July 5, 2020. End of June brought more cases of the Covid virus hitting many of the states. Here in Texas Governor Abbott signed an Executive Order stating that any county with 20 or more cases must now wear a mask when going out. I guess that’s in stores, etc. But people still are asking if they should wear a mask when out jogging, or walking around. Sometimes it goes a little too far. The mask is for when you cannot social distance.
So Somervelle County where we are has 29 cases so Rene has put up a sign that we have to wear a mask in the clubhouse. We went from Friday all of the same people as always playing cards to on Saturday we now have to wear a mask. It is getting ridiculous. And since I do not have a mask, I got up and walked out. However, that number is a misnomer because 9 out of those have already recovered, so there are only about 12 active cases. I was told by an RV resident here that the local judge has to exempt us, which he won’t do. He’s probably one of those power hungry Democratic judges.
And then I wanted to head to New Mexico to the NRA Whittington Center but New Mexico has a 14 day quarantine period in place. How would they know how long you have been in their state and where you have been? Some of the people from Tres Rios left and went to a park near Albuquerque and then in to Colorado, but I don’t know how long they were in New Mexico before heading north.
I am going to look at masks in Walmart and see what the indicators are for stopping the Covid virus. There was a post on FB by someone showing a box of masks and a declaration that they do not stop the spread. So I need to look for myself.
Now that we are back at Tres Rios, my Jetpack has started working OK again. We were right next to one of Whitney’s WiFi boxes and I wonder if it was interfering with the signal to my Jetpack. That is the only thing I can think of since now it is working fine. I bought a GL iNet router which I was told was the simplest router to work with, to get it on my Jetpack with the Nord VPN through it. I am having the hardest time getting it hooked up and even reset it a couple of times. I don’t know why I am having such a hard time with it. I want to use Jim’s old phone as a dedicated line to watch TV through Chromecast, but it’s just not working yet. I’ll keep trying.
July 9, 2020. I am sending the GL-iNet router back to Amazon. I was having the hardest time trying to get the router to connect to the VPN and then Chromecast connect to the router. I spent hours trying to get the router to download the VPN. Then I was talking to a neighbor who has a TV box called NextD TV, which is an android based computer. So I decided to buy that, which came the other day. Hooked it up to the TV via HDMI and then hooked it to the Jetpack. Worked on it throughout the afternoon and then Jim downloaded the remote app on his phone and played with it as well. What I got this for was to watch USTVGO which has all the cable channels on it. I had no problem downloading the NordVPN App onto the NextD TV box, and then pulled up the USTV website and saved it. So now we can just turn on the NextD and watch that site as well as programs on Amazon Prime Video, since we are prime members.
The only downfall is Verizon will probably throttle us down and I don’t know how well the site will run when it’s throttled down.
July 11, 2020. Called the Whittington Center the other day inquiring if they are open, and of course they are. They don’t care if we don’t stay in NM for the 14 day quarantine period, so I think we will just go there for the week and then head north into Colorado. I am just not going to worry about all the nonsense out there and go enjoy ourselves for a few months. How is anyone going to know if you are there for 1 day, 7 days, or 14 days???
The heat here in Texas is hard to deal with. Cannot even stay outside in the afternoon, it’s so darn hot. Supposed to be in the 100’s this week. A few of our friends from here are already up in Gunnison, Colorado. And Rene still has it posted on the clubhouse that we are supposed to wear masks in there, so I have not even gone to play cards this past week. It’s just so darn crazy with the Covid and mask situation. I have read that masks do not keep the virus from getting into your body, but helps keep it from you spreading it. But if I’m sick, why would I go out and infect other people?? It’s just all too bizarre.
Still working on fixing the front window. We bought 2 of the suction cup / dent pullers used on cars and stuck them to the front window. Then Jim pulled the crack together with rope. We let that sit overnight and it pulled the crack pretty much together, but then we decided to get 2 more. So then we had 4 suction cups on the front window with rope pulling the crack together. We let that sit throughout the day so the heat softened up the window to the point where it was together. So last night we put the acrylic weld cement in the crack and then more on top of that to make sure the weld holds. It is supposed to cure in 24 hours but continue to harden for a while after that. We are leaving the suction cups in place for about 48 hours, and then I will try to clean off more of the Liquid Nail sealant I put on and then put Lexel sealant around the window.
There are still two small cracks on the other side of the window down at the bottom which I put Lexel on and those seem to be holding quite well. We also put the aquarium pump back in the window and I am wondering if I should put the scotch tape back on the one hole.
July 12, 2020. We took two of the suction cups off to attach to the west side of the RV and put up some of the green sun shield to help keep the heat out of the trailer. The crack is still holding together with the two remaining suction cups. Those will come off in a couple of days and I think I’ll wait until later this week before putting the Lexel around the outside of the window. We are hitting in the 100s until the weekend when it will drop into the high 90s.
I also need to check the pressure on the trailer and truck tires before we take off on the 22nd. I hope Everett gets back in touch with us this week to look at the brakes, but if not, I guess we will have to wait until October.
