November 22 to 28, 2015 ; Rio Grande Valley in south Texas

Sunday ; Donna and Weslaco

Sunny but cool, 61° F. / 16° C. Gee, for a guy from Winnipeg, my concept of "cool" certainly has evolved ! HA HA HA !

After an early lunch we headed west on Bus. 83 to Donna, to the farmer's market across the street from the DonWes Flea Market. We bought fresh fruits and vegetables, then as we were driving home we discovered another farmer's market, this one in Weslaco. We stopped to check it out, and discovered that the prices there were lower. DARN ! Guess that's where we'll be shopping next week !

Joanne had a lengthy telephone call with her sister this afternoon. Late in the afternoon we spent some time in the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne before heading to the weekly ice cream social in the clubhouse. We had supper while watching the 1996 comedy movie "Kingpin".

Monday ; South Padre Island

Sunny and warm. We spent the day exploring South Padre Island with Bill and Lynne.

We left home at 11 AM in their car heading east on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 for about an hour to where the Rio Grande River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. On South Padre Island we had an excellent seafood lunch at a restaurant named Blackbeard's. We explored from one end of the small island to the other, from the heavily developed south end ... wall to wall high rise condominiums ... to the undeveloped north end ... nothing but sand dunes. We ended our visit to South Padre Island with a visit to the humane society operated thrift shop.

On our way home, we stopped at Dairy Queen in La Feria for an ice cream treat supper. HEY ... we're old people ... we can do that ! HA HA HA !

AND ... Bo was VERY excited to have supper tonight. Joanne was unable to eat her large lunch portion so brought it home in a "doggie bag". Bo had half a catfish po'boy for supper. Now we know ! Bo LOOOOOVES catfish po'boys. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

Tuesday ; Donna

Sunny and warm. Early this afternoon we headed west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 to Donna to have lunch and run errands. We had an excellent lunch at Howard's Country Kitchen, a buffet restaurant open for lunch only, operated by a catering family. After lunch we shopped at Wal-Mart in Donna. Back home at Kenwood RV Resort we spent the late part of the afternoon in the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne.

Wednesday ; Cloudy, warm, humid, a teensy bit of rain in the afternoon.

Today was a "stay at home and do laundry" day. Joanne spent the morning doing laundry. I helped a bit. Not much ! This afternoon I read and napped. Joanne visited with Bill and Lynne who also had a "stay at home and do chores" day. We all went to the pool and hot tub from 4:30 until 6 PM, as we do most days. I barbecued chicken for supper and we watched a two hour episode of Survivor.

Thursday ; American Thanksgiving

Cloudy, warm, humid, a few drops of rain in the afternoon.

Today at noon was the Kenwood RV Resort Thanksgiving luncheon. Turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy supplied by the park, many wonderful side dishes and desserts provided by the residents, potluck style. From our perspective, noon was a bit early for such a large meal but ... ! We shared with Bill and Lynne a bottle of Speachless, a peach wine made by Forbidden Fruit Winery back home in the Similkameen Valley. The wine was a gift from Bill and Lynne last summer when they visited us on their way to Alaska. We brought it all the way here to share it with them at Thanksgiving.

We had a very lazy afternoon, resting, reading, napping, floating in the swimming pool, soaking in the hot tub, sitting outside in folding chairs chatting with Bill and Lynne. After dark we went into their motor home and I showed them some videos of Bo playing "beach doughnut fetch" in Mexico.

BLACK FRIDAY ; McAllen

Today was cloudy, warm, and humid, with a bit of rain in the "Upper Valley" this afternoon.

We left home around noon, heading west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2, planning to attend a Friday afternoon nature walk at Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park south of Mission. On the way I wanted to stop at the SAS Factory Shoe Store in McAllen to see if they had any Black Friday specials. A few days ago, realizing that our departure route would take us through San Antonio, I decided I would like to stop at the SAS ( San Antonio Shoes ) factory to buy some "imperfect" shoes, available only at the factory. Then I decided ... well ... let's check out their store in McAllen on Black Friday. I'm very glad we did. SAS shoes are rarely discounted. BUT ... it seems as if all U.S. retailers feel the pressure of Black Friday. The SAS Factory Outlet Store in McAllen had a Black Friday sale. Buy one pair, get the second pair 50% off. That's 25% off each pair, a great deal on SAS shoes. I bought two pairs today.

After shoe shopping, as we began driving towards the state park, I began to feel ill with a colitis flare up. Probably due to something at yesterday's Thanksgiving luncheon, perhaps the wine. AND ... it began to rain lightly. We decided to cancel our state park nature hike and we returned home to Kenwood RV Resort. I read and napped for the rest of the afternoon. Joanne visited with Bill and Lynne, including spending time at the swimming pool and hot tub, our regular late afternoon ritual here.

At dusk Joanne prepared her wonderful guacamole and we shared it with Bill and Lynne sitting outside, chatting, enjoying the warm evening until it was time to go indoors and watch Amazing Race.

Saturday ; Harlingen

Cloudy, chilly, windy, a bit of light rain in the afternoon.

Around noon we headed out, in our truck, with Bill and Lynne, to have lunch and run some errands in Harlingen. Joanne wanted to have lunch at a meat market / butcher shop that she had read about. In addition to being a meat market, they had a small "barbecue" lunch offering. First impulse stop was a panaderia we drove by.
WOO-HOO ... mucho pan dulce por grande gringo ! HA HA HA ! We stopped at a couple of hardware stores for Bill to search for something, then we went for lunch. Barbecued chicken plates, barbecued rib plates, etc. with rice and beans cost $2.49 ! After lunch we stumbled upon a "99¢ Only Store" ( that's its name ) and a thrift store. More impulse shopping. Final stop was H-E-B for a couple of grocery items. WHEW ... the Harlingen H-E-B is SO crowded on Saturdays !

Upon our return "home" about 4:30 PM we all went to float in the swimming pool and soak in the hot tub before supper. Joanne baked B.C. salmon in Crema Salvadoreña.

DSK

November 15 to 21, 2015 ; Rio Grande Valley in south Texas

Sunday ; La Joya

Partially sunny, very warm, humid.

After an early ( for us ) lunch we left for La Joya heading west on Hwy. 83 / Interstate 2 / "The Expressway". We went to La Joya High School to attend the Musical Theater students' production of "Back To The 80's" ... a high school musical, of course. Well ... it was not as good as we had expected. The students could act well, and dance well, but ... most of them couldn't sing worth shit ! Nice hair, though ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ... recent Canadian political joke !

We returned to Kenwood RV Park just in time for the regular Sunday ice cream social at 6:30 PM. Bill and Lynne had not wanted to attend the high school musical with us, but came to the ice cream social. We chatted with them and another couple for awhile before returning to our camper for supper.

Monday ; Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Mostly sunny and very warm.

Had a great day ! This morning we headed, with Bill and Lynne, in their car, to Mexico. We spent the afternoon wandering around, browsing, buying a few items and having a great lunch at Arturro's in Nuevo Progreso.

Upon our return to Kenwood RV Park, arriving home about 4:30 PM, we spent the rest of the afternoon floating around the swimming pool.

Tuesday ; La Feria and Mercedes

Partially sunny, warm for most of the day, cool for a couple of hours around suppertime as a cold front passed through.

After lunch we went into La Feria to run some errands. We refilled our five gallon water jug. We bought some groceries at the Mexican supermarket in town. I bought a long handled squeegee at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Our old one broke. Mid-afternoon we went to the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne.

At dusk we left, in our truck, with Bill and Lynne, to go to a drive-in movie. We stopped at Church's Chicken in La Feria and bought some chicken to have a drive-in movie picnic dinner. Everyone else liked the Church's Chicken. I thought it was too greasy under the skin. I don't know if Mr. Colon will object to that. Probably will !

The WesMer Drive-In Movie Theater is in between Weslaco and Mercedes. Tonight's first feature was The Peanuts Movie. WOO-HOO ! Charlie Brown wins the heart of the little red haired girl. We watched only a few minutes of the second movie before leaving. Some violent crap movie about witch hunting. When we arrived home at Kenwood RV Resort the gate wouldn't open to let us drive through. Bill and I climbed over the gate and still we could not get the gate to open, even using the inside keypad. Eventually Bill walked to their site and returned with their car, using it to open the gate ( electronic "eye" and weight sensor to allow vehicles inside the gate to get out ).

A few minutes later, after parking their car and our truck at our sites, we returned to the front gate where I removed and discarded a kitten carcass from the road just outside our park's gate. < sigh >

Wednesday ; Alamo

Sunny and warm, a really nice day.

This morning we headed out, with Bill and Lynne, in their car, to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge near Alamo. Joanne and Lynne had each prepared a picnic lunch. We wandered around Santa Ana's Visitor Center for awhile before eating our lunch in the picnic area. We went on an hour and a half guided tour by tram of the Wildlife Refuge, then spent the rest of the afternoon hiking on the bird watching trails.

After returning to Kenwood RV Resort we floated around the swimming pool and soaked in the hot tub until it was time to return to our rigs to cook supper and watch Survivor.

Thursday ; Donna, Edinburg, Mission, and Weslaco

Mostly sunny, warm, humid.

I had a lazy morning. Joanne did laundry. I did obedience training with Bo and some minor maintenance on Elsie ( the truck camper ). Mid-afternoon we left, in our truck, with Bill and Lynne, to attend two events. First stop was Ron Hoover RV in Donna so that Bill could buy an RV part he needed. Next we went to a Welcome Back Winter Texans event in Edinburg sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. We realized at the entry door, prior to paying our very small entry fee, that there wasn't as much there as we had expected, and decided not to attend.

We drove to Mission and found our way to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park to check out operating hours, admission fees and attractions, then did a bit of RV park "slumming", visiting an RV park that we stayed at many years ago, and viewing a very upscale RV park that was under development last time we were here in the Rio Grande Valley seven or eight years ago. By then it was time for supper.

We had supper at Ace's BBQ in Mission. Pretty good ! Mind you ... I suppose I've never had barbecue in Texas that I didn't like. HA HA HA ! After supper we drove to Weslaco to attend Al Fresco Weslaco, a "street party" somewhat like Village Fest in downtown Palm Springs, with live music and many types of food and arts and crafts being sold. Mind you ... comparing Weslaco to Palm Springs is like comparing a pair of denim shorts purchased for fifty cents at a thrift shop to a tuxedo. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! We didn't spend very long at Al Fresco Weslaco. The live music being performed was bad jazz by a school band. There was a very interesting police vehicle parked at the event, and while we were standing near it criticizing local police forces' use of taxpayers' money, the police officer inside the truck used his loud hailer to invite us closer. Turns out that the "lifted" and heavily modified pick up truck was seized from a drug dealer ( lots of them around these parts ! ), so there was no cost to the local taxpayers for this very "souped up" police truck.

