Day Trip

On Saturday we took a day trip to Ft. Davis about 26 miles from Alpine. On the way we stopped at the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center & Botanical Gardens. 3 photos show area. We walked about 1/2 mile through the outdoor gardens. We were sadly disappointed when we went inside the cacti greenhouse as it was truly neglected even though many species were housed. Probably it would have been better in the late spring when some of the varieties would have been in bloom.

Ft. Davis is a quaint small town at 5,050 elevation (known as highest town in TX) with a population of 1,050. We spent about 3 hours going through the actual Fort which is a National Park now. It was established on 1854 to protect pioneers & travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso road from Apache raiders. Many of the original structures remain standing (some have completely crumbled) and some are in the process of being restored. There is a rather large visitors center and small gift shop also. Lots of history and the museum was very informational. We happened to be there when the Park Ranger was giving the Ranger Oath to 3 young boys that had just completed their Jr. Ranger program. The boys were so excited.

It was too late in the day to go to the McDonald Observatory so that will have to be another day trip.

Alpine, TX

We arrived today in Alpine and have settled into our RV site. If you want to send us any mail our address for at least a month will be 2401 North Hwy 118 #B3, Alpine, TX 79830.

The Lost Alaskan RV Park is really nice. It has about 100 spaces, nicely laid out with picnic table & minimum 2 trees to each site. Also is a fenced "Paw Paw" park for dogs to run in . The small town of Alpine looked like it has several little shops and all the necessities. Now that we're set up we'll have more time to look around. Larry spent most of the afternoon washing all those nasty bugs off the front of our RV. I did sit outside while he did all the work and was grateful there were no mosquitoes or biting files and no-see-'ems. Only irritant we experienced is many, many goat-head sticker plants - hate those little dudes. Even CoCo got one in his paw.

***Big plus is we have cable TV, first time since we left Mesa, AZ last April. Cell phones work and my broadband works. We're back into the new millennium again!

As we get photos they will get published. One of the places I'd like to go is to the McDonald Observatory at Ft. Davis. They have Star parties at dusk and Twilight Programs.

Well, that's enough for this posting. More, as we discover more adventures. Weather was in the low 90's when we arrived so we turned on air-conditioner as soon as we could. Hmmm......might have to consider staying here much longer if weather stays this nice.

Columbus Day Greetings

It's still dreary and overcast with intermittent rain here in Childress. Really cool temps, down in the high 30's to low 40's at night. Sure glad the heater works really well in the RV!

Saturday morning eight of the bridge playing ladies hosted a coffee in Dee's honor and gave her a Gift Certificate for 4 meals at K-Bobs Steakhouse here in Childress. They are all such nice ladies and caught Dee completely by surprise with the gift. We are playing bridge this afternoon so hope to get a photo of the group.

The above photos were taken last month while we were at Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills. Both of us posed at the entrance of the Avenue of the State Flags with Mt. Rushmore in the background. Absolutely beautiful country. We drove from Custer, SD the long way to Rushmore via Iron Mountain Road. It was about 45 miles longer but the scenery is absolutely gorgeous. Of course Larry & I could not resist taking the photo of the Big Horn Ram in shoulder-deep prairie grass. We also say buffalo roaming free and lots of wild donkeys. The donkeys got up close and personal with one lady who was feeding them (which the Park Service posts warnings not to do!). This dummy had 3 or 4 donkeys heads through the door of her car at one point. As I said, what a dummy! Anyway, enjoy the photos.

Larry and our host friend Bob had a garage sale last Saturday, in the rain but the did okay and got rid of a few more things. I've been helping Penny clean out their spare bedroom and organizing a filing system for Bob so they can find things. It was a lot of work but they can now proceed with their plans to re-do the room the way they want.

Current Holding Pattern

We are still in Childress, TX . Larry's dental appointment last Wednesday revealed a cavity, so he has an appointment on Tuesday to have it filled. Both of our medical/lab reports turned out great, no problems in that area and Larry got a good report on his eye exam. We're "good to go" (as the Texans say) for another year now!

On Friday, October 9th we will leave Childress and drive south to Alpine, TX for 1-3 months. We might just stay 1 month, but if we like the area it will be extended to 3 months.

It's been busy here, playing lots of Bridge with the ladies and Farkel with Bob & Penny, pinnochle and BooRey (poker game). We've caught up with friends and have really enjoyed our stay. Tomorrow we are going to Amarillo with our friends - have to purchase a new All-in-One printer for my computer as the copy/scan function on my current HP produces a 1/2" black line down the middle of the page and the tech guys cannot figure out what is causing it. Also need to renew our Sprint Broadband Internet services. It's always something.

Larry had one more chance to have one of his famous garage sales today. He and Bob sold several items but don't know if they made any money or not as they haven't tallied up yet.

No awesome photos to post yet. When we get near the Big Bend country in South Texas, I'll post a couple so you can see where we will be staying.