Kat’s TravelBlog

I’ve really been enjoying all the great photo ops here at Cranes Mill Park. Today I finally posted a group of the latest on one of my other websites. Page through the index to at least page 3 or 4 to get to some good ones. I should have culled the early ones better, but at least they’re online ….

One of the weirder plants around here is one I finally identified after a bit of research today; it’s a variety of tree cholla (pronounced choh-yah). This one must be really old to be so huge — it’s at least 15 feet tall, possibly more, although that’s as big as they’re reputed to get. While it is known to occur in Texas, I have a feeling it really belongs out in West Texas instead of here in the Hill Country. It just looks more like a desert plant than most of the things around here. I’ll have more photos of it once it starts blooming, which ought to be in just a few days from the looks of the buds all over it. We will probably grab a cutting or two to plant in our xeriscape garden up in Fischer. It’s supposed to be easy to propagate by just letting a branch dry out, then stick it in the ground. Even I should be able to handle that.

Visit the slideshow to see more images of this incredible specimen.

Some of the other pics include a lot of prickly pear cactus blossoms. Here’s a sample:

… and one of my favorites:

Now that we are ensconced in our campground for the next six months, it’s time to share some of the joy. Here are a few pictures I’ve snapped in the past couple of days.

I wrote about the Antelope-horns milkweed in my last post. Well, there are bunches of them here, so the Monarchs should be really happy. Here is one plant in bloom:

… and a close-up:

I tweeted yesterday about being happy to see a roadrunner here, since we aren’t likely to have any snakes with them around. Today they were back, and I was able to get some really good images. Here is one of the best:

He was even talking to me, after I said, “coo, coo, coo” to him. Thank goodness this American cuckoo doesn’t have the same singing habits of its European cousin. When we lived in Germany there was one who sang outside our window at 4 o’clock every morning for weeks, until one day we heard a loud “Whoom” — and we never heard it again. It wouldn’t have been so bad except it was really loud, and really monotonous. They don’t change pitch. I guess somebody else got even more tired of it than we were. That’s not likely to happen here, though. This roadrunner isn’t loud, and anyway I’d never shoot at birds like that.

We went out to the house lot this afternoon to chop more cedar, and generally hang out. The weather was perfect, with a few clouds, warm but not too hot. The oak trees are leafing out nicely, and a few wildflowers are blooming, or getting ready to.

One flower in particular caught my eye because it was something I hadn’t seen before. When we got home I found a picture in a guidebook (Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi) that I had borrowed from the library. It’s called antelope-horns milkweed, and is important for Monarch butterflies. We saw a couple of Monarchs, too, so I guess they’re eager for the buds to pop open. According to the Native Plant Society of Texas, out of over 100 species of milkweed found in the Americas, this is the predominant type found in the central Monarch flyway of Texas. You can be sure we will preserve and encourage these plants on our land, as a good start for our butterfly garden. Another step we’ll probably take is to develop a “Monarch Waystation” and register it at MonarchWatch.org.

As well as milkweed, where the Monarchs lay their eggs, they need nectar plants. I saw several specimens of a pretty lavender colored flower that probably fills this need, but so far I haven’t identified exactly which member of the verbena family it is. It looks most like the photo of Rose Vervain in the book I have, but not exactly. These have white centers, but the book says Rose Vervain has dark centers. However, I found a picture of some with white centers, too. So, that’s probably what they are.

There’s another plant that is well-represented on our land. I’ve just found pictures and description that indicate what we’ve got is Texas persimmon (also called Mexican persimmon, or black persimmon). It’s got slightly thick, rounded leaves on woody stems. There are small ones like this all over the place, which is characteristic, since it propagates from rhizomes. None of the plants I saw were in flower, but I only really looked at the small ones which may be too young to flower.

Tomorrow or the next day we’ll be moving over to Cranes Mill Park, where we’ll be for the next six months. It is quite a hike from there to Fischer (about 24 miles, around the lake), but we are determined to get up to the “ranch” more often.

If you follow this blog, you probably notice that when we aren’t on the road I tend to neglect it. Sorry, but it is called “Kat’s TRAVELblog” after all. But I’m breaking pattern today out of embarrassment over how long it’s been since posting.

We are still at Canyon Lake, but since my last entry we have stayed at several parks. From Potters Creek we went to what used to be called the Ft. Sam Houston Canyon Lake Recreation Area (or just “Ft. Sam Rec Area” locally) for a month, but is now known as the “Joint Bases Recreation Area” or something like that. Then we spent two weeks at The Summit on River Road again, and now we’re back at the Ft. Sam Rec Area for the next ten or eleven days. Then we’re going to try something new.

