Brain Cactus

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 9-6-2020

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It has been a day of doing get ready things.  The longest duration chore was getting all 9 tires back to the trailering air pressure settings. The tire pressure on Sierra had been lowered by 5 psi when we found out we would not get to tow anywhere for several months. That keeps from wearing out the middle of the tread so badly especially on the rear tires. Over inflated tires wear out the middle of the tread quickly.

Then we did a check of the roof for trouble from the storms we have had the last few months.  Everything was fine on the roof to the Teams amazement.

It has been a busy day. Tomorrow will be a slower start since we only have 2.5 hours of towing planned. We want to arrive in Junction after the weekenders mostly have left town. We will be at the South Llano River State Park again. It is normally a nice place.

Tonight we have a new painting to show. This one is of a cactus commonly called Brain Cactus. It was done with Dick Blick house brand colored pencils.  They turned out to be pretty good pencils that will be going to the grandkids in a few days.

For some reason the OFM remembers this as a fun painting that he really enjoyed doing.

Please remember that wifi is likely not available after we leave tomorrow morning, so do not panic. We will be out in the areas taking pictures and having adventures to report later while trying to have tooooo much fun.

Serious Rain Storms

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 9-5-2020

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We were doing pretty well on the getting going this morning. When Sierra got us to the Diablo East parking lot and we looked at the sky is when the doubt crept into the plans.

That sunrise was not looking good. So we decided to cloverleaf walk in a manner to keep us somewhat close to Sierra in case really ugly weather jumped on us.  So after a few loops and flop arounds we got in about 2 miles and called it finished. The sky did not get better or worse.

We had several showers during the rest of the day until late afternoon.  The Teams were at the Amistad Visitor Center shopping for grandkid presents when the bottom of the clouds dropped out. In about thirty minutes we got probably an inch and a half rain.  When it slowed the OFM Teams got out of there and headed for the Castle.

Sure enough it had poured down at the campground and poured down again shortly after we arrived.  The good part is the parched land was slurping it up as fast as it came down. You could hear the grass outside going slurp, slurp,slurp as fast as the leaves could swallow.

When the rains finally quit and the back side of the front started to move past we ran out to get a picture of the clouds leaving the area. It was dramatic scenery.

Tomorrow starts the serious get out of town preparations.  Monday morning the Teams pull out for Grandkid land. It is a planned five day trip.  As far as we know there will not be any internet available at any of the nightly stops.

Getting everything ready tomorrow will be our way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Sand Storms

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 9-4-2020

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The OFM body was willing so we took a rougher than normal trail that we had not been on since mid March this year. It turned out to be a nice 2.2 mile round trip for the Teams.

After Sierra got us to the Diablo East parking lot we checked the weather.  The winds lately have been causing intermittent sand storms. The sunrise was a bit “dusty” looking.

Those rectangles are signs warning about the dangers of this trail. You know how they are. There are  critters here that will attack, bite and eat you but you can enter at your own risk type of signs.

The trail was empty of folks and critters until nearly back to Sierra when a four inch lizard came hot footing it towards us like we were about to be attacked. It recovered its senses, stopped and thought it over, then ran off into the brush.

It was nice to not be so hot this morning. 73F was a nice feeling for a change.  Yesterdays blog had a Blogger caused text change in the last half that happened when the second picture was inserted. We expect it to happen now and then.  Blogger is worth every penny we pay to use it.

Here is the latest picture that has been finished or given up on depending on how you look at it. Its name is Sandollar Cactus. 

It was done with Arteza watercolor pencils.  They are cheap pencils and act like it.

Later in the afternoon we had some nice rain the area needs. It came at the time the OFM was getting some things moved to traveling mode locations so we were inside anyway. Getting ready to travel after 6 months of sitting still is a great way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

FLANK STEAK

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 9-3-2020

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The OFM was moving well again this morning so we had a fun walk on the 277 North site.  When the campgrounds open later this fall this 277N Campground is a good one close to town.

