Santa made a stop at my house!

I waited for Santa all nite long, but somehow fell asleep! I had him some cookies and some medicinal refreshments to keep  him warm on his long journey.

Santa Claus was very, very good to me!!! He brought me the Weber Q100 "Baby Q" which I have been wanting for awhile. Of course it is for the RV!! And what is a new grill without some new grill tools and digital Temp fork to keep an eye on your Temps!!

Santa also brought a leaf blower, Vac that I have been needing (also for the RV) to blow the tops of the slideouts so I wont have to climb on top to sweep them before retracting! Good Job Santa. A couple of other items rounded out the wish list and I did very good in that Dept. I put the leaf blower together and did some yard work in front just to check it out. Will have to find a gas bottle to check the Q out. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Christmas Tree for Traveling

It is officially the 12 days of Christmas at our house. We got a late start due to the weather and we both have been sick for a couple of weeks. Seems like the flu this year just keeps hanging on. I got both H1N1 and regular flu shots this year and maybe this wasnt the flu but just a bad cold, but it just kept hanging on and making me feel like yuck! Now though I am back up to speed and Peggy has been taking me shopping, mainly to carry packages and such, but we are almost done and even have a tree put up. We decided this year to get a small tree that we can put in a corner and use it when we are finally on the road in the 5th Wheel. We selected a thin little 5 ft tree from Lowe's Home Improvement which already had lights, pine cones and red berries. We only added a few snowflakes, and some ceramic birds and done. The pic may not do it justice but I will try to add enough so you can tell how nice this tree really is.

We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Powell Park, Sam Rayburn

We could not resist going on a campout when the weather was supposed to be good all weekend. We took off on Friday morning and made it all of twenty miles before Peggy smelled something burning coming thru the air vents. As soon as I could safely stop, we got out and quickly found that smoke was coming from the right front wheel area. I lifted the hood and could not see any fire and the smoke soon quit. Hmmm! New Brake Pad were put on the truck a week or so ago, perhaps that was an issue. Finally figured out that a Brake Caliper had stuck and gotten hot. I decided to press on and have it checked on Saturday at the nearest Tire shop. As soon as we got to camp and unhooked the 5fer, Peggy starts sweeping the site! I managed to capture her doing a little work to make the place livable. The squirrels like the concrete table also, but do not clean up after themselves. This campground stays pretty busy most of the year, but in the fall you can almost get the place to yourselves. There were only three or four campers in the whole park, so we had plenty of space and it was very quiet and nice.

As you can see by the pics,,,not much going on here and we really enjoyed it. On Saturday we took the truck into Jasper Tx to a tire store and they took the wheel off and diagnosed the caliper was the problem and suggested replacing it. We spent the next hour or so watching traffic and reading the magazines on tires in the store. I did catch Peggy filching a recipe from a very old Southern Living magazine but she says that women do this all over the world and if I wanted to eat her cooking, I should turn a blind eye to her theivery. I did what any good law enforcement officer/husband would do, and I didnt see nuthin!!

If you click on this pic, Peggy caught a squirrel working on the peanuts that I threw out. We had 5 or 6 near the camp scrounging, eating, and burying peanuts for the winter.

If you need proof that computer games makes people crazy look no further. Here is Peggy checking her facebook page and farming sites. I could tell you that she is using two laptops to do this, but truthfully I was right next to her sitting in the cold to check 'the farms' We purchased the wifi from the park but were not close enough for a good signal and had to walk a hundred yards or so to get a good signal. We did get a lot of looks from boaters leaving the boat ramp and headed to camp fires and lights while we sat in the dark by the glow of the computer screens. How Cozy!! On Saturday Keith and Donna Green came by while out looking at Real Estate in the area. I did not get a pic because they dont stay anywhere long and had to get on the road.

I had posted the below pic of a bulldog caught in a beer box on Facebook. Peggy took these after I backed the 5fer in the usual space in our back yard, so I posted these for anyone to look at.