We arrived back home at Kenwood RV Resort in La Feria about 9 PM.

Friday ; La Feria and Weslaco

Cloudy, warm, humid, raining until mid-afternoon.

We had a slow, lazy start to the day. Around noon we left to have lunch at Stars, a hamburger drive-in nearby in La Feria. After lunch we headed west to Weslaco for shopping at Wal-Mart and H-E-B. We were back home by mid-afternoon. We bought some vegetables and fruits from the Mexican produce vendor who comes to this RV park every Friday afternoon, then headed to the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne.

I cooked supper. It was a new "invention" recipe of mine. Pan grilled tortillas, slices of pan grilled turkey bologna on the tortillas, eggs fried in Crema Salvadoreña on top of that. It wasn't as good as I had hoped. Oh, well ... you can't hit a home run every time at bat.

We watched Amazing Race while eating our Huevos en Crema Salvadoreña con Bologna Pavo.

Saturday ; La Joya

Cloudy, warm, humid early in the day ... cloudy and cool after a cold front passed through in mid-afternoon.

This morning we ... < ahem > ... ! At noon we left for La Joya, about 70 km. / 45 miles west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2. We had a very good lunch at Church's Chicken in La Joya, then went to La Joya High School for this afternoon's Conjunto concert. The Conjunto bands from three different local high schools each performed for about half an hour. Conjunto is one of the three "Tex-Mex" genres of music, along with Tejano and Norteño. But ... in Conjunto, the "lead" instrument is accordion.

On the way back home we stopped at PET WORLD to look for the type of dog nail clippers I want to buy. They did not have them. Once back at home at Kenwood RV Resort we went to spend the rest of the afternoon in the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne. In the evening we watched the animated movie “Free Turkey”. HA HA HA !

DSK

November 8 to 14, 2015 ; Rio Grande Valley in south Texas

Still unable to upload photos.  Expect no photos for the next month, until we leave here.

Sunday ; McAllen and La Joya

Sunny, warm, normal humidity, a very pleasant "June 18" type day.

Late this morning we headed west on Hwy. 83 ( a.k.a. Interstate 2 ) to McAllen where we found our way to this weekend's Mexican Expo. It wasn't at all what I expected.
I thought it was going to be an exhibition of Mexican "art" and I wasn't really interested.
I was wrong, it was an "arts and craft" show and sale, with many vendors, almost all from Mexico, most unable to speak any English. Santa bought me a beautiful, 100% cotton hand made Mexican shirt. I LOOOOOVE hand made shirts. I've only had a few in my life. Not cheap, but usually worth the price. The shirt on display was a size "L".
I asked the vendor, who was from the Guadalajara region of Mexico, if he had that shirt in "dos equis por grande gringo" ( size 2X for a large white man ) ? He did ... and then we chatted ... in English ... about the time he spent living in British Columbia, Canada. HA HA HA! Before leaving the Mexican Expo I also bought a couple of hand made dulce de leche confections. Before leaving McAllen we had lunch at Whataburger. I had ( almost ) forgotten how much I like Whataburger !

We continued westbound on Hwy. 83 to La Joya, about 80 km. / 50 miles from La Feria. La Joya is in the "Upper Valley" and La Feria is in the "Lower Valley". The La Joya High School was the "host" of a three school Grupo Folklorico and Mariachi concert. It was SUPERB ! Each of the three schools presented their Grupo Folkorico ( traditional Mexican folk dancing and music ) and Mariachi ( bands ). This school division has an astounding Fine Arts program. What talented and skilled teenagers ! We look forward to attending a couple more of their presentations over the next couple of weekends.

On the way back to La Feria, driving eastbound on Hwy. 83 in congested traffic, all of a sudden there was a large bag bouncing on the freeway in front of me. There was nowhere for me to go. Slam on the brakes, or hit the bag ! Even if I slammed on the brakes, I was still probably going to hit it. It was obvious from the way the bag bounced that it was soft. I hit it ! At 65 MPH ! ! !

KA-BOOM ! ! !

It was a huge cloth bag filled with ... pillows ! It went underneath our truck and then ... a large cloud of some kind of fiber fill came flying out from underneath the back of our truck. Vehicles behind me swerved all over the place, not knowing what the white cloud was coming out from underneath Lanoire. I had to pull over onto the shoulder and crawl underneath the truck to untangle stuff wrapped around the driveshaft and muffler. HA HA HA ... some poor Mexican family is going to be in their new home tonight ... sleeping without pillows !

At Joanne's request, I poached eggs in Crema Mexicana tonight for supper. MMMMM ... next week maybe I'll buy some Crema Salvadoreña. HA HA HA !

Monday ; Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Partially sunny, warm.

Over the last few days I have developed a lower back ache, a rarity for me. I think it's related to a stumble I took a few days ago over a fuel pump hose while I was refilling the truck with diesel. Today after wandering around Nuevo Progreso for a few hours, it became severe.

Right after an early lunch we headed for Mexico, a few miles west on Hwy. 83, then a few miles south on FM 1015. We parked, walked across the long bridge over the Rio Grande River, and we were in Nuevo Progreso. Nice to be back. It's been eight years !

Within minutes Joanne was seated in an estetica, having a pedicure. HA HA HA ... to each his own, I guess. I wandered the streets of the vibrant little city, browsing for methocarbamol ( back pain medication ) for me and HeartGard for Bo. I bought both, then wandered around for an hour until Joanne's pedicure was finally done. She was very satisfied with the result, and $12 seems like a very reasonable price for an hour long service. Although ... I did notice other esteticas advertising pedicures for as low as $10. We both wandered around town for awhile longer. And wouldn't you know it ? Joanne found Nugs Crujiente, her favourite Mexican chocolate bars ! Bought two boxes full. HA HA HA !

When my back pain became severe we decided it was time to return home. On the way back home we stopped to check opening hours and special menu items at Fat Daddy's, a barbecue restaurant I am eager to visit ... again. After returning home I took drugs for my back pain and went to nap for the rest of the afternoon.

At Joanne's request I poached salmon in Crema Mexicana for supper tonight.

attach pics 1593 + 1596

Tuesday ; La Feria 

Today was mostly sunny, very warm.

I spent most of the day in bed, reading, trying to rest my extremely sore back. It didn't really help. Late in the afternoon I took large doses of Ibuprofen and Methocarbamol. That helped somewhat. At dusk we went to the swimming pool where I did some back exercises while floating in the pool suspended by noodles, then spent time in the hot tub. That helped even more. Then we took Bo for a long walk. That made things worse. Okay ... use drugs, exercise in the pool, don't walk much.

Joanne did all of today's chores. She did a lot of laundry, including our sleeping bags and bedding linen. She went shopping and banking in the village of La Feria. She refilled our water jug. She bought pan dulce at the second panaderia in town. I should alter my earlier statement. I spent most of the day in bed, reading, trying to rest my extremely sore back, and ... stuffing my face with pan dulce. HA HA HA !

Wednesday ; Remembrance Day ( Canada ) / Veteran's Day ( U.S.A. )

LEST WE FORGET !

This morning shortly before 11 AM we wandered over to the front of the RV park to attend the Veteran's Day Flag Raising Ceremony at 11 AM. It was a bit late getting started so I wandered away for a private minute of silence at precisely 11 AM. I recited the poem In Flanders Field ... out loud ... to myself ... then returned to the flag raising ceremony which was just beginning. Some veterans raised the flag, led the group in reciting the Pledge Of Allegiance, then an American veteran's poem was read. An American Veteran's Day ceremony is quite a bit different than a Canadian Remembrance Day ceremony, but ... the underlying sentiment is the same.

As we were finishing our lunch our Connecticut friends Bill and Lynne ... and their Pomeranian Windsor ... arrived, after three hard days of driving from Colorado. We spent the rest of the day visiting with them. We spent time in the pool and hot tub in the afternoon. The we snacked on Joanne's wonderful, freshly made guacamole with tortilla scoop chips. Joanne also cooked Chicken Chile Verde for all of us for supper tonight.

We look forward to spending the next three weeks with Bill and Lynne.

Thursday ; Pharr and Weslaco

Today was cloudy and warm.

We spent the entire day with our friends Bill and Lynne. We left late this morning in their ( towed ) car and headed west on Hwy. 83 to Pharr where Joanne wanted to attend the weekly Pharrmer's Market. Once again, it was more of a flea market than a farmer's market. Joanne bought a large bag of fresh assorted lettuce greens. Shortly after driving away from the Pharrmer's Market we noticed a Shipley's Donuts. We had multiple coupons for a free coffee and donut, so we stopped and had a coffee and donut break. In the same mall was a Carniceria ( meat market / butcher shop ) so we went in to browse for interesting Mexican cuts of meat. Turned out to be more than just a butcher shop, it was a medium sized grocery store. So ... Lynne bought some produce, Joanne and I bought some pan dulce. Was there any doubt ? HA HA HA ! Bill took their car across the street to a small independent auto service shop and had it "safety inspected". Like many Escapees, their "legal" residence is in Texas, and their Texas license plated vehicles ( motorhome and towed car ) require periodic state safety inspections. That coffee and donut stop turned out to be very productive.

We drove south to Military Highway, the southernmost road that runs east / west following the Rio Grande River. We stopped at Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge briefly, to check out opening hours and admission fees in anticipation of a visit there soon. We drove east along Military Highway until we could head north into the city of Weslaco where we stopped for a very late lunch at Whataburger.

We arrived home at Kenwood RV Resort just in time for the first of this winter season's weekly Meet & Greet, known in most RV parks as Social Hour or Happy Hour. Since it was the first of the season, the park's management team appeared and introduced themselves. Two local vendors made short presentations, the local recycling business and the manager of the local Walgreens Pharmacy. Both their presentations were impressive. And the RV park's management team member's presentations were impressive.

We chatted for awhile amongst ourselves, and with some other residents / occupants of the RV park before heading over to the pool building for a couple of hours of floating in the pool ( me ) and soaking in the hot tub ( all of us ), mostly motivated by my ongoing sore back. I have discovered that floating exercises in the pool and soaking in the hot tub help my sore back a lot. My sore back has improved a lot in the last few days and I'm hopeful that it will soon be over.

Friday ; Weslaco

This morning we ( just Joanne and I ... and Bo ) headed out to Weslaco to run some shopping errands. First stop was PETCO. They didn't have what we were looking for, but Bo enjoyed shopping. Next stop was Wal-Mart for a few items, and I refilled Lanoire with diesel at Murphy's USA Fuel Bar. Final planned stop was H-E-B for a few grocery items.

