Wichita Falls, Texas to Shreveport

We left Wichita Falls headed for Shreveport, still going south on 287, looking into this gorgeous east Texas sunrise that seemed to go on forever. It is a monotonous road, with mile after mile of nothing but Texas to see out the window.  

 

The highlight of the day was going through Paris. Paris, Texas, that is. It is a quaint little town, with a cute town square, but not much else is there. 

 

 

 

We finally wound up on I-20 late in the afternoon at Marshall, Texas, and then it was only about 40 more miles to Shreveport. 

We planned to spend the night at a casino in Shreveport, play the slots, eat dinner, and get to bed early. Which we did, except that there was a railroad yard right outside the RV park, which we did not know was there.

 

So, if you are planning to stay at a campground at a casino in Shreveport, don't pick Diamond Jack's. You'll be jarred away in the wee hours of the dark by trains adding boxcars on that track right over there.  We ate dinner at the buffet there, though, and that was pretty good. They had fried catfish breaded with corn meal, and steamed shrimp, and some killer parslied new potatoes. We gave them some money in their slot machines, then went to bed. When we got up the next morning, it was cloudy and humid, 100% humidity but not raining. And it was about 75 degrees, so it was that cloying, smothering, southern humidness that I know so well. Welcome to the south!

And then we got on that bumpy road, and oh mah holy hell, the girls were in trouble all day!

Our Newest Assignment

Everyone has been asking me where we are going for the next season. Today, I am happy to announce that we are to Payne Lake Campground in the Talledega National Forest, about 35 miles south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  It is about 185 miles from our hometown in Georgia, so that we will be able to visit our family and friends there over the winter. We will arrive around November 1, and will be there until about April 15, 2010. We are really looking forward to being there. See that lake? We haven't seen that much water in over a year! I can not wait to go fishing. Their website says there are Crappie, Bream, Shell Cracker and Channel catfish in that lake. I am ready to get out my fishing pole!

(photo sent to me by the forest service ranger)

The job we will be doing is volunteer camp hosts. We will live onsite, make sure the campground is neat and clean, and check people in and sell sites to people who want to camp there. We have been volunteers before, at Unicoi State Park, and at Tanner State Park, both in Georgia. We have found that each park has differerent duties expected of volunteers, but they are usually about the same at each place. We pick up litter, clean fire pits, give out information about the area, advise people of the rules of the facility, and call for a ranger if someone gets out of hand. 

In exchange for our duties there, we will receive a full hook up campsite, free propane, a telephone line, and free satellite internet service at our site. We will be provided our uniforms and a truck to drive while we perform our duties. It is a win win situation for both sides.

(photo sent to me by the forest service ranger)

We'll be leaving the North Rim on Sunday. It will be about 1800 miles to reach our destination, but I am sure we will find lots of neat things to see on our way. Can't wait to be on the road again!  Oh, and if you are in the area over the winter, come on by and visit for a spell!

A Visit To Geogypsy, Part II

After we went to the Shrine of St. Joseph, Gaelyn said she wanted us to see another place called Noah's Ark. It is on the same road as the shrine. Of course we said "OK".


At first glance it looks like just a pile of rocks, but there is more to it than that. This is a place of modern day ruins, remnants of a castle that Alessio Carrarro, an Italian immigrant who had made his fortune in sheet metal in San Francisco, started building in the 1950's to entice his wife to come to Arizona to life. She wanted no part of living here, but he believed that if he could build a beautiful castle for her, that she would change her mind. Carrarro was the same guy who designed and built the Tovrea Castle in Phoenix.


It is amazing to think about building those stone walls and mixing all that cement on the steep cliffs, working around the large boulders there. He must have been one determined man.

When we got to the property and parked the truck, no one else was around. I asked Gaelyn if we would get in trouble if we climbed up to the castle, as we were on private property. She said she had been up there before, so up we went. Soon, the owner, Doug Campblin, joined us on the trail. That in itself was the second amazing thing about this place. He said he encourages visitors to Noah's Ark, because it was too unique not to share. He acted like a tour guide and gave us lots of history about the place. He was certainly a very gracious host.


