SORRY MCGUYVER…SMOKEY RULES HERE!!

 

   Yesterday we had a pretty good drive to get here at Potter’s Creek, Canyon Lake TX.  We left about 7AM and while coming through the back roads from Buckhorn Creek to get on Route 20, we encountered some icy patches on some of the roads…WHOA!! We also managed to totally confuse Carelton, our Tom Tom voice.  I’m just sayin’ that he can become a royal pain in the behind when he keeps disagreeing with my directions to McGuyver!! He does NOT know when to shut up and let me navigate.

  Last year we made the mistake of coming through San Marcos on I-35….on a Saturday….just before Xmas….For those who don’t know, San Marcos is  home to Premium Outlets , and the exit ramps were backed up all the way onto the interstate.. THIS WILL NOT PUT YOU IN THE XMAS SPIRIT!! This year we did it a little differently..(my idea, not Carleton’s)..We jumped off the Interstate just South of Austin and took 290 West, coming in from the North on Rt12.  Man has that place grown..It was a snarl of new subdivisions, strip malls, restaurants, schools and people..LET ME OUTA HERE!!!

  We made it to Potter’s Creek about 2PM..to find this sign greeting us at the check-in office…

NO CAMPFIRES HERE ON THIS TRIP…SORRY DEN….

  And this is why…

 

  Man oh man…is this place dry!!! I certainly wouldn’t want to be the one to light the spark that burned all this up!

..We have a nice spot up in the trees, and we got both of our satellite dishes up with nary a profanity….(Did I say WE??? I stand corrected…McGuyver did it all by himself!)

 

It was 32 bone chilling degrees last night, and we wore our Illinois “we are tough Midwesterners” walking gear on our walk….

 

 

 

I REFUSE TO ENLARGE THIS ANYMORE..AND IF YOU ARE SMART,  YOU WON’T EITHER…. 

 

  OK, I have a question for the Queen of Birds, Judy…. What the Heck kind of ducks are these dudes?? The poor things are some of the “ugliest ducklings” we have ever seen, and there is a FLOCK of them here at Canyon Lake…

ONE OF THEM IS LIMPING…SO WE HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON WITH OUR CONGRESS…WE HAVE A “ LAME DUCK” HERE, TOO.  WE ALSO HAVE A LAME BUCK…ONE OF THE DEER IS GIMPING AROUND.  EITHER HE IS TRYING THE SYMPATHY ACT OR THEY HAD A BATTLE OVER THE CORN THAT EVERYONE FEEDS THE DEER, AND HE LOST……HELP ME JUDY!!

So, we are all snuggled down in our new diggs….and the weather is suppose to warm up in the next few day…I see grilled baby back ribs in our near future…..

 

 

 

 

WE HAVE A GREAT SPOT ON THE HILL…OUT OF THE WIND, BUT STILL HAVE THE SUNSHINE….

 

 

 

   I got a call from my brother-in-law yesterday, and my sis is no longer conscious…Her kidneys have shut down and her husband signed a DNR at the urging from her Doctor….She will soon move on to a different place and time….and be out of her pain and misery….which is all we want for her… When she passes, there will be a cremation and no funeral, according to her wishes…I thank you all for your kind words for the past 6 months..…

Tomorrow is grocery day, combined with laundry day…..Killing 2 birds with one box of Tide and the checkbook…..I will blog again Wednesday…..

CARPE DIEM!!!!!

CHRISTMASTIME IN THE PINEY WOODS OF TEXAS…

   I would like to welcome some new followers to our blog…I love that you are crazy enough to jump into the truck and ride with us.. BOOYA!! to  Heidi and Sherry and Charley Dilworth. …Buckle up and hang on!!

Friday we did a road trip through East Texas to a place called “Uncertain” Texas…After being there I understand the name…I was “uncertain” about many things …

Riding in a fishing boat in this swampy lake with alligators.…”UNCERTAIN”….Riding in the Graceful Ghost Riverboat where they live….”UNCERTAIN”….

WE WERE, HOWEVER, VERY “CERTAIN” ABOUT NOT GOING INTO THE LIGHTHOUSE GROCERY & GRILL…..TOO SCARY!

There really wasn’t much going on in this little Bayou town…at least nothing of interest….so we drove back into Jefferson to take a walk through the town….

They were hooking up the mule team to give rides around town in the covered wagon….You could get a tour of Jefferson in the buckboard riding through town…

 

 

 

 

All of the businesses and homes were decked out in garland and ribbon….