The first time we visited the library, I saw a notice on the bulletin board about a call for volunteers by the local Corps of Engineers office, looking for RV work campers. I called to find out about it, and sure enough, they offer free camping in exchange for a few hours work. The gig lasts six months, beginning the first of April. But the ranger didn’t know what positions were open (the Corps has four parks around Canyon Lake, including Potters Creek), and said to call her back if we don’t hear from her by the 18th (of March). So, yesterday I called, and found out they have a job available at the Cranes Mill Park, up on the far southwestern end of the lake, near the place where the Guadalupe River enters the lake. This map (click for full sized image) shows our current location (purple pin), our lot up in Fischer, and the park where we’ll be spending the summer.

We drove out to have a look before committing ourselves, and met the current volunteer on duty, Bob. Bob was really friendly. (I think he was bored and lonely, with nobody to talk to since the park is closed.) He told us about the park and the job, and offered to let us in the gate to drive around the whole park, which we accepted. It’s a long, skinny park on a peninsula, with several camping areas, a marina and another boat ramp or fishing dock (which we didn’t go look at). The 65 camping sites have tables & shelters for each site, but no concrete pads or electric/water hookups. That’s what the construction crew is supposed to be putting in this summer, but they aren’t working at the moment pending some permit or other. The ranger, Terri Beth, told me they expect to start working again pretty soon, but can’t predict exactly when. Once that happens, we aren’t supposed to go down to the work area, so the drive-through we did might be our only chance to see the whole park.

Bob said the work is extremely easy, with the park closed to the public, and the first project the contractor is supposed to do is to put in a new gate house, but the present gate house, which is right next to the hosts’ camping sites, is handy, even though it’s not air conditioned. I hope we can tolerate that through a Texas summer, but I guess we’ll get used to it. There are supposed to be two hosts, or host families (Phil and I can trade off during our four-day duty period, with the other host taking the alternate four days). Both current hosts are leaving for the summer, so there must be another one coming in when we do. Here’s a picture of Bob’s rig, in the site we will probably use.

The hosts’ camping sites have an amenity not provided for other sites — a waste water collection tank. The RV’s sewer hose connects to a pipe, which carries the waste down the hill to the tank, which the Corps sends someone out to empty when it gets full. Transient campers have to drive to a central dump site, be we won’t have to do that. That’s one reason we’re interested in this job. It is a real hassle to pack everything up, pull in the slideouts and go dump a couple of times a week, and we will enjoy not having to watch our holding tanks all the time.

So, we’re looking forward to an enjoyable summer.

Yes, we are back again in the Texas Hill Country, a.k.a. “God’s Country”. This time we are parked on the lake, at Potters Creek Park. This is a Corps of Engineers park on the northwest side of the lake, about six miles south of Fischer, where we bought a house lot last year.

Like the last place we stayed in this area, there is a lot of wildlife, much of which comes right up to the RV. Most noticable are the deer. There is a huge herd that lives in the park, including at least 12 stags! The biggest one has a limp along with an impressive rack of antlers, but the rest appear to be juveniles. They seem to enjoy moving from the trees down to the water, and back, several times a day.

Both smaller images are links to larger versions that open in a new window.

While most of them won’t let humans (and especially not dogs) approach them, they will graze right up next to the vehicles, and sometimes don’t even seem afraid of slowly moving cars. Maybe that’s why papa deer has a limp?

The day I took these photos it was cold and dreary, with a biting wind, but that didn’t really detract from the beauty of this site. Here’s what our parking place looks like, and I think you’ll agree it’s one of the prettier places we’ve stayed. We’ll be here till at least the 21st. Then we may try out one of the military rec areas on the lake.

Of course, lakes attract migrating birds, especially this time of year. What led me to pull out the camera with the big lens (Nikon D-50 with 200mm zoom lens) was seeing a huge flock of American coots in the little cove next to the park. There must have been 200 to 300 birds, all alike, mostly staying on the water to keep their feet warm, I would guess. I only saw one or two take flight the whole time I was watching them.

Our plans are coming together. David has announced that he will probably stay in Germany until after Christmas, so we are going to head east tomorrow, as I mentioned we might.

