Texas Ranger Museum

Waco, Texas

Weather: low 41 degrees, high 74 degrees, clear skies, winds 20-30 mph, gusting to 40 mph

The RV was shakin' and rockin' from the high winds. Thought I was going to say something different, didn't you? It is a good thing Carolyn is not suffering from vertigo because she would have had a tough time of it today with the way the RV was moving. It was blowing so hard I thought our pets, Abe and Mabel, were going to fly away.

We got a fairly late start in the morning, and didn't get into town until lunch time. By that time, we were getting hungry. One of the park hosts suggested that the best chicken in Waco was Bush's Chicken, which we had never tried. Since one of their restaurants was on our way, we stopped and tried it. I have to say, the camp host steered us well. We think the chicken is very good.

After eating, we drove to the Texas Ranger museum, located just off I-35. What a great museum this is, with a detailed history of the Rangers and excellent exhibits. The museum shows how the Rangers came into being because of Indian raids and outlaw activities. In addition, it details how the role of the Rangers changed over time as the needs of the state changed. At this time, there are well less than 200 Rangers on active duty. That is a very low number for a state of this size and population. That is the way it has always been. Back in the 1800s, two Rangers would be responsible for as much as 50,000 square miles, and have to share a pack mule between the two of them.

One reason for the low number of Rangers is psychology. It is felt that the low numbers fosters a mystique about the Rangers that causes the criminal element to think twice when the Rangers are becoming involved in a case.

The Rangers are famous for sending small numbers to put down trouble. A famous story that readers may have heard of relates the time years ago when a sheriff asked for assistance from the Rangers in putting down a riot. A single Ranger arrived and the sheriff asked where were the rest of the Rangers. The Ranger replied, "One riot, one Ranger". They were involved in the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde, helping put an end to their crime spree.

After our tour of the museum, we decided to go back to the RV and take it easy. Got to get the meditation time in. I took some pictures of our campsite and Lake Waco, formed by damming the Bosque River. The lake is almost 7200 acres. Unfortunately, I am having problems uploading some of the pictures, so I'll pass these on when I get a better Internet connection.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Houston, Texas: Energy Capital of the World

Not all who wander are lost.

On The Road Again

Waco, Texas

Weather: low 28 degrees in Gen Rose, high 64 degrees in Waco, clear skies, calm winds until the afternoon, then winds up to 20 mph

The title of this post should give readers a clue that we have left Glen Rose. We were there for five months, when we only expected to be there for about a month. Some good things came out of the time spent in Glen Rose, including visiting with friends and finding out what was causing Carolyn's vertigo problems. However, after five months, it's time to hit the road again.

When we got up this morning, we were not sure if we would leave or not. After checking today's weather, we decided that we would probably not have a better day to start traveling. We took our time getting ready and pulled out about 1030 hours. Our destination was Waco, because we have passed through there several times, but have not stopped. There are several things we want to visit, and a US Army Corps Of Engineers (COE) campground on Lake Waco that we want to stay in.

After a loooong drive of 60 miles - just kidding. It wasn't long at all. It was a beautiful day, traffic was light, and the road was good. Perfect conditions for traveling. We are parked at the Speegleville COE campground. Our closest neighbor is about 150 yards away, and there are only two other RVs here. We are about three miles west of Waco.

After parking and setting up the RV, it was near 1400 hours, and we had not eaten lunch. Since the Backyard Burger restaurant is only about three miles away, we decided we just had to have one of those great hamburgers. Ummmm, boy!! Good!

After getting back from lunch, we set up the satellite dish so we could watch TV. After such a busy day, it was then time to meditate a little, which I did. I think Carolyn did too, but I didn't catch her with her eyes closed. Of course, she could have been meditating with her eyes open. Some people are able to do that. I haven't been able to master that feat yet.

Tomorrow, we plan to do a little sightseeing. Our campsite is next to the lake, so I'll take some pictures of where we are parked and put them out with tomorrow's post.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Eagle Lake, Texas – Goose Hunting Capital of the World

Not all who wander are lost.

False Summer

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 40 degrees, high 52 degrees, clear, winds gusting to 3o mph

Yesterday's nice weather was just a teaser to make us think we were in for warmer temperatures. It has turned cold again, with wind chills down as low as 30 degrees today. The low tonight is forecast for 30 degrees. Along with the cold weather and high winds is an increased wildfire hazard. The humidity levels are very low, which makes the possibility of fires even greater. The area needs rain badly. Note in the weather report above that we had winds up to 30 mph. We try not to travel unless we have to when the wind is that high.

We did not do much today except go into Glen Rose to Burger King for a Croisanwich. That seems to be our favorite breakfast sandwich. Throw in some tater tots and a Diet Coke, and we're set.

Later in the day, I put our tripod away. The tripod is placed under the fifth wheel tongue to provide more stability when parked. Putting the tripod away is one more thing I don't have to do when we get ready to leave.

Not too much happening beyond what I wrote above. I started reading a new book by Patricia Cornwell (Book Of The Dead), surfed the web a little, walked, and did my exercises to keep my left rotator cuff from acting up. Carolyn worked on her crafts and did a little reading.

We had pork chops smothered in a gravy mix, frozen field peas and butter beans mixed together (they were cooked), and potato salad for dinner. I'm going to have watch how much I eat with that kind of meal. Very tasty.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Lakeland, Florida: A True Sense of Place

Not all who wander are lost.

Warmer Weather

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 47 degrees, high 92 degrees, clear skies early, partly cloudy later, windy

Summer may have arrived!! Look at the high for the day. Of course, Wednesday morning the temperature is supposed to be down in the low 30s.

