What a difference a day makes....

Yesterday started out warmer than expected (was in the mid-30's at 7 am) and warmed very quickly to the mid 60's, perfect for sitting outside reading, talking a walk, doing pretty much nothing but enjoying every minute. I took a couple of sunrise photos but this is my favorite...sunrise over the Lily Pad. Followed by a quickly snapped sunset photo, almost missed it.



Last night was forecast for mid 20's but at 7 am it was 40. Overnight clouds had moved in, keeping it warmer but at almost 11 am it's still in the mid 40's with much more breeze. Last night the sneezing started and it's continued into today with a stuffy nose for an added side effect. I suspect it's allergies since I feel fine. I thought the clouds would add to the sunrise colors, not so.



Back to yesterday - started on a nice note - a hot breakfast! (It was $2.50, not $2 as I had reported yesterday.) Hot scrambled eggs and homemade biscuits...since I skipped the sausage gravy, I opted for two biscuits. YUM! I sat across from two very nice gentlemen (appeared to be brothers) and we chatted about RVing and motorcycles. The older of the two talked about riding a motorcycle in Tunisia many years ago (I think that was the country he mentioned). He got a flat tire and ended up getting the owner of a bicycle shop to jury-rig a solution. Nice folks...

Later in the afternoon I had some surprise visitors, Russ & Glynna. We visit some of the same forums and they follow my blog. Russ got to break in the door chime...worked great! We chatted for at least an hour, covering a lot of different topics. I tried to convince them to attend the upcoming Gypsy Journal Rally in Casa Grande. I know I'll see them on the road again someday, great folks!

While talking to them I remembered that I saw my FIRST LIVE Road Runner when I was traveling from Marathon to here in Deming. I was so excited....it brought back memories of the first wild coyote I saw. (Remember, I was raised on Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner cartoons ).



My coyote sighting was in 1989 or 90, I think. I was working for Unisys out of NYC (but we lived in Rochester, NY). I was up for a promotion to a wholly owned subsidiary based in Thousand Oaks, CA. If I got the promotion I would work from home and travel to consulting engagements, it was a new division within the company and they had three openings. They flew me out to Los Angeles and my husband used frequent flyer points to accompany me. We planned to do some sightseeing while there.

It was a day filled with interviews....the head of HR, the person who I would report to, another division head, the vice-president and finally the president of the company. Things were going well, it was now late afternoon and we were sitting in his office overlooking the hills behind the building. Suddenly I saw what I took for a small dog....then I realized it was a coyote! I gave the president a laugh as I excitedly asked him if that was really a live coyote!

Well, tonight is the ice cream social...plus I plan to do laundry and just generally get ready to head out in the morning. I will dump my tanks and refill my water this afternoon, no telling how cold it will be in the morning.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Marathon TX to Deming NM

First, thanks to everyone who voted in the poll...no more pop-up window, I'll go back to the old way of just having it open in a new tab (or window depending on your browser). The good news is that the playing around with tables helped me figure out how to work with some quirks so now I think the overall format is better.

So, yesterday morning I got up in time to take some sunrise photos before hitting the road. Great start to the day....


Got everything unhooked and put away (much quicker when only staying one night) and headed west once again...still on US90. More great scenery, several hawks, deer crossing the road, many dead skunks (what's up with that?), some tumbleweeds, very little traffic but more RVs than the day before. I even had a Harley-Davidson semi rush to pass me to just slow down and stop in town...just a few miles down the road. Gave me a giggle.


Before I knew it I was crossing the border into New Mexico. I stopped at the first rest area to pick up a map and other info and snapped a few photos. VERY nice area and up to 24 hour parking permitted. Further down the road was another official Border Patrol stop...but they were just waving everyone through.


It was only another 85 miles to the Dream Catcher SKP RV Park in Deming, NM. I had called them earlier in the day to be sure there was ample pull-through parking. I arrived around 4:30 only to realize it was only 3:30 thanks to the change to Mountain Time Zone. Definitely not a very visual area like the park in Marathon, but it's always good to visit the SKP parks and visit other Escapees. I managed to snap a few sunset photos before buttoning up for the night (I didn't even hook up to the water due to the forecast low temps.)


