Back at Davis-Monthan AFB, January 18, 2011 to February 25, 2011

February 24th Post:  We went to the rodeo today.  The weather was perfect - it was nearly 79 degrees and clear skies.  We arrived a little late to see the wrap up of the parade but early enough to catch the start of the rodeo.  The biggest attraction was this beautiful cow girl whose name is Betty.

Here are some shots of the action:

It was a pretty long day but we had lots of fun.  Tomorrow morning we will leave for some free nights at Colorado River Oasis in Ehrenberg which is at the California boarder on I-10.  We're looking forward to the 4 or 5 hour trip and getting on full hook ups again.  We've been dry camping in the DM overflow area for nearly a week now.  During this time we've had no water or sewer hook ups and have had to rely on the generator for power.  It works well but is a little inconvenient.  DRW


February 16th post:  Today Betty & I drove out to Colossal Caves Ranch near the end of the Old Spanish Trail in the SE Tucson area.  The Old Spanish Trail winds through some hilly and very hostile (vegetation-wise) looking country.  Every plant seems to have thorns or barbs and although I'm sure there is wildlife in the area I wonder how they keep from bleeding to death from cactus wounds.  Somehow, at the same, time it's beautiful country. DRW

I finally glimpsed some wildlife among the Cactus.  If fact, it was the most beautiful thing I came across today.  I DO love this woman.

Betty in the Cactus - DRW

From Betty:  We got to take a horse drawn buggy ride while at Colossal Cave Park at the ranch on the park grounds.  What an adventure.  It was drawn by two horses.  The driver explained that he puts an older more experienced horse with a young one that is just learning how to pull in the harness.  We were very impressed with the older horse.  Even though he is 18 years old, he is still working hard.  He walks proudly and has a prance that says "I am here and I know the ropes"  His name is Bud and he is very handsome.  The driver said that Bud is in a parade in town every year and he really steps tall and puts on a great show.  The other horse was very pretty too - Bert is his name.  We loved watching the horses communicate with each other during the ride and we could tell that Bert hopes to be as good as Bud one day.  Here are some pictures of them.  BJW

                             Bud & Driver

Bert & Driver

                Bud & Bert all harnessed up


February 9th post:  We're continuing our stay here at Davis-Monthan AFB.  The weather has been very nice the past few days and I'm making good headway waxing the trailer one section at a time.  I figure by the time I get the last section done it will be time to start at the first again.  While we've been mostly lazying around the base and enjoying the warm weather we have developed an itinerary that takes us to the end of March.  Here's our plan so far:

Now through February 25th - Davis-Monthan AFB
February 26 to March 1 - Colorado River Oasis RV Resort at Ehrenberg, AZ (I-10 on CA boarder)
March 1 to March 4 (or so) - Emerald Cove Resort, CA. (across river from Parker, AZ)
March 8 to March 31 - Nellis AFB, NV at Las Vegas.

Depending on the weather and highway conditions the first part of April we'll probably start  toward Klamath Falls OR to visit Pete, Debbie, and Hunter before going on to Junction City for 2 or 3 weeks.

February 1st post:  Today is Ed's birthday and I got a chance to talk with him on the phone for awhile.  So good to hear his voice and to hear they're all well in Wasilla.  Betty and I went to the Rodeo Museum this afternoon.  It was chilly and breezy but we really enjoyed it.  I think we were the only customers today.  Before we left we bought tickets to the upcoming rodeo and look forward to February 24th when we can go. They have a great museum that has more old horse drawn wagons than I've ever seen in one place before.  Here are some shots of just a few.

I was also impressed with their displays of old black smith and wagon repair tools.  I couldn't help but think of how much time and effort was required back in the frontier days to either repair or manufacture parts for the wagons they used.  They have a really nice collection of branding irons also.

                                 Forging tools

Branding irons hanging in front

                            Anvil and tools

January 31st post:  Life is good when the temperatures are above freezing.  Just a quick update to say that we're merely hanging out and being lazy here at Davis-Monthan.  I'm really refining my ability to lay around reading or watching TV.  We added satellite TV which is really  a plus.  We plan to be here another 3 weeks at least and then we have a couple of offers for free stays from RV resorts that want our buy-in (fat chance).  One at Ehrenburg, AZ (on the CA boarder at I-10) and one near Parker, AZ on the CA side of the Colorado River.  We'll visit those two resorts after leaving here.  For now I have some duties to perform related to a good book I'm reading.  Will add more later.  DRW


January 21st post:  Yesterday I got the Norcold recall work done on the refrigerator.  Fred, the service manager at Orangewood RV, did very well by us and got a technician right on the work as soon as I got parked near their service bay.  When I mentioned a possible water leak in the rear A/C unit he had another technician inspect and repair it immediately.  Then, when all the maintenance work was done, he had two guys wash the trailer.  I was VERY appreciative of that because it saved me doing the bucket wash (without a hose)  back at the DM RV park.  Great customer support that was more than I'd expected.

