Gig & Toots are sitting on the dash in the windshield keeping an eye on things. They are good little watch dogs and travelers.

We are in Las Cruses, New Mexico, still. The wind is suppose to dye down by tomorrow, so we will continue on the road. Hope to get pretty well into Arizona. We had a very nice Easter Sunday. It is amazing how many people come to Wal Mart on a Holiday!

Spring in the Desert, at Langtry, Texas. This cactus is part of a garden which is part of the Judge Roy Bean compound. It is a beautiful place and if you ever get a chance to go there take it.

We are currently at a Wal Mart in SW Los Cursus, New Mexico. As we were traveling on highway 90 in Texas we had our historic tire problem. This year it was a threefer. Shreaded trailer tire, broken shade and broken steps. Since that was three in a row that should take care of our bad luck for this trip around. We will always think so any way.

On the road again, headed west! Our winter in Zapata, Texas was great! No snow (oho a four letter word) not even rain. Some cool, mostly warm and a few days of HOT, weather. We went into Mexico once, got every thing we went after and then some. Now it's spring in Texas and the Yuccas and Cactus are in bloom. The pic is a Yucca (tall white bloom) the kind of blue silver are sage bush. They have tiny lavender blue flowers.

We are parked over night in, what else, but a Wal Mart in Del Rio, Texas home of the five river lake. If we get moving in decent time in the morning we will explore and stay over night in Big Bend National Park and be in New Mexico by Friday evening. Although we may stop in Alpine, Texas, just have to wait and see.

Winter home

We arrived at Copes RV park, in Zapata, Sunday the 9th around 3:30 pm. We are enjoying sunny warm days (80's) and connecting with folks down here. We will be here until either the first of April or May not sure which yet.

Brother Jon is doing well, he had surgery yesterday, four bypasses were done. Doctor's say he should have a full recovery. He will have to make some life style changes as any one does after having a heart attach. He was very lucky.

Our two hairy children (dogs) are now skinned children, Dad gave them both their Texas hair cuts this morning. The sand burrs are really bad down here. They have to stay on our patio or in their pen which has had all burrs removed. They don't like to get hair cuts, but Earls does a really good job with them.

It's Tomorrow

It's tomorrow and the sun came out, but the wind did not blow. How cool is that.

We are parked for the night, at where else, Wal Mart in Austin, Texas the capital of the great state of Texas. There is a sign on the garden center gate just in front of us that says " Christmas Trees Coming" Guys it's 71 degrees here right now at 10 til 7 pm. It is a beautiful balmy night, all kinds of lights showing from down town, sirens blaring, I 35 traffic, and we will only be here overnight, why be concerned that Christmas trees are coming? Why, because I don't think the trees will do well in this kind of weather and besides we have not had our turkey yet!

God willing and the creek don't rise, and, we can figure out how to get back on I 35 in the morning we should be in Zapata by tomorrow afternoon. We can enjoy the peace and quite and not worry about Christmas trees until after turkey day or even longer. Earl says he is not going to worry about it period.

Brother Jon is hanging out in the hospital hoping his blood sugar level will level out and not be so high and waiting for his bypass surgery on Monday. He tells me that the Doc's will wire him shut and he should be dandy in about three months or so. Please continue to pray that this all will come to pass as planned, without any hiccups.

Wind Corridor

If you did not already know this; now you will. Up the central part of the US from Mexico into Canada there is a wind corridor. T Boone Pickens is very exited about this because he wants to build wind energy farms. There are already a lot of them in Iowa. In fact the Iowa State Fair is powered by a wind turbine. We have not seen any as we make our way from Iowa down I-35 to Zapata Texas our winter home. The wind has been perfect for turning those big, tall, airplane looking things. The wind has swayed us and gusted us and made driving really hard to do. The wind keeps wanting to move us from between the white lane lines into the way of other silly folks also battling the wind for supremacy.

"The sun will come up tomorrow, tomorrow" (Can you hear me singing?) However so will the wind. Are we ever excited, NOT! We were told by a man at the welcome desk at the last service area on the Kansas turn pike that the wind had been blowing for 7 days like it was today, and he thought that could be a record. We are about 90 miles from the border between Oklahoma and Texas may be the wind will die down in Texas, we can only hope. There are a good number of all kinds of RV's headed in the same direction as we are, flying from the snow that has already started to fall in Iowa and states to the north of there. We are Snow Birds after all.

My brother Jon has had a heart attack and is to have bypass surgery. Five bypasses. Please say a prayer for him and Sandy and their five kids. This is a very scary time for all of us.

No longer an Iowan

It's official we have our South Dakota drivers licences and are now residents of the state. No more state income tax! Lower vehicle insurance, lower cost of vehicle plates, to awesome. We are parked at Sam's Club on Louise Street in Sioux Falls and will head back to Iowa for two days and then we will be off down I35 to Zapata, Texas for the winter.

This trip was a pleasure, fuel was 2.95 per gallon compared to the 4.69 for the Indiana trip or the 3.79 for the Ohio trip. Now when we leave Texas for California in May who knows what fuel prices will be.

The fall colors followed us back to Iowa from Ohio. The trees are changing every day and it is so beautiful. Fall is my favorite time of the year, we even get that hour of sleep back.

The most awesome thing we found in Ohio, and there were alot of things, was the grave stone of my great, great, great, great grandfather, John Duer. He died in 1831. The stone was still in one piece and readable. If you have the chance to visit Ohio in the fall, Holmes County is the place to be.