December travels

OK, it's been awhile seen I've blogged.  So to catch you up to our travels I will buzz through a few states.  Texas, Amarillo - we only stopped for 3 days but saw a lot.  I did not know they had a version of a mini Grand Canyon in Texas.  Palo Duro Canyon.  Beautiful and you can drive down into the canyon in your own vehicle, none of this donkey on a cliff thing! Many pull offs and areas to see the different flora/fawna of the area.  It took about 2 hours to view it all but a beautiful sunny day.  They have their own pet longhorns in a fenced in area by the entrance. Cadillac Ranch - been there forever but they have spray cans available so you can leave your own mark on the vehicles.  All 4 of our kids now have their name on a caddy. 

Jack Sisemore RV museum which is hidden within a huge RV dealership.  The owner has his own personal collection of the history of RVing and also quite a few one of a kind motorcycles on display.  He is in the process of adding on.  We toured the Happy Max RV from the movie "RV" with Robin Williams.  Even met the owner, Jack Sisemore.  He is the co-founder of Keystone RV manufacturing.  A big name in travel trailers.  We also stopped and ate lunch at the Big Texan.  Known for it's 72 ounce steak deal.  If you eat the whole steak in an hour, it's free.  Not too many can handle 4 1/2 pounds of meat.  Man vs Food from the Food Network - Adam Richman did it.  Not us, we got the 6 ounce lunch deal.

Onto Roswell New Mexico. Much larger town then we figured and our lovely "lady in the box" AKA GPS took up right through downtown instead of the less busy and non-stop bypass.  I really have to have a talk with her! We toured the Alien Museum and various Alien stores.  They really use the alien theme big time.  The McDonald's is in the shape of a cylindrical space ship.  Green aliens greet you all throughout town.  I love the history factor more then the tourist stuff but it was very interesting.  The day we went to leave we woke up to snow.  It just keeps following us! 

A few day stop on the West side of Tucson Arizona just to break up our travels.  We plan on spending the month of February in Tucson so got a "must see" list going for our return.  We did check out the weekend Flea Market - no purchases.  We also drove the loop through the Saguaro National Park. 

Being from Wisconsin, did not have a clue about cactus or the info about the desert area.  Got quite an education at the Visitors Center and know 10x more then we did before, which was zero. First off that Saguaro is pronounced "swaro".  They knew we were from out of town from how badly we botched the pronounciation. Lots of hiking and trails in the park. Great area for hiking, just watch your step and DON'T touch the cactus. Randy really loved the Saguaro's, but hugging not allowed either.

