Scenic Sunday

This "road less traveled" is in the east side campground at Payne Lake Campground in Greensboro, Alabama. 

For more Scenic Sunday photos:

Still Going To Alabama....

At least we waited til after the sun came up to leave Tucumcari.  We saw lots of windmills and wind turbines in New Mexico. The old fashioned windmills pump water for the many cows and other agricultural uses:

And the modern wind turbines produce electricity. If you click the photo below to enlarge it you may be able to see the turbines on the ridge across this field. I counted at least 60 of them over there. They are HUGE! A sign we saw says that each one produces 1.5 megawatts of electricity. I don't know exactly how much that is but it must be a lot.

 Ok, so I looked it up for us all to know. From this website: Oregon Power Solutions:

"...How many homes can one megawatt of wind energy supply?
An average U.S. household uses about 10,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year. A one-megawatt wind turbine can generate between 2.4 million and 4 million kWh annually, depending on the average wind speed at the site. Therefore, a single one-megawatt wind turbine generates enough electricity to power 240 to 400 households...."

So, if there were 60 of those things, they could produce enough electricity for up to  24,000 homes. Wow!

 

The turbines were out in the fields, so a farmer could still use the land to ranch or grow cotton or peanuts, and also receive lease payments for a power company to put those wind turbines on their property.  That is a good use of resources in my opinion. 

 

 

Another thing that was amazing to me is that there was so many ranches and farms, and you could see at a glance what these people do to make a living. They grow cotton, peanuts, sorghum, and corn. We saw a peanut processing plant, cotton gins, feed lots, feed and seed silos, farm implement sales lots. I guess I lived in cities for so long I either never knew or forgot about all the agricultural occupations that existed. See how beautiful that cotton field is?

 

We saw flocks of geese flying south for the winter. That is also amazing to me how those birds know when the cold weather is coming, and take flight before the first snow. 

 

 

We DIDN'T see any rattlesnakes, but this sign had me looking for them. This was at a rest area east of Amarillo on Hwy 287. 

 

We stopped for the night at Wichita Falls RV Park in Wichita Falls, Texas.  The guy who works in the office there can not give directions. We called him twice, and he failed to give correct directions both times. If you are going south on Hwy 287, take exit 1-A, get all the way over to the right, turn right at the first light, and stay on that road until  you see the sign for the RV park. That guy had us running all over Wichita Falls pulling that trailer. It is hard to turn around when you have a 34' trailer behind you, ya know?  They weren't making any dinner for us, either, so I made some potato salad.

 

 

And this was a little interesting: a collection of fire hydrants, each one painted a different color, at the RV park. Hmmmm......

 

We made about 410 miles today--not bad. Tomorrow, we head for Shreveport.

Black Bart's Steak House, Saloon, and RV Park

We escaped the North Rim today and headed down to Flagstaff for a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. We decided to make it a mini vacation, and treat ourselves to a dinner out. We asked at the front desk of the motel for the name of a good steak house, and they referred us to Black Bart's. We haven't been eating much beef in the last few years, but occasionally we do like a good steak. And boy, I have to tell you, if you want a good steak in Flagstaff, Black Bart's is the place to go!



From the outside, it doesn't look like much. It is at the rear of an RV park, which by the way, has some nice, level sites, and can accommodate long rigs. We were wondering if we were in the right place, because it didn't look like your every day steak house. But, we went inside anyway and took a seat in the corner of the dining room.



The cover of the menu says it is a Steakhouse, Saloon, & Musical Revue. It didn't take long to figure out they meant what they said, as the wait staff doubles as entertainment. Our waitress, Rae, said they all attend Northern Arizona University there in Flagstaff, and have to audition for their jobs at Black Bart's. She is pursuing a minor in music while she sings and waits tables to earn her keep.




A first look at the menu let us know it is a high dollar place, but what the heck, we were out on the town for the first time in months. FabGrandpa ordered the 24 oz Porterhouse, while I opted for the 12 oz prime rib. We started out with a tossed salad and some potato skins. When my salad came, I realized immediately that I forgot to say "no crouton, please" when I ordered, but Rae was very pleasant and brought me a new one quickly. And OMG, those potato skins were delish! They were soft, and had just the right amount of cheese and real bacon on them, along with some green stuff that was probably chilies, and mmmm, mmmmm, mmmm.





The dining room is decorated in an old west motif, and has trophy animal heads hanging on the walls. Wooden tables have no tablecloths, which is fine because I would have just made a mess of it. The place was pretty crowded for a Sunday night.




The kids did a great job of singing a variety of broadway tunes, some of which I recognized, and some I didn't. I especially enjoyed "Be Our Guest" and "All That Jazz."

