Sunday, Nov. 28

South of Abilene, TX is Lakeside COE lake park. It’s in the middle of nowhere, but it was in the general direction that we were going. We chose a site on the water in a small loop. Once again, we were all by ourselves. We got there in time for a short dog walk and drone flight. 

Monday, Nov. 29

We took our normal morning walk around the loop and in the fields, then had lunch. In the afternoon, we took a long walk around the massive campground. During the walk, Christy came up lame. She had broken a dew claw. Breaking a dew claw can be bloody and very painful. Back in the Ham, Carol and I started applying first aid. To work on her, we had her jump up on the dinette bench. By doing so, she hit her foot on the seat and the broken claw fell off. We stopped the bleeding and applied a gauze pad with a bandage. She was very sad the rest of the evening, but not as sad as Carol. I went for a long bike ride around the lake and got to see a few deer in the distance. Just before supper, I went out to fly my drone and noticed some deer entering our loop. Carol, Lois and I stood inside the Ham at the windows. The number of deer grew from a few to ten. They slowly walked and grazed right in front of us. Anytime they heard the slightest noise from the Ham, they would stop and stare around. It made for a very exciting evening.

Tuesday, Nov. 30

Lucy needed a follow-up visit to a vet for an ongoing problem, so Carol made an appointment in Midland, TX. before going to our next stay. As we drove over the plateaus of western Texas, giant wind turbines started popping up everywhere. As we got closer to Midland, the land levels out and the oil wells, oil tanks and refineries started popping up. It is quite a contrast. Before moving on to Monahan’s Sandhills State Park, we had to restock supplies. Monahan’s is a small, unique area of sand dunes, all by itself. Our site was right in the dunes. Worrying about Christy’s foot, we put a sock on it, then jumped out into the sand. Christy had made a miraculous recovery. Lois got to enjoy the hot desert sun as Carol, the girls and I took a short walk. After the walk, I took off for the dunes. Of course, the highest one was where I was headed. Climbing up a sand dune is difficult. One step up and two steps back. I decided to work smarter, so I started climbing the dunes like a dog. It worked very well. The view from the top was worth the effort – great views and near silence. I was going to stay for sunset, but hunger kicked in and returned to the Ham.

Wednesday, Dec. 1

Part of departing in the morning is going through a list of things like disconnecting, putting things away and winding down the antenna. While bringing in the slide, I heard a crunch and yelled for Carol to stop. There is a compartment under the slide that I was working in before moving the slide. I hadn’t closed the compartment door and the slide severely bent the door frame. Lois and the campers around us got to hear some words that I didn’t learn in Sunday school. Since the door won’t close, I removed the entire frame with the door and drove towards our next campsite with a hole in the side of the Ham.

Guadalupe National Park is one of the least visited national parks in the U.S. When arriving we couldn’t figure out why – it’s beautiful! Our site is just a parking lot with no hook-ups, no TV signal and very little phone service. While Carol, the girls and I were on a long trail hike, Lois spent the time composing a list of national parks that she had visited in her lifetime. Guadalupe was her newest. After the sun had set, Carol and I took the dogs out under the millions and millions of stars. Between the stars, jets, satellites and meteors, the sky was very active. 

Thursday, Dec. 2

In the middle of the night, it got very windy. You initially wake up, but all the rocking puts you right back to sleep. We did our morning hike with the girls, then Carol and I spent about an hour reforming the bent-up compartment door. We did a pretty good job! After lunch was my first, big hike. It took me along a dried riverbed, then down into the riverbed. Rocks and large boulders were the only things that I saw for the next hour. I had to make sure every step was placed on the right rock or I might slip and twist an ankle. If my path was blocked by a boulder, then I had to climb over it. It was challenging and, after a while, irritating. I finally made it to Devil’s Hall. It was worth the effort. On the other side of the hall was a wall of staggered layers about fifteen feet high. A perfect wall to climb. So I climbed. About halfway up, I thought that a 69-year-old man shouldn’t be climbing this wall. So, stupid as I am, I made it to the top. It seems like every time you climb to another height or make another turn, the reward is worth it. I returned to the Ham tired and ready for supper.

Click on this link to view more pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Dxhz8E9EYZwmTu1HA

Friday, Dec. 3

It’s always hard to leave such a beautiful place, but we know that there are more heights and turns somewhere else. Rockhound State Park in Deming, NM was just that place. The small campground is at the base of the Little Florida Mountains.  Across the valley were the Florida Mountains. Once again, the views were beautiful. Rockhound is one of only two state parks in the country that allows visitors to take rocks home – 15 pounds per person. Lois immediately got busy, while Carol, the girls and I took off on a trail. New Mexico allows drone flying in their state parks, so my day was made. 

Saturday, Dec. 4

We woke up to 34-degree temperatures this morning after it was 72 degrees yesterday. Don’t feel bad, it was going up to 68 in the afternoon. I went flying, while it warmed up enough for a morning hike. After lunch, we had to move to another site. Before going to the new site, we drove to the other part of Rockhound in the Florida Mountains. As we approached the park, there was an extremely steep road in the distance. Carol said, “We’re not going up that hill are we?” My hearing isn’t what it used to be, so I kept driving. We were rewarded by driving up that hill. It was spectacular! We parked, took pictures and I did a little flying. We got back to our new site for the evening’s special event. Clouds had broken to the west and follow RVers were setting up their chairs in that direction. At about 5:00 the show began and lasted for 20 minutes. It was a very special sunset.

Click on this link to view more pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8KTZ8cfF8xmV5u3W8