No, not a wedding anniversary --- one year ago, we left Coppell in Miss Doozie on our full time lifestyle in a motorhome.
In some ways, it seems we've been doing this much longer than a year... in other ways, it seems we've just started...
Happy anniversary to Dwayne, Patti, Miss Doozie, Miss Kitty, and Tabitha, and the Jee-rage!
Monday, October 10, 2016
Back in Texas!!!!
I had to go back in blog posts to see how long we've been gone - we left Texas on May 3! So, we've been away for 5 months + 1 week - all of the hot, sticky, unbearable summer!
We are staying at Thousand Trails Lake Texoma for a few days; we still plan to head toward Lewisville on Saturday (10/15).
We are dealing with a "unique" issue of being fulltimers, or at least, being folks who spend a large amount of time outside of Texas. Last year, the state of Texas changed how they did registration and inspections, essentially requiring you to get an inspection before you could register the vehicle in Texas. This caused us some issues last year as we purchased Miss Doozie in July, but were not able to get the state inspection completed in Texas until August - so we could not register her in Texas within the 30 days after purchase as required (and had to pay a penalty as a result!). In addition, the inspection station recorded a wrong VIN on the inspection report, so it was filed with that VIN in the State of Texas system, so we could not do the registration because we didn't have an inspection on file for the appropriate VIN. We had to take Miss Doozie back to the inspection station and have her re-inspected (in September) with the inspection identifying the correct VIN, before we could register her in Texas.
Anyway, Miss Doozie's registration then ran out in September this year - and we weren't anywhere near Texas (well, we were in Illinois by the end of September, but we still had an appointment at HWH in Iowa, so we weren't going to make it back to Texas). There is a provision for us (it also applies for military personnel who don't have their vehicles in Texas) - we could renew our registration without having a valid inspection, but we need to have it inspected within 3 days of arrival at our "home, duty station, or destination". We have the added complication this year of needing to return to the place that did the inspection last year as they charged us for both the original inspection and the re-inspection (for the correct VIN) and they "owe" us a state inspection for no charge. So, we will return "home" on Saturday, and get it inspected on Monday, if all goes well!
Unfortunately, the renewed registration sticker is at our mail folder in Livingston (they emailed me to let me know that something from the state of Texas arrived since they know those things may be time-sensitive) - so we'll need to get it sent to us sometime soon too. The Jeep needs to have its registration renewed in October, so we'll be able to get the inspection completed and the registration renewed while we're in Texas. We will also be making a trip to Polk County (where Livingston is) sometime in the next few weeks so we can vote, so we'll be able to pick up mail there if need be.
We are staying at Thousand Trails Lake Texoma for a few days; we still plan to head toward Lewisville on Saturday (10/15).
We are dealing with a "unique" issue of being fulltimers, or at least, being folks who spend a large amount of time outside of Texas. Last year, the state of Texas changed how they did registration and inspections, essentially requiring you to get an inspection before you could register the vehicle in Texas. This caused us some issues last year as we purchased Miss Doozie in July, but were not able to get the state inspection completed in Texas until August - so we could not register her in Texas within the 30 days after purchase as required (and had to pay a penalty as a result!). In addition, the inspection station recorded a wrong VIN on the inspection report, so it was filed with that VIN in the State of Texas system, so we could not do the registration because we didn't have an inspection on file for the appropriate VIN. We had to take Miss Doozie back to the inspection station and have her re-inspected (in September) with the inspection identifying the correct VIN, before we could register her in Texas.
Anyway, Miss Doozie's registration then ran out in September this year - and we weren't anywhere near Texas (well, we were in Illinois by the end of September, but we still had an appointment at HWH in Iowa, so we weren't going to make it back to Texas). There is a provision for us (it also applies for military personnel who don't have their vehicles in Texas) - we could renew our registration without having a valid inspection, but we need to have it inspected within 3 days of arrival at our "home, duty station, or destination". We have the added complication this year of needing to return to the place that did the inspection last year as they charged us for both the original inspection and the re-inspection (for the correct VIN) and they "owe" us a state inspection for no charge. So, we will return "home" on Saturday, and get it inspected on Monday, if all goes well!
Unfortunately, the renewed registration sticker is at our mail folder in Livingston (they emailed me to let me know that something from the state of Texas arrived since they know those things may be time-sensitive) - so we'll need to get it sent to us sometime soon too. The Jeep needs to have its registration renewed in October, so we'll be able to get the inspection completed and the registration renewed while we're in Texas. We will also be making a trip to Polk County (where Livingston is) sometime in the next few weeks so we can vote, so we'll be able to pick up mail there if need be.
