Vanilla Plantation

From El Tajin we returned to Papantla and visited a “plantacion de vainilla”. The operation is a family business not unlike some small rhody growing operations we know in the northwest. Our host took us down the jungle path about a hundred meters to show us vanilla orchids growing bountifully in the under story of the jungle canopy. Many grow in his shaded orchard of specialty orange and tangerine trees.

We also toured his four fully organic tissue culture shade-cloth houses. In these houses (probably 15m by 30m) five foot cuttings of Ceiba trees and three inch cuttings of vanilla orchids are planted adjacent to one another. The orchid plants cover the Ceibas and begin producing flowers and pods in about three years.

Needless to say, the heady aromas of vanilla charmed us all. We also enjoyed a stop at the gift shop (in the packaging shed), a cool drink on the front lawn and a visit with the little farm's pet crocodile!

El Tajin

This morning we fell into a state of complete luxury. We were passengers on a beautiful, rattle-free Mercedes diesel pusher tour bus with someone else driving – and driving well. The Wagonmaster's wife stayed in camp and walked dogs for everyone so even Del and Pounder got a day off! Del is doing considerably better, by the way. Her knee isn't bothering her near as much. She was able to walk anywhere she pleased all day!

A bubbly Phillipina lady named Clara was an absolute delight. She gave history lessons (complete with quiz questions) and made the hour's trip to El Tajin fly by. At one point along the coast she pointed out a bi-conical pre-Columbian structure and explained it. The local fishing community had built a base cone over a natural gas vent in the earth. The gas fed a flame in a smaller upper, inverted cone that served as the first ever Mezzo-American lighthouse! Though it is stopped off today, the gas is still present and presumably could still be used.

We back-tracked yesterday's path for about forty minutes, but everyone enjoyed the spectacular scenery that we'd missed while driving or navigating. Back in the hills behind Papantla our first stop was at the ruin of El Tajin.

2,000 years ago the Totonac people started building a city where two rivers merged, and mountiains enclosed three sides of a small valley. The valley is far enough from the coast so that hurricanes, while wet and windy, pose no destructive threat. Not that the weather doesn't impinge; the name Tajin is Totonac for Thunder!

Two things make this city unique: it's age (founded during the first century AD), and it's

condition - since Cortez totally missed it! While Spaniards found it at the end of their occupation, it was abandoned by then, and never plundered.

To this day A Totonaco Indian traditional dance is still performed all over Mexico at cultural fairs. It is a daily event at the ruins of El Tajin as well. It is called Danza de los Voladores de Papantla.

Archeological digs have turned up evidence of much trade of goods and ideas. Obsidian, for instance, doesn't occur here, but their tools are of obsidian. There are many echoes of other cultures in the art and artifacts as well. The Totonacs had one very precious and truly unique thing to trade: Vanilla!

Costa Esmeralda

Yesterday we had a long (9 hours) travel day. While we didn't travel a huge straight-line distance we did travel a huge lateral distance (curves, turns) and a huge vertical distance (up and down mountainous terrain, over rough narrow roads, and over topes too numerous to count.

The mountainous sections wind through some truly impenetrable jungle in a few places. In some other places (usually close to towns and villages) sections have been put into cultivation for bananas, oranges, limes, corn and sugar cane. The orchards usually host the family's cattle as well. Most cattle have Brahma in their bloodlines, presumably for their tropical tolerance. The cattle feed in small groups of two or three while egrets walk between their feet or catch a ride on a back.

Fences are often made by cutting green sticks, typically 8 ft long, and driving them into the ground to support wire. Green sticks give Mother Nature a chance to have a little extra fun. They all take root, branch out and become living fences!

The land flattened out into sandy agricultural fields and small cities along rivers. Soon we were paralleling the ocean and soaking up the Gulf's balmy breezes.

Our RV park was a welcome sight. Our “happy hour” found the group relaxing in a palapa next to a beautiful (if windy) beach on the Gulf of Mexico.

Dinner was a trifecta of gulf shrimp; A cold shrimp salad, shrimp marinated and sauteed in garlic, and shrimp fried in a light cornmeal batter. Each was a home-run!