Abbott still has the state on mandatory mask wearing, and on a FB news blip stating he is getting help to various hospitals, he got over 2,000 messages telling him that he’s drinking the kool-aid, people losing faith in him, and do not like his mandates, me among them. His mask mandate comes all the way down to our county and our park where Rene still has the note on the door that we need to wear masks. Masks will not stop me from getting the virus, but may stop it from spreading from someone who has the virus. But the same people have been together since fall – no one has gotten sick – and now we have to wear masks???
Anyway, I am still boycotting playing cards; if the rest want to wear their masks, so be it, but not me. I think it’s nuts and do not appreciate being forced to wear them. But it’s funny that I don’t even see any of them anymore. No one has bothered to come by and visit or barely come out of their own RVs. So I may not even see anyone before us or them leave. Oh well.
Lucy is really getting out of her shell. When we walk she is constantly looking around for people and dogs so she could go say hi. She is starting to play with other dogs and seems to be really enjoying meeting new dogs. She loves Ginger, who belongs to Mark and RuthAnn. They both like each other and love running loose down by the creek.
July 18, 2020. Jim mad because I made travel plans even though he wants to get the trailer brakes looked at. I have been waiting since October for that to get done; he talks to people and they say, yes I’ll come and then no one ever comes by, and Jim does not go back out to ask them when they will come by. I see two different people come in and out all the time, but no one comes to us, and Jim does not go out to them again to find out when they will come by.
So I made travel plans and he gets mad that I did that. So now I am cancelling all of the plans I made and set it up to go to Lake Whitney again. I’m just tired of trying to make plans and then stuff happens. He thinks the trailer needs brakes, but who knows. We just need them checked right now to see, but whatever….
Jim talked to Josh the other day as Josh was changing out an electrical outlet and needed help. Jim could not help him so gave him Woody’s phone number, who was able to help Josh get his electrical job done.
Josh also mentioned that Phil’s wife, JoAnn, fell and hit her head real hard. They did surgery but that was not successful and they had her on life support. They are going to take her off of life support sometime soon, and see what happens after that. This was really bad news. I feel for Phil as this is his second wife that he is about to lose, the first being Karen’s mother who had a brain aneurysm four days after they were married while Josh & Karen were on their honeymoon.
July 23, 2020. Sent Bill Mars a happy birthday image. Jim talked with him and he has been sick the past three weeks – throwing up and feeling very sick. He thinks it is something he ate, but three weeks is a long time for food sickness.
We left Tres Rios on Wednesday for Lake Whitney TT. We only like it here better because there is shade. There may be no grass, but at least we don’t have constant sun or sand spurs.
We have decided to just replace all the brakes on the trailer instead of having someone check them and then figure out about ordering a new assembly. The trailer has over 61,000 miles on it and we have never replaced the brakes, only had them adjusted about 9,000 miles ago. Jim is worried about traveling with them as is. So I did some internet research and then talked with someone at Dexter axle and decided on what to buy. We are getting the assembly that will not need adjustment. I found them at Trailer Parts and even though they are a better brake, they cost us less than the regular brakes from Bennett’s. So I ordered them along with leveling blocks, and we have decided that we are going to do the work ourselves.
Jim tried calling Terry Cooper to see if he would want to change the brakes as part of training for this school, but Terry has never called back. Jim called there twice and talked to Evada, but have not heard anything from Terry. Since that looks to have fallen through and finding a mobile RV guy to come out may work, we decided to save ourselves the money by doing it ourselves.
It may be a bit of a job because Jim talked with Peter Davies, who used to work for Award, and he suggested putting penetrating oil on the nuts before trying to take them out. That means taking the wheels off, applying the oil, and then putting the tire back on. So it’s going to be double work.
Our front window made it on our travel from Tres Rios to Whitney. So far, it is holding. Did see some other suggestions on the Award FB page and have put that in my picture folder for future reference.
July 26, 2020. Been having an issue with my right ear every time I washed my hair, getting water in my ears. The water always came out of my left ear, but was having trouble getting it out of my right ear. But this past Thursday after washing my hair, the water did not flow out of my right ear. I have been trying to get it out for the past three days, thinking maybe there was wax in there, putting a wax remover and Jim’s ear wash. So far nothing is working, and I still have a blocked ear.
July 30, 2020. Still having an issue with my right ear. Feels like there is a thin layer of wax covering my ear drum.
Decided that we were not going to wait for Terry Cooper to call back regarding our brakes, so I ordered four assemblies from Trailer Parts. Got a good deal on self-adjusting parts. Ordered them on July 23 and still have not heard about when they will be shipped. No one answers their phone, so I sent the two emails, but have not received answer yet.
We have someone seriously interested in our Colorado property. I have communicated with him via text for the past few weeks, but now he wants to finalize the deal. I talked to Bill Mars and he gave me some tips. We are supposed to talk with Andy tonight and I will then send him the Purchase Agreement and another document I made about his proof of funds. I am not asking for any real personal info such as DL number or SS numbers, just work info and a few other things.
After he and his wife sign the document and send it back to us, we will need to decide on a place to meet to finalize the documentation. He lives in Dripping Springs, Texas, which is about 144 miles from us, so I am hoping to find a place almost half way to meet to get the documents notarized. I’m thinking it will have to be a bank or chamber of commerce.
Jim talked with Josh on the 27th when he called to wish Jim a happy birthday. Josh is still working from home along with Karen. But Josh is concerned about his job as Shell is losing about $50 million a month due to the shutdown. He does not know how long they can hold out. Drilling has come to a halt because there is no demand, so refineries are not working either.
If this country does not open up soon, we are not going to survive. And even worse, if Trump does not get re-elected, we sure are sunk.
July 31, 2020. Our brakes came! Never did get an email from the company but someone from Tres Rios told Jim about it last night and gave him the boxes. We went and bought the butt connectors, and now we need to get an impact driver to get the nuts off the tires. Wayne thinks he may have one, but I just posted on FB to ask our Tres Rios friends if they have one we could borrow.
We called the person interested in our property Wednesday night, but he was driving, so I said we will call you tomorrow (Thursday) night. I called him but he did not answer the phone, so I left a message and put the ball in his court by saying we will wait for his call back. So, maybe they got cold feet?? Maybe they are waiting for the weekend.
Also, I decided to try to clean out my right ear with hot water and a dropper. There was a lot of wax that came out, but I cleared out my ear. It’s a little sore from me playing with it, but I can hear again without that hollow sound. Glad about that.
August 4, 2020. Andy, the person interested in our property called me on Saturday, saying yes they were. So I put the Purchase Agreement and Proof of Funds in a pdf format and emailed to them. They have 15 days from August 1 for them to send it back, which is the 15th. So we will stay here until then before taking off on a trip.
We rounded up all the tools needed to change the brake assembly, and today decided was the day to do the job. I was all set to do it, and then Doug came by and said, well, let me go get my work clothes on. Next thing I knew, Doug was over and doing all the work. It was really nice of him to do it, since it did look hard to get the bolts off of the tires; then we had to remove the dust cap, small snap ring; then the castle nut and washer. I viewed a video on someone removing a never-lube hub just like we have on the trailer, only he removed the large snap ring, but we discovered that we did not have to remove it.
The brake shoes were still in good shape on all the tires, only the magnet was not working any more on them. We checked the brakes as they were put back on, and they worked great. We have Dexter Rev-r-adjust brakes now, so we should be able to adjust them while driving.
August 12, 2020. Was trying to figure out about traveling somewhere, but since we need to be back here at Tres Rios the first week of October. I have an eye doctor appointment, which I do want to keep. Also, when we travel we usually stay at one place one to two weeks at a time. I did try to get reservations at Lake Medina Thousand Trails but could not get in over Labor Day weekend; they said there were no RV sites available. So I made us reservations to go to the C-C at Lake Whitney for a week, then back to Tres Rios for the Labor Day weekend, and in the middle of September we will go up to Amarillo for a week and a half, then back here.
Last night as I was showering I stepped near the drain and heard a crack. So this morning I looked closer at the drain and sure enough, there was a crack all around the drain area. So I cleaned that off real good, used the Dremel to clean off the old material, and then put more ABS weld on the crack.
This year our country has the most important presidential election, and Trump is up against Joe Biden and his VP pick of Kamala Harris, a very hard left wing half black woman. The current democrats are crazy – I cannot believe people like my friend Karen is actually wanting these two to run our country. They will ruin it; Harris wants to take our guns away; not sure she can do that. But what if Biden’s memory fades and they hit him with the 25th Amendment and she takes over???
September 3, 2020. Back at Tres Rios for three weeks; Texas is still under partial closure and Abbott is talking about opening up more of the state. He still has a mask mandate, but from everything I have read, masks do not work in keeping someone from getting the virus. It is all a ploy by the DS and I wish Trump would say more about opening up the states and getting rid of the mask mandates.
The hot, hot weather is finally gone. We had some torrential rains the last couple of days, which brought down the temperature to liveable temperatures of low 90s and high 80s. It will be delightful once the rain goes away. Our site floods right where we step out of the trailer.
Listening to a lot of videos about Trump getting rid of the DS, rounding up pedafiles; quantum financial system; block chain system for voting; and the end of the fiat money system, where the dollar is going to be backed by gold again.
Covid is still being pushed on all of us and it is now showing to be more like the flu and not as dangerous as everyone says.
September 15, 2020. Tomorrow we head out for Amarillo for a two week vacation. I am looking forward to getting away for a while. It’s been a drag not being able to go anywhere this summer, so this will be a good get away.
Still waiting for Abbott to open Texas up all the way. I never hear anything about covid cases anymore, and the mask issue is getting very old. I will not accept it as the “new normal” especially when it’s been proven that they do not stop one from getting the virus. Hardly anyone here at Tres Rios wears a mask, not even when we play cards in the clubhouse. I just refuse and if Rene kicks me out, so be it.
September 19, 2020. Took two days of driving to arrive in Amarillo on Friday afternoon. Got set up and even met some of our neighbors. We are staying at a Passport America campground for $14 a night. No frills or facilities but the site has good electric and water. It was pretty uneven left to right so we were able to try out our new levelers for the first time. They actually work very well. The only thing I am concerned with is going off of them as we do not want to go forward – only backward.
