montemover

Hi All! I had a great time with Jeri and Ralph and her family and friends on Easter. Great company and fantastic food. Jeri and I spent 4 days catching up on 20 plus years. It was great fun. They have a beautiful home and enough acreage so I can park there for a long time. Just warning you Jeri, you made me too comfortable. Next time I’ll be there for a longer visit.

Last Monday I headed for San Angelo and stayed with Rosalie and Chuck. Rosalie is a cousin on my Dad’s side of the family. I cleared up a lot of misconceptions while there, like, she’s only 2 years younger than I am and for all these years I thought she was a lot younger than me – at least 4-6 years. She was always the tag-along with Betty and me. I also learned that Betty, whom I thought was a month older or younger than I, isn’t. There difference isn’t in months, but rather years. We were like 2 peas in a pod when I was a kid and I just figured we were the same age. Rosalie and Chuck have a beautiful house and it’s filled with clocks. Chuck is quite the master clock master craftsman and he restores antique clocks. They are gorgeous. Toby loved there fenced backyard where he could stretch out in the sun or shade and enjoy life. He got very comfortable there. Chuck and Rosalie introduced me to the “Garmin” navigation device and I was hooked. Before I left San Angelo, Rosalie had to take me to Walmart (yes, the dreaded Walmart), and I got one. It’s a Garmin Nuvi 200 and it’s great. I love it. It got me to Pecos (where I am now writing this blog) with shortcuts that I didn’t see on my paper map. I was a little leary of following it and trusting it, so I didn’t at one point only to discover that I went a few miles out of my way. I love hearing “Nuvi” say “recalculating, recalculating” Someone to talk to now besides Toby. Yes, Nuvi speaks to me.

Now I’m here in Pecos. It was a 4 ½ hour drive, so an easy day. I’m leaving for Deming, NM tomorrow and that will be at least a 6-7 hour drive. My longest stint. But I think I’ll stay there 2 days before heading for Tucson and Sharlene’s. I drove through some very isolated country today, miles and miles of mesquite, cactus, cows, and oil wells. Thousands of oil wells. When I got to the Skp park they welcomed me to the desert. Pecos is situated on the eastern edge of the Chihuahua desert. Fortunately its been a mostly cloudy day and the temp is very pleasant.

Got to go for now. I’ll be in Tucson by the 1st or 2nd and more then. I tried to upload some pics, but its telling me there’s an error on the page and won’t upload them. I’ll have to figure this out.
Kris

Picture of Jeri and Ralph’s home with my official greeter, Shilo in front (see Monte to the side in their driveway). Picture of Toby and Shilo.

Well I left CARE yesterday amid hugs, “come back anytime”, and a few tears. The trip to Lorena was very windy, especially when I headed the 100 + miles west. It was so windy that somewhere after filling gas in Centerville, the wind (I think it was when an oncoming truck passed me) blew off my outside refrigerator cover. I didn’t discover it until I arrived at Jeri and Ralph’s about 4:30. So it’s now covered with a taped on plastic bag with holes in it to let it breathe and keep the rain out. At least I hope that’ll work until I can get a new cover for it. We’ll find out soon enough as it’s pouring down rain as I write. Looks like I’ll be looking for an RV service shop while here.

Jeri and Ralph are due back from California this evening. Although I’m thinking that the “severe” weather may delay them and they may not get here until tomorrow. I’m snugged up here and as long as the winds don’t blow me over, and by that I mean as long as no tornados hit, I’m o.k. Toby, on the other hand, doesn’t like severe rain and wind combined even though there’s no thunder that I can hear, and he’s trying to crawl into my lap and under my arms. He tries to hide his head in my armpit – yuck – he must think the same cause he doesn’t stay there very long, just keeps going back there.

Shilo, the family dog, greeted us enthusiastically when we arrived. I gave her a treat, and now when it’s not raining bucketfuls, she’s at my door, which is open, when it’s not raining bucketfuls. Although it took me 2 hours to unclench my hands (slight exaggeration) after arriving here through the wind, I’m glad to be here. It’s also nice to have the day to myself and just relax.

