spring trip 2017

Spring trip 2017
Monday, march 20, 2017
We delayed leaving because UPS was delivering the remote control for the radio/DVD player in the Airstream, and got on the road at 1 P. M. We stayed at Buffalo springs outside of Lubbock $35 lakefront site 1. It is surprising to find trees and a lake, after dropping off the endless prairie. It is a nice camp, maybe because we were the only campers in the lakefront area. There was a lot of trash in the park, but otherwise a nice stopover. It was 94 degrees on our way here, but it cooled down to the upper 60's by evening. We sat by a fire, enjoying the pine firewood the previous campers left.
 Tuesday, march 21
After a relaxing morning, and hiking, we got on the road about 10:30, and made it to Hyde State park about 5 mountain time. We got site 44 on the end, and set up camp. There were only 3 electric sites to choose from, and an hour later, only one site left. Most of the primitive sites were closed off for the winter. The sites are $10 camping fee plus $4 for electricity. I drove to Black canyon camp, and hiked to the top of the trail. It was different to see the camp completely empty, and a few of the sites were still covered in snow. It opens in May. Back at camp, we played cards until bedtime.
 Wednesday, March 22
37 degree clear morning. Drove to the ski area to see snow, and check on rentals and tickets. They are calling for cloudy, windy, and possible snow conditions, tomorrow and Friday. Saturday and Sunday are the last days the area is open, and they said it will be crowded with locals in costumes. Decisions to make! It's a rough life, but someone has to make these tough choices. We drove into Santa Fe and donated some money to the Indian charities. Back at camp, I hiked to the waterfall about two miles. There is actually water falling this time of year! We played Yahtzee and cards until bedtime.
 Thursday, March 23f
35 degree clear morning. Shelly dropped me off at the ski area, with plans to pick me up about 4:30. I rented the skis, boots, and poles for $32, and the lift ticket was $75. There were not many people out today, and no lift lines. The skies were sunny, and it warmed to probably mid forties during the day. About 1:30, it got cloudy, and the winds gusted to 40, and brought a lot of dust. My legs told me to quit about 3, so I decided to turn in my skis, and wait at the lodge for Shelly, but she was waiting for me when I got there. She had bought groceries in town while I skied. We both think we each got the better deal. Back at camp, it started snowing about 4, and by the time it quit about 6:30, we had about two inches on everything. I had kept telling Shelly that I wanted to see it snow. She says I got my wish. This is the first time we have ever camped in the snow. We watched " The Aviator" until about 10:30. Strange movie about Howard Hughes.
 Friday, March 24
Woke up to about 8" of snow on the ground, and still snowing, and 29 degrees. We watched the traffic going uphill toward the ski area. They were moving very slow in front of Hyde Park, even though the roads had been snow plowed. It was still slippery, but it stopped snowing about 11, and the sun came out. I hiked in the snow around the camp, and drove down to black canyon to hike in the snow there. It is still strange to see the difference between March and August. We drove to Buffalo Thunder again, but instead of our usual donations, they gave us money! Shelly first hit a jackpot of $125 on a 45 cent bet, and I won $58 soon afterward. Playing with their money, I got a little crazy and hit max bet more than I would normally. I won a $168 jackpot! I lost a few rounds, but kept mostly breaking even. We decided to try Cities of gold casino, and kept up the good luck. I won $100 on a quick hit machine, and was trying a new one. Shelly didn't want to try it, but did anyway. She lost at first, and was about to quit, when I won free games and won $50. She tried again, and won free games several times. She was up about $40, when she won another $58 jackpot. At the end of the day, we were up about $300, which is much better than our usual $40 loss. And a lot more fun. Back at camp, the roads were all clear, and most of the snow had melted off of the Airstream. We paid for two more nights $28. We played cards again.
 Saturday, March 25
Cool, clear, 31 degrees. After a relaxing morning, we drove into town to check emails, and look for a water filter. We stopped at a junk store across from the Tune Up cafe, and drove to Lowe's. That's  when we realized we forgot the iPads to check emails, so I used the phone to check them. I am spoiled to the iPad. We gave some of the money back to the casinos. I guess we were feeling guilty after yesterday, and didn't want them to go broke. Ha! We stopped at the tune up cafe about 3 P. M, and ate a late lunch. Shelly got the quesadillas and I got the chicken enchiladas again. I ordered them last year, and forgot they come with mole sauce on the edge. Everything was good, especially the tortilla soup with Shelly's meal. Another relaxing evening, and we plan on going south from here tomorrow.
 Sunday, March 26
It rained just a little during the night, turning to light snow, and partly cloudy in the morning, 31 degrees. Packed up and heading to Santa Rosa State park. Arrived at the park about 3P. M. There were only about ten sites left, and most of those were short ones. We found site 15, which was long enough for us. The prices are the same as Hyde state park, $14 a night for electric sites. The park overlooks Santa Rosa lake, and  is a nice park, especially for the price. I hiked down to the lake with Sadie, about a quarter mile both ways. We visited with Sharon and her husband from Wisconsin near the Apostle Islands. She sold real estate, and he was a forester. They sold their bed and breakfast and are traveling now. We played cards, and talked.