Jacklyn texted that she has a new boyfriend – his name is Sean Peters. She met him at the gym and they hit it off. They have been seeing each other for a couple of months now, so I hope it works out for them. His birthday is the same as Josh’s – how funny. They both come from divorces of the same type where the spouse cheated on them; so they have some trust issues but if they are honest with each other, it will work out.
Bill Mars and family are still in Maine. Bill & Woody went into together and bought a piece of property with two houses. They need some work but they are working on that now. Nice thing is that the land is flat and he can put his trailer on it. My guess is that he will put in 30am service as well.
Jack had chest pains Thursday night and on Friday morning he checked himself into the hospital. They did a bunch of tests, etc. and then a cath and determined that he had a very mild heart attack; one of his arteries that was 23% blocked two years ago now was 94% blocked. Jack was quite disappointed as he eats good and exercises a lot. So he had to have two stints put in just to open up the blockage. The doctors call it hereditary.
September 20, 2020. Made a reservation to take the tour at the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument. We have been through this area so much and since I like going to monuments and national parks, this was on my radar. We booked the 1pm tour and was able to look through the visitor center before heading out for the hike. It was a two hour hike up the mountain (lots of well made stairs) and around the top where the quarries were worked. We had a good group of people going and the Ranger took us up and told us all about the area, the flint, and the people who used the flint years ago.
We left Lucy in the truck as we went on the tour and we heard her crying all the time we were on our walk. She is used to being left in Walmart parking lots, but this was something quite different as she watched us walk up a hill and out of sight.
September 22, 2020. Today is our Anniversary – 41 years – so we decided to go out to lunch and then to the Texas Air & Space Museum. While talking to a neighbor they had mentioned going to the Georgia Street Taphouse, so we decided to try it. We are very glad we did. It was really good and a fair price. The Texas Air Museum was very good as well. It did not have a lot of big planes, but a few exhibits and some airplanes outside which the volunteer had to take us out to see.
September 23, 2020. Today I decided we would take a trip to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Had to make a reservation online and pay for our trip in advance. We went to the Visitor Center and looked around the museum and then drove through the park; stopped for lunch and then found a short trail to take a walk. Found the Cowboy Dugout, which was a wooden cabin dug into the side of a hill. After that we got back in the truck and drove the rest of the way around the park. They must get a lot of water during a heavy rain as the rain gauges next to the road went 5 feet higher than the surface of the road. The park is down in the canyon as we drove down a 10% grade a few hundred feet from the top. The canyon mountains were OK, but I think I like Caprock Canyon mountains and vistas better. We will have to re-visit Caprock, and maybe I can get Jim to take a hike with me.
September 30, 2020. On the 25th we went to the Cross of our Lord Jesus, which was recommended by a girl I met at AOK. She lives in the laundry room which was converted into an apartment. She has a little dog, about 2 months old now, named Poppy. She would tie out Poppy on a heavy lead outside her apartment, but all Poppy had to walk on was concrete. She did not take her for a walk and Poppy just had to pee and poop on the asphalt of the parking lot. So, Lucy and I would stop and see Poppy at least twice a day and sit and pet her and let her jump all over me. She tried to get to Lucy, but I let Lucy’s leash down and she stayed just out of Poppy’s reach. Poppy wanted to play with Lucy so bad, but I don’t think Lucy liked how rambunctious Poppy was. She wants to find Poppy a good home, and I told her that I would have taken her if we had a house.
Anyway, going to the Cross of Our Lord Jesus was quite interesting. There were 15 stops around a large circle and in the middle of that circle was a 19 story cross made out of steel.
On September 26 we drove out the Cadillac Ranch, which is a sightseeing place that brings throngs of people. Once upon a time the cadillacs were just stuck in the ground, but over the years people started spray painting the cars, so now they are covered in graffiti. I wrote our names on one and were able to get a picture in front of it. Then as soon as we did that, someone else came along and painted over our names. They also wrote profanity (F-K Trump), and I called them out on writing it, saying that this was a public place with children who came and profanity was not appropriate. The girl then saw Jim’s Trump hat and immediately started screaming at him saying he was rascist, etc. It was quite something. We tried to go to the Sizemore RV museum after that but got there at 3:10 and they said they closed the museum at 3, even though the store stayed open until 4. So we did not get to see it.
On Monday we met up with Mark & Rhonda Walker at Georgia Street Taphouse for lunch. We met Mark & Rhonda while working at Yogi Bear Jellystone back in 2014. We have not seen them very often, but did meet up with them when they were working at a Coast to Coast in Canyon Lake one year, and now they are working at the Big Texan RV Park in Amarillo.
Tuesday we went to Mark’s gun club in Fritch, Texas. We were the only ones there and were able to shoot some of our hand guns and rifles. Jim was able to site in his new gun and I shot it a little. It was the easiest gun I was able to shoot in a long time. The rack was easy to pull and the trigger was easy too. I tried shooting my 38, but the grip is so small that it hurts my thumb. I also tried Jim’s Walther and I got one shot and the gun shot back and skinned my thumb, so I did not shoot it any more.
Wednesday, the 30th, was our last day at AOK and we headed out for our first stop at Ole Town Cotton Gin in Quanah, Texas. I like this park; it’s one of our favorite stops on our way east and west from Tres Rios. It’s a Good Sam park, and the sites are flat with good water and electric. Laundry is reasonable, people are nice (plus they are staunch conservatives). There is a dirt road heading into the cotton fields where I am able to walk and take Lucy for a walk.
