Fort Smith, Arkansas

Our visit to Fort Smith, Arkansas just flew by! We stayed for just about a week, and spent most of that time visiting with Dan’s extended family: His brother and wife (Mike and Angie), his aunts (Aunt Tookie and Aunt Jean), and cousins (David and his wife, Cindy, Lee and his wife Shelly, and Melinda). It was fun catching up with everyone, and we were able to get a few family shots along the way.

Next stop: The Nu Wa factory in Chanute, Kansas for a factory check-up on our Hitchhiker II 5th wheel.

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Our first stop out of Livingston, Texas was Hot Springs, Arkansas. We arrived Tuesday afternoon and decided to stay one day to explore before moving on. First we drove to the top of Hot Springs Mountain for an expansive view of the city below. We saw many possible hiking trails, perhaps for another visit when we can stay longer. Back down to historic Hot Springs and Bathhouse Row for a tour and some history of the area.

Hot Springs takes its name from the natural thermal water that flows from 47 springs on the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain into the historic downtown district of the city. (And what is really interesting is that Hot Springs National Park is actually right in the middle of downtown Hot Springs, surrounded by businesses and a busy highway.) About a million gallons of 143-degree water flow from the springs each day. The rate of flow is not affected by fluctuations in the rainfall in the area. Studies by National Park Service scientists have determined through carbon dating that the water that reaches the surface in Hot Springs fell as rainfall 4,000 years earlier. The water percolates very slowly down through the earth’s surface until it reaches superheated areas deep in the crust and then rushes rapidly to the surface to emerge from the 47 hot springs.

People have used the hot spring water in the therapeutic baths for more than 200 years to treat rheumatism and other ailments, although bathing in the spring water now is available in approved facilities only. Bathhouse Row consists of eight turn-of-the-century historic buildings. Two of the bathhouses remain in operation today – The Buckstaff, currently the sole bathhouse operating in its original capacity, and the Quapaw which was reopened in 2008 in a modern co-ed setting. Another bathhouse, the Fordyce, has been converted into a museum to give tourists a glimpse into the fascinating past of the city. As I was touring the “treatment” rooms at the Fordyce, I was reminded more of visions of water torture at sanitariums than of relaxing spa treatments. I’m too accustomed to the modern Day Spa concept, I guess!

The pictures here include the exterior of Buckstaff Baths; one of the treatment rooms in historic Fordyce; the Hot Springs National Park entrance sign; Dan at the summit of Hot Springs Mountain; the Grand Promenade trail that winds around behind the bathhouses; the Hubbard Tub that was used to treat various ailments at Fordyce; a stain glass ceiling in the men’s bath at the Fordyce.

Minute Maid Ball Park (Houston, Texas)

One of our traveling goals is to visit all the Major League baseball parks, and during baseball season, so we can enjoy a game while we’re at it! Even better would be if either San Francisco or Oakland were playing at each of the ballparks we visited, but that might be asking for too much. So yesterday we caught a game at the Minute Maid ball park in Houston, Texas, between the Astros and the Cincinnati Reds. (Houston is only about 70 miles from where we are staying in Livingston, making it an easy drive there and back.) Since neither San Francisco nor Oakland was playing, we decided we would root for the home team. But, it didn’t help – the Reds won, 4-2. But it was a beautiful day to be sitting outside watching a baseball game. Temperature was in the 70’s, nice breeze, seats in the shade. The day before there were torrential rains in Houston, 7.5 inches in 24 hours! You wouldn’t have known Sunday, what a difference a day can make! This year (2009) marks the Astros 10th Season in Minute Maid Park, located in the heart of downtown Houston. You can see some of the surrounding high rise buildings in the attached pictures.

Today wraps up our stay in Livingston and in Texas this time around. Tomorrow we head out for Arkansas: A couple of days in Hot Springs; a couple of days visiting friends in Conway; then about a week visiting family in Fort Smith. We enjoyed our hiatus in Livingston, it’s a great place to stop and collect your bearings, but it’s time to get rolling again!

