HALFWAY BENCH

9/29/19

Got Rolled

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama to
 Morton, Ms
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolled Date: September 29.

The OFM and Team got rolling this morning right at 0800. The first rolling in five months took a bit of getting used to. There are automatics that don’t happen when the OFM has not been towing for a while. He quickly recalled the little things like the extra room for turns. Nothing got hurt but there are new tracks in the sand at the first corner. Over all we got in the 275 miles with no troubles at all.

By 1430 we were in our nest for the night and the 120v power was wonderful since it was 94 outside. This really nice campsite at Roosevelt State Park in Morton, Ms is quite comfortable and easy to back into.




The first thing we noticed or actually heard is all the noise the migratory geese are making. I hope they quieten down for the night. There seems to be a lot of them scattered around the lake. Here is a picture from just down the hill form the Castle.




The OFM decided to take a lake picture while he was down there since the hill is steep and high and he did not want to climb it but once.




There is not a lot of fall in the trees or bushes yet. However there was a couple of limbs overhanging the lake that had some color.




On the other side of the lake is tent camping areas. This motorcycle rider seems to have found himself a nice spot for the night.




Now the OFM is going to rest a lot since he found that the long driving hours ability he used to have five months ago have disappeared. He wants to be sure he is ready for our 308 mile roll tomorrow in search of a place for having tooooo much fun.

9/28/19

3-D Printing

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolling Date: September 29.

The OFM and Team got to the grand kids home right on time. The door was answered and you could tell something exciting was going on. It seems that the OFM’s son is attending a work education class on programming and using 3D printers. So all the family was really into seeing the new printer at work.



It is definitely interesting to see in action.  The OFM and his son had some educational information swapping going with the OFM doing most of the receiving. Then it was off to lunch and a bit of outside time with grand daughter Piper involving slides and sticks to whop things with.

All too soon it was time to head back to the Castle for the start of the getting ready to roll.

All that is left to do outside is put the electrical cord and door mat away. Then after breakfast the inside things will be put into their proper riding locations and we will finally be rolling again after five months here in Decatur. It has been a very nice but very hot five months.



Now we are going somewhere else for trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/27/19

Fantastic Surprise

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolling Date: September 29 again.

The OFM walked through the door to Lawlers BBQ and several voices shouted out “Hello Barney”.  He responded cheerfully as he approached the counter. Suddenly there was another of the ladies there with a Lawlers tee shirt. The OFM is wondering what is going on. Well it got a lot more exciting about then. The ladies had a Lawlers tee shirt for the OFM and they had written nice messages on it for him about they are going to miss him when he rolls out Sunday. WOW the OFM was astounded.

Then he was informed that today’s lunch was on the house. This was a fantastic send-off for sure. The folks and the OFM gathered in a group and a nice customer took our picture. 



This group of nice ladies certainly made the OFM feel wonderful. Yep it will be a special return to Decatur when the latest meandering is put to rest. This was a day to remember for a long time and smile big.

The Teams instructed the OFM that tonight is the night to display his latest painting. This one took a lot of careful effort in hopes the blossom would look good. The OFM found out that crepe myrtle blossoms are really difficult and tedious to paint. The branches were a lot of education and re-do work also.  It was done completely in watercolor pencil and loads of fun.




As you can tell this was a great day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/26/19

Trash Can Full

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolling Date: September 29 again.


Mr. Sore Body is now Mr. Sore Knee. The right knee is still a little swollen and definitely painful, especially on steps.  But the OFM kept on gently moving and through the day improvements  were noticed.

While stocking up at the grocery store the OFM saw the same sign that has been there for a month and finally paid attention that it applied to him.  Time for a flu shot. So he headed over to the pharmacy and received his free flu shot. Then it was $40 to leave the store with the groceries for the beginning of our travels.

The weather has chosen our route west to be I-20 for the first few days. The camping places we were thinking of trying on I-40 were flooded when we checked on their status. But rolling is still on schedule for Sunday morning.

