A couple weeks at Canyon Lake, Texas

After leaving Arkansas, we traveled through the northeastern corner of Texas, near Texarkana. This is familiar territory for us, having gone this route 3 or 4 times.  We took Routes 59, 79, and 77 to TX 21 which took us through Bastrop, TX, one of the communities that was hard hit by last summer's wild fires. The evidence was very clear, the fire had destroyed houses and forests on both sides of the highway. The smell of pine was in the air and you could see rebuilding where homes had been burned.

We stopped overnight at a small park in Franklin, TX, which caught our eye since Dennis was born and raised in Franklin, NH.  The park was under new ownership and had just become a Passport America park, so our stay only cost $12.50.  The new owners were very nice and are trying hard to attract overnighters. 

It was less than 200 miles or so to our destination, Canyon Lake, Texas.  We arrived at Joint Base San Antonio at Canyon Lake around noon. That's the new name of the military FamCamp that we stay at when we're in the San Antonio area. It's in a rural setting and about 35 miles NW of Cibolo, where our son and daughter-in-law live.  It's quiet and a bit out of the way, but there is good shopping in New Braunfels, which is only 20 miles away.

As usual, the deer were plentiful. They wander around, day and night, with no fear of humans or pets.  After a few days, Paddington gets used to them....  until they run!  Then she can't help herself and has to bark at them.  But it takes a lot of barking to keep them away from their 'feeding stations.' They've gotten accustomed to campers feeding them.

Sun setting over Canyon Lake.

We may not do a lot of Christmas decorating now since we are away from home at Christmas, but that doesn't mean we don't escape the fun/chore of 'putting up the lights.'  We've given Ryan and Crystal a hand with their decorations the last couple of years. It sure is more fun to do this in Texas weather than in NH weather!

During our stay, Ryan and Crystal took us to the Riverwalk in San Antonio to see the lights, which were all new this year. They changed to all LED lights and it was a fantastic display.  After a wonderful dinner, we walked along the Riverwalk and enjoyed the sights and sounds.

The town of Gruene, Texas (pronounced Green) is probably most famous for the Gruene Music Hall, the oldest still active dance hall in Texas.  I couldn't think of a better place to visit on my birthday!

My favorite singer, the King of Country Music, George Strait, got his start at the Gruene Music Hall in 1975 as a singer with the Ace in the Hole Band.

The floors were uneven and creaky, but this place sure has seen a lot of great singers, as the walls were full of posters and photos.

Bellah Mine Corps of Engineers Park, DeQueen, AR

After our broken windshield earlier today, we were anxious to get parked for the night. There are several Corps of Engineer parks in this part of Arkansas so that was going to be our choice for tonight.  The map showed several in the vicinity of where we wanted to stop, so we chose Bellah Mine Park in DeQueen, Arkansas.

Going into COE parks is always a little iffy - we're never sure if they'll have sites big enough for us but we had read that this one could accommodate us so off we headed down the long, narrow country road, hardly wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass.  About 5 miles down, we came to a sign for Bellah Mine Park and entered with a sharp left-hand turn down a hill.  On the top of a hill in front of us is an unmanned ranger booth. Usually there will be a map of the sites so you can see how the park is layed out, but nothing here. So Dennis got out and started walking around, surveying the sites.  I was a bit freaked out since the motorhome is now on a fairly steep hill, with our 5,000 lb. car still attached. I sat in the motorhome ready to jam my foot on the brake in case we started rolling backwards!

We discovered they had some wonderful new big-rig friendly sites along the lake. The road going down to them was not so friendly, but it was doable if you unhitched your towed car.  Unhitching the car on the hill was another reason for an anxiety attack, but in the end, it all worked out.

The sites here are terraced, we took a lower site with a few steps down to an area with a picnic table, BBQ grill, and a firepit.

Dennis scavanged for wood so we could have a fire, then a friendly camper nearby pulled up in his pickup truck and gave us more wood. He lived in Texas and had brought his own firewood - Mesquite - ummm, love that smell!  We got our fire going very well, so well that pretty soon the smoke alarm in the motorhome went off.  We had left the windows and door open and the place was filling up with our campfire smoke!

We woke up to a very nice sunrise over the lake the next morning. All this for $5 a night!!  Can't beat it!

