Good Morning

   It is 7:30.  The sun is the red object peeking through the trees.  He has arrived to tell me that he is here to warm up it up and get things going.  My outside thermometer showed 34 as I got up.  Better than yesterday's 28.
     I took the Boys out to take care of their needs.  They have been fed and are napping; Quam next to me in the chair and Hunter up in the bedroom in front of the furnace vent by the bed.  All is well.
   Water is heating on the stove.  Russian Tea or Hot Chocolate.  We're not coffee or tea drinkers.  Never acquired a taste for either.  Not sure what is the plan for today.  I'm sure R wants to study up on the info needed to conduct tours.  I'm thinking that these are our days off. As of now, our days off will be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  These are days to explore the area, try restaurants, shop the stores, drive the roads.  We have training days ahead to use for....training.  
   Yesterday we drove the 14 miles into Johnson City.  That is where the park headquarters is located.  We looked for LBJ material in the HQ library and checked out several.  We also had burritos at El Charro and got some groceries at the local market, Lowes which is also an Ace hardware store.  I need to go back to check out the regional items for sale there.
   Before we headed back to the ranch, we toured LBJ's boyhood home which is adjacent to the HQ.  LBJ lived in this house from age 5 -15 (1913 - 1923) when he graduated from high school and left for California.
    It is a "Dog Trot" house.  Two living areas with open area or "dog trot" between; all under one roof.  It is a style that was quite common in this area.  Because rooms were added on several times there aren't any halls.  You walked through one room to get to another,  Lots of doors.  No running water, no electricity ( it did not come to the area until after LBJ went to Congress and was influential

in getting hydroelectric dams erected on the Colorado River.  (The Texas Colorado River).

The house has four porches.  The parlor is the room that sticks out.  The Dog Trot is to the left of the parlor.  It has been closed in but has a door on each end.  As I said before, lots of doors.

Surprises about Texas

My only exposure to Texas has been work related trips to Houston many years ago, so our trip east on I-10 has been eye-opening.
     I expected the land to be flat.  It was not. There were mountains in the west and hilly area the rest of the way.
    I expected all desert.  It was not.  The western area was arid but as we traveled east the greenery increased, the mountains become hills.  The hills become more populated with trees,
    I expected cows.  What we have seen the most of?  Goats!  Yes, goats.  Who would have thought?
    I expected exotic animals.  We have seen a couple.  We saw a armadillo.  Of course it was lying dead alongside the road.  On my walk with Hunter this morning, I spied a large bird with white on it's rump and on it's head.  A Caracara.  It looks like a hawk and acts like a vulture.  It has the tools of a hawk and an appetite for carrion  It was pretty neat.

Trip East Day 6 Ozona to LBJ

   Yipee !  We made it !  We left Ozona about 8:30.  Because we were 1/4 mile from I-10 we were on the road within minutes.  Mp 365 to mp 477, exit unto Hwy 290 east bound.  Sixty miles on 290 brought us about 14 miles east of Fredricksburg about 1:30.
    LBJ State Park and LBJ Ranch National Historic Park are side by side.  The normal entry is to go to the state park, see the movie, visit the displays and then cross the Pedernales River and onto the ranch.
    We met our NPS coordinator and he led us to our RV spot at the north end of the ranch itself.  A few hours later the rig was set up.  There were a few glitches.  I discovered as we were setting up at Ozona, that the back left stabilizing jack had been damaged.  There are black marks along the left side of the trailer which means I rubbed against something on the previous day.  I can't remember any "contact".  It still is a mystery.  The problem is not the black marks (they are removable with elbow grease).  The jack was bent.  More accurately, the bracket is bent and the attachment bolt sheared off. With help from my neighbors and a trip to the maintenance building to get another bolt, the jack was repaired and the setup completed.
   Some people say, "When you are camping, you don't have any house repairs to do."  Not an accurate statement.  The fifth wheel is our house and repairs are always going to be needed.  "Maintenance happens."

The Trip east Day 5 El Paso - Ozona

Day 5 was I-10 east.  Ozona, Tx is a small town at mp 365 so we traveled 60 miles further than the mileage of I-5 through Oregon.  The highway varied from new and smooth to "where to I drive to avoid the roughest part?"  And trucks,  and more trucks, and even more trucks.  The speed limit is 80 and I drive at 62 so everyone, except other RVs, goes whizzing by.

 My observation of west Texas.  Very few towns along I-10.  Once we got through the El Paso area I think we passed maybe 4-5 towns.   The topography was my biggest eye opener.  I expected FLAT.  Not so at all,  We saw mountains, valleys, rolling hills covered with junipers and bushes, and some flat lands with creosote and prickly pear.  I don't remember even seeing ranches out there.  I wonder what the land is used for and who owns it.  In Nevada most of the land is federal but I am not sure with Texas.
 
  Looking forward to getting to LBJ just after lunch today and parking this rig for a while.

Trip East Day 4

   Left Arizona City this morning at 8:30.  It rained off and on all night (quite unsual) so extra time was lost in wiping the slides before we pulled them back in.  Wet payment and road spray halfway to Tucson and then the weather cleared up and so did the road.  An hour east of Tucson the clouds increased and we were in fog and cloudy weather all the way to Texas.  Thousands of trucks, that many potholes, two areas of road construction,  and about 400 miles puts us just west of El Paso.  We are 477 miles from the exit to Hwy 290 and about 60 more miles to our goal.  This is a view of Las Cruces from the rest area.

    There were only three rest areas between Arizona City and El Paso and two of them were closed.  That's a long distance not to have bath rooms for travelers.  Thank you for truck stops.

 The truck was clean when we left this morning.  It is less then that right now.  Right now we are parked at a KOA that is located between Exit 0 and 1 on I -10 in Texas.  A few miles down the road is El Paso.  My wife was reluctant to stay overnight in that city.  It is interesting that rumors and feelings effect us even though we have no proof.  It is a similar situation in ORPI, and we volunteered there for 4 seasons.

Tomorrow we start our stint as "Temporary Texans"

Saturday 1/2/2016

Seems odd to type 2016.

  Back from my walk with the boys.  Quammie seems to be feeling better.  He has been listless and not eating for the last couple of days.  We think it is a reaction to the worming meds.  We were told that there are some side effects with worming medications.  Hunter does not seem affected, but Quam is.  We are going to check with the vet and see if there is another medication that she can prescribe.  She had said if we were going to Texas, we definitely needed to have the dogs protected.
   Another Arizona day is predicted with the temp getting to 70.  :)  But rain arriving next week.  Any rain here in the desert is good.
   Watched two good movies the last two nights.  "American President" 1995, Michael Douglas, Anne Benning,    "A Walk in the Woods" is a good one too.  It reminded me of trails I have been on.  Good memories.
   Today we head into Phoenix 50 miles to the northwest.  We will return to the trailer Monday afternoon.

Happy New Year

Here comes a new year.  A chance for new happenings, new adventures, new locations.  R and I are looking forward to continuing our trip eastbound.  We are enjoying the sunshine and 60 degree temps and we are comfortable in our friends driveway.  But the only reason we are staying here for this time frame is that I have an appointment with the doctor that installed my pacemaker on Monday the 4th.
   We will leave the following morning.  904 miles from Arizona City.  I figure we should arrive at LBJ on Thursday.  It's I-10 most of the way which is not the most interesting, but faster than any two lane highway.