Abilene...Abilene...

Feed me?

Me too!!

                                  
We left Possum Kingdom State Park this morning with sunshine over our shoulders.  More importantly.....no gale force winds!  We headed south and west to the Abilene State Park which is just outside of Tuscalosa, TX. This park is in northern to mid- Texas and despite all the wildfires of last spring and summer - green.  Possum Kingdom did not fare so well.  This park is full of wild life.  We have not seen any signs that state specifically "Do not feed the wild-life." We did throw out some bread and carrots to 5 White Tailed look alikes.  These deer have never seen a gun or heard a gun shot!!! They are tame to the point of being a nuisance.  After breaking the first law of a sign we didn't see, we went on to feed a beautiful feral cat.  Black, shiny and apparently very pregnant.  A little tuna fish in a paper bowl and she was up on the picnic table in a heart beat; albeit with one eye on the camper.  She definitely was much more cautious then the deer.

Richard capturing the deer in a photo

Me catching Richard capturing deer in the photo

"Our" black feral beauty

Checking out the "Chicken of the Sea"

We think she is eating for "many"

We are looking forward to exploring this park tomorrow on
our bikes.  We rode a little this afternoon for the first time since we left Michigan.  It was 70 degrees, the sun was shining and it was wonderful!!!  I think a little sunshine and exercise is all Richard needs to kick this cold that caught him.

The Journey Begins - November 17th 2011

Osceola, Iowa November 19th

                                                
Richard and I started our journey to the hopefully hot and dry Southwest this year by way of a little detour.....to  Alpha, Mi to be exact.  My dear friend Agnes Bjork of Alpha had voiced a concern to  her daughter, Linda Bjork, and I quote, "I don't think Jackie really likes to camp or travel in a camper, you know".  Richard and I decided to give her a trial run in the "camper".  So, we pulled up outside her home and Linda had her ready for our little adventure.  We walked her down to the camper; had her climb aboard, and off we went for a short tour of Alpha . , along with Agnes, Linda and Linda's small moose of a dog, Ziggy (all 180 lbs of Great Dane)   I looked back at Agnes as we rolled along and her smile reached from one ear to the other!  Her final comment - "I think this is a great way to travel".  It was a fun way to begin our journey south this winter.
We left Alpha, headed west to Iron River and continued west and south  through Wisconsin and stopped in Sauk Prairie, Wi for our first night on the road.  Yesterday evening found us in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  If you have checked out Richard's blog  (blueroadsandboondocking.blogspot.com ) you already know what Cedar Rapids is well known for.....and it isn't the wonderful fragrance of Cedar!!!  Sorry, but it reeks.  Major agribusiness, Quaker Oats and a few other huge chemical using concerns are located in Cedar Rapids.  The smells coming from each one of those huge complexes could peel paint from any surface not to mention disolve the contacts in my eyes!! 
We departed Cedar Rapids this morning under heavy gloomy skies and continued our trek south and west through Amana, Iowa and came to rest in Osceola.  Just before stopping for the night, the sun made a valiant attempt to break through the gloom and managed to send down what my mother used to call "Angel slides".  She would always tell me that when the sun shattered the clouds and made streamers that touched the earth, angels would come down to visit us.  Osceola was the host of several angels this afternoon.

Sun breaking through in Osceola, Iowa

"Angel Slides" in Osceola, Iowa