Rowdhog's got a Boo-Boo

We left Carthage, Missouri on Thursday morning and took back roads south through Missouri and Arkansas.  Around noon, we found ourselves in Mansfield, Arkansas, traveling along on a 2-lane road.  A large truck past us going the opposite direction and 'WHAM' something hit our windshield.  Just by the sound of it, you knew it wasn't going to be pretty.  Sure enough, we had a 3" round bullseye in the upper left of the windshield.  It must have been a good size rock to do that kind of damage.  Guess that's what insurance is for.  Now, what is our glass deductible?????..... hmmmmm

Joplin, Missouri - Six months after a devastating tornado

Carthage is only 10 miles from Joplin, MO, which was devastated by an EF-5 tornado on May 22nd. It was the deadliest tornado in US history, killing over 160 people. We expected to see some evidence of the storm, but we didn't expect to see the flattened area that went on for miles. The homes, the schools, the churches, the businesses - gone. The hospital was in ruins, with every window blown out and parts of the building gone.

Street lights and street signs have been installed, giving the area a sign of life.

The Hospital ....

Temporary Hospital

There are still hundreds of FEMA trailers housing the families who lost their homes.

Signs that the residents haven't lost hope...

Carthage, MO and Route 66

Last February, at a Newmar Kountry Klub luncheon in the Rio Grande Valley, we were the lucky winners of a door prize donated by the owner of CoachLight RV Park. We won a free week's stay at the RV Park, plus 2 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for 2 at local restaurants. So we were looking forward to enjoying several meals and a free week in Carthage while we explored the area.

We visited the Carthage Chamber of Commerce to get some tourist maps. Among them was a guide to following Route 66 through the Carthage/Joplin area.

From Norcold to Samsung - What an Improvement

We arrived in Nappanee, Indiana around noon on Sunday and got set up at the Newmar factory with full hookups even in the overflow area.  Last November when we arrived, they had turned off the water in the overflow area, but this year we were in luck! 

We had an appointment on Tuesday at Master Tech RV in Elkhart, IN to have our Norcold (aka Not-cold) refridgerator removed and a residential fridge installed, and also to have our water pump replaced.

So on Tuesday, we packed up and drove about 20 miles north to Elkhart. They took us right in at 8:00 and started checking out the wiring, inverter, batteries, etc., to make sure we were all set for our new fridge.  We spent the day running errands, eating out, and just killing time in their waiting room with other customers.  We were prepared to be spending the next 2 or maybe even 3 days doing this.  To our surprise, around 4:00, Master Tech Salesperson, Jack Harris, came to tell us they were finishing up and we'd be in our coach that night enjoying our new Samsung refridgerator!!

From this....                                                   To This.... in ONE DAY!!!

Thank You Master Tech RV !!!  Their foreman, Joe, and his crew did a great job!  I walked into the coach and one of the workers was on his hands and knees wiping down the floor, making sure everything was spotless.

Now we have hard ice cream all the time, and don't have to worry about not having enough room in the freezer or the fridge.  Better yet, no more Norcold recalls or safety issues to worry about. 

We spent the next two nights in Master Tech's parking lot and even unplugged the coach one night to duplicate dry camping. Everything was fine in the morning, our batteries powered the inverter and fridge all night and the fridge was 36 degrees and freezer was 0.  Just what we were hoping for! 

On Our Way to Warmer Weather (?)

We left Indiana on Thursday morning and headed south, hoping to leave the cold windy weather behind.  As we drove through Nappanee, I was able to snap a photo of a sign that we've seen posted in an Amish farmer's field for at least a couple of years. One side says "Son, Please Come Home to Jesus" the other side says "Son, Jesus Still Loves You." 

  Main Street, Nappanee, Indiana

We traveled a familiar route, Hwy 31 south, then US 24 to cut over to I-57 in Illinois.  This took us past Rantoul, IL, where we were stationed for about 4 years when Dennis was in the Air Force.  It looked very familiar - fields that go on forever, corn on one side of the road and soybeans on the other.

We stopped in Effingham, IL around 2:30 at Camp Lakewood RV Park. Easy on/off from the Interstate, nice level sites, Passport America Park, and the owner was also Retired Air Force. Maybe that came into play when we gave us a great site right next to the office. 

It was a nice park, but the weather was still pretty chilly and windy.  Paddington and I both bundled up to go for our walk.

We were on the road by 8:30 the next morning, headed to Carthage, Missouri and CoachLight RV Park.