Our African Violet

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 39 degrees, high 45 degrees, cloudy, winds up to 15 mph

We had our periodic dental checkups today, and passed with flying colors. Carolyn went to El Chico's with Denise for lunch, and I passed because it is not my favorite Mexican restaurant. In fact, it doesn't even come close. That's just my opinion. Carolyn has a different one. We don't always agree on everything, and that's fine.

When we owned a house, we had a lot of plants and flowers in the yard. Carolyn got a lot of pleasure from working in the yard, and when we first went on the road, she missed that part of owning a house. In an effort to make up for not having the plants to work with, I bought her the perfect RV house plant. It is a violet, and I'm sure it is one of the most traveled flowers ever. It has been all the way to the west coast and the Northwest, and back and forth several times between Texas and the southeastern part of the US. When we get ready to hit the road, you can see it quivering in anticipation of seeing new country and meeting new people. A picture is below.

This violet is so easy to take care of. It never has to be watered, fertilized, or pruned. The only thing we have to do is dust it occasionally and make sure it is placed in a safe place when we travel. It always looks fresh, and we don't have to worry about a black thumb killing it. In other words, the perfect plant for our lifestyle.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Wichita Falls, Texas: The Gateway to Texas

Not all who wander are lost.

Road Trip

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 54 degrees, high 75 degrees, cloudy early, then clear

We took a road trip today up north to Wichita Falls. There was really no reason for the trip, other than wanting to ride a little. So, we did some riding. It was a nice day for a ride, with warmer temperatures and clear skies. Traffic was light, and at times there was not another vehicle within sight.

Our route took us up US 281 through Mineral Wells, Perrin, Jacksboro (this sounds like it should be in Kentucky), Windthorst, Scotland, through Wichita Falls to Burkburnett, and back. The countryside is mostly rolling hills with some small mesas. Trees consist of several different types of oaks, mesquite, and cedar. The primary use of the land appears to be ranching, with some farming. The area around Windthorst, which has a German flavor to it, is used for dairy farming. Once you get past Mineral Wells, the gas wells seem to be less in number and there are many more producing oil wells.

Wichita Falls is a city of about 100,000 people, but it has a small town feel to us. Sheppard Air Force Base is north of the city, and we saw several military jets in the air.

On our way back, we stopped at Fort Richardson State Park in Jacksboro to tour the area. This park is the site of one of the frontier forts that were built to protect the people from Indian and outlaw raids. The fort was built in 1867, and was used until 1878, when it was abandoned. Only a few of the original buildings are still standing, including the hospital, morgue, bakery, magazine, enlisted men's quarters, commisary, part of the guardhouse, and the commanding officer's house. There is also an RV park on the grounds, and we would like to stay there sometime. The picture below is of one of the buildings still standing at the fort.

Jacksboro is located in Jack County, and was one of the few areas in the south to vote against leaving the Union. The courthouse is fairly modern, and not the kind of courthouse we normally take pictures of. The courthouse is in the center of town, and is located on one of the largest courthouse square areas we have seen.

The tire monitoring system I ordered arrived today. We'll try it out tomorrow. The acid test will come when we leave here with the RV.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Windthorst, Texas: City of Champions

Ho Hum Day

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 32 degrees, high 64 degrees, clear skies - very nice day

Today was another of those ho-hum days, with little going on except for a few small chores in town and a little work around the RV. It seems like everytime I go to Granbury the traffic is worse. While in town, I noticed that the price of gas and diesel has increased since the weekend. I don't know what alleged crisis is out there now driving the price up. If the doomsday news that the newspeople like to put out doesn't convince people that we are in a recession, the price of fuel will push us into one.

We caulked around the bath tub between the backsplash and tub. We were surprised that the caulking lasted as long as it did, considering how much everything flexes in an RV when traveling. Just another of the little things we have to do occasionally. Of course, you have to do maintenance in a house, also.

Another little chore I did today was to check out the running lights on the RV. All the lights are working at this time. I didn't want to wait until the day we leave to find out if we had a problem with the lights.

Yesterday, I ordered a system that will allow us to monitor our tires while traveling. We are hoping this will allow us to avoid the types of tire failures that we have had in the past. As we use it, I will pass on our experience with the system.

