Life returns to "normal"

Hi Everybody,

We arrived home about 7:30 PM on Monday.  As we turned the corner onto Lakewood Drive, we could see Noah and Matthew (2 of our grandsons) waving and running on the road near our driveway.  Mike was driving and instead of pulling into our driveway, Dave told him to pull alongside the road.  Mike and I stated that we thought it looked pretty soft.  Dave said that it looked okay to him so we drove onto the grass and promptly got stuck up to the hubcaps!  The tilt of the RV was scary but we managed to open the door and climb out.  Our neighbor Pat, along with Andy and Angela, Luke, Katy, NOah and Matthew welcomed us home with pizza.  It was great to be here!

Mike and Paula stayed overnight and Dave drove them back to Iowa on Tuesday.  It was hard to say goodbye after the weeks we had spent together.  Dave left me with instructions to empty the holding tank of fresh water in order to lighten the weight in the RV.  I started some preliminary unpacking and LAUNDRY.  When Dave got back from Iowa, he, Meg and I unhitched the trailer and got it stored temporarily on the parking pad.  

Wednesday morning Dave hitched our truck to the back of the RV and pulled it out of the ditch.  It came out easily but the tracks are ugly.  Now it is sitting in the driveway next door.  I spent half the day cleaning the bedroom and bathroom in the RV.

Today, Thursday, I finished cleaning the RV.  Seemed like cleaning an entire house!  Dave will get it washed on the outside soon so that we can return it to the Smiths.  What a blessing it was to have it as our support vehicle.  It was very comfortable and provided us with a good "motel" each night.

We attended choir practice last night and I went to Bible Study on Tuesday.  Little by little the stacks of mail and stuff from the RV are getting smaller.  The paper recycler may reject us next week for too much stuff!!

Thanks so much for following us as we traveled.  The phone calls and emails kept us connected.  Keep the donations coming.  There is no stop time for that!

Love and blessings,

Lana

Addenda to "The End"

Hi Everybody,

Not too many details today just lots of miles on the RV.  We left St. Augustine at 6:30 AM.  We traveled the length of Georgia (land of boiled peanuts, pecans, and peaches) and then into Tennessee.  We skirted Chattanooga and enjoyed the beautiful scenery (rolling hills, mountains, valleys), drove around Atlanta without too much trouble, and on into Crossville, TN on our way to Fairfield Glade to have supper with Ann and Howard Swan.  We had to unhitch the trailer at this "RV spot" and put it down the street.  The RV is in Swan's driveway with the back end up on blocks so high the tires are off the ground!  We are sleeping in the RV tonight.  

It is good to have gained an hour as we are back into Central Daylight Savings Time.  Howard says he will fix us breakfast in the AM and we will be on our way north.  

Thanks for the wonderful emails today.  Great to hear from so many of you.  I have enjoyed writing these little blogs each day.  I will miss it as much as you have said that you will.  My notes in my journal are getting pretty sketchy now, so it must be time to quit.  

Goodnight from Tennessee!

Love and blessings,

Lana

 

Anastasia State Park and the Atlantic Dip

Hi Everybody,

Dave and I started with breakfast on the beach with David and Gloria Botten (Paula and Mike stayed back to walk on the beach).  After breakfast the Bottens and the Runyans drove north a ways to a lovely farmers market and walked among the vendors.  Felt just like being with Meg at one of her markets.  We then came back to the RV park to get Paula and Mike and the motorhome and trailer to drive up to Anastasia State Park for the ceremonial wheel dipping.  We waited until 1:50 and then the guys started their ride through the parking lot, onto a boardwalk out to the beach.  The first sand was too soft to ride on so they carried their bikes until we reached the hardpacked sand.  Then they rode into the water.  They lifted the bikes high into the air in victory.  Mike put his bike down and walked into the ocean.  Dave got into a conversation with a family who had been watching all of this.  Then we noticed a couple coming toward us and, lo and behold, they were CFO people from the North Florida camp who had read the emails from the CFO office.  Joe and Bonnie Trauerman had been looking for us and when the guys raised their bikes in the air they figured they had found us.  What a wonderful surprise.

We visited for a while, walked back to the parking lot, and packed up.

Thanks to Walt and Veba Clark and Bob Ream who called us just as we were getting to the beach.  Thanks to all of you who have emailed, called, prayed, sent good thoughts, and donated to the cause.  It is not too late to contribute.  You can go to the website for instructions on how to contribute on-line or mail a check directly to Harlan Glover, 120 Indian Village Rd., Shapleigh, ME 04076 made out to CFOI, with Pedal 4 Peace in the memo.

The rest of the day was spent walking around old St. Augustine.  So much to see, lots of tourists, endless history tidbits and more, beautiful buildings both old and replicas, Flagler College which was built as an exclusive resort for the wealthy, and finally a delicious dinner at O.C. White's located right across from the marina and the Lions' Bridge.

We had to retrace our steps through town to the parking lot and then drove to Bottens for coffee.  They drove us back to the RV at 9 PM.  

We will leave early in the morning for Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Fairfield Glade, TN.  We will be at Ann and Howard Swan's for the night.  We should be in West Chicago late on Monday.

There's dancing in the street, wild celebrating, toasts to a great trip, confetti in the air, bands playing, and speeches made--at least in our heads.  It is with humble pride that we say thanks to God for safety and strength and for all the wonderful people along the way and at home.  We live in a beautiful, diverse country, and we have enjoyed a lot of it over the last six weeks.  

Love and blessings,

Lana

The End

Hi Everybody,

We woke up this morning to rain on the roof and thinking that the end of the ride would be like the beginning--wet.  However, by the time the guys were ready to ride, the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to shine.  We started on a state route to see how busy it was and when we got to the turn off to the more scenic route along the St. Johns River it was decided to ride that way.  Paula got her bike out and rode with the guys for about 12 miles.  It was very picturesque and we stopped in Riverdale Park along the river for lunch.  then it was on to St. Augustine.

What a charming and beautiful town but mobbed with tourists.  It was difficult maneuvering the RV and trailer down the narrow streets, finding the places to turn, and a place to park.  We finally drove back out of the middle of town and waited for the guys to catch up and decide just where to go to take pictures.  We finally met up in a bus parking lot and walked to the Castillo de San Marcos, a fort along the bay.  there is so much to see and do here--some of it is very touristy but with lots of history involved.  We hope to come back tomorrow to see some more.  We took pictures at the fort of the bikers at the end of the journey, although tomorrow we will take the bikes to the seaside to dip their wheels into the ocean.

We drove out of town and south along Highway 1 and then out to the beach communities.  In Ocean Beach we got into our RV park and then called our friends Dave and Gloria Botton who have just (Wednesday) moved down here from Concord, MA.  They drove over to pick us up and then back to the beach just out from their new house to celebrate the end of the journey with champagne.  It was so good to see them and they were excited to be able to welcome and congratulate us properly.  We then went back to their new home here in Ocean Beach in a community called Sea Colony.  They have not brought the majority of their belongings down yet, but have a table and chairs, some wicker furniture and a few other things.  Their home is so lovely and much larger than what they had in MA with large rooms, screened porch, open porch, a two-car garage with a full apartment over it, and great closets, sculptured hickory floors, beautiful fixtures, and nice landscaping.  We had a terrific enchilada dinner and will see them tomorrow for breakfast and the ceremonial wheel-dipping and touring St Augustine.  They are such wonderful people and what a gift to us that they are here.

Where have the last 6 weeks gone?  As we went through the pictures tonight with the Bottons it was such a blur.  It was hard to identify some of the scenery or remember the names of towns.  I am sure glad that we took lots of notes along the way.  Sure hope that they coincide with the pictures!  We are so thankful for all your prayers, emails and encouragement along the way.  With the internet and cell phones we always felt connected  with you.  We hope that you have visited the website and gotten more information about Camps Farthest Out, Camps Farthest Out International, and the United Prayer Tower.  

Love and blessings,

Lana

 

Wipe out!

Hi everybody,

Yep, Dave wiped out right in front of my eyes into the sand turning into the RV park tonight.  Paula and I had arrived first, of course, hooked up, set up, and cooked dinner.  No guys.  Finally Mike called and tried to describe to Paula where they were.  He kept asking her what landmarks she had seen along the way and she kept telling him she was watching for the RV park and hadn't noticed much.  He asked about a weigh station and we told him that we were beyond that about a mile or so.  Turns out they were about 2 miles past us and when I went out to the road to watch for them, I looked up the road and could see the weigh station only 500 yds. away!  Is it any wonder we sometimes can't find each other?  Anyway, Dave did not hurt himself.  Just got dirty.

The best was this morning as we pulled across an intersection right after the guys had gotten on their bikes.  I was driving and was going straight through the intersection.  Mike pulled up on my left, smiled and turned left followed by Dave.  I yelled out to Dave that they were going the wrong way and continued on.  Dave says they went a block before turning around.  However, in Gainesville, Paula and I got totally off the track and ended up on a detour, in a poor section of town, headed who knows where.  the directions were not clear in one area and in another the wrong street name threw us off.  It is just a little disconcerting driving our rig on neighborhood streets dreading the "Dead End" or "No Outlet" signs!  We often have to go a long distance out of the way to get turned around.  

Happily, we are enjoying a warm evening, our last outside of St. Augustine, all in the same place and still talking to each other.  

