Morning walk

   This morning walk was like all the other walks, almost.  The boys and I enjoyed the growing light. The sounds of silence were everywhere.  A hooting owl.  A mooing heifer.  The unique sound of the Sand Hill Cranes that are somewhere nearby. 
  The views are pretty much the same as well.  Sweeping views of pasture, live oaks, cattle, and deer.  A look in any direction here on the ranch shows you deer.  They are everywhere.  They were outside the window of the trailer this morning as I had breakfast. 







Then the morning walk became different.  The Boys and I had been walking for about 45 minutes and were turning back toward home.  Corrals surround the show-barn. The corrals are for containing cattle. or goats.  Deer jump into these areas to get a bit of grass.  They scatter and  jump back out when we see us coming.  This morning a deer was running back and forth trying to find a place to jump.  The first try was unsuccessful so he resumed the skittering back and forth.  He went back to that same place and tried again.  As I watched he was caught in the wire.  He struggled kicking and kicking and then he stopped and hung there.  Unmoving.  His struggle for life had ended. 
   Jab, one of the ranch hands drove up at that moment, went over and checked the animal.  He stopped and talked to me.  Unfortunately, this was not an unusual occurrence.

Morning wake up

   My mornings generally start the same.  The Boys allow me to sleep for a while, but the morning light causes them to get restless.  Pretty soon they are shaking themselves.  It awakens me.  Then I hear the click, click of toenails on the vinyl floor.  If I take my left hand out from under the covers Hunter is there for me to pet.  It makes me smile.  I am happy to be awake.

Morning

If you drive into the park in the early morning it is a good chance that you will see this group of turkeys looking for.... whatever turkeys look for.

Pasture

These are the meadows that the boys and I wander through on our evening walks.  The area is 600 acres of rolling prairie with many cows and even more deer.  The Live Oaks help with the decoration.

closer look

A closer look at our friends.  This was taken before they all lined up for the group photo.

Working

   Today is Wednesday Jan 17, 2018.  It is our fourth day of work and our first day of the second rotation.  We are one for three days and off for three days.   Much better than two years ago when we worked 4 on and 3 off when we were here two years ago.  The new schedule allows us to have different days off as time goes along to visit festivals that, of course , are on week-ends which our previous schedule did not allow.   The fun of being in one place for a while is being able to explore the region better and finding the "hidden gems" of the area.
   The last couple of days have not been very hospitable due to winter.  Winter weather has been stomping around the neighborhood making it's presence known.  Yesterday was the best winter day (or worst ) with Cold temps and moisture.  It amounted to freezing rain and slick roads mainly east and south of our area.  But the cold is everywhere.  The low here was about 15, which is cold in anybody's mind.  A steady warming trend is ahead which will be very welcome.
 

There are four volunteer RV sites inside a fenced area at the ranch site.  Ours is one of them.  Evidently our Hereford neighbors are interested in what we are doing on our side of the fence.

We are here

   We arrived at LBJ National Historic Park about 2pm yesterday, the 7th.  It is great to be here.  It is great to be anywhere for a time and not picking up and moving tomorrow.  Actually, the trip was pretty good.  Spending several days in the Phoenix area helped break up the journey.
   Yesterday afternoon was spent parking and setting up the trailer.  Once it was set up, Randa could get busy and put all the items away that have been sitting in boxes in the floor on the way here.
    Today we drove over the ranch house and shadowed one of the rangers on a tour.  Because of a structural problem in the house, the living room and dining room are not open right now.  So the tour route is different from when we were here two years ago.  Still taking the tour brought back much of the facts that are still lodged in a back compartment of my brain.

   Here is a photo of our site.  Right under a huge Live Oak.

 

Dentist

Do you like going to the dentist?  Me either.  Besides sitting there with your mouth open for an hour or two, it's really expensive.  Randa and I don't have dental insurance so you really know how expensive it is.  By paying cash, you get a 10% discount and my being a veteran gives me an additional 5% but still the cost is outrageous!   So we go to Mexico when we are in the area. Los Algodones, to be exact.  It is a hot bed for Americans to visit for dentistry, glasses, prescriptions and knickknacks.  I have heard that there are over 200 dentists in Algodones and it is a very small town. 
We have been going to the same offices for 5-6 years with good results every time. 
    Here is the odd thing.  The reason I went to Algodones this year was that my Canby dentist said that my two gold crowns needed replacement which would have cost about $3000.  A crown in Mx is $240.  See why I drove down from Mesa?   Well, I get in the chair and she checks me out and says, "Those two crowns are fine.  They are gold and gold lasts for a very long time.  But you do need some other work."  ( See previous entry)  So the root canal, temporary crown, and oral surgery came to $570.  The Canby dentist says use floride toothpaste.  The Mexican surgeon says Naw.  The Canby dentist wants to use an electric toothbrush.  The Mexican dentist says No, use the Bass method of brushing instead.         The question is: who do you believe ?

Taken the morning we left Mesa .

The Trip cont'd

Day 4 was relatively short.  Needles to Arizona City which is near Casa Grande.  I had asked Bob and Betty if we could park the trailer in their driveway while we were in the Phoenix area.  Pulling it into town would not have been fun.  Got to AC mid-afternoon and was parked and set up by supper time.  Spent two nights with our good friends and then drove the pick up into Mesa.  Spent New Years Day and 3 more with Aunt Gerry.  One of those days, Tuesday, was spent at the dentist.  The dentist is is Los Algodones, Mexico.  I had and appointment for 10am so I had to leave Mesa a little after 5am.  It's amazing how much traffic is on the road at that hour.  After a long day, a root canal, and a temporary crown in the morning and surgery to open the gum and fill a cavity below the gum line in the afternoon, I drove back to Mesa getting there about 8:20;  A long day.  The good news I felt fine the next day.  Spent the next few days doing fix-up chores for our host. 
    Left Friday, picked up the trailer and headed east down I-10, so it was trip Day 5.  Mesa to El Paso, Tx.  It only takes about 160 miles to cross New Mexico on I-10 so getting into Texas was doable.  Actually we parked in Anthony, Tx which is just inside the Tx border.  We left Arizona City a little later that I wanted, but it was difficult to say good-bye.  Arrived at the Anthony KOA about 6:15 which meant we set up in the dark.  I don;t unhook when we are on the road so it is a relatively easy and quick job.  We ate and were ready for bed fairly early.
   Day 6 (today) Anthony, Tx mp1 to Ozona, Tx mp 362.  Another easy drive.  light traffic, a nice tail wind.  I got 11.2 mpg which is great considering the rig I am driving.  Arrived here in Ozona about 5 pm, and it was still light.  I was happy for that. Set up, walked the boys and grilled supper.
  Tomorrow LBJ as it is only 166 miles from here.  Randa and I will be glad to be stationary for a while.