So I’m going to curl up with one of the many good books I have and relax. More later. Opps, just heard from Ralph, all flights to Dallas canceled so they won’t be coming home until late tomorrow. Se la vie.
Kris

Here is a pic of some of the volunteers here at CARE. Some have become good friends whom I hope to meet down the road sometime. Others I didn’t get to know too well, but all of them have been friendly, fun and helpful. The next pic is of my sweetie after his haircut. He looks like a different dog and nearly everyone stops me to ask what kind of breed he is, or if he’s wearing a coat (some of the folks don’t see too well), or comment that he looks like a skunk (boo, hiss), but they all have something to say about his haircut. He’s really quite handsome, and knows it, but personally I prefer a bit scruffier look when his hair is grown out a bit.

Well I’ve 4 days left here and then I’m headed for Lorena, TX and my friends Jeri and Ralph. They have 4 ½ acres and even have an RV hookup on their property. They will just be returning from California where they’ve been visiting Ralph’s folks, so we’ll be arriving there at about the same time. I’m really looking forward to spending a few days there. The 3 hour visit a few Sundays ago just wasn’t long enough to catch up on 25 plus years. Lorena is in the Waco, TX area, and the terrain is considerably different than it’s been down here in the Houston area. It’s a little farther north, and although the temps aren’t all that different, it’s low humidity compared to here. I’m looking forward to lower humidity.

I’m going to miss the folks here at CARE, especially the residents. They have been so much fun to get to know. What an upbeat bunch of senior, senior citizens with interesting stories to tell and lots of good information that they’ve imparted to me. They have also made me, and all the volunteers feel very needed and very, very special. I’ll look forward to seeing them again in about a year. I’m going to see if I can come back here in December next year, before the rains hit and it gets so muggy.

My next page in my blog will probably be from somewhere down the road, maybe Lorena, or maybe San Angelo. Til then – hugs!
Kris

Here’s my proud little guy. He’s got hitch itch too. I’m getting eager to pull up and head out again. Last weekend I went to Lorena, TX (about 3 hours down the road) and spent the day with Jeri and Ralph Campos whom I haven’t seen since the early 80’s. They have a beautiful home which they built, sitting on 41/2 acres and they have RV hookups. How about that! I’m hoping to spend some more time with them when I leave here. They are about ½ way to San Angelo where my cousin Rosalie lives and would be a good spot to spend a few days before heading on to Rosalie’s.

Two more weeks of washing dishes. I think when I leave here I’ll use nothing but paper and plastic for my meals. The job isn’t difficult, but I surely am tired of doing dishes, dishes, and more dishes. And I’m ready to move on – thus the hitch itch.

Tomorrow I take my rig in to a local RV place to have solar panels installed. I’m not getting a lot of panels, just enough to keep my batteries charged. I don’t use a lot of electricity as I don’t have a lot of appliances and gadgets like some of the rigs do, so my needs are pretty minimal when dry camping. Anyway, I’m excited about getting my solar system up and running. Unfortunately, we’re also supposed to get more storms with tornadic winds tomorrow, so I may be delayed with my solar installation – we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Meanwhile, the humidity here is a killer. I get up in the morning and put on my clothes and they feel like they came out of the dryer too soon and are still damp. They ARE still damp, but not from laundry, just from the humidity. I can’t wait to head west and get to drier air. I noticed that when I was in Lorena last Sunday, it was considerably drier than here.

I’ve gotten lots of good information, especially from other volunteers who have come and gone since I’ve been here (seems most volunteers come for 1 month or two at the most instead of being here for 2 ½ like me), about places to stay that are safe and cheap. Some of these folks have been full-timing and volunteering for 20 years and some have just started in the last few months like I have. What a wealth of information. I’m sure I’ll see some of them “down the road” as they are headed west like I am. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to go east into the humidity, but many folks are headed that way. Maybe some day I’ll go east, but only when it’s the time of year that it’s dry there.

Well I’ve written a lot of nothing, but there’s not much new here right now. I’ll have more to say as I get ready to leave and after I hit the road.
Kris