 

 

 

The following pictures were taken at the Excelsior Hotel….This place is soooo beautiful….

I cannot resist posing in front of a Xmas Tree….and I seemed to fit right in with the rest of the antiques…

On the right is a page from the hotel’s guest register…If you count up 7 names, you will see Gnl. Grant, Washington City…This was just one of the famous people who have stayed here…and yes, I would have like to gotten into that case to touch that stuff to do some history “channeling”….but they were watching me like a hawk….

…Lots of sights to see here in Jefferson….Not sure who came in that car above..Loved the lawn chairs on top, though.

We wandered around and ended up at Auntie Skinners for a beer and a glass of wine….You know who drank what…

Notice the brick streets in all of the photos….LOVE THIS TOWN!

We picked up a pizza before we headed back to our camper….to save for later..The weather was 70 degrees and a campfire was definitely in order!!!

BULLDOG’S PIZZA….LOOKED FABULOUS…TASTED…OK….

Before I end this, I noticed that Rick has quite a workshop there at his house….Back in Chicago, we have a radio/TV personality named Lou Manfredini, aka Mr. FixIt…He is a carpenter who takes calls from clueless people needing help with home “fix it” projects….I  think Rick need a hat like this one….

 

 

 

 

THE OFFICIAL “MR. FIX IT” CAP…YOU CAN’T BUY ‘EM…I HAPPENED TO WIN THIS ONE IN A CONTEST HE RAN.  YOU WERE TO WRITE INTO HIS RADIO SHOW WITH YOUR HOME IMPROVEMENT NIGHTMARE IN STORY FORM….I HAD MANY TO SHARE, BUT I CHOSE THE COMPLETE RE-CONSTRUCTION OF OUR ENTIRE UPSTAIRS,…WHEN WE HAD BATS FLYING THROUGH THE STUDDED WALLS WHILE WE WERE TRYING TO SLEEP…I WON AN “HONORABLE MENTION”…WHICH GOT ME THIS HAT…AND A $50 GIFT CARD ….DENNIS GOT THE CAP, I GOT THE GIFT CARD….RICK, YA REALLY GOTTA GET ONE OF THESE!!

OK, that’s one heck of a long blog….hope those of you who nodded off didn’t fall off your computer chair, or drool on your keyboard….We are leaving tomorrow for Canyon Lake, North of San Antonio…no computer till late tomorrow…and that is only if God is willing and the creek don’t rise…See ya then…(hopefully)!!!!

TO DA DUMP, TO DA DUMP, TO DA DUMP, DUMP, DUMP!!!!

I want to wish our middle child and oldest daughter, Terrie, a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! We miss you and love you very much…you are beautiful inside and out…and we wish for you a wonderful day!

  Soooo…Before the Health Department came and closed our camper down, we decided it best to hook the Hiker back on, stow away all things that could slop or fall over, pull in the slides and drive the 4 miles to the dump station at Brushy Creek.  Our dump station was still yellow taped off (like a murder scene) , and I’m sure there was more than one set of campers who were biting their fingernails over this one…When we got up Tuesday morning, this is what we found….




Jack Frost found his way to the GMC and did a beautiful work of art on the windshield!


We put on our warm jackets and took the  Hiker on a road trip to dump our tanks….Dennis left one of the back wheel chocks in it’s exact place ..He was intent on putting this rig back in the “hole”  EXACTLY where we originally were….

He dumpeth………….                                         He backeth in………………

AND YES, HE BACKED RIGHT UP AGAINST THE WAITING WHEEL CHOCK…….WAS THERE EVER ANY DOUBT???

..Before I forget, and trust me I could, I now can officially welcome Craig and Sue from Iowa to our blog….We can get marginally politically incorrect, so I apologize ahead of time for any faux pas I commit…and I will.

We  have had some glorious sunsets here at Buckhorn Creek.  Last night we were sitting outside by the fire as it was getting dark….

   IT WAS A PERFECT SUNSET SO DENNIS TOOK A PHOTO….THEN I TOOK THE CAMERA INSIDE…WHEN I CAME BACK OUTSIDE AND SAT BACK DOWN, A BEAUTIFUL BALD EAGLE FLEW RIGHT BY US OVERHEAD….AND NO PHOTO…I KID YOU NOT, WE  TRULY COULD HAVE BEEN IN ONE OF THOSE “GO RV’ING” COMMERCIALS….SOMETIMES I THINK IT’S BEST TO JUST TAKE A PHOTO WITH OUR MEMORY AND FORGET ABOUT THE DOCUMENTATION…..AND THAT’S JUST WHAT WE DID. ..NO EAGLE PICTURE, BUT WHAT A THRILL TO SEE HIM SWOOPING BY , UNCONCERNED, AND PUTTING ON A SHOW JUST FOR US.




