Day trip, drove around S. Padre went around looking at houses and lots. Then we drove around Port Isabella, checked out boat yard, shrimpers and then went to Pirates Landing, walked out on the wharf. Went to dinner at Claytons, we checked it out the other day and so went there for dinner, sat and watched people on the beach and the volleyball players. I had a Pina Colada, which was not the best, and the Fried Shrimp plate, Rick had the Nachos and a beer.
Evidently you can rent chase lounges and umbrellas, that they take down and put away at 6pm. Interesting that people came as people were leaving. saw lotsa coolers coming and going. It does make sense because it is so warm and humid.
That night we had a lightening and Thunder storm, opened the blinds to see. Love these storms.
Lotsa lots available both on the water and off, then we went to Isla Blanca and just watched the people, birds, fishermen & women.
Sign posted at each end of the Queen Isabella Causeway
The Causeway runs between Port Isabella and South Padre Island, is also called Queen Isabella Bridge.
We drove down to Brownsville where there is a huge shipyard that large ships are built, rebuilt or cut-up. I have seen a couple ships and put them in my blog. Ships come in thru a narrow breakwater from the Gulf of Mexico called the Brazos Santiago Pass, then south on the Goose Island Passing Basin continuing onto the Brownsville Ship Channel then onto the Brownsville Ship Harbor.
Brownsvilleis a large city, has all the regular stores, gas stations and a population of. we had really good ,lunch at Raising Caine, then on to Boca Chica.
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SN15 on trailer behind fence and sign
SN15 on Trailer but as it turns out may use here again
Bosa Chica is where Spacex has a lot of their operation, it is amazing how many things are going on, and how many people are working on each aspect of getting into space.
We drove on the beach, walked on the beach, collected lotsa shells and saw lotsa birds.
First of all, although the population seems to be primarily Mexican and we saw nothing about Cinco de Mayo. Maybe being Gringos we were just not invited or maybe there were signs we could not read.
We left early on 5/5 to be sure we had a good place to view the SB15 take-off. People arrived off and on all all day depending on the count-down. We moved a couple of times as cars/trucks came and left. A lot of people fish there, it looks like they catch small fish, there was one lady that had a sizable stringer by the time she left. I will try to get some pictures next time. So we spent all day there, got there about 9am and they FINALLY blasted off around 4pm so I had a lot of time to take dumb pictures. I was really bored and thinking it would probably be scrubbed and it would be another wasted day. The following is a slidshow of dumb things I took pictures of…………
We ate lunch, drank, sat inside and out. It was windy, of course, and sprinkled now and then and since I am so slow, I realized people in So. Padre Island don’t pay any attention to the rain, they fish through it and sit in it and just go on with their lives.
Then FINALLY they decided to launch the SN15. OMG, I was so surprised. I did take pictures of course, I am not a camera expert, But I am getting better……
We were 6 miles away, I started taking pictures as soon as I saw color and kept taking pictures, I really had no idea how loud it would be or how much it is felt. Wow, it was amazing, we could tell when they shut down and could hear when 2 engines started up for the landing I was shaking and the ground was shaking and it ONLY had a total of 3 engines. Rick told me later that eventually there would be 34+ engines. I want to be there, now I’m hooked.
There was a really large cloud of dust as a result of the launch, you can see some of it in some pictures.
Most RV Parks are run by the County, we have a parking ticket that works at any beach and RV Park, except the KOA. we think they have their own.
EARMARKS
Rick and I have been traveling around and saw Roads, Bridges, Parks etc named after people I have never heard of. There are a couple of roads in San Diego County named after people I have heard of, but I am from San Diego. I was trying to figure out who these people were/are and I found they are named after the politician who got earmarks for that item. My feeling is and continues to be forget earmarks, have everything detailed so taxpayers know what they are paying for. Of course every city has a MLK something. but aside from him, I had never heard of these people.
MLK changed our world so his name should always be remembered. but all these other people die and no normal traveling person knows who they were, it seems to me that a lot of these people think they are being immortalized but nor do they care.
National Parks
President Woodrow Wilson established the National Park Service in 1916 to consolidate management of America’s federal parklands under one agency. … While America’s national parks drew upon earlier examples of European woodland preservation, they were a uniquely American idea rooted in democracy, philosophy and art.
Now, there are 63 national parks
On March 1, 1872, Yellowstone became the first national park for all to enjoy the unique hydrothermal and geologic wonders. The broad array of habitat types found within Yellowstone contributes to a high diversity of bird species, including many whose migratory travels bring them back to the park each year from winter journeys south.