We crossed the St. John's River this afternoon.  Another spectacular bridge to photograph.  An easy day of about 40 miles tomorrow will put us in St. Augustine for the late afternoon and night.  We will ride up to Anatasia State Park Sat. morning.  That is where the bikes and bikers will enter the Atlantic.  Can't believe it!!  There is some discussion tonight whether or not to follow the bike route tomorrow.  A direct route is faster but heavily traveled and has a nice shoulder.  The bike route is more picturesque (not high on the bikers' agenda), has no shoulder, and is longer.  They will probably try the more direct route which initially is part of the bike route and see how busy it is.  If they feel like targets on the road, they will opt for the bike route.

Goodnight from East Palatka, FL.

Love and blessings,

Lana

 

"Way down upon the Swannee River"

Hi Everybody,

We are in High Springs tonight at one of the nicest places yet.  Lots of shade, great bathrooms/showers, efficient laundry, and friendly people.  One drawback, there is a dirt road along the front of the campground and the dust is tremendous.  We are in the front row so we get the brunt of it.  At least it is not a much traveled road.

Best part of the day:  we crossed the Suwannee River, made famous by Stephen Foster.  You may  have noticed the spelling is different than in the song.  Well, seems Mr. Foster needed a two syllable name of a river for his song and was afraid people would mispronounce this spelling so changed it.  By the way, he never ever saw the river.  Worst part of the day:  my camera batteries were both dead when I got out to take pictures of the river.  I took quite a lot of video and hope to get a still picture from that.  I guess you can guess that I am quite a fan of Foster's music and have always loved singing his songs.

Best part of the day:  we followed the bike route today and so got off the beaten track and into the rural areas of Florida.  Worst part of the day:  we got lost.  After we met up for lunch we started out for the next stop and went about 10 miles before we realized that we were in a town not on the route.  About that time Dave and Mike called to say that they were on the same route we were on but realized it was not the right one earlier.  They ended up riding about 15 miles farther than they had planned today.  We finally discovered that the mistake had been made right before we pulled off for lunch.

Only a couple of days left.  We will be in St. Augustine on Friday but won't go all the way to the ocean until Saturday.  Tomorrow is a relatively long day but there are so few places for us to stay overnight that we will have to ride further to find a campground.  Friday will be a really light day, we think.  We have thought that before and been mistaken in the end.

Hopefully we did our last large grocery shopping today.  We will be eating breakfast bars and drinking Gatorade on the trip home!!  We have eaten well all the time.  Paula has done most of the cooking and there has been a nice variety of meals.  You haven't lived until you have had a tortilla heated right on the gas burner by Mike Terrones.  "Torts" have been a staple this trip.  We are continuing to use Katy's smoothie maker but have not bought any more spinach.  We are using her flax seed, though.

Love and blessings,

Lana

bike shop, Starducks, and Monticello

Hi Everybody,

Another beautiful day!!  WE are off-route and using hwy 90 as we wend our way through north Florida.  tonight we are just south of Madison, FL and I-10 at Deerwood RV park.  It is a nice, shady spot with operating bathrooms and showers but no laundry.  Dave washed his clothes while still wearing them in the shower!  Desperate times call for desperate measures!

Dave has been having trouble the last couple of days with 2 of the lower gears on the bike so wanted to get to a bike shop as soon as possible.  On the way through Tallahassee which has at least 4 bike shops we chose one and stopped.  The repair took less than 10 minutes and they did not charge him a penny!!  

Tallahassee is the home of Florida State University which we drove past rather quickly.  It appears to be a very nice campus and accounts for much of the reason for the number of bike shops here.  We looked for the capitol building but missed it.

The highlight of the day was our visit to Monticello.  The county seat for Jefferson County is named for Thomas Jefferson and the town for Jefferson's well-known plantation.  The first place visited was Starducks, yes the "d" is correct.  There were little plastic ducks in a row on the counter all painted in clever designs.  The coffee was just as expensive as you know who's!

Then a walk onto the square and into The Peddler, an antique and craft place.  Some interesting stuff which, at my age, all looks too familiar from my childhood.  Then a little farther around the square and off a half block to a bakery (just closing) and into M'lady's Shop, an upscale women's clothing store.  The owner was outside watering window boxes and I stopped to chat.  Her name is Barbara Hughes and she has lived here most of her life.  She is 71 years old, attractive and every inch a southern lady.  We talked for over a half hour about our families, the south, racism, and the economy.  She felt like an old friend.

I took lots of pictures of the courthouse and Barbara and Starducks.  

The flowers are getting more profuse as the days grow warmer.  Between Monticello and Greenville, the next town, someone has planted azalea bushes at regular intervals along the highway.  The corridor produced by the tall pines and azaleas on either side of the road made for a very scenic ride.  

We are sad to have learned that our CFO friends here in Florida are now not able to greet us as we finish the ride.  We are hoping that our friends Dave and Gloria Botten, newly moved to St. Augustine, will be able to be there.  They are to arrive in Florida on Wednesday, April 7.  (Would someone let her daughter Tiffany know so that Gloria can call us.  I do not have an email address for them.)

Love and blessings,

Lana   

 

The last map #7

Hi everybody,

I know that the title may sound a little strange to some of you, but let me explain.  Our trip was arranged by Adventure Cycling and laid out in a series of maps stretching from San Diego to St. Augustine.  it is called the Southern Tier Route and features only the 8 states across the southern U.S.  The bike route appears in red and each map has 15 panels on it.  We move from one to fifteen before starting the next map.  Whether we choose to follow this route or not is up to us.  We have wavered a bit some days, but in general have followed their plan.  There are 7 maps all together and each time we have completed a map we celebrate.  At first we thought we would have a map burning, but decided we probably should keep them as souvenirs of the trip.  Well, today we started map #7 which takes us the rest of the way to St. Augustine.  Seems like a dream to look back at map # 1 or 2 and read the names of the towns we passed through or stayed in.  It's a long time since the 8 flats a day and the RV tire debacle.  We never know what awaits us as we start the day.

Today has been probably the most "boring" as far as any incidents.  The weather is the biggest news--hot and humid!  I think to Floridians this is just a nice spring day.  Feels like a late June or early Sept. day to us midwesterners.  We are camping in Gretna, FL, a little short of Tallahassee.  A couple of names I have heard all my life were on the map and up close and personal -- Appalachicola River and Chattahoochee.  Now for someone who likes words, just run those up and down your tongue a few times!!  Crossing the Appalachicola River put us into the Eastern Daylight Time Zone so now we are an hour ahead of our midwest fans, 2 hours ahead of Sheryl and Allen Monroe and others in the Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nebraska area and 3 hours ahead of our California, Oregon, Washington people.  If there is anyone hooked into our network in Hawaii and those of you in Australia, Africa and UK, we are just hours ahead or behind!

Dave is "advertising" that he and Mike will put their front tires into the Atlantic Ocean at 2 PM on Saturday, April 10.  We hope to see a few of you there, if possible.  We will be in Anastasia State Park.  Just heard from a dear friend in West Chicago who grew up in the area that it is one of her favorite places on earth.  Now it will be one of ours!

Love and blessings,

Lana

Easter in DeFuniak Springs, FL

Hi Everybody,

Chirst is risen!! He is risen indeed!!  Our pastor emailed this message at 5:40AM today!!!

We have had a great day off.  We attended the First United Methodist Church of DeFuniak Springs this AM for the 11 o'clock service.  It was traditonal and seemed very much like home.  I have to say that it was a step above the Baptist church we attended as far as friendliness but not much.  The pastor and his wife were very friendly and one other couple were genuinely glad to welcome us but that was about all except for some "Happy Easters" and "Good Mornings", we felt like outsiders.  We really are learning first hand how important it is to welcome visitors.  Maybe if we were planning to live in the area they would be more friendly, but how do they know what our intention is when we just walk in off the street?  It is a lesson that I hope we have learned well.

We spent the afternoon walking around the lake in the middle of town and across the street from the church.  There are a number of antebellum homes facing the lake and the flowers and trees are beginning to burst into bloom so it was a gorgeous site.  I took lots of pictures and will send some along.  We had our "Easter dinner" in a gazebo on the lake--HAM sandwiches, pretzels, celery sticks and pop.  Tasted good!  We then drove to a Sonic and had ice cream!!  And I had my first chocolate in 6 weeks!!!  Oh, I forgot to say that the Easter Bunny found us here in Florida with baskets and eggs filled with candy and marshmallows for Mike and beef jerky for Dave!!!

Now I am sitting in the semi-darkness outside typing and waiting for the (wait for it.......wait for it.......) laundry to be finished!   It is a beautiful night and the tall pine trees sheltering our site are quiet for now but smell divine.  

Tomorrow we will start our final legs of the journey.  It looks right now as if we will be in St. Augustine on Friday evening or Saturday morning, depending on what the people meeting us here will be able to arrange.  We will be riding through Anastasia State Park to the Atlantic Ocean.  Come on down everyone!!!!

Only a few more days--can't believe it.

Love and blessings,

Lana

 

Humphrey Bogart in DeFuniak, FL!

Hi Everybody,

Woke up to clouds and fog this morning but the weather improved as the day went on.  Very warm and humid later in the day and the stars are out tonight so that looks good for tomorrow.

Dave and Mike biked from our campsite back into Milton this morning to make up some mileage that they missed way back west someplace.  Wouldn't want anyone to think that they didn't cover enough miles, you know!!  Some of the ride this morning was on an actual bike path instead of a road.  They said it was hilly and very scenic.  Paula and I saw lots of bikers on the highway we were on.  One group of about 20+ rode by with a police escort.  Another couple I talked to at the gas station in Holt, FL were out training for a 67 mile ride next weekend.  I have to mention that Paula and I are experts now on gas station bathrooms and coffee machines!  Chevron has the best coffee.  Won't comment on the condition of most of the bathrooms.  Most of the time we are not too particular!