As we left the fuel bar we tried to "intercept" a stray, scared looking dog. All we succeeded in doing was forcing it to run out into traffic to escape from us ! Then as we crossed the H-E-B parking lot, there was another stray, a female dog, very mangy, obviously nursing. She was trying to salvage some nutrition from some discarded fast food packaging. I was angry. This is the United States ! Not Mexico !   I expect dogs to be better cared for than that here ! Even in the Mexican neighbourhoods ! ! ! As we approached the door of the H-E-B there was a dishevelled old homeless white man with all his worldly possessions in a grocery cart. And on top of his grocery cart full of stuff were two puppies, both clean and healthy looking. The old homeless guy was feeding them a bowl of milk. Well ! ! ! If the homeless are the only ones in this neighbourhood that are going to properly care for their pets ... count me in ! We picked up the grocery items we were looking for, and I added a pint of milk. For the homeless guy and his puppies !

We paid for our purchases, stepped outside and ... the homeless man was gone ! DARN ! We drove around the neighbourhood for awhile looking for him, to give him the milk, but ... we couldn't find him ! DAMN ! How far can a homeless guy with a grocery cart full of possessions and two puppies get in ten minutes or so ? ! ?

Once back at Kenwood RV Resort we chatted with some neighbours walking their dog. They were from Quesnel, B.C. I chatted with some visitors to the park who were from London, Ontario. We joined Bill and Lynne for a couple of hours of floating around the swimming pool and soaking in the hot tub. While we were all floating around the pool ... a young cat seemed to drop out of the ceiling. HUH ? ? ? It quickly scrambled right up the stucco wall of the pool building to the ceiling again, where it scrunched itself into a corner of the rafters and eyed us warily ? HUH ? ? ? Why is that cat up there ? Why is it here in the pool building ?

When we left the pool building we left a door open, providing the cat with a means to escape, if that's what it wanted. When we checked back in the pool building late in the evening, it seemed to be gone. Good luck, little kitty !

Bill and Lynne prepared supper for us all. We had supper in their motorhome, then spent the rest of the evening chatting.

Saturday ; Donna and Weslaco

Cloudy and warm.

After an early lunch we set off, in our truck, with Bill and Lynne, to spend an afternoon shopping in two local flea markets. We headed west on Business 83, the "old" Hwy. 83, to the DonWes flea market, sometimes known as the WesDon flea market, in between the towns of Donna and Weslaco. On the way there we stopped at a produce stand and bought some fresh fruits and vegetables ; Rio Red grapefruit ( only available locally ), locally grown Mandarin oranges ( I think they might actually have been Satsumas ), avocadoes, tomatoes.

We had been to the WesDon flea market before, many years ago. Today we wandered around, browsing. I bought a small item for our minivan back home in Keremeos. Joanne bought a jicama ( pronounced "heekama" ) at a produce stand within the flea market. It's a root vegetable, something like a turnip, I suppose, but softer, moister, and sweeter. We have only been able to find jicamas in Mexico and here in the Rio Grande Valley. They don't seem to be available in the Yuma, Arizona area. Bill and Lynne had never had jicama before, so Joanne was eager to share it with them. From there we drove into Weslaco and found the Weslaco Indoor Flea Market. It was very Mexican and ... very "female". No guy stuff ! Lots of fashion stuff. Lots and lots of "bling", popular with Mexican women.

When we arrived back home at Kenwood RV Resort about 4:30 PM we all went to the pool building to float around the swimming pool and soak in the hot tub until 6 PM. Then we had a communal dinner, each contributing something, me cooking it all on our barbecue. Joanne's "amuse-bouche" contribution was jicama sticks, with Ranch dressing to dip them in. Well done ! Very tasty ! Bill barbecued fresh pineapple for dessert, first time Joanne and I have eaten barbecued pineapple. We again spent the evening chatting.

DSK

November 1 to 7, 2015 ; Eunice, Louisiana to Rio Grande Valley, Texas

Still unable to upload photos !

Sunday ; Eunice, Louisiana to Rainbow's End SKP RV Park, Livingston, Texas

Cloudy, mild, humid, raining intermittently in Louisiana, raining steadily in Texas. GEEEEEZZZZZ ... Louisiana swamp mosquitoes are HUGE ! ! ! Makes them puny little things up in Canada look like amateurs !

Before leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot this morning I had to deal with some maintenance issues. And they seem to come in multiples. First of all, the propane tank that was in use ran out during the night. Very early this morning I went outside in the heavy rain and switched over to the full tank. Then ... thanks to all the rain and extremely high humidity, the fridge burner would not re-ignite. Components were damp, condensation had formed on everything. So ... back out into the rain I went. I had to partially disassemble the fridge burner assembly in order to light it manually using a barbecue lighter. It worked fine for the rest of the day. However ... when I stepped back into the camper ... I had been wearing sandals outside ... my feet were completely covered in mosquitoes. And they were all having a feast ! Then ... I discovered a leak around the Fantastic Fan trim ring. I removed it and could see that there was only a small amount of water behind the trim ring, and given the heavy rain, and the fact that we had purposely left the MaxxAir cover over the Fantastic Fan open overnight, I wasn't concerned. I left the trim ring off to allow the ceiling to dry. Then ... when Joanne went to light a stove top burner to make tea, the stove igniter broke. < sigh >

We have not travelled "east" much in the last few years. We had forgotten how crappy the eastern weather can be, especially here around the Gulf of Mexico. And how "immune" from really bad weather both Yuma, Arizona and the Okanagan Valley of B.C. are !

We refilled our freshwater tank at the Murphy's USA Fuel Bar before leaving the
Wal-Mart in Eunice. We decided that it would probably be more pleasant to drive west on Hwy. 190, passing through rural Louisiana and Texas, and every little town on the way, than to take the faster but certainly less scenic and less interesting Interstate a bit further south. Just after crossing the state border from Louisiana into Texas we stopped at a rest area to have lunch and I had a brief nap.

We arrived in Livingston, Texas around 4 PM and turned south on Hwy. 146 for ten miles or so to reach Rainbow’s End SKP RV Park ...and Escapees National Headquarters. We registered in the office and drove to our assigned “dry camp” / unserviced site. As I drove in ... Lanoire and Elsie just sunk down into the “lawn”. Deeply !   I stopped, shifted into 4WD, and backed out. The rear dually wheels kicked a lot of mud up onto the truck and camper < sigh >. And I really tore up the “lawn”. Sorry ! But ... not really my fault ! We returned to the office and were reassigned to a different “dry camp” / unserviced site.

Joanne did laundry. I worked on the computer. It rained and rained and rained !

We both couldn’t help but notice that Rainbow’s End SKP RV Park ... the Escapees “flagship” park ... has deteriorated noticeably since we were last here about ten years ago. Is that a function of the Escapees organization management changing from the first generation of the founding family to the third generation in the last ten years ? !

Monday ; Livingston, Texas

Mostly cloudy, mild, humid. We spent the day doing chores, running errands, and doing repairs.

Before leaving Rainbow's End SKP RV Park this morning we disinfected our five gallon water jug, doing that in a laundry tub in the laundromat. We went to the Activity Center and took a look at what was available on the "bargain table". All SKP parks have a bargain table where people put unwanted items and other people "buy" them for whatever they feel the item is worth. Proceeds are usually used for group activities like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Today I picked up a pair of golf shorts.

We drove north on Hwy. 146 towards Livingston. I stopped at West RV & Automotive to look for some RV parts I needed. The only item that I needed that they had was a shower hose ring guide. Next door to West RV & Automotive was Arena Veterinary Clinic where we had Bo neutered eleven years ago. I asked Bo if he wanted to go in and retrieve his lost testicles. He excitedly said "yes" ! HA HA HA !

We continued into Livingston. We found our way to Livingston Propane and had an empty propane tank refilled. Then we found a self-serve car wash and washed the truck and camper. What a lot of road grime ! And mud from yesterday's attempt to get into Rainbow's End dry camp area C. We went to Acres RV where I bought an igniter assembly for the camper's stove. Next stop was ... AHHHHH ... Catfish King for lunch. Great catfish place ! We were introduced to Catfish King eleven years ago by Rodney, a C.A.R.E resident who treated us to lunch at Catfish King in appreciation for some dog care assistance we gave him while he was at C.A.R.E. recuperating from a heart attack.

After lunch we drove to Wal-Mart, only to discover that it was ... HUH ? ... closed for renovations this week ? Parking lot full of cars, no signage ... nothing to indicate that it was closed until Joanne reached the entrance doors and they were locked. Joanne broke her key off in the camper's entry door lock ... < sigh >. I refilled with diesel at the Murphy's USA Fuel Bar adjacent to Wal-Mart. Lowest diesel price so far at just over two bucks a gallon. We drove over to H-E-B and did some grocery shopping.

Since we were parked in the H-E-B parking lot very close to Burger King I decided to stay parked there and get some online work done using Burger King's free Wi-Fi. Despite "connection" data showing otherwise, their Wi-Fi was terrible. I was unable to upload my weekly blog entry. I got tired of wasting my time and we drove to the mall next door and I tried again using Lowe's free Wi-Fi signal. Same thing. Apparently good connection, but unable to accomplish anything. I have heard complaints recently about poor Internet performance here in Texas due to the heavy rains and flooding over the last couple of weeks. I spent about an hour "spinning my wheels" with Burger King's
Wi-Fi and Lowe's Wi-Fi before giving up in frustration and heading back "home" to Rainbow's End. We got home about 5:30, just as it became dark.

Joanne cleaned a mildew problem I discovered this morning in the camper, thanks to the incredibly high humidity we have been experiencing lately. I reinstalled the Fantastic Fan trim ring. I installed the new igniter assembly on the stove. And discovered that it wasn't only the igniter that broke, but also the control knob. I had not noticed this morning that the knob was also broken. < sigh > I installed the new shower hose guide ring. I glued the cracked igniter control knob. I don't know if that will work. I'll test it tomorrow. We had a late, light supper.

Tuesday ; Livingston to rest area near Victoria, Texas

Mostly sunny and warm, less humid.

This morning we dumped our waste holding tanks, refilled our freshwater tank and departed Rainbow's End SKP RV park, heading north on Hwy. 146 back to the small city of Livingston. On the way we stopped ( again ) at West RV & Automotive. No, no ... the stove igniter knob glue repair did not work. I bought a stove igniter knob and entry door latch assembly, and installed both while parked in their driveway.

