I am sure the obvious answer is yes!!! Now I am not going to whine and cry to you all but just state the facts, ma'am, just the facts. I had to throw that one in there. Who remembers the show??
Ok on with it. We left Dickinson yesterday and drove to a state park called Somerville. They have two parks on each side of the lake and we are at the Nails Creek Park.
When we arrived there was no one at the office. We thought that was strange because at every state park we been to the office was always open. The sign on the door said "Out to Lunch." So we went on to look for sites. We found one that had some decent shade trees and started to back into it.
The temps outside had to be reaching into the upper 90's by now and after about 4 or 5 trys I decided to end it and see if anybody was in the office and ask if we can switch to their other park. Now I can hold my own when it comes to backing into a site, I don't claim to be an expert at it but I knew I could do it. The heat outside was pretty intense and I didn't want Sherry in the heat anymore than she had to be.
We discussed our delema with the office and they offered the camp host site which was a pull through and it had sewer. If we took the site, and we did, it was only $20 a night instead of the normal $16 a night. We still have afternoon sun on the driver's side of the trailer but it will do.
What we do now is as soon as we are level and Sherry starts to bring down the front legs I go and connect the electric power and start the air conditioner inside. This way the trailer starts to cool off some before Sherry goes inside to do her thing, whatever that is. I am going to have learn what she does.
As soon as I plugged in and flipped the breaker it TRIPPED!! Damn what the hell happened. A couple of trips back I had to put on a new plug end and I thought something happened inside the plug, sure enough it did. The white wire came loose and was touching the black. I started the repair and boy I was sweating up a storm. Bri and Sherry are in the truck trying to stay cool while I was outside until Sherry came out to find out what I was doing. I told her what had happened and she started to help me and noticed how sweaty I was. She told me to go to the truck and drink some water and cool off some. I told I was almost done and wanted to plug it in and see if the a/c would come on.
Well it didn't, so I got out my meter to test the box to see if it had power and it didn't. I called the office and they sent somebody out to check it and she said the breaker in the building may have tripped. Sure enough it did and the a/c started right away when I flipped the breaker on. YIPPEE!! The building next door to us is a brand new bath house which is great since I like taking showers at the places we visit. Just something different. After finally getting set up and the satillite working, got to have that, we decided to check out that great bath house.
Sherry and Bri checked out the womens and of course I checked out the mens. To my surprise I found an unwelcome guest in the urnial. Have a look.
And later when I went back to take the above picture I found this little guy by the door.
After having a run in with one of these little fellows before I think I will change my mind about taking a shower in this bath house. As they say, "Been there, Done that".
I need to take you back to last Friday when the most unthinkable thing to happen to you, did happen to us. THE COMPUTER WAS INFECTED AND WE LOST EVERYTHING.
We went and bought a new computer but I am going to keep the other one and try to fix it, what's the worst that can happen, the hard drive takes a dump, it already did, oh well poo poo happens.
So Until Next Time...........................Be Safe.
Awhile back, I think we were in Lubbock, I was setting up and grabbed one of the bags for the leveling blocks. To my surprise there was a scorpion in it and I got stung twice on my right thumb. Boy did that hurt. I have never been stung by anything before, not even a bee.
We called the CDC and they recommended soaking my thumb in bleach and water diluted of course. I took some aspirin for the pain, it didn't work, and went back to setting up. The pain lasted into the next day and then went away all together. I told Sherry that at least it happened to me and not her or Bri. She commented back to me and said,"That's not good. If anything happens to you we are stuck until you get better." I started to think about it and she was right. I also thought it's time for her to learn how to drive the truck and pull the trailer.
We were at the county park this past week and I told her that she will be pulling out and driving around the parking lot. I figured this would be a great place for her first time. It was big enough and had some up and down hill parts in the road.
She got in the driver's seat and adjusted her mirrors and proceeded to pull out into the parking lot. She started out slowly and came to her first stop and made a left. She made the turn and started to go down hill. She applied the brakes and noticed that it takes a long time to stop. After the first time around the park she said she wanted to do it again, and so she did.