When I returned from Orangewood I found that Betty had gotten us a good 'slip' to tie up to with full hook ups.  It pans out that while I was gone with the trailer Betty waited in line at the park office and got us a full hook up site (we were on the wait list and several 'slips' were opening up).  The wait list process here goes pretty smoothly but if you aren't there or are late when a space comes open you go back to the bottom of the list. Any day that I can avoid standing in line and haggling over the "who, what, and where" of a parking spot is a good day...thank you,  Betty!   Even though we're quite self contained and have a good generator it always feels good to connect up to a 50A service with water and sewer.  We're now back on unlimited hot and cold water with no worries about how many lights are burning - this all helps raise the relaxation quotient.  We've not had a problem while dry camping but someone has to worry about running out of water or the generator quitting, so that's what I do.  Dad always said that you can't just go along in life and have no one worrying!!  DRW


January 19th post:  We left Benson this morning about 8:30 for the 40 mile drive in to Tucson to find no wind and a flat interstate.  This was very welcome after two long days of strong headwind and uphill grades (I have determined that I-10 is uphill both ways between Tucson and San Antonio).  The good news is that this morning the truck, with no winds, burned out a strong 17 mpg.  Some of this stretch is slightly downhill but for the most part its fairly level.  Too bad it was only a 40 mile stretch because its a rare day without a headwind.

We signed in at the RV Park on DM at about 10am and went into the overflow area (drycamp) after getting on the wait list for a full hookup site.  Good news again...there's only a two day wait for full hookups.  I was expecting it to be more like a week or two.  While signing in Terry and Sam (Samantha?), friends who are spending the winter here in their trailer, came in the office because they saw our truck and trailer outside.  Its good to see them again.

After getting unhooked and set up in dry camp I was finally able to wash the truck...it, and the trailer, are filthy after driving wet Texas roads.  I feel better when the truck is clean.  I'll have to wait to clean the trailer until we're set up in a regular site that has water.  We had dinner with Terry and Sam and caught up on what's been happening in the RV Park while we were gone.

We'll probably stay here for the next 3 weeks or so.  There are several things we're looking forward during our stay here. I'll get some warranty/recall work done on the trailer and I think I'll add satellite TV.  I'll call to get information about this in the next day or so.  Also since we're so close to the Phoenix area maybe we'll get a chance to see Brad and Jo who live in Scottsdale.  That would be a nice treat.  Hopefully, along the way, we'll be able to meet for a couple of days at an RV park near Lake Havasu City or somewhere.  More later...DRW

Del Rio, Texas to Tucson, Arizona January 16 - 18, 2011

January 17 post:  From Benson, Arizona.  We had a good mileage day today that panned out to fairly easy.  We left  Van Horn earlier than usual (for us) this morning on Central time and during the day crossed into Mountain time zone so we turned our  watches back 1 hour.  Leaving earlier than usual and having an extra hour combined with Betty driving part of the trip netted us a 440 mile day.  We usually like to travel 250 to 300 miles for an easy day that doesn't tire us.  So, although we thought we may stop at Deming or Lordsburg for the night tonight we continued on to Benson, only 40 miles from Tucson.  We didn't go on in to Tucson because I want to arrive at Davis-Monthan AFB RV park in the morning rather than coming in after the office is closed today.  We're staying tonight at I-10 RV park for $16 by using the Campclub USA discount.  The park has full hook ups and very clean facilities.

Today, although a good mileage day, was a little frustrating in terms of fuel economy.  I've been really looking forward to good fuel mileage but all day we had a strong headwind so the mileage suffered.  We came in to Benson with an average of about 10.8 mpg instead of the 13 or 14 mpg I was hoping for with the new truck  mods.  Our neighbor here in the park who also came up I-10 today said he got close to 7 mpg driving a rig with a gas powered V10 engine.  I should feel better but I don't.  We're off first thing in the morning to what has become to us our home base (DM AFB).  DRW


January 16 post (from the KOA at Van Horn, Texas):  We decided this morning to leave Del Rio and move back to Tucson to get our refrigerator recall work done and hang out in the Tucson for awhile depending on how full the Davis-Monthan AFB RV park is.  We didn't really do justice to our visit to Del Rio and somehow didn't take any pictures because it was rainy and gloomy looking (until this morning).  We visited Val Verde winery in Del Rio and bought a bottle of Sweet Red that is very good.  Also went to Eagle Pass yesterday and visited the Kickapoo Indian Reservation Casino there.  Since it was our wedding anniversary yesterday it was worth the $20 we lost over the course of the afternoon.

