The Big Thaw

Those puddles by the RV are from the pounds of snow/ice/sand/road grime that is beginning to melt and fall off. George celebrated by barbecuing, Elle rolled in the grass, and I exchanged the turtleneck and heavy sweater for a tee shirt and a big smile.

I feel like I've rejoined the 21st century! After three days of being cold (when you open the refrigerator door and the air in there feels warmer than the air around you, that's cold, right, for indoors?),no running water, a toilet that wouldn't drain and staying in an RV park yesterday that was located such that I had no TV or internet and limited cell service, I was so thrilled today to have magical faucets (water comes out when you lift a lever!!!), a toilet that flushes and temperature outside that was a balmy 32 at 5 am and made it to 40 something by afternoon.

Now I DID enjoy the snowy scenery in Montana. I wish I could have caught 'on film' the three bald eagle sightings: one sitting on a fence post near the freeway, watching traffic, I guess; two soaring near the tops of cinnamon brown, snow frosted cliffs, and one flying straight and low over the Clark Fork River looking for a meal. Then there was the train of Black Angus, trudging nose to tail, following the fence line to somewhere, backs blanketed with snow. All beautiful in spite of the cold.

However, the blush of green on this hillside across the Snake River from our home for a few days here in Clarkston, WA, says spring is coming and that sounds pretty good to me!

The column of steam to the left of the raised bridge is coming from the mill where George will be working , across the river in Lewiston, ID. It's nice to know he's so close.
But we're not in Texas anymore, and he's back to having no help. Bummer.

I Want to Go Back to Texas!

The last two and a half days have convinced me that I have outgrown my enchantment with the colder climates. South of Cheyenne, WY, we got into the snow zone and it's been downhill from there as far as traveling in this RV is concerned. We discovered in Cheyenne (at 12 degrees) that the drain valves to the sewer holding tanks are frozen shut. Great, we get to take it with us another day and we haven't been able to dump since we left Texas. Add to that the fact that there's a gasket on the toilet that needs replacing which causes the water to drain from the bowl which causes the 'aroma' to waft throughout the RV. On to Casper, where, in spite of the furnace heating the bays, at 3 degrees the water line froze somewhere so we have no water other than a couple gallon jugs and some bottled water that we carry with us. The acceleration system also froze and had to be convinced to work. Had it not been for the fact that a mechanic in Tucumcari discovered that the block heater plug-in cord was bad we wouldn't be going anywhere. But go we did and it was a cold day. I'm really not into the layering concept while in a vehicle. Even with the furnace being set to 70 I soon discovered that I needed more clothing and added a turtleneck under my heavy sweater and a pair of wool socks over my cotton ones. That didn't last long so I grabbed my down throw. By the time we got to Billings I had added another blanket and a stocking hat and I still wasn't warm. So this morning it is zero degrees and we now have a space heater in the engine compartment (God help us!) because the accelerator is balking again and can't be convinced to operate. So, IF we go anywhere today it will be toward Butte , MT, where the current temp is -23. I want to go back to Texas.

Ok, enough complaining! There is beauty to behold.

Isn't he gorgeous?!

Poor cold little sparrow.

And then there's ELLIE'S VIEW

Hmmmm....this is a different look. Could be fun.

Ok, this snow and cold is not so good. At least when nature calls they don't have to go OUTSIDE!

But they DO treat me fairly well.

Thanks
And Happy Birthday, Jodi. You trained me well.

Radiator Springs

Ok, any of you little Cars fans, here's a peek at how Radiator Springs looks now. Dominic, round up McQueen, Sally, Mater, Doc, Ramone, Fillmore and the rest of the gang, line them up and let them see, too! Things have changed a little.......

Let's start with Flo's Cafe.
It seems that someone named Rubee has taken over the diner business.

I didn't see the Cozy Cone Motel but the Blue Swallow is doing a good job of keeping the tradition alive.

I liked the parking garages adjoining the rooms
and the cool wall paintings to keep the memories of the good old days alive.

Hey, what is that out behind the motel? Could it be Fillmore?

Let's take a closer look...


Nope, it's not Fillmore, it's The Croc, who was (or will be) in another movie.
(Parents, you may want to preview. Not bad and the scenes move quickly, but you decide.)


Down the road a ways we saw what appeared to be an old friend of Ramone's hanging out at another local motel.

Speaking of Ramone, someone seems to be continuing the Auto Paint and Body Art business.

I'm not sure Mater would be impressed with the new PINK tow truck in town but I must say Pinkie did a good job towing the motor home to the repair shop.

Not Luigui's and Guido's Casa della Tires, but tires are still sold in town! I DO miss the Leaning Tower of Tires though.


And this, I believe, was the road McQueen and Mater took out of town the night they went tractor tipping.

This old tractor probably got tipped one too many times and now rests where old tractors (and some cars) go to rest.

I close the tour with a picture of Radiator Cap Mountain that sits just outside the city limits watching over all.

Farewell, little town of many memories.

A Drive to Lake Conchas

Sitting in a motel room on a beautiful, sunny 70 degree day waiting for the motor home to receive a new head gasket was too much to take, so on Wednesday we took a drive to Conchas Lake, about 35 miles from Tucumcari. What a treat!

