the new rig, so today was a day of cleaning both. Sheryl worked on cleaning the travel trailer and getting the inside presentable for sale. We have it listed on Craigslist and are hoping for some good news and a quick sale. As Sheryl worked on the Trailer, I worked on washing the outside of the new rig, well at least getting the first layer of grime off. Seems as if it had not been washed in a long long time. Even got up and did the roof, after a few hours we were finally done, man what a job. Next step will be to give her a good coat of wax (the rig not Sheryl).

Sheryl also went for her second Physical Therapy session and to our surprise it's working already. With nothing more than a few of the right stretches shes actually feeling some improvement. So things are looking up for us.

Not much else for us, just enjoying the new rig and all the room. Still trying to get organized, but that is with any new place. So that's it for now, take care and as we say..........well, you know the drill............see you next time.

Our New Rig!!!

2011-06-03T19:59:00.000-06:00

She's finally here, our new to us 5th Wheel. It's a 2001 Sunnybrook Mobile Scout, 33' Triple Slide. There are 2 opposing slides in the living area with a rear entertainment center, and 1 slide out in the Bedroom.

The day started out bright and early with a trip down to El Paso to pick it up. We were so excited about picking it up, we forgot to take pictures. After spending some time with the owner, and going over some last minute items, we were on our way back with our new rig, Wooo Hooo. I must say, she pulled like a dream, and that was pulling it with our neighbors GMC 2500 Gasser. We had to borrow our neighbors truck as we needed a regular hitch, until we can order the proper kingpin plate. Can't wait to see how the Dodge does. Once we made it back to Holloman, the real fun began, moving everything from the trailer to the 5ver.

Amazing how much stuff we had in that small trailer!!!

The outside needs a good wash and wax, but other than that is in pretty good shape. Here's a few pic's of the outside.

The previous owner had the carpet removed and replaced with wood flooring, nice. Once again we were able to fit (with a little modification) our 40' TV, got to love the big screen!!!. He also left us a nice stereo receiver and DVD player. Here's a few pics of the interior.

It sure is amazing how much more room there is, both inside and storage outside. How did we ever make it before.....lol. The rig does have a couple of minor issues, that we have taken care of already or are in the process of taking care of, but we knew that going in. For a 2001 model it's in pretty good shape though and we feel we came away with a good deal and a really nice rig for what we paid. Sheryl has some decorating ideas, she will be doing. We will also be changing out some of the furniture to more fit our style.

This rig is going to make our fulltiming adventure much more comfortable. We may not beable to get as far into the backcountry as we could have with the trailer, but we still have the truck to take us there. So that is our new rig and we are very happy, so as always, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!

Memorial Day, 2011

2011-05-30T15:39:00.000-06:00

We hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day, and took a minute to reflect on what the day was set aside for. Remember, not just those who died in battle, but also those who have givin their lives during peace time. Being in the USAF Law Enforcement for 24 years, I have know and heard of several Military Police who had their lives cut short, just because of the job they held. One such was a friend of mine, who was murdered while off duty in the Philippines, because he was recognized as a K9 Officer. Not asking anyone to dwell on the subject, just to stop for a moment, look up into the sky and remember.

I thought during this Memorial Day, I would go down to the static aircraft display area and shoot some pictures. I have been playing with Black and White photos lately, Hope you enjoy.

Take Care from Southern NM, and we'll see you next time. Hopefully we'll have our new 5th Wheel by then, this waiting is killing us!!!

Good News X 2

2011-05-21T22:36:00.000-06:00

The other day, Sheryl had her second opinion appointment with the new doctor and things didn't turn out quite as expected, it actually went better!!! The doctor reviewed her case, gave her a good examination and told her surgery was not the best option. He explained, in his experience, surgery does more harm than good and recommended physical therapy and pain relief injections. Well of course I was there with her and was expecting her to just lose it, what no surgery after all we have been through to try and get it!!! To my surprise she was Happy, and I was confused?? The doctor left to go write up the referral, and I asked her about how she really felt, and again to my surprise, she said she felt really good about it and very relieved that she wasn't going to have the surgery. So next week we'll look at beginning the physical therapy and make an appointment with the pain management doctor. We both think this is a good decision and hope the PT and injections work and don't't take to long, as we are really ready to be back travelling. Wish her luck!!!
The next bit of good news is, we found a 5th Wheel to buy. We went down to El Paso to look it over in person. Everything looked good and Sheryl just fell in love with the layout inside. We gave the owner a small down payment and we'll be picking it up on the 1st. Ahhh life is good. The rig is a Sunny Brook Mobile Scout 33' Rear Living Triple Slide model. There are a couple of issues here and there, but nothing major and easy fixes. We negotiated a very good deal and are very happy, be even more happy when we can pick it up. In all our excitement, we forgot to get pictures (of course), we have ones from the ad, but would rather post our own.
So that's the Good News X 2 for us this week. Thank goodness no surgery and a new rig to boot, life is good!!! So to add to the suspense, you'll have to wait till we bring her home for pictures.
That's all for this week, so next time we'll see you right here, just Lovin our Life