The drive today was pretty.  As usual I didn't take many pictures but we traveled through country that is marked with gorges and bluffs.  The Pecos River crossing is beautiful (you'll have to take my word for it because I didn't stop for pictures).  We did visit Langtree and took some pictures of the area where the infamous Judge Roy Bean made his reputation.  Although it receives little attention this little town is rich with history.  Here are some shots of old abandoned homes there:

The topography in this area is pretty interesting.  Here's one shot of some natural caves just south of Langtree.  We saw similar views along this stretch of the hwy.

We took US 90 most of the way from Del  Rio today and came out to I-10 at Fort Stockton. From there we truned west to Van Horn where we found a KOA for one night before continuing on toward Arizona.  Interesting that when we drove I-10 east into Texas last month we has a head wind all the way and today going west we have a head wind again.  As mentioned in an earlier post we seem to have the power to change the wind direction.

In the morning we're off toward Tucson.  We may overnight in Deming, New Mexico...we'll  see how it goes.  DRW

Corpus Christi to Del Rio, Texas January 14, 2011

January 15 post:  We departed Corpus yesterday morning about 9:30 am and traveled mostly the infamous FM (farm to market) roads to Del Rio where we are presently.  It rained most of the day while driving and the roads were less than desirable.  Lots of rough surfaces with ups and downs with a few stretches of smooth road.  Every few miles the road surface is muddy where farm trucks coming from mud/dirt back roads enter the roadway.  Our truck and trailer are both muddy as if we'd been off-roading and mud-bogging all day.  The RV Park at Laughlin AFB has a "no washing vehicles" policy so I guess I'll live with the muddy (used to be white) truck and trailer until another day.

We arrived at Laughlin AFB around 3:30 pm and found a nice but small RV Park where I previously made reservations for two nights.  The spaces are wide paved pull throughs that aren't exactly level with wind fences on both sides.  No WiFi, the MiFi doesn't connect here, and my phone can't connect to the internet either (I do have cellular phone service, however).  All in all, $15 a night isn't bad for what is available. Bummer about no internet, though.  The learning point here is that I've grown to rely on daily communications via internet.  At the moment we're in one of the only WiFi locations on base, a nice little coffee shop next to the base exchange.   The RV park does have a good cable TV system with about 150 channels and a free laundry that's several blocks from the park near the commissary.

Today is our wedding anniversary so we've planned to spend some time in town checking it out, visiting a local winery, and having dinner to celebrate.  We'll ask around the base about the risk level of crossing over into Mexico for some shopping.  Generally it's my impression that this area is much safer than some of the other boarder towns such as Juarez.

We,ll try to add a few pictures here along the way.  DRW

Our stay in Corpus Christi January 6th to January 14th, 2011

January 14 post:  The wind is still blowing steady here at around 25 and today rain was added to the mix.  Our stay here is up as the RV park is full and others have reservations for our space.  We're ready to move on anyway given the weather...we're tired of the wind.  This is really a beautiful place when the wind stops and the sun comes out but we're off this morning for Del Rio, Texas and Laughlin AFB to see if the weather is better and check out the RV park at the base.  On the road again.....


January 11 post:  OK....this is wind is starting to wear on me.  It has been blowing around 25 to 30 for a couple of days now and the temperatures have dropped into the 40s, which really puts a damper on being outside.  Well, its better than the weather conditions in Alaska but....  I called the RV park manager at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Tx and reserved a space for a couple of nights starting Friday night so we only have 3 more nights here before hitting the road again.  I would have made arrangements to leave sooner but we're waiting on mail to catch up with us here in Corpus Christi.  We're hoping the weather gets better soon.

Yesterday we toured the USS Lexington (WWII vintage aircraft carrier that was decommissioned in the 80s) that's set up as a museum on the water downtown.  It was a very informative tour (self guided) and a great opportunity to get a glimpse of important history that's not about war but freedom.

                            USS Lexington 

The Lexington's Superstructure

Cool flight deck and static aircraft displays. We also watched a film about Air Force fighter pilot training exercises at Nellis AFB (operation red flag) that was really inspiring.  Oh ya...we tried the flight simulator ride which was bumpy and a little nauseating.  Although the coloring is different than before some of the aircraft on display really took me back to the old days:

          F4 Phantom - my old and deadly friend

The following photo is from another time and place but it's the way I remember the Phantom - plus a couple tons of ordinance:

F4 Phantom in full paint

Cobra - hottest of its kind in Viet Nam

Here's a shot of part of Corpus Christs from the flight deck of the USS Lexington:

               Corpus Christi on a Blustery Day

January 9 post:  WINDY.  The camp host left a storm and wind advisory note on the door when we were out saying that winds around 40 were expected with thunder storms.  Sure enough, just after midnight, after the winds grew all evening, it hit.  The winds initially blew into our nose cap but soon changed to broadside and really slammed the trailer.  Around 3 am the lightening started and really rolled for a couple of hours. The temperature stayed in the lower 60s.  Squatty and Tiger Lilly were pretty upset and Betty thought the trailer was going to blow over on its side.

