Daily Journal 2016
While still in League City, we did a little more sightseeing, visiting Galveston and touring the Galveston Naval Museum. We did a lot of traveling in 2016. I was surprised at how much when I started writing this section of my journal. We pretty much traveled the whole 12 months with short breaks at Tres Rios.
After leaving League City, Texas we headed to Rockport, Texas. It was during this time that we thought about upgrading to a Class A Motorhome, and started looking for a Foretravel, since we knew they were the best motorhome we could buy. We found an old one that we could afford and worked on purchasing it. By March we had purchased a Jeep to tow behind the motorhome and then purchased the Foretravel. We took two days to move into it and I just was having a very trying time fitting everything from the Award into the Foretravel. By the end of the second day I had about given up and told Jim what I was feeling. We then made the decision to put the Foretravel on the market and stay in the Award.
Now, on to Rockport. It is a great little town; not directly on the beach but with lots to see. First we went to the Texas Maritime Museum and then Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. We toured Rockport before Hurricane Harvey came and torn it to pieces -- the Big Blue Crab was demolished along with the Rockport Aquarium. We did get to see The Big Tree in Goose Island State Park. This is supposed to be one of the largest and oldest Angel Oaks in Texas. Since the USS Lexington is docked in Corpus Christi and open for touring, we went there to see it. From Rockport, we drove down into the Rio Grande Valley to check it out. We stayed at Tropic Winds RV Park, an Encore Park, which is part of Thousand Trails. While we were in the Valley, we visited the Iwo Jima Monument.
After leaving the Rio Grande Valley, we drove to Lake Hills and Medina Lake Thousand Trails. We headed to Bandera, a sweet little town with lots of history. The Frontier Times Museum has lots of interesting artifacts of the area, along with a two headed goat. Also took a trip into San Antonio to visit the Alamo, then Fredericksburg to visit the Ranger's Museum and Fort Martin Scott, and the Pioneer Museum. And of course, we took a side trip to Luckenbach.
At the end of March, a short drive to see the Texas Hill Bluebonnets was in order. We made a short trip into Houston to visit with our family before heading out on the road again. We stopped in Columbus, Texas for a few days where we stopped to see what is called the Second Largest Oak Tree in Texas. On our way back to Tres Rios, we stopped in Canyon Lake for a few days where we stopped to see more dinosaur tracks and artifacts at the Heritage Museum. Back at Tres Rios in Glen Rose, we drove to Hico to visit the Billy The Kid Museum where they claim Billy never died in New Mexico, but moved to Hico and lived out the rest of his life -- you decide. I posted a link in this blog post to the original post where we visited Bill the Kid in New Mexico.
After leaving Glen Rose, we drove to Waco for a few nights so we could visit some sights in the area. The first place we saw was the Texas Ranger Museum, then the Waco Mammoth National Monument and the Waco Suspension Bridge. From Waco we took a quick trip to Houston to visit our family before heading back to OCP. We hung around Texas for a few months trying to find a buyer for the Foretravel, but in July we decided to head out west for a few months of traveling.
Our first stop was in Clovis, New Mexico where we found the Norman & Vi Petty Rock & Roll Museum. Next stop was Santa Rosa, New Mexico where we visited the Rt. 66 Auto Museum. I wanted to visit Angel Fire, New Mexico so from Santa Rosa, we headed up there. We found a neat campground right next to a huge field full of ground squirrels. The dogs went crazy trying to get them. While there we visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, and in Taos, we visited the Kit Carson Home.
When we left Angel Fire, we drove to the NRA Whittington Center, where we stayed for a week so we could do some shooting. An interesting fact about the Center is that the Santa Fe Trail went right through the Center. While at the center we drove north into Colorado and went to see Stonewall, Colorado. From the NRA Center we drove to Tijeras, New Mexico for a week. Lots of interesting things to see in the area. We went to see the Tinkertown Museum in Sandia. If you are in this area, you must go see this museum. The museum in Abita Springs is a knock off of this museum. They are both a must see. On Jim's birthday we went to visit the Petroglyph National Monument and then went out to lunch to celebrate.