When dinner was served, Rae brought out a pan of sourdough biscuits with cinnamon honey butter. My mouth was watering from the smell of them, but of course I was not able to eat them, because they were made with the enemy, wheat! FabGrandpa said they were heavenly, and the honey butter divine!



My prime rib was perfectly pink, just the way I asked for it, and barely needed a knife. The horseradish sauce could have had a bit more heat, the au jous was just right. Looking at the picutre makes me hungry all over again.



FabGrandpa's porterhouse was almost as big as his plate. He said it was delicious. His came with fries, which I tasted and wished I had ordered them instead of my baked potato. He said whoever the cook was has cooked a steak or two in his day, because his was perfect.




These portions were way too big--we wound up getting a "to go" box. It is the first time since I have known my husband that he has asked for one. He said he couldn't eat it all, and it would be a crime to leave any of it behind. The leftovers will make a good breakfast for two days!



Our bill was not too bad, considering that we ordered an appetizer, we each received huge portions, and there was fabulous entertainment all throughout the meal. Rae was very attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed and wanted.

(me and Rae at Black Bart's)

Working In The Campground Has Its Rewards...

I have many duties on my job. My first love, the part of my job that I love the best, is being out at the entrance station, welcoming visitors to the park, selling passes, and giving directions to scenic viewpoints.

(Me at the entrance station)

I also work at the campground, checking people in when they arrive, and IF there happens to be a vacancy or cancellation, selling sites to campers. The campground here at the North Rim is very nice, with spacious sites. There are no hook-ups, but we do provide every site with a fire ring and picnic table.

(The group area of the campground in early spring)

Today, one of my duties was to walk through the campground inspecting all the fire rings, and noting if any of them need to be replaced or repaired. Every time I walk through this campground, people camping here invite me to eat with them--breakfast, or lunch, or dinner depending on the time of day. I usually decline the invitation, saying that I can't eat wheat so I have to be careful what I eat.

(the North Rim Campground in early spring before any campers arrived)

Today, though, as I was walking through, there was a family camping in a pop-up, cooking a delicious smelling chocolate cake in their covered grill. As usual, they invited me to have a piece, indicating it would be ready in a few minutes. I gave my usual reply, "It smells very good, but I can't eat wheat." And THEY said, "Well, lady, this cake is for you!"

(the North Rim Campground in fall)

The mother said they have been eating a strict gluten free, egg free, and dairy free diet since October of last year, and the cake they were making was made with chick pea flour, tapioca flour, brown rice flour, and potato starch. So, of course, I stopped for a piece of it. It was out of this world delicious! Tanya, the mother, said she makes her own homemade mixes, even grinds her own chick pea flour. I was very impressed.

I didn't have my camera with me, so no photos, but trust me when I say this was a very good cake. She also asked me not to publish her recipe on my blog because she is trying to write a cookbook. Well, let me tell ya, I will be her first customer when that book is published! Tanya also gave me three of her mixes to bring home--a chocolate cake mix, buckwheat pancake mix (that her teenage son raved about), and a corn bread mix. I can not wait to try that cornbread!

I should get out there and walk that campground more often!

Cactus Ranch Trailer Court

As soon as we got back from vacation, we hooked up the trailer and moved about 80 miles east to Morristown, Arizona. We had been looking at campgrounds in the area for a couple of months, and we liked the looks of this one. The fact that it only costs $185 per month and they only charge 11 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity made it that much more appealing. The tiny little office is cute, but no one is ever in there. The manager and his wife live in a mobile home in the back, and transact business there.


Our site is pretty flat, and has a nice concrete pad. There are no trees, but there are not many trees here at all. There is a large tree-like yucca plant in between our site and the one next door.

There are lots of native plants nicely landscaped around the park including saguaros and other cactii that I don't know the names of. There is actually a Cactus Nursery right next door to the campground that has seven acres of different species of cactus. Some of them are quite unusual.


These small cacti are in bloom all over the park. The flowers are about three inches in diameter, and there are lots of them.

Here is a picture of the yucca--those things get pretty big out here.

And as usual, the desert sunsets are gorgeous!

What They Do In Idaho...

This van drove through the RV park today. He said the donkey and the bull rode all the way from Idaho in there with him. All I can say, is, Idaho must be really weird.

hmmmmm.......

Leaving Phoenix

So we said goodbye to Phoenix and all her traffic, and hit the road on our way to Salome. Yeah, bye bye, traffic. Bye bye, road construction. Bye bye, airport landing pattern. Bye bye, motorcycle repair school and all those crotch rocket riding fools. We're headed for the desert.