I hope everyone enjoys the Thanksgiving Holidays and try not to eat too much! I gotta get out the map and plan another trip.

Rallyin with other Heartland Owners

I am sitting, waiting quietly for children to come to the door for Halloween! I made a special trip to get candy in case we have visitors. Even though Peggy says we have never had any before, this year may be a first, now that some kids have moved close to us. I always prepare for the kids and if they don't show this year like before. I will just eat the candy!

Okay, I have no excuse really on not posting after our return from Rayfords Crossing and the Heartland owners rally. I have had work stacked up waiting on me and finally managed to catch up. There are no photos of this trip save for one taken at the potlock supper on Saturday nite, but it has the backs of peoples head mostly so I opted not to put it in the blog. I also have no excuse for not taking any pics so there you are. We did arrive and get set up okay on Wed evening. Everyone allready camped came by and welcomed us and invited us down to the gathering camp for the get aquainted sit around. We then met the rally organizer who told me that they did not have a lot planned since a couple of sponsers who usually present informative talks, backed out. No worries for me since I prefer to wander at will and shoot the bull. My navigator got sick on the first night with a bad chest cold and managed to remain unconcious for most of the rally. I did come and check on her hourly and see that she was fed and watered, but after that she was down for the count. I did learn a lot from the other RV folks there, and that was the main reason I had wanted to go. Look at other rigs, talk about issues, soak up knowledge that someone else has learned the hard way, and try to learn more about our RV and how to make it all work. I looked closely at every kind of hitch, stabilizer setups, wheel chocks, sewer hoses, jacks, flags, decorations you name it! In that respect it was very helpful to me and I asked lots of questions. I can't say enough about the welcome we received and the fellowship extended by all we met. The only negative thing I have to say about the whole rally,,,,was having to leave a bunch of really nice folks and go home to the JOB. One day, we won't have to leave if we are not ready and can linger for as long as we like. I am really looking forward to that day! We have made some new friends and contacts and hope to get to do some more Rallyin in the future. I have a set of Air Bags on order to help me level the truck out some and a few suggestions for improvements to my setup. Everyone stay safe and have a great Halloween.

Charlie

Mud Flaps and Cleaning

So yesterday the new mudflaps came in and Peggy and I put them on the truck. Since we have had so much rain, everything is muddy and nasty but it had to be done. I posted the pic of the flap and the clean RollingCondo so everyone could see the genuine Duraflap brand made in Grants Pass, Oregon. Of course I wanted the naked lady design common on 18 wheel trucks, but for some reason, Peggy said "not". I did manage to look a little East Tx redneck with the Tx logo and the Ram design! It fits right in with the Bighorn RV and advertise our state a little (like no one would know where we were from by hearing us talk and spotting the license plate! Taking photos of a metal shiny mud flap is harder than it looks. I am gonna post those pics below, showing my earlier attempts!!

See, this photo taking thing is harder than it looks! The reflection from the trees across the road give a camoflage effect. My reflection in my PJ's, white T and Bald Head, really set it off !

I should quit while I am ahead I think. and go back to watching the Cowboys play football.

Our First RV Rally

This month, we will be making our first ever RV Rally. This is where folks gather up at a pre determined site and, well they Rally! I have read a lot of folks blog that they are either headed to or have gone to a Rally so I guess its something RV'rs do. My wife asked me what happens at a Rally, and I told her I had no idea but we will know after the Heartland Rally near Spring Tx on October 15th thru thru 18th. Since we are fixin to go Rallyin we had a few things to get done on the Rolling Condo. Our microwave/convection oven quit on us at our last campout and had to be taken in to the dealer for repair. While waiting on the unit to come back from the factory we decided to get a good surge protector installed in the Condo. This will shut the rig down if you get too much electricity or not enough ,and possible prevent damage to your electrical components.  Of course we needed to get the trailer cleaned up and washed. We have been putting this off so on Friday evening we started with the roof. With some Spic and Span and push broom and water hose, we got after it and made good progress with the top, back, big slide side and the front cap before we just gave out. Looked good ,so we continued the next morning after breakfast. Now we were not moving as fast on Sat morning because for some reason, we both hurt nearly everywhere we could touch. Not being used to  manual labor for a long time, our muscles were screaming in pain. After getting our IBuprofen for the morning down, we got back on it and washed the remaining side and tackeled the awning. The awning proved to be the hardest job of all. I could only reach halfway up from my ladder and it had to be scrubbed on the top and undersides. Some mildew was present which had to be delt with with a different solution than I was washing with but finally we got the job done. I had complained when we were on vacation at paying 80 bucks for a wash at a big rig truck wash next to the interstate somewhere in Arkansas, but on reflection, it was worth every dime of it!!