Sierra got us to the closed gate in good shape and we quickly headed down the road to the old bridges. Right away we scared up a couple of does. They took one glance at the OFM and ran away in great fright.

We continued on down the road without any more excitement but we did get to enjoy another sunlight induced fall foliage scene.

Then we got to the last bridge and paused to enjoy the nice scenery for a couple of minutes and a couple of swallows of water.  Then it was back to the entry gate and Sierra. Along the way we scared up a nice looking 6 point buck that ran for a long ways away from the OFM.

Not far after that we noticed a new type of feather laying on the old road surface. 

We have no idea what kind of bird it used to belong to. However we wondered if the sight of the OFM scared the bird right out of its feather!

The Teams made it back to Sierra with no more damage to the wildlife in this area and eased back to the Castle. A bit of rest and rehydration was next.  The the usual after walk shower and clothing change was accomplished.

We did a bit of research on cow meat cuts. Then that information and the OFM went to Walmart to identify the cut of cow that the OFM wanted to try eating.  No luck could be found anywhere in the store. Walmart must use special cows because nowhere in the coolers was FLANK STEAK. So that effort was a bust.

We have a coloring that is near finish and we hope to finish it tonight. It has been a real learning experience about how some art mediums behave. We will have a showing in the near future as well as genuine real facts on the education received.  Even with all those miseries it has been a great way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Red Faced Bird

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 9-2-2020

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The OFM was moving well this morning and the overcast sky held the sunlight back a bit so we headed out early for a walk.  Sierra got parked at the Spur 454 boat ramp area and we prepared to get busy hoofing it.  As usual we went down hill to the ramp and turned to head back up and away from the ramp.

The air was not hot. The temperature was about 82F and a nice reasonable temperature breeze was into our face.  The we looked up at the sky and was impressed.  Look at them clouds. Should we make loops near Sierra or go on out the mile and a half to the normal turnaround point.

After admiring the sky and watching which way it seemed to be moving we headed out for the full blown route. It turned out to be a good decision.

The OFM was stepping well and feeling good so the pace was a bit more than usual. By the time we got to the turnaround point the OFM suggested we have a go at another  quarter mile before turning around.  And away we went.

On the way back we noticed the buzzards were gone and a new red face bird had taken their place.

We could not find out the name of this bird.

As we headed back the OFM had a thought.  “Even if you treat the wolf at your door real nice and polite, it will still eat you.”  HMmmmm.

When we finished the walk it turned out to be 2.75 miles today and the OFM has not been gimped up this afternoon. That is a major surprise.

Then the next great event was the left shoulder exercise at the campground gym this afternoon. He was able to do a full 20 reps with the 15 pound dumbell for the first time since the accident on March 3.  Then he did 20 more reps with 10 pound dumbell.  Tonight his arm and shoulder are doing well.  Maybe he will eventually get all the use back of his left arm. That would be nice.

Soon the weather is starting to cool down which will make it a lot nicer for trying to have tooooo much fun.

A Good Mistake

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 9-1-2020

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Guess who was hiding and waiting for us this morning as we walked the Diablo East trails.

We slowed down and said Howdy to him and he just stood there and looked at us. Soon we went on along the trails.  It was a rough day on the trails today. The OFM was feeling every minute of his 74 years so it was a slower than usual speed but to give him credit he went the whole route before we got to quit.

A couple of days ago we purchased what the OFM thought was a chili type of concoction. It wasn’t as he learned today.  Basically it was a pureed tomato soup base with extra spices in it. Oh well.  The OFM went to work on it and added pinto beans, corn, celery, a chopped potato patty, onion and something or two else we cannot recall at this moment.

A good heating and stirring with some fresh ground black pepper for spice was next. Simmered for about ten minutes to let the pepper get distributed. 