In Livingston we went to Pennzoil Livingston Quick Lube where I had an oil & filter change done on the truck. By the time were leaving Livingston it was after 1 PM. We headed south on Hwy. 59 towards Houston. We stopped to have a late lunch in a
Wal-Mart parking lot in Cleveland around 2 PM. We had been hoping to reach and drive through Houston before afternoon rush hour. I'm not sure we did. We reached the north edge of Houston ... "H-town" ... about 3:30 PM and were coming out the south end about 4:30 PM. The traffic was heavy but moved along fairly quickly most of the time.

attach pic 1592

 I was driving fairly fast trying to reach Victoria before dark. Didn't need to ! Found a large highway rest area about twenty miles or so before reaching Victoria, and we pulled in there just before 6 PM, with a few minutes of daylight left.

After arriving at the roadside rest area and selecting a parking spot, we went for a walk. We all needed some exercise. We walked around the large highway rest area. I took Bo for some Bo-gility in the children's playground. He is always eager to go on a playground slide. HA HA HA ... what a funny thing for a little dog to like. I found a patch of wild mushrooms and picked one to take back to the truck and camper to identify.
I succeeded in identifying it using my Mushroom Hunter book. It was a poisonous Green Spored Lepiota.

Wednesday ; rest area near Victoria to Harlingen, Texas

Partially sunny, very warm, extremely humid.

This morning we left the rest area near Victoria and continued southbound on Hwy. 59 briefly, then continued southbound on Hwy. 77 all the way to Harlingen in the Rio Grande Valley.

Near Corpus Christi we received a telephone call from our Connecticut friends Bill and Lynne, who are currently in Colorado, and will be meeting us here in the Rio Grande Valley in about a week. We stopped to refill with diesel in Odem. WOO-HOO ... paid less than two bucks a gallon for diesel ! ! ! We stopped at Love's in Kingsville to have lunch in the camper and refill the camper's freshwater tank. Then we drove a couple of exits south to the Wal-Mart in Kingsville for a bit of shopping. While Joanne went into the store I tried ... again ... to upload photos to my blog. And failed ... again. And failed again and again and again in Harlingen, using three different Wi-Fi signals in three different locations. Wi-Fi / the Internet has been dysfunctional ever since Branson, Missouri due to flooding in Texas. I think there is a problem with damaged fiber optic cables ... or some such technical problem.

We reached Harlingen and arrived at the Texas Visitor Information Center just before its 5 PM closing time. Joanne quickly collected some brochures, maps, local newspapers, etc. I walked over to the nearby Burger King to use Wi-Fi. Dysfunctional ! We drove to the nearby Cracker Barrel to assess its suitability for overnight boondocking. We drove to the nearby Wal-Mart mall and ... WOO-HOO ... found a PetsMart ! Bo LOOOOOVES shopping at PetsMart. We didn't need anything there, but took Bo "shopping" just to give him a thrill. We decided to boondock overnight in the Wal-Mart parking lot. But first ... we drove over to an adjacent mall where Joanne went shopping to Dollar Tree while I tried yet again to accomplish something on Wi-Fi. Dysfunctional !

Joanne wanted to have supper at Cici's Pizza Buffet Restaurant. I was too tired to resist. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! After eating way too much pizza ( for less than six bucks each ) we drove "next door" to the Wal-Mart and got settled in for the night.
I used Wal-Mart's Wi-Fi signal to upload my weekly blog text, but was unable to load any photos.

Whew ... eight thousand km. / five thousand miles from Thompson, Manitoba to the Rio Grande Valley ( and the Mexican border ) in Texas. I need a rest !

Thursday ; Harlingen to La Feria, Texas ( about 10 miles )

Sunny, very warm, brutally humid.

This morning we left the Wal-Mart parking lot and with just a teensy bit of difficulty found our way to a nearby Bank of America where I wanted to deposit our U.S.$ traveller's cheques. We have driven all the way from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, searching for a Bank of America the entire distance. We saw three branches, and we passed by all three of them after closing hours. So ... I felt it was essential to find the branch in Harlingen and get those traveller's cheques deposited to our account already.

And ... I regret it ! The service at the Harlingen branch of the Bank of America was the worst customer service I have ever encountered, with the sole exception of the United States Post Office in Yuma, Arizona at Christmas time. After waiting in line ... third in line, to be precise ... for over half an hour ... I began to loudly throw a hissy fit. There were three tellers. Two were only able to work on administrative desk work, until the manager "opened" them to serve customers. The one teller serving customers was tied up serving a high maintenance customer for the entire half hour. Not her fault. The manager ... a Hispanic high heeled fashionista was strutting around ignoring the growing line up.

Since ALL the other customers were Hispanic, and I was the only gringo, and I will never need to be in that branch again ... I thought I could get away with throwing a hissy fit, and bullying the manager into getting her act together. And ... I was right ! It worked ! I loudly bullied her into finally getting more tellers functional, and left her intimidated. Bravo for me ! She doesn't deserve to be a manager ! She's not "managing" ! ! ! AND ... the old Hispanic man in line in front of me actually thanked me for throwing the hissy fit and getting things moving.

From downtown Harlingen we drove about ten miles or so west on Hwy. 83 to La Feria where we checked into Kenwood RV Resort. Joanne had found an advertisement of theirs for a special rate of $199 for the first month. And we only want to be here for a month. And the same with our friends Bill and Lynne who are arriving in a week. So ... the $199 monthly special is perfect for all of us !

We selected a site, got registered, and I began chores. When I drained the black waste holding tank ... YIKES ... the sewer inlet was plugged and began to overflow raw sewage all over the ground around the inlet. YIKES YIKES YIKES ! ! ! ! ! Joanne went to the office and got a maintenance person ( female ) to come over. This was the second time in the last few days a sewer inlet was plugged and overflowed. It was because of the recent flooding. Mud washed down into some of the sites' sewer inlets and plugged them. We relocated to a different site, leaving the maintenance woman to deal with the mess. Sorry ! But not my fault !

After we got settled into our second site, and got chores done, we gave Bo a haircut and a bath. He hated getting the haircut, and he hated getting the bath, but he certainly loved the results of both ! HA HA HA ... good dog, Bo !

The Wi-Fi here is working well, but ... I still can't get photos to upload to my blog.

It certainly is nice to have electricity, and as a result ... air conditioning ! GAWD ... the humidity is brutal here !

Friday ; La Feria, Texas

Mostly sunny, very warm, temperature in the high 80's, humidity right now ( at 9:30 PM ) is 89%, forecast to be 94% overnight ! ! ! Like living / sleeping in a sauna ! ! !

This morning we removed Elsie the camper from Lanoire the truck. I decided that it was less work to remove and reinstall Elsie than it was to drive around with it on for an entire month. After lunch we headed into the village of La Feria for some shopping and to reacquaint ourselves with the village. We haven't been here since ... < thinking > ... probably 2007 ? Before leaving Kenwood RV Resort we stopped at the front office and
I made a reservation for our friends arriving next week. First stop in town was one of the two panaderias in town. WOO-HOO ... mucho pan dulce por gringos Canadiense. HA HA HA ! We'll have to eat all that Mexican pastry quickly so that we can try out the other panaderia and compare. HA HA HA !

We needed some groceries so we went to the scruffy, medium sized Mexican supermarket in town. We both love shopping in Mexican supermarkets. Bought some of those tiny bananas Bo loves. We call them Bo-nanas. Bought a bag full of key limes for my Diet Cokes. Bought some Crema Mexicana. Joanne wanted me to cook eggs in the thick, sweet cream, then changed her mind. Wants B.C. salmon cooked / poached in cream. HA HA HA ... your wish is my command, my dear. I bought some seasoned / marinated beef finger ribs and barbecued them for supper tonight. Joanne made fresh pico de gallo to heap over top of our potatoes. And she certainly does make excellent pico de gallo. Especially for a vieja gringa Canadiense. HA HA HA !

This afternoon we enjoyed some time in the indoor swimming pool and large hot tub. At supper time I raised the camper's roof top antenna and turned on the TV. Received about 25 channels "over the air". I was surprised. However ... about ten of them are Mexican, about ten of them are ... religion. There were a few English language mainstream networks, and just as supper was ready to be served I found CBS and ... WOO-HOO ... Amazing Race !

Saturday ; Harlingen, Texas

Today started out mostly sunny, very warm and very humid again. This afternoon it began to rain lightly and after some rain fell, the temperature and humidity both plummeted, so that now ( at 7 PM ) it's actually quite cool. I might have to put long pants on. Poor me !

We spent most of the day in Harlingen running shopping errands. We started by going to the regular Saturday morning downtown farmer's market. But ... it wasn't really a farmer's market, more of a flea market. We stopped in at a Methodist church thrift store where I bought a couple of pair of denim shorts ... at 50 cents a pair. I suppose I don't need to get much wear out of them to justify their expense, now do I ? HA HA HA ! 
I got a key cut at a hardware store. We shopped at Walgreens. We bought dog food at PetsMart. We shopped at Dollar Tree. Joanne bought some hair care products at Sally Beauty. We went for lunch at Mr. Gatti's Pizza Buffet Restaurant. We wanted to compare Cici's to Mr. Gatti's. Each does some things better than the other, so ... it's a bit of a toss up.

Our final stop in Harlingen was H-E-B to buy groceries. Oh my goodness ! Note to self ; do not shop at large supermarket in Harlingen on Saturdays. We're retired ! We're going to have to confine our shopping trips to weekdays when everyone else is busy with work or school. YIKES ... H-E-B was crowded ! < whispering > ... Does every Mexican couple have four young children ? Are we the only two gringos in all of Harlingen ? Did we accidentally cross into Mexico without noticing the border ?

DSK

October 25 to 31, 2015 ; Branson, Missouri to "Acadiana" region of Louisiana

After three days and numerous attempts ... unable to upload photos ( due to widespread flooding in Texas, and resultant fiber optic cable damage, etc. ).  Will post text, and try to upload photos at later date.

Sunday ; Turkey Creek SKP RV Village

Mostly sunny and mild.

We had a slightly slow, lazy day. After a late, slow start, we worked ... yes, AGAIN ... on the camper water pump replacement "endless project". Today I replaced the section of flexible hose that was swollen, likely from freezing while we were in Churchill, and the camper was sitting unattended in Thompson for five days in cold weather. < sigh > Once again, I'm hopeful that is the end of the water pump replacement "endless project". Time will tell. Wish me luck !

This afternoon we went for a long, slow walk all around the RV park, up and down each row, enjoying the pleasant fall weather, hoping that some sunshine and exercise would improve our health. My cold is almost over, but Joanne's is not, she's still quite ill. Late this afternoon we went to the park's weekly ice cream social, which was poorly attended, but we sat at a table with two other couples and chatted with them for four hours. One of the couples are new lot owners at Kofa Ko-op, our winter home park in Yuma, Arizona, so we will be seeing them there later this winter.

Monday ; Branson, Missouri to Little Rock, Arkansas

Both of us were in very poor spirits today.