Here's Gaelyn in the doorway of the castle.


Some of the window sashes and the door facings are still there.


This was really a castle, see that turret up there?


Me and FabGrandpa in front of the "octopus".


FabGrandpa surveying his kingdom.

There is our truck waaaayyyyy down there! yes, we really did climb all the way up. (and my legs hurt like heck the next day!)


A view from the top. These rocks are balanced precariously above the houses below.

The elephant. The reason the place is called Noah's Ark, is that there are a lot of large boulders that look like animals here. Someone long ago painted their names on them so you'd be sure to see them.


The bear. He's looking down on the town of Yarnell.


Another view of the castle.


If you ever get to Yarnell, it is well worth the effort and time to visit Noah's Ark. Yarnell is on Highwy 89 between Wickenburg and Prescott, Arizona. And if you get to meet Doug, tell him FabGrandma sent you.

A Visit To Geogypsy, Part I

FabGrandpa had an appointment at the Veteran's Adminisiration Medical Center in Prescott for his yearly physical and bloodwork. Yarnell, where our friend Gaelyn lives, is about half way between where we live and where we were going, so we drove up there the day before his appointment and spent the night.

Before I get into the story of our visit, I will take a moment here to say that everything checked out ok for the Fab guy--his TSH for his thyroid was very good, his blood pressure was good so still no need for blood pressure meds (Dr. Singh, his endocrinologist in Atlanta, told me last year his bp was "borderline" and told me not feed him so much sausage, so we have cut down on it a lot!), no sign of that pesky cancer AT ALL. The did make an appoinment with an optamologist for them to look at his eye, because he has been having some trouble with it, but we think it is because of all the dust in the air out here in the desert. He had the same problem with in Texas. I'll update on that after we see that doc on Thursday.


Ok, where was I? Oh yeah:

The road to Yarnell goes right over that mountain:


At times, it looks like you are going to drive off into the sky:


The two directions of the road go on different paths, with the southbound down the mountain lanes on the upper road, and the northbound up the mountain lanes on the lower road.


This is looking out the window on the passenger side, at the road where we have been. I am glad I don't get car sick:


At the top of the mountain is Yarnell. It is like a littel paradise in the middle of Arizona. After seeing it I can understand why Gaelyn wants to live here in the winter months, even if they get snow from time to time. It is gorgeus. This is the yard between Gaelyn's 5th wheel and Berta's house:


This is the "Little House" where FabGrandpa and I spent the night. It was cozy and very comfortable. Thanks Gaelyn! and Thanks Berta! We really enjoyed our stay, our visit, and the company. We felt so special!


Gaelyn took us on the Grand Tour of Yarnell. This is the yard of one of their neighbors. He has lots of metal sculpture animals there.


One local attraction is the Shrine of St. Joseph. It has several statues of Jesus set amongst the huge rocks. It is a place for quiet meditation. Lots of people visit it.

There are several stone paths and stairways here that you can climb. Or you can just sit in the garden on a bench.

But, the best was yet to come! Check in tomorrow for Noah's Ark....

Out For A Sunday Drive

FabGrandpa and I were feeling cabin feverish today, so we decided to drive over to 29 Palms, California. It is about 160 miles from us. We crossed over the Colorado River in Parker, Arizona.




Hwy 62 is mostly straight, after this big curve. We drove all the way over to the other side of those mountains.



Was this a lake or a mirage? We couldn't tell, but there was a lake shown on the map.



We drove through Joshua Tree National Park. We had not been here before today, and were amazed at the huge rock formations here.




The Joshua Tree is really a yucca plant. They get amazingly tall for yuccas. They are taller than Jim.


If you want to see the rest of the pictures, go on over to Facebook and look me up. You can find me by using my email address: fabgrandma at gmail dot com. Or, you can send me an email and I will add you as a friend.