Day 88 - Gainesville TX - Friday, Sept. 24, 2010

Another walk around Heritage Hills today reveals more beautiful houses, and we were told yesterday by one of the meeting attendees who lives in Oklahoma City that this is one of the safest parts of the city.

We see another addition to the history of the area in the sidewalk -- a child (?) wrote her name in the wet cement in 1984 and allowed her dog to walk through -- preserved for all time as long as the sidewalk remains intact.

At the close of our meeting today we are invited to the office of one of the association members for a visit, and are joined by a few others.


All too soon we must hit the road and head South.  Because of the late afternoon departure, we don't quite make the planned destination of Avinger TX and decide to stop along the way -- probably in Southern Oklahoma.


Ooops!  Suddenly we find ourselves crossing the state line and here we are already in Texas!

Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake

Day 90 - Longview TX - Sunday, Sept. 26, 2010

We had a nice surprise yesterday when we stopped in Avinger at C&J's shop for fresh produce, which always includes the to-die-for tomatoes.  I also got some frozen blueberries that are fresher than the ones in my freezer.  But that is not the surprise.


Cindy told us about the upcoming Heritage Sunday to be held at the Avinger Methodist Church, which is their 'homecoming' for current and former members, guests and everyone.  


Since we have been traveling and did not get our invitation, we were glad to learn of it.  


Today we attend services there.  We sing hymns from their Heavenly Highways hymnbook which has an interesting collection of songs, one of which is "Precious Memories" from Stamps-Baxter Music & Printing co.  We learn that the books were a gift to the church by Martha Ball in memory of her husband Pete, because it had been his favorite book over time.


All hymns are written using shaped notes, and each word is painstakingly placed beneath the note that is to be sung.  Long words are squeezed so as not to take up more than their allotted space (and stay beneath their note) and short words that are sung with more than one note are hyphenated to stretch under both notes.  


Gosh, I have not seen that in years!


Sis Owens told a bit of history of the church, from her perspective, having grown up in the church and attending until just a few years ago when she moved to Hallsville TX.  It is nice to hear of the nurturing and fellowship that has gone on before my time of residence there.

Bud Poole, Sis Owens, Dorothy Poole

At lunch following, we visit with several friends that we know from our days of living in Avinger at the Blueberry Farm.   Nice to see on the dessert table that Nancy Walker is carrying on the tradition of her mother, Martha's, blueberry pie. 


It is good to renew acquaintances and good to be home.

A blessed day!


Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake

Day 89 - Longview TX - Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010

I am still in shock that I have made it back to Texas this quickly, and must bond with the State of Texas sign at the Rest Area.  As I approach, I see the security guard using some people's camera to take their group picture for them.  I can imagine how excited they are to be able to prove to friends back home that they really were in the great state of Texas, so I ask where they are from.  The state of Washington -- Tacoma and Bremerton -- oh, my goodness!  So now we have a conversation on my travels in Washington, and especially Bremerton at the Ranger Tug get together.  They are headed to Houston and in a hurry to try to get ahead of the rain that we see coming.

And it rains.  And it rains.

We arrive in Longview TX and register at Fernbrook RV Park, which is a relatively new park.  We are delighted to find it is nice and that the rain has ended.


The best part of the day is now to come.  We drive to the home of Don and Belinda, longtime friends in Longview, for dinner.  They have not changed a bit, unless it is for the better, and we just can't seem to catch up on the news fast enough.

We are especially glad to see them today, as for the past few years every time we  get to Longview, they are out of town, and we  have had to resort to visiting on Facebook.  

As I take pictures, Belinda protests, "Please -- no camera." 

After a wonderful dinner, we continue our visit and exchange more news of what we have all been up to, including books we have read and other book titles to suggest for each other.  Belinda shows me her needlepoint in progress, which is a covering for a kneeler in our home church of St. Michael and All Angels in Longview.  It is a large piece, as needlepoint goes, and I imagine it must be tedious work and take a lot of time to complete.  

As she opens her laptop to show me a friend's art website, I notice the time on the screen, and am horrified to see the hour is late and good guests should go home.  Both of the clocks in their den are stopped with different wrong times, and I wonder if they do this for a reason..........  We say goodnight for now, and will continue our visits on fb until they come south in the winter.

Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake

Day 87 - Oklahoma City OK - Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010

We start our day with the usual walk around the neighborhood with Jake.  I am not surprised to see crepe myrtle trees this far south, but am surprised and delighted to see some of the trees that grow in climates colder than the South.  Best of both worlds here.

Then I see a banana tree -- now this is scary!

It is a pleasure to walk for blocks and see the houses that are in this downtown section of town, called "Heritage Hills."  This historic neighborhood acquired the name when three of the city's first residential areas were joined to form the first Historic Preservation District in the state of Oklahoma.  


It is truly beautiful.


Soon we join the meeting that we are here to attend in the Gaylord-Pickens Museum and get to see friends from several states that are members of our association.  At the close of today's session we have a cocktail hour complete with live music,  at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, located in the Arts District.  


Dinner is at Bricktown Brewery Restaurant, which is housed in a restored warehouse that was formerly a wholesale grocery and candy factory.  There is an open, spacious game room, flanked by a dining area and private dining room.  


Good beer, good food, good fellowship, good evening!


Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake

Day 86 - Oklahoma City OK - Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010

The early morning walk is very pleasant as we observe the nice houses surrounding the Park and Golf Course.  

Suddenly we are aware of four small dogs, one of which is tethered, and who begin to bark as we pass by them.  They are so cute and we allow Jake to stop to say "Hello."


The smallest of the four are two puppies that we learn are only nine weeks old.  They want to be brave and approach Jake, but always turn back at the last second.  As Jake remains sitting, they get a little braver, but never do quite make friends.

 We enjoy this so much, and I ask Herb if he would like to have one of those cute little puppies. 


 His answer is something to the effect that "Jake may think he is the Alpha dog, but he is really the "Omega."


It is an easy drive on into Oklahoma City today, and we enjoy some art on the walls of a residential area.

We find our spot for a couple of days at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum, where we will attend a meeting.

In a few hours we are able to see the Harvest Moon.

Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake

Day 85 - Guthrie OK - Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010

"Morning has bro-ken............." and a beautiful sunrise it is!  The clouds above appear to be dropping rain to the South, which is the way we will go, and we hope for a safe travel day.

 We see lots more windmills today.  A few days ago we met a man who travels around doing maintenance on them.  He had just come from Kingsville TX near our neck of the woods.

It is nice to see the wildflowers blooming, and Autumn begins tomorrow.

Our home tonight is at Cedar Valley RV Park, which is nestled inside the Cedar Valley Golf Course.  


We are assigned a site on Nicklaus Drive, and notice that other streets are named Duffy, Masters, Palmer and Nancy Lopez.


It is a great place to walk the dog along the edges of the golf course, but at one point when we are looking away, Jake starts heading for the green, as it looked like great grass.  As Herb directed him back, he told Jake that it would not be a good idea.


At the back of the park we see a sign advertising the RV Park and Golf Club for sale by its 94 year old owner.  


We wonder if some of our golfing friends would be interested in it.  Pearl could play golf, while Joe drives the tractor to mow the grass...............

Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake

Day 84 -- Hays KS -- Monday, Sept. 20, 2010

On our walk with Jake this morning we explore our surroundings at Terry Bison Ranch RV Park, which has an Old West theme, complete with real animals, and much of it geared toward kids.  I enjoy seeing it so much that I wonder, " When will I grow up?"


The office is located in Terry Trading Post, a building whose sides are facades of stores and businesses in a Western town.

The train houses a dining room for Sunday lunch for Ranch guests and townspeople alike.

In the playground we delight to see the train made of 55 gallon drums, but no attendant is available at this early hour to give us a ride.


There are enough cars for Herb, Jake and myself to each have a car, but we move on.

For those who wish to practice their roping skills, we find steers and rope, but we must wait for the horses to come to give us a ride.  

Now we come upon the cutest part of the whole park -- the ponies!  Jake makes friends with a little fellow whose name is "Whatchamacallit."  He was born July 15 of this year.

