A long walk-November 7, 2013

We went to the hotel/casino/gift shops complex today. It is a mere 500,000 square feet and we walked ALL of it. It seems so much easier because the entire place is carpeted with very nice carpet and padding. What a great walk. This building is furnished as nicely as anything in Las Vegas. The statues and artwork are as stunning as what you see there. I noticed that no one was taking pictures though there are no signs warning not to take them. So, I tried one picture with my iPhone. It does not do this item justice.

I can't even describe this to you, but I can tell you there are a number of them inside the building.

And all have water fountains. The colors are outstanding. I meant to take a picture of the gold lion they have here. It is at least as large as the one in the MGM Grand in Vegas. Very nice. I wish everyone could see this complex. It is extraordinary and very impressive.

 

We were fortunate enough to eat at our favorite fish restaurant today. It was out of this world. We have missed this excellent food so much. We justified eating a nice meal like that by doing all that walking. We have to drive to Gainesville, TX tomorrow for some shopping. We have to replace that splitter, remember? I suggest we buy 3 or 4. Gainesville is the closest big city. It's very close, just over the state line. It will be fun.

 

 



Thackerville, OK-November 6, 2013

We had a nice trip to Thackerville, Oklahoma, home of Terry Bradshaw and the Win Star World hotel/casino/resort/RV park. It's now the largest one in the United States. After I posted this blog last night, it started raining and we thought we needed to start building an ark. It poured. So what did I do first thing this morning? On my way to the Cute Red Vehicle I took a big step and thought it was just green grass. It was actually a puddle that went to my ankles. So I put the car through its paces so we could connect it to the coach and I grumbled the entire time. That water was really cold. Then after we paid our toll and got on the turnpike Jerry confessed he had left the splitter on the water faucet, the very splitter we bought yesterday to replace the one we left at Derrick's house. Now we are splitter-less! It did not end there. While he was backing up into space 157 in this really nice RV park he decided to wipe out the sign for space 155. Now the ding on the right front panel matches the ding on the back where he tried to park the coach on top of a picnic table in South Carolina. It's best to  be balanced, don't you think? All of that takes second place to our journey here. Oklahoma was as pretty as we have ever seen it. We have driven this route through rain, snow, sleet, fog, ice and wind but it was full sunshine today. Most of the trees are still wearing their summer green and the farm fields are beautiful. For the record: Jerry pounded out the sign with a mallet and I put duct tape on the back and put it on the post where it was originally. Looks fine.

I believe this is a wheat field. Love that color of green.

 

This leads to a very high point on this interstate. We figured out a long time ago that if you go up one side of a mountain you have to drop back down on the other side. No exception here. At the top they have parking places so you can take in the view. It's that pretty.

 

 



I was dreading going through Moore, Oklahoma because of the tornado. But the buildings by the interstate were still in tact. However, there were hoards of those big electrical trucks everywhere. Obviously they are still trying to put things back together. So glad we did not have to see the damage. Even the water tower that reads "Moore, Home of Toby Keith" is still standing. What a relief.

 

 

We could not get connected fast enough in this park to get to the hotel/casino so we could eat at El Fenix. They have such good Mexican food. A great ending to an interesting day. We like it here so much we think we will stay a few days. 

 

 

 

Rain and horses-November 5, 2013

The rain from Colorado did indeed catch up with us today. But it was not a storm, just nice rain. The bad part is that the humidity rises considerably when it rains. The good part is that it is washing the bugs off the windshield! You have to take the good with the bad. Since there was not too much to do today we went to Kansas Star hotel/casino/etc. In 99% of the cases you can be assured of excellent food at a hotel/casino. The Kansas Star did not disappoint. Plus you can walk for a very long time in clean air, without getting wet or cold. We had a late buffet lunch, went for a long walk and came "home". We stopped at a locally owned hardware store (I absolutely LOVE hardware stores) and found two extremely unique Christmas gifts. So, we had a great day. We are about to decide where we go from here. The ultimate goal still remains Red Bay, Alabama but we have different routes available to get there. You know I will keep you posted.

I did forget to post pictures of Hannah from last Saturday. She loves the horses that belong to their next door neighbors. She is not afraid to be close to them. The white one is her favorite. Please allow me to share these last pictures of her until we return next year.

 

Love that little girl. How we are going to miss her!

