Two Toe Track

 

Adventure Location: Falcon State Park, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-24-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

The OFM is getting in LOTS of walking. In fact he wore out about 1400 and flopped onto the bed and passed out for an hour this afternoon.

This morning we encounterd a damp spot in a trail (actually we encountered lots of stuff) that had tracks of wildlife in it. We have been reading about another blogger having encounters with ostriches. She said those birds have two toes. Then we find these two toes tracks. Do you think we have ostriches in this area?

Winter was a long way away today. By noon we had 84F and bright sun again.

The OFM went to the Falcon County Park free camping area to visit an old friend, Rick. We found him and had wonderful conversation for a couple of hours. Like the OFM he is trying to figure out where to go next when it warms up a bit. We are both thinking north on the Rio Grande would be best. Rick has a new blue heeler puppy to occupy him. Shawnee is a really nice pup.

Then when we got back to the Castle is when the OFM passed out for an hour.

The sky was looking like it would be good for sunset pictures this evening, so we meandered over to one of the picnic areas nearby to see what we could see. It was definitely a good sunset day.

This was getting near sunset and was pretty good.

Then soon after we got this shot up in the sky as the clouds and sun worked back and forth to make a great scene.

And we can't let the sun hog all the blog so here is the super clear sky moon out mooning the earth. The fuzziness is due to the hand held camera by the OFM.

Seems meandering south Texas can be a good way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Don't Fall

 

Adventure Location: Falcon State Park, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-23-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

Falcon State Park is a walking park with LOTS of different and pleasant trails, paths and roadways for your walking exercise. The OFM got his money's worth of walking today. Mostly this is a bring the kids to the park or bring the boat to the park. The lake is the biggest attraction. However after spending time here for decades, the OFM considers it an outstanding walking park. We are working up a blog about the trails and what they offer for a future blog.

Today the OFM went out to take a normal exercise walk. Well he got in about 2.1 miles before he had to rest. There is no flat trails here. They all are slightly uphill or slightly down hill. Even that little bit makes a big difference from the flat paths of the Rockpot Texas paths.

We ended up at the top of the boat ramp and took this picture from the top of the ramp.

Not too bad is it. So we went to the bottom to see what there was to see. A bunch of small animal tracks in the mud was the main attraction. Then the OFM looked up the ramp to go back up.! "Good grief it got steeper it looks like!”

Sure enough it was a lot steeper going up than coming down. We went up it at a much slower cadence of steps than coming down. Then the OFM had to go lean on a post and breathe for a little while. We are beginning to think the 74^th birthday a while back is starting to have an effect on him.

At one spot next to our path was a spider web covering a ant hole in the ground. We did not see any ants or spiders this morning but it looks like a spider is hoping for a feast soon.

And we are now up to about 0900 for today and still have lots to talk about. But it will have to wait for tomorrow to tell more stories about trying to have tooooo much fun.

Sunshine and Blue Skies

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-22-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

The day started with sunshine and blue skies and got better from there. By noon the mud was mostly dried enough to walk on without sinking in on our morning walk. It will take a day or two to regain our knowledge of the park trails. Once today we came out at an unexpected spot and had to regroup. But the walking was very nice. We even managed to stay out of the two inch thorns in the bushes along the trails.

We made a pass by the Butterfly Garden but some sort of activity was going on there so we will visit another day for pictures.

Out on another trail we managed to get a nice view of the very low lake and Mexico on the far side. It was about 80F by this time and dry. WOW.

Then it was over to the county park to visit old friends boondocking there. We talked so much that the camera in the OFM's pocket was forgotten about. So no pics from that event.

Back at the Castle we pulled out a 2x8 we had salvaged from floating in the bay waters at Rockport. The OFM short saw was put to work and we now have several nice new to us leveling boards for the Castle. The old boards are over ten years old and some are still in working shape. But it was time for a few new ones to join the gang.

Overall it was a very pleasant gentle day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

A New Thought Happened And It Feels Good

 

Adventure Location: Falcon State Park, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-21-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

The stress knot in the OFM stomach was a needless worry. Everything rolled just right all day and we safely arrived at the Mexico border about 1330.

After a few miles the OFM realized that an Arctic Fox in your rear view mirror was a wonderful view.

Yep we needed to roll for sure. Even the rainy roads all the way to Falcon Lake did not diminish the wonderful feeling of just plain old rolling down the highway.

The campsite that we are in was a muddy mess due to all the rains this area has had in the last two weeks. The desert dust of years past was mud about an inch deep. But the air is dry and wonderful.

Our wild critter for the day was this horrid attack creature that spreads fear in all directions it looks.

The sky this evening was a little less than spectacular but still interesting.

The State Park is under a 50% lockdown so only every other site is open. Looks like a nice quiet night before a big day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Rolling Preparation

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-20-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

Well here it is the night before rolling again after three months of sitting still. It has been long enough the OFM has been having trouble recalling how to do things and remembering what to do. But he thinks we are ready for the morning items to do before rolling.

