Jan 30th

It will be a short note tonight.  Nothing much new to add except we have moved on west to Marathon, Tx.  It is another little "blink and you miss it" spot on Hwy. 90 through the southern party of Texas. Very little traveled highway but beautiful in peaceful, timeless strenth that comes through so strongly in the terrain.  Nothing much has changed in over several million years except for a windmill here and there.  We are camped at the Marathon RV Park on the western edge of the little villege.  This is the entry way to Big Bend National Park about 70 miles south of here.  There is only one road that goes down to the park and another that comes back up to 90 on the western side of the area  We think we will stay one more night here so we can ride around the town tomorrow.

Sheri - this one is for you!  you wanted pictures
that you never see in Channing!  Our first
Havalina (wild boar)

Add on for the 29th

Sorry, but the 29th would not allow me to put in more then one picture!  I will try again for the train and storm pictures!!

Sunshine in Terrell County, Texas!

We arrived in Sanderson, Tx on the 27th from Del Rio, Tx after a short stop in Langtry where the notorious Judge Roy Bean held "court" as a Justice of the Peace for a number of years.  He named the village Langtry, after an actress in England, " The" Lilly Langtry,  it is written, because of his obsession by her beauty and stage presence.  There is a beautiful Tourist Information Center in the little village (and little else).  Every variety of cactus is represented in the garden near his little building that housed his saloon/court where he metered out alcohol and justice. 
We continued on to Sanderson, Tx and decided to stay in the Canyon RV Park for three nights.  We have been out riding bikes twice - once before the storm and today after the storm.  Texas does nothing in a small way.  The storm on Mustang Island was the biggest I have ever experienced.  This, last night was a very close second.  Thunder, lightening, rain and wind and VERY COLD!!  It dipped down to 30 degrees and is forecasted to go down to 29 tonight.  That is cold in Texas.   We are leaving Sanderson tomorrow for Marathon, Tx which will lead us down to the Big Bend National Park.
We stopped during our ride  yesterday to get a Dill Pickle from a cavernous glass jar at a tiny general store that Richard had stopped at three time on previous bike rides.  The woman who owns and runs this little store has to drive to  Fort Stockton, Tx to buy her supplies retail and bring them back to her little business.  Sanderson is way away from any major city in Texas.  Today, we waited until after lunch to go for a ride hoping that the wind would have died down a bit.  Yesterday we rode west out of town so today we went East for a change.  The wind was coming from the Northwest in very strong gusts.  We rode two and half miles east out of town and, I swear it was 15 coming back!!  A couple of times the wind actually lifted the front of my bike off the ground.  This was the first time I have had to peddle downhill in the lowest gear the bike has to offer.  I was able to get a couple of beautiful shots with the camera.  One picture is of a rock formation with a Cross on top.  We learned that when Highway 90 was made in 1922 the workers would thank God and install a Cross on a hill near the highway.  I was able to get a photo of one of these markers today.  The other pictures are of trains and the tracks that run extremely close to the RV Park.  At least 8 trains go through on any given day.  These are freight and passenger trains and they blow their whistles right as they go by  our camp site which is only 50 feet from the tracks.

Tonight, I think of home and know that the full moon that shines down on us in Texas is shining down on you.

Jan 26th

Jan 26th


What do you think of when you say “Texas”? Not wine surely, but lo and behold as we were riding around the Del Rio area today on our bikes we came to a road sign directing us to a local winery! I decided I wanted to see what a Texas winery might be like. We stopped and there within the city limits of Del Rio was a winery named Val Verde Winery, established in 1863. Their specialty is white wine but they had some reds as well. I have never paid over $18 for a bottle of wine before but I was intrigued by a red wine called Lenoir. It is a 2006 Texas Lenoir. I tasted it at the winery and loved it! It is described as “A dark, ruby red whose color pigments are present not only in the skins, but also in the pulp with its dark purple juice. It is fruity, with varietal aromas of mulberry and plums and is capped with spices such as cloves and vanilla.” I have no idea what any of the above really means, but I do know I liked the taste of it. I bought one bottle to bring home with me. Since it is a 2006 wine it should only get better with age I would think. I also purchased a bottle of their sweet red table wine and we are enjoying that even as I write.

