Today has been a very frustrating and somewhat scary day. We decided to set up our satellite internet. The internet here at the park is OK, but not very reliable. We picked a bad day to try and set up. We had storm fronts moving in, high wind, thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches. Needless to say try as we might, we just could not get the satellite to lock on to a signal. Oh well, at least it gave us something to do for the day.
The rest of the evening was spent in front of the tv. We were lucky and all the bad stuff was either northeast of us or southeast of us. Apparently the tornados that did touch down, did so in open areas. As far as I know, there was no property damage or injuries. Thank goodness for that.......
Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for both the weather and our satellite procedure.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
April 28, 2009
Nothing exciting to report today. The weather was chilly, damp, and windy. I decided to do some laundry. I think I counted two separate laundry areas plus the clubhouse. Right now, there is no charge for use of the machines. Once that was done, the rest of our day was spent watching tv or surfing the internet. Around 4pm there was knock on our door, the park manager was inviting everyone to a shredded pork dinner between 5pm and 7pm and the cost was $6.00. Since we had been fairly cooped up all day we decided to head to the clubhouse for dinner. The pork was excellent and the price also included potato salad, baked beans, and a soft drink----not bad! It was nice to sit and have a good meal and chat with some other rv-ing folks.
We are still waiting to hear from the repair folks on our landing gear. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, but still another gloomy day. Sure do miss the desert sunshine......
We are still waiting to hear from the repair folks on our landing gear. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer, but still another gloomy day. Sure do miss the desert sunshine......
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
April 27, 2009
We arrived in Amarillo around 3pm--we lost an hour with the time change. We are staying at the RV Oasis. Very nice. Everything is concrete here and no great views, but the sites are level and the price is right. They do have some grass planted around the perimeter and that made the furballs very happy. They haven’t seen grass in months......just sand and those awful burrs. They actually almost ‘tiptoed’ out onto the grass, I think expecting the worse. It didn’t take them long to realize this was the real thing and then the fun began. Lots of running and jumping and general, “We can’t believe it’s grass”, excitement.
We plan on being here about 4 days. Unfortunately, we had a bit of bad luck. Upon leaving our last campsite, we could not get the left stabilizer leg to completely lift back into position. We were lucky, we did get the fiver hitched. DH managed to get enough pressure off the foot that he could at least retract the lower half manually. The motor was working, but the foot would not raise. Our second piece of luck, when we arrived here at the Oasis, there was already a RV repair van here. We inquired at the office and they highly recommended the guy. After registering, DH stopped and told the man our problem. He said he would stop by and take a look when he finished the current job. He did and he is going to get the part we need----not sure how long this is all going to take at this point. Hopefully, we will know more tomorrow. In the meantime, it is a good thing the sites are level cause we can’t unhitch. That also means we are ‘stuck’ here at the park---no sight seeing or anything else till we get this fixed and can unhitch. Well, I guess it all can’t be smooth sailing--especially if your last name is ‘Goode’......LOL
Interesting ‘small world’ moment.....we met the folks that are currently having their rv repaired. During the course of the conversation, the gentleman was telling us about a new type of electric stabilizer which a friend of his will be marketing soon. Turns out the ‘friend’ is someone we already know. In fact, his partner is a long time friend of the family. They are the folks that developed and sold us our Fifth AirBorne Sidewinder hitch. Now, it seems they are off on a new adventure. At any rate, our new friend, ED, got out his cell phone and called Sonny (one of the developers of our hitch) and DH was able to talked to him about the new stabilizers he is now developing. In fact, once we are back in Indiana, we are going to give him a call and set up a meeting. Ain’t life Grand.........
CORRECTION: DH has informed me that what I have been referring to as 'stabilizers' are actually called 'landing gear'......what would I do without him...LOL!