Today we made sure that Sierra had the right amount of air pressure in its tires.

Then we added the trailering mirrors to the standard truck mirrors. And adjusted them to suit.

Finally we also checked the outside of the Castle for any loose items, especially around the LPG tanks on the tongue. Every thing seemed to be good.

So now it is a matter of waking in the morning and doing a great job of hooking up. Then pay the final bill and roll on farther south and west to Falcon State Park near Falcon Heights, Texas. Our search for trying to have tooooo much fun continues.

Finally Arrived

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-19-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

The good news is that the mail finally arrived only a few days later than expected AGAIN. Now we have turned in to the campground owner that we are for sure leaving next Thursday morning. So tomorrow is get it ready no matter what for rolling. All the Team members are ready for new sights again.

Speaking of sights, there was very few in this area today. The OFM was feeling very blah and the weather was also very blah. The OFM got in a bit of walking in spite of his personal blahs. Here is what the area looked like all day long after the front passed through in the night.

Even the birds seemed to have contracted a serious case of blahs. They did not really seem to want to fly around much when we were out in the area. These on the sandbar stayed like this for long time with very little activity.

The OFM also cleaned out some of the excess clothing and other little items. He put it on the free table in the laundry. Maybe by tomorrow some of the stuff will be gone to a new loving home.

All of the Team members are really looking forward to a new area for trying to have tooooo much fun.

Spring Growth Already

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-18-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

The day was fantastically beautiful. Sierra's outside temperature reading got all the way up to 75F in the afternoon. After the morning chores at Walmart we headed to the beach park for walking and general enjoyment of the SUN. Here is Sierra sun bathing to its best ability.

At one of the garden beds near the pavilion we spotted this palm tree putting out fresh spring growth. Maybe we really are finished with winter!

Over along the beach front we found this single seagull checking out the surfing situation. It still needed to go get its surfboard if it is going to hit the waves.

IF our mail shows up in time, Thursday we will be rolling west 125+ miles and south 100 miles to Falcon State Park on the Rio Grande River. We are not sure about the internet availability so our blog output may be spotty for a while. We are not stopping blogging, even though some think we should. We will be out recording our adventures for future blogs about us trying to have tooooo much fun.

Preparations Going Well

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-17-2021

The town was packed with weekenders for this holiday time. A big selling things event was going on at the harbor so that area was stacked up with folks. The Beach Park was full of folks just being beachy. Goose Island SP had a sign on the road that they were full and not even accepting day use guests.

The good news is that the OFM got in a decent effort at getting the Castle and Sierra ready for rolling Thursday morning. All the tires were checked on both vehicles and were just right on tire pressure and tread wear. We are really happy with the Goodyear Endurance tires on Sierra now.

A little cleaning on the inside of Sierra was finally done. The windows and windshield needed it the most. Engine fluids were checked and the wiper solution was topped off. Things are sure looking good for rolling if the mail comes in Tuesday or Wednesday.

The OFM says he has no idea where the time went but he is pooped tonight. No walk today since the community park was packed also.

We still plan on one more trip to the grocery to have as much things was we can for the first two weeks at Falcon. A couple of expensive very small groceries are close to the park but the closest Walmart is in Rio Grande City about 25 miles away. It is an easy trip there but the OFM is massively lazy.

Tonight we intend to find out if going to bed early is a good way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Dastardly Deed Done

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-16-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

We knew the dastardly deed needed to be done. We knew that today was the start of the get ready to roll time period. We knew the OFM would try to put it off, so we shamed him into doing the deed.

It had been over a year since the new refrigerator had been installed. The freezer was getting smaller from all the ice buildup inside it. We would be needing that space for food for our time at Falcon Lake. So the freezer was emptied and the fridge turned off for defrosting. Here is the ice formation resisting removal.

The OFM is actually pretty good at defrosting the freezer. It was only a 45 minute job this time in spite of the ice thickness of up to ¾ of an inch in places. He relatively soon was down to the last chunk on the back wall.

As the ice was removed from the freezer it was stacked carefully and accurately by throwing it into the kitchen sink. The pile was wonderful to see in the sink instead of the freezer.

When the freezer was wiped dry and then sanitized with a chlorine wipe down, our stored food was carefully placed back into the freezer. Here is how much room we have now.

We did find out that Old Shorty needs a step stool to access the back the freezer without pulling a muscle in his side. In fact he will soon need it when the upper cabinets clean out starts in the near future. We hope Walmart has what he needs. We may have to modify something so it is not too tall.

So now the entire refrigerator is ready for traveling so we can get busy heading for the Rio Grande River for trying to have tooooo much fun on Thursday.

Weird Critter in the Tree

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-15-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

What a beautiful day it was today, again!

Blue skies, cool temps and decently nice breeze. It is lovely winter weather we think.