So Somervelle County where we are has 29 cases so Rene has put up a sign that we have to wear a mask in the clubhouse. We went from Friday all of the same people as always playing cards to on Saturday we now have to wear a mask. It is getting ridiculous. And since I do not have a mask, I got up and walked out. However, that number is a misnomer because 9 out of those have already recovered, so there are only about 12 active cases. I was told by an RV resident here that the local judge has to exempt us, which he won’t do. He’s probably one of those power hungry Democratic judges.
And then I wanted to head to New Mexico to the NRA Whittington Center but New Mexico has a 14 day quarantine period in place. How would they know how long you have been in their state and where you have been? Some of the people from Tres Rios left and went to a park near Albuquerque and then in to Colorado, but I don’t know how long they were in New Mexico before heading north.
I am going to look at masks in Walmart and see what the indicators are for stopping the Covid virus. There was a post on FB by someone showing a box of masks and a declaration that they do not stop the spread. So I need to look for myself.
Now that we are back at Tres Rios, my Jetpack has started working OK again. We were right next to one of Whitney’s WiFi boxes and I wonder if it was interfering with the signal to my Jetpack. That is the only thing I can think of since now it is working fine. I bought a GL iNet router which I was told was the simplest router to work with, to get it on my Jetpack with the Nord VPN through it. I am having the hardest time getting it hooked up and even reset it a couple of times. I don’t know why I am having such a hard time with it. I want to use Jim’s old phone as a dedicated line to watch TV through Chromecast, but it’s just not working yet. I’ll keep trying.
July 9, 2020. I am sending the GL-iNet router back to Amazon. I was having the hardest time trying to get the router to connect to the VPN and then Chromecast connect to the router. I spent hours trying to get the router to download the VPN. Then I was talking to a neighbor who has a TV box called NextD TV, which is an android based computer. So I decided to buy that, which came the other day. Hooked it up to the TV via HDMI and then hooked it to the Jetpack. Worked on it throughout the afternoon and then Jim downloaded the remote app on his phone and played with it as well. What I got this for was to watch USTVGO which has all the cable channels on it. I had no problem downloading the NordVPN App onto the NextD TV box, and then pulled up the USTV website and saved it. So now we can just turn on the NextD and watch that site as well as programs on Amazon Prime Video, since we are prime members.
The only downfall is Verizon will probably throttle us down and I don’t know how well the site will run when it’s throttled down.
July 11, 2020. Called the Whittington Center the other day inquiring if they are open, and of course they are. They don’t care if we don’t stay in NM for the 14 day quarantine period, so I think we will just go there for the week and then head north into Colorado. I am just not going to worry about all the nonsense out there and go enjoy ourselves for a few months. How is anyone going to know if you are there for 1 day, 7 days, or 14 days???
The heat here in Texas is hard to deal with. Cannot even stay outside in the afternoon, it’s so darn hot. Supposed to be in the 100’s this week. A few of our friends from here are already up in Gunnison, Colorado. And Rene still has it posted on the clubhouse that we are supposed to wear masks in there, so I have not even gone to play cards this past week. It’s just so darn crazy with the Covid and mask situation. I have read that masks do not keep the virus from getting into your body, but helps keep it from you spreading it. But if I’m sick, why would I go out and infect other people?? It’s just all too bizarre.
Still working on fixing the front window. We bought 2 of the suction cup / dent pullers used on cars and stuck them to the front window. Then Jim pulled the crack together with rope. We let that sit overnight and it pulled the crack pretty much together, but then we decided to get 2 more. So then we had 4 suction cups on the front window with rope pulling the crack together. We let that sit throughout the day so the heat softened up the window to the point where it was together. So last night we put the acrylic weld cement in the crack and then more on top of that to make sure the weld holds. It is supposed to cure in 24 hours but continue to harden for a while after that. We are leaving the suction cups in place for about 48 hours, and then I will try to clean off more of the Liquid Nail sealant I put on and then put Lexel sealant around the window.
There are still two small cracks on the other side of the window down at the bottom which I put Lexel on and those seem to be holding quite well. We also put the aquarium pump back in the window and I am wondering if I should put the scotch tape back on the one hole.
July 12, 2020. We took two of the suction cups off to attach to the west side of the RV and put up some of the green sun shield to help keep the heat out of the trailer. The crack is still holding together with the two remaining suction cups. Those will come off in a couple of days and I think I’ll wait until later this week before putting the Lexel around the outside of the window. We are hitting in the 100s until the weekend when it will drop into the high 90s.
I also need to check the pressure on the trailer and truck tires before we take off on the 22nd. I hope Everett gets back in touch with us this week to look at the brakes, but if not, I guess we will have to wait until October.
Abbott still has the state on mandatory mask wearing, and on a FB news blip stating he is getting help to various hospitals, he got over 2,000 messages telling him that he’s drinking the kool-aid, people losing faith in him, and do not like his mandates, me among them. His mask mandate comes all the way down to our county and our park where Rene still has the note on the door that we need to wear masks. Masks will not stop me from getting the virus, but may stop it from spreading from someone who has the virus. But the same people have been together since fall – no one has gotten sick – and now we have to wear masks???