After it seemed it was ready, out came a bowl for the testing of the soup. It was pretty good. In fact the OFM ate two bowls of it. And we have two more meals worth of it in the refrigerator. So we lucked out with good soup in spite of the error of label reading.

This evenings attempt at a spectacular sunset was a total bust but we had a great time trying to have tooooo much fun taking pictures anyway.

An Escort

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-31-2020

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The OFM hit the walking road at a decent pace this morning but we soon picked up a couple of interested followers.

Now why would those two buzzards hop from tree to tree to keep up with the OFM as he walked along the old highway. Maybe it indicates that he stinks like 4 day old road kill in the mornings. It certainly isn’t because he is such a sweet fellow we are sure. At least the OFM did not end up being breakfast for the buzzards. (yet)

During the afternoon it occurred to the OFM that spending some time camped around Foley Alabama might be a lot of fun since there is a good amount of history things to go experience and photograph.  It is only a one day tow from grandkid land. 

This evening we headed down to the lake to attempt some decent sunset pictures.  It was a moderately ok trip.  The better pictures were of the near full moon rising in the evening sky. Here is a nice picture of the moon we have for tonight.

When we returned to the Castle it was still pretty hot and Sierra agreed. Check out this temperature and the evening time. 

We are ready for cooler temps. Cooler temps would make it easier for trying to have tooooo much fun.

Looking Sheepish

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-30-2020

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At the intersection of the Pecos River and Hwy 90 is a part of the Amistad NRA.  The picnic area sits on the edge of a cliff at the mouth of a canyon that joins the Pecos river canyon.  The opposite side of the canyon is home to many caves that can be seen from the picnic area. However to see the caves well you need eye help. Binoculars, telescopes or zoom camera lenses do well.

The fun is that there is usually some wild critters in one or more of the caves to see.  On this day it was sheep.  Here is what your normal eye will see from the picnic table.

Then we ran the zoom all the way out and looked into the many caves until we found the sheep.  They were all resting comfortably it seemed to us.

In just a minute or two after the shot above the lead sheep stood up and looked very intently at the OFM Teams a long way away. Apparently an order was given and all the sheep stood up. There was about three times as many sheep as we saw in the first picture into the cave.

Then they all exited the cave to our left by sliding down a steep sloped rock ledge. 

All of the sheep seemed to be very comfortable sliding down the slope and then calmly walking away on the rough terrain.

We never know what we will see in the caves but so far we have not seen any of the mountains lions that live in this area.  We have been coming to this spot to see the caves and critters since 1971 (we think).

Maybe the sheep went on their way to search for somewhere to try to have tooooo much fun.

Nothing Exciting

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-29-2020

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The morning walk went well.

The morning house cleaning went well.

The sorting out of art supplies that the OFM plans to get rid of went well.

And then it was time for lunch.

After lunch we tried to color in the coloring book but the OFM’s mind kept wandering off to think about where to go around Oct. 1 when the visiting time in Grandkid land is over. We don’t have a good answer to that, YET. But you can be sure we will be somewhere trying to have tooooo much fun.

Better Here

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas
Adventure Date: 8-28-2020
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The OFM knew he had chores to do today so no walks were taken. Right after breakfast we got busy on changing the anode rod in the water heater.  Usually we managed to spray and splatter water all over the campsite.  However, today it went very nice and neatly with little water other than the washout water being splattered around.

The anode rod was removed and the usual corrosion stuff came flowing out with the water.  It only took three more rinses to get all the residue out of the water tank.  Here is what the old rod looked like.  

It was only half used up so we put the new one in anyway. We do not want to risk eating out a water heater tank.

Next on the list was drain, flush and sanitize the fresh water tank. So the OFM crawled slightly under the Castle and opened the drain valve. The water coming out after sitting in the tank for five months straight look fresh and clean. 

 We finished the drain, flush and sanitize procedure we use and cleaned up the tools and equipment from the two procedures.