Heading west Grants, New Mexico was our next stop. I like staying at Lavaland RV Park because there is a huge field near there where I can get my walk in. Also there is the Visitor Center for El Malpais National Monument. We also went to visit the New Mexico Mining Museum, El Morro National Monument and the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary.
Heading west, our next stop was to visit the Petrified Forest National Park, a short stop in Winslow, Arizona, and then south to the Thousand Trails campground in Cottonwood, Arizona for a couple of weeks. There is a lot to see in this area; there are multiple national monuments, Sedona Red Rocks and Jerome. First monument is Montezuma Castle, then Montezuma Well, and Tuzigoot National Monument.
We decided to head west again and went north to I-40 and west to Williams, Arizona. There was a "shootout" with some cowboys when were were there. From Williams, we drove north on Hwy 64 to see the sights. We found the Flintstone's Bedrock City in Valle. I don't think Flintstone's City is there anymore, so please enjoy these pictures. Also near the Flintstone's City is the Planes of Fame Air Museum. which we thought was very nice.
When we got to the campground in Williams I was having a hard time getting the chocks between the tires. Jim also tried, but there was something wrong with one side. We even called a mobile RV guy and he discovered that the tires were separating. I titled this blog "Disaster Averted." Since we were so close to the Grand Canyon, we took one day to drive up there and drive through the park stopping at the various lookouts.
After Williams we stopped in Needles, California. Jim's parents had bought property in Lake Havasu, so he wanted to drive there to see what the city was all about. Huge lake and lots of people, hot and dry landscape with not many trees. We did get to see the London Bridge though. We also drove to Oatman, Arizona, which used to be a mining town but is now famous for its bikers and the mules that roam the town.
Since we were so close to Las Vegas, Nevada, that was our next stop. We do have long time friends who live there and luckily, there is a Thousand Trails Campground in Las Vegas that we can stay at. We did some sightseeing in Las Vegas, no shows or casinos, but just things in the area -- The Automobile Collection, Hoover Dam & Lake Mead, and the Bellagio Conservatory and water show.
We decided to head to San Diego since Jim spent time there learning to be a scuba instructor. We also had a friend there we knew from Kent State, and was able to visit with him. We stayed at Pio Pico Thousand Trails in Jamul, California, which is very close to San Diego and not far from the Mexican border. We made it to Joshua Tree National Park and the Cabrillo National Monument. From there we started back east and stopped in Casa Grande, New Mexico at an Escapees park. There is not a lot in this area, but we did get to see the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Caywood Farms, which grows cotton, and a very unusual museum called the Dwarf Car Museum, where the guy builds mini cars that actually run.
Still heading east, our next stop was Benson, Arizona where we went to see Saguaro National Park, and of course made a side trip down to Tombstone. That is a lovely little town -- very dog friendly in that they put out water dishes for the dogs and even allow them on the coach rides. We went into one restaurant and they allowed the dogs to sit by us in the restaurant. Our next stop was Deming, New Mexico where saw the Deming, Luna, Mimbres Museum. Traveling north from there on Hwy 70 we stopped in Tularosa, New Mexico so we could visit White Sands National Monument. We found the Pistachio Tree Ranch was in the area as well.
Back in Texas, we stopped at a Coast to Coast Park, Roaring Springs. Here we drove to Caprock Canyon State Park, and then to Tres Rios for three weeks, before continuing east for the winter. There were a few more stops to see some crazy and weird things before getting to Florida. In Alabama, we stopped to see Bamahenge and the Lady in the Lake. I also have a blog post called "Weird Sightings" that highlight a number of things that we have seen. In Florida we took a boat ride and got to see the Manatees. Also took a trip to Weeki Wachee State Park for the day with our family.