Wellington, KS-November 4, 2013

The wind was a battle today, but the sky was clear and there was lots of sunshine. We will stay here a couple of days. That Colorado front we were trying to outrun will catch up with us tomorrow but it will only be rain. We went through one of my favorite parts of the country as far as history goes. It's Post Rock country. I have blogged about it every time we have been through here, but I never grow tired of it. These post rocks were carved out of rock quarries by the first settlers. They are very heavy and have survived all these years. I love that these post rocks are mentioned in the Bible in Proverbs 22:28 which reads "Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers." These are clearly boundary stones. I'll just post one picture to spare all of you who have seen the pictures before.

Those post rocks are solid stone which were originally moved by horse and buggy from the quarry to the location where they were needed. I have no idea how many of these were originally placed, mainly in Russell County, Kansas but it appears there are still many hundreds left, maybe more.

 

 

Then immediately you run into the Smoky Hill wind farm. It is owned by an Italian company. These are small turbines but there are so many (and growing daily) it must produce massive amounts of electricity. We noticed these many years before Derrick started working in the wind industry. These have Vestas engines which weigh 180,000 pounds each.

 

 

Yes, I know you have seen tons of these but I needed to post a picture to show you we drove through this area. We drove for 23 miles down through the center of the wind farm so it is a huge operation.

 

We look forward to a day of rest and possible exploration tomorrow. And we don't mind the rain.

 

Sad note: We just read about a house fire in Loveland where a man was killed. Without a name provided, we know we know the man. I used to work for his brother who was a dentist. I am sorry to hear about this. My sympathies to the family. 



Oakley, KS-November 3, 2013

It was easier to get back in the grove of packing up and leaving than we thought it would be. The hard part of driving away was leaving Hannah. I cannot make any comments yet about that. We are in a park in Oakley, KS. We have been here before. It is not the worst place we have ever stayed but since it's only a one night stop that's immaterial. We'll stay longer at tomorrow night's stop since that front from Colorado will catch up with us there. It will only be rain, no snow. It is windy here but so much warmer. We are grateful for a safe journey. None of the pictures I took today were worth anything. I think Jerry must be driving faster!

Last day in the cold-November 2, 2013

I have no idea what the name of this shrub is, but it is really pretty. They are all over the place here. I wonder if they are only grown in this part of the country? In bright sun they appear to glow. We've noticed some people let them get very tall and others keep them small like this one. I could not resist sharing this pretty color.

 

 

We are absolutely frozen this morning. It was only supposed to drop to 30° but as I type this it is 24 and the sun is shining! We got up at 2:00 AM and started the water dripping in the kitchen sink because it was way too cold to go out and disconnect the water hose. As much as we hate to leave precious Hannah we will be happy to leave here tomorrow morning to get to warmer weather. Now we remember why we moved south in the first place. Normally we do not travel on Sunday. It is our day of rest. But Derrick will be home tonight and we want to see him before we go. We will have a little time to talk to him tonight hopefully. The next storm, the worst so far, is due here on Monday. That leaves Sunday for us to hit the road. And prayerfully we shall do that.

 

 

REMEMBER DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS AT 2:00 AM TOMORROW.



                              SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK BEFORE YOU GO TO BED TONIGHT!

Time is flying by-November 1, 2013

This is what we saw on Monday, Tuesday, half of Wednesday and some of Thursday.

Today is too windy for it to be cloudy and gloomy. We should have 30-35 mph winds

for most of today. Last night they named three cities that will have bad winds longer than the

rest of the state. We are so fortunate to be in one of those cities! This was the view out of the windshield of the coach.

 

 

Jerry has been putting child safety locks on the cabinets in the house. He has only one bathroom left and that task is finished. He had a helper in the kitchen. I'm telling you this little girl thinks her granddaddy hung the moon. This is what it looked like to me.

 

Granddaddy, what are you doing?

 

Well, Hannah, I'm putting safety locks on the doors so you can't get hurt.

 

Let me help you with that screwdriver so we can hurry up and play!

 

 

We know we must move on by Sunday. The weather coming in on Monday afternoon will not be tolerable to us. Right now it appears the night temps will be in the teens. As much as we hate to leave this adorable little girl, we simply must. So we have lots of last minute things to do. Today and tomorrow will be busy.