In the pen next to him we see Gidget, born June 28, telling her mother, Summer, that it is breakfast time.  


She has just nudged Momma to make her get up from her nap, and is not interested in Jake.

What a great start to the day!








It is a bit anticlimactic, but we do see real bison in the pasture as we leave Terry Bison Ranch and travel toward Colorado.

We avoid the traffic in Denver and take the loop, where far in the distance we see the Denver Intl. Airport, which is famous for its architecture. 

 Its peaked canopies suggest both the Rocky Mountains and the rugged covered wagons that opened the Colorado frontier.  (ref:  Wikipedia)


When we get to Kansas, I look for wheat, as we had seen on a motorcycle trip years ago, but what I see is corn.  What?  Well, maybe it has been harvested.

What I am most aware of it the wind.  Twenty-five to  30 mph sustained.  And I mean sustained!  Well, it could be sustained gusts!  Most of the day Herb is fighting the crosswind, which causes the motor home and other vehicles we observe to be hard to steer.  

It is a strong crosswind (as evidenced in the photograph showing the grass falling over), and causing the locked roof vents to try to lift a bit.  This is a noisy ride, and I get my exercise walking up and down the aisle in the coach checking to see if anything is loose.


We are happy to get to our Wally World RV Park in Hays KS for the night.  The breeze allows us to open the windows  for a cool evening, but we make the decision not to put out the slides because of the gusts and noise.  


Can you imagine stepping gingerly over and around a 78 lb. Golden Retriever, who makes himself at home on the floor available for walking? 
Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake

Day 83 - Cheyenne WY - Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010

We travel by an interesting looking mountain this morning;  it is called 'split mountain.'  We stop to read about it on the interpretive panel, and learn that this is a landmark used by trappers, emigrants and Indians on the Oregon Trail in the 1860s.  It is located in the Rattlesnake Mountain Range.


Barely visible in the distance are windmills, and what impresses me is that I have never seen so many in one place.  

 Later in the day we see a cloud formation that turns out not to be a cloud as we get nearer, and can clearly see that it is smoke rising in the distance.   There are not many trees in the area, so it cannot be a forest fire.

We worry about where it is and if it is causing life threatening problems for anyone.  Miles later we see a digital sign over the interstate that tells of a grass fire, and that the authorities are aware of it.  Nice communications.

We are not in Texas and we see oil wells -- pumping oil wells -- and I am reminded of something.

We stop for the night at Terry Bison Ranch RV Resort and wonder if we will see any bison.

Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake

Day 82 - Lander WY - Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010

 As we leave Island Park, we see more mountains, more streams, and more Autumn color along the roadway.  We go through the cute little town of West Yellowstone and head for Yellowstone National Park. Improvements to the roads mean delays and dust, but it also gives us a chance to slow down and enjoy our time, plus stop and clean the windshield.


There is an eagle on a tree stump -- I miss it!  There is a bison along the stream -- I miss it!  Miss with the camera, but I am pleased just to see them.

  
Then we get lucky.  A ranger is directing folks to a turnout to film the elk and I am lucky enough to get off a few shots while rolling, as there is not room for the motor home to enter the area.


Some are aiming small cameras, and some are setting up tripods.  (I will bring mine next time.)

We pass a few geysers and think of Old Faithful, but don't have time this trip to visit it again.  It is fun just to see the small ones, and to think of what is happening below the surface of the Earth.  

We enjoy seeing the steam roll off the mineral stained hills.

We cross the Continental Divide again today and continue to marvel at the rivers rushing by and the colors.

At last we come to the Grand Teton National Park where we hope to have a minute with Jim and Joan of Port Isabel, who are soon to finish their working vacation here.  


We catch them just as they are going to lunch on a really rushed day, and they invite Herb and me to join them in the employees' dining room. We visit fast and are all soon on our way.

I can't resist taking just one more photograph of the awesome Tetons!

Traveling on, we stop for the evening in Lander WY at Pioneer RV Park, and enjoy pleasant weather and a nice sunset.

Willie of Walldog, Willie and Jake