Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Retirement

Camping in El Campo, TX

Our travel day started out with moderate to heavy rain showers in the Waco, TX area, Then, as we progressed southward towards our destination, the weather improved to overcast with no precipitation for the “middle” of the drive. The clouds gradually broke up and as soon as we parked in our camp spot, the sky became clear.

On the way, Damsel took a shot of one of the many pastures we pass, usually no big deal, but this pasture had a little something unusual about it:

Damsel found that this herd belonged to FreBo Ranch.

Click on images to view enlarged.

10 Apr 2024 by Environment Retirement Wanderlust

Camping — Roswell, NM

Don’t let the sunshine (April) fool you about the weather here and on the drive from Albuquerque to Roswell; we had not-so-good weather most of the day until within a couple dozen miles of Roswell. We started out in the snow and drove through fog, sleet and gusty crosswinds along the route. We had a few light showers later in the trip along US 285 enroute to where we are now.

At any rate, we’re here and settled in for the night. We will be headed to Lubbock, Texas in the morning. We will be there for a couple of days as we continue to enjoy the trip to our eventual campsite where we are hoping for clear skies to enjoy the total solar eclipse.

01 Apr 2024 by Environment Retirement Travel Wanderlust

Camping — Albuquerque, NM

We arrived here at the American RV Resort which was only a short (less than 2 hours) drive over from Gallup. The road on I-40 was rough in many places and there were steady winds blowing laterally at 20 with gusts to 35 or so. Damsel took this photo of a 20 knot windsock along I-40 fully inflated.

We arrived and felt road weary from the trip. However, after a Grilled Hamburger, a cold beer and a hot shower, we had recovered from the semi-traumatic trip. We will be here all day on Easter Sunday, continuing to get right with Almighty God and the world in general.

30 Mar 2024 by Retirement Wanderlust

Camping – Flagstaff

Tonight, we’re in Flagstaff, AZ. Yes, there is light snow falling on our campsite. We got here this afternoon when it was still partly sunny, set up camp and ate lunch. When we went out to walk the dogs, it was snowing a little. That’s about when I took the (clickable) image above.

We had an uneventful trip, albeit there is still quite a bit of construction on AZ-74 and I-17. The traffic was generally light with the usual idiots mixed in with us sane folks.

We’re here in Flagstaff to relax a couple of days and will be departing Wednesday morning on our next leg of our vacation from retirement. The next stop is planned to be near Monument Valley. Stay tuned.

Update: 26 MAR 2024 — We had a little more snow overnight . . .

25 Mar 2024 by Environment Retirement Wanderlust

Motorhome Maintenance:
  Eclipse Trip Looming

Tuesdays, usually, are the days that I routinely run the RV Engine up and the first Tuesday of the Month, I run the 6 KVA generator for a couple of tenths of an hour; all the above for ensuring that things are performing properly. I also ran the AC inverter for a while to check it out in case we have to be boondocking somewhere (i.e. no shore power or sewer/city water hookups available). I’m happy to say that everything seemed to function correctly.

Our plans for the excursion to the eclipse are still coming together; the only iron-clad plan is for the day of the eclipse when we will be in our already reserved camping spot. Damsel is still researching places to see and things to do in the American Southwest in order to plan a route to the eclipse site and beyond.

The next stages of prep (beyond route planning) include purging and sanitizing the RV holding tanks, making sure that all fluids and pressures are within spec and giving the big RV the bath it really needs. We will be doing those things over the next couple of weeks before launch day (exact date still TBD).

05 Mar 2024 by Retirement Travel Wanderlust

George Washington’s Birthday

Today marks the 292nd anniversary of the birth of the “Father of the Country,” George Washington. He was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Washington died in 1799 at Mount Vernon, VA, where he is laid to rest.

Like last year, our sentiment remains that “President’s Day” is a sham and a disservice to both President Washington and President Lincoln whose birthdays/holidays were dissipated into the current holiday. Both men remain, in our opinion, entitled to their own holiday. We continue to celebrate them both even though I missed Mr. Lincoln’s again this year. I made a reminder to post next year in my on-line calendar.

Since the last posting a couple weeks ago, we have been busy with several routine things (there are so many retirement chores) and have also begun detail planning for our upcoming excursion to Waco for the April 6th total eclipse. See the Eclipse Countdown page in the sidebar.

We hope everyone is doing OK out there. We’re doing well and we keep on keeping on.

22 Feb 2024 by Holidays Notions Retirement Wanderlust

Imbolc – 2024

Imbolc Cross-Quarter Day

Celtic Feast today: Irish Beef Stew with Soda Bread. The stew had low-carb vegetables (i.e. Turnips, not Potatoes, Butternut Squash, not yams, etc.). The Soda Bread was made with Keto-friendly ingredients. The feast was delicious and served with an Irish Coffee on a cool, windy day. Click on the image to open in the image viewer.

About Imbolc:

Celts celebrated Imbolc as the beginning of Spring. Imbolc corresponds more or less to Groundhog Day in the USA, February 2, when tradition has it that if a sleepy groundhog creeping out of its burrow at dawn sees its shadow, there are 6 more weeks of winter. (If not, we surmise, only 42 days remain.) Christians celebrate this holiday as St. Brigid’s Day.

Spam Filter

When we upgraded this blog to later versions of WordPress a couple of years back, we also upgraded our Spam Filter to Askimet. The package does a pretty good job of filtering spam while allowing normal comments. Thus far, (since the upgrade) Askimet has stopped over nineteen thousand spams. I note that most of the spam seems to be trying to sell pharmaceuticals. There are also some Russian-language spams and a few others promoting p0rn and such. Fortunately, none of that seems to get through.

04 Feb 2024 by Blogosphere Food & Dining Holidays Retirement Technobabble

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