Jan - March 2016
April - June 2016
July - Sept 2016
Oct - Dec 2016
While still in League City, we did a little more sightseeing, visiting Galveston and touring the Galveston Naval Museum. We did a lot of traveling in 2016. I was surprised at how much when I started writing this section of my journal. We pretty much traveled the whole 12 months with short breaks at Tres Rios.
After leaving League City, Texas we headed to Rockport, Texas. It was during this time that we thought about upgrading to a Class A Motorhome, and started looking for a Foretravel, since we knew they were the best motorhome we could buy. We found an old one that we could afford and worked on purchasing it. By March we had purchased a Jeep to tow behind the motorhome and then purchased the Foretravel. We took two days to move into it and I just was having a very trying time fitting everything from the Award into the Foretravel. By the end of the second day I had about given up and told Jim what I was feeling. We then made the decision to put the Foretravel on the market and stay in the Award.
Now, on to Rockport. It is a great little town; not directly on the beach but with lots to see. First we went to the Texas Maritime Museum and then Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. We toured Rockport before Hurricane Harvey came and torn it to pieces -- the Big Blue Crab was demolished along with the Rockport Aquarium. We did get to see The Big Tree in Goose Island State Park. This is supposed to be one of the largest and oldest Angel Oaks in Texas. Since the USS Lexington is docked in Corpus Christi and open for touring, we went there to see it. From Rockport, we drove down into the Rio Grande Valley to check it out. We stayed at Tropic Winds RV Park, an Encore Park, which is part of Thousand Trails. While we were in the Valley, we visited the Iwo Jima Monument.
After leaving the Rio Grande Valley, we drove to Lake Hills and Medina Lake Thousand Trails. We headed to Bandera, a sweet little town with lots of history. The Frontier Times Museum has lots of interesting artifacts of the area, along with a two headed goat. Also took a trip into San Antonio to visit the Alamo, then Fredericksburg to visit the Ranger's Museum and Fort Martin Scott, and the Pioneer Museum. And of course, we took a side trip to Luckenbach.
At the end of March, a short drive to see the Texas Hill Bluebonnets was in order. We made a short trip into Houston to visit with our family before heading out on the road again. We stopped in Columbus, Texas for a few days where we stopped to see what is called the Second Largest Oak Tree in Texas. On our way back to Tres Rios, we stopped in Canyon Lake for a few days where we stopped to see more dinosaur tracks and artifacts at the Heritage Museum. Back at Tres Rios in Glen Rose, we drove to Hico to visit the Billy The Kid Museum where they claim Billy never died in New Mexico, but moved to Hico and lived out the rest of his life -- you decide. I posted a link in this blog post to the original post where we visited Bill the Kid in New Mexico.
After leaving Glen Rose, we drove to Waco for a few nights so we could visit some sights in the area. The first place we saw was the Texas Ranger Museum, then the Waco Mammoth National Monument and the Waco Suspension Bridge. From Waco we took a quick trip to Houston to visit our family before heading back to OCP. We hung around Texas for a few months trying to find a buyer for the Foretravel, but in July we decided to head out west for a few months of traveling.
Our first stop was in Clovis, New Mexico where we found the Norman & Vi Petty Rock & Roll Museum. Next stop was Santa Rosa, New Mexico where we visited the Rt. 66 Auto Museum. I wanted to visit Angel Fire, New Mexico so from Santa Rosa, we headed up there. We found a neat campground right next to a huge field full of ground squirrels. The dogs went crazy trying to get them. While there we visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, and in Taos, we visited the Kit Carson Home.
When we left Angel Fire, we drove to the NRA Whittington Center, where we stayed for a week so we could do some shooting. An interesting fact about the Center is that the Santa Fe Trail went right through the Center. While at the center we drove north into Colorado and went to see Stonewall, Colorado. From the NRA Center we drove to Tijeras, New Mexico for a week. Lots of interesting things to see in the area. We went to see the Tinkertown Museum in Sandia. If you are in this area, you must go see this museum. The museum in Abita Springs is a knock off of this museum. They are both a must see. On Jim's birthday we went to visit the Petroglyph National Monument and then went out to lunch to celebrate.