We did a few more tasks in our inexorable march toward getting ready to leave this area. Carolyn wanted to clean the carpet in the RV, so I helped her get everything out of the way. We washed a load of clothes and I lubricated several items on the RV, including the landing gear, entry steps, and slideout gears in the living room.

While Carolyn was cleaning the carpet (ever notice how I find something else to do when she gets on a cleaning jag?), I went to Granbury to pick up a few things at WalMart. While in Granbury, I went by Discount Tire and had the valve stems on the truck tires changed out to steel ones that are shorter. In addition, I had the tires balanced, since the tire monitoring sensors weigh 0.7 ounces, and I don't know what it would do to the tires if I didn't get them balanced with the extra weight. The monitoring system seems to be working as advertised as far as letting me know what the tire pressure is at a moment's notice. You can actually see the pressure going up as the tires heat up from running down the road. We may not ever have another problem with a tire, but the odds are that we will. Hopefully, the monitoring system will help us avoid the costly damages we have had in the past.

Late in the afternoon, the wind started increasing. The forecast is for winds up to 40 mph tomorrow, and high winds are also forecast for Wednesday. We'll see if that affects when we leave. The RV is like pulling a wall down the road, and high winds can really affect the handling.

More later, be safe.

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

Not all who wander are lost.

Installed Tire Monitoring System

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 44 degrees, high 70 degrees, clear skies, light breezes

Carolyn did not feel very good today, waking up with stuffiness in her left ear, which is usually an indication that the vertigo is trying to act up. As a result, she tried to take it easy most of the day. There are also some indications that stress may contribute to flareups of the vertigo, so we have even more reason to not get in a hurry.

I did a few more chores outside in prepation for leaving this next week. Our truck has leather seats, which we did not want when we bought it. However, the deal on the truck was so good that we decided to go ahead and take it. I treat the seats on a routine basis to keep the leather from drying out and cracking. So far, the treatment seems to be working. One time before when I treated the seats, it made them so slick we were glad to have seat belts to help keep us from sliding around. We still found ourselves sliding down until some of the slickness wore off.

Another task I did was to install the tire monitoring system we bought a few days ago. I found that the air pressure gauges I have been using were all overstating the pressure in the tires anywhere from 4 psi up to 15 psi. I got rid of all of the gauges except the one that is off by 4 psi, and added enough air to the tires to get them up to 80 psi. After making sure all tires were at 80 psi, I started adding sensors to the tires, one at a time. Each sensor has a unique identifying number that is identified with a particular tire location. If we take the sensors off for any reason, we have to make sure we put them back on the same location on the truck and RV, since the monitor will identify that sensor number with a particular location.

The system is on and operating, and the only thing left to do is give it a field test, which we will do in the next few days. Once we get used to how to monitor it and obtain readings, I think it will give us earlier warning when we start to have a problem with our tires.

We have a few things to do tomorrow, and then it is just a matter of deciding when to leave. Part of the day was spent watching Tiger Woods overwhelm Stuart Cink to win the World Golf Match Play Championship. History is being made by Tiger Woods, and it is impressive to watch him do things that no one else has ever done.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Burkburnett, Texas: You’re Home Now

Not all who wander are lost.

Preparations

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 36 degrees, high 74 degrees, clear skies, light breezes

After a late start to the day, we made more preparations to leave this area. I vacuumed the inside of the truck and wiped everything down. After that, I wiped the outside of the RV down, having to use a black streak remover in order to get the worse of the dirt off. Carolyn did some dusting and straightening of cabinets, and we washed two loads of clothes. In between chores, we watched Tiger Woods win his two matches in the World Golf Match Play Championships.

Carolyn made some great egg salad for lunch. Normally, I wouldn't rave about something as simple as egg salad, but it is nice to have Carolyn feeling better. When she feels good, she is more inclined to cook, instead of us going out to eat so much. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't mind eating out, but she had been sick with the vertigo so long that eating out was getting a little old.

Speaking of eating out, we went to Dairy Queen for dinner tonight.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Hope, Arkansas: Birthplace of President Bill Clinton

Not all who wander are lost.

Tire Monitoring System

Glen Rose, Texas

Weather: low 34 degrees, high 54 degrees, cloudy early, clear in the afternoon

With the way the weather started, we didn't think we would be doing much outside. However, it cleared up and got warmer after lunch to the point that I decided to see if I could get some things done in preparation for leaving here in the next few days if the weather holds.

I removed everything from the basement and vacuumed it out. There wasn't much to vacuum, but it makes me feel better knowing that the basement is clean. I went through our storage containers to see if there was anything I needed to get rid of, and only found one thing: a telephone cord that we don't have any use for. While I had the containers out, I put some items that we had been using away so we wouldn't have anything loose in the basement. During the work on the basement, I also dumped our holding tanks. After a rest to recover from all that hard work, I checked the water in the batteries on the RV and truck to make sure the water levels were okay. One of the battery terminals on the truck has some corrosion, so I will clean that up tomorrow. I also checked the air filter on the truck, and it was fine.

Oh, I almost forgot - before I did all that work above, I checked the air pressure in the tires and added air where needed. I was so busy, I didn't get to meditate. I need to slow down some.

I went through the tire montoring system to make sure everything was shipped that I needed. While reading the material, I noticed that I may have to change the valve stems on the RV tires because the valve stems may be the wrong ones. If I can find time in my busy schedule tomorrow, I'll see if I have a problem there or not. Below is a picture of the system, with a quarter to the side to give some idea of the size of the components.

While I was doing all this hard work, Carolyn went to the bank in Benbrook with Denise. When she got back, she finished caulking the bath tub.

If the weather remains good tomorrow, we'll do some more preparations on leaving. No rest for the weary.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Burkburnett, Texas: A Historical Past, A Promising Future

Not all who wander are lost.