Everyone went to sleep with windows open to a 77° F sea breeze. We were lulled to sleep by sounds of surf and a tropical wind through the coconuts.

Tampico

We left the RV park in Cd. Victoria at about 10:30AM. We made it about 5 blocks. There, looming on the right was a supermarket. We fell head over heels in love with just about everything we saw.

At the entrance stands a bakery. Product sits out right at eye (and nose) level with no protection from your urges. This is a dangerous store! The method is for the customer to pick up a pizza pan and a pair of tongs and go defenseless through rows of lovely things that will make you smile, fat, sick, want more, and pssss off your doctor.

The produce section is every bit as much fun. Lavish quantities of tropical fruits and vegetables tempt you at every table and bin. The prices are almost comical. Papaya sells for 14 cents a pound. Oranges are a nickle a pound. On the other hand, the exotics such as apples sell for more than they do at home! Jicama and choyote are pennies per pound. Broccoli and cauliflower aren't.

All the cans are worth reading. They each have their own story to tell, and each inspires a meal plan.

Wait till you see the cheeses! We've already fallen in love with some local cheeses. There is a common style that looks and eats like motzarella string-cheese. Another comes from just down the road from here (Tampico) that's creamy flavored, white and only slightly firm. It is sold with inclusions like a bit of ham or jalapeňos or both. We've already marked tomorrow's route book for a quick stop for more.

Our journey has taken us into the Tropics! We crossed the Tropic of Cancer about 1:30. I don't think we're any different for the experience, but what the Heck. We'll brag anyway.
Annie's favorite image of the day is a gentleman on horseback carrying a bicycle pump. Don't ask folks; I couldn't even make this up!

Our stop for the night came early. By 3: PM we were watching a bocce ball tournament on the lawn behind the hotel. Happy hour brought a fountain of margaritas (provided by the Wagon Master and the Tail Gunner) that lasted about an hour. We were all ready for a drivers' meeting by then!!

The little restaurant at the hotel got most of the caravan for dinner, but we dined in on some delicious chicken tamales and pico de gallo. Sunset found us in the swimming pool, cool and happy and ready to settle in for the night.

Sweet dreams!

Ciudad Victoria

Sunday January 25, 2009

The trip through the border crossing, Mexican customs and two Mexican Army inspection stations was an eye opener. While we complain about Mexican efforts to control the border I see as much Mexican enforcement activity than I saw on the US side.

As we left the border area in our mirrors the countryside changed character. Homes are in better shape. Yards have goats and chickens. Laughing and waving, two kids ride together on a burro. The burro seem to enjoy it as much as the kids.

Equines get the choicest patches of grass along the roadways. They are tethered out – usually within a few hundred meters of the house - where they lazily graze. Shepherds move herds of goats or sheep along the road's shoulder as well. The animals stroll along the roadway, feed on the greenery and browse on the brush.
A rancher, with his herd of cattle sits easily in his saddle and watches the parade of RVs. He seems to contemplate and admire our lifestyle much as we admire his.

People are walking, biking, working on roads, buildings and crops. Everyone waves.

Spanish-language signs are everywhere. Slowly words float to the surface out of the deep past of high-school Spanish class. Little things start to make sense.

A few signs advertise tours of the Mezcal plant and the Museo Mezcal. Soon we are passing a huge field of blue agave; the very essence of Mezcal.

Tonight we're in Ciudad Victoria Tamaulipas, a 250 year-old city of a third of a million people. The elevation is about a thousand feet and the city is bordered on the west by a beautiful blue mountain range. We found a great restaurant in town. We had a huge sampler plate for two of carnitas (pork chicken beef), guacamole, roasted onion, salsa, and queso fundido. We loaded little tortillas till we couldn't hold any more. Ooof! That was good!

Tampico and Costa Esmeralda are on the agenda for tomorrow. It's a short run, so there'll be time to smell the roses and take a few pictures.

Details - Details!