“National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.”
We took a couple rides to the flats and wildlife trails and saw lotsa birds
Skimmers facing the wind at the flats
laughing gulls mixed w/Skimmers at the flats facing the wind
Originally painted by Wyland
View of beach from Claytons Pier
Looking the other way from the pier
whistling duck bathing
Jeanne on her cart, on the flats
Black-necked Stilt
Ibis in bird Sanctuary
Fish in pond at bird sanctuary
Whistling duck, bathing
Big Moon Monday night the 26th
At Wildlife trail saw these whistling ducks cleaning themselves and then a Grackle came to visit
Very windy but Noisy Grackle came to visit, this bird makes the weirdest noises, wait and listen at the end as long as his mouth is open me is making sounds.
Large Duck or Goose, Couldn’t find it
Bird Sanctuary Great Blue slowly going back in hiding
It really rained last night, a lot of lightening and thunder 4/29 and then today 4/30 we went to Isla Blanca to watch the take off of SN15 at Bolsa Chica. Lotsa people , SpaceX keeps changing the time, but it is clearing up, so we shall see…..then it rains….. finally scrubbed at 1:00 not trying again until Monday 5/3.
So we watched people, there was a decommissioned ship, dancing girls and a tractor. what more could you want?
Dancing Girls
Boat going out and seagulls flying by
We found out today that they double booked the spot we were gonna move to…….as it turns out they are giving us another one that is better. On concrete full hook-ups. we are happy campers, maybe. It’s raining again we can’t wait til tomorrow when we move. We moved today Saturday, in the rain, waiting to see if we like this space.
When we approached So. Padre Island (which you can see behind the bridge) took us forever. It was stop and go and we thought this was not gonna ge a place we liked. But we do, we do very little during the weekends, do all of our fun trips during the week.
Below are pictures I have taken until today 4/23/2021
Spent the night of 3/25 and 3/26 at Copper Mtn. RV Park in Tacna AZ $20 per night with Passport America.
Nights of 3/26 to 3/27 in Casa Grande, AZ at Silverado RV Resort. Took a day trip into Casa Grande on the 27th they have all the important stores we did some Grocery shopping at Fry’s. I had a friend from AZ and when she talked about Frys at I thought about the electronics store in San Diego, She was walking about a Grocery Store.
Fry’s has a large variety the we really like the store. It also has clothes, etc.
Nights of 3/29 and 2/30 in Benson AZ at the Butterfield RV Resort, we have been here before and liked it. It was cooler than before. We did a day trip to the Tractor Supply and of course they had baby ducks and chicks. I felt great, like going to the zoo, small pleasures.
We went to Magalas Restaurant, good Mexican food, great service and strawberry margaritas, had a nice dinner, everyone wore masks except while eating. Nice change of pace.
3/31 & 4/1Anthony/ElPaso. We stopped at a Walmart in Ft. Stockton and Rick’s Bicycle Seat was lost or stolen. We took a couple of day trips. There was a Mexican Pottery place we went thru, I was looking for a painted bird and finally found a small Road Runner I like, too expensive oh well. We went into El Paso a couple of times to some bike shops, interesting town, lotsa building but really just another large town.
4/2 to 4/4 Pecos Escapees Were here Easter Sunday, not much here Rick really wanted to see Pecos, and when we got here realized we have been here before. Not much of a town, was a big party in the Park near us that the police or ambulances came to a couple of towns. Counted up our days and reservations and needed 1 more day, so we stayed here another day.
4/5-4/6 Pecan Valley RV Junction Tx – The was really a beautiful place, the people who owned it used to live in Temecula, did some traveling around, ? owner if this place was for sale. The owner said no, then with/in 1/2 hour of their leaving they got a call to come back and then they bought it (25 acres) on a river. Evidently the river is fed by a spring and so it doesn’t run fast but is very pleasant. Their dog, “Cooper” loved riding around in the golf cart and swimming in the River.
After our walk we saw and heard a squirrel who was obviously upset we were there. We pulled out our chairs and watched and glad we did.
oMe sitting on bench by River
Baby squirrel at bottom, Mama watching over
Mama squirrel
Rick by the River
Our Rig in Our space
Mama squirrel taking baby to safety
Leaving Pecan Park
4/7- 4/9 Mathis TX The RV park here was lousy, really a pit we did go to Alice, Tx and it, like Mathis was really old and depressing. There was a county park that surrounded the Corpus Cristi Lake and we went there, In the park was “The Castle” built by the CCC.