Today started out partially cloudy and mild in Branson, it began to rain as we drove across Northern Arkansas, and by the time we stopped for the night at Little Rock, it was raining heavily. This might be the leading edge of what was Hurricane Patricia.

Before leaving Turkey Creek SKP RV Village we refilled with freshwater and dumped our waste holding tanks. We headed south out of Branson on Hwy. 65 and soon we were crossing from Missouri into Arkansas. We stopped at Harrison to shop at
Wal-Mart, then had lunch in Wal-Mart's parking lot. We drove across the street for more shopping at Dollar Tree, then across the street again for more shopping at Home Depot. Which explains why we did not travel as many miles today as usual.

I couldn't help noticing, as we shopped, that Northern Arkansas did not seem to be ...
< ahem > ... heavily populated by rocket scientists. And ... as we drove today through the very lovely Ozarks, I actually found a radio station playing ... banjo music. At this point I would normally insert laughter, but ... I don't want to get shot !
< stifling laughter >

Travelling south on Hwy. 65 through rural Arkansas was scenic, with the lovely fall colours of the Ozark Mountains. When we reached Conway we turned east on Interstate 40 until we reached Little Rock at dusk. We were going to stay at the
Wal-Mart at Conroy but their parking lot was posted "no overnight parking", a rarity at Wal-Marts. At Little Rock we found our way to Cracker Barrel, a restaurant chain that welcomes RV'ers to park overnight. I believe the implication is ... have dinner in our restaurant then feel free to park overnight in our parking lot. I understand and appreciate that, and that is what we have done in the past the few times we have boondocked at a Cracker Barrel. BUT ... tonight we had Manitoba Pickerel that had been thawed since yesterday and needed to be cooked tonight. AND ... was it ever good ! ! !

Thank you very much, Cracker Barrel. We owe you one !

Tuesday ; Little Rock, Arkansas to Alexandria, Louisiana

Cloudy, mild, steady light rain until mid-afternoon, then intermittent light rain.

Cracker Barrel was a great place to boondock overnight. No tractor/trailer truck noise. No rednecks racing their cars and/or diesel pickups across the parking lot. No trains. No Confederate flags flying ! ! !

We drove across Little Rock, first on Interstate 40, then Interstate 30, then Interstate 530 heading south out of Little Rock. We turned onto Hwy. 167 and followed that for the rest of the day, until getting onto Interstate 49 to enter Alexandria, Louisiana.

We stopped at an independent service station near Sheridan, Arkansas to refill with diesel and freshwater. We stopped at a small rest area to have lunch. After lunch we crossed from Arkansas into Louisiana. All the way across Arkansas, and now into Louisiana, Joanne has been wanting to have barbecue or catfish for supper. Remember ... down here "barbecue" is a "type of food" noun. But we did not see any catfish restaurants, and the few barbecue places we saw were not all that appealing.

Shortly before reaching Alexandria was the Choctaw Pines Casino. Great ! Casinos are usually a great place to boondock overnight, and usually a great place to have a reasonably priced buffet meal. And we haven't passed many casinos on this trip. We pulled into the casino, parked, and went inside to check it out, leaving Bo in the cab of the truck until we decided whether we were eating in the casino or in the camper. OH ! Tuesday is Senior's Night ! Two For One Senior's Buffet ! WOO-HOO ! We went to the casino player's club, got registered ... WOO-HOO ... $15 each in free play ... then headed back to the truck to put Bo in the camper and get me a sweater. As we exited the casino we heard a page ... "BLAH BLAH BLAH black Dodge Ram 3500 with a camper on it BLAH BLAH BLAH".

HUH ? Why would they be paging us ? I turned back towards the casino door and there was a security guard there. I identified myself as the owner of the black Dodge Ram 3500 with the camper on it. He advised me that we couldn't leave our vehicle with the dog in it unattended. Okay ... no problem. We're just returning to the truck now to put him inside the camper. "No, no ... you're not listening, sir ! You can't leave the dog in an unattended vehicle !" Okay ... no problem. I handed him both of our casino player's cards, issued about two minutes prior, wished him a "good night", and ... we left !

We were a bit annoyed, and a bit disappointed. Not that the rule about leaving dogs in unattended vehicles didn't make sense, but that they were unable to use common sense in its application. It was a cool, rainy evening, and Bo was going to be in the camper ... where we live ! ! ! We weren't going to leave a dog in a locked car on a hot day ! Oh, well ... easy come, easy go. Choctaw Pines Casino has survived so far without any of my money in their pocket, and so it shall remain !

BUT ... by now ... half an hour or so after we stopped at the casino, it was dark. And we don't like driving in the dark. Especially into a large, unfamiliar city. We drove towards Alexandria and as we reached the city we got onto Interstate 49. Joanne's road atlas said there was a Wal-Mart near exit 83. We found exit 83 easily enough. And without too much difficulty we found the Wal-Mart. AND ... < sputter > ... across the street was Outlaw's Catfish House. WOO-HOO !

Our catfish supper was VERY good ! And very inexpensive ! Two catfish dinners cost less than one buffet dinner at the casino. Ya win some, ya lose some !

attach pic 1562

Wednesday ; Alexandria to Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
 
HOO-EEE ... now that was some good crawfish étoufée !

Sunny and very warm, temperature 83º F. / 28º C., but humidity about 70% !

This morning before leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot we pulled over to the Murphy's USA Fuel Bar and refilled with diesel and freshwater. We continued heading south on Interstate 49. Approaching an exit we saw a sign directing to Chicot State Park and Louisiana State Arboretum. On impulse we decided to go check them out. They were less than half an hour or so off the Interstate, down beautiful country "back roads".

We spent a few hours in Chicot State Park. It's a lovely, very large park with campgrounds, picnic areas, rental cabins, a playground, and of course ... a bayou ! AND ... the Louisiana State Arboretum is within the state park. First we dumped our waste holding tanks at one of the campground's sani-dump stations. Then we parked at a picnic area, went for a leisurely walk, played Bo-gility on the playground equipment, and did some hide and seek obedience. We drove over to the bayou and walked out onto a long fishing pier. Not of all us walked all the way out onto the fishing pier. Halfway down the pier, Bo looked down between the boards, saw water, and refused to walk any further. HA HA HA ! He waited for us there, and was eager to return to land when we returned from the end of the pier. HA HA HA ... a BO NO GO fishing pier ! We drove around viewing the rental cabins, then over to the Arboretum. We parked and had lunch in the parking lot before going inside. We viewed the exhibits, then went for a hike down two of the interpretive trails. Who knew there were so many types of oak trees ?

When we left the park we decided we may as well keep driving down the country back roads until we reached the small city of Ville Platte. First stop there was the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Information Centre where we were surprised to find that we were in a French speaking area of Louisiana. We got ( too much ) tourist information, then drove to a local meat market / butcher shop to browse. WHEW ! Hold me back !

On the way back to Interstate 49 there was a large, dead, wild cat on the side of the road. I stopped to take a look. I think it was a lynx. We returned to Interstate 49 and continued south into Lafayette. Once we arrived there we found our way to a Cajun restaurant that had interesting advertising billboards along the Interstate. However ... once inside we took a look at their menu and decided not to stay. We decided to drive ten miles or so east to Breaux Bridge, where we knew we would be happy to eat at Poché 's Meat Market & Restaurant. We had been there before about ten years ago.

Poché's is a very simple place. A butcher shop with a small diner. BUT ...
< salivating > ... ! All of their meats and many of their restaurant specialties are available in their frozen foods cooler. WHEW ! Hold me back ! ! ! For supper, Joanne had chicken and sausage gumbo. I had crawfish étoufée. CHALICE ... it was good ! That's a slightly blasphemous French expression ... pronounced "KAW LISS", spoken slowly, kind of dragged out. HA HA HA !

After supper we drove back to Lafayette, in the dark, about ten miles, only to discover that the shopping malls in Lafayette do not allow overnight parking. < quietly
mumbling > HOSTIE ! Another blasphemous French expression, usually mumbled softly, more or less pronounced "awSTEE". HA HA HA ! We drove back to Breaux Bridge on the Interstate, and parked overnight in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

attach pics 1563, 1565, 1575, 1577, 1578

Thursday ; Breaux Bridge to Abbeville to Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, Louisiana
 
Sunny, very warm, humid.

We had a slightly unproductive, slightly disappointing day. As a result, Joanne is feeling very "down in the dumps" tonight. We explored today. We didn't travel many miles. Nevertheless the miles we did travel today were tiring. South Louisiana, south of Lafayette, south of Interstate 10, is filled with a myriad of back country roads. Navigation is difficult. Maps are confusing. It's akin to travelling in Mexico, except when we stop to ask directions, it's in English.

This morning we went into Wal-Mart to buy a few items. Before leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot we trimmed Bo's claws using the dog nail clippers we had just bought. They were terrible ! We returned them for a refund. We pulled over to the Murphy USA Fuel Bar and refilled with freshwater before leaving Wal-Mart.

We drove west on I-10 back to Lafayette then headed south through Lafayette. The traffic was congested, and it took us about an hour to get across Lafayette. That included a brief stop to buy batteries at Walgreens and a loaf of ( overpriced ) bread at Panera Bread. Once through Lafayette we headed south to Abbeville where we wanted to see an RV park that we have heard much about over the years, and a Cajun Cultural Centre. We found the RV Park, and have no idea why it gets such "rave reviews". We failed to find the Cajun Cultural Centre. Heading out of Abbeville, we stopped at a tiny diner to buy "the best po'boys in Abbeville", so their sign said. And the shrimp po'boy
I had was indeed good ! Joanne ordered a pork chop sandwich, mostly to find out what the hell is a pork chop sandwich ? Well ... take one good sized pork chop, coat it thickly in seasoned batter ( the same batter used on chicken, shrimp, onion rings, and everything else ), deep fry it until well done, and slap it between two slices of toast slathered with mayonnaise. HA HA HA ... I thought it looked pretty appealing. Too bad
I can't eat pork. It's 9:30 PM and Joanne is lying in bed with an upset stomach. And she skipped supper because of the upset stomach. I, on the other hand, ate the fried chicken that I ordered on impulse as we waited for our lunch to be prepared. MMMMM ... good fried chicken. Good shrimp po'boy ! I can't vouch for the pork chop sandwich. HA HA HA !