It was so pleasant riding around the streets of old Del Rio today. We rode yesterday into the urban sprawl that has taken over so many of America’s cities. We were looking for and found a bike shop that Richard had gone to on a previous bike ride. It involved riding into city traffic during rush hour. I have a sticker on my fridge at home that states “Each day, do one thing that scares you.” I have been trying to do that and I certainly accomplished it yesterday riding in the traffic. Today was a relaxing day riding through the old neighborhoods of Del Rio. While riding the back roads of the city, we actually rode right to the border without realizing it. We stopped and took some pictures of the “fence” that separates the US from Mexico. When we first rode up on it I thought of the Berlin Wall separating East and West Berlin. It is very imposing. It seemed strange watching the birds freely flying back and forth over the wall and yet we humans have to go through inspection to cross that line. On the way back to our camp site we rode past a pasture with horses , miniature deer and another enclosure with burros, and all of this, including the winery were all in the city limits of Del Rio!

We are moving on tomorrow, heading west and north to Langtry, Texas, the home of Judge Roy Bean and his one true love, Lilly Langtry whose name the city is named after.

Jan 26th




What do you think of when you say “Texas”? Not wine surely, but lo and behold as we were riding around the Del Rio area today on our bikes we came to a road sign directing us to a local winery! I decided I wanted to see what a Texas winery might be like. We stopped and there within the city limits of Del Rio was a winery named Val Verde Winery, established in 1863. Their specialty is white wine but they had some reds as well. I have never paid over $18 for a bottle of wine before but I was intrigued by a red wine called Lenoir. It is a 2006 Texas Lenoir. I tasted it at the winery and loved it! It is described as “A dark, ruby red whose color pigments are present not only in the skins, but also in the pulp with its dark purple juice. It is fruity, with varietal aromas of mulberry and plums and is capped with spices such as cloves and vanilla.” I have no idea what any of the above really means, but I do know I liked the taste of it. I bought one bottle to bring home with me. Since it is a 2006 wine it should only get better with age I would think. I also purchased a bottle of their sweet red table wine and we are enjoying that even as I write.



It was so pleasant riding around the streets of old Del Rio today. We rode yesterday into the urban sprawl that has taken over so many of America’s cities. We were looking for and found a bike shop that Richard had gone to on a previous bike ride. It involved riding into city traffic during rush hour. I have a sticker on my fridge at home that states “Each day, do one thing that scares you.” I have been trying to do that and I certainly accomplished it yesterday riding in the traffic. Today was a relaxing day riding through the old neighborhoods of Del Rio. While riding the back roads of the city, we actually rode right to the border without realizing it. We stopped and took some pictures of the “fence” that separates the US from Mexico. When we first rode up on it I thought of the Berlin Wall separating East and West Berlin. It is very imposing. It seemed strange watching the birds freely flying back and forth over the wall and yet we humans have to go through inspection to cross that line. On the way back to our camp site we rode past a pasture with horses , miniature deer and another enclosure with burros, and all of this, including the winery were all in the city limits of Del Rio!



We are moving on tomorrow, heading west and north to Langtry, Texas, the home of Judge Roy Bean and his one true love, Lilly Langtry whose name the city is named after.

Jan 24th - Del Rio, Texas

Today was a travel day from Laredo, Tx to Del Rio, Tx., a 180 mile trip north and west but still on the Mexican border. We had our first "inspection" stop while in Texas. There are areas on the highways which border Mexico where the Border Patrol have an area that is orange coned off. They have officers and dogs and both come to your vehicle. We were asked if this (the motor home) was where we lived and was there anyone with us. We answered yes to the first and no to the second. Evidently the dog gave us a passing score or a negative sniff test and we were allowed to continue on our way. I believe they are searching for drugs and illegal aliens. There is a long stretch of highway that borders Mexico with no other roads leading into Mexico except the highway we were on and the Border Patrol set up inspection areas at each end. I am sure we will run into other areas with inspection sites. It is only mandatory to stop at these inspection sites when the lights are blinking meaning there are officers present.

I have made comments before about how boring flat land can be. I think I may be wrong. You simply have to look at it without a comparing eye. Let the land speak for itself and you will see the inherent beauty that is there. We went through almost totally barren country side except for a cattle ranch every 20 miles or so. There is only cactus and scrub trees........and yet as you look more closely you realize how strong those cactus and trees have to be to survive in that dry, arid land. Each leafless tree has its own gnarled shape and is unique. Every now and then we passed a river bed or creek that actually had water in it. Most are very dry at this time. Not much wild life to be seen today. We have seen wild Havalina (wild pigs) dead on the road but have yet to see a live one. We were warned about them in Zapata. They come out at night and will attack dogs. We were told to carry a flash light at night along with a big stick! The woman who gave us these instructions added " Enjoy your time here!"