Since the OFM knee was being difficult we decided to clean out the exterior access cabinets. Here is the one at the right rear of the Castle after we had a big pile taken out. It had so much junk that sometimes a bunch would fall out when the door was opened.



In the picture what does not show is the medium size pile on the picnic table also.

Each and every item was carefully considered for a place back in the Castle. Many things were left from times of the past when what we did was different. With the OFM decrepitness of the last two years advancing like it has, a good bit of stuff was no longer needed. When this cabinet was finished, there was some extra room in it. Hmmm.




The stuff gone away filled an outside trash can about half full. By the time we finished the other two outside access cabinets the trash can was full and a few things lay in the bed of Sierra. A short trip to the campground dumpsters was a successful good riddance to the excess baggage.

In the Spring these leaves used to be all erect and perky and the berries all bright and shiny. 


 Now they are a good example of how the OFM was feeling when we finished the re-organization today. Droopy, wrinkled and old.

Friday is finish the get ready as much as possible. Then Saturday is go to the grand kids house for a rousing time of trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/25/19

Dining Room Signs

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolling Date: September 29 again.


Mr. Sore Body started the day decently but about a mile and a half into the walk his right leg said to him “WE ARE TURNING BACK!” and we did. The pain is in the front of his lower leg about four inches long and a little bit below his knee cap. We are guessing a damaged body part from the intimate communion with Mother Earth. Anyway the rest of the day was take it easy day.

So what does he call taking it easy. The Castle get ready for rolling was started. The big thing was to get the on board water system purified for travel. It has been five months since we used the fresh water holding tank and its piping. The OFM likes to chlorinate that system a few times a year and today was one of them.

The holding tank was drained empty.

A half gallon of bleach was poured into the tank and them the tank was half filled. The stab jacks were lifted to allow the Castle to be rocked some to make sure the tank water and bleach mixed decently.

Next the on board pump was turned on and some of the heavy chlorination was pumped through the water lines. 
Pump off and the tank filled the rest of the way. 

Now let the whole system ferment while you go have a great pork salad at Lawler’s where they have these neat signs in the dining room.




When you get back drain the freshwater tank and flush it well. While flushing the tank, turn on the pump and all the faucets and flush the water lines also.

When the faucets no longer smell of the chlorine, turn them all off. Let the main fresh water tank fill up.

At this point the OFM likes to put the Teams into camping mode for water and not off the public water supply. That way we get back into the mode of low water usage. Additionally we get to find out if any trouble has came along since last April 28 when we set up camp here at Point Mallard.

The OFM likes to travel with near minimum water weight when we can. Since we know that due to the hot weather we will have hookups for the first three days of travel, we will be traveling with about ten gallons of fresh water each day is all.

After the third night we do not know what is next so we will start adjusting to full freedom travel mode and that is a great way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/24/19

Mr. Sore Body

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
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Mr. Sore Body  forced his body out of the bed a bit later than usual this morning. Two handsful of ibuprofen to start the day was first on the list. But hunger soon took over and he prepared sausage and eggs for energy for the dreaded morning walk.

However once out on the trail and loosened up he performed very well. Pictures are getting to be in short supply right now but we did come home with three.

We have told of the way the trails loop around and rejoin each other to let the trail users have lots of options for their fun. We think this is the most trails at a junction in the system.  Each sign is the start of another loop. At places along the loop will be other loops linked.  So it makes for a good system so you do not have to take the same exact trail every day. Our guess is that you can put together about six different long walks/bike rides before you have to repeat very much trail.



Mr. Sore Body did have to occasionally slow down for a bit and sometimes do some massaging on a spot or three. This nice bit of red foliage was at one of the massage spots. The picture did not quite capture the red glow the sunlight was producing. 

With the sore spot attended we headed on around the bend so to speak. There are a lot of bends on these trails.

