Made It To Arizona

I can't believe how time is flying. I was going to post every couple of days but then we get busy or don't have electricity or something else comes up. After leaving Ashwood Arkansas we headed to Texas to visit with Bud. We got there just before he got home from work. Donna (Bud's granddaughter through Amanda) met us at the end of the street and walked us in. We would have picked her up if we knew who she was. Dinner was quick and simple because we had the crock pot going all day while we traveled. Good to see Bud, he just doesn't change. Anyway, we did a little shopping Friday and planned on visiting with more family coming out on Saturday. Got a few pictures.

This picture is front left, Ellie and Samantha back row from left Laura, Bud, Matt holding Benjamin.  Matt and Laura have been married for 4 or 5 years but I hadn't met her or her two daughters yet.  Benjamin is 3 here.

 

This is the whole bunch ;)  Dave and Ann seated in front.  Samantha and Ellie are kind of in the front row, next row is Laura, Paula, Bud, me, Roger and the back row is Matt holding Benjamin, Steven Griffith, and Loren (Amanda's son).

 

 

 

We had a real nice visit but still didn't have enough time to totally catch up ...  a reason to come back :)

From Bud's we headed to San Antonio Texas.  Roger had heard of the River Walk there and we wanted to check it out.  I do have pictures, but once again Picasa is giving me problems and I can't waste any more time trying to put them on here arrghhh.  Another day on the road to cross Texas and New Mexico before entering Arizona.  We headed to my cousin, Pat's house on Thursday, Jan 9th.  Got there midday and had a nice visit before resting for the night.  Sandy, another cousin joined us on Friday.  That's us in the picture below.  Pat's Dad Harry and Sandy's Dad John are my Mother's brothers.  I have so many cousins that I've never met.  Maybe this year in our travels we will meet more of them.

 

Roger, me, Pat Higgins and Sandy Clark

Left Pat's on Saturday the 11th and headed to Quartzsite Arizona.  This is kind of where Roger wanted to go for the winter.  I have pictures for here too, but same problem as the River Walk pictures arrgghh.  Quartzsite is a little more organized that I expected.  I thought it was just a huge desert with people everywhere and no amenities.  What it is is almost like a state park.  Where we are camped is land owned by the Bureau of Land Management.  When you turn off the road (I think there are like 4 turnoffs) there is a check in shack where you pay.  It is $40 for 14 days or $180 for Sept 1 to April 1 (I think).  There is a dumping station and several water stations along with refuse recepticles.  I thought there was nothing!  There are areas that have absolutely nothing and are free, but I think where we are is good.  We did drive one of the pathways all the way back one day and it was 5 miles long.  Along that pathway there were several turnoffs that you could drive on and park any place you wanted.  It seems to be filling up more because there is an RV thing going on in town this week.  Lots of vendors, tents and stuff lol.  The other thing that kind of surprised me is that it is mostly gravel... I thought desert was sand.  It is hot and dry and we need to drink more water ... story of my life :).

So there you have it... today is January the 13th, Monday and we're probably going to do a lot of walking around town.  Hopefully the pictures that I wanted to post will magically decide to cooperate and post. 

WELCOME 2014!!!

We actually brought in the New Year on a quiet note. We spent Sunday night in West Memphis Arkansas and headed out on Monday to Texarkana (actually Ashdown) Arkansas. We decided to spend three nights here to get through the New Year holiday and not have to worry about places being open to check in to. Camping is not quite like hoteling it because it's not in season and not as popular. So we are in a quiet park (Millwood Landing) with about 5 other couples. Like I said it's very quiet. There is a 250 acre golf course here and there was a large party here last night. Yesterday we went in to the local WalMart to get a few things and found stuff for the kids as well. That meant coming back to camp and wrapping stuff then back to town to the post office. Hope they like what I sent :). Other than that we've been walking, knitting and watching a little tv. Yesterday it was real sunny and we actually sat out and read for a couple of hours (okay, so I took a nap in the sunshine). Should be the same today, yea!! High 50's.

Before we pulled out of West Memphis we went into Hot Springs to check it out. The Hot Springs were popular as people believed that the traces of minerals and an average temp of 143 degrees gives the water whatever therapeutic properties they may have. The first bathhouse was built in the early 1900's and people flocked to them as they were called "The American Spa". Touring Fordyce Bathhouse was very interesting seeing all of the opulance that only the wealthier people could afford at that time. There were the soaking baths, cooling rooms, exercise rooms and massage rooms. The exercise equipment was made mostly of wood with pullies and belts. We did buy a couple of empty gallons to fill with the hot springs water before leaving town. I didn't see a big difference between our r/o water and the hot springs water, but then I'm not an expert on waters.

I talked with my brother, Bud when we got here and made a plan to drive to his place on Thursday. The gps says it's a 5 hour drive which calculates to be about 7 hours in rv travel time. While there we'll try to catch up with Dave and Ann as well, if they're feeling better. I heard they were coming down with colds, so we'll see. My cousin, Joan, called this morning to wish us a Happy New Year. It was good to hear from her, but the connection was schetchy at best and the call was cut short. So there you have it. Happy New Year to all our family and friends. Hoping 2014 is filled with health, prosperity and happiness!