..These photos were taken on our walk…That pine tree, lower right, is NOT growing there…These people actually went out , got a tree, and lashed it to their lantern post…I see some lights lying around, and I have a feeling it will be decorated soon.

In my last blog I caught some flak about my misspelling of SHIN splints as CHIN splints….Mike found it amusing…and so did Rick..In fact Rick asked me to take a picture of this new invention, chinsplints…SOOOOO…HERE IT IS….



I hesitated to make this photo tooooo large, in case small pets or children might stumble upon it and require an EMT.  Plus, I didn’t want anyone, getting too good a look at this great CHINSPLINT  prototype and copying it!!! (That goes for both of you Yo Yo’s!!)….
Isn’t it sooooo great at all of the fun we have here in the blogosphere???  Myself, I am a closet comedian, so I enjoy it more than I can explain….Thanks for ALL of your comments…You inspire me to act like slightly looney, which is my favorite thing to do!!! (NO, REALLY????)…..SEE PHOTO ABOVE..I REST MY CASE…

A LITTLE REMINDER THAT WE ARE NOT FAR ENOUGH SOUTH!

I would like to give a shout out to Wandering Willy and also “Our Fiver Adventures” , who are asking that we make room in the back seat of the GMC for them…OF COURSE!! Hope you don’t get too crowded back there..Just ignore the candy wrappers and cases of  beer…I didn’t see a blog linked to you “Fiver Adventuresome kids” , so if I missed it, let me know and I will put up a link here for you.

  Well, the DADGUM weather is cold again…I guess I should take solace in the fact that nearly the whole nation is in the deep freeze, courtesy of our Northern neighbors.  Here’s some interesting news…On our walk, we discovered that the dump station in this campground suddenly has yellow tape and orange cones around it……

…JUST GREAT!!!…McGuyver asked our host what was up, and he relayed the dismaying news…Dump station is plugged up ..and it over flowed..(Man, I’m glad we aren’t camped too close to it..TALK ABOUT TOXIC FUMES!)  Of course, we were planning on dumping our tanks this day…Mr. Host guy said that someone was suppose to be coming to fix it soon…McGuyver is keeping close watch on it.  If it isn’t fixed, we will have to pull in slides, hook on, and take the Hiker to one of the other campgrounds across the dam to dump…and just for the record…that would suck pond water!

  Speaking of the damn dam….

 

 

 

We walked up by it on our morning walk..which was very cold, I might add. “ Drag out them winter coats, hats and gloves again, Den!!” I haven’t walked much in a week. I was told to rest my foot and not walk the 2 mile regime for one or two weeks.  My heel seems better, but now I have to wear these “orthotics” the foot Doc gave me… in ALL my shoes! ..The  term “orthotics”  even reeks of old age!!! And, get this…. he didn’t’ GIVE them to me…I paid $30.00 for them…I’m not really fond of them, and I think they give me chinsplints…We shall see how long I last with these goofy looking white chunks of hard foam in my shoes.

I found the tree bark on this pine tree , (picture on the right), very intriguing….It almost looks like scales on a tall ,vertical scaly reptile…OK, OK, whatever….It was a slow picture day and I have a vivid imagination!!

 

They are doing some construction here at Buckhorn Creek Campground….getting ready for a new shower house and bathrooms….

…..and they arrived today….Dennis had to inspect them to see that everything was correctly placed in the plumbing department…The bottom picture is where they will just plop these puppies down ,and attach everything afterward…Apparently not much carpentry skills are involved, but lots of “grunt work”….

  I recently put up our little bit of Christmas décor in the Hiker…

Those “suspenders” hanging in the pic on the right once hung on the front door of our first little one bedroom apartment in Sandwich, 1969…. We were married November of ‘69…and had our first Christmas together one month later…I purchased the stocking/suspenders at the local Five and Dime, then cut letters from white felt and glued them on…(sewing has never been an option for me)…I’m shocked at how long that glue has held up…better than the “gluer”!!!

I know I crab about the cold weather, but we are actually pretty toasty warm here inside the Hiker…so I should keep my big negative mouth shut!

 

WITH A SPOT LIKE THIS….WHO COULD COMPLAIN???