Next Step Completed

2011-05-15T00:22:00.000-06:00

Today I installed a trailer brake controller in the truck. When we traded the Jeep, I had them remove the trailer brake controller, no sense buying a new one. I was originally going to have it installed at our local RV shop, however in talking with them, I found our truck has a plug for a plug and play harness. I picked up a harness at their shop and found all I had to do was strip and crimp the wire together, mount the controller and plug it in. Well, after around half an hour, it was installed, and a mighty fine job if I do say so myself, and I do! So now when we find the 5ver for us, that is one less step to worry about.
Luckily, I have a friend who is going to let me borrow his manual sliding hitch, so I can pick up the 5th wheel when I we find one. This way we can bring it back here , then order the proper capture plate from PullRite for the hitch.
So, it looks like things are coming together, now it's just a matter of waiting for the right rig to come along, and to jump on it right away, as they seem to sell rather quickly. That's it for now, so stay tuned and hopefully we'll have a new rig to show off soon.

It's Official.........I'm Old!!!

2011-05-11T21:18:00.000-06:00

Ok, just kidding on the old part, but................yesterday I finally got my hearing aids from the VA. I've known for a long time that my hearing has been going down the tubes. I've checked into hearing aids in the past, however they have been way to expensive, so poor hearing is something most of us just live with. Well, after X number of years from being retired, I went to the VA, obtained a disability rating (hearing and other issues) and found I qualified for them. Since the VA provides them free of charge, I jumped at the chance to get a set. I was very impressed with the VA as it only took a couple of months to get them.

I chose the smallest, behind the ear type they had, after the consultation, they seemed the best choice. As you can see they are not very noticeable, which is what I was hoping for. At first I really didn't notice a big difference like I was expecting, but the more I wear them, it the suttle things, sounds you don't remember ever hearing. I'm here to tell you, I didn't realize the world was such a noisy place....lol. I've also began to realize how annoying all these little nosies can be. On the plus side, I don't need to have the TV turned up as loud, and the absolute best part is being able to hear my lovely wife again, what a great feeling and of course Sheryl is happy not to have to constantly repeat herself...........happy girl!
That's it for now, I'm really pleased with their performance and glad I decided to get them. Take Care everyone ad we'll see you here next time.

Little Update

2011-05-07T13:40:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to answer a couple of comments we've gotten concerning the hitch we installed. The PullRite SuperGlide takes a special adapter plate which is installed on the 5th Wheels King Pin to make the hitch operate correctly. That is the part we have not gotten yet, as we don't know which 5ver we'll be getting. Since there are many different king pin manufactures, we figured we would wait until we found the 5ver to buy then order the proper plate for it, which according to PullRite is a simple install. We could have bought their universal adapter plate, but was told it would be more difficult and time consuming, along with the need for special tools we don't have. Will it be a pain to find the 5ver first and then order the plate, yes, especially if it is some distance from us now. However for the minor PITA at first, it will much nicer in the long run.

We've also been asked a couple of times where we're headed from here. The general plan from here will be KS, OK, TX, to visit family and then on to southern FL by the end of Nov for our sons wedding. Since we'll be in FL already, figure we'd go to north central FL and stay for a bit. Would love to stay farther south, but campground prices really go up during that time if the year. The north central area pricing seems to stay the same and is actually fairly reasonable. After that who knows, we really want to head towards the North West as neither of us has been there. Of course Sheryl wants to see New England also, so that maybe a better choice since we'll be on this side of the country anyway.
Again thanks for all the emails and comments everyone. Like all who have a blog, it's usually started for friends and family first, but it sure is nice to know others enjoy it also. I know we enjoy reading several fulltimers blogs, even though we may not post to them every time, we sure enjoy them.
Take Care all, and see ya next round.

