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