The OFM body was liking the new shoe inserts so we put them to the test at the walking path in the Community Park. The OFM even kept up a little faster than usual pace for the whole three miles.

We were about fifteen minutes into the walk when the OFM uttered “What kind of caterpillar is that?” The rest of the Team said “ We have no idea, let's go look”. So we snuggled a bit closer to that side of the pathway and the OFM focused with all his might to make out what it was before we got too close to the many legged critter on the tree limb.

Finally we made it to identification range and the whole Team laughed. It was a lost hair clip applied to a live oak twig like and upside down caterpillar. We got a good laugh on ourselves out of this scene.

The walk started with a bit of chill in the air that soon turned into a perfect fast walking temperature. But when we made the turn to go past the far end of the main pond we just had to stop and grab this picture of a near perfect day.

We were still making a good pace when this strong fence post grabbed our attention since the vines seemed like they were trying to drag the post down. Those vines, we do not know the name of them, grow very quickly and cover nearly everything they get a chance to cover. Hmm The Teams wondered if it would make a good painting.

The walk finished well and we hit the Castle for a few minutes rest and some Ibuprofen for the knees. Soon it was lunch time and we headed for Whataburger. The OFM has a system for our lunches at Whataburger. We alternate each day between a Whataburger, Whatachicken sandwich and a Whatacatch fish sandwich. The fish is pollack we were told once. Then the free senior drink which for the OFM is unsweet tea. $5. Supposedly it averages out to about 550 calories each meal.

It has proven to be a very satisfying meal that nicely lasts until supper time for the OFM.

Sometimes a half hour nap when we get back to the Castle after lunch really tops off a wonderful day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Beach Time

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-14-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

What a beautiful day it was today. How beautiful was it? High of 75 with blue skies and bright sunshine. It was so nice that these folks were playing in the water at the beach park a bit before lunch time.

We took a trip after lunch to check out some fishing locations at Lighthouse Lakes Park. This is one of the places the shrimp boat channel can be accessed for fishing. That is the lighthouse out there across the saltwater marsh.

Yep it was gorgeous all day long.

Two days ago there was the bike rack picture that had a structure in the back ground. Here is the best the OFM Camera could do with a 32 power zoom and a little computer enlarging.

This might have been the end of winter here for this year. Having winter go away for the year already would be a wonderful way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

White Hot

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-13-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

We started the 33F morning with thermal underwear and a long sleeved shirt with a light jacket on top. The OFM was still chilled when we rolled out to the highway.

It was a trip to Academy Sports and Outdoors in Portland that was the goal. Of course, they were out of the item we wanted to purchase. So we checked out some cheap 40F sleeping bags to use inside the Castle when we boondock in colder weather. We plan on not camping in cold weather but sometimes things do not work out just right so we want to be able to be safe and comfortable. The choices at Academy were not really inviting so we headed out the door.

Good grief what a change in the weather. When we got back to the Castle off came the thermals and extra clothing. It was back to T-shirt weather. Bright sun and about 60F with no appreciable wind at all. The OFM loved it.

Back at the Castle the OFM checked out a couple of things as a start to the get ready to roll effort. Yep he decided that nowdays he really needs to make a list of things that needs to be checked. His memory is not so good any more. So he plans on starting a list tomorrow.

We also finished a small painting this afternoon. It is a 5”x7” size that was fun but a real difficult colored pencil effort as far as the blending is concerned. Please enjoy WHITE HOT.

Yep it was a good way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Crazy Mail Tracking

 

Adventure Location: Rockport, Texas

Adventure Date: 1-12-2021

Click the picture to enlarge.

Today started out very blah at best. It was too cold for an OFM walk, so we went to the Beach Park just to get outside some. The camera went along because any decent blogger ALWAYS has a camera with him.

Sure enough we noticed something we had not paid attention to in the past. A bicycle rack at the first pavilion caught our attention. Check out this appropriately shaped bike rack for a fishing area.

Back at the Castle the OFM checked on a package that was running late being delivered. According to the tracking it was still in California for four days and would finally get shipped out this way tomorrow. But we were in for a major surprise. It came in the mail TODAY. It was a wonderful surprise because it turned the Teams loose to make travel reservations for our next travels. And make reservations we certainly did.

The first place was Falcon State Park. We wanted two weeks and when the website finally let us check things, there was only four sites available that fit our preferred schedule. So as quickly as the OFM could do his one finger typing, we scheduled our two weeks. That will be a nice place since it normally is 8-10 degrees warmer in the winter than Rockport.

Since we were on a hot good luck streak, we solidified the reservations in north Alabama for our grand kid part of this loop. Now we have the start of the loop and the end of the loop reserved for the Teams and it feels really good.

Now we have mail en-route to us here in Rockport but there is nothing in it to get in the way of rolling January 21.

Finally getting things organized and going our way is a great way of trying to have tooooo much fun.