We plan on being here about 4 days. Unfortunately, we had a bit of bad luck. Upon leaving our last campsite, we could not get the left stabilizer leg to completely lift back into position. We were lucky, we did get the fiver hitched. DH managed to get enough pressure off the foot that he could at least retract the lower half manually. The motor was working, but the foot would not raise. Our second piece of luck, when we arrived here at the Oasis, there was already a RV repair van here. We inquired at the office and they highly recommended the guy. After registering, DH stopped and told the man our problem. He said he would stop by and take a look when he finished the current job. He did and he is going to get the part we need----not sure how long this is all going to take at this point. Hopefully, we will know more tomorrow. In the meantime, it is a good thing the sites are level cause we can’t unhitch. That also means we are ‘stuck’ here at the park---no sight seeing or anything else till we get this fixed and can unhitch. Well, I guess it all can’t be smooth sailing--especially if your last name is ‘Goode’......LOL
Interesting ‘small world’ moment.....we met the folks that are currently having their rv repaired. During the course of the conversation, the gentleman was telling us about a new type of electric stabilizer which a friend of his will be marketing soon. Turns out the ‘friend’ is someone we already know. In fact, his partner is a long time friend of the family. They are the folks that developed and sold us our Fifth AirBorne Sidewinder hitch. Now, it seems they are off on a new adventure. At any rate, our new friend, ED, got out his cell phone and called Sonny (one of the developers of our hitch) and DH was able to talked to him about the new stabilizers he is now developing. In fact, once we are back in Indiana, we are going to give him a call and set up a meeting. Ain’t life Grand.........
CORRECTION: DH has informed me that what I have been referring to as 'stabilizers' are actually called 'landing gear'......what would I do without him...LOL!
Monday, April 27, 2009
April 26, 2009
Here it is the Alien Zone in Roswell. The museum cost is $5.00 each and it is mostly made up of newspaper and radio reports. Lots of reading, but very interesting. They do have a really neat exhibit of an "alien" that was used in the Movie "Roswell". I took photos, but I won't spoil it for all of you who are planning a trip to Roswell. They also have quite a collection of art......done by various artists of different age and skill level, but it is all fun to look at and some of it is really well done.After our tour of the UFO museum we checked out the town. Many little shops selling all things "alien"...LOL
So, I'd say the whole trip to town took about 3 hrs. That included breakfast at IHOP and a grocery trip to Wally World and Albertsons.
Back at the fiver, I took the pups down to the water for some playtime and the rest of the day was spent just enjoying the park......tomorrow is travel day.
So, I'd say the whole trip to town took about 3 hrs. That included breakfast at IHOP and a grocery trip to Wally World and Albertsons.
Back at the fiver, I took the pups down to the water for some playtime and the rest of the day was spent just enjoying the park......tomorrow is travel day.
April 25, 2009
Been a bit on the lazy side, but here are some photos of Bottomless Lakes. The one above is of Lea Lake and there you see the bath house. There used to be a 'concrete' swimming pool nearby, but due to the collapse and opening of another sink hole they closed the pool and eventually filled it back in. Lea Lake is the only lake you are allowed to swim in.
I think this one is called Pasture Lake and it is kept stocked with fish.
This is our campsite and picnic shelter.Today we hiked the one and only trail here at Bottomless lakes called the Bluff Trail. It is only about 2 miles round trip, but it does take you by the lakes. Have to tell you though, that something nasty is in the air here. We had not walked very far, when both our heads started to itch, yes itch! We had been batting away some little gnats, but apparently they had been landing in our hair and biting. I have several little "itchy bumps" and so does DH. Next time we where hats...LOL!
The park does have some renovation currently going on.....they are restoring the wet lands surrounding the area to help prevent flooding. I would hope that they will also develop some more hiking trails. All in all, we have enjoyed our stay here and would definitely come back. The weather has been great temperature wise, but we have had our fair share of wind in the afternoons. We have enjoyed watching the "tent" campers come in and set up during these wind storms--LOL. Amazingly enough, no one has lost a tent yet. Tomorrow we see the aliens of Roswell.....
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Two Day Post April 23 and 24, 2009
We did make it to Roswell. We just didn’t get our internet satellite up till yesterday. We drove into Roswell around 3pm and headed to the Wally World. We really didn’t need a lot, but we had some time to kill before we could check in at the park. The Wally world has a flying saucer and an alien painted on the front of it and there is a whole section of alien souvenirs available inside. What a hoot!! After our “alien” experience at Wally World we headed to Bottomless Lakes. As we turned into the campsite area, the camp-host met us and checked us into our site. We have a nice large and fairly level site. Full hookups and mostly gravel. We also have a sheltered concrete pad with a concrete picnic table and free standing grill at our site. All very nice. There is not a lot of room between neighbors, but more than most rv parks. We are nestled in around the largest of the lakes....Lea Lake. We can see it through our dining window. The cost is around $20.00 per night for full hookups--that includes the tax. There are other sites with just electric and water for less around $14.00 plus tax. We got ourselves all set up and just “chilled” for the rest of the evening.