I got all the clocks reset including the timer for the bedroom lamp and then tackled the DirecTV issue. I managed to Google the answer as to how to change the time display on the guide BUT it seems as though the actual broadcast times are tied to my billing address...Central Time Zone. So now my prime time TV starts at 6 pm and ends at 9 pm. That should help get me on an more morning schedule whether I like it or not. LOL!

Today I got up early but the sunrise wasn't worth shooting. I stayed in my night clothes until around 11 am when I finally decided to go take a campground shower. Pure heaven...20 minutes to lather, rinse, repeat as needed...a HOT, STEAMY 20 minutes. Sometimes a girls just gotta....

I did a little more reorganizing of stuff, mailed out some patches that had been ordered by women riders and a get well card to a friend who was just in a motorcycle accident (she's going to be fine but slow recovery). I spent about two hours sitting outside in the sun reading....then went for a walk....then read again. 60's & sunny, perfect day. Here's some photos I took while walking, including some tumbleweed for anyone who's never seen it.



As I was sorting through stuff, I found the wireless doorbell I bought at Home Depot and decided to test it out. The inside chime part I used Velcro on the back to attach it. It used 2 C batteries and no telling how long they will last so I wanted to be able to easily take it down. I searched for the right place to put it and found it - just over the valance beside the door. The best part is since the batteries make it heavy, setting it on the valance took the weight off the Velcro. The outside doorbell I put just underneath the entry assist handle (I'm sure it has another more real name but that's the best I can do....). Works great!


As the temperature was quickly dropping I started closing windows and as I went to close the front door I noticed two little Schnauzers walking past and barking. I hollered out, "Hey, I know those two dogs...". The lady walking them came back towards me and we laughed. It was Wanda, one of the Camp Hosts I met while at Branson. She and her husband Wallace are here now, he's cooking the Saturday breakfast in the morning. That's what I meant about feeling at home at SKP parks.

Next, since I was on an ambitious bent, I decided to cook dinner...honest! When I did my last shopping at Wal-Mart I had picked up a package of Tilapia filets, some boneless skinless chicken breasts and ground round pre-made burgers. I hadn't taken time to separate them for the freezer so did that. Well, the chicken was greasy and had a slight odor...out it went. Food poisoning is NOT something I want right now (or any time). I froze the rest, leaving out one fish and one burger. So tonight I had Italian green beans and a lean burger on whole wheat double fiber bread. YUM! Cleaned it up and went out to unhook the water for the night.

I currently plan to stay here through Monday. I've discovered that I need down time after several days of driving. I get tired, cranky and my arthritis bothers me, especially my hands (RVers death grip syndrome). It's quiet here, big changeover in rigs every day but this way I can easily do my laundry on Sunday night, dump & take on fresh water Monday morning in preparation for hitting Quartzsite on Tuesday.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Marathon Motel & RV Park - Marathon TX

I headed out before 9 (an early start for me) but had been awake since around 6 am. It was cold....33 according to AccuWeather and inside it was 57. Brrrrr....fired up the generator, turned on the heat and crawled back into bed till it warmed a bit.

The entire day was spent on US90 and what a wonderful drive it was. To some people the scenery is boring and bland. To me it shouts with passion....I love seeing what time and nature control, land that refuses to give in to the whimsy of man, refusing to be tamed. Since there were few places to stop when the scenery was worth a photo, the majority of these were taken out my windows while driving so forgive me for the quality. LOL!

Oh, and excuse the odd spacing...tried using HTML code to create a table so I could put two photos side by side and it seems to want to leave a LONG blank. Will keep working on it.

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I had a new experience today...around Del Rio (a much larger town than I anticipated) I went through a border patrol check. My first thought was wondering if I was crossing into Mexico highway 90....LOL! Two nice young ladies, one with a gorgeous German Shepherd, asked me a couple of questions and sent me on my way. Guess I don't look very threatening...good thing I wasn't wearing leathers, showing off my tattoos and sitting on my old Harley.

I pulled into the Marathon Motel & RV Park about 3:30. It's a Passport
America park and is $12.50 for the night. Plenty of time to get set up, take some photos, get online, go for a walk, take some sunset photos and then enjoy the communal fire while I chatted with some folks from Washington state who are also new to RVing.

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Today was a wonderful day....it fed my soul and tonight I feel very full.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna