LPG

The clouds that were here yesterday were gone this morning, and the sun was shining. There was a maritime fog out over the bay, but here on the beach it was sunny and clear. We heard a few tugs going by in the fog but other than the engine noise they slipped by unnoticed.

We took a run into Port Lavaca to replenish our larder and Brenda acquired a new Air Fryer, sure makes fries good and probably as healthy as fries can be. While we were in there I refilled a propane bottle that was empty. Propane here was a little more expensive than over in Arizona. A week or ten days ago in Arizona we got about 7 gallons for around $23 while here in Port Lavaca it was about $30 for 5.2 gallons. The bottle was empty but that was all the guy would put in it. Oh well, fuel is cheaper here on the coast and we won't need more propane till we head back to Arizona in any case.

We did spend some time setting on the beach enjoying the sunshine and the sound of the sea lapping at our feet.

Notice the fog offshore

There is a lot of barge traffic in and out of here heading to Point Comfort which is just across the Bay from us. Many of the barges as well as the two ships in the following pictures seem to be set up to move LPG and although I can't say about the barges, these two ships are not very heavily laden when they were leaving the Point Comfort facilities. I have a hard time believing that they are bringing LPG into this area, kind of like bringing coal to Newcastle but that is what it seems.

Hellas Apollo

Navigator Eclipse

 It is getting a little more crowded here at Magnolia Beach, but I guess that is to be expected for a Friday night at a beachside FREE camping spot. On the wildlife front we did see a few pelicans flying by, a few fish jumping and I did hear the dolphins breathing, at least I think it was them, out in the foggy bay but I didn't manage to get any pictures of any of them.

Monochromatic Day

Yep it was that kind of day, everything and everybody from Brenda down to our littlest visitors were dressed in shades of gray. It was warm this morning when I got up to watch the sunrise, but there was no sunrise, the sky was gray and stayed that way all day. We had a few rain showers but nothing of any consequences although the humidity was about 98% so the air was saturated enough without actual rain drops.

Some kind of sandpiper I guess

These little fellows visited us throughout the day and they were dressed in their best monochromatic duds. As for their name, well, I prescribe to my friend Dennis Lang's naming convention for birds and these are good examples of "little gray birds". 

We had another visit from our marine mammal friends as well, although this time we just saw this one cruising by just offshore.

And of course keeping with the days theme this pelican made a fly by dressed in his white and gray winter outfit.

This is quite an active port and we saw numerous barges transiting the Bay on their way to the Gulf.

As for us we didn't do much just hung out on the beach and watched the world go by. A great place to chill and recharge.

Matagorda Bay

Well yesterday after consulting the tide table for Matagorda Bay I set up a few markers to see if my interpretation was close. Brenda was up at 4:19AM and said the estimate was good, I myself was still sleeping the sleep of the innocent.

But not much later I got up and saw the sky full of promising clouds and thought I would maybe catch a few sunrise shots. Those who follow me on Facebook have already seen a barrage of sunrise shots that I took this morning, but I will share a couple of the best here as well.

The sunset was pretty nice here but the Bay continued to entertain us throughout the day. We ran into Port Lavaca to round up some of those good Texas Shrimp. The fellow there told us that there was not much shrimping going on in the area anymore, most of the boats were working the oyster beds, apparently there is more money in that. He did lament the fact that boats from other areas, like Galveston and over in Louisiana are coming down here and loading up on local oysters and hauling them back home. Seems like a common problem around the world, our oceans are being exploited beyond their capability to recover. All that said, the shrimp were great in the tacos Brenda made us for supper. 

When we arrived back from our shrimp run these dolphins were cruising the beach right in front of Dogpound Anywhere (DPA) and put on a little show, splashing and diving, as they moved along fishing the edges of the beach.

And after they left this Alligator Gar slipped along the beach, ugly bugger, but not very shy so it was easy to get a shot or two of him. He even gave us a smile as he headed out to deeper water.

And of course there were a few pelicans cruising the beach, but they are pretty stealthy so although they came by a few times it was hard to get a decent shot, but that will give me a goal over the next few days. I don't know much about birds but I am thinking this is a juvenile as I saw a couple that were bigger and were more gray, but then again, maybe this is just a "brown" pelican.

The day started off with a sky full of colours but the days end was a pretty monochromatic affair, beautiful in its own way though. Brenda says the water and the moon restore your soul so I am thinking it will take another few days of soaking in the ambiance here and enjoying the every changing vista before we decide to pull up stakes and move on......somewhere down the road.

Just for those who think I might have forgotten home I did find this shot on the my long lens camera today. The sunrise is great and the cows are Richard Sheehans just Down the Road from Dogpound.

Cows Down the Road from Dogpound North coincidentally I was heading off to pick up Dogpound Anywhere in Red Deer

River Walking

We have enjoyed a week with our old friends Deb and Rod Kendall, ate at some great restaurants, told a lot of stories and re-lived some good times we have had in the past. We had a great Country Fried Steak at the 54 Street Grill & Bar, probably the best we have ever eaten. Everyone else had leftovers to take home, but I must have got a small portion cause my plate looked like I had licked it clean by the time we were leaving. Almost had to order another one just so I would have a doggy bag.

Last night we headed off to San Antonio's big attraction the Riverwalk to have a look around and once again fill our bellies. It is always nice to enjoy a stroll along this tourist spot in downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio Riverwalk

All good things have to come to an end and today we bid farewell to Rod and Deb and hit the road. We had a plan to scout out a new boondocking site we had heard about over on the Gulf of Mexico. This spot called Magnolia Beach has a beach hard enough for the biggest of rigs to find a waterfront spot. Although it looks like we are pretty near in the water we are probably 20-30 feet away and about 3 feet above the sea level when we got here. For the first time in our RVing life I consulted the tide tables and it seems like tomorrow at 4:19AM will be high tide and it should only be about a foot higher than it is right now so we should be OK.

Magnolia Beach

But just in case anything happens this lady is passing by and can probably throw us a rope. Stay tuned.

The Linda Taylor

San Antonio

We wandered our way across Texas and found our friends Deb and Rod Kendall here in the Blazing Star RV Park. We haven't done much since we got here except catching up with them. It is always good to see old friends and this park they are calling home for the time being is pretty nice. Lots of trees and not to busy. Although it is a little closer quarters than we are used to the folks with the rigs on either side of us don't appear to be in residence so it is really pretty quiet here. The dogs are learning all about being tied up and enjoying their visits to the dog park a few times a day. They have even made some buddies down there. This morning we headed over to Pet Smart early in the day and they both got the Black Friday weekend Pedicure special. Those folks over there have it all figured out they were in and out in pretty quick time and didn't even seem to be stressed. In fact I think they enjoyed their first trip into a store. For a couple of old country dogs they are dealing with all these changes pretty well.

Last night we went to Red Robin for their gourmet burgers and although they were good I actually think Brenda and I can do better here at Dogpound Anywhere, but the girls had Fish/Shrimp and Chips and that is not a specialty around DPA.

Early Morning at the Dog Park

Texas Road Trip

We left Las Cruces to begin our journey across the "vast wasteland" of West Texas, it is beautiful in its own stark way, stunning vistas, and the best part, not many folks cluttering up the landscape. As we moved farther east we started seeing lots of oil patch activity, every RV park jammed full of working folks rigs and every service companies yard with a few rigs set up there. Rumours has it they can even get pipelines built in this country without it being a ten year process doomed to failure.

We got to Ozona, Texas and tried to get into the local RV Parks but as I said they were jammed full of working stiffs so we headed just east of town to the Circle Bar Truck Stop. We found a spot there away over in a corner, out of the way and got set up. The place was empty when we arrived but by the middle of the night we were joined by about 50 purring Cats, all keeping their drivers warm while they slept away the night. Brenda had a hard time sleeping but my old camp habits kicked in and I slept like a baby. If I just had of had a few guys slamming doors it would have been perfect. Not many places have 50 odd white noise machines to help you drift off.

We got going yesterday morning and headed for our penultimate destination, the Blazing Star RV Park in San Antonio, where we are going to spend a week or so visiting with our friends Deb and Rod Kendall. They have come by Dogpound North a couple of times on their triennial visits to the Salmon streams of Alaska so it was time we returned the pleasure. We spent the afternoon chewing the fat and then headed out to one of their favourite Mexican restaurants in the area, Las Palapas Alamo Ranch, for some good Mexican food. Always good breaking bread with old friends, and even better if you can score a whole bag of bunuelos on the way out of the restaurant. But now it is time for me to wander off and find myself a feed of Huevos Rancheros or maybe just another couple of the bunuelos. Stay tuned.

Texas Bound

We left Las Cruces Monday morning and threaded our way through El Paso, just after the morning rush hour. It was a little hectic but no tie-ups so of short duration anyway. Lots of pollution drifting down the valley there, funny how that wall doesn't stop any of that. We weren't lucky enough to see any trees as we drove across West Texas, we were hoping to see if the new forest raking protocol has been implemented but I guess that will have to wait until we are out of the desert, even though we did notice there were fire bans in most of the county's we traversed. #MakeAmericaRakeAgain

We are spending the night near Ozona, Texas, enjoying the hospitality of Exxon and the local tire shop. We did call around to the local RV Parks but they are jammed full of oil patch guys, seems to be a boom happening in these parts. We have traveled a little over 3700 kilometers on this journey so far and I did notice one strange thing.

It appears that Alberta, where they have the third largest petroleum reserves in the world, and Texas which certainly has more than its fair share have by far the highest prices for fuel. Strangely enough Arizona, which to my knowledge, doesn't produce enough petroleum to fuel a Coleman Stove and the far south of New Mexico have the lowest prices. Apparently having petroleum and refining capacity is no indicator that your prices will be good. Against all logic transportation has little impact on the price of fuel.

A Look Around

I promised you a look around Picket Post so here it is. Tonight we are Las Cruces, New Mexico after a great drive down through Safford, Arizona to Lordsburg before joining the rat race on I-10 across south New Mexico. We managed to slip downtown here to La Posta, a favourite spot in Old Mesilla, for an early dinner. This old building is the last stopping place along the Butterfield Overland Stage Route still working and although the floors are a little crooked the grub is great.

Good Grub here

Fly along with me here.

Ready to Roll

Thursday was Brenda's last Scrambler Therapy appointment, for these treatments Dr. Wade has been hooking up a LED Light Therapy boot on her as well, he says it does something to promote healing in damaged tissues. She has had a couple of toes on her bad leg that have been numb for years but this light thingy has got the feeling back in them. Don't ask me how it works or if it is just in the mind, regardless the feeling is back and that is good.

We followed up our Therapy date with a run through the local Walmart and Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick up a few more necessaries and then it was over to the Kona Grill to meet Mickey and Jeff for lunch and some laughs. It is always a good time spending time with those two. After unloading all our Amazon stuff from their car we were off to our rig. Max and Maya were glad to see us back after a long day lounging on the the couches.

Friday we both had appointments in Gold Canyon to get adjusted, that is a fancy word to describe having Dr. Cassie, a slight little woman, take out her aggression on our spines. Regardless though I know I feel better and I am sure Brenda is the same. My Granddad used to say his Chiropractor could knock a cold out of him, well I didn't have a cold when I went in but if I had of I am sure it would have been gone.

Once that was done we ran back out to the rig to pick up our laundry, we had planned to run into the laundromat listed in Superior until we realized that it was really in Globe, so we changed plans and headed into the Superstition Express Laundry in Apache Junction. Lots of machines there, clean, but not coin operated. You have to get a card and work from that, and the system needs a little work and better instructions. We ran into Vic Almond from up Ponoka way in there doing the same thing, trying to do laundry and cursing at the machines.

Once we got everything clean and folded we headed back home to our rig and our mutts.

I had a chance to unpack the drone and do a little fly over of our place so hopefully I can mash together some footage to show you the neighbourhood but until then this will have to do.

Saturday we did a whole lot of nothing, well not really I guess, we installed a grate on the screen door so that Max and maybe Maya won't be pushing the screen out, a water alarm under the pump watching for leaks, and changed the water filter out. But other than that and some book reading we did nothing, but tomorrow we are set to head off to points east. Stay tuned.