Anyway, I am still boycotting playing cards; if the rest want to wear their masks, so be it, but not me. I think it’s nuts and do not appreciate being forced to wear them. But it’s funny that I don’t even see any of them anymore. No one has bothered to come by and visit or barely come out of their own RVs. So I may not even see anyone before us or them leave. Oh well.
Lucy is really getting out of her shell. When we walk she is constantly looking around for people and dogs so she could go say hi. She is starting to play with other dogs and seems to be really enjoying meeting new dogs. She loves Ginger, who belongs to Mark and RuthAnn. They both like each other and love running loose down by the creek.
July 18, 2020. Jim mad because I made travel plans even though he wants to get the trailer brakes looked at. I have been waiting since October for that to get done; he talks to people and they say, yes I’ll come and then no one ever comes by, and Jim does not go back out to ask them when they will come by. I see two different people come in and out all the time, but no one comes to us, and Jim does not go out to them again to find out when they will come by.
So I made travel plans and he gets mad that I did that. So now I am cancelling all of the plans I made and set it up to go to Lake Whitney again. I’m just tired of trying to make plans and then stuff happens. He thinks the trailer needs brakes, but who knows. We just need them checked right now to see, but whatever….
Jim talked to Josh the other day as Josh was changing out an electrical outlet and needed help. Jim could not help him so gave him Woody’s phone number, who was able to help Josh get his electrical job done.
Josh also mentioned that Phil’s wife, JoAnn, fell and hit her head real hard. They did surgery but that was not successful and they had her on life support. They are going to take her off of life support sometime soon, and see what happens after that. This was really bad news. I feel for Phil as this is his second wife that he is about to lose, the first being Karen’s mother who had a brain aneurysm four days after they were married while Josh & Karen were on their honeymoon.
July 23, 2020. Sent Bill Mars a happy birthday image. Jim talked with him and he has been sick the past three weeks – throwing up and feeling very sick. He thinks it is something he ate, but three weeks is a long time for food sickness.
We left Tres Rios on Wednesday for Lake Whitney TT. We only like it here better because there is shade. There may be no grass, but at least we don’t have constant sun or sand spurs.
We have decided to just replace all the brakes on the trailer instead of having someone check them and then figure out about ordering a new assembly. The trailer has over 61,000 miles on it and we have never replaced the brakes, only had them adjusted about 9,000 miles ago. Jim is worried about traveling with them as is. So I did some internet research and then talked with someone at Dexter axle and decided on what to buy. We are getting the assembly that will not need adjustment. I found them at Trailer Parts and even though they are a better brake, they cost us less than the regular brakes from Bennett’s. So I ordered them along with leveling blocks, and we have decided that we are going to do the work ourselves.
Jim tried calling Terry Cooper to see if he would want to change the brakes as part of training for this school, but Terry has never called back. Jim called there twice and talked to Evada, but have not heard anything from Terry. Since that looks to have fallen through and finding a mobile RV guy to come out may work, we decided to save ourselves the money by doing it ourselves.
It may be a bit of a job because Jim talked with Peter Davies, who used to work for Award, and he suggested putting penetrating oil on the nuts before trying to take them out. That means taking the wheels off, applying the oil, and then putting the tire back on. So it’s going to be double work.
Our front window made it on our travel from Tres Rios to Whitney. So far, it is holding. Did see some other suggestions on the Award FB page and have put that in my picture folder for future reference.
July 26, 2020. Been having an issue with my right ear every time I washed my hair, getting water in my ears. The water always came out of my left ear, but was having trouble getting it out of my right ear. But this past Thursday after washing my hair, the water did not flow out of my right ear. I have been trying to get it out for the past three days, thinking maybe there was wax in there, putting a wax remover and Jim’s ear wash. So far nothing is working, and I still have a blocked ear.
July 30, 2020. Still having an issue with my right ear. Feels like there is a thin layer of wax covering my ear drum.
Decided that we were not going to wait for Terry Cooper to call back regarding our brakes, so I ordered four assemblies from Trailer Parts. Got a good deal on self-adjusting parts. Ordered them on July 23 and still have not heard about when they will be shipped. No one answers their phone, so I sent the two emails, but have not received answer yet.
We have someone seriously interested in our Colorado property. I have communicated with him via text for the past few weeks, but now he wants to finalize the deal. I talked to Bill Mars and he gave me some tips. We are supposed to talk with Andy tonight and I will then send him the Purchase Agreement and another document I made about his proof of funds. I am not asking for any real personal info such as DL number or SS numbers, just work info and a few other things.
After he and his wife sign the document and send it back to us, we will need to decide on a place to meet to finalize the documentation. He lives in Dripping Springs, Texas, which is about 144 miles from us, so I am hoping to find a place almost half way to meet to get the documents notarized. I’m thinking it will have to be a bank or chamber of commerce.
Jim talked with Josh on the 27th when he called to wish Jim a happy birthday. Josh is still working from home along with Karen. But Josh is concerned about his job as Shell is losing about $50 million a month due to the shutdown. He does not know how long they can hold out. Drilling has come to a halt because there is no demand, so refineries are not working either.