The neighbors have been here for several months and said that a few weeks ago several trailers blew over when they had hurricane force winds.  The 5th wheeler in the space we're in now blew over and then was blown back onto its wheels again causing bent axles along with other damage.  We are lucky that the winds were only around 40 or so.


January 8 post:  We've been here a couple of full days now and have been pretty busy relaxing and enjoying both the warm weather and some of the local sites as well as taking care of a few necessary tasks.  Being on a military base always provides a sense of quiet safety for us regardless of whether its an Army, Air Force, or Navy base.  At Corpus Christi NAS there are Coast Guard, Navy, and an Army depot of some kind.  Coast Guard and Navy helicopters come and go every day but we're used to the varied sounds of "freedom" and are not really bothered the noise.

We did some shopping at the NAS commissary and exchange to get some needed groceries and other supplies, and visited the fitness center where Betty got the lay of the land for possible use while staying here.  The commissary and exchange are smaller than those at larger bases but are stocked well and provided the same sense of being at "our store" that we always get when on a military base.

Yesterday we took Squatty and Tiger Lilly for a drive over onto Padre Island and the shores to see what it is like.  It's possible to go SW just a few miles across a long bridge to be on Padre Island so we did.  All  of this area seems so flat and low to us - different than the shoreline of Alaska that we're used to.  In Alaska it seems that the mountains come down to meet the sea and there is always high ground to find safety in a storm.  The Texas coast gives us the feeling that a medium sized wave could wash inland for miles unhampered.

Once on Padre Island we drove a few miles south across flat grassland until the road ended at the beach.  Tiger Lilly was terrified when we took her out on the sand not far from the water.  Her first time on a beach was not good for her and she wanted back in the truck.  Squatty, of course, loved every minute of our walk on the beach and sniffed every foul thing he could find.

We  drove north on Padre Island to Aransas which is a tourist/fishing community, judging from its looks.  Stopped at Moby Dick's for a  big plate of grilled Mahi Mahi for our lunch (we won't do much for dinner today) and then went on to the very short ferry ride (operated by Texas DOT) back to the mainland just northwest of Corpus.  No charge for the ferry ride...hmmm, in Alaska the state operated ferry system costs an arm and a leg it seems.

San Antonio to Corpus Christi - Jan 5, 2011

Jan 5, 2011:  We departed Braunig Lake RV Resort this morning around 11:30 and had a short day's drive to Corpus Christi.  It's only about 140 miles or so in to the Naval Air Station from south San Antonio.  We took our time and stopped at rest areas along the way.  I'm elated that with the new mods on the truck we're now getting about 14 mpg driving at 65 mph towing the trailer through slightly hilly country.  That's way better than I expected.  The H&S Mini Maxx programmer set on "hot" really adds the power.  No more down shifting on hills and the speedometer never leaves 65 with cruise control on.  I love it.

Pat and Patty followed along with their 5er and will stay at the NAS also.  We  arrived at the main gate to find, once again, that not all military base security is the same.  I had to go to pass and ID and prove up in order to get a  temporary pass to get on base.  Other bases only require military ID for entry.  Carrying our truck documentation (registration and proof of insurance, etc.) really pays off when this happens.

We finally got to Shields RV park and found the staff to be friendly and helpful if not a little slow in the check in process.  Hey, for $15 a night for full hookups with 50A service I won't complain.  This is a beautiful park with lots of lawn and large sites.  No trees, of course, but we're right on the water.  The weather is perfect for January - in the low 70's and just enough breeze to keep from being too hot.  We're  told that the wind can really blow hard here and that it's typical to have low to medium winds daily.  Makes sense...as I look around I can't see a mountain.  The weather report says we're to expect an "arctic cold front" over the weekend (not sure what that means in S Texas but probably not what it means in Alaska).  We'll enjoy the warm weather and explore the base tomorrow.

This base is beautiful we love it here.  We will get some more shots of walking out on the pier which is about .5 mile into the water.  The laundry facility is big and FREE.  There are alot of very tall jack rabbits in the park so Squatty is having a ball with them.  The rabbits have very long legs so they give him a good run once in awhile.


Squatty has broadened his horizons on this trip - made friends with a horse at K Falls, Oregon, many dogs along the way, huge ducks at Braunig Lake in San Antonio, a large, vicious crawdad also in San Antonio and now bunnies.  He can't type very well so I thought I should put some of his experiences in.  Also, Tiger Lilly is having a good time.  She now has a harness and leash and spends a lot of time outside.  She mostly makes friends with bugs...DRW/BJW

Here's a couple of shots of Shields RV Park on the Naval Air Station where we're staying: