Okay, I didn’t win him. After I pleaded, begged, and told G it was unbiblical for him to not share his dog with me, he allowed Duncan to ride in the RV with me for the last leg of our caravan across Texas together. I doubt that I would own a lap dog myself, but I do enjoy spending time with other people’s dogs, especially this sweet little Westie.
It was so much fun to travel with another couple! Trev and I have traveled from Yuma to New Braunfels before, so it was fun for us to share the things we enjoy about that journey and share in new things with them as well, especially Shakespeare Ghost Town in Lordsburg, New Mexico.
Christy and I agreed beforehand that we would stop to visit ghost towns along the way. A majority of people travel on weekends, so when you see a sign on the highway pointing you to a tourist spot on a Saturday, it’s usually safe to assume they’d be open, right?
As I prepared my camera for what I thought would be a fun place to photograph, our small caravan made its way toward the intended direction. As we approached the turn that lead to the museum, we did a little pause when we saw the rough, narrow, dirt road we’d be traveling on. Yes, there was a small question in our minds as to whether the rigs could handle it, but we’ve been to lots of ghost towns. They’ve all had RV friendly parking lots. We began having serious doubts after we’d committed to taking that dirt road. It was rough on the vehicles and seemed to go on forever. None of us had a clue how far this place was, so I Googled it. I called the number on their website, first, to see how far it was and also to see if we’d be able to turn around once we got there.
Although someone did answer the phone, we were surprised to learn the museum was closed. This is definitely a place you need to check ahead on, as they don’t seem to have the regular hours most museums do. It also didn’t sound all that reassuring that we’d be able to turn around.
Trevor turned in at the spot marked with the “RV Parking” sign, assuming that would be the safest place to turn around. He was wrong. Fortunately, G & C weren’t as gullible and didn’t continue to follow us on the path to no return. They were able to get their fifth wheel turned around pretty easily. Not so with us. But Trev did a good job getting our rig out of there and now the four of us have something to laugh about.
Other memorable moments with G & C include visiting the Alamo, Riverwalk and Monarch Collectibles (built to look like a giant doll house) in San Antonio, and kicking around Gruene, TX. Our favorite places there are Gruene Hall and Gruene General Store, and we enjoyed both the ambiance and great tasting food at The Gristmill River Restaurant.
Sadly, we had to part ways with our dear friends, as they needed to head to Georgia and we went to Corpus Christi.
When we made the plans to visit my brother and sister-in-law, we had no idea spring break began that early in the year. Oh, my! All the campgrounds were full, but we planned to stay on the Navy Base, away from the crazy crowds. We did spend the weekend there, but nothing is easy when you deal with the government. I don’t even want to begin to tell you what checking into the place was like.
The weekend was nice. There were no crowds and generally, life was pretty laid back and easy. And the birds were hilarious! The place was full of Starlings. I wrote about Starlings in my previous post entitled, “The Cutest Sound”. Starlings are from the Mynah bird family. If you repeat the same word to them 50 times a day for 3 days, supposedly, they’ll learn to say the word.
These Starlings seemed right at home on a military base because the sounds they made resembled machine gun fire and the bells and whistles you’d hear on a ship or submarine.
By Sunday we realized the internet signal was pretty bad. It was time to do some serious praying, as we’d checked other RV parks in the area and they were full. The one we did get into was one we’d checked with several times and there was no way we could stay there. At the very moment we needed the place, someone left, so we were able to get in. When we pulled into the place, the first thing they said was, “You guys are living right!” (Right on our knees, that is!)
Unfortunately, between the crowds, traffic, and my brother coming down with something, we hardly got to visit with them before we had to head to Houston.
While Trev attended Microsoft Convergence in downtown Houston, I was able to get into writing my book. Made a lot of changes (such is the life) and am more excited than ever about writing!
Apparently not learning our lesson in Corpus Christi, we planned a day of beach bumming in Galveston one weekend. Our plans fizzled when not long after leaving home, we found ourselves stuck in stand still traffic. We turned around and planned to try again very early the next day. That was a better plan! When we arrived, the beach was nearly empty. We enjoyed this for quite a while. When it began to get crowded, we went to a place called Moody Gardens. What a nice place! We enjoyed the aquarium, a nice lunch at the Terrace Restaurant, the rainforest exhibit, a ride on the paddleboat, and a couple of the movies showing there. We were there for nearly five hours and would have stayed much longer, but they were closing for the evening.
Our stay in Houston’s been quite nice. We’ve met a lot of very nice people we will hate to leave. People think that Houston’s pretty crime ridden. The RV park is safe and it’s right next to a golf course where the only problems we’ve had are with our swing.
I don’t know about outside the gate, except when we’re out and about, the Starlings most mimic the sound of police sirens, so you be the judge.
Trevor recently planned a 7,000 mile adventure for us. We’re looking forward to beginning the journey soon. God willing, I hope to have many new things to share with you.
Some of you have been complaining for a long time that you’re not able to post comments here. I tried changing some settings, so it may work if you want to try again, but most people just email us.
There have also been complaints about there not being any photos of me. All I’ve got to say is I wasn’t photogenic when I was young and cute. Getting older hasn’t changed that!
Take care, you guys! We love you!
Love, Trevor & Roni
If you’ve never been and you get the chance, I highly recommend that you go west. I’ve known about and have longed to see the Grand Canyon since I was a child. Neither of us had ever heard of Bryce Canyon or Zion until two years ago, when other RVers began to tell us we needed to visit these places.
We’ve tried several times to get to there, but have always been rerouted for one reason or another.
What an awesome answer to prayer when Trevor announced he was going to Seattle this summer! The Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion were all on the way! Trevor took a week off so we could spend a couple of days in each area. We had so much fun!
Our first stop was the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park in Williams, Arizona. We caught a Wild West show early in the morning on our way to catch the train that would take us to the Grand Canyon.
Before we knew what was happening, Trevor was dragged into a poker game by outlaws and then accused of cheating! They were going to shoot him because of it, but while they allowed me one last photograph of Trevor alive, the Sheriff showed up and rescued him. It was a good thing too, because we needed to be on that train! We should have known it wasn’t going to be that easy to escape those guys. They must have escaped the Sheriff, because as the train pulled away from the depot, there they were, taunting Trevor on the side of the tracks!
We did have a peaceful and enjoyable ride to the Grand Canyon, saw the magnificent, big, beautiful hole there, and caught the train back several hours later.
Not long before we reached Williams again, I could see the outlaws hadn’t finished with us. This time, bandanas covered their faces as they boarded the train and proceeded to rob the passengers in each car. When they got to us, Trevor gave them what they wanted, and they finally left us alone.
We left early the next day for Zion River Resort in Virgin, Utah. It’s a really nice resort, but we didn’t spend a lot of time exploring the amenities there. We explored instead, Zion National Park, another beautiful place with lots of big, beautiful rocks.
We had a great time there during the day despite the high temperatures, and enjoyed evening visits with our friends, Jack and Mary whom we hadn’t seen in two years. It was sad to have to leave them, but we have high hopes of seeing them again before too long.
On our way to Ruby’s Inn and RV Park in Bryce City, Utah, we passed through Red Canyon; another place we’d never heard of. Wow, were those rocks ever red. Nice area!
Of all the places we visited on vacation, to me, Bryce Canyon was the most beautiful! I never imagined such a place existed! We spent a lot of time in this park. I found myself taking the same photographs over and over, just in case I happened to miss something! Such awesome and breathtaking views!
The temperatures were much more comfortable at Bryce, so we were able to do a lot of hiking there.
The Rim Trail is easy, with breathtaking views. If you want a slightly more challenging trail, try the Navajo Trail as well. You’ll get a different view of the canyon, because you actually walk down into it, and then back up again. Very nice, but very steep climb up! 
We’re usually pretty bummed when vacation’s over, but this time, I feel kind of fulfilled and we’re both really exhausted! You know what they say, can’t wait to get back to work so you can get some rest! That’s us. 
We have a couple of more stops to make on the way to Washington. A friend to visit at Lake Tahoe; another place I’ve longed to see, more visits with friends in Oregon and then our daughter and her husband will be meeting us for a weekend in Seattle. So looking forward to all of it!
We love you guys! Take care!
Love, Trevor & Roni
