Dorothy, Toto, The Lion and The Good Witch of The West

Yup we are in Kansas and it is damned cold! Thank goodness we are in a hotel(Mary, it does not have a hot tub though). Last night was the very last night that we will spend in the camper this trip....we stopped in some danged town about 300 miles south of here. When we pulled in it was 63 degrees and very windy. We set up camp, got in the camper and hunkered in....the wind blew like crazy. (Mikey we talked about you...figured since it was so cold and windy you and David should be fishing!) The Wizard of Oz is what it felt like and I was sure we were going to be blown away. We woke up this morning to continued wind gales and cold cold cold-27 degrees. We are currently attempting to avoid the snow and freezing rain on our route home. Oh home...to 6-12 inches of snow and more cold...but it will be home.
OK now our travels and a few pictures-
The Caves of Sonora Texas were awesome. I took 60 plus pictures but will share only a few-
This is an active cave in other words it continues to make formations. The caves are warm in fact in some spots it is 80 degrees with lots of humidity. The tour takes almost two hours to walk through the cave and the pathways are quite narrow.
One formation...David thought it looked like two bears hugging
Worms??These two formations were a drip away from joining in 1948 and 60 years later they are still a drip away. Gives you some idea of how slowly they 'grow'.This is an interesting and very worth it place to go. If you ever get the chance I recommend it.

From Sonora on to New Mexico. We found a state park in the sand dunes. I loved it...Loi and David not so much. Peeko wasn't too thrilled either as there was no grass or trees for him to go potty on. It was quite the chore to get him to do anything while there!
The windmill is used to pump water. These are seen all over where we traveled.While traveling through New Mexico we all wondered just how the folks that live outside of a town survive. The towns are miles and miles apart and the houses/ranches are miles and miles from each other. How do they manage groceries, how do they get their mail (we didn't see any mailboxes) etc etc.

I did get one decent picture of the terrain...
And antelope ...Today we traveled through Oklahoma and onto Kansas and the wind continued to blow as the temperature dropped. Tomorrow we hope to get to Sioux City Iowa. Loi sister lives there and she would like to stop and visit. Then home the next day...if the weather will allow.

By the way, any guesses on who Dorothy is who the Lion is and who the Good witch would be??? Toto goes without saying, or does it?

Isn't She A Beauty Queen

I couldn't resist. Len and Kel sent these pictures from home and I just had to share....she is a beauty queen!

Sorry the pictures are small. I was unable to resize them without messing with the pixels.

We survived the brutal cold, hail, sleet, rain and snow last night. Today we are off to the Caves Of Sorona where it will continue to be cold until hopefully tomorrow.

Corpus And Beyond

Our time at Ry and Jen's was wonderful thanks to our hosts. We had one of the nicest campsites yet (their backyard) with a clean warm shower room (their's) and fabulous tour guides.

The highlight of my trip was seeing Loi so enjoy herself walking barefoot along the gulf at Padre Island. This was the first time that she had seen the gulf coast and seemed to truly enjoy herself.
Peeko was a happy camper as well as he ran off leash most of the walk.
The four generationsOur tour guides also took us to the Botanical Gardens. You really needed to stay on the paths here as their were certainly poisonous snakes in the grass and maybe an alligator or two.

Jen enjoying the scenery.There were butterflies
And flowersAnd frogs...if you can see them
Dave and Ry sitting by the campfire.On this night the guys grilled T-bones....where else but in Texas do you get a family pack of T-bones for only $10.00! They were good.

Grandpa, Great Grandma and AbigailGreat Grandma and Abigail sharing a laugh. Little Abigail is the most serious, deep in thought baby I have ever met. I cannot wait to hear how she has planned her world as I am sure this is what she is doing when she furroughs her brow in thought.
And who can resist this shot.Thanks a ton to Ry and Jen. It was loads of fun and great to be able to spend time with you three.

We are now in San Antonio. Today we ventured to the Alamo. We were a bit disappointed as it is very 'touristy'. We were also not thrilled with River Walk...I know I know most would love it but we all prefer the great outdoors, flea markets and thrift stores. Speaking of which Loi and I have found a few Goodwill stores. We both scored today at 99 cent sales!

The weather has taken a turn. From 80 degrees this afternoon to a low of 39 tonight and cool tomorrow. Tomorrow we are off to the Sonora Caves and then on to New Mexico. I hope this cold front moves through quickly!

We Made It To Texas

From Hot Springs Arkansas (which is nothing to write home about) to Louisiana where we spent our first night in our suite on wheels. The weather has been chilly so much of our time has been spent in this very small, not made for four (three of us and a dog) camper. David has decided that this will be the last trip with this particular unit. We spend the night in a very nice state park (and have decided that state parks are the best), built a fire, made supper and into the camper we went to the small heater. We have been in bed by 8:30pm (nothing to do in this chilly weather) and up for the day at 6am.

From Louisiana we took back roads to our first Texas stopped. We learned a few things along the way. 1- There is absolutely no reason to take back roads in Texas as there is nothing at all to see...take the freeway and get to where you are going. There is also not a thing worth taking pictures of along the way! 2-We have found a new favorite inexpensive place to eat...The Waffle House. A bit of a greasy spoon but the food is great! 3- As stated above, state parks are our favorite places to camp.

