Big Adventure 4 started today. As in years past, Las Vegas is our first destination – for Christmas. We were going to leave earlier in the week, but frigid temperatures and high winds delayed us for two days. 

Erin asked us to bring 6 cartons of locally brewed Great Lakes Christmas ale to Vegas. The extra 108 pounds was going to exceed our RV’s allowed cargo weight so I needed to leave some things at home. I thought about leaving Lois, but then I would have to wash dishes every night on our trip. Elimination of some kitchenware, tools and clothes, and we were good to go.  

Friday, Dec. 2

We got to our Harvest Host destination, about an hour south of Cincinnati at suppertime. We were happy they had supper waiting for us – it was a homemade ice cream store they operated on the family’s dairy farm. For dinner, Lois had banana pudding ice cream and Carol and I shared caramel pecan ice cream. A rousing game of football wore out Christy from her long day of travel. Lucy just walked and sniffed around the field.

Soon after returning to the Ham, torrential downpours on the roof made it difficult to hear the tv and talk. The high winds kept the Ham rocking and rolling all night.

Saturday, Dec. 3

Morning brought calmer winds and a brighter sky. As we were preparing to leave, an enormous blast of wind rocked the Ham like never before. Everything loose outside went flying by. It was gone as fast as it came. I went outside to make sure nothing was damaged. Happy to find everything in its place, we left for our next Harvest Host destination.

South of Nashville was a mountain top winery. The 3-mile, one-lane road up to the top was a little intimidating,  but we quickly forgot all about the trip when we pulled into the parking lot. We were instantly greeted by a large Australian Shepherd, River, and the owner. River and Christy immediately were attracted to each other. Christy saw River as a new playmate and River saw Christy as a new mate. I had to continually push River off of Christy. 

The tasting room sat in front of a gazebo and fire pit that hung on the edge of a steep cliff that dropped down to a river far below. It was pretty spectacular!

Because we are not wine drinkers, we always feel a little guilty about staying at wineries’ great scenery. However, we bought a few bottles of wine as a gift and felt a little better.

Sunday, Dec. 4

A cold, dark, drizzly day followed us all the way to Little Rock, AR. We are staying at Willow Beach COE Park on the Arkansas River. If it weren’t for the ugly weather, it seems like it would be wonderful here. Christy made me walk her in the cold rain this evening. 

Monday, Dec. 5

The raindrops that fall off tree branches are bigger than drops of rain. I know this because we parked under a tree and the noise from the tree raindrops sounded like rocks were falling from the sky. Carol and I hardly slept all night from the noise. Lois slept very well. It rained for the next 200 miles until we got 20 miles from our night’s stay. A wonderful small park, at the tip of a peninsula, was provided to us and a few other RVers by Titus County in Texas. We parked just feet from the shore and enjoyed the sound of the water splashing onto the rocks. The dogs got to play in the grass under towering oak trees. This free overnight got a star on Carol’s calendar.

Tuesday, Dec. 6

We decided to stay off of the interstate today and take an alternate route through central Texas. Normally, we stop in a large parking lot or rest area for lunch. In central Texas, neither exists. Way past lunchtime, I spotted a small country Baptist church down the road. Knowing that Lois attended a Baptist church as a child, I figured that she still had Baptist parking lot privileges.

We were camping on a lake at a COE park in Waco, TX. No, we didn’t visit  the HGTV Fixer Upper’s silo bakery. We’re still mad at them for leaving HGTV.

As we were pulling into our lakeview site, a herd of deer stopped by to greet us. One hundred pictures later, I finished hooking us up. While walking around the campground, we came to the conclusion that there were more deer here than campers. The high seventy-degree temperatures for the next few days, and needing a little rest, we decided to stay here for two days.

Thursday, Dec. 8

Another country road route through central Texas led us to San Angelo. We were staying in the large parking lot of a Harvest Host restaurant. In exchange for our free stop, we treated ourselves to pizza and a hamburger for supper from their kitchen.

Friday, Dec. 9

Warm temperatures and sunshine had kept Christy from playing with me on the sand dunes during our past visits at Monahan’s Sand Hills SP. Today was cloudy and cooler, so I was hopeful. She didn’t let me down. On our race to the top of the first dune, she won. I had her stay, then ran down the dune by myself. I called for her to come and she came streaking down the dune faster than I have ever seen her run – out of control. As she got closer, I visioned a painful collision, so I jumped sideways at the last second. She zoomed by, circled and came jumping back on me. I gave her a treat, then we raced to the top of another dune and the game started over again. What a great afternoon! 

Click on this picture for Christy’s trip down the dune.

Saturday, Dec. 10

Dark, wet, dreary weather followed us most of the way to Licon Dairy, just south of El Paso, TX. We were staying at another Harvest Host location. We ate cheeses from their store and tacos from their restaurant, as we overlooked their petting zoo from the Ham.

Little wetter and more cloudy than we like, but it was still a good first week.