On the Road Again…

Ahh, back on the open road.  We left Kansas City last Saturday just ahead of another snowstorm and headed southwest to Oklahoma City.  We had plans to spend two nights there and catch up with some old friends from Heinz’s Air Force days. 

First sunset back on the road.

We arrived late and settled in at Tinker AFB’s FamCamp.  The next day Anne and Larry came over to check out the rig and share a cup of coffee.  Then it was off to get some Chinese food, only to find out that the restaurant had closed.  No problem, there was a great burger place a couple of blocks away.     S & B Burger Joint has quite a menu of specialty burgers (everything from Green Chile & Cheese, to Peanut Butter topped) along with a long list of ingredients for building your own.  The burgers were great, moist, flavorful, and done to order (a perfect medium rare for me).  Just one warning, if you decide to click on their website, turn down the volume, it comes complete with VERY loud rock music. 

After eating, Anne and Larry took us on a great auto tour of the older residential areas of Oklahoma City.  There were some beautiful homes and some others just screaming for a hug.  After living in California for so many years, the prices seemed ridiculously cheap, the median home price in town is $125,750, with the homes in the area we were touring averaging in the $200,000’s.

Following that we popped into the National Cowboy &Western Heritage Museum.  This is a great museum with a wide variety of exhibits ranging from western art, to a reproduction of a small western town of the 1800’s, to artifacts of life on the western frontier.  The place is phenomenal!  If you’re ever in Oklahoma City we can highly recommend stopping in to check out this place.

“Canyon Princess” by Gerald Balciar

“End of the Trail”, James Earle Fraser

Sculpture in the atrium of the museum entrance.

  

Anne checking out some of the barbed wire samples.

We planned on leaving Oklahoma City on Monday morning, but Mother Nature decided to mess with us a little.  Another storm system starting moving in from the west, threatening high winds, large amounts of rain turning to snow, and lousy driving conditions.  So we decided to sit it out another night, which quickly turned to two nights as I-40 was closed due to blizzard conditions around Amarillo - our next planned stop.  Oklahoma City was predicted to get up to 4” of snow, but the snow didn’t happen and all we got was lots and lots of rain.  Amarillo though was another matter!

Amarillo TX, 18” of snow in 24 hours (photo courtesy of my cousin)

Oklahoma City, can’t quite call this snow in my opinion.

We finally made it to Amarillo on Wednesday, just in time to see all the slush from the melting snow.  We spent one night and met up with my cousin Harold for dinner at another great burger joint, Coyote Bluff Café. If you want an upscale restaurant with designer food and posh surroundings, this is not for you.  However if you like places that define “hole in the wall” with killer food, come on in.  It is cash only, and the food is fantastic.  Their bottles of beer are kept in an old tin washtub in the middle of the dining area, as you want one, you grab it out of the tub and it is charged on the honor system.  The clientele was eclectic, the waitress was efficient and ready to trade one liners all night, and no one was in a hurry to rush us out, letting us sit and trade family tall tales all evening.

Amarillo slush, 2 days after the near record snowfall.

Thursday, and we arrived in Albuquerque, NM to clear skies, temps in the high 50’s (ah, so nice after all that cold in Kansas), and 28% humidity - time to pack away the dehumidifier.  We set up the rig in the FamCamp on Kirtland AFB and headed out to get some REAL Mexican food.  We headed over to El Modelo.  This is yet another hole in the wall joint located close to the train switchyard in an industrial part of town.  They offer take-out only, although there are a few picnic tables on a slab outside.  The restaurant has been in business since 1929 with only two owners and no change in recipes during that whole time.  We were there at around two in the afternoon and it was packed with a constant stream of customers in and out.  Check it out if you’re in town, but remember, the portions are huge and the operative term for their red sauce is…hot!

Heinz enjoying the Mexican platter: tamale, taco, enchilada, rice, refried beans, red chile chorizo, spare rib, chips, and two sopaipillas – all for a whopping $7.80!

On Friday we ran a few errands and checked out the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History.  The museum originally opened in 1969 as the Sandia Atomic Museum on Kirtland AFB to show the history of nuclear weapon development and to create better community relations between the military and the public. In 1991, the Museum was charted by Congress to serve as the nation’s repository and steward of nuclear-related historical artifacts. Then, in 2009 they moved to their current location just off the base and the museum was renamed. The collections cover early scientific discoveries of the properties of an atom, the Manhattan Project, WWII weapons projects of Germany and Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cold War, nuclear medicine, nuclear energy, and nuclear accidents.  It has a great hands-on area for kids, which is also interesting for adults. 

Museum entrance

Casings for Fat Man and Little Boy

Who remembers Bert the Turtle and nuclear bombing drills?  I do!  Really, what were they thinking??

How about shoe fitting fluoroscopes?  The “scientific” way to see if your shoes fit!

Today is Saturday and Heinz spent the morning spit-polishing our rolling home.  I should probably have felt guilty for being lazy, reading a good book and working on this blog entry, but somehow, I didn’t.

We ended our day at Barnes and Noble, kicking back with magazines after a wonderful meal at yet another fine dining establishment…Ezra’s Place, located in the Lucky 66 Bowling Alley.  But what a meal!

  

Heading in for another dining adventure.

Heinz opted for Scallop Tacos.

I went for the roast quail and fingerling potatoes with poblano sauce.  Bowling alley fare at its finest!

We’re off to chase another squirrel tomorrow.  The weather is beautiful and Navajo Dam and the San Juan River is calling.  Heinz has checked out his fly-fishing equipment and I’m busy reading Fly Patterns of Northern New Mexico.  Hopefully, I’ll be making some good trout meals while we are there!  There’s no wifi up there, so we’ll check in after we get off the river.  Promise not to be another three months between blog entries.

Late February and still in Kansas

The days are flying by and it's hard to believe that most of February is already gone.  We're still hanging out in Kansas.  Heinz has been working like a dog in the cold, snow, rain, melting snow, warm weather, cloudy weather, and crazy weather - heck, one would think he was a mailman in a previous life!  It's been anywhere from a high of 15 to a high of 60 during the past few months.  But the maintenance he planned on the rig is about done.  We had quite a bit of rust in the basement that Heinz decided to tackle on his own.  Luckily he has an uncle in Lawrence KS who has an auto repair shop who offered up his tools, side yard, and advice.   We moved in back in late November and Heinz went to work rebuilding the bays behind and just in front of the back wheels.  He got pretty good at using metal saws, sandblasting, grinding, and welding along the way.

Before repairs.

Before repairs.

Battery bay after reconstruction.

In addition he and various relatives (thanks Craig, Carl, and Grady) changed out the ball joints and brakes on the rig.

Ball joint replacement.

Next up was powder-coating the bases of the outside mirrors and we were done in Lawrence.  Heinz’s estimate of a one-month job was a little off, closer to two, but what the heck, the labor was cheap.  While he was busy crawling around in the dirt, I tried to help where I could and stay out of the way where I couldn't.  In that endeavor I took advantage of some of the holiday events in Lawrence. 

First up was the annual Christmas horse parade.  Suzi and I took in the 20^th anniversary of this parade where costumed horses and wagons came from as far as South Dakota to participate.  There were 113 official participants this year, with a total of over 600 horses and 1,000 riders.  This is a parade made up of only horseback riders, horse drawn wagons, horse drawn carts, horse drawn stagecoaches, horse drawn buggies, etc.  You get the idea - horses drawing things everywhere.  It was really pretty cool to watch.  There were some absolutely beautiful animals on display.  If you're interested in checking out more photos, go to: s1004.beta.photobucket.com/user/thuester/library/   Then click on "show albums and stories" on the left side, then Lawrence KS 2012.  

This is my best side, dahling!

All dressed up.

Working boots.