If this country does not open up soon, we are not going to survive. And even worse, if Trump does not get re-elected, we sure are sunk.
July 31, 2020. Our brakes came! Never did get an email from the company but someone from Tres Rios told Jim about it last night and gave him the boxes. We went and bought the butt connectors, and now we need to get an impact driver to get the nuts off the tires. Wayne thinks he may have one, but I just posted on FB to ask our Tres Rios friends if they have one we could borrow.
We called the person interested in our property Wednesday night, but he was driving, so I said we will call you tomorrow (Thursday) night. I called him but he did not answer the phone, so I left a message and put the ball in his court by saying we will wait for his call back. So, maybe they got cold feet?? Maybe they are waiting for the weekend.
Also, I decided to try to clean out my right ear with hot water and a dropper. There was a lot of wax that came out, but I cleared out my ear. It’s a little sore from me playing with it, but I can hear again without that hollow sound. Glad about that.
August 4, 2020. Andy, the person interested in our property called me on Saturday, saying yes they were. So I put the Purchase Agreement and Proof of Funds in a pdf format and emailed to them. They have 15 days from August 1 for them to send it back, which is the 15th. So we will stay here until then before taking off on a trip.
We rounded up all the tools needed to change the brake assembly, and today decided was the day to do the job. I was all set to do it, and then Doug came by and said, well, let me go get my work clothes on. Next thing I knew, Doug was over and doing all the work. It was really nice of him to do it, since it did look hard to get the bolts off of the tires; then we had to remove the dust cap, small snap ring; then the castle nut and washer. I viewed a video on someone removing a never-lube hub just like we have on the trailer, only he removed the large snap ring, but we discovered that we did not have to remove it.
The brake shoes were still in good shape on all the tires, only the magnet was not working any more on them. We checked the brakes as they were put back on, and they worked great. We have Dexter Rev-r-adjust brakes now, so we should be able to adjust them while driving.
August 12, 2020. Was trying to figure out about traveling somewhere, but since we need to be back here at Tres Rios the first week of October. I have an eye doctor appointment, which I do want to keep. Also, when we travel we usually stay at one place one to two weeks at a time. I did try to get reservations at Lake Medina Thousand Trails but could not get in over Labor Day weekend; they said there were no RV sites available. So I made us reservations to go to the C-C at Lake Whitney for a week, then back to Tres Rios for the Labor Day weekend, and in the middle of September we will go up to Amarillo for a week and a half, then back here.
Last night as I was showering I stepped near the drain and heard a crack. So this morning I looked closer at the drain and sure enough, there was a crack all around the drain area. So I cleaned that off real good, used the Dremel to clean off the old material, and then put more ABS weld on the crack.
This year our country has the most important presidential election, and Trump is up against Joe Biden and his VP pick of Kamala Harris, a very hard left wing half black woman. The current democrats are crazy – I cannot believe people like my friend Karen is actually wanting these two to run our country. They will ruin it; Harris wants to take our guns away; not sure she can do that. But what if Biden’s memory fades and they hit him with the 25th Amendment and she takes over???
September 3, 2020. Back at Tres Rios for three weeks; Texas is still under partial closure and Abbott is talking about opening up more of the state. He still has a mask mandate, but from everything I have read, masks do not work in keeping someone from getting the virus. It is all a ploy by the DS and I wish Trump would say more about opening up the states and getting rid of the mask mandates.
The hot, hot weather is finally gone. We had some torrential rains the last couple of days, which brought down the temperature to liveable temperatures of low 90s and high 80s. It will be delightful once the rain goes away. Our site floods right where we step out of the trailer.
Listening to a lot of videos about Trump getting rid of the DS, rounding up pedafiles; quantum financial system; block chain system for voting; and the end of the fiat money system, where the dollar is going to be backed by gold again.
Covid is still being pushed on all of us and it is now showing to be more like the flu and not as dangerous as everyone says.
September 15, 2020. Tomorrow we head out for Amarillo for a two week vacation. I am looking forward to getting away for a while. It’s been a drag not being able to go anywhere this summer, so this will be a good get away.
Still waiting for Abbott to open Texas up all the way. I never hear anything about covid cases anymore, and the mask issue is getting very old. I will not accept it as the “new normal” especially when it’s been proven that they do not stop one from getting the virus. Hardly anyone here at Tres Rios wears a mask, not even when we play cards in the clubhouse. I just refuse and if Rene kicks me out, so be it.
September 19, 2020. Took two days of driving to arrive in Amarillo on Friday afternoon. Got set up and even met some of our neighbors. We are staying at a Passport America campground for $14 a night. No frills or facilities but the site has good electric and water. It was pretty uneven left to right so we were able to try out our new levelers for the first time. They actually work very well. The only thing I am concerned with is going off of them as we do not want to go forward – only backward.
Jacklyn texted that she has a new boyfriend – his name is Sean Peters. She met him at the gym and they hit it off. They have been seeing each other for a couple of months now, so I hope it works out for them. His birthday is the same as Josh’s – how funny. They both come from divorces of the same type where the spouse cheated on them; so they have some trust issues but if they are honest with each other, it will work out.
