Corpus Christi, Texas – Day 4
January 17, 2013
The motorhome is parked at the Eagles Club #2249. We expect to depart here later this morning.
Yesterday was a laundry, do repairs and odds and ends day. The cold windy weather we’ve been experiencing for the last several days is finally starting to break. We actually saw the sun for a while yesterday and the long-range forecast is for sun and moderate temperatures. At Last!
Since I knew I wouldn’t have any photos for today, I saved three photos of the USS Lexington that I took from Ocean Drive the day before yesterday. In these photos, I think she resembles her nickname…The Blue Ghost. She got that nickname because the Japanese referred to Lexington as a “ghost” ship for her tendency to reappear after reportedly being sunk. This, coupled with the ship’s dark blue camouflage scheme, led the crew to refer to her as “The Blue Ghost”.
What do you think???
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
Enjoying old naval warships is another joy of the full-time RVing lifestyle!!!
The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Texas. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…(look closely on the Texas coast…)
Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
An Unusual Four-Day Weather Event Is Coming To An End…
March 20, 2012
I’d say roughly 90% of the time I manage to stay in delightful sunny 65-75 degree weather all year-long. Pretty nice! Not so the last four days.
Here’s the current setting…
The motorhome is parked on the slope of the Little Florida Mountains in Rockhound State Park about 15 miles southeast of Deming, New Mexico at about 4,550 feet elevation…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
I have a magnificent south-southwest unencumbered view of 20+ miles…
As part of my daily activities I monitor local weather at accuweather.com…looking for any potential negative weather systems. About one week ago I found one warning of a four-day high-wind, cold-temperatures system heading my way. Being on the road with a high-profile vehicle during high winds is not a good idea. Here’s a past Blog entry where three 18-wheelers were on their sides with one-half mile in 75 mile per hour winds…
http://wp.me/pDCku-1hV
I was ready to move along at that time, but being safe and secure in my current location, plus heading for a new location to which I’ve not been before at about 1,000 feet higher in elevation…I decided to stay put and wait until the storm passed through. In my full-time RVing lifestyle, I’ve learned to always err on the side of safety.
So here’s what happened.
Saturday started as a beautiful sunny day with temps forecasted in the low 80′s. Winds started to come up about 10:00 AM. During the day they were 35-45 miles per hour sustained with gusts of 50+ miles per hour increasing in strength as the night came upon us. When I went to bed, the temperature was 82 degrees.
Sunday started as another sunny day. During the day the winds increased to 40-50 miles per hour sustained with lots of 75+ mile per hour gusts raising sand and dust and obscuring my beautiful view…
In this unique sunset photo you can see the two distinct weather fronts…the warmth departing on the lower level and the cold front on the upper level. When I went to bed Sunday evening the temperature was 57 degrees a drop of 25 degrees in 24 hours…
It was a real rock and roll night with lots of disturbed sleep.
Monday morning it was still huffing and puffing. Several various weather fronts came through during the day…
including a ferocious five-minute sleet-storm…
According to accuweather.com the afternoon high temperature was only 38 degrees with a wind-chill factor of 25 degrees. It was so cold I kept my ceramic heater running all day long…something I’ve rarely ever done. As the night came on it started to get colder…fortunately the winds started decreasing.
During the evening I watched the movie Rio Bravo starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson and Walter Brennan which was filmed entirely at the Old Tucson Film Studio which we visited in January of 2010. Here’s the link to that Blog entry…
http://wp.me/pDCku-8D
When I went to bed the interior temperature was 52 degrees…I like it cooler when I sleep. The ceramic heater was on high setting.
When I woke at midnight to pee….it was now 42 degrees…I don’t like it that cold! Since I normally sleep in my birthday suit…sorry, this is a G-rated Blog…you do not get to see that photo 
… I put on my sweats and slippers, turned on the gas furnace set to its minimum temperature setting 55 degrees, opened the interior under-cabinet doors so that the water lines wouldn’t freeze and went back to bed. That’s something I’ve never done before in all years of RVing,
When I awoke it was 42 degrees inside the motorhome despite the gas furnace. Accuweather.com stated the outside temperature was 25 degrees with a wind-chill factor of 21 degrees. Modern-day RV walls are made of a pressed laminate on an aluminum frame with a little foam insulation. Wall thickness is only somewhere between 1-2 inches thick.
As I finish up this Blog entry at about 7:30 Tuesday morning…it’s still very cold. The Bronco has a very distinct coating of frost on it this morning…
The forecast for today is partly sunny, windy and 53 degrees. Tonight is supposed to be cold once again…but not quite as cold as last night.
Tomorrow’s forecast is sunny and 60 degrees. By Saturday it’s supposed to be sunny and 81 degrees. If the forecast holds true…tomorrow I’ll start rolling along once again. Brrrr!!!!
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
AFTER THE CABALGATA
March 12, 2012
After the Cabalgata, we followed the locals to the park where the smell of cooking food attracted hungry celebrants like us. The family walking in front of us are obviously from El Paso, Texas. We expect they have a father who rides in the Cabalgata.
Food booths surrounded the park. We passed on the chili burgers and found something delicious, without a name.
There was no sign, but the woman was filling some type of dough pocket with a filling of potatoes, onion, meat and peppers. Then adding fresh tomatoes, lettuce and red pepper sauce. They were delcious, but we only sampled. Later we bought a chili relleno burrito for me and a rojo burrito for Jim. We went back for seconds. Lunch for the two of us, without drinks, $8.00, all home made. Can’t be beat.
The band set up and began to play music.
Young folklorico dancers giggled while they waited their turn.
While they dance, the younger girls watch and wait for their turn.
The faces are worried. For some of them their first time “on stage”, perhaps.
Light weight costumes barely protect them from the wind.
Then they realize how much fun it is. Click the short video below to watch them dance:
Now that it is over, they are relaxed and smiling and have coats to keep them warm.
Next on the program a youthful mariachi band.
For a short video of the mariachi players, click the link below:
MVI_3433.MOVMariachi
We especially enjoyed the cute kids like this future cabalgata rider.
And, a budding cabalgata queen.
It was bitterly cold the day of the ride. Locals said the weather was unusual for the time of year. Jim is bundled up and talking to Dr. Linda McCoy, a fellow engineer and Viet Nam Vet. She hails from Las Cruces, NM and came for the Cabalgata. I took this picture because I’ve never seen Jim this bundled up against the cold. And, Linda was an interesting woman.
Yesterday, we arrived at Rock Hound State Park. And, I leave New Mexico for home tomorrow. It has been an interesting two months.
COLD, GOLD DAY
January 3, 2012
Weather, these last weeks, has been shirt-sleeve summer. Every day, we see beautiful winter sunrises and sunsets at odds with warm days. Sqaw winter makes you crave the natural order of things; to do right by the trees, and grasses, and critters. Bears hanging low, refusing to hibernate. Birds haven’t a proper signal to migrate. It’s all wrong.
Weather so dry I’ve had to water the yard lightly, so I decided its time to go gold hunting. It never takes much convincing to get Jan and Brian out looking for gold. We arrived at what was a dry creek in the fall of 2010. Brian commented that we hadn’t considered the snow melt with this warm weather.
Not to be deterred, I took off my shoes and socks, rolled up my pants, crossed over to a promising area of gravel and loaded the bucket. The gravel was so wet and heavy, and I expect the bucket a bit weak, the bottom fell out. I ended up washing the spill on the riffles of a rock. Not a smidge of color.
Jan spotted some old tailings. We checked the topography and found a spot where water had once gushed down this hill and filled a crevice with gravel. I went in with my trowel and reached for the gravel. Water invisibly clean and clear I didn’t even see until I touched it. Beautiful gravel and good muck.
We brought three buckets. This time, I made sure I didn’t fill the bucket.
We drove around for several hours, stopping at various spots. At this place someone had placed a board to sit on and left a crevice tool and a linoleum slide. It was wet and tough to work.
We went to a popular panning spot under a bridge. The property owner had built a rock dam to catch the gold before it ever got to the bridge. He built a dam, but it takes a tri-dam to be effective. Then he fenced it and posted no trespassing signs. What the owner probably knows is that no one owns a river. As long as you don’t walk above the high water mark, you aren’t trespassing. The signs discourage rubes, which we aren’t.
By this time, I was wet and cold. The gold eluded us but we got a taste of winter. On the way home we reflected on how the early miners slogged through creeks and winter melts and cursed their lot but never gave it up. They survived on the fever. We’re pikers.
FROM COLD TO SIZZLING
June 16, 2011
I’m caring for my youngest grandson, Austin for a couple of days. Its time to be a kid again. Hopefully, I’ll have my problem solved by tomorrow.
OREGON DUNES AND WATERFRONT DEPOT
May 10, 2011
Where we are parked is near the north end of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Its interesting topography, with sand and wind formed plants. Low bushes looked carved; tough grasses sway with the wind and hold the soil. Swampy salt marshes mingle with dunes. Much of the area is over burdened with the invasive Scotch Broom again. Here it is absolutely monstrous in spots, showing the effect it has on crowding native plants. It doesn’t detract from its beauty, though.
We hiked up to the top of one dune. It’s still cold enough to discourage swimmers.
We drove to the South Jetty area and hiked out to watch a guy wind surfing.
By the time we got close enough to take a picture, he was out of the water with his loyal dog nearby.
Various views reminded me of picture post cards.
Then we went to town for an early dinner at the Waterfront Depot and the “promised” good food. Not disappointed. The crab encrusted halibut in a cream sauce with a caesar salad was every bit has wonderful as promised. The sauce wasn’t overly rich and dependent on gobs of butter. It had a slight tang and sweetness that was new to me. For appetizers Jim and I shared steamer clams and mussels in a garlic butter broth with bits of fresh tomato and parsley. Again, the butter was reserved rather than overpowering. They have an extensive wine list, and good beers as well. Desert lovers praised deserts here and our waiter tempted us with a thin slice of a Mexican chocolate cake, but we managed to resist.
The menu changes depending on what fish is in season, but I saw an order of ossa busso come out of the kitchen and regretted that we would not be spending another night here. The entire menu, by the way, is on the chalk board. You can click on it to enlarge it.
From our window seat in the restaurant, we could see these kids playing in the sand and water. The cold never daunts kids. They just go for it. In a sense, that is what I’m doing with my life right now. Seeking nature, and changing places. I’m glad I’m not sitting in front of a television in my warm comfortable house cursing the news.
I took 35 pictures that can be seen at:https://picasaweb.google.com/106530979158681190260/201159DunesWaterfrontDepot#
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