Category: Daily Life

Exercise Aha!

I just had one of those Aha! moments. I was reading a blog about exercise. About how hard it is to start and continue an exercise program and ways to trick yourself into doing so. Suddenly, I connected with what I’ve been learning about diets.

They don’t work. If you start a diet you will also end a diet. What you need to do is change your eating habits. Changing them bit by bit is easier than trying to do it all at once.

So, wouldn’t this be true of an exercise program? If you start one you will also end one. What you need to do is change your habits.

For me, the first change, I think, needs to be how I think about exercise. What is it? Is it not true that every time I move a muscle I am exercising it? So, isn’t exercise really just moving?  

Does it matter why I am moving? Isn’t geocaching as good as a treadmill? Isn’t hand washing the RV a good arm movement? If I bend over at the waist to pick up things from the floor, isn’t that as good as doing toe touches?

Apparently, what I need to do is think about my movements and what muscles I use to do them then increase the frequency and effectiveness of that movement.

So what muscles do I use sitting here at my computer?

TTYL,

Linda

South Texas

As we drove into Laredo, Texas, I found myself singing The Streets of Laredo, so I was amused to discover the lyrics on their web site. I now know one verse and the first line of two other verses. We only stopped there for diesel, lunch, and a truck wash but we never figured out how to weave our way through the semis to get to the truck wash so our RV is still filthy.  

The truck stop had both a Burger King and a Taco Bell so I was able to have a taco salad without Dave having to eat anything “Mexican”. That made us both happy. Dave went in to get our food and came back with a chicken taco salad instead of the beef I usually get. It was different. Not bad, just different.

We drove I-35 to it’s south end because it felt like the right thing to do. We’ve driven to the north end in Minnesota many times so it was fun to see the other end. Fortunately, when we came to the south end we were in the correct lane. If we hadn’t been able to turn left there, we’d have been on the bridge to Mexico. That’s not something we want to do right now.

In Laredo I saw a place named Wishy Washy Laundromat.

We camped at Falcon State Park and got the last site with hookups. It was available only because the person who had reserved it didn’t like it so didn’t stay. It was a pull-though on a curve that was a challenge even for our short rig.  It took two levels of blocks under the front wheels with the nose right up to some bushes to get us level enough for our frig to run without damaging it. There was good internet there, though.

We actually left that park an hour before checkout time! Of course, check out in the state parks here is 2 p.m. I got a lot of computer work done here.

We stopped at BK again for lunch. I got the burgers I didn’t get yesterday and Dave had more of their onion rings–one of his favorite foods.

In Mission, Texas, we checked into the Mission West RV Park for two nights so we could have a day to do laundry. This is a huge park but their short term spots are right next to a major road that was very noisy. So we spent part of those two days looking for some place better around here.

We would have loved to move into Retama Village or Bentsen Palms RV Park but could find no empty places at either of them. Retama Village is a co-op park and each site has a 12′ x 20′ coach house. Some of the houses are not included with the lot rent but some of them are. Some have bathrooms and laundry facilities inside. We first tried to rent one that also had a Murphy bed and kitchenette thinking we could literally move in and use our RV as a car to run errands and get work done on it. None available. Then we tried one that had a bath and laundry but nothing else except shelves on the theory that Dave could set up his piano inside and I could park my Segway in there and keep it charged up. None available. The one with the sofa bed wasn’t available, either. So we gave up.

The day we checked out of Mission West we visited the nearby World Birding Center. They have lots of exhibits about birding and a tram you can ride into the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park to hike the trails and watch the birds. It turns out you can put bikes, canoes, and kayaks on the tram as well. If we’d known that we might have taken my Segway and followed a trail out to a river overlook. You cannot drive into the park which makes it a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of Mission, Texas.

That night we checked into Sleepy Valley Resort still in Mission for one night. We stayed three. It was fairly quiet in spite of being near the same road that bothered us at Mission West. We weren’t quite as close to the road and we were along a quieter stretch of it. So we did a bunch more computer stuff including Dave putting a map showing where we are on this blog. While he was doing that I added a bunch of state and national parks to my databases of places we are headed. I also started adding restaurants from the diners, drive-ins, and dives website. It was fun to realize we’d already visited some of those restaurants.

On Monday morning we checked out of Sleepy Valley while noticing how many people still do laundry on Monday morning as evidenced by the clothes hanging on lines in the park. It’s nice to see clotheslines being used instead of dryers. So may places nowadays won’t let you put up a clothesline because they think it looks tacky. I think it looks energy efficient.

Before leaving Mission we bought propane for $2.20 a gallon, got haircuts, bought groceries, and had lunch.  

Then I enjoyed a bunch more roadside signs. “Boggus Ford”–how do you suppose they pronounce that and how do they keep the rest of us from pronouncing it our way? “Hurricane Evacuation Route”–via US 281 north. If I was evacuating from here I’d do it via Hwy 83 west heading inland rather than follow one that goes north the same as the coastline. “Another Closet”–storage facility. “Location for sale”–not just land but the location between the off and on ramps of the Expressway. “Pirate Cruise”–do they take your watch and jewelry as the price of the cruise?

Now we are at Tropic Winds Resort in Harlingen, Texas. A member park that let’s rif-raf like us in at a discount as part of the Passport America program. This is another huge RV park but this one has real grass and sites wide enough that you can’t look into your neighbors windows even if you wanted to do so. We are here for two nights as part of our new program of staying at least two nights every place we camp so as to not get so burnt out on traveling. We may even go over to the the clubhouse tomorrow for their hamburger dinner. We’d probably go for the spaghetti dinner tonight if I was sure they won’t put peppers in it. But we are in Texas so that’s too big a chance for me to take. Even my heartburn medicine can’t handle peppers.

When we leave here we will head north on US 77 along the Texas Gulf Coast.  If you see us going by, wave.

TTYL,

Linda

Catching Up

It feels like forever since I posted an entry but it has only been two days. I guess they’ve been very full days. Let’s see what my notes say we’ve been doing.

When we departed Usery Mountain it looked like it was snowing on Hwy 60 in Phoenix! It was just pieces of styrofoam blowing in the wind, though.

We stopped at REI and stocked up on freeze dried food then headed south on I-10. The next thing I know a sign was warning “Blizzard conditions ahead!” Snow after all?  No, it was an ad for DQ. 

We stopped for the night at Picacho Peak State Park still in Arizona. Cool place. $20 for an electric hookup. Spaces placed so your neighbors didn’t feel like they were in your lap. A Civil War Reenactment we didn’t see because it’s next month.  And hiking trails we didn’t hike including one that recommends wearing gloves to grip the cable that helps you climb Picacho Peak. 

It’s a nice stop right along the highway but far enough from the road for the highway traffic sounds to be white noise. We’ll come back here, I’m sure. Next time I’d like to do some trails. Not the one with the cable, though.

While in the park Dave heard a cat. Around here outdoor cats are called coyote food. If you come here, don’t bring any cats that like to escape the confines of your vehicle.

As we passed Tucson I saw a roach coach type food vendor except this one was built on a golf cart! I guess that makes sense since I saw it on a golf course.  

Along I-10 there was a sign that said, “Mowers Ahead.” My first though was, “They mow cactus?” The answer turned out to be, “Sort of.” They had some machine they placed over small trees and it chewed them up. Reminded me of the movie Fargo.

Another sign: “Diesel Deli.” It made me laugh then I realized it could actually mean what it said. What type of diesel would you like today? Farm diesel? Low sulphur? Ultra low sulphur? We have it all.

We stopped for a night at the Escapees’ Saguaro Co-op in Benson, Arizona. The sign at the entrance said they were full except for boondocking but when Dave went in to register they said they have one spot with hookups that can only take short RVs so we got full hookups.  

We knew ’08 classmates Mike & Julie were supposed to be in the park somewhere but they posted on the forum that they were going to Mexico for the day. Not knowing what happens when a call bounces outside the U.S. we decided not to try calling them on the phone. Instead we posted a message that we were in the park, too. I didn’t get their reply until the next morning just before we headed out so we missed seeing them but we did talk by phone about where we are headed and the likelihood we would meet up again along the road. I would have liked to stay another day to see them and maybe Dave K. who was headed that direction. But the weather forecast is for windstorms with rain the direction we are headed so we decided we needed to keep moving.

Leaving Benson the sign gave the mileage to the next town then the mileage to El Paso, Texas, as if New Mexico is not between the two. Hmmm. Some rivalry there maybe?

On the track beside the road was a unit hopper train with smoking coming from it about half way back from the engines. We paid close attention thinking maybe we were going to see a hotbox. What we saw was one hopper gate open a little bit spilling rocks along the way. Dave’s theory is they were replenishing ballast.