We got to Crestview for lunch and were met by Lee, Susan, Courtney, and Cameron Kloos who drove up from  Niceville, FL to see us.  Susan is the daughter of my dear college friend Debbie Jansen and her husband Gene.  Lee is an Air Force fighter pilot based at Eglin Air Force Base flying F-16's.  He is transitioning to the F-35 this Fall.  Dave and I had not seen Susan since she was a little girl.  Our visit was short but so enjoyable.

the guys biked on to Ponce de Leon where we picked them up and drove back to DeFuniak for the night.  We are in a nice RV park but only 2 other groups are here.  Seems strange.  We are on a main highway south to the gulf beaches and there has been a steady stream of cars since we got here and the manager of the park says that it has been like that all day.  We decided to come back here because DeFuniak is a larger town and has a large Methodist Church.  Paula and I did a little driving around here earlier and the church is located on a lovely little lake in the middle of town with beautiful antebellum houses all around the lake.  We are anxious to walk around and maybe picnic near the lake tomorrow after church.

We decided to eat out tonight and went to what looked on the outside to be a casual, downhome type eating place.  Bogey's (yes, after Humphrey Bogart) turned out to be quite upscale and moderately expensive with linen cloths and napkins, live music, quite formal in atmosphere and clientele.  We hesitated at the door but the hostess was very friendly and assured us that we were welcome.  Her son-in-law is the chef and the food was delicious, right down to the homemade key lime pie!!

Pictures of all the 40's and 50's movie stars lined the walls with "Bogey" being the most prominent.  We decided that this would be our Easter dinner!!

Thinking of home tonight and all the Easter preparations.  Good luck to the men and the breakfast tomorrow morning and to the youth as well.  Pastor has sent his sermons for tomorrow and for last Sunday so we can feel more connected to you all. Ron called to say how nice the Seder meal was and how well the choir did.  Judi reported on the Tenebrae service and said that it was inspirational as usual.  We send our blessings as you praise the risen Savior tomorrow.

It is nice to have the windows open on the motorhome tonight.  We are in a pine grove and the smell is divine.

Love and blessings,

Lana 

FLORIDA!!! State # 8

Hi Everybody,

The bikers started out back at the ferry landing today at 8:10.  It was a beautiful day along the coastline of Alabama and Florida.  We love all the houses on stilts along the white sand beaches.  Many are painted in pastel colors looking like Easter eggs along the way.  

Dave's finger is doing well.  He says that it doesn't even throb.  Later tonight we will unwrap it and see how it looks.  I won't be able to resist taking a picture so be forewarned.  We are hoping to find no infection and just a nice row of 9 stitches.  I did take a picture of him with the  finger out of his bike glove and sticking straight out as he rode off.

We were not able to find a Good Friday service anywhere close so I feel kind of disconnected from Holy Week events.  Ron called and filled me in on the service at the Lutheran Church last night for the Seder meal.  I bought baskets, plastic eggs, and candy for Sunday for us and we will make every effort to get to a service somewhere.

We are in a KOA campground tonight with a lovely sunset seen through the tall pines.  We are just off HWY 10 in Milton, FL.

The remaining days are down to single digits.  Wow!!  Dave has a gear that isn't working so we will visit a bike shop in Tallahassee in 2 days, actually 3 since Sunday is a day off.  We haven't darkened a bike shop door since Texas.  Hope that statement won't jinx it.

This is short and you are probably glad.  You have all been so gracious with your comments.  thanks again for the encouragement, thoughts, prayers and contributions.

Love and blessings,

Lana.

The Accident

Hi everyone,

Well, today broke our track record of no accidents.  Thank goodness it was not on a bicycle on the road, but an accident nonetheless.  You remember yesterday I told you that the jack on the trailer broke and now we have to prop the trailer up with the car jack.  Well, when Mike and Dave were attaching the trailer to the RV, Dave's left index finger got pinched between the trailer tongue and the jack. (Sorry, kids, I did not describe it correctly before.)  He came into the RV to run some cold water over his finger and Paula and I took one look and said "That looks serious".  "It's not so bad", said Dave!!!  Nurse Paula and MIke said, "That needs stitches!"  Dave went online and found the nearest Urgent Care to be in Gulf Shores, 20 miles away AFTER we crossed on the ferry.  So we bandaged it the best we could and finished hooking up and drove to get in line for the 8 AM ferry.

In the meantime we visited with a wonderful French Canadian couple (late 50's, early 60's) who are traveling on our route but carrying everything on their bikes.  They "cheated" a little in AZ when it got so cold and took a train to Tucson and on to San Antonio, before resuming the bike route.  They came into the RV for the ride on the ferry to avoid the bugs.  Mariette spoke decent English but Irenee did not speak much English.  (Irenee should have an accent mark over the second "e" and is a man.)  We hope to meet up with them again.  

After disembarking the ferry we drove on to Gulf Shores and found the Urgent Care place very easily only 2 blocks off the highway.  (Thank you, God, for arranging for someone to invent Google Maps!)  The receptionist took Dave in ahead of several others in the waiting room.  Dr. Dillard was amazingly efficient, sympathetic, amazed at the adventure, and explicit about treatment.  Nine stitches and a splint later we were on our way.  Dave wanted to ride some today but Mike said "NO!".

We all decided that we would call this our day off, go to Pensacola, and see the Naval Air Museum.  Loved all the beach area along the way, and I hoped to spend some time with my feet in the white sand.  (Didn't happen.) 

The museum is wonderful and we enjoyed plane overload!  Saw an IMAX presentation of the Hubble Telescope.  Moved me to tears.  What an endeavor.  

Went to Bubba Seafood Restaurant for some crab, shrimp and fish--all deep fat fried and delicious!!  Then drove back to Fort Morgan to an RV park along the shore of Mobile Bay for the night.  Tomorrow will be an 80 mile day for us if we can get to Milton, FL.  We'll see how Dave does with the handlebar gripping deficiency!

This  mishap could have been much more serious and we are so thankful that it was not.  Tonight Dave says that the pain is only where the anesthetic was admininstered.  Oh yes, when the nurse asked him how he would rate the pain in his finger this morning, Dave said that it was a 2!  A 2!!!!!!!  I know he has a high pain threshold, but a 2????  

We watched the sunset tonight over the bay from the dock.  I took a picture of a blue heron on the end of the dock waiting for some tidbits to be thrown his way by a fisherman cleaning his catch of the day there.  It was pretty dark, but I enhanced the picture a little.  I sent it to Katy for the website.  Hope that it is good enough to see.

Love and blessings,

Lana

Mobile Bay and the Gulf

Hi Everybody,

Happy Birthday, Troy!!  He is our son-in-law married to Carrie.  He brought the family to Louisiana to see us.  What a guy!!

The beautiful weather continues.  Today we crossed into Alabama for our one night in this lovely state.  We are down on the Gulf of Mexico on an island separating the Gulf and Mobile Bay.  Dauphin island is the home of Fort Gaines which we have not seen.  To get to the Island we crossed a huge bridge on which we took pictures and videos.  It looked pretty formidable from the RV but the bikers say that it looked downright impossible to them.  You approach it on a slow grade but then the climb to the top is steep.  It feels as if there is no end to it until the pinnacle is reached and then you can see the island stretched out before you.  Dauphin Island has about 1300 inhabitants.  There is one main road which leads from the bridge to the Fort.  Reminds me of the Outer Banks in North Carolina--houses on stilts, sand everywhere, boats of all shapes and sizes and the smell of fish and sea water.

At one of our stops today to wait for the cyclists, we parked in a Baptist Church parking lot (Dees, AL).  By the way, we are very fond of church parking lots because they offer us a great place to turn around if we need to!!!  While we rested, I walked around the cemetery looking at names.  The name Dees was on lots of grave markers.  The most interesting one was a large granite slab on top of a gravesite with a beautiful grand piano etched into it.  I found it fascinating to match up families by following the wife's maiden name,  finding brothers, parents, and seeing how many families were related by blood and/or marriage.

When Paula and I got to our campsite and went to unhook the trailer in order to maneuver the RV into the slot, we found that the crank on the trailer was missing.  We have no idea when it fell off, but we have made some very rough entrances and exits from various spots in the last few days and it could have dropped off anywhere.  We haven't had to hook up the trailer since Monday morning.  Mike thought it was on this morning but couldn't be sure.  Another camper came over to see what we needed and helped us jack it up with a wrench far enough to get it off the RV and then set it on some blocks.  When the guys got here, they worked on it for a while.  It will work but we will just have to use the RV jack whenever we want to take it off.  Meg, we will get it fixed before you have to use it on the farm!!

Paula and I watched fishing boats and the ferry come in before the guys rolled in at about 3:30. The park is very nice and while we did laundry for 3 hours (!!!!) we talked to great folks who have been staying here for a few months from Michigan, both upper and lower, and keep coming back each year.  They said that this has been an unusually cold and wet winter.

Tomorrow we will take the ferry over to Fort Morgan then on to Gulf Shores and Pensacola.  I think that we will go on to Milton to stay, but Friday we will take an extra day off so Dave can go to the Naval Air Museum.

We could be done in 1 (ONE, that's a single, lone, 7 days, ) week.  We will probably take Easter Sunday off as well so maybe that will add a day and we will finish on Thursday, April 8.  Where has the time gone?????

Full moon tonight over the Bay.  Wow!!!