 Monday, March 27
Wow, a week has gone by already. I took Sadie for a hike toward the lake, but carried her for about a half a mile through some rough snake country. Shelly would hate me if I let Sadie become snake chow. We hit the road south, and stopped at Brantley Lake state park about 3. $14/ night electric sites. It is desert country, and about 15 minutes off hwy 285. There were three other Airstreams in the park, one being a classic motor home. We visited with Shannon, his wife, and two sons, from Maryland. She was cutting his hair, which is funny, because I asked Shelly to cut my hair as we were driving into the park. Shelly said it was too windy, but cut it the next morning before we left. We sat outside until dark.
 Tuesday, March 28
I hiked down to the lake, and over to the boat ramp, for about two miles. Shelly cut my hair before we headed south again. We made it to Balmorhea State park about 2 P. M. , and ate lunch in the park. We drove to Davis mountain State park, and set up camp, just in time to go visit with the other Airstreamers. It was cloudy,  but warm, so we walked about a quarter mile to where they were gathering. Within 5 minutes a gusty storm blew in, and I took off running back to get the truck. I didn't realize how out of shape I was in, but got back to pick up Shelly before she got too wet. Janie came over and played cards, until we left for McDonald observatory. We didn't have tickets, but were hoping to get in anyway. We were in luck, and got to see the star party. Shelly wasn't crazy about sitting in the gusty wind freezing, but I found it fascinating. Shelly and Janie went back to the observatory, and drank hot cocoa, while I finished the constellation tour. We got to look through several telescopes aimed at different galaxies and stars. We get clear skies at our house, but on the mountain, the skies were unbelievably clear.
 Wednesday, March 29
Cool, clear, windy 45 degrees. I hiked the trail up to the office and paid for a second night. After breakfast, I hiked the montezuma quail trail, and got several good pictures. We drove into Fort Davis, and did laundry. Erica called and said they had bad storms last night about 2 in the morning, with tornado sirens going off. Erica said Makayla tried comforting her, saying it was going to be all right. We ate at the Cueva Mexican restaurant, with Shelly getting quesadillas, and me getting fajitas. Both were great, and we had more left over than we ate. We drove down to Marfa, to see what was there. Marfa was there, in all its glory. Slightly strange to see modern art in West Texas. We played cards, and watched the movie " Fathers and Daughters".
Thursday, March 30
We left Davis mountain park about 10, and started toward Big Bend. About 5 miles south of Fort Davis, the low fuel alert went off. I had forgot to fuel up yesterday, and didn't check this morning. Back to Fort Davis to get gas. We arrived at Big Bend Adventure rv park about 2, set up, and had leftover Mexican food from yesterday. The rest of the Airstream group was gone, so we drove to the Chisos basin, and hiked about a half mile up the hill on the trail. My parents, sisters and I stayed in a cabin here in 1970 or 1971, and I remember the hike. The temperature was in The 70's, compared to the mid 80's at the rv park. We visited with the Airstream group, until dark, when they went in. Janie sat with us outside until about ten.
Friday, March 31
 The rest of the Airstreamers went on a driving tour, while we packed up and moved to Cottonwood campground. It is within 50 yards of the Rio Grande, but is a Boondocking camp. We set up in site 1 ($14/ night) under a sweet acacia tree. We had a lazy afternoon reading books. It got up in the mid 90's in the afternoon, but I was counting on the dry air cooling down quickly after dark. That didn't happen until about 2 in the morning, so there goes that theory. About 7:30, I drove to Santa Elena canyon to see it at sunset. I hiked up the trail into the canyon, and took pictures at sunset. Back at camp, we sat looking at the stars until about ten, waiting on the nonexistent cooldown.
 Saturday, April 1
It finally cooled down in the night, and was about 60 in the morning. It was gusty winds yesterday, and there is a fine coating of dust on everything this morning. We decided the heat wasn't much fun yesterday, and even though it will be nearly 10 degrees cooler today, we are going East. We paid $2.88 a gallon for gas in the park, which is almost 90 cents a gallon higher than in Cleburne. Ouch. We stopped in Seminole Canyon State park, and got a primitive site for $8 a night. The temperature cooled in the afternoon, with a rain shower coming in. I hiked along the rim of the canyon about a mile and a half, and found a shed antler. We played cards, and checked the weather several times. They were saying possible severe storms tonight, and wow! They were right. It started hailing about 10, and it sounded like being inside a drum, but it was only pea sized hail. 20 minutes later, it got louder, and harder. Still it was only nickel size. After an hour, we heard loud thumps, and it was quarter size hail. We knew the camper was going to look like a golf ball, but it only had minor dings, and two busted marker lights. The hailstorm lasted over two long sleepless hours.
 Sunday, April 2
We decided to head home, and stopped in Fredericksburg by the square for lunch. We made it home about 7, just in time for a light shower, and topped off with a rainbow over the Airstream.