I would have included a photo at some point in this blog, but I cant hold a camera up that high right now! I cant seem to pick my arms up above my waist without feeling that burning in my shoulders, so just visualize it for me. The Rolling Condo is gleaming clean and ready for Rallyin! While examining some small dings on the front of the trailer near the front jacks, I believe that some small rocks have kicked up and marked it. For the year that we have had the new trailer we have not given a thought that stuff will kick up and make a mess on that part of the trailer. One of the most basic parts of a truck is mudflaps and we dont have any. So Peggy and I got on the computer and in short order got a pair ordered that we can install which should be here next week.

On another note I have to send out congrats to my dad on his 80th birthday! Not only did he reach this milestone in life, he graduated college at the same time. Most would not continue to pursue a degree that you had been working on most of the last 40 years, but my dad only liked a math course to get graduated and he finally got it done. We are all proud of him as he put his education goals aside many times so that his six kids could get an education and anything else they needed in life, while working two or three jobs at a time. When he found out how long it would take to wait for the actual graduation ceremony, he decided to skip that part because in his words " I might not last that long" ! He is still wagging it around and making folks wash their hands in order to hold it. I washed mine in order to get a look at it and not leave any fingerprints on it.  I will let you know how the Rallyin goes, Hopefully I can pick up some tips from more exprienced RV'ers that will save me some heartache or trouble ahead. That's from the school of hard knocks and an education that you cant get in college! Be safe and Take care.

Charlie

Hanks Creek Prk Sam Rayburn Lake, Huntington Tx

Friday, Sept 4 2009

Thursday night, Peggy and I did the grocery shopping and packed up the Condo for a short drive to one of our local campgrounds located on Sam Rayburn Lake. We had been wanting to camp out their since Hurricane Rita had taken down some trees and made a mess a few years ago. The Corps of Engineers has been working since that time to revamp the campground and it really looks nice. They have added these little screen houses for those folks who don't really want to sleep in a tent. They are a small room with concrete floors, a counter top with storage underneath, and electricity. They have also added floating boat docks at the launching ramps and a pavilion with five or so RV pads that are in a semi circle of the pavilion. Pretty neat, for a family reunion. We rolled in on Friday just about lunch time and met the nicest couple who are workamping for the Corps. I did not get their names, but they were very easy to work with and moved us to a better spot with a good view of the lake. After some careful work by Peggy with the our handheld radios, she had me in just the right spot, and we dropped the jacks and hooked up. I thought we were a little close to the road but we were on the campsite. With the slides out and sitting in the slide out next to the road, a vehicle coming down the road looked like it was coming right toward my chair! I finally just shut that window shade and tried not to look. The park host also told us that there was an ant problem at the park and that we should put out ant powder or granules, and to put it on our tires, jacks, water lines, elect chord or anything else that would touch the ground to keep them out. As soon as we got hooked up, we drove a few miles back to a store and got a couple of cans of ant poison and gave them a dose on our return. No problems with ants the whole time we were there.