Heading west Grants, New Mexico was our next stop. I like staying at Lavaland RV Park because there is a huge field near there where I can get my walk in. Also there is the Visitor Center for El Malpais National Monument. We also went to visit the New Mexico Mining Museum, El Morro National Monument and the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary.
Heading west, our next stop was to visit the Petrified Forest National Park, a short stop in Winslow, Arizona, and then south to the Thousand Trails campground in Cottonwood, Arizona for a couple of weeks. There is a lot to see in this area; there are multiple national monuments, Sedona Red Rocks and Jerome. First monument is Montezuma Castle, then Montezuma Well, and Tuzigoot National Monument.
We decided to head west again and went north to I-40 and west to Williams, Arizona. There was a "shootout" with some cowboys when were were there. From Williams, we drove north on Hwy 64 to see the sights. We found the Flintstone's Bedrock City in Valle. I don't think Flintstone's City is there anymore, so please enjoy these pictures. Also near the Flintstone's City is the Planes of Fame Air Museum. which we thought was very nice.
When we got to the campground in Williams I was having a hard time getting the chocks between the tires. Jim also tried, but there was something wrong with one side. We even called a mobile RV guy and he discovered that the tires were separating. I titled this blog "Disaster Averted." Since we were so close to the Grand Canyon, we took one day to drive up there and drive through the park stopping at the various lookouts.
After Williams we stopped in Needles, California. Jim's parents had bought property in Lake Havasu, so he wanted to drive there to see what the city was all about. Huge lake and lots of people, hot and dry landscape with not many trees. We did get to see the London Bridge though. We also drove to Oatman, Arizona, which used to be a mining town but is now famous for its bikers and the mules that roam the town.
Since we were so close to Las Vegas, Nevada, that was our next stop. We do have long time friends who live there and luckily, there is a Thousand Trails Campground in Las Vegas that we can stay at. We did some sightseeing in Las Vegas, no shows or casinos, but just things in the area -- The Automobile Collection, Hoover Dam & Lake Mead, and the Bellagio Conservatory and water show.
We decided to head to San Diego since Jim spent time there learning to be a scuba instructor. We also had a friend there we knew from Kent State, and was able to visit with him. We stayed at Pio Pico Thousand Trails in Jamul, California, which is very close to San Diego and not far from the Mexican border. We made it to Joshua Tree National Park and the Cabrillo National Monument. From there we started back east and stopped in Casa Grande, New Mexico at an Escapees park. There is not a lot in this area, but we did get to see the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Caywood Farms, which grows cotton, and a very unusual museum called the Dwarf Car Museum, where the guy builds mini cars that actually run.
Still heading east, our next stop was Benson, Arizona where we went to see Saguaro National Park, and of course made a side trip down to Tombstone. That is a lovely little town -- very dog friendly in that they put out water dishes for the dogs and even allow them on the coach rides. We went into one restaurant and they allowed the dogs to sit by us in the restaurant. Our next stop was Deming, New Mexico where saw the Deming, Luna, Mimbres Museum. Traveling north from there on Hwy 70 we stopped in Tularosa, New Mexico so we could visit White Sands National Monument. We found the Pistachio Tree Ranch was in the area as well.
Back in Texas, we stopped at a Coast to Coast Park, Roaring Springs. Here we drove to Caprock Canyon State Park, and then to Tres Rios for three weeks, before continuing east for the winter. There were a few more stops to see some crazy and weird things before getting to Florida. In Alabama, we stopped to see Bamahenge and the Lady in the Lake. I also have a blog post called "Weird Sightings" that highlight a number of things that we have seen. In Florida we took a boat ride and got to see the Manatees. Also took a trip to Weeki Wachee State Park for the day with our family.
Jan - March 2016
April - June 2016
July - Sept 2016
Oct - Dec 2016