Still here...Brantley Lake SP

 

Mesmerized by fire

Our latest portable additions to our portable life:

Portable Fireplace

We like to have a fire, but so many places do not allow ground fires... so this is the solution.

Portable Screened Enclosure

obviously only the screens are portable, but when we dont have a shelter like this, we do have our canopy that we can put the screen walls on.

Jeff may not have his chopper, but that doesn't mean he can't show off with wheelies!

So what is on the agenda for today... we will be going into town again.  We had to go into town Thursday to get propane.  One propane tank was completely empty, and the other tank was very low.  Its been freezing at night so we need to keep the furnace on low.  So we made the trip into town and began to look for "the propane place"... then Sheryl asked Jeff, "did you bring the propane tanks?"  Hmm... no, we didnt have the tanks.  We started to turn around, but what a waste of a trip... so we decided to get the few things we needed to get, then go back.  Maybe there was enough propane left to get us through another night, so we didnt need to make two trips in one day.  There was enough for Thursday night and Friday night, so today we will make that trip to town again and get the propane.

It is suppose to be warmer for the next 3 nights (above freezing), but then for a few nights next week it will drop down into the teens, and they forecast a little snow on Tuesday!  That would be nice to see.

We extended our reservation for our site here until February 7... the day after the Super Bowl.  Go Packers! (I dont know why, but why not?)  From here we have decided to head West.  There are a few more New Mexico Parks we will stay at, but then we want to try a stay at Quartzsite and Slab City, where we can visit Salvation Mountain.  Slab City is real close to Borrego Springs, so we may boondock again in the Anza Borrego Desert where we were last March, and then check out the nearby San Diego County Park, Agua Caliente, where we may host at next Fall/Winter.

We have had an ongoing dilemna with wanting to have a motorcycle with us, but not knowing for sure how to do that.  There were several issues, with one of them being the laws in various states for towing a trailer behind a fifth wheel trailer.  Finally, we made a phone call to the Oregon DMV, where we confirmed that it is illegal (in Oregon, as well as other States) to tow an additional trailer.  So with that question out of the way, we did some more research on the Swivelwheel motorcycle trailer that we had learned about last year.  We have made our decision... this is the solution... it is pulled behind the fifth wheel, but it is not considered a trailer because it is attached to the fifth wheel reciever, it doesnt have another swing point.  (I dont know how to describe it, but it is legal, and simple)  Its simply a motorcycle carrier attached to the back of the fifth wheel.  We had a receiver installed onto our fifth wheel at the factory, so we are ready!  When we get back to Oregon, we will load our Harley Ultra Classic, and we will have a bike with us wherever we go! 

Gotta get goin'... Hope all our followers are enjoying their life, wherever they are.

Sitting Bull Falls

We finally left the house so we have some pics to show!  We hadn't left home since our trip to Carlsbad last Wednesday for groceries.  Walks, Bicycle Rides, and Writing.  We have finally found our way back to writing again.  For those of you who don't know... We both have a goal of writing a book.  We haven't been able to focus on our writing for a couple months, but we are back at it again.  This place is perfect for writing because of how quiet and secluded it is.  We hope to stay for a couple more weeks.

But today we took a break and did some sightseeing.  About 40 miles from the park, is Sitting Bull Falls.  The drive was enjoyable, and the Falls were beautiful.

Here at Sunny Brantley Lake SP

So much Sun... So much Fun.  It may not look like Im having fun... but I am.  We had to spend some time just soaking in the warm sun... it was awesome.  But we also enjoyed a good walk and a great bicycle ride on the trails here.  Yesterday, we rode the bicycles on the road to the visitor center (which was closed, but how are we suppose to know its a holiday... we're full-timer RVers.)  But today we took the trails and it was great!  It felt like we were really mountain biking! 

The lake is a bit of a walk, but it is a good looking lake.  Jeff has tried some fishing, but no luck.

This is our site... it's very spacious.

Half of Brantley Lake Campground is Reservations, the other half is First Come.  At all their parks, we have always found a spot in their First Come.  But here... although there were many available, we didnt like any of them.  Its not that we didn't try...  when we got here, we pulled into 3 different sites on the "First Come" side before we gave up.  They were too cramped, and now it was getting dark.  So we went over to the Reservations side, where there were only 3 other campers, and chose a site that was available, then reserved it for 10 nights.  It wasnt really that simple, once we got over to the Reservations side, but for sake of time and words... Im leaving it at that.

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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

We went into Carlsbad today, after our morning ritual... of coffee (while Jeff watches news and Sheryl watches Joyce Meyer)... a light breakfast... and a walk.  It was grocery shopping day.  It looked to be a calm day when we left, and we weren't aware of a forecast for wind, but there was, and it came while we were gone.  We had left the awning out... but thankfully the arms on our awning flex, so it hadnt torn.  However, Jeff's flag pole had broke at one of the connections.  I can't tell you how many transformations Jeff's flags have been through, trying to find the perfect pole and set up for hanging his flag or flags... or how much money we have put out for this.  But perhaps I should have a separate category in our budget for "Jeffs Flag Project".  It started with my broom stick, a year ago.  Maybe he should have stuck with that.  Oh thats right... I needed my broom.