We came to a large part of the parking lot and I wanted her to try to back the trailer into an area. I got out of the truck and went to the back and she started to back up, then I stopped her. She almost jack-knife the truck. She pulled forward and continued backwards. At one point when backing she said, "I lost the trailer in the mirror." She continued backing and adjusting the truck and trailer until I told her to stop and get out and look where she was. The trailer was straight and right on the mark. Good job Babe!
She was a little nervous but has better feel for what is behind us. When we were talking about it I told her that driving on the interstate is easier than driving in the city. The next thing to teach her is what I do while driving, when to down shift, when to kick it out of overdrive, that sort of thing. There's one thing that I won't teach her and that is how to hit a tree.
So Until Next Time.......................Be Safe.
Once we left Amarillo, we decided to head back to the Houston area to see and check on the grand kids. If we play our cards right we will be in the area in time for our granddaughter's birthday party.
We headed for Wichita Falls and stayed at a state park. We have found out that most of the Texas State Parks are with in our budget for an overnight stay. The most we spent so far at a park has been $25. We think that this is very reasonable but the only draw back is that most of them don't have sewer hook-ups. So we only stay about 3 nights to check out the sights which has been about long enough.
After Wichita Falls we started out for a small city south of Fort Worth called Cedar Hill, which also has a state park. This was a nice park and we got a site back in a loop which happened to be the only one. We were by ourselves and it was quiet. Our visit there had us on the weekend and most of the attractions were closed but I found on nature area that we went to. Bri even got to feed some prairie dogs there. I can't remember the name but I am sure that you can google area attractions to find the place.
We left there and went to Huntsville State Park which is just south of Huntsville, Texas. This is a very popular park due to its location close to Houston. We found our site and backed in with no problem. I am starting to get this backing thing down. Unfortunately the site was slightly sloped downward. This pitched the trailer very high towards the front. I get nervous when the trailer is what I think is too high. Huntsville is the home of the Sam Houston State University and the home of Sam Houston's grave sight. On campus there is a Sam Houston Memorial Museum that we went to.
If you are not familiar with Sam Houston, he was instrumental in defeating Santa Anna and freeing Texas from Mexico. The museum was very informative and they even have the original house that Sam Houston built and lived in. As you approach Huntsville from the south, you will see a very large statue of Sam Houston on the side of the road. This is the third tallest statue in the nation. Pretty cool!
We left Huntsville and now are in Tomball, Texas which is a small town north of Houston. We stay at a county park here for nothing, that's right I said nothing, FREE for seven nights. You can stay here for seven nights per month but you have to call and make a reservation. I usually do it online. The name of the park is Spring Creek Park and they have 8 full hook-up sites with concrete pads and a bath house right across the street. I don't know if this is a draw back or not but the park closes at 10 pm and reopens at 7 am, so you better get back in time or you will be locked out for the night.
Next week we will be heading south to see our other grand kids. So..........
Until Next Time Be Safe.
Have you ever been to one of those places where you only saw it on T.V.? Well we had the opportunity to go to "The Big Texan" last night.
We even went to the place in a Limo. The manager at the park called to make the reservation and he showed up right on time.
It may not be a stretch type limo but at least I didn't have to drive. This was the first time for all of us to ride in one. We had a good time.
The atmosphere and the decor where wonderful. We were seated quickly and we order our meal. This is the place where you can order a 72oz steak, salad, baked potato and two rolls and if you can finish it within one hour it is free. They have a center table in the middle of the restaurant and timers above the the table. Nobody tried it while we were there.
From what I understand R.J. (Bob) Lee opened the place back in 1960 on the original Route 66. When I-40 was completed in 1968 he moved the place onto I-40. This is where it sits now. Mr. Lee passed away in 1990.
The food was good and Bri ordered a kids hamburger and fries and it showed up in a kids cowboy hat that she got to keep.
I would recommend that if you ever travel through Amarillo, Texas you might want to stop and stay a few days. There is more to see and do than you think.
Until Next Time.................................Be Safe.