Friday January 23, 2009

We moved our RV into the Texas Trails RV Park to rendezvous a few days before we leave to Mexico. It turns out that there are many steps to do and many things to consider before we launch.

Day before yesterday we met our Wagon Master, our Tail Gunner, and their wives. The wives brought packs of materials, lots of explanations and a warm welcome. In preparation for the trip they had brought our insurance papers direct from the agent that works with Adventure Caravans.

The ladies gave us a full explanation of the documentation process for going to Mexico for an extended stay. There are things needed for personal documentation (visas) and things needed for the vehicles (registration stickers - called holograms) as well. There are many steps to the process with a definite sequence required in order to get it all done at once.

The Wagon Master explained it all again the next morning and checked everyone's preparedness before we piled into cars and drove to the Mexican immigration offices just across the border. Luckily for many Fred has much patience and understanding for all his “ducklings”, because he was right there assisting everyone as they achieved surprisingly complex paperwork with three different non-English-speaking government officials.

We managed to miss a turn to return to the U.S., so we toured a little bit of the suburbs of Reynosa Mexico. A lesson learned is that Mexican driving styles are somewhat different from what we're used to. While the Policia are stringent about speed and bad stops, it appears that it's not a big deal to cross double yellow lines to pass! I'm not going to test it, but at least I won't be quite as surprised next time it happens!

Next day Bob, the Tail Gunner came by to help us with a thorough pre-run vehicle inspection. Good suggestions and advice were welcome. He caught a corrosion issue on the house batteries, showed me a small valve cover leak on the Honda, and reminded me to “fluff up” the powder in our dry fire extinguishers.

Three or four days ago I lost a piece of a filling (dammit!) so today we made a quick trip across the border at Nuevo Progreso. We parked next to the crossing and walked across the border about 10:30. We found the recommended dentist and walked in. They sat me down, checked me over and offered to fix me up by removing the old, cleaning me up, and replacing the filling. Price? $35.00. “Go”, sez I!

By 12:30 we were in a little restaurant for lunch having an avocado half stuffed with a delicious shrimp salad. We wandered through a gift shop or two and stopped in a liquor store for a couple of bottles (you can bring 2 liters each back with no federal taxes due). As we cleared Customs we found a State “customs office” of some sort – with no such generous tendencies! We got nicked $1.35 a bottle for booze we'll turn right around and carry back to Mexico. Boy did we make a slick deal on that one!!!

Let's see; 3 dollar bridge toll, twenty five cents gate toll (I have no idea why), thirty cents at another turnstyle, (nope, I'm still clueless). Kinda like being in a herd of cows going from milking parlor to milking parlor!

Tomorrow brings all the last-minute details (buy propane, check tire pressures, turn off the cell phone and satellite TV services, and another half-dozen items on the list. 3PM will find us at the first drivers' meeting – and orientation. Then - after a good night's sleep - we're off!

Say Hi to Del

Monday January 19, 2009

Have I introduced you to our best roadie buddy and intrepid travel companion?

The story starts over 45 years ago. Annie's mom had made fast friends with a then RN (later Nurse Practitioner) at Childrens' in San Francisco. Del was a single mom with 2 kids So was Anna's mom. Both shared a common sense of humor born of getting on with it in spite of it all. In short, Annie and I have known Del longer than we've been married!

Del retired from her practice about 20 years ago. She moved to Grass Valley, CA where she was close to her beloved camping and hiking opportunities in the Sierras. She started gardening with all the energy that Del brings to a pastime. Eventually all the gardening started to suppress the explorer in Del. In spite of her back-packing trips, her camping trips, her motorhome trips she was always one trip short and too many weeds from being able to leave with a clear conscience.

Del went “Full-time” as they say, about 9 years ago. She bought her new home – a Lazy Daze coach sized just for her. She put 110,000 miles on it between California, Newfoundland, Mexico, the Arctic Circle. It took her about 5 years!