We stopped at a rest area where a vending machine started calling to me. “Linda. Come over here. We probably have something you’d like.” Now, I’ve been trying to eat more healthful food. Instead of cookies and chips we’ve started buying graham crackers and fruits and nuts. I’m enjoying eating those. But that darn machine just kept calling. So, I bought a small bag of Cheetos. I didn’t eat them, though. We were too close to one of my favorite lunches.

We saw a sign advertising a place called Phantom Fireworks. Dave asked, “Do they really exist?” Which we thought was really funny until we got to the places and it was closed. Then it was even funnier. I guess you had to be there.

We keep passing sets of signs warning of possible dust storms which could have “Zero Visibility” and warning you to not stop in traffic lanes. I guess it’s a good thing we keep moving without stopping at the sites along the way since the winds are supposed to hit here before the rains do. Mike and Julie are planing to travel this road a day behind us. I hope they don’t get into one of those wind storms.

The speed limit on this stretch of road is 75. I saw the sign and looked at Dave with a smile. He smiled, too, and said, “I’m going a dyslexic 75.” We get better mileage going just under 60 mph so that’s what we do. Unless we are going slower than that. In one construction zone the speed limit was 65 but we decided we didn’t have to go that fast there either. Which was good because it dropped to 55 shortly after that so even we had to slow down for that one.

About a half hour west of Deming, New Mexico, we passed what appears to be a railroad storage yard. One track had auto racks, one had tank cars, and one had hoppers. All just parked out there in the middle of nowhere. That could make an interesting model operation. A through train could stop and drop cars not needed elsewhere or pick up cars that are now needed. It’s seems likely to me that the drop off could be a mixed cut that needed to be sorted but the pickup would likely be all of one type.

We stopped at a rest area in New Mexico that had interesting picnic shelters.

And an interesting definition of pets.

There was a billboard that said “Follow the zipper to yardstick 102.” I thought about that one for awhile. The graphics indicated the zipper was the dotted line down the middle of this side of the divided highway. So it’s likely the yardstick is a mile marker or exit number. They could have just said that. Of course, then I wouldn’t have spent as much time thinking about it. I still don’t know what was at mile marker 102, though.

Some of the shops along here do too much advertising. These are “trading posts” with each sign advertising a set of items. One for jewelry. One for moccasins. One for products made from cactus. One for rugs. One for ponchos. One for moccasins. One for snakes. One for leather goods.  One for a free hot dog with a tank of gas. By the time I’ve read all the signs all I can think is, “Tourist trap.” So we don’t stop. Not many other people do either. That last one had two cars out front and a small U-Haul truck at the gas pumps.

In Deming, New Mexico, we spent the night at the Escapees’ Dream Catcher RV Park. This one is not a co-op; it’s just an RV park—basically a gravel parking lot with just enough trees to make you pay attention when you are trying to park. They had a nice laundry though so we have clean clothes again. They also had what was probably a nice potluck but I didn’t go in with Dave to register so I didn’t see the notice. It didn’t even occur to Dave to mention it to me. So the first I knew about it is when I saw people heading to the clubhouse carrying crock pots. I guess I’d better start going in with Dave if I want to know what’s happening.

In Las Cruces, New Mexico, we stopped at the BLM District Office to get a map of their territory. I went in without Dave this time. They charged me $4 for the map of New Mexico. I had to go back out to the RV to get money. I liked the Yuma office better; they gave Dave two maps for free. Hmmm. Maybe I’m not supposed to go in.

Billboards on opposite sides of the highway advertised different places at Exit 0. One said 9 miles and the other said 11 miles to the exit. I wonder if their surveyor is the same one who did the original survey of Dave’s Dad’s property on Lake Milacs which resulted in everyone building their boathouses on their neighbor’s property?

We pulled into Hueco Tanks State Historic Site about 3:30 this afternoon. The sign said the park was full but we were welcome to come in and put our name on the waiting list. I decided to go in anyway to see where they recommend we go and to buy an annual Texas State Park Pass which will save us money on admissions. It turns out the campground is not full. What they ran out of is permits to hike in this historically important but fragile place. So as long as we don’t go see the pictographs, we can stay here tonight. We have a nice campsite with electricity and water and a beautiful sunset.

  

And the reason it feels like it’s been longer than two days since I posted is that I was already two days behind then. Sorry, this one is so long. I didn’t even include everything from my notes and look how long it is. Is this a case of “The hurrier I go the behinder I get”?