We are in a small private RV park right in the middle of old Del Rio. called Hidden Valley RV Park. Great area to ride bikes in and that is what we are planning for tomorrow. The high today was about 70 degrees and although cool for this area feels wonderful to us. I am loving the low humidity. Even when it was 90 degrees a few days ago the humidity was 15%!! You just have to remember to drink lots of water .....or whatever!

Today's pics are of the beautiful Tourist information Center just outside of Laredo that we stopped at to pick up literature about Texas. It is quite a sight. I was told that it was designed by a woman engineer from Texas and was built 10 years ago. Quite the rest area and info center!

I would be remiss if i didn't include a picture of Chester our mascot chicken. My son and his wife gave him to me for Christmas. When we are camped he rides on the dash. He now sports an eye patch as he needed a little more macho attitude with all the cock fighting down this way

Laredo, Texas - Lake Casa Blanca State Park

We arrived yesterday from Zapata into Laredo, Texas and signed into the Lake Casa Blanca State Park for a couple of nights. It is a huge state park and we discovered today while out on a bike ride that it used to be a county park until 1991 when the state took it over. It actually had a lot more going on when it was a county park. Science and nature interpretive centers and areas for large groups, education plus all the areas for camping. We rode quite a bit today and it seems sad that a beautiful park almost in the middle of Laredo but well protected from highways is so unused. It may be the time of year also. As it was 90 degrees yesterday when we were out riding I cannot imagine staying here in the summer when it is 110 or so.

As we were riding away from our camp site this afternoon we saw ahead of us a huge flock of birds that were taking off from the water about 1/8 of a mile ahead of us. As they rose into the air they kept turning and catching the warmer thermals to rise higher. There were hundreds if not more. I will post a picture but I don't know if anyone can see them clearly. I did a search on Google and discovered that they are Snow Geese and this is part of their migration path for the winter. They were beautiful as they rose higher and higher into the sky until they looked like little pieces of snow or cotton balls high in the sky. We also came across a snowy Egret with young and I was able to get a picture of her standing in the water of a marsh and then as she took off when we startled her. She did turn and come back to her young.

Please excuse the three pictures of the same frame. Can't figure out how to remove it!!! Will work on these skills a bit more.

We are off to the Del Rio, Texas area tomorrow and will leave early as it is about a 4 hour drive. It too is right on the Mesican border and we may get brave and walk across. We were told not to do this in the Laredo area as there are drug wars going on all the time and people get caught in the cross fire.

Jan 20th -Wednesday

When we arrived yesterday in Zapata it was sunny and 85 degrees. We awoke to fog and 60 degrees. I think the fog came from the reservoir but it hung on until about 1:00PM. As it lifted the sun started shining through and the air became drier and more like the Texas I had come to expect for this time of year. We went for a bike ride through the "neighborhood". I don't think there was one house or in this case "trailer" that was not chain link fenced in with at least one and usually two to three dogs (thankfully) inside the fences. Many were Pit Bulls and the rest German Shepherds - big ones I might add. Came across one loose Chihuahua which I made a wide berth around but Richard was looking at the German Shepherds across the street which were fenced in - the little Chihuahua was not. As I made a wide curve around the little guy he just looked up at me over his shoulder. Richard on the other hand was not watching where he was going and almost ran the little guy over! You know what they say about little ankle biters? Yup, it chased after Richard and almost bit him. I am not sure why most in this area have chain link fences around their homes or big guard dogs inside the fences. It might be to keep the illegals out. We rode down to the reservoir and found that the border was only about 50 feet out in the water! I took quite a few pictures today and decided that today was going to be critter day with photos. One will be up of the beautiful sunset just behind our camper. More bike riding tomorrow in a different direction. Lots of Border Patrol out today but they didn't look twice at us on our bikes. Not too many many illegals come across the border on bikes!! It was a fun day to explore the area and interesting people to talk with.

January 19th - Zapata, Tx, just north of the Mexico border. We are on a little spit of land that leads into a huge reservoir of water from the Rio Grande river which was created when the river was dammed up south of Zapata. Apparently this is a very popular area for competitive Bass fishermen until a year or so ago when the fish began dying. We are in a little RV camp which is just a mile from the reservoir. We were unable to call this particular RV camp because the phone was either disconnected or out of order. Richard called a couple of other RV places and a woman gave him the name Sunshine RV Park. He told her that the phone was not working and she told him "oh, that is ok, just go there as I know there are three or four open spots for campers." We plugged in the address in the Garmin and found it. No one was in the office or the home of the hosts but one of the campers told us to just pick a spot and it would be fine. We picked a spot and set up camp. This type of situation reminds me so much of home and how much different little towns are from big cities. The owners eventually showed up and came to introduce themselves to us. It appears there will be plenty of areas to ride our bikes and we are looking forward to that for tomorrow.