Like I said at the beginning, just another ho-hum day.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Cuero, Texas: Wildflower Capital of Texas

Slow Sunday

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 37 degrees, high 58 degrees, mostly clear skies

We started doing chores that we need to do to get ready to move on down the road. I checked the water heater relief valve, and it appears (at least at this time) that it is not leaking. It looks like the use of WD-40 on the internals worked. The air compressor we use to air up our tires had never had the oil changed, so I took care of that little task. We washed a couple of loads of clothes, cleaned out the vacuum cleaner, and blew the dust out of the electric heater we use. We have a tool box mounted in the back of the truck. I went through that to make sure everything was there that needed to be, straightened up the contents, and got rid of a couple of things that we no longer needed.

As can be seen from the paragraph above, it was a fairly mundane day. Some days are like that. When those days occur, we have learned to appreciate being able to take care of those things that need to be done, but can be put off, if needed. Even though I am not working, life would get pretty hectic if we stayed on the go all the time. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Bartow, Florida: The City of Oaks and Azaleas

Dog Attack

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 43 degrees, high 60 degrees, mostly clear, winds to 15 mph

It was great to see the sun again, and have things start drying out. I know we need the rain, but when it comes, I can't wait for it to leave.

Since we have been traveling by RV, we have had two tires blow out, one on the RV and one on the truck. Each of them caused over $1500 worth of damage, in addition to the inconvenience and stress. I have started looking for a tire monitoring system that will allow us to know what is going on with our tires as we are traveling. It seems to me that it would be less expensive and safer to be able to know when a tire is having problems so we can stop and check it out before it self-destructs, causing damage to the RV or truck. I'll keep everyone posted on what I decide to do.

The road I walk on for exercise and health has all the atrributes I look for when walking. I have gotten to know several of the people that live on the street. It has very little traffic, it is a dead end street, and the dogs are kept behind fences. I don't mind a dog that is behind a fence barking at me, he is only doing his job. What I do mind is a dog or dogs coming out of a yard or running free getting after me. What is even worse is to have dogs that are accompanied by their owner getting after me, and the owner does not control them.

I was walking this afternoon when two Boston Terriers came out of a driveway and started barking at me. About the same time, their owner came out with his daughter on a bicycle. The dogs started darting at my legs, one from the front and one from the back. They sounded as though they were going to eat me alive. The owner did nothing to control them other than to tell them to come on. Of course, they ignored him. The dogs followed me for about 200 hundred yards, and I did my best to keep them from biting me.

Eventually, the dogs turned around and went back, while I continued on my walk. As I was walking back (remember, dead end street), the dogs saw me and started their attacks again. This time, they kept it up for about 300 yards, until I got tired of it and concerned that they were going to bite me. At that point, I picked up some rocks and threw them at the dogs, which made them stop. The owner decided he had better get his dogs under control, and took them home. He never apologized.

I have no problems with people having pets (we have two pets that are very low maintenance). Where I have a problem is when the people don't control them properly. Hopefully, I won't have a problem with those dogs again.

That was the high point of my day. I hope everybody else had a good day. This next week, we will be making preparartions to hit the road again. Still no decision on which way we will go. Maybe we will let it be a surprise.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Chattanooga, Tennessee: Choo Choo Town

Miserable Weather

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: Miserable. Low 34 degrees, high 39 degrees, heavy rain at times, then heavy mist, winds up to 20 mph.

The day is pretty well up summed in the weather report. The weather shut down all outdoor activites except for a walk I took in between the rain storms. Even the walk was less than what I usually do because it was so cold and wet.

I talked on the telephone to my brother Roger, who is working on a project at the Watt's Bar Nuclear Plant in Tennessee. It was good to hear from him, and we are glad everything is going well with him and his family.

The majority of the day was filled with TV, watching a couple of movies, surfing the net, and reading. Carolyn worked on her crafts. Tomorrow is supposed to be better, and we hope to be able to get out some.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Chattanooga, Tennessee: A Great City By Nature

Mineral Wells, Texas

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 36 degrees, high 45 degrees, cloudy, misty, windy

Today we stayed inside keeping warm. As you can see from the weather, it was chilly here. We still managed to do a couple of little chores, including repairing a drawer slide for the chest in the bedroom.

