Freeport, Texas

Yesterday we drove the motorhome the about 60 miles from Wadsworth to Freeport, Texas. We’ll move along farther down the road later this morning.

You may have noticed recently that we have been slowly moving north and as we follow the Texas Gulf of Mexico Coast…east. The reason is because on February 6th, we have reservations to enter Sam Houston Jones State Park at Lake Charles, Louisiana for a one-week stay while we enjoy Mardi Gras!

After I had published yesterday’s Blog entry and before we departed, some morning fog created a nice opp along the river…

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…

Upon arrival in Freeport, we went to the museum…

Where they had an exhibit on The American Presidents. be sure to read Richard Nixon’s famous quote…

Mary has aspirations of being the first woman President…

In all the museums we’ve been to, I’ve never seen a planetarium movie in a structure inflated by a huge fan. Lying in bean-bag chairs on the floor we watched a 20 minute movie entitled Earth’s Wild Ride. The scene is set many years into the future when people are living on the Moon. A grand father explains to his grandson and grand-daughter while staring at the long away Earth what life was like there long ago…

After the museum we proceeded to VFW Post #4341 where we spent the night in their parking lot…

As always, I like to show the view from the dinette window…

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

Heron Lake State Park, New Mexico – Day 75

The motorhome is still parked at Heron Lake State Park about 20 miles south of Chama, New Mexico.

I’ve been here for several weeks now and have photographed everything worth seeing within a 30 mile radius. I’m still not feeling that well that I care to drive lots of miles in search of photographs. The doctors told rest should be my #1 function.

Lake Heron has an amazing number of widely varied sunrises, sunsets and cloud formations. I’ve got some really neat photos to share. I’ve already taken them and will portion them out over the next several days.

 While they are similar because of the momentary setting…they are all very different and unique. I hope you will open each one and enjoy their uniqueness. I particularly like to enjoy the colors and the shapes. Just like staring at a fire from moment to moment…you never see quite the same thing…

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 beautiful partly foggy mornings is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

I am recovering from my May 27th accident. To read about my recovery status, click this link… http://otrwjam.wordpress.com/recovery-status-page/

While I’m recovering, Mary remains at her home in California tending to doctor’s appointments, her rentals and other miscellaneous business.

If you have not checked out my new Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

El Vado State Park, New Mexico – Day 2

The motorhome is currently parked at El Vado State Park about 30 miles south of Chama, New Mexico.

It’s nice and quiet here. Very peaceful.

Here are some photos I took yesterday…

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 saw two things yesterday morning I haven’t seen in a long while.

First, black tail deer 10 feet in front of the motorhome windshield. This happened really fast, they were moving  and it was still quite dark, hence the poor quality photos…

and also FOG…at 6:30  AM…

Then at 8:30 AM…

And then the fog all gone at 10:30 AM…

To read about my recovery status, click this link… http://otrwjam.wordpress.com/recovery-status-page/

While I’m recovering, Mary remains at her home in California tending to doctor’s appointments, her rentals and other miscellaneous business.

Enjoying beautiful lakes in early morning is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

if you have not checked out my new Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

ORCAS ISLAND

Adventuring out for the first time since arriving in Washington once again, we ferried to Orcas Island. The island has a State Park, a falls, several lakes, and one main community, East Sound, which isn’t very big.  Artsy, touristy, friendly, a lovely place to visit. Jim thought I’d like the two other main communities of Rosario Resort and Olga, so we took the Bronco over.

The ferry, Yakima , loads a couple of hundred cars and some trucks & trailers, a motor home or two. The ferry system here is part of Washington State transportation. For a  neophyte, the ferry is an adventure in itself. The ride over was about an hour. We idled around the outside decks and took foggy pictures.

The first picture of the nose of Yakima headed out to open waters was clear.

We hadn’t even cleared the dock before the weather was showing its misty character.  Coming from Murphys’ steady 90 degree weather, I was bundled with a sturdy jacket, a scarf and hat while many Washingtonians are quite comfortable in shorts and a sweater.

Even the baby has short sleeves.

Islands in the distance poke up out of the fog layer.

As you pass close to an island, you see it around the mist. There are many un-named small islands in Puget sound.  Or perhaps they have names on some geological map, but because they are unoccupied, they are anonymous clumps of beauty set there deliberately, no doubt,  by some tourist association.

This one reminds me of a cupcake. In fact there are a number of  perfectly round little islands of different sizes peppering the sound.

It’s hard to beat a day out on the sound with such beautiful scenery all around.

I took a lot of pictures because I bought a new camera and I’m experimenting with its various settings and features, which are many.

The colors seemed much cooler than those taken with my old Cannon and the foggy conditions left everything looking pretty gray and drab. That is reality.  I ran these pictures through a Picasa edit and pressed the saturation button to bring up a bit of color. Not quite sure yet what I think about them.  I have ten days to return the camera if I’m not happy with it.

Here we are, destination Orcas. I’ll report on Olga and Rosario Resort subsequently. We have set a  leisurely pace for this summer and  the next phase of my China journal from old notes must be typed.  I want to remember and share China from 2006 on these pages this summer as well. You know, part of my many unfinished projects I’ve talked about.

When Near The Water…

there is sometimes morning fog. Like yesterday morning where I’m currently camped at Thousand Trails RV Resort in La Connor, Washington.

Look closely just above the picnic table and you will see my rabbit companion enjoying breakfast…

About one hour later I looked through the windshield of the motorhome and this is what I saw…

A pretty nice view to start a nice relaxing day of some computer time, reading and walking.

The fog was gone by 11:00 AM and it turned out to be a nice sunny day and 65 degrees.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://lulu.com/panamaorbust

RAIN AND FOG THROUGH SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK

From Mary’s Desk:

The campground at Big Meadows was a welcome sight after a horrific day for Jim, driving 115 miles through fog so thick his eyes were strained and his shoulders tense from navigating curve after curve in the mist. Off and on rain, kept the wipers busy as well, but the fog was the worst of it.

When we reached the campground’s safe harbor, the sky belted out a drenching rain that obliterated the view from every window and rolled down the parking areas in torrents.

The pictures I attempted through the mists have an unusual quality to them, like weeds growing out of nothing.

The mountains behind the trees and bushes are invisible.

Occasionally, a clear spot of sun would pop up around a corner and I’d get a clear picture through the windows if I could actually open my camera in time. Then, in 20 seconds, it would be gone.
We crossed onto the Skyline Drive, an extenuation of the Blue Ridge Parkway which is part of the Shenandoah National Park. It made for a long day. Since mornings tend to be overcast we had no way of knowing that it wouldn’t clear. This road is still the most beautiful in the United States, and now, its clean and lush for tomorrow. (Late Post, no signal this a.m.)