From Louisiana to Texas. Our first state park in Texas was nice as well, but again chilly. Our second was our favorite as there was lots of wildlife to see. We looked for alligators but didn't spy a one. Finally a little something to take pictures of-
David, Peeko and I walking along the water's edge. All of a sudden Peeko lunges at his leash and I hear a hiss....I told David "Get him get him". David thought it was an alligator but Peeko had scouted out a coon who was none to happy to have been rousted!
The trees are very unique.The deer. They walk right into your campsite as I am sure they have been feed very well by campers despite the warnings to 'Not feed the wildlife'.
Here Loi is looking at a deer who is looking at her wondering what in the heck she is.
Peeko wondered what these four legged things were as well. He looked but did not bark!
All three of us decided that this is a place we would love to spend more time at if the weather were warmer.

And then off to Ryan and Jens who were surprised that we drove right to their place thanks to Trips and Streets (and Len and Kel for the wonderful gift).Ry and Jen were also kind enough to let us 'camp' in their backyard. A few pictures to share-
Little Abigail happily eatingPeeko is very happy to have two new friends to frolic with, Jr and Molly.
We will spend a couple of days here and then off to San Antonio. Stay tuned....

I've Got Lots To Say

Get ready, we've been busy and I'm sharing.....

So, we started this trip Friday. It is now Monday night and we still have not slept in our suite on wheels.

Our first stop was at Bass Pro.
This is what Christmas looks like there. The tree and the trophies
David wishing this were his next trophyWe spent three nights in Branson with our friends Mikey and Jan who were wonderful tour guides...we were busy.

You cannot go to Branson without seeing at least one show. Well we saw three of them.
Andy Williams Christmas show was first up. The lighting was wonderful and the show fun as well. Ole Andy is getting up there in age but he is still able to sing.
Andy's stageSecond up was The Presley's. Nope not Elvis but a family who puts on a very fun variety show. The best are father and son and Jan for the life of me I can't remember their names. Anyhow they were a riot. The son reminded me a bit of Erkel..anyone remember him?
The third was an illusionist and a ventriloquist. The show was 'ok' but the absolute best was the tribute that they did to all of the veterans. It brought tears to my eyes. It was centered around the raising of the US flag in Iwo Jima and at the very end the illusionist 'conjured up' an almost life sized replica of the men raising the flag. Very touching. We were not allowed cameras into the auditorium I am sorry to say but just imagine.....

We made a stop at Soji's palace (where he does his show). Our tour guides decided that the show was not worth seeing but the toilets in this place certainly were!

In the men's room
Yes that really is a pool table. I did not venture any farther but I was told that they have ice in the urinals...

The ladie's room. Loi and I could not believe it and I am sure we had our mouths open in awe the entire time.
Get a load of the sinks, all lined up with orchids on each one.
Loi in front of the fireplace that wasn't burning as Santa was coming down
Loi and I sitting by Santa, or is it Father Time-yes he was in the bathroom too!
Chrissy this one is for you. A Christmas tree in the bathroom decorated with angles
Seriously unbelievable.

On the way down Loi was talking about a place to eat where they throw the rolls at you. The first supper meal was at the very same place that Loi had heard about and yes they do throw the buns at you.
Here is Jan catching one in fact.

Buns were very tasty...meal not so much.

A bit of shopping
Jan almost passed out when she found a pair of moccasins that she likes and has not been able to find elsewhere. Doesn't take much to make her happy I guess.Loi in her glory looking at earrings...she didn't buy any but did end up with a pair of moccasins herself.
Me...nothing.

Branson decorates to the nines for Christmas
I especially liked this pair of entwined trees with a bell and a sign that reads 'Let Freedom Ring'

And we made a trip to K-mart. Anyone that knows Loi knows that this made her day...and mine too. We both scored on sales. Got chewed out by David as we only have so much room to haul stuff!

The Butterfly Garden.
This was a treat, very relaxing and a photographer's wonderland. Butterflies galore. If you sit still long enough you may get lucky and have one land.
Like this fella who landed on the hand of a lady. The butterfly was as big as her hand.
Looking quite nice on the poinsettia

What species is this? It's a leaf but does resemble a butterfly I think
And Loi in the butterfly chair.I intended on posting the picture of me in the same chair that Jan took however I could not get the skinny me tool on photoshop to work.

Today was another travel day. Jen and Ry..we will get there really we will.
From Missouri we headed to Arkansas via the Smokey Mountains. Was a cloudy (and cold I might add) day but I was able to capture this shotAnd then I tripped on a rock, fell on rocks skinning both knees and my camera went flying. Thank goodness I didn't wreck it and no one saw my klutziness!

David and his copilot navigating the narrow, curvy, steep and at times a bit scary roads.
A pit stop along the way
Little Peeko waiting at the hotel window for David and I to come backTonight we are in Hot Springs in a hotel. It got too late, and was too cold to set up camp so here we are in a cheap dog friendly hotel. Tomorrow we are off to who knows where....stay tuned.