Love & Blessings,

Lana

M-I-double s-I-double s-I-pp-I

Hi everybody,

Another beautiful day---sunny, cool to start out with and then warming up nicely.  this was a 94 mile day.  This time the guys got lost and rode around a lake instead of on the north side of it.  Paula and I were parked along the road in a stand of tall pines with a soft breeze blowing and the sun coming in through the branches of the trees.  I was knitting (almost have the baby blanket finished) and Paula was reading.  We looked up and the guys were coming toward us!!  A first for this trip!  The riding is mostly flat and gentle rolling hills now.  We are on small, back roads and there is rarely any shoulder.  Paula drove slowly today so that we would not miss the little signs on the corners.  Here are some names of roads from today: Four Mile, Frank Snell, Sam Smith, White Sand, Archie Wheat, Foots Stevens, Firetower, Sunflower.

Tonight we are in Vancleave, MS at a nice RV park on a little lake.  We drove into another one but rejected it as it was so crowded, there were lots of kids playing in the street, and we had heard that it had substandard shower/bathroom facilities and noisy clientele (permanent residents).  However it was the only one on our map.  On the way to that one we drove by this one.  We are certainly going to write to Adventure Cycling and recommend it.  The manager just took it over this year and is making lots of upgrades as she is able.

The guys are very saddle-sore tonight.  They are really pushing themselves here near the end.  We may take two rest days this week--Friday and Sunday.  If we keep this pace, we will be in St. Augustine on Thursday, April 8.

No alligators or snakes yet!!!!!!

Love and blessings,

Lana

Louisiana: Bah, ya'll!

Hi Everybody,

Well, this is our last night in the state of Louisiana.  I say that confidently and with no thought that there would be anything that would hinder our crossing the Louisiana-Mississippi line tomorrow!  

We barely avoided the dreaded Walmart parking lot overnight.  The guys rode about 112 miles today and when they met us at Walmart in Bogalusa, LA at 7 PM we had not found anywhere to stay.  I had phoned the only RV park in town twice during the day and had gotten a machine and no call back.  The internet gave us a fairly good map to the place but Paula and I were unsuccessful at finding it in two attempts.  Maneuvering this hulking thing down small side streets was difficult and we gave up.  The bike map didn't show anything here for camping at all.  Dave and Mike convinced us to try one more time and so we set out in the dark to find Willa-Villa mobile home and RV park.  We got to laughing so hard at street names and numbering inconsistencies, that we about missed it until we found ourselves in front of the Willa-Villa Laundry.  As we sat there, my phone rang and it was the gal who finally got my message and said that we could stay the night.  It is nearly all permanent residences with just a few RV spots.  Oh well, we are just glad to have the hook ups needed although no bathroom or shower.

The earlier part of the day was a steady stream of missed turns, U-turns, and mis-read signs.  This is for the RV!!  When we miss a turn, it takes so long to find a good place to turn around that we sometimes have to drive 5 or 6 miles out of the way.  Louisiana is full of little country roads with numbers into the thousands and all very close to the actual corner where the turn needs to be made.  It is not possible to slam on the brakes and turn on a dime!  There are very few signs that indicate what town is coming up so we have to rely on our compass and bike map to keep going in the right general direction.  The bike map is very detailed but not always correct as far as the numbers go.  The last big turn to Bogalusa out of Franklinton was tricky and we had stopped in a large parking lot to see if Dave and Mike wanted to go on.  We watched them go ahead of us and when we pulled out to go they were already out of sight.  We drove the prescribed route and never saw them again until the Walmart.  They missed the first turn and took another route and it turned out better for them--more direct, less hills, and a nice shoulder.  Our route was prettier.

Carrie and family went home today and made it all the way in less than 12 hours.  They started up the Natchez Trail which she said was beautiful but decided the boys were too young to get much out of it.  So they opted for a less scenic but faster route to Illinois.  Today is her birthday!!

Three states to go!!

Love and blessings,

Lana

lazy day in Louisiana

Hi everybody,

Hosanna! Hosanna!!  Hosanna to the King of Kings!!  Happy Palm Sunday!

Our church experience today at the First Baptist Church of St. Francisville was less than ideal.  It is a beautiful church building but not a soul greeted us or talked to us afterward.  The service was nice.  The choir of 20 put on a musical play called "Come and See".  There were four actors who portrayed a widow, her young son, a blind beggar and Simon Peter.  The choir sang with recorded accompaniment.  It was very good and the two female soloists had nice voices.  The pastor gave a short sermon after the play and there were a few vocal "amens" at appropriate places.  Carrie took Isaac to the nursery and he did well there.  Zach stayed with us in the sanctuary.  The announcements were at the end of the service and the pastor even said that there were visitors in the audience and asked the people to greet them.  No one did.  We got one nodded hello in the hall outside the sanctuary.  Carrie said that the nursery people were very nice. 

We enjoyed a ride into the historic part of town and had lunch at 8 Sisters restaurant.  It was a small place but the food and friendly atmosphere were top notch.  The shrimp and sausage gumbo was absolutely delicious.  The host paid lots of attention to us and explained the dishes and the town to us.  We bought extra gumbo to eat tomorrow.  We asked about "ooey, gooey" on the menu and he brought us some to taste.  It is a sugar based dessert that is just yummy.  We even got an extra one to take home.  The host informed us that he was NOT one of the sisters!

We walked over to a cute house, now an antique store, and just looked around. It was no time before we had to head back to the RV site and get Katy packed up to go to Baton Rouge for her flight to Chicago.  Carrie and I drove her down with stops along the way to take pictures of some old plantation homes, a Presbyterian church, and a tiny sheriff's office.  We will miss Katy riding along with us both in the RV and on the bikes.  She showed herself to be a strong biker, a great photographer, and a willing participant in the adventure.

Tonight we had a fire and roasted hot dogs and had s'mores.  There was a great need for showers after that.  Zach and Isaac loved the old pool table in the game room and we all had a chance at playing various versions of pool with them.  We befriended two dogs who live here in the park--Mollie and Max.  They especially liked us at mealtimes.

Tomorrow is Carrie's birthday!  Happy 41!!!

We loved this park and have had a wonderful day of rest.

Love and blessings,

Lana  

plantations, ferries, and a 3# plate of crawfish

Hi everybody,

Gloria Runyan has corrected my flower ID from yesterday.  She thinks that the red/pink flower we photographed yesterday in Oberlin is a camelia not a magnolia.  I have seen magnolia trees like ours in IL since yesterday and they are decidedly different.  Thanks, Gloria.

The cyclists rode about 76 miles today on and off the bike route.  They  started out on another route in order to cut the day down from the original 100+ miles.  then an unexpected detour on that route added a few miles.  We were tooling along pretty well until we came to a dead end and an inoperative ferry.  It was supposed to go across the Atchafalaya River, a tributary of the Mississippi.  So we backtracked a little and got on a four lane highway, but came to the Morganza Spillway bridge which the bikes were not allowed on.  However, the RV had driven on ahead without knowing that.  So as we munched on Po Boy sandwiches, the bikers were sitting under a huge overpass waiting for us to answer our phones and come back for them.  We finally connected, picked them up, and brought them back for lunch.

We drove over some pretty narrow, rough roads into New Roads and drove up to a different ferry landing to cross the Mississippi.  Troy and I got out and walked up the levee to see what the situation was and judged it to be impossible for the RV and trailer to get across on the ferry.  Troy backed the RV up for us and turned us around to get out of the way of the other cars getting in line for the ferry.  A woman was selling homemade pralines (absolutely delicious, by the way) to the people waiting for the ferry.  She advised us that we could get in line and just wait and see what the ferry boatmen would say about our size.  She said that they would come up the hill when they saw you and measure your vehicle if there was any doubt.  The sign said that 50' was the limit.  We thought we were around 42 to 45 feet.  But it just looked impossible.  We waited for the 3 bikers to catch up.  When they did both Mike and Dave decided it was worth it to try to get on.  (in the meantime 5 cyclists got off the ferry coming west and are on the same route we are on.  They exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, you're almost done and we're just starting!!!)  When we got to the front of the line, up came the boatmen to measure---46 ft.!!  They allowed 3 more cars to get on ahead of us and then we lumbered down the hill and over the ramp, the last to board.  It was a thrilling ride across the great river.  Hope you get to see some pictures and videos.  We were the first off and drove up the hill into St. Francisville, LA.  What a beautiful town.  Tomorrow is our day off and we will spook around the myriads of shops and historical sites.  Lots of big mansions with drooping moss, a la Gone With the Wind.

Our park is Peaceful Pines and it is small, nicely kept up and we have sites side by side.  Our dinner out tonight was at Sammy's Grill, recommended by the manager of the RV park.  We all (9) piled into the White's van and drove several miles to the restaurant.  It was an hour wait, but we decided to stay.  The boys did very well and the meal was very good.  Wait until you see Dave's 3 lbs. of crawfish plate.  It took him a while but he finished it.  Zach couldn' t look at it--all the crawfish eyes freaked him out.

We are tired tonight but are glad to anticipate tomorrow's day off.  Katy flies back to Chicago tomorrow.  She has mixed emotions about leaving.  We will miss all her picture and video taking while riding her bike!!!  She also tells us a lot more about what they see along the way!!!

Thanks for all the encouraging words, the prayers, and the contributions.  Keep them all coming!!!

Love and blessings,

Lana

 

crawfish, cajun, and company

Hi everybody,

After the guys left on their bikes this AM, Katy, Paula and I took the motorhome to Kite Brothers RV repair to see if they could fix the hazard lights (they won't flash), the generator (it won't stay on for more than 10  minutes), and put more air in the tires.  Mark helped us and was really friendly.  It took only 1/2 hour and when it came to the bill he said that he felt bad about charging us the minimum amount for an hour of work that only took 1/2 so gave us a really good deal.  they sent Katy to the NAPA store for a part while Paula and I shopped at Walmart.  then we drove to a local grocery store and picked up some newspapers with the bikers pictures on the front page!!