Jordyn, here are some pictures of the cowboy I wrote about on your blog.

Jose and Bonso

Driving down a little country road enjoying the scenery we saw a truck towing a horse trailer pull into a field, so I asked George if we could go back and take a picture for Jordyn. As we pulled up, a young man got out of the truck and walked, smiling, over to meet us. When I asked if I could take his picture with the horse for our granddaughter in Oregon his smile widened and he answered, "Oh,si, yes!" He went to the trailer, backed the horse out by voice command, all done in a calm, orderly fashion, at which George commented that the horses he had never backed out of the trailer without a lot of bucking and chaos. When he led the horse over I asked his name to which he responded, "Jose". English wasn't his first language but we managed to find out that the horse's name is Bonso and that he was going to look for cattle, for the boss. He was so friendly, had the biggest smile and seemed to enjoy posing for the pictures.

Here's where he was headed.

We continued on our way and stopped again a ways down the road, this time to watch these antelope and a few of their friends.


On to Conchas Dam....

and through the campground where we picked out our favorite camp site...

and enjoyed the lake views.

I don't have a 50mm lens to capture it, but I like this stickery pod.


And the stickery cactus.


Pinon nuts anyone?

All in all, it was a beautiful day of being able to pull off the road and enjoy leisurely the sights and a friendly cowboy in New Mexico.

Tucumcari, Part 2

We're on the move again. Yesterday we unplugged the motor home, hooked up the truck and said farewell to the part of Texas that has been 'home' for three weeks. I bring with me some good memories and fruitful times of leisure, Jon :-) We spent the night at a Walmart near Wichita Falls, Texas, started early this morning, stopped briefly in Amarillo to watch the inauguration, then continued to Tucumcari and John's Truck Repair to have the water leak from the motor home engine checked out. George's suspicion was confirmed: it needs the head gasket replaced and they started right away, not waiting until our scheduled time tomorrow. So, I gathered up a few things, we stopped at the local grocery store for some TV dinners, and were welcomed back, by name, at the same little motel where we spent five days the first time through! We're even in the same room. I love small towns. I had planned to do a post with photos but the internet is working very slow. Maybe tomorrow.

Still Enjoying Texas

Let's see....when I last wrote we had just arrived in Texas and that's been about three weeks ago. It's about time for an update, I guess.

Downtown Houston
Flags are in abundance here in Texas and I must say, I like it. I'm finding that they remind me to pray for our country and its leaders.

Before I move on, I must go back to the statement in the last post regarding the lack of people who spoke English at the mill. As George began to work, it soon became evident that speaking the same language wasn't necessarily required. For the most part, they watched and anticipated what he needed and had things ready when he needed them. He remarked that had he not had so much excellent help, he would have had to put in a lot more hours to get four sets of rails done in little over two weeks.
The above picture is an example of their anticipating the need and acting on it. The mill yard was quite muddy and when trying to leave one day George had decided he was going to have to put the truck in 4 wheel drive. As he opened the door to get out and turn the hubs, he saw two guys coming with a chain and another on a forklift. They had seen the need and came to help! They did, on the other hand, find it humorous when his pant leg caught on fire from the grinding sparks (not uncommon), gesturing and saying, "Meester, Meester!" to warn him, then laughing when the fire was out. I suppose it would look a little funny. George informed me that I would have laughed with them; he's probably right and it's his fault. He's taught me to see humor in things I never found humorous. OK, I wouldn't laugh if he was hurt, and I DO have to mend the pants.

Two set of tracks done, two grinding motors burned out, so on Monday, January 5th , we set off for Houston to try and find replacements. Found one but it was a bit high in price so George decided to see if he could find someone to fix the broken ones. We then drove around Houston a little.

I love these oak trees; there are lots of them around the area.


The BIG church.

High up window washers.... Yikes!

Downtown building and reflecting pool.


Downtown reflecting building :)

Figuring to get a jump on the next round of rail grinding, George went in to do some prep work after shutdown on Tuesday. On arriving home he said, "Forget that. We're going to Galveston tomorrow." Seems while at work a maintenance person had started the 'roller' he was standing on, causing an uncomfortable landing. Fearing what else could be turned on while the cleanup crew was working he decided to wait for the weekend to continue. So Thursday the 7th we set out for the Galveston area, just to see what we could see.
We took a short side trip off the route to get a look at the Houston Space Center. Unfortunately the visitors Center wasn't open.

Jake and Max, this is for you.
The McDonald's next to the Space Center has an astronaut on top that looks like you in your costumes! He was LARGE.

Leaving the area, we passed this mass of scavengers fussing over some sort of carrion.
They were first of several interesting bird sightings that day.

Near Seabrook we began to see a lot of evidence of Hurricane Ike that hit the Houston area last September. What a mess.

However, life goes on amidst the cleanup.

Next bird sighting; a tree full of parrots!

Then we were greeted at the fish market by these beggars waiting for a handout. I must say they were a bit intimidating, but politely moved aside as we approached the door, then followed us in, keeping a close eye on the cat.

Goodbye, Big Guy, and no, I'm not sharing my shrimp!

Nice shack in Galveston.

I took this picture because I remembered the building from the newscasts during the storm.

Shell seekers on the beach.

All in all, a good time was had by all.