A new coach was ordered up and customized to suit her needs. Her “New One” only has 60,000 miles on it now! Solar panels and a sophisticated charge controller keep four no-maintenance (AGM) batteries full. Del has all the power she needs to run the microwave if necessary (maybe 10 minutes a day) the coffee pot, the waffle iron, the automatic satellite receiver, the flat panel TV, the Computer, the printer-scanner-copier, etc. etc. Her only outside needs are a Safeway, a dump station, and fresh water. That ties her to the rest of us about once every 2 to 3 weeks for a few hours.

Don't get me wrong; Del is no hermit in any sense of the word! She loves people and lazy chats and hugs and friends and happy-hour and sharing stories and dinner out as much as anyone else. She just isn't tied! The net result is we know we're blessed as she chooses to spend time with us.

Del has a sourdough culture going that has been pleasing people for as long as I can remember. You've all heard of Johnny Appleseed; well the saga of Sourdough Del is as true as it is legend! She started us twice. The second one lasted for about 5 years before I goofed and lost it.
Well - this morning Del had us all over to breakfast. The menu? Sourdough WAFFLES with Pecans! crumbled bacon! cranberries! wild huckleberry! You pick 'em – she cooks 'em, we all visit Heaven!

Life is as sweet as your friends are.

More Mission, Texas

Saturday January 17, 2009

Joe and Nancy next door did a little extra cooking last night. They got ready for the park's Saturday Morning Breakfast. We went to bed with the invitation in mind and, lo and behold, I woke up in time to look out the front windshield – between my feet (still in bed of course) and see a sunrise! We were up and at 'em and down to the clubhouse for lots of breakfast, lots of good company and plenty of fun yarns. Good job, Joe and Nancy. The food was delicious. The event made more than enough to refill the gas bottles for the barbecue, so a burger feed is sure to be coming to the calendar soon!

We headed out in the rig about 9:30AM looking for a solution to our elusive exhaust leak. We had visions of bad gaskets, broken bolts, stripped head, etc. This too-long story finally got short!

A really sharp young gentleman at Three Star Mufflers on 9th in Mission, TX spotted the problem in less than ten minutes. There was an incomplete weld (at manufacture) on the flange of our new headers!

We rolled up next to the door to the shop (and the MIG welder) and lifted the front end off the ground with the leveling jacks. A proficient young welder slid into the front wheel well. Our welder removed the bolt, welded the seam, re-installed the bolt and emerged in less than five minutes. We started the engine. We rev'd it up. We put it under load, We listened real hard. We were HEALED!

If you need a careful diagnosis and an efficient fix to your exhaust system I highly recommend the good gang of guys at Three Star Mufflers. Talk to Jorge; you can swap stories about asparagus picking in Yakima!

Mission, Texas

Friday January 16, 2009

The cruise from Carrizo Springs to Mission was under clouds. Wide open terrain and a mix of air currents from northern-cold with gulf-warm can make for dramatic skies. It turns out that during the summer this area is one of the real “Hot Spots” for storm chasers. We enjoyed some spectacular rolls of front-lets folding into cells with swirling vertical extensions of rainfall. I'm sure that if about forty Fahrenheit degrees were added we would've seen a really spooky show!


The drive brings us into what is called the Texas tropics. Weather is considerably warmer and everything is green. Palms abound. Hyacinths and bougainvillea decorate yards and "goatheads" hitch rides on our socks! I wouldn't mind quite as much, but indoors they jump off clothing and wait until we kick off our shoes, then they gleefully attack any foot in sight!

We picked a tiny RV park in Mission Texas last night. The park is named Paradise Country RV Park. The rates are great and the place is well kept so we paid for a three night stay. By the time we were plugged in and settled down we'd been greeted by two couples and well mannered doggies on leashes. All were snowbirds glad to meet us and find out about us. They enjoyed sharing their own stories as well. Some folks leave a rig here for the winter. Some take the rig back to northerly states for the summer. Two have put a park model on a lot here, and then fly down for the winter. True snow-birds, eh?