This is the view from my coffee cup every morning. You just cant beat that with a stick. It was relatively quiet for a labor day weekend. We had good Sat reception so I could watch the
Red Sox play ball and the Nascar race on Sunday. We also had some good neighbors who, even though they had a big dog and a small boy, it was not bad at all. I had planned on doin some fishing from the bank by our campsite and was all set to get the fishin equipment in gear when Peggy spied a water moccasin slowly swimming right next to the camp. That rascal was about 4ft long and big around as my fist, so that wrapped up the possibility that we would be taking our chairs down by the water and watching our cork bob up and down. If we had seen one on the shore, we would have had to move for sure.

We did see something new for me. A Parks and Wildlife Game Warden workin the water on a Wave Runner with a Blue Lite mounted on the front forks. I don't know if they use that to chase down the kids riding them to fast or dangerous, or just for fun. Either way, it looks like they would get wet while doin this and I guess they don't mind as hot as it is.
We did have a thunderstorm blow up one evening, but it went around us. I did notice a lot of swimmers still in the water with lightning being visible and thunder rumbling. Not sure what people are thinking or maybe there not, but we were anxious until they all got out of the water. Only one major malfunction to report on the Rolling Condo. The convection/microwave oven decided to quit workin on Sunday morning at breakfast. Hate that when it happens, but since the warranty is still good, we will contact the maker and see what the process is for replacing the oven and start over. Luckily Peggy remembers how to cook bacon the old fashioned way on the stove top with a skillet!!!! Until next month, everyone stay safe and travel when you can.

Charlie

Stump the Toe

We have not done anything exciting since returning from the road trip, but we did take the Condo to Baileys RV Center for some small needed warranty work. While we were there we talked about getting an additional A/C unit for our RV. On talking with Steve and getting the price, we decided to go ahead and add the 2nd unit now so we can continue to wander around East Tx even during the dog days of summer. In the meantime, I had a training school to attend in Baytown Tx for three days, getting the latest on Digital Photography of crime scenes and such. I did learn a lot about techniques to use with the digital camera. I did however manage to break my big toe before leaving town and I taped it to the next toe and continued on. No broken toe is gonna keep me from learning something and taking a road trip. By the second day, I could not put on my shoe and was wearing house slippers nearly everywhere. A large sore had formed on top of the toe and it was getting more difficult to get around. So after a small operation Thurs nite, I thought it would be better. By the time we got home on Friday evening it was screaming at me and Peggy did another procedure on it. I did manage to fall on my rear end at the training, trying to be careful with the foot and toe, then tripping on a table leg. I felt like I had been in a bar fight and lost!! We brought the condo home and managed to get it backed into place and setup. Now I can get everything loaded back inside and prepare for quick getaways! Everyone stay safe.

Charlie

Home is Where Stuff Happens

You know, Peggy and I were somewhat worried the whole time we were away from the house. We just knew some disaster would befall us while on the road. No disasters to report on the entire 1500 mile trip, but when we returned home, two disasters arose first thing. The Sat dish blew over in a storm so we started working on that while emptying the Rolling Condo for the trip to the RV Dealer for some warranty work. Nearly finished that project and the washing machine quit, so a trip to Lowe's Home Improvement was in order for Peggy to pick out a new washing machine. I had no idea that this was as time consuming as it turned out to be. She finally make a pick of a white Maytag and it was delivered today, so that disaster is fixed. No rain to speak of here and the grass is crunchy, but some of it needs mowing so that will have to be done soon. The Rolling Condo needs washing also,,but to be honest about it, we just don't have the will to get out in the 100 plus temps here to do it. Also a neighbor passed away and a new cat has decided that we are to be his new parents, so we gotta get some cat food. I cant stand to see anything starve to death. We go back to work on Monday, and that does not make either of us smile. Peggy has already commented that she is ready to roll again,,lol. Someday we will set sail and not have to come back to go to work. I may not post regular unless we have an adventure so until next time. Everyone take care and stay cool if you can.

