Mar 20th to 25th - Bowie to Big Bend Ntl Park TX

Mar 20th - Fri - Bowie
It takes a long time to catch up on 45 years but we continued trying to do so this morning while I did a couple more loads of laundry. Then Theresa took Terry & I to town to see her store (Heartland). It is wonderful with a great mix of candles, purses & wallets, house wares, greeting cards, decorative home items, soaps & lotions, etc. We went to a small Italian restaurant for a good lunch, picked up one grocery item and headed home. Leftovers for dinner so Theresa didn’t have to work so hard!!
Theresa’s brother Bob (and Terry’s cousin of course!) drove today with his daughter Renee from Denver, Colorado. They stopped in Wichita Falls TX to pick up Theresa & Bob’s mother Millie who is Ella Mae’s (Terry’s Mom) sister-in-law. Got that??
They didn’t arrive until after 8 and then there was another round of reminiscing.
Theresa & Tom have 2 cow dogs that do not like small animals such as cats and Dolly so I have to be really careful when I take her outside. I tell the dogs to go back to the house and Dolly really gives them heck.

Mar 21st - Sat - Bowie
I baked quick Danish biscuits for breakfast today and we chatted the morning away. After lunch, we got out the Skip Bo cards so Theresa could teach Terry, me and Renee how to play. It is a fun game that we will be adding to our game cabinet.
Even though we were all full from a good spaghetti dinner, I made Blackberry Dumplings for dessert which everyone enjoyed.
The wind continued today. I could not live where there is so much wind.

Mar 22nd - Sun - Bowie
The “girls” (me, Theresa, Millie & Renee) went shopping today. First we stopped by Theresa’s shop and each bought a few items. Then we went to WalMart to get some spring blouses for Millie. Of course, Renee & I found a couple of items also. Bob was having a problem with his car so Terry drove him to town for a water pump and Tom was working up some ground to plant more sprigs.
Spent the rest of the afternoon sitting at the side of the house out of the wind and enjoying the sun. Dinner, TV, pictures on the computer and watching a cow starting to have a calf filled the remainder of the evening.

Mar 23rd - Mon - to Big Spring TX
The wind was very strong & gusty all last night, rocking the 5th wheel and causing Terry & I to get very little sleep. We packed & hooked up and went for a last cup of coffee with the relatives. After hugs all around, we were on the road just before 9.
Our route took us south & west. The wind was mainly from the south so we bucked a head wind but that feels better than getting rocked by a broadside wind. We originally planned to stop in Abilene but Terry wanted to get a bit further west to get out of the front which was moving east and causing the wind.
We are at the Texas RV Park in a HUGE drive-thru site - must be 90 feet long. There are 4 foot solid wood fences between the drive-thru sites so they buffer the decreasing wind. In fact, I would call it a breeze now.
We angled SW to Hwy I20 when we left Bowie so we would miss Ft Worth traffic. Good roads. We passed quite a few large horse ranches with lovely (expensive!) fences and impressive entry gates. Also many herds of goats. Cheese? Meat? Lawn mowers? From Sweetwater to here are lots of wind turbines.

Mar 24th - Tues - Big Spring
Spent quite a bit of time on the computer last night trying to get connected to the internet until we finally realized that we must be in an area without broadband service which means phones but no internet.
Took our time getting going this morning and then went looking for a liquor store and a library. The county where Theresa lives is dry so we shared our alcohol store with everyone and needed to replenish. Reasonable prices at the liquor store and then on to the library where we found that the wifi connection is though the same company as here at the park for $9.95 for 24 hours - we passed on that offer. WalMart for some groceries, topped up on diesel ($2.11) and headed back to the park.
After lunch our neighbor came over to share some information about Big Bend National Park which is where we are going next. Spent a nice, lazy afternoon with a little exploring, cleaning up the truck and just relaxing.

Mar 25th - Wed - Big Bend National Park
Just a quick entry, will do the rest later. We have sit on the office porch to get wifi so will just post my blog and complete & post this later. Also do not have cell phone service so don't be worried if you try to call us in the next few days.