We left our second camp grounds this morning to head to Zapata. We did go for a bike ride yesterday in a development area across the highway from our RV park. It had been planned to be a large sub-division but couldn't make it during the down swing of the economy of last year. There are just gravel roads in but they wind all through an old sugar cane field. I was able to take some interesting pictures of a large white hawk that was hovering over us looking for dinner and also of a huge group or flock of birds that were skimming over the ground eating seeds from gourd like plants. When they took off they looked just like fish in a school., when one turns they all turn as one. What was interesting is that in the flock of birds there were a few red-wing black birds that I didn't notice until I downloaded the pictures on my computer and looked at the picture.

The whole area that we drove through today could have been Mexico. We were definitely in the minority as we stopped at a gas station, attempted to purchase a couple of soft tacos and was asked where I was from. I was told that I needed to learn some Spanish! This was done in a joking manner but I felt very far from home at that moment and understood what it is like to feel like a stranger in a strange land. The land is stark, dry and the healthiest living things are the cacti. It has its own kind of beauty especially at sunset when color appears out of nowhere as the sun is setting.

Mexico - just a hop and skip away

We left Mustang Island this morning - ready to get out of the rain and wind. We headed south and a bit west to Mission, Texas which is only a couple of miles away from the Mexican border. When we left Mustang Island it was 51 degrees with a very cold hard wind out of the north. Three hours later we are settled in at Oleander RV Park just outside of Mission, Texas and it was 71 degrees at 3:45 PM. Awesome. It felt sooooo good to not be wearing 3 layers of clothes. The park we are in is not a state park but a privately owned RV park where the majority of people here leave their campers/trailers/RV's here all year. Many have been skirted around the bottom and they even have little flower gardens next to their "homes". People here are obviously retired. They ride little golf carts around the park or even tricycles! For some reason I feel like all these other campers are my elders by many years but I don't think that is the case. I just feel inside younger then they look on the outside. Yeah, I know, check out the mirror, Jackie.

Had an interesting experience just shortly before entering our new camp site. We stopped at a gas station just outside of Mission, Texas and I went in to use the facilities. There was a line outside the women's bathroom and the young woman with a child that was ahead of me in the line started to speak Spanish to me. The paucity of Spanish that I do know completely abandoned me and I simply told her "I am sorry, I do not understand" She smiled, put her hand on my shoulder and continued on in Spanish. I think she was trying to tell me there was only one bathroom labeled "Women" but it was for both men and women. I am definitely "not in Kansas anymore, Toto." Even all the groceries and chips, crackers, snacks in the gas station were all in Spanish. Why do we as Americans expect others coming to the USA to speak English, but we make little effort to learn any language of our neighboring countries?

Looking forward to exploring a bit tomorrow and maybe even crossing over into Mexico. The people in this park are so friendly, the hosts as well as the campers. Almost feels like home.....except for the little golf carts!

The pictures I am sending are of our new home. Cacti bordering the camp, my first orange tree right next to our camper. I can reach out the window and pick an orange. The final picture is of the sunset tonight. It was a beauty.

The Perfect Storm!

We had a storm last night the likes of which I have never ever experienced before. I am used to the usual thunder and lightening and a whisper of wind that we normally experience in June or July in the UP. Last night was unbelievable! The thunder and lightening began normally enough but soon raged into sounds I have never heard or felt before. I say felt because the ground and camper actually shook with the bolts of lightening and booms of the thunder. It was deafening! It didn't last 20 minutes as it does at home but continued for 2 - 3 hours continually becoming louder and more violent. Then when we didn't think it could get any worse the wind and rain started whipping the camper from side to side. I actually thought we had fast forwarded into hurricane season. Richard, after a couple of jumps had no trouble sleeping through the night. I, on the other hand, started to imagine the camper tipping over, or other people's satellite dishes slamming into our camper - all kinds of crazy fearful thoughts. I finally fitfully fell asleep and awoke to about 4 inches of water under and around all the trailer/campers in the park. It continued to rain off and on throughout today. I manged to get down to the beach for some stormy photos of the Gulf, and of course, our neighbor camper trying to get rid of the water around his camper and, ah.......crap caddy. (Black water hauler)

Oh, by the way, I made whole wheat bread today in the camper!! Hey, it was raining, what else can one do?????