Sun City Arizona, which is a Northwest subdivision of Phoenix was the next stop.  We fell in love with this area.  Clean, well groomed area.  Lots of activities and super nice people.  They have multiple community buildings that offer swimming, tennis, pickle ball, bowling, billiards, movies, and classes for woodworking, jewelry making, ceramics, photography, quilting, stain glass and much more.  The crafty side of me was in love.  Randy got a personal tour of their metals shop.  We will definitely be back here again, actually planning on spending the month of April in the Phoenix area. 
 Las Vegas for 2 weeks over Christmas was a weird feeling of choices but it worked out well.  We found a great church in the area and went to their Sunday services and also Christmas Eve. Always nice to connect with a community. Being in the "city of lights" really lacked the lights.  The RV park had more lit RV's then the people of Las Vegas decorated their homes. We popped up our 2foot pre-lit tree, external lights, garland, and our stockings.  We walked down "the strip" a number of times to check out the Christmas decor and the casino's.  We were able to go to the National Finals Rodeo event on it's last night.  The best of the best rodeo people competing for the title World Champion. 
It was an exciting night. Charlie Daniels preformed during a break in the rodeo.Harrah's - awesome, family friendly show.  We also had to check out a few of our favorite cable show shops.
 Pawn Stars on the History channel- pawn shop in downtown LV.  Just like it looks on TV.  They kicked us out because they were getting ready to film an episode.  Didn't see any of the owners of the show but the security guard said they weren't very friendly people so forget about getting a high 5.  We drove by Rick's Restoration which is also on the History channel - really neat buildings but gated off from the public.  Lastly, we drove to check out ATM (Acrylic Tank Manufacturing) or known as Tanked on the Animal Channel.  They make unique one-of-a-kind themed fish tanks.  We were in Henderson Nevada and saw their massive snow globe fish tank made for the Henderson Christmas Celebration, then a few days later when we went to the ATM shop, there it was.  Went through their store and we could watch them working through a chain link fence.  As we were watching out came 3 of their known workers that are on the show:
Redneck, Frankie, and Heather the co-owner's wife.  She was so sweet.  Stopped and talked with us and even told us we could hang around because they were going to be filming an episode.  We had to get going because of our tickets for the Shark Reef, but otherwise that would have been really neat to see a filming.  We also drove to Red Rock Canyon, just outside of Las Vegas. Very pretty area and changes as the sun/clouds move in the sky.  They have wild donkeys and mountain goats but we did not see any, while we were in the area. 
Las Vegas Speedway has a drive thru lighting display for Christmas.  2 1/2 miles of lights in and around the Speedway.  The adrenaline built being at the Nascar track but Randy held back and drove really slow so I could see all the lights.  It was really hard being away from Wisconsin and all our family/friends for Christmas but seeing all the lights helped to make it feel more like Christmas.  Our temporary church family helped a lot too but nothing like being home for Christmas.  We also went to the Cowboy Christmas sale and watched a Horse Whisperer. Many displays and a lot of western wear and decor for sale. While in Vegas we saw the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay, Secret Garden, and Mac King comedian/magician at Harrah's. It was an excellent show.
 

Back Out On The Road

So a very busy 3 weeks back on the road.  We had a timeshare week to use or lose so we decided to stop by Branson Missouri and use it up.  Really bad condo, but they let us park our RV on the premise while we stayed in the room.  I like MY home on wheels better.  We attended one of those wonderful timeshare/vacation demos - not because we like to be tortured but because we're cheap and took the 4 show tickets that came with the torture.  The Hughes Brothers (a huge multi generational family show), Six (6 brothers) both were awesome. Also, Grand Jubilee and The Haygoods - they were OK.  We also went up Shepard of the Hills Inspiration Tower and drove the Ozark Mountain Christmas light display.  My mother used to frequent Branson on a bus tour, and there were dozens of buses everywhere.  We loved driving around and finding the "other" places.  Downtown Branson, Lake Taneycomo, fish hatchery, the dam, and Table Rock Lake.  The fly fisherman were out in droves, fun to watch.
As we travel and need a quick stop, we usually choose Wal Mart parking lots for those quick 1 night stops.  But after being in the south we learned that Indian casinos can be a great place to stop.  They may or may not have a camping area with hookups (electric, water, sewer) and it's FREE.  Then you go inside and get a players card, which can include $10 up to 100 of free play.  So we play their $10, entertain ourselves for a few minutes up to hour (if were lucky) and then spend the night in their lot.  Some even have 2 for 1 or reduced price buffets with the players card.  So they let us have a nice, safe spot to stay, entertain us, and feed us.  We spent the night at the Cherokee Casino in Oklahoma.
Just east of Oklahoma City we took the hospitality of the Kickapoo Indians and stayed in the casino campground for 5 nights (FREE), played with their $10 players card, and ate at their buffet.  It also allowed us to visit around the area. 
We went to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.  It was great.  History of the Cowboy, artist display, tack, town reproduction, Indian heritage, and cowboy movie display.  Love all those old cowboy movies.  They had memorabilia from many famous cowboy actors and their movies. Rodeo history too.
We also stopped by the Oklahoma City Memorial, in memory of the OKC bombing in 1995.  It was really moving.  I had traveled through in 1998 and a lot of the building was still there, as they couldn't demolish it because of the trial.  I am so glad they build the memorial on the same grounds.  There is also a museum but it contains personal information and video of all of the victims.  Too much for me so we opted out.  A reflective pool is in the making. 
Lunch was spent in the Stockyards, were the states beef pass through on there way to the market (but don't tell them).  The famous Cattleman's Cafe has not changed in the 100 years of service, not from personal experience, but from historical information.  We had the absolute BEST steak ever.  It is one of those restaurants where people were walking in and the waitress would say "the usual Fred?"  A step back in time and an awesome experience. 
Onto Lawton Oklahoma.  Home of Fort Sill Artillery Army Camp.  We were honored to be invited to the boot camp graduation of Jasmine Reuteler.  Her father is a good friend of Randy's for decades (and mine for 1 decade plus).  He was the best man in our wedding.  So we spent a week in Lawton going to Army graduation events and visiting with the family.  Really neat to see all of the Army routine and events.  We got to eat Thanksgiving dinner at the base with the Reuteler's and about 200 other service people.  So thankful for their service and commitment!  Having had 8 uncles and a father in the military, this whole experience was really neat. Joy of joy's, it snowed while we were there too.  I thought we left that "stuff" back in Wisconsin. 
We took a driving tour of the Wichita Mountains, just outside Lawton.  Beautiful views on top of Mount Scott.  There is 59,000 acres wild life preserve to restore the long horns and bison on Oklahoma. Elk are there too but we did not catch one in view.  On the way is the Holy City.  The USA longest running Passion Play with a replica of Jerusalem and area. Cobblestone everywhere.  The area is known for cobblestone everything.  Beautiful.