And you wonder why Louisiana girls have booty ? HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

From Abbeville we found our way to New Iberia. We were looking for a locally renowned bakery. We failed to find it ! From New Iberia we drove and drove and drove around a maze of back roads, including about ten miles along the top of a levee, until we reached Lake Fausse Pointe State Park. And then the disappointments really began ! The state park is ... a swamp ! Well ... DUH ... it is Louisiana ! We were at a state park near New Orleans in 2004 that also was a swamp. However ... due to the recent heavy rains, Lake Fausse Pointe State Park is really a swamp ! The roads and the paved campsites are all surrounded by ... water ! The price of a campsite is too high, in our opinion. The Interpretive Centre has been closed for over a year. The hiking trails are all flooded. The mosquitoes are HUGE ! By the time we realized all that, it was dusk, and too late to bail out and find our way to somewhere else. And ... < sputter > ... the straw that broke Joanne's back, so to speak, was ... she left her bottle of laundry detergent in the laundromat at Turkey Creek RV Village in Branson, Missouri. She discovered that when she went to do laundry, since there was nothing much else to do here !

She went to sleep early, without supper. I downloaded and processed photos from the last few days. I wish I could be as helpful to her as she is to me when I'm depressed.

attach pic 1579

Friday ; Lake Fausse State Park to Lafayette to Opelousas, Louisiana
 
Mostly sunny, very warm. Late in the evening it began to rain lightly.

Today was a better day than yesterday, so Joanne's low spirits improved throughout the day.

This morning we refilled with freshwater at our campsite then dumped our waste holding tanks at the state park's sani-dump station before exploring the state park by road. After leaving the state park about 1 PM we drove along ( and briefly on ) an Atchafalaya Swamp levée heading north. We turned west at the village of Catahoula on Hwy. 96 and drove back to Hwy. 90, then headed north back into Lafayette. And yes, yes ... there actually was a Leopard Dog lying on a porch in Catahoula !

Once back in Lafayette we found our way to the Acadian Cultural Center where we spent the rest of the afternoon in their museum learning ( again / more ) about the history of the Acadians / Cajuns. I always have and continue to think that's an embarrassing part of Canadian history.

From there we drove through rush hour traffic to ... wait for it ... Poupart's Bakery ! WOO-HOO ! ! ! We bought some muffins, a loaf of sourdough bread, and ... since it was near closing time, they had an "end of day special". Their last two rum cakes ... buy one get one free ! So ... WOO-HOO ... we are now the proud owners of two ... count 'em, two ... Poupart Bakery rum cakes. HA HA HA ! Did you have any doubt ?

Some BC salmon, some Manitoba pickerel, some of my sister's baking, and now two rum cakes ... and our freezer is full ! Yeah, but ... if a hurricane hits Louisiana now ... we won't starve ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! Again ... did you have any doubt ?

We left the truck and camper parked beside the bakery and walked two doors down to Chris's Po'Boys Restaurant. Joanne wanted a muffuletta sandwich for supper. And .. she had one ! Although ... it was quite a challenge for her to finish it. And since it had multiple types of pork meats in it, I couldn't help. Not that I had much room left after having a bowl of shrimp and crab gumbo, and a barbecued beef po'boy. MAN ... that was the best shrimp and crab gumbo I've ever had ! < whispering > And the only ! HA HA HA !

We drove through Lafayette and out to the south on Hwy. 90 about eighteen miles to Opelousas where we boondocked for the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

attach pics 1582, 1583, 1586, 1588, 1590

Saturday ; Hallowe'en ; Opelousas to Eunice, Louisiana
 
HMMM ... should we go to see Meat Loaf at a local casino or Rendez-Vous Des Cajuns live radio and TV show at the historic Liberty Theater in Eunice ? HA HA HA !

Today was cloudy and chilly with heavy rain all day. That ruined Hallowe'en for children, and resulted in abysmal attendance at tonight's Rendez-Vous Des Cajuns.

This morning as we were getting ourselves ready we watched a stray black cat dumpster diving beside the Wal-Mart. Poor little kitty ! Being a stray black cat on Hallowe'en is a dangerous thing in some neighbourhoods, and ... < ahem > ... this was one of them ! Before leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot we refilled with diesel and freshwater at Murphy's USA Fuel Bar. We found our way to the Opelousas Tourist Center and adjacent Le Vieux Village, French for The Old Village. We viewed some Cajun music history exhibits inside the Opelousas Tourist Center, and then spent a brief period of time when it wasn't raining walking quickly around Le Vieux Village, a collection of old buildings representing a typical Cajun / southern Louisiana village of the late 1800's.

We drove about 50 km. / 30 miles or so west on Hwy. 190 to the town of Eunice. We had another amazing Cajun meal for lunch, this time at Ronnie's Cajun Café ( man, these "accent aigue" are SO hard to insert in my online blog ) where we each had one of the daily specials, known locally as "lunch plates". Joanne had baked ham ( on rice, of course ) with green bean casserole and "mac & peas" ... which wasn't very good. Maybe "mac & peas" are an acquired taste ? I had "sticky chicken" ... on rice ... with green bean casserole and sweet yam casserole ... mashed yams with pecans, seasoned with lots of brown sugar and cinnamon ( I think ).

After lunch we drove "downtown" and parked at the municipal building ( housing city hall, police station, court, etc. ), and walked across the street to the Acadian Prairie Cultural Center to attend the regular weekly Saturday afternoon 3 PM Cajun music exhibition, a 45 minute performance by local musicians. This week it was a four piece band called Bubba Hebert & The New Morse Playboys. HMPH ... audience of eight, thanks to the rain ! At 4 PM, in the kitchen, local chef Jordy Carrier had prepared a large pot of traditional chicken and smoked sausage gumbo and was serving it ... to the eight audience members and four band members.

We walked next door to the historic Liberty Theater and purchased two tickets for tonight's Rendez-Vous Des Cajuns, a weekly live broadcast radio and TV show., then went back to the camper to rest for awhile and wait for the 6 PM show. Tonight's performers were JoJo Reed & The Happy Hill Zydeco Band. < sigh > And again, thanks to the heavy rain, the audience was about twenty people, in a theater designed to seat at least a few hundred. Nevertheless, it was a great hour and a half of zydeco music. We were seated near the wife of tonight's guest MC, an elderly local musician. She chatted with us before and after the show. Interesting lessons on local French language peculiarities.

After the Rendez-Vous Des Cajuns we drove to the nearby Wal-Mart in Eunice to have a late, light supper and boondock overnight.

We are currently ( 9:30 PM ) listening to K-BON 101.1 FM on the radio in the camper. The weather report has just advised that the current humidity is 97% ! Yes, yes, I did notice that it was a bit humid ! HA HA HA !

DSK

October 17 to 24, 2015 ; Lorette / Winnipeg, Manitoba to Turkey Creek SKP RV Village, Branson, Missouri

Saturday ; Winnipeg to Lorette ... twice

Sunny and chilly.

This morning before leaving Joanne's sister's home, where we spent the night, we walked the three dogs ; Bo and his two "cousins", Macie the Bichon Frise and Sophie the Miniature Poodle / Dachshund. All three are "seniors". They were a good "pack" while Bo was their houseguest for the last two weeks or so. We took them for their final pack walk alongside the Red River on the Churchill Drive parkway.

Thank you for caring for our Bo for the last couple of weeks, Lorraine, Madeleine, and Amelia.

After leaving Lorraine's we went to Gimli Fish and bought quite a bit of fresh Manitoba Pickerel ... and one smoked Goldeye. We refilled with diesel at the Superstore Fuel Bar, then had lunch in the parking lot before going into Superstore to buy groceries, the completion of our "must buy before leaving Canada" shopping list, including such items as Maple Syrup and Christmas fruit cake.

We drove a bit east of Winnipeg to my sister's home near the village of Lorette. We visited with my sister and brother-in-law for part of the afternoon, and we did some chores. Joanne repackaged all the Pickerel into meal sized bags and froze them. Our freezer now contains only B.C. Salmon and Manitoba Pickerel, as fish is allowed across the border.

We treated Sharon and Bud to dinner at Swiss Chalet in Winnipeg. The restaurant was on the northwest side of the city, so it was a long drive there and back ... in their car driven by Bud. Being Saturday evening, the restaurant was very busy and service was slow. By the time we were served dinner it was way past Sharon's and Bud's usual dinner time. By the time we returned to their home, and had tea and dessert, it was way past their usual bed time. We appreciate that they were patient and gracious.

Thank you very much for all you've done, and all you've fed us, in the last few weeks, Sharon and Bud.

Sunday ; Lorette / Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.A.

GEEEEEZZZ ... Fargo ! ! !

Sunny all day, cool in the morning in Lorette, mild and very windy by the time we reached Fargo late in the afternoon.

I had a chance to chat with Sharon and Bud for awhile this morning before they had to leave their home at 10 AM. Joanne and I had their home and bathroom to ourselves until we were ready to depart about 11:15 AM. I took Bo for a long walk through their "back forty" just before we departed. He loves exploring their large property. Before Sharon and Bud departed for the wedding shower that Sharon was hosting, she gave us two plates full of wedding shower "dainties". MMMMM ! Thank you. Sharon ! She certainly does feed us ( and everyone else ) well !

We headed east on Trans-Canada Highway 1 just a short distance back to Winnipeg, then around the south side of the city on Perimeter Highway 100, then south on Pembina Hwy. 75 to the border crossing from Emerson, Manitoba to Pembina, North Dakota. We stopped on the Canadian side at the Visitor Information Centre and had lunch in the parking lot. MMMMM ... that smoked Goldeye from Gimli Fish certainly was good ! Bo agreed ! It’s been a lot of years since I’ve had smoked Goldeye.

Today's border crossing was the fastest / most painless crossing ever ! The female Customs & Border Patrol agent asked us about half a dozen simple and sensible questions, then sent us on our way. Didn't even get an Agriculture Inspection, which
I thought was mandatory for RV's crossing the border. Total time for the border crossing process was probably less than a minute.

We continued southbound in North Dakota on Interstate 29. When we reached Grand Forks we decided that there was enough daylight left for us to continue on to Fargo before stopping for the night. At Fargo we found Wal-Mart, got parked then went inside to do some shopping, mostly to buy some fresh groceries and a cell phone. This is the fourth year in a row that I have been unable to reactivate our U.S. cell phone, and have had to buy another one. I'm extremely dissatisfied and annoyed that every year I end up discarding a perfectly good cell phone that we have used for only six months the previous winter season. And now that I'm thinking about it, for each and every one of the previous eleven years, I have experienced cell phone drama when we return to the United States in the fall.

As I type this ( at 7:20 PM ) while waiting for supper to be ready, behind us in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart is a ... meeting of some sort. Six, old, diesel pick-up trucks, drivers wearing filthy baseball caps, some wearing camouflage clothing, some sporting long, bushy "Duck Dynasty" beards, a couple of the trucks flying Confederate flags. Wonder if they're from the Fargo Chamber of Commerce ? HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

Monday ; Fargo, North Dakota to Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Sunny and warm. Much warmer than expected ! Temperatures already up in the 70's !