Scrambler Therapy

Other than the beautiful view from our spot here at Picket Post the real reason we came this way was to get some Scrambler Therapy (Calmare) treatments for Brenda's CRPS. This therapy is the only thing that seems to relieve the nerve pain she suffers from and the relief is almost instantaneous although it doesn't last forever. Dr. Wade and the staff at Superstition Chiropractic have almost become like family over the years, Brenda has hauled them Christmas baking as well as her homemade jam over the years so on top of the business we bring, the goodies make her a special customer.

We didn't linger very long on the road coming south, we were in a rush to leave behind the cool temperatures and get hooked up to the Calmare machine so we have also been restocking our larder. A trip to Walmart, as well as another to Costco has most of that done, but Thursday we are heading over to cousins Mick and Jeff's to unbury them from a pile of Amazon deliveries we have inundated them with this week. Might even get a chance to visit a little while we are there.

Sunset over our rig at Picket Post

Migrating

Last week we finished up all our doctor and dentist appointments. Brenda is sporting new choppers and the implants are working great or so it is reported. Over the last week we had been hauling stuff out to the RV, loading things we needed and unloading things we didn't. Wednesday was the big move day for Brenda's clothes and the remainders of our fridge stuff.

Thursday we woke up early, finished loading and then got hooked up and headed south. We had no destination in mind but were just playing it by ear. We stopped in Nanton for breakfast and a good visit with our old friend Van Greig, before continuing on towards the border. A few questions at the border, where are you going, how long are you staying, how much money do you have with you, are you sure that is enough to last the winter, and we were headed south out of Sweetgrass, Montana. We decided because it was cold we would overnight at Dick's RV Park in Great Falls and continue in the morning. Just yesterday I was reading a Technomadia Facebook post about the new Verizon pre-paid jet pack. It is a truly unlimited device and is only throttled if you get in a crowded area, not our usual habitat, so I ran out and signed us up. It is about $65-$70 dollars a month, considerably less than the $220/month that Telus charges us for only 40GB. Hope it works out, but so far it is doing yeoman's duty here onboard Dogpound Anywhere (DPA).

Friday we were up early and on the road before the sun brightened our journey up the Missouri River valley and then south to those flatlands of southern Idaho. We hit Salt Lake City right at rush hour and a little construction caused some slow going for a while. We holed up for the night at Cabela's in Lehi, it was a little warmer there in Utah. Sadly Cabela's big parking lot that used to harbour a few RV's has been taken over by a new building and it looks like that is coming to an end. Luckily I spotted the construction superintendent and convinced him that we would be decent security for the night so we had one last night in this familiar stopping place.

Again, we were on the road before daylight and headed for the desert. I always look forward to the slide down the hill from the high desert of Southern Utah and through the Virgin River Gorge to the Mohave Desert surrounding Las Vegas. Usually there is a dramatic temperature increase as you make that journey but this year it was only 10F degrees difference. Still warmer is good. We made it to Wikiup and stayed at Dazzo's campground, the campground was ok for what we wanted, to water up and flush out some antifreeze, but it was not Brenda's cup of tea. BUT, the restaurant, was great, the wait staff a little ranchey, but the food was second to none.

Sunday we slept in, till sun-up, topped those tanks that needed topping, flushed the rest and then headed down the road again. We stopped by our friends, K&T's place for a short visit and swapped a few lies before heading on to our final destination for this part of the journey here at Picket Post. This mountain is one of our favourite spots to hole up when we are in the Phoenix area.

Picket Post Mountain

We had scheduled some Scrambler Therapy (Calmare) for Brenda and her CRPS, on Monday but as we were pulling into the parking lot the doc called and had to delay it till tomorrow. She is booked for three days of therapy so hopefully that will push her nerve pain away for awhile.

With our therapy session cancelled we headed over to Walmart for some supplies, and then back to camp for the day. A long way from home you will never guess who came to our camp for a visit.

Libby

Ken and Verna Pohl, along with Vic and Marilou, stopped in for a couple of days riding here on their way to the South Pohl.

I'll leave you with one last pic of our rig in front of the mountain.

Dogpound Anywhere (DPA)