Later during a stop in Manou, LA, we sent the bikers off and went to follow along but the motorhome wouldn't start.  I tried it again and again, but there was nothing.  Paula ran out and tried to yell loud enough to get Katy to hear, but they were too far away.  Our phones had not been working for a while but we called them anyway and could barely make them understand, but Mike started back.  there was a man spraying weeds around the area where we were parked and he came over when Mike got back.  After Dave had tried several things they decided the battery was dead.  So they used the guy's truck to jump the RV and it started right up.  Haven't been able to explain the reason for the dead battery for sure.  So it will be one more thing that we will have to think about before getting started each time.

On to Washington, LA where we will spend the night.  Saw lots of crawfish ponds and rice fields today.  This part of the country is so different than what we have seen so far.  As you all know the graves in the cemeteries are above ground.  The first one we saw was so startling with everything so crowded together and white with colorful bouquets everywhere.  I was driving and trying to take a picture so what I have so far isn't very good. Paula tried with my camera the next time but pushed the off button instead. Surely we will see more.

As we drove into the RV park Carrie and Zach and Isaac were waving and yelling at us.  That was so exciting!  They had arrived about an hour before.  Again we have a crazy park to stay in.  I think Troy would like to have moved but we are staying.  Willie's Washington Campground--bar--mobile home park.  the bathrooms are in the bar, no showers, but there are washing machines.  The good ole boys have gone home early, thank goodness.  We grilled out brats and hamburgers tonight after putting up two tents.  

Good to be with family and nearing the goal.  We hope to eat cajun tomorrow night.  At least some fish!!

Love,

Lana

last stop in TX

Hi, everyone,

Here we are in Liberty, TX, a little off the bike route but we had a hard time finding an RV park anywhere closer.  The bikers went 87 miles today from Navasota to the intersection of 105 and 146.  Paula, Katy and I had scouted out one place but it was really primitive and in a rather muddy field.  Katy found this park on-line and so we drove the 15 miles south to Liberty.  It isn't great (no bathrooms or showers), but has electric, water, and sewer hook-ups.  It has been sprinkling since about 4 PM when we stopped in Cleveland (now isn't that bizarre!!) at the Walmart.  A few minutes ago it rained rather hard but now has stopped.  Katy rode 55 miles today and was glad to quit in Security, TX.  We saw more funny named towns today such as Cut and Shoot, Groceville (we think that it is pronounced Grossville), and forgot to tell you about Peach Pu in AZ.  

It was another late start today after driving back to Navasota to start where they stopped yesterday.  We stopped in at the cafe where we had the ice cream yesterday and the owners were getting ready for the day.  they had called the newspaper yesterday after Dave and Mike had stopped in and set up a meeting this morning.  Rosemary Smith, managing editor of the Examiner, came by and talked to the guys and took pictures.  They took off at 9:30 while Paula and I stayed behind for more conversation with Rosemary.  We finally left at 10:25.

Riding through Conroe, TX, was busy and lengthy.  Seemed like a bigger city than 37,000.  Saw an absolutely beautiful Methodist Church that took up most of a block.  Wish we had had time to visit.  The RV girls continued on to Security, TX where we pulled into a Baptist church parking lot to wait for the bikers.  I went in to introduce myself, ask permission to park in the lot, and use the restroom.  the pastor met me at the door and came out to meet Paula and wait for the bikers.  His name is Hewey Jackson and he has been the pastor there for 5 years.  He was born and raised in this area and said that except for college and seminary (both in TX) he had not been beyond a 60 mile radius of his present church. He looked to be in his late thirties, early forties.  He was very interested in our venture and our cause.  His church has a Sunday School of about 100 and about 150 attend worship services.  This is where Katy decided to stop riding the bike for today.

Well, after 15 days in Texas, we will bid the Lone Star State good-bye and say howdy to Louisiana tomorrow.  I hate to mention it but we have not had a flat in 4 days.  Everybody knock on wood!!!

Carrie, Troy and boys leave Collinsville, IL tomorrow afternoon and will be with us in Louisiana on Friday evening.  Katy will head back to IL on Sunday from Baton Rouge.  

Hope to be back on the bike trail tomorrow.

Love and blessings,

Lana

Antique lovers come to TX

Hi Everybody,

Saw quite a site today.  For several miles before and after Round Top, TX, there were tents, semi-permanent buildings, trailers, and more on both sides of the road in the fields and then more right in town, block after block.  Turns out there is an antiques show here starting March 31 and people from all over come to sell, buy, trade and just walk around.  It is quite the deal.  I googled it and found out a little more.  It is a twice a year event and has been going on for over 40 years.  We ended up pulling in to one farmer's field where they were constructing 2 new covered areas with cement floors for expansion.  If you google Round Top, TX, antique show, you can see for yourself.  There is a Springfest and an Octoberfest.  Talked to someone who said that there actually is one 4 times a year.  We didn't take the time to look at anything, but it would sure be fun.  Of course, there are food booths and rides, etc. as well.  Ann and Howard said that last night their motel parking lot was full of cars and trucks pulling trailers all bound for this festival.  

Katy rode two segments of the trip today.  She felt really good until the headwinds and uphill climbs got to her.  

We stopped in Burton to warn the bikers of a particularly tricky turn and while waiting for them to arrive a local guy named Stanley drove up, curious about us.  When the bikers got there, his advice was to abandon the bike map for the  next segment because of narrow, shoulderless roads and drivers who characteristically do not give any courtesy to bikers.  Ann and Howard caught up with us here and among all of us a new route was worked out.  We bypassed the Sam Houston National Forest and lovely scenery for a safer road to Navasota.  This cut out some miles so the bikers won't have such a long day tomorrow.  Paula and I drove to Brenham to make lunch and wait for everyone to catch up.  

On to Navasota where the women enjoyed a visit to an antique store with rooms and rooms of stuff.  We got a few things to remind us of our visit.  Howard had stayed in the car while we shopped and found a great ice cream store right across the street from the RV.  He had talked to the owner about the bike trip and the owner offered free malts to the riders.  When the bikers arrived, that was the first place they headed.  

Ann and Howard decided to head for Tennessee so we said good-bye.  It was such a treat to share the time with them and have them get a feeling for our adventure.

We put the bikes in the trailer and, since there is nowhere to stay here in Navasota, we drove on toward Conroe.  We found a KOA Kampground in Montgomery and that is where we are tonight.  We have done laundry, pitched the tent, had supper, had showers and are ready for bed.  Katy will send the pictures and videos for the day.  It is nice not having to do that myself.

Love and blessings,

Lana

Bluebonnets, bikes, and buddies

Hi everyone,

We had a hard time getting out of the RV park this AM in Austin.  Just seemed that there were a lot of details to attend to plus getting Katy outfitted and her bike ready to go.  Lisa brought her by at about 9:15 and they had stopped at a bakery near Lisa's house.  Delicious goodies were enjoyed by all.  Although Lisa gave us explicit directions out of the park and onto the correct road, I managed to make the wrong turn right away.  Lisa saw me do it and called to tell us but we realized it ourselves and were able to correct it really quickly.  Poor Lisa must have been shaking her head.

Paula and I stopped just short of Bastrop, TX to wait for the THREE riders.  It was about a 30 mile ride.  They arrived at about 12:15.  Katy's hip was bothering her so she decided to ride the rest of the day with us.  We had lunch and then the guys started out again at 1:00.  We three girls stopped at yet another bike shop in Bastrop for more tubes (this is our "insurance policy" so that we do not have any flats!  Wish it would work!!We then tried to follow the bikers through a state park.  As we entered the ranger came over to the RV and suggested to us that we probably wouldn't want to continue into the park because of the overhanging trees.  She said that they could do some major damage to an RV of our size.  So I did a U-turn out of the park and we took a more major highway into La Grange.  (an amusing story from last night.  We asked Lisa to google a map for us today from Austin  to La Grange.  When she typed in the  city names the map came up with a direct route to La Grange , IL. ) .

As we drove into town we saw a hillside  of bluebonnets, the TX state flower.  They are just now starting to bloom and when in a big bed are simply breathtaking.  We had to drive by to find a place to park and go back to take a picture and in so doing we passed a Texas Stop Sign  (a Dairy Queen).  We couldn't park there so continued around the town and parked on a side street.  We walked back to the highway to take pictures of the flowers.  We actually had to stand on the road to take the pictures.  As we walked back to the RV a man stepped out in front of us from a driveway and started taking our picture.  I thought that some local was taking a picture of the crazy tourists taking pictures of his flowers.  Well the man lowered his camera and it was Howard Swan along with Ann.  We knew that they were going to try to catch up with us on their way home from Dallas where they were visiting their daughter Karen and her family, but we weren't sure just where they would find us.  As they drove into town he saw us taking the pictures of the bluebonnets.  We all went to the DQ and waited for Dave and Mike to join us.  Howard took pictures of them coming down the highway and Dave was really surprised to see them as well.  

They followed us to an RV park here in LaGrange.  We got parked and they went to find a nearby motel where they got the last available room.  They came back and we drove about 15 miles away to Fayetteville to a great little saloon called Joe's Place for Texas BBQ.  The town is very small but so quaint with old houses, many of which have been restored to their original style.  We had a great time talking and sharing stories.  Thanks, Howard and Ann, for a wonderful treat.