This morning we left the Wal-Mart in Fargo and drove a short distance to the Farm & Fleet Fuel Bar where we refilled with diesel and adjusted the air in all the truck tires. Then we went over to Love's where we refilled the camper's freshwater tank.

We continued southbound on Interstate 29. All day ! Flat and straight ! Endless corn fields ! Oh, boy ... I can hardly wait to see what Iowa has in store. HA HA HA !

When we crossed from North Dakota into South Dakota we stopped at the Visitor Information Centre / Rest Area to have lunch. We stopped again in Brookings to buy some groceries at Wal-Mart. Terrible service at the deli counter. Two out of the three employees behind the deli counter should be fired. The third one needs an attitude adjustment ! We stopped for the night at the Flying J in Sioux Falls.

While Joanne prepared supper I walked across the street to use free Wi-Fi at Burger King. I completed the activation of our new cell phone.

Tuesday ; Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Council Bluffs, Iowa ( across Missouri River from Omaha, Nebraska )

Sunny and very warm, temperature in the low 80's F. / high 20's C.

We didn't travel as many miles as usual today, mostly because I had to do some repairs on the camper. We left the Flying J this morning without buying diesel or refilling our freshwater tank. Their freshwater was already turned off for the winter ( despite the temperature today being in the 80's ! ) and their fuel price was not competitive. The Flying J chain has deteriorated a lot since Pilot bought them about five years or so ago. And ... the same holds true for Camping World, which has also deteriorated immensely since being bought by Good Sam five years or so ago as well !

We continued southbound on Interstate 29. Before reaching Iowa we stopped at Coffee Cup Travel Plaza to refill with diesel and freshwater, then drove across the highway to a rest area to have lunch and a brief nap. Continuing south on Interstate 29 we crossed from South Dakota into Iowa, following the along the east side of the Missouri River. Across the river is Nebraska. When we reached Council Bluffs, Iowa ( across the Missouri River from Omaha, Nebraska ) we found our way to Camping World. This morning we discovered a plumbing leak underneath the bathroom sink and I needed some repair supplies. AND ... when we stopped at a rest area this afternoon to dump our black waste holding tank the sewer hose bayonet mount broke, so I needed a replacement for that as well.

We bought the repair parts, I replaced the sewer hose bayonet mount, then I removed the bathroom sink faucets and installed a new set. The bathroom sink faucet set that
I bought and installed only nine months ago seems to have not survived the Northern Manitoba experience ! After I finished the repairs Joanne made supper. She was feeling quite ill today with a cold. My cold seems to be progressing quicker than hers, so it seems that I'm over the worst already.

Wednesday ; Council Bluffs, Iowa to Nevada, Missouri

It rained heavily overnight. Sunny and very warm again today. Weather much warmer than expected since we left Canada.

This morning we left the Camping World parking lot and resumed driving southbound on Interstate 29. About ten miles before reaching Missouri we took an exit where we could see there were a few different Travel Plazas ( large "truck stop" service stations with many services and amenities ). At the first one we pulled into we found a sani-dump station so we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater.

After crossing into Missouri we stopped in St. Joseph where we had lunch in the parking lot of the Visitor Information Centre then refilled with diesel at FastGas. We found a mall with a Dollar Tree and a Wal-Mart, and while Joanne went shopping at both I napped briefly with Bo.

Q ; How can one tell one is in Missouri ?

A : Dead armadillos on the side of the road ! HA HA HA !

We continued southbound on Interstate 29, entering Kansas City, Missouri ( as opposed to Kansas City, Kansas on the other side of the Missouri River ) at rush hour.
It took about an hour to drive across Kansas City. The traffic flowed well through the city on the Interstate. We've experienced cities that were much more difficult to drive across than this was. Coming out the south side of Kansas City we got onto Interstate 49 still heading south.

We stopped for the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Nevada ( pronounced "NeVAYda" ), Missouri. Across the street there was a noisy, scary looking industrial plant of some sort. Perhaps a power generating station ? Nuclear ? NAAAH ... it's Missouri. Probably coal ! HA HA HA !

Thursday ; Nevada to Turkey Creek SKP RV Village, Branson, Missouri

Sunny, very warm again, humid. Turns out that the noisy, scary looking industrial plant across the street was a 3M factory.

This morning we pulled out of the Wal-Mart parking lot and across the street to Murphy’s USA Fuel Bar ( owned by Wal-Mart, I think ) where we refilled with diesel and refilled our freshwater tank. We continued southbound on Interstate 49. At Joplin we turned eastbound onto Interstate 44. We stopped for lunch at a truck rest area ( no services, just tractor/trailer parking spots ) then at Springfield turned south again on Hwy. 60. Isn’t Springfield, Missouri the home of “The Simpsons” ?

As we passed a very large RV parts dealer I decided to stop and buy some RV repair parts I want and/or need. They had most, but not all, of what I was looking for. As I was putting a spare part into the storage area underneath our dinette table ... the dinette table leg mounting base broke. How convenient !  I went back inside the store and bought a replacement, then installed it while in their parking lot.

Late in the afternoon we arrived in Branson, then found our way to the SKP park in the nearby suburb of Hollister. We checked in, parked in their unserviced “boondock” area, then I went to take a nap. Joanne was extremely ill today, for the third day in a row. She spent the rest of the afternoon and evening resting and recuperating. I hope she begins to feel better soon.

After I napped we took Bo for a play session in the fenced dog park, then I went to the clubhouse to get some work done on Wi-Fi. I returned to the camper for tonight’s supper of leftovers. Joanne had been perusing the Branson entertainment information she had picked up in the clubhouse. Gee Whiz ... hundreds of entertainment venues and shows in Branson, and not a single one appeals to us. We may be leaving here sooner than initially planned.

Friday ; Turkey Creek SKP RV Village

Mostly sunny, very warm, humid. Wearing shorts and sandals, no shirt for most of the day ! Very nice fall colours here in the Ozark Mountains.

Well ! ! ! Our plan was to leave here tomorrow morning and continue heading south towards Louisiana and Texas. But late this afternoon I learned about Hurricane Patricia. And if we leave here tomorrow as planned, we'll arrive in southwest Louisiana about the same time as Hurricane Patricia ! ! ! Perhaps we'll just stay here for another couple of days ?

Most of today was spent on chores. Joanne did laundry. I gave Joanne a haircut ... at her request. And did a darn good job ! I did repairs. Including modifying the water pump plumbing now that I had the required parts. And that included reinstalling the in-line water filter. I discovered a section of plumbing that seemed rather swollen. I think it froze while we were up north at Churchill and the camper was sitting unattended in below freezing temperatures at Thompson. The flexible plumbing hose didn't burst, but it certainly did swell. I'll replace it as soon as I acquire some half inch reinforced RV plumbing hose. I also did some work online in the clubhouse, paying this month's MasterCard bills, both Canadian dollar and U.S. dollar.

This RV park has a population of younger RV'ers, with children. And Bo seems to be a child magnet. He seems to have quickly developed a fan club of young children who are not shy about coming over and asking if they can take Bo to the fenced dog park. This afternoon he stole a young boy's ham sandwich right out of the boy's hand. Bad dog, Bo. Although ... < whispering and snickering > ... it was rather funny. And I had previously warned Nick that if he kept waving that sandwich around as he talked that Bo might lunge for it. And ... he eventually did ! Nick said ... "oh, well, I guess I was just about finished eating that". HA HA HA !

We have sort of made friends with a young family here. We met in the dog park yesterday. Father, pregnant mother, four very young children, and Chloe the Standard Poodle whose first birthday is tomorrow. The family looks like, dresses like, and behaves like ... the Duggar family on TLC's "Nineteen Kids & Counting". Even names their children like the Duggar's. Each child's name starts with the same letter as the first letter of the father's first name. I don't know if that's some specific religious thing ... or an Arkansas thing ... or ? ? ? They spend about half their time travelling, although not very far from their home in nearby Arkansas. The father "preaches" in churches as they travel. The pregnant mother says he "evangelizes". I don't really know what that means ! They know ... pretty close to nothing about Canada and Canadians. They seem astounded that we have travelled in Mexico. < shrug >

Joanne slept better last night than the previous few nights. And she slept late this morning. And took it easy today. So ... she's finally feeling just a bit better. Another couple of restful days spent here doing not much of anything probably wouldn't hurt.

I'm currently ( at 8:30 PM ) sitting in the clubhouse, working on my computer, plugged into electricity to recharge the battery, because we are in the unserviced "dry camp" area. The weekly "jam session" is taking place in the clubhouse. Seven very old men, one drummer, six guitarists, playing and singing "country" music. Their accents make them unintelligible to me. Some are wearing cowboy hats. Some are wearing bib front denim overalls. I ... should stop typing before I type something that I'm going to regret. HA HA HA ! YEE-HAW !

Saturday ; Branson, Missouri

Mostly cloudy, cool.

After a slow, late start to the day we went shopping and exploring. First stop was the nearby Lowe's where I bought some reinforced hose and fittings. Tomorrow I will change the camper water pump's swollen outlet hose. I'm desperately hoping that will finally be the end of the month long water pump drama. After Lowe's we crossed the street to Country Mart, the local supermarket to refill our five gallon water jug and buy some groceries. We had lunch in the grocery store's parking lot and I napped briefly before we set off for an afternoon of exploring Branson.

We found our way to the new, very large shopping mall area known as Branson's Landing. As we were walking from our parking spot over to the stores a restored trolley bus stopped right in front of us. It drove a forty minute route around "Historic Downtown Branson", so ... we hopped aboard. After the trolley bus tour of Historic Downtown Branson ... not all that impressive ... we went browsing at Bass Pro Shop, a huge outdoors / sporting goods store, similar to Cabela's. We wandered around for awhile and I selected a fishing fly to buy. While waiting in line to pay for it, I became impatient with the bad service, tossed the fly onto an empty checkout counter, and we left. We browsed and wandered from one end of Branson's Landing shopping area to the opposite end. Again ... not all that impressive.

As we pulled out of the mall's parking lot I noticed a fuel station across the street with the lowest price I had seen locally, so I refilled with diesel. We drove through the main part of Branson's entertainment "Strip", at crawling speed in bumper to bumper traffic. When we got to the very new Cici's Pizza outlet I impulsively decided I wanted to have supper at Cici's. I pulled into the parking lot ... and could not find a parking spot that was level enough to permit the camper's fridge to operate. Joanne was feeling ill and crabby today, I was feeling depressed and crabby today, so again ... impatiently we left !

We finally drove out of Branson's traffic congestion and a few miles over to Table Rock Dam and Table Rock State Park. We walked around briefly with Bo, but it was getting chilly and dark ... so ... we drove "home" to Turkey Creek SKP RV Village. While Joanne prepared supper I went to the clubhouse to use Wi-Fi. After dinner I worked on monthly computer backup chores.