Over near a slough was some grasses blowing in the breeze that had spider webs strung between them. Mr. Sore Body thought that the view was neat so he worked hard at getting a picture of the spider webs in spite of the grass heads blowing around. We think he did Good for a change.




He was a bit slow for the last half mile back to the Castle but we took it easy on him with the whip since he is injured. Tomorrow will be no mercy so he better get healed fast.  We want him full speed tomorrow when we are out trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/23/19

Thank You Army

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama


We had a good walk this morning. Then the cool off and a fresh shower to finish the morning. A few chores and some goofing off followed. The afternoon was beautiful and warm but not really hot.

The OFM decided to cross the street and play some golf. We got in seven holes.  The other two golf holes were blocked up with extremely large groups piddling around.

About a hundred years ago the OFM was sent to Army Infantry school. In that school we spent a good amount of time learning to fall properly to minimize injuries.  He got very tired of that part of the school but it has been a valuable asset in the years since.

Today his automatic reaction saved the day. As he was hurrying to the green on hole 2 with clubs in hand, his right foot caught the cart path curb and he started the splatter fall. However the hammered into him training went into effect and he did a near perfect roll  alongside a tree in the dirt and tree roots. It is hard to roll well while holding three golf clubs, but he survived without any serious blood leakage.  

However there was a good bonk on the head by something. No cuts or scrapes were evident on his head so we guess it was the very hard dried clay. He lay on the ground a few moments counting the things that still worked. Fingers, feet, legs etc. Everything seemed to be in working order except for the stars in his vision. Sort of like the light show of a migraine headache.

All parts were accounted for and the attempt of rising began. It went well. And after another few moments of sitting in the golf cart and everything seemed to be OK, we headed onto hole 3 with a promise of being more careful.

It was an attempt at a severe splatter fall that failed thanks to the Army training. The OFM is hoping that in the morning the amount of sore body parts will be minimal.  Sore body parts can get in the way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/22/19

Early Sun

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.


The walk started very early this morning. The air was nicely brisk. As we turned the corner heading out of the campground trees this was the sunrise greeting us across the soccer fields. Now this is a good way to start the day isn’t it.



As the walk continued onward it seemed that a new sun scene happened every three minutes. All of them were beautiful. It was as if Alabama was celebrating the Teams soon rolling on down the road.

It was surprising how many folks were out and about before 0700 this morning. A nice fellow came riding up on his recumbent tricycle. His name was Bob. We visited a minute or two and then 91 year old Bob briskly peddled on down the path. WOW!

We hit the path along the creek and more pictures kept on climbing into the camera. Every opening in the tree line gave a new morning picture. The air was calm and the water assisted in making the pictures better. 

Out of all the pictures we chose this 3 suns picture for our readers to enjoy. The top sun is the real sun. The lower two are reflections from the water. the gold color is what the real sun caused. The OFM did no modifying except one cropping. It is a beautiful scene and there were several before the walk was over.



The walk was wonderful and we made good time all the way back to the Castle. It was visit the family day and we had a good time of it. Lunch was at Zoe’s in Huntsville where the OFM has a Gruben sandwich with potato salad side. Both of the items are really good.  Needless to say it was a very satisfying meal. Gavin shared a huge chocolate chip cookie with the family. From the grins all around it must have been very good also.

Piper and Gavin are learning very fast about trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/21/19

Alligator

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolling date: CANCELLED

It was reasonably cool for walking this morning. The bugs were elsewhere. The pace was good and the howdys to the folks on the trails were frequent and friendly. We were making good time until we got to the spot master fisherman Theo was fishing. Naturally the OFM had to talk fishing with Theo. Here is the largest catfish Theo had caught.



That is Theo on the left and dinner on the right.

We continued on along the trail. The woods are looking quite a bit different now that they are thinning out and preparing for winter. The neat pictures are getting less frequent than in the recent past.

On the way back from the beloved turning point there was a young couple pointing out the alligator floating in the water to their young son.