Still at Mustang Island

We are still at the Mustang Island State Park, a few yards from the waters of the Gulf. It was cold last night as the rain continued to fall. Temp dropped down to 51 degrees and for this part of Texas that is cold for this time of year. This morning we awoke to socked in fog. It took a few hours for that to lift and then the sun came shining through. Just before it lifted I walked down to the beach. There is a abandoned beach house that belongs to this state park but is no longer used. I am guessing that funds have been cut back here as other places in the US.

Today's observation: What is 3 feet by 3 feet and about 12 inches high with wheels and comes in a variety of colors?? .........give up?.......These containers are officially called "Black water haulers" Also known as Turd Trailers, Crap Caddies, Portable poop pullers, you name it. Almost every one of the campers in this park have one or more of these nifty little devices. I watched a couple of people hook these devices up to their 3/4 ton pickups and pull them out to the dump station. I have not figured out why these large men cannot simply pull them to the dump station like they would pull a little red wagon. Some of the campers have two, one for "black water" (crap caddies) and one for grey water - sink water carriers. This makes it easier to dispose of wastes so they don't have to unhook their rigs and drive to the dump stations. I am learning lots of things about camping. This is one of the more extravagant inventions of the RV business. For those of you who would like a visual, I will have a picture of a crap caddie tomorrow.

Closing out as the rain pitter patters on the roof of the Wanch (our home).

The bird that is watching over us is a Boat Tailed Grackle and there are hundreds of them instead of Sea Gulls all around the camping area. This one has stuck with us continually. He is watching over us.

First real day and night of camping!

We are here - Mustang Island State Park. This state park is located just outside of Corpus Christi Texas. We crossed south from the main land over a cause way to South Padre Island and then a bridge over to Mustang Island. No wild horses, just lots of beach and a parking lot for a State Park. A parking lot full of Boat Tailed Grackles. There are two rows of sites for campers and we are in number 19. 48 sites in total. We arrived early this morning and started the process of hooking up to water and electric and the task of organizing everything we had packed in the camper. That pretty much took all day, but as it was raining steadily outside it was a good day to do what we had to do to get things in order. The other campers in this park make this little 30 foot camper look like a tent!. There are some really, really big campers here. Most have 5 slide outs and they are hauling 4 wheel drive vehicles with them. They even have little satellites set up outside their campers for Internet and TV! A good place to start the nomad life, but certainly not what I expected. I was thinking something like Bewabic Park outside of Crystal Falls with trees, hills, vales, etc. No so. This is flat, sand and treeless. This is the beauty of this country of ours. You just need to open your eyes a bit further to see what there is to see.

Almost there!

We drove from Cameron, Tx with the greatest intention of setting up camp in the Mustang Island State Park. Good sense prevailed over haste so we are still at a motel this evening just outside of Corpus Christi which is very near Mustang State Park. We will head there early in the morning so we can set up camp, blow out the anti-freeze in the pipes and fill with clean water. Each mile we traveled south became warmer until the temp reached a high of 74 degrees at about 1:00PM CST. We also came into our first Pecan trees which are beautiful - they are huge, & still green at this time of year. Has anyone heard of the "Vine that ate the South"? We saw the first evidence of it as we traveled through Odem, Tx. Google that one you guys!!! It is called Kudzu. Check it out. Also while on the topic of invasive species, try Mistletoe. We saw what it has done to many trees down in this area. Mistletoe is a parasite and kills what it feeds from, which down here are many varieties of trees. (Which puts a whole new meaning to a "Kiss under the Mistletoe")

Manana --- Which is the accepted word for "tomorrow" now that we are here in the south of Texas; we plan to do our first night of real true RV camping. Buenos noches amigos!!

I am sending along a couple of pictures of today - Southern religious art and eat your heart out, we have the AC on!!!!

Monday - clean, warmer and getting organized!

I must begin today's entry with an apology. I stated yesterday that I wondered how anyone could ever live in Oklahoma as it was so flat and uninteresting. I must amend that statement. The land is wide open and you can see for miles around and yes, it is very windy, but even so there is beauty in open spaces if you look carefully. Also, the people I came into contact with yesterday were so open and friendly and helpful. I think that compared to the beauty I personally find in the UP, it is hard to find other places as beautiful but our country holds many varieties of beauty, they are neither good or bad, simply different. That being said, I still think the UP holds sway over all that I have seen so far in our travels south into Texas.

We left Oklahoma this morning and crossed into Texas with snow still on the ground in places and little bodies of water frozen. It was cold by Texas standards but still felt a little warmer then where we had driven from. Our goal today was to find a car/truck wash facility that could accommodate the 30 foot long and 12 feet high camper. You would think with so much truck travel across the US truck wash areas would abound. Not so. We finally located one on the north side of Waco, Texas and washed off all the salt and debris that had accumulated since we left home last Thursday, the 7Th. I think we are actually getting better gas mileage now that it is clean!! It is warm enough (for us) to start organizing things in the camper and getting ready to call it home soon. Hopefully, we will reach our destination of South Padre Island area tomorrow and set up camp, flush out the antifreeze from the fresh water holding system and make it home.

Sunday 4th day out! Winter is waning at last

Two miracles in a row! The camper started again this morning and it was 5 degrees above zero without the wind chill. Once again the sun was shining as we left Andover, Kansas headed for as far south as we could comfortably travel. No more glare ice or snow although there was still plenty of snow in the fields. As we continued south the snow faded away and the land stayed flat all through Oklahoma. Can't imagine why anyone would want to live in this state but I suppose there are people who wouldn't want to live in the upper peninsula of Michigan either. Give me trees any day compared to the barren moon scape of Oklahoma. As we traveled through Oklahoma City the land started to take on a new look with hills and rough rock ledges as we pulled into Ardmore, Ok. Much warmer here and I was able to switch out my boots for shoes as we pulled into our motel. Still standing water has a thin crust of ice but it is definitely starting to feel like warmer air is moving in. We will get off Interstate 35 tomorrow after entering into Texas and zig zag a bit on secondary roads through the state . It will feel good to get to our first destination and be able to use the camper as home.

Miracle of Miracles!

I had a strong feeling this morning that Wanch (the motor home) would start this morning despite all the dire predictions that most likely we would have to have it jumped at the very least and perhaps towed to the nearest Ford garage to have a new starter put in. My belief is that the camper wanted to get as far south as possible and nothing baring the worst that Mother Nature could throw at us would stop it from starting. I was right! Gut feelings prevailed and the beautiful camper started up and said "Lets get out of this freezing cold" We left in the 12 below zero (without wind chill figured it) sunshine and headed south from north of Des Moines and passed an area that was straight out of the Chronicles of Narnia with the Ice Queen ruling over a crystal forest. Unfortunately, that ice forest extended down to the highways and there were once again cars, trucks, etc belly up, nose up, rear up all over the freeway. We slowly crept through that area but delighted in the beauty of the trees encased in crystal once again. We traveled through Mn, Missouri and finally into Kansas where we are settled in for the night somewhere called Andover near Wichita. We drove through land that not even cattle live in. Barren. I felt like Dorothy wanting desperately to be in the Emerald City of OZ. No wonder tornadoes sweep through the barren landscape. Regardless it has its own beauty.

South does not always mean warmer!

Jan 8th - Stayed in Hudson, Wi last night. Drove as far as the wind and icy conditions would allow and decided the better part of valor was to stop early and stay safe. Came out this morning to a dead battery. We were able to get it jumped but we knew we could not shut the motor off until we found a garage that would accommodate a Class C camper. Needless to say we sucked up a bit more gas than we did yesterday. We had much better road conditions today but the wind was still high and we passed many upturned vehicles in ditches and the medians of the highway. We are camped (read - staying in a warm motel room just north of Des Moines, Iowa for the night). Pretty sure the motor will not even groan in the morning as the projected cold snap predicts 16 degrees below zero without wind chill factored in. We passed some beautiful farm land that was covered in some of the most beautiful snow drifts I have seen since I was a little girl. Windmills (now known as wind generators) were everywhere and they all were spinning to the max today. We are a little further south and thankful for the better road conditions.

Deciding to leave or not was not the question. We were going to leave regardless of the weather. The weather seemed to want to hold us to the area, but we were determined that today was the day to begin this journey south. Despite the slippery footing under the camper, the surrounding area of fields and trees was totally encased in crystal. The world was black and white, sparkling even without the sun. We managed despite the slippery roads and high winds to make it to the Minnesota border where we stopped for the night in hopes that tomorrow will bring weather that is much easier to wield our way a little further south.