TTYL,

Linda

Casa Grande

When we left Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument we headed for Casa Grande, Arizona. But we stopped so many places along the way we only made it to Gila Bend. We stayed there at Augie’s Quail Trail RV Park which had been recommended to us by one of our SKP Class of ’08 members. I can now recommend it myself. Here’s a couple of pictures from there.

 

As we drove, I looked mainly at Saguaro cacti we passed. These are the ones I think of as bandit cacti because I so often see pictures of them looking like they are holding their hands up in the air. Now I know they have lots of other poses too. I saw a couple with their hands on their hips, one hugging itself, one looking like Medusa on a typical for her hair day, and one giving a thumbs up.

I also saw my first tumbleweeds of this trip. There were a couple of them crossing the road. They made me remember a resurrection plant I once had. When the plant arrived in the mail, it looked very dead. But when I put it in water, it uncurled and turned green. It did that several times before I left it without water too long and it truly did die.

Our first stop in Casa Grande was the post office to pick up mail waiting for us there. This post office must get a lot of RVers. Their parking lot had spaces long enough for our RV.

We had lunch at Wendy’s. It’s been a long time since we’d done that.  I had a chicken sandwich and a baked potato.  It’s been a long time since I did that, too.

Then we headed to the Pinal County Fairgrounds where they offer water & electric hookups for $12 a night. It’s just a large gravel parking lot but it made a good place to sit for a couple of days to do monthly maintenance and a major housecleaning. Nick and Terry Russell were parked there, too, but we didn’t visit with them. One of the effects of writing a newspaper for travelers and a daily blog is much of the RV world feel like Nick and Terry are good friends even though they may have never met. I felt like we would be intruding on their quiet time as they get ready to host the Gypsy Gathering at the fairgrounds next week. So, I sent them an email saying we were there then left them alone. I figured if they wanted company, they’d come to us. As it turned out, they had almost more company than they could handle come knocking on their door.  

We enjoyed their Gypsy Gathering in Ohio last September but we don’t plan to stay here for this one. We’ve been in Arizona for more than a month. It’s time to move on.

When we left the fairgrounds it was not even 8:30 a.m. That’s because we decided to go to Denny’s for breakfast. Along the way we met a too helpful cop. We knew Denny’s was on the left side of the road but not how far down it was. There was no traffic going our way so we drove in the left lane of the five lane road. (Two lanes each direction with a turning lane down the middle.) Until a cop did a U-turn to get behind us and hit his siren once. We pulled right and he passed us. Then we moved left again. The cop turned on a side road, did another U-turn, waited until we passed him, pulled in behind us and turned on his lights. So we pulled over. He said the siren was meant to be a warning that we were blocking traffic. HE was the only traffic! So, I explained we were looking for Denny’s and didn’t want to be in the right lane when we got there. We could now see Denny’s about a block ahead. He said, “My error. Enjoy your breakfast,” and let us go. Except now there was traffic and we had to wait awhile before we could cross back to the left lane. It was a good breakfast, though.

After breakfast we went next door to WalMart to pick up groceries and another prescription refill. It’s become quite an adventure to pick up my prescriptions because we never know what we are going to get. One time they sent them to the wrong pharmacy and we had to wait while they corrected that. The last batch came in bubble dispensers that are a real pain in the neck. This batch came in three bottles of 30 each instead of one bottle of 90. At least, they finally got all my prescriptions on one web page so it’s easier to reorder them. I keep wondering if Target would do this better than WalMart does.

Our RV is a nag. We were 50 miles overdue for an oil change. We were on our way to Phoenix for our appointment to do that and some other vehicle things when the bonging started. Every time we started the car, it bonged at us to remind us we need to change the oil. Dave finally told it, “Yes, dear.” But now we have fresh oil, a straightened alignment, a very worn spare tire, a horn that works, and parking lights that work. We didn’t get the ESP thing fixed, though, because they needed to order a part from Texas. Since we are headed to Texas, we decided to wait and do that there.

Next to the car dealer there was an implement dealer that had a most unusual fence. It was very short but very effective. What they did was plant lots of prickly pear cactus very close to one another. I wouldn’t want to try to walk through those!

We left the car dealer shortly after 5 p.m. so we headed straight for our planned campground. We are now at Usery Mountain Regional Park, just east of Phoenix. This is a nice park with water and electric hookups for $20 a night. Out of 75 sites they had five left when we arrived. We are in site #8. For another hour or so. Then we’ll head east trying to get through New Mexico during a good weather time as we head for San Antonio, Texas. 

TTYL,

Linda