It gives the OFM Teams a lot more “confidence” in eye witness accounts of things that happen. We are sure that the “alligator” will not be attacking anyone in the near future. At least they were out enjoying nature this morning.

As of this afternoon the rolling date has been eliminated for now. We will repost it when the changes have been resolved.  In the meantime we will be busily trying to have tooooo much fun here in Decatur. 

9/20/19

Way Too Busy

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolling date: September 29.

It has been a hectic day for the OFM Teams. Between talking and emailing and getting some things ready for rolling we have not had much of a calm moment anywhere. 

However a quick stop at the grocery yielded a big bunch of pork chops from the end of the hunk since they were not pretty. However the OFM Teams knife made it into good size and shape chunks for pork chop stoup.



It is 2150 right now with a half hour of simmer time to go yet. But good grief, the sampling indicates it will be better than excellent. There was enough pig that we will get two batches of pork chop based meals and that sounds very good to the OFM.

It is time for more stirring.  So everyone have fun and keep your eyes open to ways of trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/19/19

New Muscles Again

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolling date: September 29.

The OFM was given a great opportunity to relearn an old lesson AGAIN. Fast walking uses a good set of muscles and it is a large set of muscles. The first couple of weeks after he started the “speed walking” the OFM “noticed” some of his muscles were needing some training time before they would respond well to the speed walking efforts.

Today he decided to take Sweet Ride the bike out for a spin through the woods and other places. He has been very diligent on the walking so riding will be easy.

 WRONG AGAIN AS USUAL. First off biking is way more aerobic than fast walking. He was huffing and puffing within a couple of minutes of starting the ride. Keep in mind he is planning SLOW riding since in many places loose gravel is involved. So most of the ride was at a pace about as slow as he could keep his balance well.

We rode the trail along the water line and noticed it has a lot more uphill and downhill places than we recalled noticing during walking. By the end of the hour ride a new set of muscles were explaining the error of his ways to him. Yep the ride was finished with the realization that a new set of muscles were now in training. 

Now all he has to do is keep up the riding and walking to keep on losing the BIG BELLY FAT that gets in the way nowdays.

For fun, the OFM has started another water color painting.   It did not take long for the OFM to reach a point in the painting that he cannot do.  Now he is working on figuring out how to do that portion of the painting decently, but we know he will likely mess it up. However the most important thing is he is back to having a great time trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/18/19

G rock's Meander

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolling date: September 29.

Gavin Rock has been requesting a trip with the OFM on one of his morning walks. He says Grandson Gavin would like to see what the woods are like in this area. Since the OFM thought that it would be a slow and short walk during the illness recovery, today was elected a meander instead of a exercise walk. It was a good call.

First we stopped at the exercise table to allow the OFM to do his shoulder exercises to keep his repaired shoulder in good shape. Gavin Rock (G rock) looked close at the weights and decided he wanted no part of them.

Weights


Next we headed on out of the campground to the start of the short trail that connects to several other loops. It is a nice starting trail. Here is G rock checking out the path ahead.

Starting Trail


The trail comes out near where five other trails meet. It also comes out at the culvert under the maintenance road for the main slough that goes into the campground. From here you can see the nice bridge that lots of folks fish from for perch.

Fishing Bridge


Next we headed on down the main trail to Flint Creek.  As the trail makes a left turn there is a break in the tree line so we paused for G rock to see the creek and I-65 way over there to the left.

Flint Creek


Then we meandered on along the trail for about 3/4 mile and turned left to another slough for G rock to see the big attraction for the area. The Alligator signs.



G rock climbed right up onto the sign and sat there panting watching for any sign of an alligator. He was afraid one would shake the sign post and eat him when he fell. He soon thought he was ready to head home but he was so pooped that he stayed in the OFM’s pocket and napped all the way home.

When we got back to the Castle, G rock told me that he thinks Gavin will really like this adventure. 