As usual, we will take our trip in easy stages, less than 300 miles a day. Right now I’m planning for us to stop in Wimberley, about 15 miles north of here, to do some Christmas shopping, then head east on I-10 to a rest area (with WiFi!) near Orange, TX (almost in Louisiana). The next day we’ll get to Picayune, LA, then Tuscaloosa, then Marietta to deliver Santa Claus up there before heading to Florida. We expect to get to Marietta on the 19th, and Palm Bay on the 21st or 22nd (depending on how long we stop to visit my older son, James, and his daughter).

After Christmas, we will remain flexible and wait to hear what David is going to do. Naturally, we want to see him, but where remains an open question. Then we will come back to the Texas Hill Country sometime after the new year.

In spite of all the uncertainty and stress over the past week, we are actually close to meeting the same travel schedule we had in mind before all this happened with David. That’s pretty amazing.

I may not be able to update our travel calendar before we hit the road, since that may need to be done from my desktop computer, which is currently stowed away for travel, but you can go by the description in this post if you’re interested in our whereabouts.

Merry Christmas, y’all!

In my last post, you read about my son being injured while serving in Afghanistan. He’s doing well after several surgeries on his arm, which took a ball bearing from a suicide vest. He is expected to make a full recovery although it will take time to rebuild the muscles he lost and let the shattered bone heal. He is still in hospital in Germany, and may decide to wait until after the New Year to come back to the States on convalescent leave. Sadly, some of his men were not as lucky. Two died, and two others are in hospital with him, one in very serious condition. I suspect one reason he doesn’t want to leave yet is so he can be there for his wounded troops.

So we are proceeding under the assumption that he will not be on this side of the pond for at least five or six days. Since we could be in Georgia or Florida by then, and since David has asked to be sent to a hospital closer to home (Huntsville, Alabama for him) than Walter Reed if he has to recouperate stateside, we might as well drive and be closer to his destination as well as within reach of the rest of the family’s holiday gatherings. It is not likely that he will come to Ft. Sam Houston for rehab since it’s just as far from his home of record as Walter Reed, so sitting here in Canyon Lake isn’t accomplishing anything.

Well, I shouldn’t say we aren’t accomplishing anything. I’ve been busily whacking away at bits of copper, making presents for Christmas, and Phil has got the car and RV registered in Texas now. Tomorrow we plan to get our drivers licenses before we hit the road Thursday, and we will try to do a bit of Christmas shopping as well. Those who normally receive presents from us by mail may have to be more patient than usual this year, but we’re working on it!

We have been getting ready to head east to share the holidays with family, but didn’t expect to be seeing my younger son, who’s been in Afghanistan since Spring. However, this morning I got a call from his dad saying that David has been injured, and would be heading Stateside after surgery in Kandahar and a side trip to Germany. He will go to (probably) Walter Reed from there, then head home for a couple of months of recovery. It goes without saying that we are immensely thankful it’s not any worse. He talked to his girlfriend today, who said he sounded strong and in good spirits. Now we are just waiting to hear where he will be before we make further plans.

Meanwhile, we got the Z-car registered in Texas last week, and had the RV inspected and insurance transferred in preparation for Phil to get tags for it today. I got some good pictures this morning of a couple of our neighbors here at the Summit Resort:

We arrived at Canyon Lake safely last week, in spite of a little excitement — I managed to break off the valve stem on one of my car’s tires when trying to add air to it during one of our stops. Luckily, it was one of the wheels that rode on the tow dolly, so we just left it alone until we got here, then on the way to the RV park, stopped at a local auto supply place. I’d called them a few hours earlier to make certain they did that kind of work, which totally confused the guys who wondered why someone from Waco was coming all the way down there to get a tire repaired! They had to order a part — the pressure sensor — which they promised would arrive by 8 a.m. the next day, so they put the spare on for us, and I drove to the Summit ahead of Phil in the RV, to register at the office and find our temporary home in our member’s only RV park. [n.b. Edited to add the next sentence.] As promised, they had the part next morning and everything on the Z-car is back to normal now.

It’s beautiful here, and the weather is wonderful. While others are writing about blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, we’ve been enjoying the warm, balmy evenings, like the one shown here:

I snapped this on my iPhone while talking to my sister, wishing her a happy birthday. The cellphone reception is rather poor here in the park, since we’re between two hills, so I had to step outside the RV to get a better signal. But that was no hardship since the evening was so perfect, about 72°F, windless and clear. Thanks to a cold snap last weekend, there were no mosquitos, either. It doesn’t get much better.