Big Thicket Preserve Mountain Bike Ride

Another outing to the Big Thicket National Preserve! This time a 15-mile mountain bike ride on a combination horse/hiking/biking trail in the Big Sandy Creek section of the preserve. Sounds like it would be a busy trail, but Dan and I were the only ones on it for the three hours we rode. To look at the trail, your first impression is that it will be “a ride in the park”; wide road so you can ride side by side, no obvious obstacles, shaded so no overheating, and no obvious inclines. But I guess I forgot to take the name of the trail – Big Sandy Creek – seriously! Much of the trail was outright sandy, and some of it was just pine needles over sand!! This caused quite a strain on the upper thigh. Especially on the long, steady climb out, which didn’t seem like much of a downhill on the way in at all. But it was a lovely setting, almost completely canopied over the entire route, and birds singing continuously. The information sign at the trail head warned of venomous snakes, including copperhead, water moccasin, coral snake, and rattlesnake. About half way through the ride, I saw (too late) a small (baby?) snake slither right into my path, and it looked exactly like the picture of the coral snake! I couldn’t stop or swerve in time, so I had to run right over it. That was kind of creepy! I assume I killed it, wouldn’t you think the entire weight of a human being running over a snake would squish it? Dan reassured me that it was “probably okay”. I’ll never know, and that’s okay! Later, Dan saw two adult feral pigs and three piglets. He was ahead of me a bit, so by the time I caught up, they had scurried off into the woods. On our way back, however, I was able to catch a glimpse of the three piglets in about the same area, and again, they were running like mad to get off the trail and back into the cover of the trees. Our only other wildlife encounter was when we stopped for an apple break, and I set my foot down on an ant hill. I can’t believe how quickly my ankle was covered with ants!! I only counted one bite, though. Like I said, the ride was a bit more challenging than it appeared at first glance. There were a couple of creek and muddy area crossings, and a couple of downed trees to negotiate. And the climb out seemed to go on forever (I think we need to ride our bikes more often?). But, I was glad I could still do it, even if my mountain biking skills are a little rusty. We had lunch back in the parking area and I was glad I packed us a lot of food, I was starving! Attached are some pictures of the area.

Livingston, Texas (Double Lakes and Big Thicket Preserve)

Texas is so big!! It’s not likely we will ever get to all four corners and destinations between, so we were glad to have the opportunity to stop off in San Antonio for a brief visit on our way to Livingston. Escapees, the RV club we belong to is headquartered in Livingston, a small town about 75 miles northeast of Houston. We spent a few weeks at Rainbow’s End (the name of the RV park) in November 2007 when we first retired (see blog entry http://beckylaine.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html for details). We decided to stop here again this year on our way to Michigan, and arrived on April 1st. Rainbow’s End is a nice place to just kick back and relax, or to become involved with the many daily activities sponsored by Escapees. There are a few recreational spots in the area as well. We’ve been doing a little of each – kicking back, and recreating!

Double Lake Recreation Area is in nearby Coldspring and offers a little of everything including camping, picnicking, hiking, and biking. Dan and I took advantage of one very beautiful Spring day to ride the 8-mile mountain bike trail that meanders around the lake. I love the trail – it’s through the woods, so definitely “off road”, but it’s not so rugged that I can’t enjoy it. There are enough roots, sharp turns, and changes in trail conditions to make it interesting (meaning I have to pay attention!), and the ups and downs are very gentle. But the trail doesn’t hang out over steep drop offs nor are there big boulders to negotiate, or creek crossings. My kind of trail! (Dan may have wished for something a little more challenging…)

Yesterday we drove to Big Thicket National Preserve near Dallardsville for a day hike. The preserve was established to protect a complex biological diversity of life forms, including virgin pine and cypress forest, hardwood forest, meadow and black water swamp. What is so extraordinary is not the rarity or abundance of the life forms found here, but how many species coexist. From the Big Thicket website: “Major North American biological influences bump up against each other here: southeastern swamps, Appalachians, eastern forests, central plains, and southwest deserts. Bogs sit near arid sandhills. Eastern bluebirds nest near roadrunners. There are 85 tree species, more than 60 shrubs, and nearly 1,000 other flowering plants, including 26 ferns and allies, 20 orchids and four of North America's five type of insect-eating plants. Nearly 300 kinds of birds live here or migrate through. Fifty reptile species include a small, rarely seen population of alligators. Amphibious frogs and toads abound.” Big Thicket covers 97,000 acres, so we surely only saw a glimpse of all the preserve has to offer. But we did hear a symphony of insects and birds, and the bright yellow wild daisies abounded. We didn’t see any of the four carnivorous plants that can be found here (and only five species can be found in the entire United States) – that probably explains all the bugs! There was evidence of Hurricane Ike (September 2008) along the trail, with tree tops snapped off, and some totally down.

