Lake Pointe Resort to Fort Stockton

Pantry in farm house 1915 

Texas Whitehouse

Stockton, TX

Stockton, Tx

Roadrunner Stockton, TX

November 5^th

We had a 65 mile drive today with only one stop on our way to Fredericksburg and that was at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park & Historic Site at Stonewall TX. We visited a working farm from 1915 that was owned by LBJ's neighbors when he was growing up. The farm is operated the way it was in 1915 without running water or electricity. Then we drove to the Johnson family cemetery, and on to the Texas White House where we enjoyed a ranger guided tour through the Johnson's home. It is definitively worthwhile to experience this bit of American history.

November 6^th

Today we drove the 260 miles from Fredericksburg to Fort Stockton. We spent spent little time in Fredericksburg, as we had to make a few miles today. It was a beautiful day for driving on

I-10 as there was very little traffic. It was amazing to be on a highway where the speed limit is 80 mph. We set the cruise control at 60 and had a relaxing drive. This evening we tuned the TV in to watch the results of the Presidential election. I am sure half the country woke up disappointed and the other half woke up relieved and everybody woke up just pleased that it was over with.

November 1st thru November 4th

November 1^st 

Today we became tourists. We walked about 1 mile from our campground to the nearest bus stop to ride into Austin City. A bus pass for all day is only $2. The first thing we did was take a guided tour of the State Capital Building of Texas. We were very fortunate as we were the only 2 people on the tour. We visited both the State Senate and the State House offices. In Texas the legislators come into session only once every two years.

Our next stop was the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, where we saw an Imax movie about the diversity of the people of Texas. After that movie we watched a 4-D movie about the wild Texas weather. The 4-D movie had 3 screens with lots of special effects like mist coming in during the rain scenes, lighting flashing across the theater during the storms and the wind blowing at us; it was like we were experiencing the weather as it was happening. Texans are very proud of their state and its history.

Capital Building Austin

Senate Chambers Austin

Bob Bullock State History Museum

November 2^nd

Today we drove about 60 miles south towards San Antonio to New Braunfel and stayed at a campground called Lake Pointe Resort at Canyon Lake. En route we visited a Camping World, a store specializing in RV camping equipment.

November 3^rd

Today we relaxed at the campground. We did a couple of nice walks, one along Canyon Lake shore, where Lake Pointe Resort borders. There is an amazing number of deer wandering around this campground and we are very happy to be camping here. There is quite a social organization here and we got involved in a couple of the activities today involving eating. In the early afternoon there was an ice cream social, then in the evening there was a potato bake dinner where we also met members of this resort. The people we spoke with gave us a lot of good advice which we gratefully received.

November 4^th

Today we drove 50 miles into San Antonio to visit The Alamo. There is so much history there which we both really enjoyed. After a couple of leisurely hours wandering the shrine and its grounds we went to the river walk on the San Antonio River.

The Alamo San Antonio 

• We were told it is a must do in San Antonio. Unlike any river walk that we have ever been on, the river is actually a canal with paths on either side, with side by side eating establishments a large percentage of the way, and river taxis and many other tourists. The temperatures were in the 80's but it was nice and cool and a real pleasure to be on. 

On River walk

Canal tour boat

River walk

River walk

River walk

Tunnel on river walk

Sunset from deck at Campground

We left Corsicana on the afternoon of the 26^th. During the day we did a walking tour of the city. Texas oil was 1st discovered in Corsicana on October 15th 1885 and an oil boom was started. We visited the court house and a few of the historic buildings. We visited a wildlife museum which was also the boardroom at Watkins Construction Company. It was a large room full of trophy animals from around the world, including Black Diamond, an Indian elephant from the circus who killed a woman in the crowd when he went on rampage in 1927.We stayed the next couple of nights in Belton with some friends, David and Ingrid. I met David about 40 years ago in London, so we had lots of stories to share.
On the 28^th we drove the 60 miles to Austin where we stayed a couple of nights at a nice campground close to I-35. We had a few more things we had to get done in Austin, which of course took longer than expected. But I think we have all our shopping and commitments out of the way for awhile.On the 31^st we drove across Austin to another campground a little further away from the busy highways. When we got here this morning we did a few modifications on our trailer. We put on a couple of aluminum tracks for awnings over the windows. This required drilling into the fiberglass and riveting the tracks in place. I am always happy when a job like that is completed without any damage. I also put mudflaps on the trailer. So we are now ready to start vacationing.  