From our perspective, Branson is a waste of time and money !

DSK

October 11 to 16, 2015 ; Churchill to Winnipeg, Manitoba

Sunday ; Today was warmer than yesterday, above freezing today, so yesterday's snowfall was rapidly melting today.

At noon I was picked up at our hotel by the owner of Churchill River Mushing for my dog sled outing. I was his only client for today, and since it was the weekend ( no school ) his two daughters came along. And ... I got a "revised" tour, different and longer than the usual. We drove to his "dog yard" and while I visited with his seventeen dogs, he and his elder daughter ( age 13 ) hitched up ten dogs ( four more than usual ) to a wheeled dog sled. There wasn't quite enough snow yet to use a regular sled on skis. And yesterday's snow was rapidly melting today.

The dog sled outing was a great experience. And being the only client I had the musher all to myself. We chatted a lot about his dog mushing background and experience. From the dog yard we travelled on the shoulder of the highway towards the airport for awhile, then onto a trail that passed through an abandoned Dene community from the 1970's.

Once I was back at the hotel Joanne and I had lunch in our hotel room. While I was out dog sledding Joanne went over to Frontiers North Adventures and verified our Tundra Buggy outing for tomorrow, then went to the Northern Store and bought some groceries. After lunch we walked over to the train station to view the small museum inside. Well ... the train station was closed today. We did not know that. AND ... last night, the last employee to leave set the alarm but did not lock the front door. HA HA HA ! So ... Joanne and I walked into the train station, and ... set off the alarm. HA HA HA HA HA ! We waited around for a few minutes waiting for the police to arrive, so we could explain, but ... you know ... patience is not my strong suit. HA HA HA ... after a few minutes,
I got tired of waiting for the police to arrive so ... we left. HA HA HA !

I did some computer work online this afternoon and evening. We went out for a late supper to the Reef Restaurant at the Seaport Hotel. It was ... okay. Sort of. I guess.

Monday ; our 41st anniversary and Canadian Thanksgiving

Mostly cloudy, an hour of partial sunshine in the afternoon, warm enough to melt the remaining snow from Saturday's blizzard.

Well ! ! ! Overall ... a day with many disappointments !

We were up at 6 AM in order to be ready for the 7:30 AM pickup by Frontiers North Adventures for our Tundra Buggy day outing. They picked us up in their little bus, then drove around town picking up other clients at other hotels. A pair of old and irritating women from Australia were late, and delayed our departure from town about half an hour. I HATE GROUP TRAVEL ! ! ! We drove about 25 km. or so east of Churchill to the Churchill Wildlife Management Area on the shoreline of Hudson Bay where we loaded into a Tundra Buggy, a large, special purpose, custom designed and built vehicle used for Polar Bear viewing. We spent from 8:30 AM until 4 PM driving around the Hudson Bay shoreline tundra searching for Polar Bears. We found ... one ! ! !
It was very disappointing that we did not find more. The last few days the Tundra Buggy outings found about four bears per day. However ... the bear we found today was lazy and unconcerned with our presence. We drove to about 150 feet away, then had lunch for about an hour while watching it languish ; yawning, stretching, rolling over, occasionally lifting its head to take a look at us, etc.

We also saw ... many Snow Buntings a.k.a. Snowbirds, three Snowy Owls, a small flock of Willow Ptarmigan, and ... < insert drum roll here > ... an Arctic Fox !

Around 6:30 PM we set off for a walk across town to have our anniversary dinner / Thanksgiving dinner at Lazy Bear Lodge, an upscale resort with a "five star" restaurant. For the last three days I have been eagerly awaiting tonight's dinner there, anticipating ordering Arctic Char. When the French Canadian waitress came to take our order, she advised me that ... < sniffle > ... they had no more Arctic Char. < sigh > Upon her recommendation I ordered the roast Bison dinner with baked potato while Joanne ordered their daily special ; Thanksgiving turkey dinner. When my meal arrived, the baked potato was hot, the roast Bison was ... cold. I sent it back ! When it arrived a second time, the roast Bison was hot, the baked potato was cold. I was livid and I let them know it ! I threw quite a hissy fit and sent my meal back a second time. By the time my meal arrived a third time, Joanne was finished eating her dinner. This was an expensive restaurant where dinner for two would cost about a hundred bucks. That kind of kitchen ineptitude was completely unacceptable ! ! !

Their kitchen errors were, in my humble opinion, unforgivable. They did the best they could do by charging us nothing. A freebie ! Nevertheless, I would rather have had an excellent dinner that cost a hundred bucks than an unsatisfactory dining experience like that at no charge !

A disappointing day ! Life goes on !

Tuesday ; depart Churchill by train

Today was cloudy and cold.

This morning after checking out of our hotel room we walked across town to the Eskimo Museum where we spent the rest of the morning until the museum closed for lunch.
I bought a local history book that I am certain will be delivered to me by Santa. HA HA HA ! We walked over to the acclaimed Gypsy's Bakery & Restaurant to have lunch. Like some of the other businesses in Churchill, Gypsy's was overrated. After lunch we walked back to the hotel and while Joanne waited and read in the "breakfast room",
I went to the lobby and worked on Wi-Fi briefly. We walked over to the train station which also houses the Parks Canada "museum" on Wakusp National Park in this region and spent some time there exploring the museum, then returned to the hotel again. We spent some of the afternoon chatting with a couple from Georgia, U.S.A. who have recently become "homeless, unemployed vagabonds" but in a different way than we were. They are travelling the world, one month here, one month there, etc.

At 6 PM we left the hotel with our luggage and went to the train station. At 7 PM we boarded the ( slow ) train back to Thompson which departed at 7:30 PM. We had a "snack supper", then I worked on updating and reconciling investment statements, and downloading and processing my Tundra Buggy / Polar Bear photos.

Wednesday ; arrive Thompson by train

Mostly cloudy, cold.

Once again we had a mostly sleepless night on the train. We arrived in Thompson about 11:15 AM, about fifteen minutes earlier than scheduled. We waited with our new California friends for the campground owner to come pick us up, as arranged. She didn't ! After half an hour or so of waiting, I phoned her. No answer ! Voice mail box full ! We took a taxi back to the campground ! The campground owner had screwed up, but held herself accountable, was apologetic, and reimbursed me for the taxi fare. Fair enough ! Our new California friends picked up their car which was parked at the campground, and headed for Winnipeg. Long, tough 800 km. / 500 mile drive, especially starting at noon, after a night of not much sleep on the train.

Joanne and I napped for two hours, then started our day over. After showering and having lunch we drove to Safeway to replenish groceries, then refilled Lanoire with diesel at the Co-op Fuel Bar. We thought it might be easier to dump our waste holding tanks and refill our freshwater tank at the municipal sani-dump station than it would be at the campground, so that's what we did. BRRRRR ! Very cold and windy while we were doing that late in the afternoon. Driving back to the campground, we decided on impulse to stop at the laundromat in town and do laundry. That turned out not to be such a wise decision. Doing the laundry took much longer than expected, and delayed our supper until almost 9:30 PM. I had already been feeling rather ill yesterday and today with a colitis flare, and not eating supper until 9:30 PM just made things worse.

I’m feeling pretty ill tonight !

Thursday ; Thompson to Devil's Lake Rest Area, Manitoba

Sunny, VERY COLD ! When we left the campground in Thompson this morning the temperature was 21º F / -6º C. It was probably colder than that a few hours earlier.

We headed southwest on Hwy. 6 out of Thompson. At Pisew Falls we stopped, not to view the falls again, but this time to hike a short distance to the suspension bridge built over the Grass River by the Thompson Rotary Club. We had missed seeing the suspension bridge a week or so ago when we were northbound. After hiking to the suspension bridge, and collecting some wild mushrooms to identify ( Deadly Galerina ? ) we continued southwest to Ponton then the highway turned south. We stopped for lunch at the small village of Wabowden. We stopped at a "rest area" on the 175 km. / 110 mile long stretch of nothing between Ponton and Grand Rapids for me to have a very brief nap. Joanne commented on the difference between a rest area on Hwy. 6 in Northern Manitoba versus a rest area on an Interstate highway in the United States. HA HA HA ! We stopped to refill with diesel at Grand Rapids. We stopped to have supper and boondock overnight at Devil's Lake Rest Area, 450 km. from Thompson, about 350 km. more to Winnipeg.

A long time ago I had asked Joanne to buy me the CD version of Pink Floyd's album Dark Side Of The Moon, as a gift. It was a favourite of mine when I was a teenager. She bought it for me for my recent birthday. Today we listened to it while driving. As a teenager, I was fascinated by the instrumentals, and paid little attention to the lyrics. That's how I am with most music. Joanne is the opposite. Today, using the album liner notes, she sang all the lyrics to me as the album played. Because ... Lord knows ... Roger Waters' vocals are indecipherable. After singing through the entire album, and noting its dark mood, she said ...

"You listened to that when you were 16 years old ? No wonder you're a depressed, crabby old man". HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

Darn ! I have a cold !

Friday ; Devil's Lake Rest Area to Winnipeg, Manitoba

DAMN ! Now we both have colds !

Sunny and cold.

This morning we left the Devil's Lake Rest area and continued heading south on Hwy. 6. At Eriksdale we stopped at the municipal campground to have lunch, dump our waste holding tanks, and refill our freshwater tank. Back on the highway Joanne noticed that the Esso station had a car wash with a tall door. We washed the truck and camper. They were really filthy ! We also refilled both propane tanks at the Esso station. Eriksdale was a productive stop.

We arrived in Winnipeg very late in the afternoon. Coming into the city from the Perimeter Highway 100, on the south side of the city, northbound onto Pembina Highway, we stopped at a Safeway store to buy some groceries. And ... two pairs of jeans for me at the Salvation Army Thrift Store beside the Safeway. We arrived at Joanne's sister's home about 6:30 PM.

HELLO BO ! We missed him ! There was just enough time before dark to take the three dogs for a walk alongside the Red River on the Churchill Drive parkway. We had Lorraine's home all to ourselves this evening ( and tomorrow morning ). Lorraine had already left for a weekend away, and the nieces were already gone to their father's for the weekend.

We had supper. Joanne worked on laundry. I worked online. Doug brought Madeleine home to pick up something she had forgotten. We visited with Doug briefly, discussing our Polar Bear viewing trip to Churchill and his recent honeymoon trip to England and France.

DUE TO INTERNET ACCESS CONVENIENCE, I AM POSTING THIS JOURNAL ENTRY AS A "SIX DAY WEEK". NEXT WEEK I WILL POST AN "EIGHT DAY WEEK".

DSK