Charlie

Cypress Swamps = Cooler Temps

The Ducks above know which way home is and so do we. We will be heading out tomorrow morning and rolling toward home. We have learned a few things on this trip that will make our traveling experience a lot better next time. (1) Don't try to travel too far too fast. Spend more time in one place and you can enjoy the area more and not get so tired. (2) Pick a central location in the area you wish to visit and stay put. Saves miles and Fuel and Money. (3) Travel in spring or fall, not in the heat of summer! It will be much easier on our bodies! (4) Listen to the Navigator, she will generally get me where I need to go. By the time we return to our stick house we will have travelled over 1500 miles, and that is pretty far for a couple of country hicks with a big truck and a Rolling Condo. I will post some more pics when we get home and they get sorted out.

This deer was getting tired of us following him.

The House pic above is gonna be my new home, when my boat comes in or I win the lottery somewhere. I am thinking it will cost a few million if I want the boat threw in with the house.

Finally, the heat wave has broke for a least a day. Here at the Sam Houston Jones State Park in La. the rain came yesterday evening after we got set up and the temps dropped 30 degrees in an hour or so. Everything here is very green with the water nearby and I suppose they are getting some rain on a regular basis. I am trying to upload some pics that Peggy took this morning on our walk about. By the time she stalked the deer trying for the perfect photo it had started getting warm. By the time we got back to the Condo, we had worked up a sweat. Peggy kept an eye out for Water Moccasins and Alligator and I was busy looking for the best photo spots. This park winds around the cypress swamp ponds on one side and the Calcasieu Bayou on the other side of the park. Nice roads, walkways and campsites are here. We will mark it for a return visit in the spring when the birds migrate back from warm climates. There should be plenty of action then. I did spot a bird wading and feeding in the water that I do not recognize so when we get home I have to get my bird book and try to identify the species. Peggy took a real pretty shot of a Butterfly in the edge of the pond and it turned out really well. Until the next adventure, everyone take care.....Charlie

Sam Houston Jones State Park

We have hitched up the Rolling Condo and headed out of Poche's Fish n Camp this morning. First we had to make a stop at Poche's Meat Market for some frozen goodies to take home. Peggy got a quart of Shrimp Etoufee, I got Seafood Gumbo and some Sausage and some Tasso. Tasso is a smoked pork of some kind and I have a recipe or two at home that calls for Tasso but you cant buy it in East Tx that I know of so we got some and packed the little freezer in the Condo with it and finally made it out of town after I listened to the GPS lady who was giving me the best directions out of town but not to Poche's Market, so she and I disagreed but finally worked it out. We headed West on I-10 and traveled about 80 miles then took a right on US Hwy 171 North just on the outskirts of Lake Charles Louisiana. We traveled just a short way to the city of Moss Bluff La. It is a nice little town and we did not eat breakfast so we were hungry and passing Popeyes Chicken, Pizza Hut, McDonalds and a dozen other fast food places. We were very close to the park so we decided to go on and set up the camp then return for lunch. Of course I was feeling pretty good about getting started this A.M. with no problems at all, so of course something went haywire. We registered at park HQ and the young lady took her marker and marked the way to our campsite, we followed those closely and ended up at some cabins with no room to turn the Condo around. The signage lacks a little to be desired here and is not clearly marked so we had to back up for about three hundred yards in a curve to turn around. A nice employee of the park system assisted and we made it fine back to the main road. Then another employee tried to direct me to the our designated spot but he was trying to tell me how to get into it. The site has space for two campers but the space is shared by two campers. If we pulled in from the direction we were going, we would be blocked from leaving if anyone rents the site sharing the drive. If we came the other direction we would not be able to turn the Condo to get out. So we are here and everything hooked up and if someone comes in to the shared spot, I will have to move my truck and sat. Dish because it is on their picnic table. This is a beautiful park with lots of Cypress Wetland areas and walking bridges over them. We will explore them tomorrow. Maybe we can get some good pics of the place. We have already seen deer, ducks, geese and squirrel. This park has a lot of big pines and oak for shade so we will be cooler. It is already cooler since a storm came thru and rained for about 20 minutes. There is north wind so maybe some cooler temps are coming tonight. The weather says maybe in the 60's in the morning. That will be so welcome after the 100 degree days we have had the whole trip. That's all for tonight time for some supper.