Sure enough we had a monster waiting for us when we got back. It was on the table near the weights.

The Monster


G rock squealed like a silly little girl and backed into the OFM’s pocket to hide. The OFM took G rock inside and G rock was so tired he went to sleep immediately.  We hope he thought it was a good way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/17/19

Beach Scene

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolling date: September 29.

Today  was basically an inside the Castle and stay home day for the OFM. It is called intestinal distress.  The good part is he got lots of computer time to look up things, play with possible art projects on the computer and generally  do nothing worth while.

However he did come up with some wild pictures while playing with color balances he knows nothing about. How about this beach scene from down in Texas!



And now it is time to shut down and prepare for a wild day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/16/19

Howdy Sunshine

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click the pictures to enlarge them.
Rolling date: September 29.

The morning was not hot but only slightly warm. Maybe that could be because we were out and moving before the sun cleared the tree tops. The longer route across the parking lots was the morning choice and the plan was to hit a longer route since the OFM was feeling decent for a change.

The walking trail came into view in the early morning dim light and down the little hill we went. It was very pleasant as we sauntered down the path. But before long the sun was clearing the tree tops and here it came through this tree opening.



The water is very calm and minnows were pecking the surface for whatever they were eating. Really it was a nice start to the day.

The pace quickened a bit as the OFM's legs loosened up. We made the dip in the trail and the S curve through a thick stand of trees and then along an open field on the left and the line of trees on the right. At the left hand turn the direct sunlight was sneaking through the trees and bounding upward from the reflections on the water. It was a nice sight as you can see.



We moved on along the tree line alongside the slough that runs back through the trees into the campground. At one spot a trail crosses the slough by way of a concrete bridge and apparently the sun thought we should go that direction. The sunlight really brightened the fork in the trail to show us the bridge route.



We thanked the sun but headed straight ahead on the longer route around the slough.  After just a short distance more the sun had climbed rapidly and the temperature began a fast rise until it was nearly hot.

 Along the way this picture was taken to show the falling lake level. During the winter the lake level is lowered a few feet.  From the lake website we found out the lake has been lowered about a foot. 



In the above picture the line shows where the lake level was yesterday and you can see where it is this morning.

The walk finished up with a very sweaty OFM who was feeling good at the finish. Tired but good.  After cooling down and the wonderful cleansing shower we had about an hour and a half of piddling with several thoughts before hitting up Lawlers BBQ for a pork salad that is always great or better. It was better today.

And that is one way to have a great morning of trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/15/19

Persimmon?

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
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A hot humid walk was underway this morning when the OFM noticed the fruit on the trail.



The best guess he has is that it is persimmons.  This one was about an inch in diameter. High up in the tree there were lots of  much larger fruits waiting for a target to come by. They chose to leave us alone today but tomorrow we will be watching for trouble.

And that was the hi-lite of the day. Later in the afternoon the OFM decided assuming the horizontal for a while was the best way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/14/19

Nest?

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
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Sierra was getting some get ready to roll attention. The OFM was checking vital fluids levels and tire tread situation and some other things.  During the vital fluids checking he did his usual check the front of the radiator for blockages like old plastic bags he found once.

Well he got a big surprise when he looked behind the grill.




That black circle marks the location of where a critter nest about half the size of a basketball used to be. It was huge. It blocked a good chunk of radiator and filled the cavity between the fender wall and the grill and the radiator mount. 

The OFM was not a happy truck owner at this moment. After checking for a way to get into that area from the top or bottom and finding no way, he tried reaching through the grill.  Yep his hand fit through an opening just fine..... but his fist did not.

Now the chore was started and all the Team members hoped there was not critter hiding in the nest to cause blood flow.  The OFM pulled a chunk to the grill opening. Then wrestled the chunk with his finger tips until it came through the grill opening. Repeat, repeat, repeat until the last large chunk got to the grill. This chunk was not packed as tight as the others and  the OFM got it to come through the opening in three pieces.  In the next picture that is the one on top. The two other small ones were parts of the last chunk at first but tore loose trying to come through the grill opening.




