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.

Covered Wagon Ride

When we left Millersburg, Ohio we went south and west on highway 62, we had traveled to Millersburg from Warren, Ohio on the same highway. The highway is two line and narrow to boot. However it takes you into a world long past. In many areas of the drive it was up and down hills, around curves, lots of those, in fairly dense trees, like in a forest. We were in such an area soon after leaving Millersburg. We could imagine covered wagons, and Indian's lurking behind trees watching. It was like our ancestor's must have felt, hard going because of the hills and curves and fording creeks, we had a bridge but they didn't. It was a most awesome experience. Yes our covered wagon was 39 ft long and had a roar, nothing like the snorting of horses or oxen, but I would bet that our ancestor's were awed by the changing colors of the trees and bushes and the quiet with the sound of birds, running water and thanked God for their good fortune to be traveling into the unknown for new experiences and adventures.

We spent two nights at Mt. Gilead State Park right out side of the township of Mt. Gilead, Ohio. Another stop to do more genealogy research. The area is just as beautiful as our last stop for the same purpose. The court house was very old and was being renovated so looking through old records for births, death and marriages was a challenge for sure. Across the street in an old home that had been converted into a historical library was great. Spent two afternoons browsing through their cemetery information and found one of the ancestors I was looking for.

We are now parked at WalMart in Mansfield, Ohio, where, you guessed it, to do more genealogy research. We will leave here either Tuesday or Wednesday to start back west to South Dakota.

We moved on

Huh, Wal Mart parking lots are not all the same. You would think they would be but, not! This Wal Mart parking lot has hitching rails for horse & buggies. We are now in Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio the county with the largest population of Amish in the US of A.

Holmes county has got to be one of the prettiest places to be in the fall of the year. The trees changing color, the horse dung on the side of the roads, the small quaint villages, slow moving traffic because of the horse & buggy or the bike on the roads. Very narrow, winding, hilly back roads. Hugh Amish farms that are very well maintained. Beautiful flower gardens with all the fall colors. Pumpkins every where, this is truly a fascinating place to be.

As we left Trumbull county to come to Holmes county we first saw an 18 wheeler on it's side and lots of police and fire trucks there. Earl got to watch as the tow truck lifted the truck and set it up right. He did not get to see them set the trailer back up because it had to be unloaded first.
Then as we got a little ways down the road, traffic again was slowing down and stopping, again lots of police, fire and medical trucks, lights flashing, yes, a two car accident, looked like a bad one too. Got past that one and again a ways down the road, you quested it another accident. Since we were only observers and not participant's and that was three in a row, we knew we would get to Wal Mart okay on this traveling day. What we did't count on was "Irene" (GPS) taking us on those hilly, narrow back roads. Meeting the oncoming horse and buggy or bike wasn't to bad but the trucks and cars on a one lane road was a bit tight.

We are looking forward to more trips to cemeteries looking for dead relatives so I can take a picture of their stones. I did find my great, great, great, great grandfathers stone in a very hard to find little cemetery that is no longer being used in Jackson Township in Mahoning county. It was a most awesome discovery. He died in 1831. I hope I can do as well here in Holmes county.

Another lost day!

That's right more back roads, detours, bad areas of downs, making wrong turns. It was all very lovely until - STOP that's a red light! Slam - things flying forward - stopping to shop and a flood! Yes the little foot stool in the potty room got stuck under the foot petal....flood! Don't know how but water pump is no longer functional.

So, we are parked in an RV repair place for the night so we can pay weekend rates for repairs!
We are wondering if this bad luck streak will end soon. Sure hope so.

The fall colors are appearing pretty fast, early even. Hope bad weather stays away for a few more weeks. Still have genealogy research to do.

We are having a great time really, we have laughed about all our goof ups and mishaps cause happy is better that sad any way you look at life.