Tonight Mike is staying outside so that Katy can be in the RV.  It is a beautiful night and we hope that he gets a good rest. Went about 75 miles today.  Just 2 more nights in Texas.  We have been here a total of 12 nights so far.  A big state!!

Nite, ya'll,
Lana

Austin, capital of Texas

Hi Everyone,

Well we managed to fill up this day with a lot of things that were not all having to do with cycling.  I think that a ride in a fire engine was the most unusual occurrence along with a surprise visit from Gary Chezem, a member of our church, who just happened to be visiting an uncle in Dallas and rented a car and came to see us as well as take a trip to Houston to see the space station.

Our niece was finishing up a 24 hour shift at the fire station and so we got a tour of the station and a ride around the block in the engine.  She is the driver for the shift and it is amazing to be inside and see all the equipment, computers, uniforms, and instruments that are included in the small area of the cab.  They also have a small truck that is used especially for brush fires and a new boat for water rescue.  Lisa said that they all had to get checked out in the boat and that it gets up some real speed with a 90 horsepower motor.  

After her shift ended we drove to her house which is near the downtown area of Austin.  We passed the beautiful capitol and the University of Texas, home of the Longhorns.  Lisa lives near the downtown area in an older part of Austin.  It is a really charming neighborhood of old homes.  Her house is small but really cute and she has lots of plans for remodeling.  She has already made big changes in the yard and redecorated the interior.    We walked a few blocks to a huge Whole Foods Market where we had lunch .  This is where Whole Foods started and it is enormously popular  so there was a big crowd .  It was a huge place and the food displays were outstanding.  From there we walked across the street to an REI store to look for bike tubes and a few additional clothing items for the remainder of the trip.  

A friend of Katy's who had recently moved to Austin joined us for lunch.  

After walking around and window shopping in several interesting  shops, we walked back to Lisa's .  Dean and Betty decided to head back to Houston and Dave, Katy and Lisa went on to another bike shop and then out to the RV park to pick up Mike and Paula  and bring them back to Lisa's  so that we could go out to supper.  We walked to a great Mexican place called Z Tejas ,  a favorite of Lisa's.  She had taken Katy there on Friday and it had delicious food.  

We got back to the RV about 9.  Katy will stay with Lisa tonight and Lisa will bring her back in the morning.  Our nephew Paul, Lisa's brother, called to see how everything was going .

It has been wonderful to have a day with no cycling and all new experiences.  Thanks to all the Millmans and Gary for distracting us and feeding us so well.

Love and blessings,

Lana

Rain, lightening, thunder, and Austin

Hi everybody,

I guess that you should make that subject line ray-en, lahtnin', and thundah, ma'am!  this is what we awakened to early today.  It was loud inside the motorhome.  The biggest storm we've experienced so far.  I got to thinking that I would  have more respect for the road signs before every low spot that warn "Watch for high water on road" and the measuring stick showing the possibility of  up to 6 feet.  It did not look good for making up 18 miles from yesterday and still getting into Austin this afternoon.  

We ate a rather leisurely breakfast before the rain stopped and then proceeded to drive back to Blanco to get the guys to their stopping place from yesterday.  Paula and I drove on to Wimberley.  There was no rain  but now the wind is really blowing.  We found a really nice Hawaiian coffee shop, selling wonderful Kona coffee and waited.  They rode in at about noon and were really tired of battling the wind.  a little lunch revived them and they took off at 12:45.  

We drove on to Buda (can be pronounced Bew- as in pew, da or Booda)  and called Katy to tell her where we were and she said that she would drive Lisa's car out to where we were and lead us into Austin to the RV park.  Lisa is on a 24 hour shift at the fire station.  My brother Dean called to say that they were about an hour away from Austin and would go to their friends' house before coming to see us at the RV park.  An aside to Doug and Val:  they are staying with William and Sharon, except that Sharon is in Indiana).

The guys and Katy got to Buda where we were waiting at about the same time.  Lisa had made a detailed map of the bike trail through Austin to our destination so they took off confidently.  We followed Katy into the traffic around Austin and we pulled in here at about 5 PM.  Guys got here at about 6:10 and my brother arrived shortly thereafter.  Betty had made an apple pie which we practically devoured before showers or anything else.  Texas BBQ was our request for dinner so we drove to the Green Mesquite for the special Texas treat which proved to be delicious.  What the rest of us had left over, Dave and Mike ate with relish after finishing their own meals.  

We got back to the RV park at 10:15 and are ready for bed.  Day off tomorrow!!!!!  The night sky is clearing so maybe tomorrow will be a better day weatherwise.  Mike is still trying to get warm.

Goodnight, ya'll,

Lana

 

Halfway and just west of Austin

Hi Everyone,

We are just west of Wimberly, TX tonight, 6 miles short of our goal.  The steep hills slowed the bikers down and a late start didn't help.

We got away from our campsite in Ingram at a good time this AM (7:50) but only went a few miles to meet 2 newspaper reporters at the Walmart parking lot in Kerrville.  They were very interested and Dave took a long time explaining the reason for the trip and his background with the camps, etc.   

When the guys finally took off it was 9:40.  Paula and I finished up some shopping at Walmart and then drove on to the bike shop in Kerrville.  It didn't open until 10 so I paid a short visit to the health food store nearby.  Picked up some energy mix for the water bottles.  The bike shop had only 2 of the slime tubes so they are now in our possession.  After getting gas Paula and I headed out to find out how far Dave and Mike had gotten.  We drove our usual 20 miles and didn't see them so kept going.  We finally called them when we felt we had driven much farther than they could possibly have biked.  Sure enough they were way behind us.  Turns out we had taken the wrong route for a few miles and they were waiting in that short section we missed.  They found some freshly made tacos at a gas station and had plenty of water so we just stopped and waited for them to catch up.  

the riding today was like yesterday with lots of steep hills and some great downhill coasting, but as we approached Blanco and got closer to Austin the traffic really picked up.  Of course, it is Friday and people are going places as well as coming home from work.  the narrow roads we are using, with no shoulders and blind curves are treacherous when cars and trucks are at a minimum, but at this time of day it is very dangerous.  Some drivers resent giving any road space to bikes and seem to enjoy coming as close as possible.  (They are not the majority of drivers, but it would only take one and a slight swerve of the bike for something tragic to happen.)  Dave and Mike got to Blanco and decided they were tired of feeling like sitting ducks.  We picked them up and drove the 10 miles to the RV park.  We will drive them back to that point in the AM.  Tomorrow will be a short day, only 58 miles.  

Our daughter Katy flew to Austin today and our niece Lisa Millman picked her up.  Katy will ride with Dave and Mike for the next week.  My brother Dean and sister-in-law Betty will drive up from Houston tomorrow and spend tomorrow night and Sunday (our day off!!!!!!!) with us.  Our nephew Dan Runyan lives in Sugar Land and at one time indicated that he might be able to ride a couple of days with us, but we have not heard anything further from him.  

I know that I have said this before, but the countryside is beautiful here in the  hill country of Texas.  Spring is just around the corner and the trees are close to bursting into green.  Still have not seen the Texas state flower the bluebonnet but have been assured that we will very soon.  Many places along the roadside are covered with  yellow and lavender flowers.

 Some of the creeks have water running in them and a few of the rivers seem pretty high.  The roads have big dips at the bottom of the steep hills and all have signs warning of flood stage water, some even have a gauge showing possible depths up to 6 feet.

No flats today!!!!  Laundry and showers were available tonight.  Life is good!!!

Love and blessings,

Lana

The middle of hill country

Hi everyone,

Hope that you did not worry about us too much while we were out of service both on the internet and the phone.  The expensive gadgets that we got failed while Paula's Target track phone worked some of the time. 

So now to catch you up on our travels.  We are up to flat #18, we are in Ingram, TX, we had spaghetti for supper, we have to shower, etc. in the RV tonight because this park has no public facilities, we are 2 days from Austin, TX, THE MIDPOINT OF the TRIP, and life is good!

Yesterday, Wed., started well in Del Rio with an exceptional breakfast served by two women staying in the park for the winter.  They do this 2 days a week.  The park has a great kitchen/dining room and Betty and Sue and manager Dan served up biscuits and gravy, pancakes, eggs, french toast, bacon, sausage, coffee, and juice for $5.  Got our guys going in style!

At a stop in the afternoon a local rancher came up on a golf cart to inquire about our existence.  David Wied and his dog Fancy (cocker spaniel) live across the road and he invited us over to see a beautiful sight if we would like.  We all piled on to the one golf cart (with Fancy) and when we got into his yard he instructed Mike to get off and go over to a lean-to and pump up a tire on another golf cart.  Bullet, an old yellow lab, sauntered over and climbed aboard with Mike and Paula and we proceeded to ride down to the Nueces River, flowing through David W.'s 14,000 acre ranch.  It was very beautiful and he talked and talked about the land, his wife (he called her his "girl friend" which he also called his dog!), raising sheep, hunting, skeet shooting (had a little machine on which he sat and swiveled back and forth all the while releasing clay pigeons over the river), finding arrowheads, and drinking "adult beverages" (which he did the whole while we were with him).  In one of his sheds he had the most beautiful RV we've seen.  He is a Viet Nam Vet, married into the ranch.  We did not meet his wife.  It was a great experience.  Finally left about 5:30.

Paula and I drove ahead to the RV site in Camp Wood, parked and started to hook up when I discovered that I had left my purse on the seat of the golf cart.  We unhooked the trailer and drove back toward the ranch.  On the way we met Dave and Mike and stopped to tell them where we were going.  Mike asked if I was missing something.  I told him that my purse was at the ranch and he and Dave said that David W. had come by in his truck to return the purse.  So Thankful!!!!