This afternoon three couples invited us to join the Friday night pizza feed. We joined the safari down to the Peter Piper Pizza Parlor for some great food and great conversation. The pizza parlor has special rates for “Winter-Texans”. They offer dollar-off coupons, senior specials, and “bottomless” plastic soda-pop mugs. Nancy, our next-door neighbor, brought extra soda pop mugs just for us and kicked in an extra dollar-off coupon for us too. The hospitality here is truly heartwarming. Supper ended with renewed invitations to the biscuits-and-gravy breakfast tomorrow morning, and suggestions that we really should consider the park for an annual three-month stay.

Carizzo Springs

January 14, 2009

We left the Buzzard's Rest (just had to type that in one more time) and went to Walmart for gas and groceries. As we pulled into the parking lot a forlorn truck driver timidly waved us down and asked if we'd try to help him jump-start his truck. What the heck, it's worth the try. We pulled our Ford 460 up next to a Cummins diesel block about the size of our whole Honda. Needless to say, the battery sized for our engine wasn't capable of doing much for the ailing monster.

The trucker thanked us for trying and turned to his radio while we went in to shop. As we loaded groceries and paused for lunch a crew of truckers in semi's rallied on the scene. Ten minutes of discussion and the plan was hatched. The driver of the low-boy offered up a length of tow chain while the car hauler backed up in front of the disabled truck. Chain tied the car hauler to the patient and a third driver who apparently had the requisite skills heaved up into the cab. The chain drew taut, both trucks rolled about 20 feet when the patient belched a black puff and sprung to life! The rescued driver ran from trucker to trucker and bear-hugged everyone!

Twenty miles down the road I let a truck pass and I was startled out of my seat with horn honking and waving. Our patient shed one more big "Thank You" as he went merrily on his way.

The road from Del Rio to Carizzo Springs is flat. The brush is about 15 feet high. The land is flat, The underbrush is mainly prickly pear cactus. The road is relatively straight. Towns along the way are small. --And the land is flat.

Eagle Pass is a standout exception to the monotone trip across the valley. We decided to take the highway's route through town. We enjoyed seeing the town's clean streets and substantial historic architecture. Stone and brick buildings with handsome mill work seem to line most of the streets. Buildings show careful and timely maintenance. The scene projects a local pride and vibrant community. Some refreshing views of the river were included in this picturesque spot.

We found our destination park in Carizzo Springs by about three thirty this afternoon and enjoyed a balmy, sunny mid seventies afternoon with all the windows open. We're down to 780 ft elevation now and it's beginning to feel like the Gulf Coast!

Del Rio, Texas

January 13, 2009

Today's journey was a slow shift in scenery. Leaving Marathon the land was flat with mini-mountain ranges around us on the horizon. Soon the land started to show some “ups and downs”. Soon little dry creeks and draws were scattered across the prairie.


The occasional ranch house passes by. Most aren't used any more. The cattle are still here, but as transportation has improved there is little reason to live on this, a land more suited to the cattle than the rancher. Seeing these places in disuse I imagine there have been many a tug at the heartstrings as the traditional rancher's lifestyle has given way to a modern way of life.

Cuts along the road, and soon palisades along the ridges showed elegant limestone masonry work. The Lord is a magnificent bricklayer when He sets to it!


Automated broadcast feeders and hunters' blinds appear all over these low rolling hills. Thousands of acres once cleared for cattle are now being allowed – and helped – to return to more natural habitat by sports people. Owners and managers encourage careful selective harvest of the game population. Many of the plots are owned by groups of users who fly in for camping and hunting adventures. The results are flourishing populations of wildlife.



As we dropped down from four thousand foot elevations to around one thousand feet. We met up for a while with the Rio Grand, and then with the Pecos River.

Soon they merged together in a pink and gray limestone gorge called Seminole Canyon to feed a vibrant blue Amistad Lake. The lake stretches miles in many directions covering about 140 square miles. Its finger like coastline features hundreds of little coves. Looks like an absolute great place to fish!

We had a wonderful chat with the proprietor of Buzzard's Rest RV Park. She is a Thai lady that came here and trained as an accountant. She used a scholarship and internship with Hilton Hotels. Her son is grown now, and she visits family regularly in Asia. Though near 60. she spent a couple of days at Camp I at Mt Everest in September! We could've listened to her delightful tales all day, but we thanked her and set about making secure for the night.

Marathon, Texas

January 12, 2009

We left Van Horn at about eleven AM. South and east bound on Highway 90 we cruised through little towns that varied from “don't blink”, to picturesque, to clean and neat, to ones that may be gone after the next wind. Towns with names like Lobo, Valentine, Quebec, Ryan, Marfa, Nopal, Alpine, and Marathon.

Much of the scenery is classic west Texas high desert. Beautiful in its own right, but it has a sameness after a few days. Today was punctuated by some interesting scenes such as a most magnificent Brahma bull quietly owning a piece of prairie as far as the eye could see. A dot just above horizon grew for at least twenty minutes as we approached. When we got to it it was as a balloon as high as an aircraft – property of our Border Patrol. It appeared that no one was within the two acre fenced yard and buildings, but the place bristled with antennas. I surmise there is a high-tech monitoring facility somewhere that can do the dispatching.

We left Marfa without seeing any Marfa Lights. I think E.T. is actually a nocturnal fellow. We let him sleep.

The road wanders through the Glass Mountains via a pretty canyon of grasses, junipers, Texas walnut, yuccas and low growing prickly pear. The hills have rugged palisades of lava and limestone. Large white-breasted raptors claim high places. We were treated to a classic picture of about 30 antelope grazing in a grassy draw.

We claimed campsites early today – napped in the sunny light breeze and awoke bright-eyed just in time for happy-hour followed by dinner in town. We found two restaurants in Marathon. One a family style Mexican restaurant, the other is the dining room for the historic Gage Hotel. We were surprised by the menu. It included a vast array of truly special preparations. Pricey but fair, the meal was memorable (duck breast on a barley-cranberry rizotto with duck demi glace? Yum!). We're snug in the rig, dry-camped in an over full only-RV-park-in-town.

Sleep well!

Van Horn Texas

January 11, 2009

We left Deming this morning and headed south to Columbus, New Mexico. The idea was to get off of I-10 and see more country. It worked beautifully. The two-lane blacktop roads were in fine repair and had virtually no traffic. Our only company seemed to be white pickups and SUV s decorated with a green diagonal stripe. Friendly folks, they all waved and smiled as they went about their border-guarding duties.

There are an amazing array of hand-made "hoodoos" along Highway 9. Carefully stacked rocks decorate little sections of the landscape - sometimes numbering fifty or more in a half-acre or so in places. They stand anywhere from 1 to 5 feet high. Often they contain complicated balance feats and are quite attractive. A little research informed me that it's a folk art form everywhere on the planet! I guess the prolific collection is due to the amount of foot traffic, the time available, and just having something to memorialize -- like a border crossing!

El Paso is a most unlikely place. The town bustles and jostles, ebbs and flows, and crowds itself into a tiny little canyon far from anywhere else. It boggles my mind to find this urban spin in the middle of an area that's a hundred of miles of desert and solitude in any direction.

As quickly as you are "in it", surrounded by swirling energy, driving defensively and getting surprised at every on or off ramp you're out of it again - and back into the quiet, open desert. From somewhere in the back of your mind seems to come a mumble;

"What was THAT all about?"

Van Horn is about two hours east of El Paso. It's good place to stop. We enjoyed another great southwest sunset, happy hour and dinner. Time for bed!

Deming, New Mexico

January 10, 2009

Spent an extra day in Benson then headed east once again. The mercury has just about fallen out the bottom of the thermometer these last few days. Temperatures have been dropping into the mid-twenties overnight. Del could have inspired us to do some boondocking, but it sure is nice to plug in and run the electric heater all night in weather like this!

Texas Canyon a few miles east of Benson is made up of spectacular weathered sandstone rock piles. Mother nature seems to enjoy making things round here. A wonderful museum lives in the area. It's called "Amerind". Stop and see it.

We were sad to see Steins, NM closed. It is a privately owned ghost town just three miles from the NM - AZ border. I hope we find it open and thriving once again on our next stop.

