Willie's Tug is Home - 10/14/2012

Our morning sky is mostly cloudy, happily keeping the temperature down as we begin our last segment of the trip back to Port Isabel.

We say goodbye to the ducks at the RV Park lake, and settle in for a long ride.

South to Corpus Christi?  Or southwest to Kingsville ( King Ranch, Kenedy Ranch), Brownsville and Port Isabel?




I grab a quick shot of my favorite palm trees along the highway.

It's getting greener, but the wind waves are now 20 - 25 knots.

A few miles before our turnoff from the Expressway, we pass through the Border Patrol check area.  Although traffic going south is not stopped, we may be photographed, as cameras are evident.

Wind waves are less now, as we approach our exit to Park Road 100.

Willie's Tug clear!

Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Sunday, October 14, 2012

A Long Drive in Texas - 10/13/2012

The sky gives Van Horn glorious colors this morning as we leave early to drive miles and miles across Texas.  It is barely dawn, and we get to see the sun break through the clouds.  

When we get to Kent, I tell Willie's Tug she has come full circle -- no, wait!  This is Kent TX -- not Kent WA!

One thing I have noticed about this large state is the vast number of cities, towns and villages -- all having been named; so if you think of a name, it can be found in Texas.

We continue to get views of the Guadalupe mountains, some desert, and gradually begin to see more green -- brush and grass, as well as trees.  

Clouds come and go; we never get rain, but many places along the highway show puddles from recent showers.

And an oil well drilling rig.

The Fall wild flowers brighten the day and remind us of the beauty that lies ahead.

More green.

A town called Welfare?  

Well, they had to name it something.

Decision to make:  loop or downtown San antonio?

We go through downtown, and traffic is not very heavy on this Saturday afternoon.

This view of downtown tells us we are near our stop for the night, just south of town.  Today's trip is over 500 miles, but the long day will allow a short day tomorrow.

It is cool and very breezy; we will sleep with the windows open tonight.

Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Saturday, October 13, 2012

Texas! - 10/12/2012

We leave Albuquerque before 8A for a long day of travel through New Mexico and as far as we can safely go into Texas.

We get a few sprinkles of rain in the RV park, but the sky clears to the south and we hope the Fiesta Balloons will fly today.

Good Morning, Albuquerque!

Herb sees a very large pumpkin patch, which I photograph very out of focus as we slide by.

Pumpkins, really!

Most of the day's scenery is wind swept rolling hills with little vegetation.

Near Las Cruces we see the Border Patrol check point for northbound traffic.  This shocks us into reality, as we realize we are not far from Mexico!

At a Rest Area near Radium Springs I read an interpretive panel which tells the story of the Jornada del Muerdo on the El Camino Real, the journey of the deadman.

The path cut across 90 miles of desert with little water or shelter.  This spot marked was the Paraje San Diego, or stopping place to water stock and caravans before entering the Jornada del Muerdo.

Soon we leave New Mexico and enter Texas!

It takes a while to get through El Paso, which stretches for miles and miles and miles, and we come to the southbound Border Patrol checkpoint.  

The officer asks where we are coming from, and smiling asks, "Did you drop your boat in the water in Albuquerque?"

With a long, straight road, we are granted an 80 mile per hour speed limit.

The Central Time Zone sign shows a few bullet holes.

We are at home tonight at Mountain View RV Park in Van Horn.

Find Willie's Tug ....

Find tall pine trees ....

Jake is mayor of the driveway.

Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Friday, October 12, 2012

Take it Easy - Albuquerque, 10/11/2012

After some not so smooth roads we traveled yesterday, Herb will "Take it Easy" today, even though we are quite a bit east of Winslow AZ.  He plots his course to Albuquerque and turns on auto pilot as we travel down Interstate 40, Historic Route 66.

Scenery is much the same as yesterday, and the cloud formations are lovely.

It is an easy day into Albuquerque, and we are wise to have made a reservation at High Desert RV Park, as the International Balloon Fiesta is scheduled for this weekend.

Find Willie's Tug ....

Find the tall pine trees ....

We have plans to visit with our friends, Skipper and Cathy Brown, whom we have known from our BMW motorcycle riding days.  As this is the first time we have been to their home in Albuquerque, we get a tour of the house.

A prized possession is a crucifix, which is one of Gabe Simpleton's productions, and one of which was atop Pope John Paul's crozier.

Jake visits Sam in the back yard.  They really want to come inside to see what all the excitement is about.

A view from the front of the house shows downtown Albuquerque far in the background.

Skipper still has motorcycles as a big part of his life, teaches motorcycle safety classes, and displays a map with rally buttons at the locations where he has attended BMW rallies in the US.

We decide to take it easy tonight, and opt for dinner out.  Our first choice restaurant has a 45 minute wait time for a table, so we chose another nearby for flavor and color -- Corrales Bistro and Brewery!

The live band, "Bartender 4 Mayor," plays for our listening pleasure, and gives us can koozies labeled with their name.

"Keep Austin Weird" has competition with these folks.

It is a wonderful evening to catch up on each other's lives since we last saw our friends, which was the wedding in Phoenix of their daughter, Meeghan, and Carlos -- several years ago.  Now there is also the daughter, Lauryn, who is just over two years old.

Carlos, Meeghan and Lauryn

Skipper and Cathy's son, Jacob, likes to tell the story of when I scared him with my driving as we followed Herb and Skipper on motorcycles to a rally in Death Valley one January.  He was quite young at the time and played some "Nine Inch Nails" songs for me on his iPod.

Jacob

Skipper and Herb

Cathy and Skipper

Our best entertainment of the evening is Lauryn interacting with her family, and she finally warms up to the strangers, Herb and me, and touches knuckles with us.

Here she is about to give her grandmother, whom she calls "Tat," a kiss.

Lauryn and Tat

Oh, and dinner is good!  I have a tortilla burger with salsa on the side, complete with mixed white and sweet potato fries.  Yum, Yum!

We recall that when we saw the Browns the last time in Phoenix, they moved to Albuquerque the next week.  We learn today that they will move next week to Santa Fe for their retirement home, and tell us we should come more often so they would not move again.

We are very happy to have this visit tonight and promise not to stay away so long again.

Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Thursday, October 11, 2012