During this time we remembered a couple of RV things that we had been meaning to acquire before we pull out. So we grabbed a cap and headed to Sierra to go to Walmart.  Hopped into Sierra, inserted the key, turned it to the sound of complete silence. Not even a click Brrrrrr.

OK. Better here than out on the road.

A few minutes of charging and Sierra reluctantly started up. So we left Sierra running and put the charger away. Then we got our warranty paperwork from the files and headed to Walmart.

When we pulled in to the service bay the nice fellow said go ahead and turn it off. He thought we were there for a lube job. When I told he what was wrong, he said OK he would move it to the next bay and gave me the work order tag.

To our surprise a nice fellow went to work on Sierra immediately.  Nobody seemed to want to see my receipt from when the battery was installed 23 months ago. It turned out the battery has a serial number that told them every thing they needed to know.  About thirty minutes later the service fellow told me the old battery was bad and the new one would be ready to go in a few minutes when their “verifying” computer said the battery was ready. Sure enough we were soon on our way with no cost other than our time waiting. We were back to the Castle at 1210. It certainly was good service.

Now all that is left to do before we roll is check air pressure on the Castle’s tires. Then we will be ready to roll out looking for somewhere for tooooo much fun again.

Too Many Hills

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-27-2020

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Not a lot done today. The morning walk was at Governor’s Landing to have steeper hills to climb. It involves two loops of down to the water under the highway and back up to the upper campground and back to Sierra.  Do it twice and the OFM knees are telling him it was foolish. They are right it should have been one loop is all.

The heat hit hard and early today so we spent most of the day in the A/C.  We did get the freshwater tank loaded with chlorine solution to purify it if there is trouble bugs in it.  Tomorrow we plan to change and flush the freshwater tank so it is ready for travel.

Also tomorrow is change out the anode rod in the water heater day. It took the OFM a bit of hunting today to find where he had moved the hose nozzle to for storage. But it was found and is sitting on the kitchen counter waiting to go to work in the morning.

And that right there finishes out our day of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Nipple Cactus

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-26-2020

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We got in a nice 2.X miles this morning.  It was not very hot but there was absolutely no breeze at all.  So we were glad to be back at Sierra and the A/C.

The rest of the day was not anything special. Shopping at Walmart for fresh fruit and vegetables went well.  Then it was laundry time and everything was finished before noon.

Right after noon the last item on order was delivered.  It is an anode rod for the water heater. Tomorrow is the planned installation day. 

We are tracking hurricane Laura since it will be going right down our path to Grandkid Land a week before we leave Del Rio. Hopefully all the rain will be drained away and we will have clear sailing.

We finished a coloring. We guess that since we are coloring in a coloring book we should call it coloring instead of painting. Well anyway here is the latest coloring for your amusement.

We have 12 days until rolling time and we are  emotionally VERY ready to roll. It is scheduled to be a five day travel with some nice stops along the way for trying to have tooooo much fun.

Walking Surprise

 

Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-25-2020

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We hit the trail this morning just before sunrise and it felt really good with the mild temperature and gentle breeze.  The trail started out dropping into an arroyo and winding around the contours of the hill. The OFM was watching for early morning rattlesnakes when something in front of the Team moved slightly.

We made a sudden stop and looked up the trail to the turn about twenty feet away. There he stood with velvet still on his 6 point antlers.  It was a fine specimen of a West Texas white tail deer. He calmly stood there in the middle of the trail while the OFM got the shakes while trying to get the camera into action.

About the instant we got the camera into action the deer turned slowly and started to walk off. So this is what we got. This is no zoom at all and just about the same image the OFM was seeing at our close distance.

We kept the camera at the ready and walked gently, slowly but not creeping like a predator. Moving like a poor foolish trail walker the deer likely sees every day. And sure enough there he was camouflaged by the vegetation watching for our next action.  Not afraid by any means but still being careful.

As we moved a little more down the trail, the morning sun started to peek over the brush line and gave us this great light show along with the buck deer.