The Hitch is Here!!!

2011-05-05T18:03:00.000-06:00

Since Alamogordo, NM is our home base, this is also where we have our mail forwarding service. The ladies in town called yesterday to tell us we had a huge box and if we could come out and get it, as it was too heavy for them to move. My first thought was, Wow I just ordered it 2 days ago and it's here already, now that's service!!! So I headed downtown to pick it up.

Our mail forwarding service is run by some very nice ladies, so when they said it was heavy, they were right, 280 pounds right!!! I knew hitches were heavy, but, I didn't realize they were that heavy, and of course I was by myself. We'll after alittle thinking and several grunts and many groans, I was able to heft it up into the truck bed...........whew......that took a lot out of me, but I got it up there. Today I took to installing it. The boxes remained in the bed as I worked around them, be darned if I was going to lift that thing back in the bed again!! First I installed the rails, alittle twisting and wrenching later and they were in, sure helped having a vehicle you sit up underneath. Next the hitch was put together and everything was pre fit together, before the final tighting down. Well, everything fit just right, so the final tighting was done.

And there she is, all installed and ready to roll, pretty darn good work if I do say so myself. One thing I was glad of, the previous owner had the brackets already installed on the frame, so that made it just a bolt on installation for me, thank goodness.

The hitch is a PullRite SuperGlide automatic sliding hitch. We thought about a manual one at half the cost, but decided to spend alittle more upfront and make life easier and better in the long run. No getting out and manually unlocking and locking the hitch, just let her do it her self........ahhhh nice. The hitch seems very well built and I'm glad we went this route. So the first step to getting a 5th Wheel is complete, next step, finding the one that is right for us. In our price range the choices are alittle more limited, but they are out there and it'll be nice to pay cash and not have another payment.

Ok, the big secret has been revealed, so until next time...............Keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours......Take Care

Somethings Missing

2011-05-03T12:51:00.000-06:00

Since we decided to upgrade to a 5th Wheel, we have been busy scouring the Internet to see what is out there in our price range. During our hours spent searching we have surprisingly found quite a few, good to know come buying time. Then of course, I walked out to the truck and noticed we were missing something, if we wanted 5er, hmmmm guess we better look at getting a hitch That sure would be a bummer if we ran across the perfect rig and had no way to get it home!!! So the gears changed from looking at rigs to looking for a hitch. Good news is, theres lots of them out there. Bad news is, most do not come with the rails, are not a sliding hitch (which we need) or are just too far away to make it economically feasible (shipping cost). After some research I budgeted a figure to spend on a hitch, however I wasn't about to spend nearly that much on a used hitch, when for just a little more, I could buy new. Well after considerable thinking and weighing the options, we decided on one, broke out the debit card and placed an order. Which one did we decide on, well............I have to have something for our next post, so you'll just have to wait.....:) I can say I upped our budget a bit to buy one that will be better for us in the long run.

Other than racking our brains over the above, life has been pretty normal, day to day life. We are staying in more and not doing a whole lot as we save for the new rig. So until next time.............see ya then.

IMAX Experience

2011-04-24T10:55:00.000-06:00

Before beginning our fulltime adventure, we lived here in Alamogordo, NM for 2 years and somehow managed never to visit the NM Space History Museum or attached IMAX Theater. I have never been to an IMAX movie and vowed not to leave the area again with out seeing one. So Saturday, while thinking of something to do, I though, hey, lets go to the IMAX. Sheryl thought it was a good idea, so off we went, and all I can say is WOW!!!. If you have never been to one, make sure you do when ever you a chance. The movie we saw, was "Amazing Caves" about two explorers exploring several caves around the world. along with the underground scenes, there were fly through of massive canyons and kayakers in whitewater. Being my first experience with IMAX, I was just blown away, we'll definitely be going back again when the change movies.

We didn't take in the Museum, as we have been to more than our fair share of aerospace type museums over the years. I did have some nice displays outside, we gave them alook and then headed out for some shopping and then home.

We haven't really done much fun staff since we've been here, so it was good to get out and experience something new.

Our little park here is full to the gills with folks passing through heading back north from their winter stay in AZ. It's interesting meeting all the folks as the pass through on their way home.

Ok, that's it for today, so until next time, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours.