Of course, it won’t last. In fact, after I wrote the previous paragraph, I got a “Special Weather Alert” saying that mass of cold, Canadian air would be getting here tomorrow morning, and will result in a hard freeze for at least two days. Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted. Anyway, it will feel more like Thanksgiving with a chill in the air, and we won’t have to run the air conditioner while the turkey is roasting.

Yes, we will be roasting a little (10#) bird this year, instead of making a crockpot turkey breast, like Phil did last year, with 2 cups of white wine, a bouquet garni of savory herbs, and a little water. That was wonderful, but the local grocer didn’t have any breasts, just whole birds. I was lucky to find one small enough for our convection/microwave, but I think this one will fit with no problem. It’s my first attempt at a roasted turkey in this oven, but it will probably just fine. Certainly bread and cookies have turned out well baked in it, and as long as I can fit the pan in it, there should be no problem.

So, I hope everyone reading this has/had a happy turkey day, and that you remember as we do how fortunate we are to live in a beautiful world.

It has been a long haul, but we are finally just about ready to leave ol’ St. Joe. One last trip to the house to pick up stuff from the freezer, one last trip to the store for last-minute items, put the car on the trailer, and we’ll be out of here tomorrow, at last!

This is the latest we have ever left town heading south in the Fall, but we have been busy the whole time. The house is finally on the market (see the listing and visual tour here, and the RV is just about packed up and ready to roll. It sure was nice having it under cover this summer, in Naomi & Bill’s new brood mare barn! No ladybugs, no mice, and no UV damage this year, thanks to that. It was kind of dusty when we picked it up, but that was before a day and night of rain yesterday and last night that rinsed off most of it. Up till then, the weather has been unseasonably beautiful, clear and crisp, and now it’s getting sunny again. It’s no wonder we took so long to leave. Now, though, it has turned cold, so it is definitely time to go.

As late as it is, we have to go to Texas before heading to Florida for the holidays, which means we probably will not get there for Thanksgiving this year. It’s important to establish residency in our new home (and my native state) this year, to avoid paying Missouri’s income tax and exorbitant taxes on the RV again next year. That means once we get there, we need to get new drivers licenses and register the vehicles, and send change of address notification to the voter registrar here in Missouri so they will take us off their jury duty rolls. Of course, we’ll register to vote in Texas instead, but I think we can do that when we get new drivers licenses, at least that’s the way it works in many states. We already have changed our address with many companies, with only a few left that don’t have provisions for doing that online, mostly small banks. Phil talked to the postmistress in Fischer yesterday, who told him we have a nice basketful of mail waiting for us there. (We got a post office box there before we left in June, so it would be available for changing our address before leaving here.) She also said the Colonel (The Summit subdivision developer) hasn’t done anything about putting up mailboxes at The Summit at Fischer yet, so I guess that’s something we need to talk to his office about when we’re there. At least I was able to give our lot’s address to some companies who require a physical address as well as a post office box, like banks, even though there isn’t a listing for it with the post office yet (since there’s no mailbox). The Homeland Security requirements can be a bit of a hassle in that regard, but I guess we’re stuck with them. I hope we can use it to get drivers licenses, since they also won’t accept a P.O. box as a “real” address.

We will probably stay at The Summit’s RV resort before going to Florida, but after we get back, since there’s a two-week limit in their RV park, we will probably use the facilities at Ft. Sam Houston Recreation Area (FSHRA) on Canyon Lake. They have full hookups, free WiFi, and a 30-day limit instead of just two weeks. Once the 30 days are up, we can move across Jacobs Creek Road to the Randolph AFB Canyon Lake Rec Area, or back to The Summit before returning to FSHRA. Since the house is on the market, we won’t be back until closing, to move our stuff to storage in Texas. I guess now we are officially fulltime RVers until we get our house built, or at least until we have enough done to move the RV to our lot, anyway. Once we start building, the covenant says we must complete construction within two years, so we have to wait until the Missouri house is sold before starting on the new one, just in case it takes years to sell.

So, we’re now in the RV at the local campground that we’ve used as a staging area in the past, just about ready to go. Nick, Phil’s grandson, is shampooing the carpets and mopping floors in the house today, and the Realtor is holding an open house there tomorrow. We still have a few things to stow in the storage bins under the RV, and I haven’t been to the store yet, but once those are accomplished we just need to put the car on the trailer and we’re out of here. Texas, here we come!