We continued out journey this morning and there were doe deer out and about all over the place.  But the buck event was so special it was all the OFM could think about for quite a time period. 

Sometimes a special event like this makes the whole day great and is a days worth of trying to have tooooo much fun all in about five minutes.

THE KITTY

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-24-2020

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1. It seemed like an ordinary morning. 

2. Get up.

3. Meander into the bathroom and look at name on mirror to find out who I am. This no memory mess is tiresome.

4. Eat breakfast.

5. Get dressed for walk including water bottle.

6. Take Sierra to Spur 454 for nice mundane walk.

We got Sierra parked at the boat ramp and headed out on this beautiful morning.  The body was a bit stiff at first but we soon “got into the stride” of things. Up over the first hill and down into the valley. So far so good. Nothing special but nice anyway.

THEN there was the KITTY about a hundred feet out in the valley grass. The OFM was so excited he could not hold the camera still.  Several pictures were taken and the kitty and the OFM looked at each other for a few seconds. Then we got on with the walk.

Up the next hill and down to the bottom to turn around and start back. The OFM was still excited to see the KITTY again.  We were having a nice walk again when we topped the hill to see the KITTY crossing the road down in the valley!

So the OFM took a couple of long zoom shots that were too fuzzy.  So it was just a nice walk back down to the first valley thinking how lucky he was to have seen the illusive KITTY twice now.

As we walked along the valley low point, WHAT IS THAT?  It is the KITTY near the road. WOW but it will likely run away pretty quick.

Talk about good luck. The KITTY just hunkered down to hide in the grass near the road.

The camera was put to work.  Then we walked gently closer along the road. The KITTY hunkered down some more. Then we were about fifty feet away is all and stopped to admire the KITTY.

We took a few more pictures that were shaky again but got this one that was pretty decent.

And the KITTY seemed to be enjoying being admired.  The OFM even enlarged the  picture to show the head of the KITTY even better.

Then we moved on down the road and left the KITTY to find breakfast and have a fine day.

When we came back by in Sierra the KITTY was gone, so Sierra had to take our work the KITTY had been there. This certainly put a lot into the FUN part of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Day and Night

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-23-2020

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Mr. L Knee and R. Knee were ready to walk this morning they said.  So the OFM got himself set and away we went to do the campground desert loop.  Sure enough the two Knees were able to traverse the up and down of the trail and the 1.5 mile distance with no trouble at all.  Maybe that means that about every fourth day needs to be a knee rest day. The nearly total lack of pain was wonderful. This did not mean that the OFM was about to attempt running again!

You may notice some slight changes on the OFM blog tonight.  We learned how to change a few things for the better and will be fooling around with settings for a few days.

Most of the day was spent in the Castle playing artist and learning about Line and Wash style of art.  It was very interesting to the OFM.  He is going to give it a go as the Brits say.

In the mean time we have another painting done in colored pencil ready to show.  The trouble we had with this one is the paper in the coloring book. It is not very good at all for wet washes like the OFM uses uses for leveling out the line marks of the colored pencils.  He likes to use alcohol washes as a smoothing solvent and it played the devil with the paper.  Anyway here is what it turned out to be like. Please welcome Day And Night.

The heat has turned back the thermostat a couple of degrees it seems. During the later than usual time today, the breeze and the temps were tolerable for the OFM Teams walking.  We are looking forward to the cooler weather in North Alabama in two weeks. Hopefully the dual hurricanes will skip Grandkid land.  

Now we need to figure out what to do tomorrow for trying to have tooooo much fun.

L&R Knee Discussion

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-22-2020

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Mr. L Knee and R. Knee had a discussion with the OFM yesterday evening about a rest day for some healing. It seems that they were not getting enough rest with the every morning miles.  So after some polite but spirited discussion, the OFM agreed to a day off from the walks. Both the knees were ecstatic at the rest time and made great use of it.