Stayin Put for a Bit

2011-04-19T21:33:00.000-06:00

Southern New Mexico sure seems to have us in her grips. Actually we've decided to stay put for at least 4 months. This will give us time to get the whole medical appeal sorted out, Sheryl time to recover if the surgery does get approved and lastly we'll be saving some money to buy a new to us 5th Wheel. The trailer we have now is nice and has served us well over the last year and a half, but we decided it was time to get something with alittle more room. We want to go with a 5ver for the under belly storage room, and generally increased living space, instead of a larger travel trailer. It'll be nice in Sept to hit the road with a larger more comfortable rig, until then our little trailer will do just fine.

Were debating on trying to stay here at Holloman AFB Campground for the whole time, or maybe move around to different campgrounds in the area for a change of pace, may just stay here another month and go from there.

Ok, just an update on our decision, we'll be finding things to do here in the area to keep us entertained and of course we'll be posting those adventures and maybe even get to find some more off road areas that eluded me last time. Until then.................................................

Day to Day Life

2011-04-13T10:18:00.000-06:00

Not a lot of posting going on here lately as we have settled into day to day life. Since this area is our homebase and we have pretty much seen everything here, there'sactually not much to post about, and I'm not one to bore you with our daily meals and laundry adventures....lol. I was talking with a gentleman a couple of RV's down, who has the same make and model truck as us, just a couple of years older. We were talking guy stuff, truck power, ride and then of course mileage and it seemed he was getting much better mileage than I am. Well one thing led to another and I thought I'd check the air filter and change it if needed. The truck came with an aftermarket cold air system installed with a reuseable filter, but just my luck a brand that is not real popular in this area. I pulled out the filter an WOW, was it dirty, and I don't mean a little bit dirty, it was packed with dirt and dust. Hmmmm, maybe thats the problem with the poor mileage (Ya Think???) so I headed downtown and picked up a cleaning and recharge kit, a different brand, but they work just the same. So after two good cleanings and a recharge of the filter, we'll see how she does. Should do much better as the truck seems to even run a bit better since she can breath now.

The only other big news, incase you were waiting to hear, Sheryl's surgery got denied by our insurance company, so we are having to do an appeal. Hard to believe they have that much power over a person, that they can dictate what they think you need and what the doctor that examined you says you need. So the fight is on!!! Of course we both are pretty down and upset about this, mainly Sheryl as she is the one living in pain and surviving on pain killers and other meds. It's driving her crazy, thinking she may have to live like this, until it gets worse or something really bad happens. So we'll fight the good fight and see what happens.

Depending on how everything goes, looks like we'll be here for at least another month or longer if we can get the surgery approved. We've been in the area for just over a month now, and the travel bug sure is biting at our heals, hard to believe how quickly you can get that itch.

Well, thats it for now, we'll wait and see what happens. Thanks again for dropping by for a visit and until next time, Take Care.

Windy Day Project

2011-04-06T07:51:00.001-06:00

The other day it was quite windy (ok, crazy windy!!) so we stayed inside and rode it out. Sheryl was busy with all her projects (quilting, crochet, etc) and I was just staring at the tube..........mindless entertainment. We had some left over window insulation from Camping World that was just laying around, so I got the idea to rap our little electric cooler in it, in an attempt to make it more efficient. The cooler is one of those Colman electric coolers you find at Wal Mart and other stores for around $100.00. It runs on AC or DC power and will keep things cool to the tune of 40 degrees below the surrounding temp. With the limited space inside the trailer the cooler lives outside underneath out of the weather and does great in the Fall /Winter/Spring, but in the summer it begins to struggle with the higher temps. The cooler goes in the trucks backseat and filled with snacks when travelling. We like to buy our drinks by the case, and usually put a few in the fridge and the case in the bedroom and refill the fridge from there, but we also keep the little cooler full as the drinks get colder faster from when transferred from the cooler to the fridge. In the cooler months we just keep the drinks in the cooler to save space in the fridge. So anyway, I broke out the duct tape (mans best friend) scissors and insulation and went to work. About an hour later I was finished, and not a bad job if I do say so myself. Now it's just a matter of seeing if it works, it will at least reflect the suns heat and help in that aspect. The cooler has been living outside for over a year now and I can tell you, it's one tough piece of equipment, it's been through all kinds of weather (rain, not direct exposure/snow/heat/dirt/dust/wind/etc) and just keeps chugging along. One day I'd like to pick up an actually AC/DC portable fridge, about the same size, but at $600.00 to $800.00 a pop, it will have to wait abit.