After the last piece came out is when the OFM finally remembered to take a photo or two.  What made the nest and we are guessing it was a nest effort. There are lots of tree rats around here or it could have been built at one of our stops on the way here last April.  We will never know. And by the way, cleaning out stuff like that is not on the OFM’s list of great things for trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/13/19

Kung Fu Turtle

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
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The OFM was making his way along the path in the hot sweltering weather when ANOTHER shoe boulder made its way into his shoe. He got lucky this time and a thinking bench was close by. His massive fat bulk was flopped down and then he ripped the shoe off his foot.

The rock boulder was barely big enough to see but we know it weighed over 37 pounds when it is in a shoe.  As he was cleaning his sock to make sure the irritation sock stickers was also all gone, he noticed how the ground rock powder from all the traffic on the trail records all the folks that pass by. No matter the shoe or tire or even a bare foot, they all leave a record of passing along and the OFM is mixed in it all. That sort of sounds profound if you think about it.



There is a nice turtle log near the shore in a spot. It frequently has several LARGE turtles on it. For today the toughest and smallest turtle in the lake ran the others off. It is in total command of the log as you can tell.



So naturally the OFM has to get down on his massive tummy and slither over nearer to the water to attempt to get a closer picture of the KUNG FU KING little turtle. Little did the OFM know Sir Turtle has a body guard keeping watch over things. As the OFM slithers even closer he is suddenly confronted by the viscous body guard suddenly appearing from the foliage near the water. 



The “discussion” is very short and the OFM takes a quick picture and leaves a trail in the grass that even a blind statue could follow. Maybe the OFM will be more careful in the future.

Some days it is a very interesting trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/12/19

Barely Started

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
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The OFM got out of bed and piddled around for a bit then the Teams jumped on him about getting ready for the walk while it was still less that HOT. So he minded and we got out the door.

When we got to the end of the campground road and turned on the maintenance road for the soccer fields we were hit right in the nose with notice that fall has begun. Yesterday this bush was nice green all over. Just look at it now.



The walk continued in warm, humid no breeze conditions but we all finished in decent form. Along the is a tree in less than the best shape. Today there is a black fungus on the trunk of the tree about ten feet above ground. Here is a picture from a few feet away.



Then as we passed a couple of feet from the tree, the OFM got this closer picture of the bottom section of the black fungus. This is the first time the OFM can recall seeing a black colored fungus.



We return to the campground most of the time on a different route than we leave. As we return to the campground on this alternate route we are greeted by a very enthusiastic guard trying to make sure EVERY ONE IN THE STATE knows someone is walking by. And she does a good job of it.



The OFM did some house cleaning and putting things away today. He is getting started on the rolling get ready. Some traveling food was purchased and a food list was started so he has somewhere to write down our needs since there is no way he could remember it. Good Grief he even has OLD FAT MAN lettered on the bathroom mirror so he can find out who he is every morning.

Meanwhile we plan on getting is some golf practice for a little while tomorrow. The OFM finds that a decent way of trying to have tooooo much fun. 

9/11/19

Pretty Beach Picture

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click a picture to enlarge it.

It was a little after 0100 when the migraine exploded in the OFM’s head. He treated it appropriately and finally the last time he looked at the clock before he went back to sleep the clock said 0415. But he still out of bed by 0730 getting ready for the morning walk. He correctly figured it would be a slow and shortened walk and he was right.

One white flower volunteered to be the Queen of the camera today.  At least it is a pretty flower and her court.



With a bum head the OFM took it really easy and spent productive time chasing goals for the upcoming travel. We agreed on several places and are making notes since the OFM has no memory anymore.

The Padre Island National Seashore had some very nicely presented pictures on their website. This is one of the pictures that was on the website and we understand it is available to copy to our blog and give them credit for the picture. Some times of the year it is really pretty like this.