Today (April 24) we awoke to a beautiful sunny day with temps in the 60’s heading into the high 80’s today. After breakfast, we took the furballs down to the lake. I was really surprised when little Belle took the first plunge......she usually doesn’t care as much for the water as Cosmo. Today both furballs really seemed to enjoy their wadding....Cosmo even went out for a little swim. Don’t worry the lake has a large shallow area and it is crystal clear----but, it does go to a depth of about 90 feet. I was in the water with the pups and they were still on their leashes. After our little dip, we went back to the campsite. After the pups were dry and back in the fiver, we got on our bikes and headed to the visitor’s center. A really nice volunteer took us through the exhibits which explained the history of the park and wildlife. We enjoyed it very much. Back at the fiver, it was time to start the charcoal up for our pineapple burgers. We ended up taking the furballs back down to the lake for another swim. The temps were close to 90 by then so both pups were ready to cool off---by the way---the water was not that cold and I imagine by early summer it feels pretty good. They do have a large swimming area available at the lake for humans, with a bath house, life guards, and concession stand during the summer months. You can also put small boats or rafts out on the lake. Well, this post is getting long.....so I’ll close for now. More about the park and some photos in the next post.
Darn, almost forgot! Thanks to everyone who left names for our adopted Carlsbad Bat---no decision has been made yet, but we have lots of good names to choose from---thanks and I'll post her name once we make the decision.....
Today (April 24) we awoke to a beautiful sunny day with temps in the 60’s heading into the high 80’s today. After breakfast, we took the furballs down to the lake. I was really surprised when little Belle took the first plunge......she usually doesn’t care as much for the water as Cosmo. Today both furballs really seemed to enjoy their wadding....Cosmo even went out for a little swim. Don’t worry the lake has a large shallow area and it is crystal clear----but, it does go to a depth of about 90 feet. I was in the water with the pups and they were still on their leashes. After our little dip, we went back to the campsite. After the pups were dry and back in the fiver, we got on our bikes and headed to the visitor’s center. A really nice volunteer took us through the exhibits which explained the history of the park and wildlife. We enjoyed it very much. Back at the fiver, it was time to start the charcoal up for our pineapple burgers. We ended up taking the furballs back down to the lake for another swim. The temps were close to 90 by then so both pups were ready to cool off---by the way---the water was not that cold and I imagine by early summer it feels pretty good. They do have a large swimming area available at the lake for humans, with a bath house, life guards, and concession stand during the summer months. You can also put small boats or rafts out on the lake. Well, this post is getting long.....so I’ll close for now. More about the park and some photos in the next post.
Darn, almost forgot! Thanks to everyone who left names for our adopted Carlsbad Bat---no decision has been made yet, but we have lots of good names to choose from---thanks and I'll post her name once we make the decision.....
Thursday, April 23, 2009
April 22, 2009
We saw the bats at Carlsbad Caverns!! Boy are they BIG!! LOL! Just kidding......this is actually part of the nocturnal exhibit at the Living Desert Zoo. We did go to Carlsbad this evening and we really did see the bats fly from the cave around 7:35pm. It was not their full compliment, but there were a few thousand bats that spiralled out of the cave. It was exciting! We plan on coming back sometime in October because that is when the bats are usually at their highest number.
This is our adopted bat from Carlsbad Caverns. For a mere $5.00 you can adopt your very own bat. You get a certificate of adoption, bumper sticker, and photo. Now, I need a name for our newest member of the family. So, here is your chance......you can leave your suggestion in the 'comment' section of my blog. I'm pretty sure this is a female bat, but if you have a good male name go ahead and submit it.And that's about it for today. Tomorrow is travel day and we did our usual cleaning and laundry duty. We are heading to Bottomless Lakes State Park near Roswell. I know, going to make for a long travel day! LOL!
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