We love this place, it is just south of Hoover Dam, Boulder City has a Safeway or Albertsons, so the shopping is easy. But it is hot here, we are changing our spot on 11/1, we like that space better. I finally got my painting stuff out, it was hot but I had to get started sometime. Then….
Rick had a heart attack, but we didn’t know that then, we went into Henderson Hospital and since they decided to keep him, I went a short distance and got a hotel room. Rick kept me updated. They did an angiogram and the cardiologist said that he needed surgery (open heart, told Rick did not need Stents, needed surgery ) and to make those arrangements on Monday.
On Monday he called (we had no phone service or wifi at Willow Beach) Rick was feeling fine and stubborn as can be. When he called the Cardiologists office Monday they said they do not take HMO’s so…….not being rich having the $????.00 and (Rick wanted to have a Kaiser Dr. do the surgery so we headed home, we spent Tuesday night in Barstow, he got ahold of his primary Dr. on Tuesday and after telling him the whole story, he said that as soon as we get home he was to go to Emergency.
So we did that, of course I can’t go in so as soon as I knew they were gonna keep him, I came home. They sent him over to Scripps, where they did another angiogram and put 2 stents in, another artary that was totally blocked, had started growing around the blockage and making a new pathway, so did not need surgery. I picked him up yesterday 10/17, he is feeling good, in fact went for a walk this AM.
We are leaving again on 10/31, the Dr said it’s ok, we will go back to Willow Beach for November, then home for January & February 2021, and if we are healthy enough at least one more year of traveling.
For some reason 2020 is a nasty year (Virus, Hurricanes, Floods, Election, protests, rioting, people saying and doing terrible things and Rick) all the way around. Glad we only have til December 31 and 2020 will be over!
Salome was a really nice park, they have a pool which you need where it is really hot, but they closed it then opened it, then closed it, so we quit going to the pool for the pool. We would go about dusk to watch the owls and bats.
We took trips to Quartzsite and a small church for travelers. The church was really cute and interesting place to go. We had a really good trip to Quartzsite. It is in the middle of the desert but there’s a lot of BLM land which is the Bureau of land management that you can camp on I think it’s 14 days at a time there’s no charge you stays or freezer are no facilities but it’s an interesting kind of place in that place is it it’s not paved or anything it and there are fire rings people have built it was kind of fun
Yacht Club in Quartzsite, largest yacht club in US.
Travelers Church
City of Hope
Beyond City of Hope
Kingman Kingman is a really large city much better than I anticipated there are housing developments all around and there are rocks that are absolutely beautiful, right in peoples backyard it’s really pretty not a place I would like to live because it is the desert and it gets hot but it’s nice place to to be when it’s not hot and there is a pool here at the RV place so it’s kind of fun . There are all the regular stores here are so no matter what you need there’s a hardware stores hardware stores supermarkets and all the conveniences of large city including Walmart.
Wickenburg seems to be the hottest place we have stayed so far this year, we only have 30 AMPs so can only run one air-conditioner at a time so I have spent alot of time with the air on watching TV.
We have taken several trips to the Hot Shot memorial park, Prescott, the Vulture Mine and several trips into Wickenburg (the town) and the town of Congress.
About Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park was dedicated in 2016 as a place to remember the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot Firefighters who were lost on June 30, 2013, while fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire. We invite you to hike the trail to better understand the experience of these men as well as to appreciate the beauty of the town of Yarnell and the surrounding areas. Hike the Hotshots Trail from the parking lot trailhead up to the overlook where you’ll see sweeping views in every direction, and perhaps leave a memento on our remembrance wall. Or continue your hike down the Memorial Trail, where you can pay your respects at the site where the Hotshots were recovered. The hike is approximately 3.5 miles long from the trailhead to the Fatality Site, for a full length of about 7 miles.
We went to the Vulture mine, it is now a ghost town. It is being restored, founded by Henry Wickenburg and later the town to he established the town of Wickenburg. It is growing alot there are even housing developments built around a golf course. We asked how much the houses ran and it is the normal stuff, you buy the lot you want and they (the developers) build the house you choose from their options. Nice houses small yards and they run from four hundred thousand to 700 thousand, Nice houses but we don’t want to live in the desert.