(Pictures on this post are from Big Thicket)

San Antonio, Texas

We wrapped up our visit in San Diego Monday, March 23, and on the 24th we were in Goodyear, Arizona (just outside Phoenix) for four nights. Initially we were just going to be passing through, but it turned out that friends of ours (Janness & Nate) were also traveling through the same time, and RV friends (Jack & Marge) who we met on the road in Mission, Texas had moved to the area, so we decided to stay a few days so we could visit with everyone. We’re glad we did, it was really great to see old and new friends, and catch up with what’s been happening in everyone’s lives.

March 26th found us on the road again, to Deming, New Mexico for one night, Balmorhea, Texas the next night, and San Antonio on the 28th. We planned ahead to stay four nights in San Antonio as we had not been here before, and wanted to do a little touring before going to Livingston for the following three weeks. We set aside Monday the 30th to tour downtown San Antonio, which included The Alamo, The San Antonio River Walk, and the Spanish Governor’s Palace.

The Alamo is right in the middle of downtown San Antonio, a humble structure from the past, a mission originally, surrounded by towering high rises, business people caught up in the work-a-day world, and tourists wandering through the grounds and buildings. No photographs are allowed inside the buildings, but we were able to get a few nice shots of the outside. Dan had just recently finished reading the book “Texas” by James Michener, so much of the historical information was fresh in his mind.

When we were done at the Alamo, we walked over to the San Antonio River Walk, (also known as Paseo del Río), a tree-lined network of walkways along the banks of the San Antonio River beneath downtown (one level down from the automobile street). The majority of businesses along the Walk are bars, hotels, and restaurants, and is a huge tourist attraction. You can walk along both sides of the river, or take a guided tour in a water taxi. Dan and I chose to walk and enjoy the beautiful scenery at a leisurely pace. After eating lunch at the Rio Rio Cantina, we headed out to the Spanish Governor’s Palace a few blocks away.

Originally built in 1722 to protect the mission (Alamo) and its surrounding colony, the Spanish Governor's Palace became the seat of the Tejas government and capital building of the Tejas (Texas) region in 1772 for the Spanish Province. The Governor's Palace is the only remaining example in Texas of an aristocratic early Spanish house. This was the residence of the presidio captain who represented the King of Spain (Ferdinand) in the Governor's absence. We also made a brief visit to the San Fernando Cathedral which was just a couple blocks from the Palace.

The pictures above are: The Alamo (front doors into Church section); a section of the River Walk; me sitting in the courtyard of the Governor’s Palace; San Fernando Cathedral.

USS Midway, San Diego, California

While we were in San Diego, Dan, my sister Jennifer, and I took the time to tour the USS Midway Museum, a retired US aircraft carrier docked in the San Diego harbor. Although the Midway was involved in many wartime activities, I was surprised (and pleased) to learn it was also involved in some humanitarian missions as well (rescuing 1800 Americans fleeing Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991; rescuing 3073 Saigon refugees in two days in 1975). In addition to the myriad aircraft on display, there were scores of other interesting details to the ship and how it operated. I seemed most drawn to how a crew of 4500 (including 2 doctors and a dentist) lived in this floating city. I found the logistics quite fascinating – where did the crew sleep, what did they eat? What did they do for entertainment? What did the captain’s quarters look like? Here are some interesting daily living facts: 10 tons of food (13,500 meals) served daily; 3000 potatoes daily; 1000 loaves of bread daily; 4500 pounds of beef when served; 500 pies when served. The chapel, the brig, the post office, the laundry room, the sick bay, the library all intrigued me.

The first thing that hits you about the Midway is how huge it is. It’s hard to imagine something this large and heavy can float. Obviously, I’m no engineer! Here are some numbers that help paint the picture of the sheer magnitude of this ship: 1,001 feet long; 4.02-acre flight deck; 18 decks; 18-foot tall propellers; 20-ton anchors; 2000 feet of anchor chain; 2000 compartments; 2000 electric motors.