Head high Lester, there's cameras shooting.

Man, is my stylist is GOOD - or what?!

Next up was the Holiday Farmer's Market.  Suzi and I met up with Aunt Annelee and her future daughter-in-law, Jessica to explore all the goodies on display.  We bought some odds and ends and picked up lots of ideas for home projects for holiday decorating.  I also enjoyed picking up some great winter vegetables along the way.  

A couple of miles down the road, a local Methodist church was having their annual Festival of the Nativities - so I walked down.  The parishioners have been collecting Nativity scenes from all over the world for years and have been displaying them for the month of December for quite a few and inviting the community to visit.  There are scenes from Christmas ornament-sized, to life-sized displayed all over the sanctuary and several classrooms throughout the building.  In addition, the congregation has a bake sale and ornament/decorations sale each weekend during the month to fund new acquisitions.

Peru

This one, made of brown paper, was found on the church doorstep, no one has come forward as the maker or donator.

One wall, in one classroom.

Along the way we took some time for cooking (lunch every Monday for the guys in the shop), baking (all those Christmas goodies), exploring Lawrence's downtown area (mostly me), and enjoying being around Heinz's family.

Linzertortes cooling.

Lawrence, all dressed up for the holidays.

Moon gazing thru the treetops.

Decorating the rig.

We pulled out of Lawrence in mid-January, leaving our fabulous gated community behind.  I don't think anyone believed us, but between the propane and space heater we stayed toasty warm even when the temperatures dropped into the single digits and with easy access to both fresh water and a place to dump gray/black water we were set.  On leaving we thanked Uncle Craig for the hospitality and told him we'd be sure to recommend his place for anyone looking for all the amenities:)  Luckily, he laughed! Here's a few shots showing all those luxuries...

The gated community entrance.

Modern outdoor sculpture of found objects.

Sculpture garden in the snow.

More of the sculpture garden.

The woods on the edge of the property.

Murals were everywhere.

Mid-January found us back in Kansas City with plans of leaving within a couple of weeks.  But I ended up with a bad back and we stayed for me to have physical therapy for a month.  (I'm MUCH better now.)  So while we hung out, Heinz installed a couple of new TV's, exchanging out our old (very old) units for HD and a new self-seeking satellite receiver on the roof.  Sure is nice to see all that detail again!  I also got a wild hair to get the curtains in the front window cleaned, probably the first time since they were hung.  After finding out that it would be around $150 per curtain I reined in that wild hair and made a new set instead.

New curtains with the new TV installation.

But the delay in leaving town didn't leave us with only work to fill our time.  We took advantage of hanging out with Suzi and Carl and checked out some of the entertainment opportunities.  We checked out the Mid-Plains RV Show, Cirque de Soleil's Quidam, the Science of Rock & Roll and miniature railroad exhibits at Union Station, and spent several nights talking smack while playing Sorry!

Planning out strategy.

Grieving after losing 4 straight games of Sorry.

  

Poster at the Science of Rock & Roll.

Miniature railroad display.

We haven't quite gotten the hang of the whole snowbird mentality however.  We hung out in Kansas City just a bit too long.  The plan was to leave today, but yesterday, as you may have heard on the news, Kansas City encountered the biggest one day snowfall in its history: 12 inches in less than 24 hours.  So this morning was spent digging out.  The new plan is to pull out first thing in the morning and actually start heading to warmer climates.  Especially since more snow is predicted for Monday. 

We knew we'd stayed too long when the car was this deep by noon!

Home sweet home, all snowed in.

Digging us out.

The neighbors came to check out the action.

So tomorrow we plan to hit the road and I plan to make my postings a little more regularly than over the past few months.  Of course, any posting will be more regular.  Thanks for your tolerance and stay tuned.

In the meantime, here's our friends of the day.

Sammy enjoys a belly rub.

Frankie shows off his new scarf.

Is it dignified to walk a pig on a leash?  For the pig?

Trying to find a warm spot in the trees.