In addition, we have had a minor leak with the pressure relief valve on the water heater. It has not been bad enough to stop us from using the water heater, but it has been in the back of my mind that I needed to repair it. Removing the old valve was easy, and you'd think putting a new one in would be easy. Well, it would if the new valve would fit. I found that the new valve, even though it appears to have the same dimensions as the old one, could not be installed. It appears the new valve is slightly bigger or else there is something wrong with the threads. When I found that the new one would not work, I took it back to the store and got another one. Same story. And this is not my imagination. Carolyn tried to get the new one started, and had no success. Denise, our friend who lives next to us and has over 30 years experience in appliance repair, could not get it started. So, I installed the old valve back in the water heater. Denise suggested I spray the inside workings of the valve with WD-40 to see if that will allow the valve to close properly. I'll check it tomorrow to see how well it is working.

Tonight we were invited over to Jerry and Joyce Brown's (owners of the park) house for chili. The meal was appropriate for the weather. The food was good, as was the company.

Yesterday, we were in Mineral Wells as part of our road trip. Today, I'll pass on what we observed and some of the history of the area.

In 1877, James Lynch, his family and 50 head of livestock left Denison, Texas, and headed west for a drier climate and relief from malaria. When the family got news of Comanche attacks further west, they decided to settle down where they were, in a valley among the hills of Palo Pinto County.

Although the location the Lynch family decided to settle in was beautiful, it was four miles from the only water source, the Brazos River. By the summer of 1880, a well driller agreed to drill a well in exchange for some of the family’s oxen. At first, the water’s funny taste worried the family, so they watered their livestock with it for a time to test its safety. Soon after the family began to drink from the well, they found they were feeling better.

News of the “healing” water spread quickly. Neighbors began trying the water, and within a month strangers were showing up on the Lynch property, asking about the water. Almost immediately people were coming by the thousands to try the water. Lynch’s well produced 100 gallons per day, so he was forced to have guests sign a declaration affirming that they were sick and in need of the water. With the popularity of the water spreading, the town of Mineral Wells was laid out in the fall of 1881, with Mr. Lynch naming himself the first mayor.

Several wells were drilled soon after the city was laid out, but the most famous mineral water well brand was the Crazy Water from the Crazy Well. The well is currently located at the Crazy Water Retirement Hotel. The well received its name because, the story goes, a demented elderly lady drank from the Crazy Well twice every day and overcame her illness. The crazy lady story could well be true, because in Mineral Wells most of the mineral water wells have a significant amount of lithium, which is used to treat various mental and mood disorders today.

Stories of Mineral Wells' healing waters brought tourists from around the world in the early part of the 20th century. Soon bathhouses, drinking pavilions and spas began to open to cash in. The trains that brought visitors also helped the mineral water companies distribute their products outside of the area. Entrepreneurs found more a more efficient way to ship the waters--namely by shipping the minerals only in crystal form. Those who bought the crystals could add them to their water and instantly have Mineral Wells mineral water.The massive advertising campaign led to the intervention of the Food and Drug Administration’s directive to cut back on advertising and stop claims that the mineral water was a cure all. Once that happened, the city's boom based on the water was all but finished.

T.B. Baker, hotel entrepreneur, saw a chance to cash in on the thousands of tourists coming to Mineral Wells to drink and bathe in the local mineral water which was said to have medical qualities. After a visit to Arkansas, Mr. Baker decided to model his hotel, already under construction, after the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, at a cost of 1.2 million dollars. The Baker Hotel enjoyed one of the most gala openings in history on November 22, 1929 and remained open until the late 1960s.The Baker was one of the nation’s most glamorous hotels for 25 years. It has been described as a city in itself. Consisting of 14 floors and 450 rooms, the Baker offered the finest in resort hotel services.

The hotel still remains empty, even though there have been several attempts to re-open it. It is strange to see a building as large as this hotel in the middle of Mineral Wells standing idle with broken windows.

The town and surrounding area appears prosperous, depending on oil field services, farming, ranching, and tourism. We were there on a Thursday, and traffic was heavy. A lot of new construction is ongoing, and this is probably one of the places that have not noticed a slow down in economic activity.

Just outside of town is the Lake Mineral Wells State Park. We drove through and checked it out in the event we are in the area with the RV and need a place to stay. We think it is a nice park, and it would be more than adequate for our needs.

More later, be safe

Today's Town - Charleston, South Carolina: Where History Lives