I have had enough of the congestion, road work, noise, and airplanes flying so low overhead I could read the letters on their landing gear.




Our little Bluebird Of Happiness rides with us everywhere we go. I don't remember how ong we've had him, but he lives up there on the visor most of the time. Although sometimes he shows up on the rearview mirror, or inside the trailer. He is most happy when we are driving down the road.

There was interesting scenery today. This mountain was on one side of the road.

Highway 60 out of Wickenburg was very straight and flat.

This is what the desert looks like across the road from the RV park. I think it is quite beautiful in its own way. I'm sure not everyone thinks so, but I like it.
And at the end of the day, the sky was absolutely gorgeous. This is looking east from our campsite. Not exotic, but nice. Quiet. And they told us not to drink the water when we checked in. Oh, well, can't have everything, I guess.

Some Random Pic From My Camera

FabGrandpa says I take pictures all the time, and he is right. This morning when I took the card out of the camera to upload the pics onto the computer, I had quite a variety of stuff on there.

Here is the mountain across the highway from the Christmas tree lot (behind the outlet mall) at sunset the other day:




It rained most of the week in Phoenix. The day we had to break down the trailer to take it two blocks across I-17 for warranty work to be done, it was pouring down. We both got soaked.



You never know what you will see in an RV park. Here, obviously, is a chair having a picnic.



My new scarf. While I was out Christmas shopping, there was a deal too good to pass up. I love wearing scarves in winter. It also helps prevent those sore throats I am prone to get.


An experiment with light. I was playing around with the camera during one of the many dull moments at the Christmas tree lot. This turned out pretty cool.

Project 365 Day 43

Locked Out! Closed for the season! Dang it.

Cabbage and Smoked Sausage

I was tired today so I wanted something I could cook really fast for dinner. I cut up some cabbage and some potatoes, and threw them together in a skillet with some butter, salt, pepper and water. I simmered them until they were tender, then added some smoked sausage, cut up into bite sized pieces. It was really good, and ready in about 30 minutes.

Now I have to tell you about something that made me laugh today. When I was walking around the campground this morning doing the rounds, I passed by a site where there was a tent camper. No one was up yet. I could hear someone inside the tent snoring so loudly that I could almost see the sided of the tent moving in and out. I walked a few sites on down the road, and again, there was a tent camper, with no one up and about yet. As I was walking by, I heard a very loud faarrrrtttt! and then a guy said, "Boy did that ever feel good!" I have laughed about that all day!

Dinner On The Road

Today was very uneventful as far as driving days go, just routine, thank you very much! We got up around 7:30 a.m., made some coffee, put away the coffee maker, rolled in the slide outs, and got on our way. The pic above is on US 58 between I-95 and I-85, leaving Emporia, Virginia. By the way, that Yogi Jellystone Campground there is only 375 yards from a VERY BUSY railroad. Trains all night long. Other than that, it was ok. They had many long pull-through sites with water, electric, and sewer connections.

We stopped for breakfast around 10:30 at Cracker Barrel. I used to love their gravy and biscuits, but could only sit and watch as Jim ate them today. But, let me tell you, their cornbread muffins are really good with bacon and eggs, and a little blackberry jam.


Here we are on I-85 near Rocky Mount, North Carolina. I am a little surprised that the leaves are still so colorful so late in the year. I don't remember them being this pretty last year when we left Urbana, Virginia on November 15 . Hmmm, maybe I am just getting old...NAAAHH!

We got to our destination for today, the fabulous Fleetwood RV Resort at Lowe's Motor Speedway at about 3:00 p.m. Yes, we stayed at this place last year, too, on our way south. It is nothing fancy. It is rather boring looking. But is is right next door to the Lowe's Motor Speedway. Nascar fans probably love this place. But for us, it is just a place to stop for the night.

For dinner tonight, I made a thrown together goulash with things I had hiding in the pantry.

1 large onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1/3 lb ground meat
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large can pitted black olives
1 can Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups gluten free pasta, cooked

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, celery, and ground meat, cook until meat is browned. Add the olives, sliced if you like, the soup, and the tapioca flour. Stir together well. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over noodles. Have seconds.

I served this with pear salad. Put a dab of mayonaise in the middle of a pear half, top with grated colby cheese.

Tomorrow we are taking the truck to a Ford dealership for them to check it out before we get back on the road. Jim thinks maybe it needs a new alternator because the batteries are not charging up right. He wanted to wait til we get to our home town to do it, but I said, "What would happen if it went out, and the truck wouldn't start, and we were in the middle of nowhere with no cellphone signal?"