Oh well... Jeff likes his flags... and I like Jeff!  I love my husband.  God blessed me with a good one.

Back to New Mexico

After 2 months in Texas, we are making the trek back into New Mexico.  Our Texas experience was a good one.  We both enjoyed it very much... even Jeff, who always told me he had no interest in going to Texas.  Jeff was a long haul truck driver... he drove alot of roads and saw alot of places, but he is finally realizing that it doesn't matter if he hated it then.  Together, taking our time, living it in our wheel home... is a totally different experience... and so far, always a good one.

We stayed last night at a little no-frills RV park along I-10 out of Junction, TX.  The drive today has been beautiful.  Blue Skies again!  And we gain an hour today!

We were in Roswell, NM at Bottomless Lakes SP, when we got the phone call to go manage a Christmas Tree Lot in  San Antonio.  Our first destination on our come-back is Carlsbad, NM - Brantley Lake SP.  To All you new RV blog followers, if you dont already know it... New Mexico has an Annual Camping Pass that can be purchased for $225 (or less if you meet the criteria), and with that pass you can stay at any of the NM State Campgrounds for $4 a night for an electric site, or FREE with no electric site.  It's certainly been worth it for us.  We've stayed at 10 of their parks... Brantley lake will be our 11th.  Our permit is good until the end of May, so we plan to take advantage of it and enjoy a stay at a few more.

Check back and see how we are enjoying this one!

Welcome to all our new followers!  It's encouraging to know that someone is looking!  Hopefully you enjoy our blog as much as we are enjoying other Full-Timers blogs.  What a great way to learn about places that we may want to go next... or not!

Brrrr..... Its Cold!

Its been really cold the last couple days.  But we ventured out yesterday to visit the USS Lexington.

We rushed through the upper deck with the windchill temperature feeling like -20!  But we both thoroughly enjoyed the self-tours which take you winding through the halls, through the ship (aircraft carrier). 

Jeff is big on history, and is always interested in a museum... but Sheryl... not so much.  

The USS Lexington Museum on the bay, however, was an exception to the world of museums.

If it weren't for the tour arrows, we would have been lost in here for a very long time.  How did they do it?

I would not have wanted to have this my bed. (hmm... that might be like I would talk if I really had to sleep here.)

Pilot's briefing room dating back to WWII

We didnt see any notice about physical ability at the entrance... but alot of people could NOT do this tour.

I had to make a second trip to the Ladies room for a picture. 

That's all we have to show you for now... but there's always more to come!
Now we need to decide when we will leave here, and where we will go from here.  We think we are leaving on Saturday, and heading for New Mexico.  That's what we are thinking, right now.

Texas Island Life

Saturday Evening
The clouds rolled in today, along with the wind, and even a few rain drops tonight.   Jeff was actually ready for a relaxing day, after the days of bicycle rides and beach walks... but he didnt get off that easy.  We drove to Port Aransas, then before dark we took another bicycle ride on the beach. 

Sunday Morning
Wow!  What a storm we had early this morning!  We were woke at 4am to loud thunder with huge lightning strikes and pounding sheets of rain.  Then we both jumped up as we heard the sound of pouring water in the bathroom.  Apparently the ceiling vent was not completely closed... the floor was soaked, and rain was pouring through the vent. Even after we closed the vent, water appeared to still be coming in, so we panicked a bit... but after wiping up the water all around the vent opening, we realized it was not new water still coming in... WHEW!!

Sunday Evening
Maybe I will actually complete this post this time.  We've settled in for the evening... but that doesn't mean I won't get distracted again.  I've posted a slideshow with lots of photos of our time here.  Like all our slideshows on the right side of the blog, if you click on them you will be taken to the online folder of our pictures.  If the slideshow is gone, when you are reading this post, here is the link:
Mustang Island Photos

We are thoroughly enjoying our stay here.  The storm last night shook us up a bit, but today was beautiful again.  We went for another walk on the beach, then late afternoon before the sun went down, we went for a bicycle ride on the beach.

Friday we rode the bicycles into "town" to return a movie. On the trip back, we took one of the beach access roads and road the remaining 3 miles back on the beach.   The total trip was 11 miles... pretty good for us.

We found a boogie board beside the road, so we strapped it on and took it with us.

Checking out a souvenier shop while there... Jeff found a sweatshirt.

After our bicycle ride on Friday, I put together a salad, Jeff loaded up the chairs, and we drove down onto the beach to relax in the sun and make a fire.  We just had WAY too much fun!

If you look very hard, you can see that I am holding a hot dog in the fire... the very hot fire.

A few more beach pictures:

 

the road from the campground to the beach

remains of the oil spill

a few of our favorite beach finds

oops... getting a little wet