Today, Thursday, March 18, we have rolled through breathtaking scenery in the hill country of Texas.  The biking was very hard and this morning Mike got stopped on a steep incline with a flat.  Dave came and got us, we drove back to Mike but couldn't find a place to turn around until we were back in Camp Wood where we stayed last night.  When we finally got back to Mike he was steamed at his bike and not being able to get up the hill, but wouldn't get into the RV.  He told us to go up to the top of the mountain and he would be there as soon as he could.  He made it somehow and kept going for the rest of the day.  

We met in Leakey (pronounced Lakey) for lunch.  Paula and I went to The Hog Pen for some food and visited with Penny, the local newspaper editor, in preparation for a picture to be taken of the guys when they arrive.    It is a very prosperous looking town with restaurants, antique stores, a nice market, 2 banks, and a wonderful woodworking shop that would make our friends Allen Monroe and John Styer drool.  Population:1700

We didn't follow the bike map after Leakey so that we could avoid too many more steep hills.  Along the way we met Paige and Matt, young couple biking from San Francisco to Austin.  They had everything on their bikes--really loaded.  We also met a group of young men riding west on the same trail we are on.  They started out with 6 guys:  2 dropped out in Pensicola, FL, finding the grind too much.  Here in TX they are not doing well together and may not hang on too much longer.  They met on the internet and planned the trip without ever actually seeing each other.  One of the issues is starting time in the morning (one wants to start out at dawn, another thinks that 11 AM is soon enough). 

We are along the Guadalupe River just west of Ingram.  Tomorrow we will be meeting two reporters in the Walmart parking lot in Kerrville about 7 miles away.  It is to be another hard day of riding through the hills.

We got an update on our phones so hopefully we will not be so out of touch in the future.  

Hope to be able to send pictures soon!

Love and blessings,

Lana

 

120 miles in a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone,

Let's hear it for the bicyclists!!!  121 miles from Sanderson to Del Rio today!!!  Yippee!!

Weather today was cloudy most of the way with intermittent sunshine, no rain (PTL) and some wind.  The scenery was really spectacular with canyons, mountains, rivers (some even had water in them!), and cactus, cactus, cactus!  

We started out (Paula and I) at the garage in Sanderson for wheel bearing repacking on the front wheels.  Then Paula and I started walking around town.  We stopped at a place called the Brown Bag.  Tomi Harrell the proprietor, cooked us up a breakfast taco and fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls.  Her cousin Scott and his son Josh were visiting and helped out.  Two town locals, Reid and Bebe, sat around and told us all the history of Sanderson they could in an hour.  The town has 200 kids in its school system and a football team that went to state several years back but one of the abandoned stores still had the proud notice in its windows "Good luck at State!!".  Tomi had the walls of the 10' x 15' room filled with pictures of her ancestors and she and Scott identified them plus other old timers.  It was like sitting in her living room while she cooked in the kitchen next to it.  Her menu has a picture of a 1950's high school band on the cover.

Then we walked a little further and stopped in at the local newspaper and talked to Jim Street the editor.  Kim Rapp, a reporter and production manager, had come out to the RV park last night and taken a picture of Dave and Mike.  Jim is a former aviation reporter and when I gave him our address so that he could mail a paper to us he put ORD, the airport identifier for O'Hare, for West Chicago.  He is trying very hard to start a rebirth of Sanderson after buying the newspaper about 8 years ago.  

We walked through a little garden beside the tourist information shop that depicted much of what caused Sanderson to put itself on the map--the railroad, mining, wagon trains, a train robbery, Judge Roy Bean, and cactus.  They claim to be the cactus capital of Texas.  The Brown Bag crew just laughed at that!

When we got back to the garage they were about finished, helped us back up to hitch the trailer up, and off we went.  The guys had peddled almost 40 miles by the time we caught up to them.  They were ready for a rest.

We crossed the Pecos River flowing through a beautiful canyon and over the Amistad Reservoir into Del Rio.  Mike had flat #15 today and so before we got into the RV park we drove to the bike shop to deplete their supply of slime tubes, 6 in all.  

This is a very nice park with great bathrooms, showers and laundry (these are the important criteria on which we rate each park!).  

We will stop at the newspaper office in the morning on the way out of town.  Katy and Carrie have been working hard to set up interviews when there is any interest.

Goodnight, ya'll, ma'ams and sirs,

Lana

Sanderson, TX and wind and rain

Hi everyone

We were not able to get the motorhome looked at this AM in Alpine so we started out in the rain. Didn't get very far (actually on the outskirts of Alpine) and Mike had flat #14. In the meantime I returned the rented car and stopped at the auto repair place to get some names of places here in Sanderson that might look at the RV. Got a look at a REAL cowboy, hat, spurs, bowlegs and all. He was an older guy but as authentic as could be.

Got on the road around 9:50. At one of our stops this afternoon Paula and I were waiting on the side of the road when two bikers approached headed in the opposite direction. they stopped and introduced themselves, Luanne and Carl from Minneapolis traveling from San Antonio to El Paso. They have biked across the northern U.S. and portions of this route. (not all at once, but over a span of years) They were in dire need of a tire so I opened up the trailer and he found one that would work and paid us for it before cycling off. It turns out Luanne is originally from Minburn, IA, about 10 miles from where Mike and Paula live. They met up with Dave and Mike down the road and Carl said that they would make a donation to Pedal4Peace and took one of the business cards.

At a later stop just past Marathon, TX, the guys told us that the sheriff stopped them in Marathon, asked Miked for his ID, which is in the RV and warned them both that they could be arrested for riding over the solid, white line on the highway. He had passed them on the road and honked at them. We were glad to get out of that county!

The entire day has been difficult for the guys. The wind has been very strong and mostly across and head-on. Driving the RV has been hard as well. There were no wind advisories as we had in NM but it was treacherous at times. Mike said that he felt close to being blown over. The last few miles into Sanderson were downhill and it felt good to get into the campsite and off the road.

The scenery is beautiful with mountains on either side, some tall and rocky, others flat (mesa) and grass/bush covered. there are very few evidences of people, just a ranch here and there and a cell tower or two. Not much traffic on the road either direction and not near as many RV's as we are used to seeing.

Just after the guys arrived at the campsite a local newsperson arrived to take a picture of them and their bikes. She had been talking to Katy and had most of the info for an article. Katy has been contacting people along our route and this is the first time anyone has carried through.

Popcorn and cocoa and then bed! A very long day tomorrow to Del Rio--over 100 miles!

Blessings,

Lana

church, Fort Davis, pizza, and Marfa lights

Hi everyone,

We have had a busy day, but a relaxing one as well.  The weather was perfect, even hot.  After breakfast Paul decided to leave because of some bad weather coming in.  (Turns out that he did not get back to Denver, but stopped in Lubbock, TX to wait for better flying weather.)  Dave and I went to church and Mike and Paula took two bikes and rode up and down the streets of Alpine.  

Dave and I attended the United Methodist Church of Alpine.  It is an old building with lots of character--balcony, lots of wood and little rooms, wide staircases with wooden spindles and railings, and a great basement and kitchen.  The people were super friendly, welcoming us and inviting us to have dinner with them after the service.  Seems every second Sunday they bring large amounts of food to have a congregational meal.  We met the pastor Jane Vaughn before the service and she introduced us from the pulpit.  After the meal she showed slides of her trip to Israel with their bishop.  We stayed and saw some very familiar places.  She gave a very informed running commentary with the pictures.  

When we got back to the RV we all decided to drive up to Fort Davis, a town the guys would have biked through had they stayed on the bike route.  We visited a broom maker, a rock shop, a souvenir shop, and the old fort itself.  The town setting is very spectacular, set amidst towering rock formations.  The town and fort are named for Jefferson Davis, of Confederate fame, although when the town was named he was the minister of war under Pres. Lincoln.  Much of the original structure is gone but they have done a wonderful job of restoration of some of the buildings, including a small museum, gift shop and auditorium for showing a short film telling the story of the fort.

We came back to Alpine to get some pizza.  There was some activity at the local college  today and restaurants were full or running out of food.  We ended up at a tiny pizza place (for those of you in West Chicago, it was like Luigi's at 59 and Roosevelt).  We managed to be the last customers of the day and had a great time with the waiter and manager.  The waiter had seen Dave and Mike riding into town yesterday.  by the way, the pizza was fabulous!!

Then we drove the 18 miles to see the Marfa lights, a local phenomena of unexplained dancing lights on the mountains across the desert from the town of Marfa (of Prada fame!).  There were about 50 people at the observation point, some with elaborate camera equipment, just gazing across the expanse of the desert.  We thought we saw something, but it wasn't very definitive.  However, the night sky was breathtaking.  Haven't seen that many stars since canoeing in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota and Canada.  

We are ready for bed.  I must tell you that there will be an unscheduled stop at the repair garage before we take off tomorrow.  Sounds as though a wheel bearing may be loose on the front of the motorhome.  It is about 80 miles to the next stop so we are hoping it will be an easy fix!!!!  We were able to get the hearing aid batteries today but will need to gas up before getting away from much civilization for a couple of days.  Sanderson is our goal tomorrow night.  A newspaper reporter is planning to meet us  and do an article.  We'll see.  The two other reporters from Fort Davis and Alpine never called us back.

Goodnight!