Charlie

Pics from Natchez Mississippi

This pic has nothing to do with this trip. It was taken while we were at Sam Rayburn Lake in April. Charlie really liked it and wanted to share it.

When we toured the City Cemetary, I took a few pics. The Cemetary was so big, it went on and on. There were stones dated in the 1700's. It was divided up in diferent sections by religion and race. Lots and lots of History in this cemetary.

While we were touring the Longwood, Charlie took this pic. There were three huge oak trees on a mound behind the main house that was perfect for pics.

I took this pic standing on the bluff of the Mississippi river downtown Natchez. We were staying at Riverview RV park on the other side of the river just below the bridge.
This pic was taken from the same bluff, looking down river.

Weddings at Wal-Mart are Special

Here it is Sunday and we are still at Poche's Fish n Camp. We drove into town to make a visit to the local Wal-Mart and as we were checking out we see a Wedding party enter the store, complete with bride and groom fresh from the wedding along with the best men and brides maids all in their wedding clothes! You dont see that everyday. Peggy watched them and reported as were were leaving that they were carrying beer cases! That would be redneck if we were in East Tx but here in Breaux Bridge La. I dont know what you would call it. However they were all in a stretch Chev Escalade Limo and it was parked at the front door with the driver (a women in uniform and cap) standing by! The Bridal party all looked happy so I guess thats what counted on their special day. We tried to fish a little while today, but it is just to hot to really stay with it and the little fish were in bunches (people feed them fish pellets here so they are waiting at all times) by the bank. The other thing we have never seen anywhere is when we stopped at Poches's Meat Market/ Resturant, it was full both outside and inside. People were getting take out and the inside part was full of set down folks after church. We saw people carrying paper sacks of food out and I wondered by the counter with the lunch items and tried to order take out but the girl told me that I would need to go to the kitchen at the other end of the building. We went down that way and asked another girl and she pointed thru the door toward the kitchen, so I went on in a hallway that leads to the kitchen and found a line of people. I watched as they ordered from one of the cooks, who dished it up in take out boxes. The customer received the grocery sack with the contents written in magic marker on the outside and then the customer takes the bag to the counter up front and pays for it. We stepped up when it was our turn and gave the cook our order. Peggy had the Crawfish Etoufee with Catfish and Shrimp and I had the Smoked Chicken and Dirty Rice. Both plates also contained Potato Salad and Cold Slaw if you want it. It was a good two or three pounds of food each! The cook sacked it up and we left and brought it back to the Condo to eat. Heck of a Deal! The plates cost ten bucks each but you dont go away hungry. We have enough to eat for supper. Both Peggy and I say the Crawfish Etoufee is the Best we ever had. The catfish and shrimp are also very good. This market makes a lot of specialty orders for the public and also ships food all over the country. Some things I cant even pronounce but its all Cajun food. We are gonna go back before we leave and pick up some frozen items to bring home. The place does a land office business in this area. Peggy downloaded some more pics from the camera that we took in Natchez and I will up load some to the blog. We are hooking up in the morning to go find the Sam Houston Jones State Park which is near Lake Charles La. some 90 miles from here. Until the next time, take care and stay out of heat if you can.