I wonder if he will actually take us down there this year. Who knows but is does look like a nice place for trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/10/19

Pancake

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click a picture to enlarge it.


Warm, still and humid but the OFM pressed onward and made it for three miles. Make that three very sweaty miles. A couple of fungi pictures was all we grabbed.



This one is the pancake fungus. We have no idea if it tastes good but we are definitely not the right fool to try it out.

Then down along the water was this pair of glowing toad stools. The tops of them seemed to glow brightly when the sunlight would hit them.


 

Then we started to get things organized for rolling in two weeks. Planning of routes, food and places to NOT miss as we meander. As we get westerly the opportunity for free camping at small Texas towns goes way up.  We plan to check out some of them.

Doing some boondocking at Malaquite campground on Padre Island is starting to sound better every day. Then in the cold weather time maybe it is time to visit Falcon State Park again. The OFM caught some nice Large Mouth Bass there in the past. 

Another option is the county park with free camping right outside the state park at Falcon Heights.  It does get down to 45 degrees in the winter so we have to be prepared for that excessively frigid cold. What the reality is that no matter how much he studies the maps and reports, the OFM can’t seem to make up his mind about anything. So for now we are looking at 3000 miles of meandering between leaving now and returning next year for more grand kid tickling sessions.

By the way if you did not know it, grand kid tickling sessions are a great way of trying to have tooooo much fun (and sleep extra good that night).

9/9/19

Grandpa and Gavin

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click a picture to enlarge it.


A cooler morning led to a nicer walk of longer duration and distance. It was really pleasant out in the woods.  This picture of what might be a heron was almost the only one taken. Fall is taking the picture opportunities and hiding them. 

This particular bird was not people or camera shy. It fact when the camera came into action it seemed to take a nicer pose. Then it changed poses slightly every thirty seconds or so. We chose this pic to publish.



The grandparents day event at Gavin’s school was really nice. His teacher was excellent about getting pictures of the events for memories. Here is the OFM (aka grandpa) and super star Gavin having a great time.



Now to clarify an item about the OFM Teams. Since we announced a rolling date we have had  readers and other folks ask similar questions that indicated an assumption that is not correct. So to attempt to clarify things here goes the details.

The OFM Teams are NOT major or exclusively  Boondockers.  Nor are we campgrounds with hookups only RVers. We are as our name says Adventurers. We boondock or use campgrounds as the situation fits. The boondocking capability is so that we can go to places without hookups and stay for extended times. We do not and never have let lack of one style or the other get in the way of an adventure. Having solar panels on the roof of the Castle does not mean we refuse to pay for a campsite with hookups. It also means that the OFM is not willing to put up with excessive “roughing it” when we are on an adventure.

We hope that clearly presents the reality of the Teams. And now we are going back to trying to have tooooo much fun.

9/8/19

Burrito Piper

Adventure Location: Decatur, Alabama
Click a picture to enlarge it.


The walk this morning was shortened due to heat and humidity. When the OFM returned he sat for several minutes in front of the desk fan to cool down some.  Even when we took Sweet Ride, the bike, out for a gentle spin late this afternoon it was still hot. Not much happened outside for the entire day.

But yesterday the OFM went to the grands and all the folks there hit up an Outback restaurant. The food was OK but it will not be a regular place for the OFM.

Back at the house the OFM learned how to make a burrito out of a blanket and a grand daughter. She would pretend to go to sleep and her mother would wrap her up in a blanket like a burrito. Then Piper would “wake up” and figure out how to roll out of the blanket.



 It was a laughing good time.

Back at the Castle, the finishing touches were put on latest painting. The OFM is still learning but he does seem to be getting the idea in general.



Maybe this is a hint of some of the locations we hope to visit next month as we make our way around the western area of the USA.

One thing for certain he really likes painting desert scenes as a way of trying to have tooooo much fun.