Well, that was my project for the day, we'll see how it does, if it works, heck may just rap the whole trailer in it!!!.....lol. Take Care and see you next time.

Back at Holloman AFB, NM.

2011-04-03T21:16:00.000-06:00

It's been a bit since we last posted, but it's been a pretty emotional couple of weeks. Started out with some very bad health news for Sheryl, during her yearly check-up. Then a few days later she ended up in hospital for several days, for her back, but was kept for testing because of the other news. Well, after all the tests were run, it we determined, the first Doc miss diagnosed her condition and she is fine!!! Thank Goodness!!! After that, we visited her back doctor and he was able to schedule her back surgery for this week. Sheryl is so grateful she will finally be getting some relief from her back pain, that she actually broke down and started crying at his office. The procedure will also be much less intrusive than we were expecting, so her recovery should be that much quicker. Did I mention how grateful and happy she is!!! Along with some other issues, you can see it has been a very emotional roller coaster ride for us, and we just needed time to get things sorted out.

We also decided we wanted a change of scenery, so after a month in El Paso, we pulled up stakes (or jacks as it were) and headed north into New Mexico and are staying at the Holloman AFB RV Park. We forgot how nice this little park is, if you remember, we Camp Hosted here just before leaving on our grand adventure.

We did finally get our awning installed the other day, however, they found one of the springs in the hardware was broken, so they have to order one for us. So, yup, nice new awning and can't use it, plus with Sheryl's surgery scheduled for this week, we'll have to wait for a while before we can take the rig down to have that part fixed. Good thing is, our RV site faces North to South, so our patio area is actually well shaded by the trailer, just right for sitting out in the afternoon/evening.

The new truck pulled our little trailer like a dream, as we imagined it would. We are very happy with it so far, and glad we made the switch from the Jeep. The only issue is the truck will need new tires before too long, at least before we head out again on our travels. Will be looking for a good long lasting smooth riding tire, but also an A/T tire for off road travels. Looking at the BFG A/Ts, but there pretty high dollar, so if you have any suggestions, we would love to hear them.

The photo above, is from 5:00 pm today looking directly into the sun, it's been a really high wind/high dust day, so we've been huddled up inside, out of the mess.

Ok, that's all for today, things are really looking up now, after all that has happened these last couple of weeks, so as we say, keep "Lovin Your Life" as we do ours and we'll look forward to seeing you next time.

Big Red, The Reveal!!!

2011-03-22T20:49:00.000-06:00

Well here she is, ain't she a beast...I mean beaut!!! 2006 Dodge Ram 2500, 4X4, with 83,000 miles. Not bad for a diesel. The price was fair, and we were treated well by the dealer, it meets all our requirements for towing now and in the future. We have been talking for a while now about getting a truck like this one, we just wanted to wait for the right one to come along. We knew we wanted a diesel if we could afford one, plus it had to have 4 wheel drive for off roading. We headed out the other day to just look but all we were finding (in our price range) was very high mileage beaters. So we decided to pack it in and get some lunch, funny thing was, there was a Dodge dealer right across the street from the resturaunt. On the way out Sheryl says, hey, why don't we look and see what they have, and well.......the rest is now history as thats the dealer we bought from. Also, you can tell it has four wheel drive, so our off road adventures will continue, just in a different vehicle. It will certainly take alittle getting used to driving it, both on and off road, as it's much bigger than the Jeep.
Tomorrow, we'll see how she tows, we are taking the trailer up to Camping World to get our new awning installed. Yep, we finally decided it was time for a new one, with summer almost here it'll be nice to have it out to get away from the blazing sun here in the Southwest. As you may remember (or not) last year just before we headed out on the road, one of those lovely El Paso winds came up out of nowhere and our old awning was history. I was at the VA Hospital, and poor Sheryl was just no match for the wind gust that so kindly removed the awning.
Tomorrow is also my "your officially getting old" appointment at the VA, yep, being fitted for my hearing aids. I've been putting it off for so long now, but my hearing loss is really starting to affect my (our) everyday life, so I guess it's time.
Ok, well, that was the big reveal, we'll miss the Jeep, but we'll have just as much fun with our new friend. Towing will be less stressful, not worrying about being over loaded, and there's alot more room for Sheryl to move around and be Comfy.
Take Care and thaks for stopping by.