Two Poche's or not Two Poche's

Hello Everybody, We are now set up at Poche's RV Park and Fish-n-Camp near Breaux Bridge Louisiana. We left out early this morning from the River View Park in Vidalia with no problems at all. Stopped for fuel and breakfast at a big travel center on US 61 S. then headed south thru St. Francisville. A lot of road construction thru the area and Peggy was steadily pointing out the plantation signs that abound on this road. Even old Jeff Davis homeplace was noted but we did not stop at any of them because I was having trouble just staying between the lines and going over the bumps in the road. The highway dept was kind enough to post a bump sign just before we hit them. Some were small and some jarred a filling or two loose. There was a big difference between the Mississippi highways and the La. highways. Very obvious when we crossed the state line. All went well until we got to Baton Rouge La. and started trying to decide whether to go East or West on I-10. I actually stayed on hwy 61 and we new right away that I had guessed wrong when the nice lady on the GPS told us that she was recalculating. I hate it when she says that. We finally got back on I-10 after touring a small very poor neighborhood who probably have never seen a 34 foot fifth wheel come thru the hood. After leaving Baton Rouge headed West, I thought we were goin the wrong way so after 12 miles managed to exit and start back thru Baton Rouge again. You see I made a big mistake calculating the trip. I printed directions from Vidalia La. to Poches RV Park and Fish n camp, but then went back and looked again because I didnt not want to drive that 118 miles at 40 mph on the back roads of La. When I looked again at the Trailer Life map on the computer I saw a "better way" and wrote those directions down. The girl who took my reservation did not give me the address for the GPS because she said it did not lead one to the park and sent people in the wrong direction off the interstate, so I didnt program their address,,,,sooooooooo, when I glanced back at the map and wrote the directions down, I wrote the directions for Poche's Plantation RV Park. Which we found after traveling some 80 miles toward New Orleans only to find that it was the wrong park!!! So back we go to Baton Rouge again and cross the Mississippi bridge and finally start in the right direction. I knew I had messed up when I flagged down a cop in the Poche's Plantation RV Park and asked him about the fish n camp. He looked at me like I was crazy and told me that there were no fishing areas anywhere near this park. The Chief Navigator called and got it all straight as I pulled away and ran over some decorative bricks at the corner of the place because all of the RV in this park are small! I was steamed at myself but just kept plugging along and we finally made it to the right Poche's park by about 3:30. an extra 100 miles or so and now give out and ready to rest. More tomorrow when I have more energy. Perhaps I will let the Navigator plan the next leg of the trip. We are having some mechanical issues with the truck. Wet glove box from either air condition freezing up or a heater core leak. The leak in the 5th wheel is getting worse but we havent give up yet, even with the 100 degree weather.

Charlie

Deer In Truck

Yesterday, I told that I would tell you all about the buck deer in the back of the pickup. That really is not all that unusual in E. Tx but the deer are usually dead! As we motored toward Vidalia, Louisiana, Peggy dropped off to sleep. I had been dodging tractors all the way from Lake Village Arkansas as this is all Delta bottom lands and farm country. I nearly hit one the day before as I ran up on it to fast before I figured out it was a farm tractor. Big John Deere with dual wheels on rear stuck out over the whole lane of traffic and part way across the center stripe. I managed to miss him and got back up to speed only to run up on a pick up truck pulling a hopper of some sort that was wider than the truck. He was moving about 30 mph so I had to shut it down. I followed him for a few miles really slow until the hwy widened out and I could go around. While all this was happening I saw a pick up driving down the shoulder of the road going pretty slow. As I got close to him I could see a whitetail deer in the back of the truck. It was a buck with a big antler spread. As I started to pass I looked over and saw that it was a mounted deer with some woodland theme around it. The driver was driving slowly to keep from blowing the foilage off of the mount. This was the first time I have ever seen a whole deer mounted! We made it in to River View RV Park and got set up and had to make a Wal-Mart run. We got a camera chip and some needed shorts for Peggy and returned to a cooler condo. This is a very nice park just down from the Mississippi River bridge. I am posting a pic of Peggy and Elvis that we took in Memphis. I am also posting a pic of my first time ever trip to an RV/Truck wash, and another of the party lites we put on the awning. The hummingbirds keep trying to come get a drink from them in the daytime. Today we have spent time site seeing in the Natchez Mississippi area. Checking out the old plantation houses and actually taking a tour of one called Longwood that is 30,000 square feet and four stories but unfinished when the landowner died. The wife and kids lived in the basement which is only 10k sq foot. I dont know how they managed. Gonna role out tomorrow, but not sure where. I guess thats what makes this fun. We decide at breakfast maybe where we are off to next! Until next time.

Charlie