In the mean time the OFM used the rest day to color some more of a cactus page in his coloring book.  Only this time the coloring is with watercolor pencil mainly.  Colored pencil is much better for small details so it is being used in appropriate spots.

The OFM also got busy and lined up the four camping reservations for the trip to Grandkid land.  It is still too hot along I-20 to Alabama for dry camping at the rest areas so Teams settled for electric sites to run the AC. As Mr. Gumo pointed out a few weeks ago, in HOT weather it is money well spent.

So how about jumping off cliffs into the lake water. That sounds like fun or stupidity doesn’t it. Here is a picture taken a few days ago of a popular spot for folks to leap off the cliff into the lake water.

Notice the shadow of a shallow boulder to the left of the jumping spot.  The water to the right is about 20 feet deep we were told. The water to the left over the boulder is about 8 feet deep we were told. We are very happy to NOT participate in this FUN. Remember this is a fool that jumped out of perfectly good helicopters in Viet Nam and slid down 200 feet of rope and thought it was fun during training. It was not so much fun when it was the real air combat assault events.

How about a good evening sunset and kayaker picture?  

We thought this picture turned out pretty nice of a paddler trying to have tooooo much fun late in the evening.

Is Fall Starting?

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-21-2020

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The OFM Walking Team got off to a good start this morning and by the time Sierra got us to the chosen walking trail/area the sunrise was in its full glory again.

It made for some really nice photos of the desert starting into the fall mode. Two were chosen to present tonight. The first one caught the sunshine ripping through the fading shrubbery giving it all a special effects look. We thought it was wonderful.

Then a good bit on down the trail the sun was from behind the OFM and caused a noticeably different but just as beautiful scene. The OFM wishes he could paint that well.

The rest of the walk was really nice and the breeze was almost chilly for the first half hour and then things began to warm up.

As we passed the old Marina Office we noticed that the storage room door was open and nobody was around.  So when we were leaving we stopped at the Visitor Center to let them know that something might be wrong down there.  They thanked us and immediately called the proper authority to let them know. 

The OFM also found out that the kitty pictures will most likely be put on the Facebook site of the NRA where lots more folks will see them.

More good news happened later when the Amistad NRA published that most of the area is back open for full use starting today.  That is great for the town.

Now we can hit the NRA trails on Saturday and Sunday again. Also we have been wanting to get back down to the Pecos River to get some more pictures to go with some stuff we have photographed in the Visitor Center.  We still have a lot to do before we head for Alabama on Sept.8. to try a new area for having tooooo much fun.

Rough Road???

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-20-2020

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The OFM Walking Team got off to a decent start this morning and headed to Diablo East for the “heart treatment” otherwise known as walking for old folks. 

As we entered the parking area the OFM got a wild idea to hit the backcountry road to the Cliffs picnic area. It is closed to most activity except walkers that maintain social distance. But the reality is no one goes in there with the current restrictions in place.

Sierra grabbed the usual parking spot next to an area light.  The OFM got his stuff together and away we went. Most of the area is dried out from the lack of rain so it is not an exciting walk but it is nicely remote when the entry gate is closed like now.

The road is a bit rough, we think on purpose, and slows the vehicle traffic somewhat when the gate is open. It is not really bad but the “low riders” groups in the area have fits with it. Here is a typical “bad” spot in the gravel road.

It was a very pleasant 3.3 miles of desert walking.  There is even vault toilets a couple of places in the picnic areas.

But the big surprise was the shade shelter for one of the picnic tables had been ripped off the foundation by a storm.  This particular shelter is very near the edge of a pretty high cliff.  We are guessing one of the storms this summer must have been too much for the shelter.

The anchor bolts held just fine, but the mounting for the feet was held to the shelter by two sheet metal screws in each leg.  It was interesting to note that all but one of the sheet metal screws held.  The legs seem to have fatigue failed right above the anchored footing piece.

It would not have been fun being there to see the failure happen.

