September 8, 2012
Last night around 9:45 pm we had a very big
windstorm. It was coming from the west
and it had already produced 80-100 mile an hour wind gusts with some
damage. Lots of people in northwest Arkansas were
without electricity. By the time it got
to us the winds had died down some but it was still blowing hard. At 10:30 pm it started to rain and when I
checked the rain gauge this morning it had 1 inch in it. It is also much cooler today, finally. Around noon we drove to Dumas about 10 miles
away and got some groceries and went to the Dollar General. We also had lunch at Subway. We went back to camp and I got some wood
from a campsite next to us. We watched
the tugs on the river. I cleaned the
bathroom and kitchen while Jim surfed the internet. After supper we had a nice fire.
There is no one around us and it was nice to sit outside and look at the
stars and listen to the owls, crickets and coyotes. There was no noise from people, music or dogs. It was a very nice relaxing day.
September 9, 2012
After breakfast and showers we hooked up and
left this nice campsite on the Arkansas River.
We drove to Gardner, Louisiana near Alexandria to the Kistachie National
Forest – Kincaid Lake Campground. We
have stayed here before and always in site #25. This is one of only a couple that has a view of the lake. There are only three other campers here in
this loop and the camp host. The other loop only has a camp host in it and no
campers. After setting up Jim paid a
bill and I sat outside. We had
leftovers for supper and then took a walk.
We watched the Broncos and Steelers on TV.
September 10, 2012
I fixed breakfast and we sat outside at the
picnic table. It is finally cool enough
to be able to eat outside. The camp
host in our loop left this morning but the other host came by and introduced
himself. We drove into Alexandria and
went to Walgreens to fill a prescription for me. On the way to town we passed a lot of cotton fields. Then we
drove to Silver Dollar Pawn Shop that is featured on Cajun Pawn Stars on the
History Channel. We looked around but
didn’t buy anything. They were filming
by the gun cases today and I saw Jimmy (the owner of the shop) behind the counter.
We had lunch and then found three geocaches. In one of them we picked up a Smoothie King punch card that was full of punches and had enough for a free smoothie. We will use it when we get back home. We drove downtown to a bar and had an Abita Brewing beer then went to the local American Legion and talked to people there. The commander of the VFW bought us a beer. (The VFW is closed on Monday.) We drove back to Walgreens and picked up my medicine and then headed back to camp. We stopped for supper a few miles before the turn off to camp at Tunk’s Cypress Inn. Jim had all you can eat fried catfish and I had the senior grilled chicken with shrimp fettuccini. I wanted their bread pudding with rum sauce but I was too full. We will be going to my brother’s house in Dayton tomorrow. Mom is having some problems with a sore by her ankle that won’t heal and they may have to do a little surgery. She has two more doctor’s appointments on Thursday and on Monday to decide what to do.
We had lunch and then found three geocaches. In one of them we picked up a Smoothie King punch card that was full of punches and had enough for a free smoothie. We will use it when we get back home. We drove downtown to a bar and had an Abita Brewing beer then went to the local American Legion and talked to people there. The commander of the VFW bought us a beer. (The VFW is closed on Monday.) We drove back to Walgreens and picked up my medicine and then headed back to camp. We stopped for supper a few miles before the turn off to camp at Tunk’s Cypress Inn. Jim had all you can eat fried catfish and I had the senior grilled chicken with shrimp fettuccini. I wanted their bread pudding with rum sauce but I was too full. We will be going to my brother’s house in Dayton tomorrow. Mom is having some problems with a sore by her ankle that won’t heal and they may have to do a little surgery. She has two more doctor’s appointments on Thursday and on Monday to decide what to do.
September 11, 2012
The camp host is back -- he had a problem with his
trailer and went to get it fixed. We
got ready and cleaned out the gray and black water tanks really good and then
washed the black love bugs off the front of the Silverado. We left Louisiana and got to mom’s in Liberty, Texas at 2:00
PM. My brother Elton, Jim and I walked across the
street to have a consultation with her doctor about the operation that is to be
done on mother’s ankle. We took the
Casita to Elton’s house and then set it up there. Martha was going to Porter to finish cleaning
out her mother’s trailer and she came by Elton’s for a while and talked. Allen came by after he got off work and then
Jim went with him back to mom’s house to get our Toyota Avalon. When Jim got back he grilled a couple of
steaks and some chicken for Elton and us to eat for dinner. We will be at my brother’s house at least until
Friday and maybe Saturday.
September 12, 2012
We read the paper and drank coffee with my brother this
morning. I cleaned the floors and
bathroom in the Casita and then washed the sheets and put them back on. I helped Jim replace some rivets on the
Casita. After lunch and showers,
Elton, Jim and I went to see mom. Her
sister Ina and Ina’s daughter Jan came to see mother today. They live in Scurry, Texas, not far from
Rice and very close to Canton. We had coffee in the dining room at the nursing
home and then we all walked to Baytown Seafood and had supper. On the way over we walked through a parking
lot by a grocery store and found a geocache.
We went back to my brother’s house and Jim and I cleaned off the
lovebugs again from the front of the Silverado. Elton had taped three episodes of DDD and I watched them.
September 13, 2012
Jim fixed pancakes for Elton and me this
morning and I fixed some bacon to eat with them.
Jim and I went to mom’s house and moved a lot of flat stepping stones to
the front of the barn so we would be able to park the Casita on it when we take
it there to store it. We went back to
my brother’s house and got cleaned up and then went to get mom for her doctors
appointment. She will be going into the
hospital after her Monday doctors appointment to try and get the sore on her
leg healed. She has been dealing with
it for about two months. They will
debride the sore and then stitch it up.
They will also shave part of her ankle bone off -- they think the
infection might be in the bone around the wound also. We took her back to the nursing home and played bingo. Jim and Elton went back to my brother’s
house and I cleaned and straightened up my mother’s dresser drawers. I fixed supper for us while Elton and Jim
watched the football game and I washed three loads of mom’s clothes.
September 14, 2012
Jim and I took the Casita to my mom’s house and left it
there. Our trip is over and I will miss
all the traveling. Jim went home with
the Silverado and I took mom’s clothes back to her. I stopped at Jack in the Box and got her some tacos and onion
rings for lunch. I did a few errands
for her and then went back to the Casita and spread a bag of fire ant granules
around the Casita on the ground. It is
now stored in the country instead of on cement at a storage lot and I don’t
want to take a chance of ants taking up residence in our little trailer.
Some statistics for our trip:
Days traveled 113
Miles traveled 11,635
Brewpubs/brewpubs visited 68
Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives visited 4
States Visited 13
National Historic Sites/Parks visited 25
Postcards mailed to mom 76
Pictures taken 8,947
Pictures taken 8,947
Average Campground cost per night $13.56
Total $ spent on gasoline $2,930.64
Average miles per gallon 14.2
5 presidential sites visited:
Truman - library, museum and grave
Hoover - library, museum and grave
Ford - library, museum and grave
Lincoln - library, museum and grave
Clinton - library and museum
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