Some other interesting facts… The USS Midway was in service for 47 years stretching from the end of WWII to the liberation of Kuwait in 1991. No other aircraft carrier served for the United States as long. It was the first carrier homeported in a foreign country, calling Yokosuka, Japan home for 18 years. The average age of the 225,000 sailors who served on the Midway was 20. The on-board library held 5000 books. From the deck of the Midway, you can look down into Mole Park and see the of “Unconditional Surrender”, a 25-foot, 6000 pound statue commemorating a famous World War II photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square, new York City, on August 14, 1945. I’ve included a photo of this taken from the flight deck, as well as various shots of the aircraft. Note the Coronado Bridge over San Diego Bay in the background of the helicopters photo.

Flower Fields (Carlsbad, California)

It’s been just over six months since arriving in Sacramento, and our time there (this time around) has come to an end. I know it’s a cliché, but it really is hard to believe that the time passed so quickly! We enjoyed spending time with our family, welcoming a new grandson to the world, volunteering at the Yolo County Grasslands Regional Park, and reconnecting with our friends. It took a little effort to “unspread” ourselves – after lighting somewhere for six months, you have a tendency to not only collect more than you need, you also spread out. So the last couple of weeks before we hit the road were spent sorting through everything, getting the rig ready to roll, getting rid of what we didn’t need.

We left Sacramento on Tuesday, March 17th on our way to San Diego. We stopped overnight in Bakersfield, and arrived in San Diego on March 18th (Dan’s birthday!). We were expecting some nice warm weather, but it was actually foggy almost every day we were there, except on Sunday, when it rained! But we managed to get out and do a lot of things during our five days there. We spent time with my sister Jennifer, visited the Flower Fields in Carlsbad (about 25 miles north of San Diego), ate at some nice restaurants, took a 5-mile run on the boardwalk in Pacific Beach, and toured the USS Midway (a retired aircraft carrier docked at the Navy Pier on the Embarcadero in downtown San Diego.) Our visit here was kind of like a mini-vacation, and a great way to start our Spring 2009 road trip!

I’ve attached pictures from our tour of the Flower Fields - 50 acres of extraordinary color in bloom on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Check out this link for the history of the Flower Fields: http://www.theflowerfields.com/index.html.

Family Shots

Here are some random shots of my family that were taken over the last 4 months. The pictures include Madeline (my 8-year old granddaughter), Cole (my 3-year old grandson), a group shot of my family at Christmas, Morgan (my 4-month old grandson), and Cecelia (my 2-year old granddaughter).

Family Visit to Chico

December 21st found us on a family visit to Chico to visit with Dan’s son and his family. It was a dry and not too cold day for December, so the plan was to take a short hike in Bidwell Park, picnic by the creek, then back to Jim & Mary’s to exchange Christmas gifts. We headed out to the park with family (Dan, me, Jim, Mary, Hannah, Madeline, Atticus) and dogs (Olive and Penny) in tow, plus a great vegan lunch of baked tofu sandwiches, pickles, olives, and chips. We hiked for about two miles to the edge of the creek, a perfect spot for our picnic, with a big climbing tree nearby that was fun for the kids. We took lots of pictures, talked, ate, and lounged for a while, then headed back to the cars and back to Jim & Mary’s. Christmas gifts were exchanged and exclaimed over, rounding out the day with good Christmas cheer. It was so nice to see everyone and catch up on all their activities. The kids of course grow up so fast, it’s hard to keep up with them! I’ve included some pictures of our Chico Christmas visit.

Visit to Weott, California

One of the advantages of being in the Sacramento area is both Dan and I have a lot of family that live nearby. We are taking advantage of this time to touch bases with as much family as possible before we take off again in March. In December we drove to Weott, a small town in Humboldt County in Northern California to visit with Dan’s sister and her husband (Becky and Alan). Weott is right in the heart of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and as you can imagine, the gentle giants that are the Redwoods inspire humility, awe, and delight. The weekend of our visit was pretty cold, and in fact on our way back we ran into a snow storm on Highway 101, so we didn’t get outside too much. But we were able to make the Avenue of the Giants drive a couple of times, get out and touch the trees, and take some pictures to preserve the memory. We also enjoyed our time with Becky and Alan, they were marvelous hosts! In addition to visiting and catching up with each other’s families, they took us to Eureka for a day of shopping, sight-seeing and dinner out at Bless My Soul, a soul food restaurant. Hard to believe how fast time flies, and we were grateful we had the opportunity to spend some time together while we were nearby. Above are some pictures from our weekend visit.