Onto Amarillo Texas for a quick 2 night stop to see the sights and then head to Roswell New Mexico. Randy's really excited to see a few relatives!

Wisconsin

So after the warm weather we decided to head back to Wisconsin to see family, friends, and tidy up the homestead (Still For Sale, if anyones interested).  Our stay at the Redneck RV Resort had shown some lovely improvements and upgrades from our Spring visit.  Level, limestone graded parking area.  Horse view upgrade from corn field.  A wonderful doggy squat area just for Buddy.  Although the pool was closed we still filled our days with the Resort Managements suggestions.  Assisting in siding the house, assisting with a colicky horse, picking up kids from activities, mending jeans, racking leaves, and eating.  The best part was being with family.

Our house in Fort, on the other hand, was not as enjoyable.  We spent over half our time in Wisconsin cleaning it up.  It had been rented out last winter and the couple moved out in July without letting us or the management company know.  So that's when we decided to throw it back on the For Sale market and see if it would sell (always our desired goal).  Not being home, we relied on the management company and the realtor to keep tabs on things.  Didn't work out so well.  They had about 9 showings in the 4 months on the market and never bothered to tell us that the carpet had not been vacuumed (kid beads everywhere), the toilets were filthy, the bathtub had hairballs (gag), boxes left behind (empty), windows open (rain damages paint and windowsills), and the backyard was one giant weed fest.  The guy we hired to mow the lawn, did only that.  He was to keep an eye on the ponds but they were both gurgling and the filters hadn't been cleaned.  Neighbor said they'd been making noises for 2 weeks.  Fish are still alive!   So many days were spend cleaning, painting, shutting windows and screens, de-weeding, pond cleaning, racking, mowing, and winterizing.  So we let the realtor know how displeased we were.  I think they just want to get your contract and then let other realtors show the place.  She hadn't been in there since we listed it in July. Oh well, all clean and pretty for that next showing and SALE!!!   I know God's got a nice, large family that would love a 4 bedroom home.  Just praying they come by SOON.

We decided to have a multi-holiday event.  We incorporated Halloween, Sarah's 25th Birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all in one day and one meal.  Unfortunately, Sarah and Amber got busy and didn't attend, but we saw them later in the week.  Bummer, not the same :>((







Got a chance to have "therapy" with the girls and meet with friends.  Love the laughs and the great time we always have.  Especially that I don't have to pay for "therapy" and we all feel better afterwards.  Laughing is definitely the best medicine.

So now we're off to Branson Missouri for a week, to see the area, and maybe take in 1-2 shows.  Our goal is Las Vegas for Christmas (weird choice, I know) and Pasedena for New Years Rose Bowl Parade.