Deming, New Mexico is a tiny little southwest town. It's altitude gives it clear skies and some more than generous day to night temperature swings, a classic high desert scenario. Deming is a Border Patrol office for the region and the Port of Entry from Palomas Mex. Most of its history seems to center around these two "industries".

The area sports some great looking small local museums and a few other attractions. Someday on a more leisurely pace we may make a point of slowing down and exploring a bit.

Benson, Arizona

We left Jim's at about 11AM. Never easy to say "G'bye" but a hug helps, and we'll be back before we know it with tales of our adventures. We did a gas 'n go, hooked up the Honda and headed south to Benson, AZ, a four hour trip.

We FLEW through Tucson! Forty miles an hour, but believe me - forty through Tucson is flying! For as long as we've been driving I-10 Tucson has suffered massive, many-miles-long construction projects. While there's little evidence that they're approaching a finish, they're doing a lot better at keeping people moving.



We holed-up in an Escapees (RV Club) Co-op park. The desert is manicured into a really pretty landscape. The park is a mix of short-term and extended-term rental sites and some long-term leased sites that the tenants can develop (within guidelines, I'm sure). The sites are large (30'X 40'+) and many contain buildings called casitas. Many have a family room, plumbing (Kitchen & Bath) and large shady patios for barbeques and just lounging. Pretty nice living.

Lots of snowbirds spend their winters here. They're bustling about from program to activity to class to movie to concert to card-game to happy hour to tour. Always smiling, they'll invariably greet you with a hearty hello.


Sunset turned the broad view of the valley from yellows to golds to pinks. We walked up behind the park to the open desert and admired the brilliant colors of beautiful wispy clouds as darkness settled on the desert.

Benson has a very handy steakhouse called The Chute-Out. A well-prepared steak there sports a carmelized "sear" on the outside that I'm especially pleased with. Steak fries are oversize, crisp on the outside, and fluffy inside. Every table gets a bowl of cowboy beans that add a festive and flavorful touch to everyones' meal.

Full moon and full tummies - we're snuggled down for the night. It's good to be back on the road.

Saturday January 3, '09

The weather this week has been absolutely delightful. Temperatures have reached the low seventies every day. Sunshine and light breezes have been the rule. It seems like our stays in Scottsdale with Jim are always idyllic. What a wonderful place. What a wonderful host!

Royce, Jenifer and Georgia left us for home in the Seattle area yesterday. We were all wistful to see them go, but that'll make it just that much sweeter next time. Young Georgia is everything God could ever promise Grandpa and Grandma. While we can't watch her grow everyday from here, we're so thankful that she has Jen and Royce for a mommy and daddy. 'Couldn't think of a better pair! Two more grandparents; (Bobba and Mim) Do such a wonderful job too. She may be about the luckiest little girl on the planet. -A truly special family.

Our attention now turns to the RV to ready the ol' girl for the winter trip. Lots of little details have made their way to the list for attention. projects range from replacing the generator's fuel pump to checking tires to filling batteries to tightening that screw to oiling that hinge to finding that rattle. We're also stocking up on such things as filters, fluids and fan belts. Everything you might think of is there to be considered. We're probably way out in left field on what we pick and what we skip, but - what the heck - it's all a learning experience.

The Wagon master for the trip called us a few weeks ago. He sounds like a really careful and caring gentleman. Experienced, and ready to make things go smoothly. Adventure Caravans has supplied us with a kit of information that helps us a lot too. We've read and researched a bit. Just about any questions we come up with seem to be answered.

The one continually recurring theme is that everyone can expect to be "making adjustments" along the way. It ain't gonna go exactly the way we think it will, but when all's said and done it's gonna be fine.

Example: The "to do" list was the best dern list we could make, and the moment we tackled it the water heater quit! OK, lets adjust! ($25 fix - no biggie) :-)

The schedule's first target date is January 20th in Pharr, Texas. Hopefully we can arrive a bit early and explore a little of Texas' famous coastline. We'll see.

Starting to get exciting!! We'll keep you posted.