 

October 22nd thru October 25th

      We left Anchorage early morning on the 22nd October, our good friend Betty gave us a ride to the airport. We flew to Seattle where we had a 4 hour lay over. Then on to Austin Texas, where the salesman we had bought our truck off was to pick us up. He was late arriving so we got to enjoy the heat and humidity of Austin in the early evening. After dropping Al off at his dealership we headed off for the Super 8 Motel that we stayed at for the evening. Got to our room in time to see the last half of the Presidential Debate.
        We left Austin and drove the 130 miles to Rice Tx where we had a 1.00 pm appointment to pick up our new Casita Travel Trailer. The guys hooking  up our trailer noticed that there was a problem with the electrical of our truck and trouble shooted the problem to the wiring on the camper shell.
      Our 1st night in the Casita was a beautiful Corps of Engineers Campground at Liberty Hills near Dawson. It was incredibly quiet there, we had a lovely site overlooking the lake, where we got see beautiful sunsets.
       On the 24th we drove into Waco to get the lighting on our camper shell corrected.
      We also discovered a few equipment problems with our Casita, so on the 25th we drove back to the factory and Casita corrected the problems. We met another Alaskan waiting to pick up his Casita; he was from Fairbanks.
       Up to now it seems as if we have been running around getting our equipment up to the way it should be. The rest of the time it seems we have been shopping getting the extra for the Casita to make life a little more comfortable.
          Sorry there arn't  any photos with this posting,  I will attempt to get some photos on the next posting
 

April 17th to April 20th Anacordes - Dawson Creek - Laird Hot Springs - near Tok - Anchorage

April 17th to April 20th Anacordes - Dawson Creek - Laird Hot Springs - near Tok - Anchorage
Well Holly woke up about 3.30 am and suggested that we get on the road, which was a good idea as we had about 2400 miles driving to get back to Anchorage. We had been tracking the weather at the communities along the Alaskan Highway, and it appeared that the next few days the weather was going to be pretty decent and it was, so we thought we had better bolt for home. The 1st day we drove 776 miles to Dawson Creek, got there in the evening and were happy to find a place to camp.
The next day we drove 478 miles to Laird Hot Springs arriving in the late afternoon. We set up camp in the parking lot then wondered along the boardwalk to the springs. We soaked and relaxed in the hot water pools for a couple of hours, chatting with fellow travelers and sharing notes. We both slept really well this evening. Got up and headed for the border, stopping only to take photos of a buffalo herd near Laird and for fuel, lunch and to switch drivers.

Laird Hot Springs

Buffalo Herd (note calf)

This evening we found a nice level pull off beside the road that we decided would be camp this evening, after driving 733 miles. The last day of our trip home we drove 394 miles, so this was the shortest leg on our journey from Anacordes to Anchorage. To greet us home was one of the neighborhood moose relaxing in our front yard.
It has taken me a few days to get this blog posted, as there has been quite a bit of cleaning up and putting gear away after traveling 13,000 miles in about 4 months and consuming about 1000 gallons of gas. Both Chevy and Cassie performed well for us the entire time we were away.
We both really enjoyed the traveling we did in the Lower 48 States. The States that we got a glimpse of on this trip were Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Idaho. In Canada we also saw a bit of Yukon Territory, Alberta and British Columbia. We really enjoyed the places we visited and the people we met and are looking forward to our next trip. For now we shall enjoy being home in Alaska and visiting some of the many wonderful places that are to be seen and cherished here.
This will be the last posting on this blog probably till our next trip. I have enjoyed sharing the sights and experiences that we had on this journey.
Regards Keith

Moose welcoming us Home

April 15th to April 16th Seattle to Anacordes

April 15th to April 16th Seattle to Anacordes
Drove 100 miles up to Fidalgo Bay RV Resort, a very nice campground close to Anacordes. Anacordes businesses were having a Quilt Walk so we went and enjoyed some of the quilts that were on display in the businesses around town. In the evening the campground clubhouse was hosting an old time fiddler jam so we went and enjoyed some fine music. There were 18 musicians making fun music which was great listen music.
In the morning we winterized Cassie, blew compressed air into the plumbing, and replaced the water with antifreeze. We are expecting to get freezing temperatures on the way home so we are taking precautionary measures. Later on in the morning we meet Holly’s family at one of the many Tulip Gardens in the area and enjoyed looking at the many colors of tulips that we were blooming. There were fields upon fields of colorful tulips.
At this stage of our journey we are looking forward to getting home and expect to have some high mileage days between here and Anchorage.

Quilt on Display in Anacordes

Old Time Fiddlers Jam

Tulips

Tulips

Keith and Holly in Tulip Field

Tulips

Tulips

April 10th to April 14th Long Beach, Washington to Seattle, Washington

April 10th to April 14th  Long Beach, Washington to Seattle, Washington
We had a couple of easy days driving to get to Seattle where we are staying at the KOA campground,
the most expensive campground that we have stayed at on this trip. One of the highlights for us was
driving to Tacoma and visiting the Museum of Glass. To get to the museum we walked across the
Chihuly Bridge of Glass which had some amazingly beautiful panels of glass works. At the museum
itself the highlight for us was the hot shop where we sat and watched 3 people making glass vases
with a commentator explaining what was happen. The link to the hot shop
   http://museumofglass.org/page.aspx?pid=419 
   Yesterday Holly's family had a get together at her sister Linda's home in Seattle, her other sister
Willie drove from Bluff, UT and daughter Ajax flew up from Los Angeles. Holly's mother came from
 Anchorage, it has been several years since Holly has been together with all family.   

Ceiling Panel on 

Chihuly Bridge of Glass

Chihuly Bridge of Glass

Chihuly Bridge of Glass

Chihuly Bridge of Glass

Hot Shop Team

A