Bill Mars and family are still in Maine. Bill & Woody went into together and bought a piece of property with two houses. They need some work but they are working on that now. Nice thing is that the land is flat and he can put his trailer on it. My guess is that he will put in 30am service as well.
Jack had chest pains Thursday night and on Friday morning he checked himself into the hospital. They did a bunch of tests, etc. and then a cath and determined that he had a very mild heart attack; one of his arteries that was 23% blocked two years ago now was 94% blocked. Jack was quite disappointed as he eats good and exercises a lot. So he had to have two stints put in just to open up the blockage. The doctors call it hereditary.
September 20, 2020. Made a reservation to take the tour at the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument. We have been through this area so much and since I like going to monuments and national parks, this was on my radar. We booked the 1pm tour and was able to look through the visitor center before heading out for the hike. It was a two hour hike up the mountain (lots of well made stairs) and around the top where the quarries were worked. We had a good group of people going and the Ranger took us up and told us all about the area, the flint, and the people who used the flint years ago.
We left Lucy in the truck as we went on the tour and we heard her crying all the time we were on our walk. She is used to being left in Walmart parking lots, but this was something quite different as she watched us walk up a hill and out of sight.
September 22, 2020. Today is our Anniversary – 41 years – so we decided to go out to lunch and then to the Texas Air & Space Museum. While talking to a neighbor they had mentioned going to the Georgia Street Taphouse, so we decided to try it. We are very glad we did. It was really good and a fair price. The Texas Air Museum was very good as well. It did not have a lot of big planes, but a few exhibits and some airplanes outside which the volunteer had to take us out to see.
September 23, 2020. Today I decided we would take a trip to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Had to make a reservation online and pay for our trip in advance. We went to the Visitor Center and looked around the museum and then drove through the park; stopped for lunch and then found a short trail to take a walk. Found the Cowboy Dugout, which was a wooden cabin dug into the side of a hill. After that we got back in the truck and drove the rest of the way around the park. They must get a lot of water during a heavy rain as the rain gauges next to the road went 5 feet higher than the surface of the road. The park is down in the canyon as we drove down a 10% grade a few hundred feet from the top. The canyon mountains were OK, but I think I like Caprock Canyon mountains and vistas better. We will have to re-visit Caprock, and maybe I can get Jim to take a hike with me.
September 30, 2020. On the 25th we went to the Cross of our Lord Jesus, which was recommended by a girl I met at AOK. She lives in the laundry room which was converted into an apartment. She has a little dog, about 2 months old now, named Poppy. She would tie out Poppy on a heavy lead outside her apartment, but all Poppy had to walk on was concrete. She did not take her for a walk and Poppy just had to pee and poop on the asphalt of the parking lot. So, Lucy and I would stop and see Poppy at least twice a day and sit and pet her and let her jump all over me. She tried to get to Lucy, but I let Lucy’s leash down and she stayed just out of Poppy’s reach. Poppy wanted to play with Lucy so bad, but I don’t think Lucy liked how rambunctious Poppy was. She wants to find Poppy a good home, and I told her that I would have taken her if we had a house.
Anyway, going to the Cross of Our Lord Jesus was quite interesting. There were 15 stops around a large circle and in the middle of that circle was a 19 story cross made out of steel.
On September 26 we drove out the Cadillac Ranch, which is a sightseeing place that brings throngs of people. Once upon a time the cadillacs were just stuck in the ground, but over the years people started spray painting the cars, so now they are covered in graffiti. I wrote our names on one and were able to get a picture in front of it. Then as soon as we did that, someone else came along and painted over our names. They also wrote profanity (F-K Trump), and I called them out on writing it, saying that this was a public place with children who came and profanity was not appropriate. The girl then saw Jim’s Trump hat and immediately started screaming at him saying he was rascist, etc. It was quite something. We tried to go to the Sizemore RV museum after that but got there at 3:10 and they said they closed the museum at 3, even though the store stayed open until 4. So we did not get to see it.
On Monday we met up with Mark & Rhonda Walker at Georgia Street Taphouse for lunch. We met Mark & Rhonda while working at Yogi Bear Jellystone back in 2014. We have not seen them very often, but did meet up with them when they were working at a Coast to Coast in Canyon Lake one year, and now they are working at the Big Texan RV Park in Amarillo.
Tuesday we went to Mark’s gun club in Fritch, Texas. We were the only ones there and were able to shoot some of our hand guns and rifles. Jim was able to site in his new gun and I shot it a little. It was the easiest gun I was able to shoot in a long time. The rack was easy to pull and the trigger was easy too. I tried shooting my 38, but the grip is so small that it hurts my thumb. I also tried Jim’s Walther and I got one shot and the gun shot back and skinned my thumb, so I did not shoot it any more.
Wednesday, the 30th, was our last day at AOK and we headed out for our first stop at Ole Town Cotton Gin in Quanah, Texas. I like this park; it’s one of our favorite stops on our way east and west from Tres Rios. It’s a Good Sam park, and the sites are flat with good water and electric. Laundry is reasonable, people are nice (plus they are staunch conservatives). There is a dirt road heading into the cotton fields where I am able to walk and take Lucy for a walk.