We finished our walk and the OFM had one last drink of water in the bottle when we got to Sierra.  We need to be very careful about carrying more water when we are going to go more than two miles or so. This morning was decently not hot but the water supply ran too close for comfort.

Running out of water on a desert walk is a very BAD way of trying to have tooooo much fun.

Sunrise

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-19-2020

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The OFM woke up for a necessity visit and noticed it was 0615. So he went ahead and had breakfast and got the Teams ready and rolling for the morning walk at 277North campground. It is closed to camping but open to walking Mon- Fri.

Sierra was surprised at the early starting time but still got us over to the gate in fine fashion.  As the OFM stepped out of Sierra the sunrise started putting on a show to rival most sunsets.

After admiring the sun rise and COLD 73F temperature, the Teams go moving. We crawled through the gate and double checked our gear. About then the sun lighted the valley we were headed to.

Then we started off on our walk. But it was soon interrupted by a huge highway of red ants moving locations. The line was about ten feet long and the line about four inches wide. It was solid large red ants moving to a new apartment it seemed. The line went from one hole in the ground over to another hole in the ground.

Check out this traffic jam.

We watched a minute or two and decided that they were moving to this hole near our feet. So here is a closer look at the mob scene.

After all that excitement at the start it was a very pleasant walk all the way down the hill to the old creek bed at the bridges.

When we got there the OFM was meanderthalling around a bit and kept on hearing an odd sound. His worn out Viet Nam ears finally got a line on the direction of the sound.  It was coming from about a half mile away near the foot of the bridge. 

 Finally he got the camera in super zoom mode and could see it was some sort of critters milling around. A couple of pictures were attempted. Here is the least shaky one showing that a herd of goats were having a feast for breakfast.

So now we faced up the one mile long hill we had come down. Ok feet git goin. And we started back to Sierra. The good news is that we had plenty of drinking water and early like this means the tall shrubbery alongside the the middle section of the walk back up was shading our pathway.  So we made good time and when we got back to Sierra the sweat volume was small.  It was only 84F when we climbed back into Sierra to head for the Castle.

By the time we got back it was hot, so we spent most of the rest of the day doing things inside the A/C areas trying to have tooooo much fun in comfort.

Red Fruit

 Adventure Location:  Del Rio, Texas

Adventure Date: 8-18-2020

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It is 2100 most nights before we get time to start on the photos taken during the day, much less the blog entry. Tonight was no exception. At 2030 Sierra and the Teams was on top of a bluff over the lake shooting sunset/late evening pictures. That puts us after 2100 to start processing pictures and starting the beautiful literature the OFM is famous for  writing.

We had a couple of nice events on the rugged morning walk. The weather is a bit less hot first thing in the morning for the last couple of days. But this trail down onto the side of the canyon and back up for a grand loop of about a mile and a half was just calling loudly. So we listened and were well rewarded.  

Food first please.  The prickly pear fruit on the cacti now is very bright reds or brilliant purples that seem to glow in the sunlight. Today we only encountered the red model.

Then along the lower part of the trail we noticed a doe meandering along and we did not seem to bother her much.  When we got ready to take a picture of her, her protector raised his head from behind the brush to make sure we had honorable intentions. He was a good looking fellow wasn’t he.  We just got the picture and moved on with our walking.

Lunch ended up being a stir fry of diced potatoes, bell pepper, onion and a sliced up ham steak. Seasoned to our choice and gently cooked it turned out wonderful.

As the OFM was devouring the delicious meal a thought hit him in the back of the head.  He wondered how some Red Delicious apple peels chopped and put in the stir fry would taste. We bet they would be great especially with a dash of cinnamon in the assembly.  Nothing like a promising change to a recipe to excite the taste buds. Yum Yum.

We have over a hundred pictures waiting for processing so the OFM needs his rest. We bet he drifts off to sleep and dreams of some of the things we have waiting to do for trying to have tooooo much fun.