Lana

Alpine, TX--brother Paul visits

Hello everyone,

Today there were NO flats, NO motorhome repairs and 70+ miles advanced toward the east.  It was a beautiful day of travel across the desert of western Texas through all but deserted towns and finally a mountain pass into Alpine.  Dave and Mike did well although they were never sure they were going to ride the whole way until it was downhill into town.  Paula and I stopped every 20 miles to wait for them to catch up, refuel, and ride on.  

When we rode into Alpine Paul Runyan was waiting at the RV park.  He has pitched a tent on our site and will fly back to CO tomorrow.  It is so good to see a familiar face.

We rode through Valentine, NM and stopped to take a picture of the sign.  It is almost deserted.  So sad to see the cafe, gas station, and homes just rotting away.  Reminds me a lot of driving into Mazatlan, Mexico from the airport.

An interesting sight between Marfa and Valentine.  Paula and I drove by a small, stucco building all by itself on the side of the road.  The sign said Prada Marfa.  It sat was in the middle of nowhere.  We had to go back by it to find the guys and wondered again what it was.  The third time by we stopped.  A small plaque off to the side said that 2 female artists in the town of Marfa had put up this building as an art piece.  Up close it looks like a small store with glass windows and a door and inside are handbags and shoes on display.  The door in inoperable.  It is like a piece of sculpture.  Quite unique.

The town of Marfa is best known for the Marfa Lights.  We stopped off at what is called an observatory where at night they sponsor programs about the lights that can be seen on the distant desert floor and mountains that are unexplained phenomena.  The explanation sounds somewhat like Northern Lights although the display is on the ground.  Our map says that there are luminous, pulsating lights dancing over the mountains and roads.  We are going to look into this.  It would be worth the 18 miles back to see tomorrow night.

During one of our stops along the road today a tow truck stopped to see if we needed help.  That was reassuring.  Thank goodness we could say no.

We have to turn our clocks ahead tonight but we will not have to rise early tomorrow, thank goodness.  There is a Methodist Church in town, so we may try that tomorrow.  Dave needs hearing aid batteries so that is next on our list.!  

Goodnight from west Texas.

Lana

More than 6 miles

Hi Everyone,

Where to begin?  Maybe the beginning.  We went to our 8:00 AM appointment this morning to have the front end aligned.  We unhooked the trailer and drove to the bay as directed.  They drove it in.  We all rejoiced.  Then they backed it out.  We all gasped.  The manager told Dave that they didn't know that it doesn't have a straight axle, unlike a big truck, and they couldn't do the job.  They called around and found another place which happened to be only 2 blocks from the bike shop we visited two days ago!  Drove there, but they couldn't do it either.  They sent us across the street and, miracle of miracles, they could do it but we had to wait an  hour while they finished up with a Hummer stretch limo.  Once they took us in it took less than one half hour.  It was fascinating to watch.  They drove it over a pit where a guy could stand up and work under the vehicle.  

We drove out to Fabens, TX to continue the biking.  A couple of stops for pictures of the Mexican mountains across the Rio Grande River and on into Sierra Blanca.  Dave has had another flat (#13) so we picked up the guys and made plans to drive to Van Horn for the night.  Before we could get underway, I found that my camera was missing.  We searched the motorhome and then I remembered that when I was taking pictures of the mountains I put it on a fence post to take some videos.  I could not remember picking it back up.  We drove back 30+ miles to the spot and there it was.  

We drove back the 30 miles and then 40 more to Van Horn.  We pulled in to the RV park, fixed a quick supper and then went to the Dairy Queen!!!!

I have to tell this story on Mike.  On the way back through Sierra Blanca after picking up the camera, we took a potty stop at a gas station.  Then while Mike was frying some bacon tonight I looked over and hanging out of the waistband of his pants was a length of toilet paper!  Paula pulled it out and threw it away before I could get a picture.  So Dave took some off our roll and stuffed it back into Mike's waistband and we got the picture!!  We laughed a lot.

Tomorrow our goal is Alpine, TX.  We are getting inventive about the route we will take to get there by nightfall.  Whether to go over the mountains or skirt around them is the big question.  With all the fiddling around in El Paso and Phoenix and the flat tires we are about 63 miles behind on the bikes.  The long way around the mountains will help make up some of the miles.

We lost an hour today just outside of Van Horn as we got back into Central Standard Time.  And then tomorrow night we lose another hour when Daylight Savings Time starts.  Where does the time go??

Goodnight from western Texas.

Lana

El Paso, El Paso, El Paso

Hi all,

Well, we have made progress today--6 miles.  Yes, that is right.  6 miles is the total number of miles we have advanced toward the east since this morning.

The tale:  We did laundry before pulling out since the bikers were out of riding clothes. We left the RV park at 9:45 to take Dave and Mike out to the bike route to begin today's ride.  Mike drove the motorhome and commented on the noise from the front right wheel.  When we pulled over and got the bikes out, Dave took a look and said that the towing was very off and that the right front tire was wearing badly on the inside.  The left front tire had also started to wear.  The bikes went back into the trailer and it was decided to have it looked at here in a large city rather than try to find something out in the boonies.  Who can help us?  The second place we tried had the right size tires and so we had both left and right tires replaced.  This took three hours.  However they could not do the alignment.  Went to three places that couldn't do it.  The fourth place can do it tomorrow at 8 AM.  We are staying in El Paso another night 6 miles east of where we stayed last night and a much nicer place.  The guys are going to ride their bikes for about 20 miles on a loop road to make up some of the time lost today.  It is now 4:10 PM.

Paula and I will fix a baked potato, chicken, and salad supper while they are gone.  There is some frustration in the air!!!!!!!!!!!

You know what Dave says-----"It's not so bad!"

Our goal for tomorrow?  More than 6 miles!

Love and blessings,

Lana

TEXAS!!!!!

Hi everyone,

Hey, we made it to El Paso!  Not easily, mind you, but we are here nonetheless.

The winds continued into the night, really howling around the motorhome.  We got up early and were on the road by 7:25.  Paula and I stopped for gas before leaving Deming and the people there said that by 10 there would be a wind advisory on the road to Las Cruces.  We hustled back onto I-10 and stopped at 8:25  after about 30 miles to wait for Dave and Mike.  When they arrived an hour later they were ecstatic about the tailwind that at times helped them peddle almost 30 MPH.  Dave had a flat tire somewhere along the way.

On to Las Cruces, just passing by, turning south and stopped at Voda.  Dave had another flat before they arrived at 1:00 PM.  While Paula and I waited for them to arrive a young man came up to us with a sad story about his wife sitting in their broken down vehicle on the interstate while he came ahead in their second vehicle to get help.  The state police had helped him get a tow truck to take the stopped vehicle to Albuquerque for $100 less than the tow company wanted but he was $36 short of the total amount.  He assured us that he would pay us back, told us his name was Tim Tyler, that he was a vet, and left his cell phone # with us.  We said that our husbands were minutes away and we couldn't do anything  until they arrived. He left to go and stay with his wife while we waited for Dave and Mike.  The guys came minutes later, we told them the story and when Tim came back Paula and Mike went out to talk to him.  We decided that he was sincere.  He and his wife were on their way to help take care of his grandfather whose wife had just passed away.  In the last year his brother had been killed on a bike ride (not encouraging to us!).  We gave him the needed money and told him that instead of paying us back he could donate it to our cause.

We drove on to El Paso, got on a loop road and were able to avoid the city itself.

However Dave called with instructions to find a bicycle shop to get more tubes and buy some more durable tires.  (Peter Campbell, your advice about Armadillo tires is finally being followed!)  In addition, Mike lost one set of keys this AM so we need to also find a hardware store to have a set made!  We had to drive about 10 miles into the city to find the shop suggested by our Adventure Cycling map.  Crazy Cat Cycling was easy to find and I went in to try to get help on how to get better strength tubes and tires.  They were very helpful and had a supply of tubes to fit the bikes we have and also offered to drive to another of their shops to get the Armadillo tires and be back in an hour.  At this point Paula and I decided to scour the motorhome and trailer for the keys before going to the hardware store to have a new set made (about 6 or 7 keys in all).  We looked through all of Mike's pockets, the cupboard with their clothes, and in all the nooks and crannies of the living area.  i went back into our bedroom and started shaking all of Dave's clothes out to see if I could  hear anything.  Aha, in Dave's jeans pocket are the keys! It is not Mike who has lost them and later he tells us how relieved he is that he is not at fault.

 Dave called saying he had had another flat and they wouldn't make it to the shop before dark.  We would have to drive back 10 miles to pick them up and then back to the cycle shop.  The bicycle shop closed at 8 and we got back there at 7:45.  Dave approved of what had been selected and we drove away to find an RV park in the dark.  We had called ahead and reserved a spot.  We stopped for a bite to eat as no one had the energy to cook tonight.  We found the park with only a few missed turns.  It is not the greatest but has hook-ups and a pull-through for our lengthy motorhome and trailer.  

The total flats count now is at 12.  Everyone we talk to says it is very common in this part of the country due to the cactus spines.  Dave and Mike say it is a combination of spines and the remnants of shards of steel from the steel radial tires on the big semis.  Whatever, it certainly slows progress.

We are a little ahead of the planned route so now the next two days won't be quite so grueling.  This is our 4th state out of 8 but will take the longest to cross.  We are looking forward to seeing Dave's brother Paul in Alpine (he is flying down from CO) and Katy will join us in Austin where we will also see our niece Lisa Millman, who is a firefighter there.  My brother Dean and sister-in-law Betty will come up to see us from Houston.  Our day off doesn't come until Sunday!!!!! 

Got to get some shut-eye!

Love and blessings,

Lana