New Summer Trip

We are heading out for a short trip around Washington as that's a state we've not been in very much.
First stop though, is Baker City, Oregon where we will visit the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, the Snake River and a great breakfast place on the main street.

This is a neat city...so colorful and historic with many old old buildings.

...from our breakfast table...

This couple is getting married today...they're checking on their arrangements...I think.

We like to sit outside so Katie can be with us. Delicious food! and HUGE.

See the gator?

Many downtown buildings were made from volcanic tuff.

Yikes !

If you can read the signs, they read Acme Private Investigator, Acme Couples Counseling and Acme Attorney. Acme gets it coming and going !

We also headed out to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center where they had a few horses for sale. Two of them in the pen were untrained and wild.

View looking west from the Center. The valley was totally flooded from the Powder River run off when the Oregon Trail people arrived so they had to stick to the lower foothills.

These are two of the untrained, untouched wild horses for sale.

Kim got to feed the horse and had a ball asking questions about how to raise a horse. No, we're NOT getting one!

In back of me are the Oregon Trail wagon ruts

These are the ruts made by hundreds of wagons as they came through here over 150 years ago! Most of these emigrants WALKED the entire 2,000 mile journey next to the wagons !!!

Oh...our RV site...

Nice shady spot for the afternoon sun.

Can't forget our little cutie, Katie, laying on the covers in the morning.

We spend several days in Baker City so we'll post another one tomorrow with the rest of this trip.

Here's where we are so far....

Nice to be back on the road.

steve/kim/katie

The Coach was Rockin'!!

No....not "Rockin'" like that ! From the wind !!

We traveled out to Fort Stockton, Texas for a couple of nights to breathe before heading north to Carlsbad Caverns. Turns out there was a scary wind storm coming in from the west on our second day there. But, we could not get away because it was all across that part of Texas. Plus, this one was part of that Bomb Storm that hit the midwest.

Here's the storm that went east from us. Look at all the lightning bolts where the "push pin" is!

Look at the wind in the far right column. This is constant wind with gusts of to 40 mph.

This is Carlsbad where we were headed. These winds are waaaay more strong than where we were in Texas. Gusts up to 65 mph. They also had two tornadoes hit right where we were going to stay!

We pulled our stabilizing jacks up, pulled in our slides and waited it out. Not scary, just a LOT of wind.

A few days later, I read where someone was going out for his first trip in and RV near Amarillo, Texas. He hit the same wind storm and had his passenger window come out 2 feet! Yikes.

We ended up staying an additional night in Fort Stockton to wait out the wind storm but the view out our coach was fabulous. You could see a hundred miles easily.

A panorama looking west towards El Paso, Texas

Interstate 10 heading west. Not much out there.

Of course, we had to try out the best Mexican restaurant for breakfast. Muy delicioso!!

I had the iced tea because I was the driver. Kim had the XX....rats.

Katie likes to sit next to me while I work.

She didn't mind the wind storm at all.

Next up, Carlsbad Caverns....for the 4th time!


steve/kim/katie

Texas BBQ Trail

Okay, prepare to start drooling....that is, if you like good BBQ.

Went a couple of times to Smitty's in Lockhart. It's the best.

Outside entrance from the back parking lot

This is what you see upon entering. They lift up the lids to get to the meat.

Everyone eats at long tables.

The carver slicing up some brisket.

Outside the front entrance. Doesn't look like much does it?

Opening the lids to get to our order.

Sausage, sausage, sausage. Kim's favorite.

Went to buy a hat here and liked the sign...not the $450 price tag on the hats though.

Our RV spot in the Texas country with Katie photo-bombing it.

Partial view of the lake in front of us.

Lockhart county seat building....gorgeous.

Went birding one morning and took a panorama of the lake.

Looking waaaay back to our RV on the right from the levee.

Nice stop. Good food. Nice to stay still for a few days without a lot to do except do a few minor repairs on the coach and eat ribs, brisket and sausage.

...heading out west some more now....

Oh, here's our map of travel starting March 2018 until now.

Amazing journey isn't it?

See you next entry.

Steve/Kim/Katie

So much construction !

I cannot wait to get away from the cities and get out west. Cannot believe all the road/interstate construction going on. From Gulport, Mississippi to Houston and beyond, we ran into major road repairs where the lanes shrank down so thin that I was sure I'm going to lose my mirrors any minute.

Accident on I-10. We sat in one place for 1 hour and 45 minutes! Good thing we have an on-board bathroom. We thought about renting it out to the other people !

...as far as we could see....no one moving.

Another construction backup

Houston traffic first thing in the morning as we headed out of town.

Like they didn't have enough freeways already!

planning for more vehicles !

...future highways!

BBQ trail next up!

steve/katie/kim

No other place like Cajun Country

Got to Cajun country outside of Lafayette, Louisiana in time for the Mardi Gras golf cart parade at Cajun Palms RV park.

Oh...the colors...well....Purple Represents Justice. Green Represents Faith. Gold Represents Power.

Cras? Oh....as in Mardi Gras.

Check out the purple satin pants and colorful leggings !

We also bought the traditional King Cake while there. Delicious ! (We usually go to Lafayette to buy the best there is in the area but got lazy and bought at a local bakery.)

Used to be called "T-Sue's Bakery" when we were here before. They have a red light on their street sign that flashes when the fresh bread comes out of the oven. 

Those boxes on the bottom shelf are all King Cakes.

The History of the King Cake
King Cakes didn't always contain a baby Jesus; in the late 19th century, celebrators hid a bean, pecan or jeweled ring inside the baked item. Whomever found the treasure within would be crowned the king or queen of the season's first Mardi Gras ball.

The plastic baby was first baked into a cake in the 1950s, and now, these little plastic figures come in a multitude of colors, including pink, brown, green, purple and gold. Tradition dictates that whomever finds the baby in their slice of cake must provide the next cake for celebration.

When ordering a King Cake from a bakery, the plastic baby might come on the side to be inserted into the cake by you. This protects the bakery from any potential litigation as a result of chipped teeth, choking or other injuries.

Yummmy! The Baby represents Jesus. (see above paragraphs)

We went down to Butte Larose to see the homes along the bayou. Some are pretty neat...and others....well....

But they have satellite TV!

All sizes, shapes and conditions...no zoning here.

Lastly, we like to take Katie for a ride around the RV park when we can. While we drive at 5 mph, she stands up on my lap, hangs out and loves it.

Weeeeeee!

You taking my picture!!??

There's more in this part of the country but that's a long enough entry for now.

steve/kim/katie