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Another beautiful day at Tenkiller Ferry Lake
We got up early this morning and were able to see the sun rising over the lake.
We ask for prayers for our neighbors here at the campground, George and Pat. Pat suffered a broken hip here at the campground yesterday and is now in the hospital with decisions to be made about whether to do surgery here locally or to transport her closer to their home. Please be in prayer with us for them!
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| Sunrise over Goat Island |
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| Sunrise |
Saturday, October 8, 2016
A stroll around Strayhorn Landing Campground
The day we arrived, Thursday, it was still quite warm and summer-like. Thursday night into Friday morning a storm moved through, landing a part of a branch on the roof of Miss Doozie, just missing landing on the skylight over the bathroom, waking us up and sending us scurrying outside into the wind to put our outside chairs up so they would not blow away and putting the awnings up so they would not get damaged.
Yesterday (Friday) was a beautiful fall day. We enjoyed a walk around our campground and along the road below that leads to the boat launch area.
The campground is open but on the "honor system" after September 30 - meaning that we put the rental fees with our registration into a box near the entrance. The campground is a little less than 50% full, with a few more campers moving in last evening (Friday), probably for the weekend. It is really a lovely place to be!
Yesterday (Friday) was a beautiful fall day. We enjoyed a walk around our campground and along the road below that leads to the boat launch area.
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| The road below the campground shows the exposed layers of rock. |
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| We understand this is "Goat Island" due to the goats that live on it. |
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| The dam is in the distance. |
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| Miss Doozie is up on the hill (near the middle, a 5th wheel parked next to us is on the left). |
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| My sweet Dwayne! |
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| The marina that is near us. Many of the boats are raised up out of the water on supports for the winter. |
Friday, October 7, 2016
Sweet old bull - Henry
Back in May, I posted about the sweet Hereford bull, Henry, (http://trekincartwrights.blogspot.com/2016/05/sweet-henry.html) that niece Ginny bred, raised, and showed, and who has been one of the breeding bulls on the Poplar Springs farm for many years.
We heard from Jimmy this week that Henry had to be put down. He had gotten to the point that he could no longer get up (even for his grain) and so they had to make the compassionate decision for him. Jimmy also told us, though, that the first 4 calves born this fall were Henry's offspring, so it is likely that there will be reminders of his legacy around the farm for a while longer.
When we left the farm in June, I told Dwayne that I thought Henry would be gone before we got back there again and I was sad about that.
I will miss you, Henry, you sweet old bull!
We heard from Jimmy this week that Henry had to be put down. He had gotten to the point that he could no longer get up (even for his grain) and so they had to make the compassionate decision for him. Jimmy also told us, though, that the first 4 calves born this fall were Henry's offspring, so it is likely that there will be reminders of his legacy around the farm for a while longer.
When we left the farm in June, I told Dwayne that I thought Henry would be gone before we got back there again and I was sad about that.
I will miss you, Henry, you sweet old bull!
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| May 20, 2016 |
Thursday, October 6, 2016
In Oklahoma at Tenkiller Ferry Lake
Sounds like a deadly ferry, doesn't it?
Tenkiller was the name of a Cherokee family who owned land and the ferry here that were purchased for the project of building the dam on the Illinois River built for the purposes of flood control, hydroelectric power generation, water supply, and recreation.
We are at a Corp of Engineers park at Strayhorn Landing - it is a beautiful spot up on a hill overlooking the lake and the dam.
Corp of Engineer parks give 50% discount to holders of the Golden Age (65+) Passport for the National Park system, so the site is $9/night for 30A electric + water. The only kind of odd thing is that the water is shared between two sites. We have a Y-splitter so it isn't a problem.
Tenkiller was the name of a Cherokee family who owned land and the ferry here that were purchased for the project of building the dam on the Illinois River built for the purposes of flood control, hydroelectric power generation, water supply, and recreation.
We are at a Corp of Engineers park at Strayhorn Landing - it is a beautiful spot up on a hill overlooking the lake and the dam.
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| I think we got the best site in the park! After September it is "first come first served". One of our neighbors told us that there had been 3-4 different rigs in this site since they have been here (about 10 days). |
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| We are facing west, but that means the bus provides shade on the "outside living area" side for much of the day. |
Corp of Engineer parks give 50% discount to holders of the Golden Age (65+) Passport for the National Park system, so the site is $9/night for 30A electric + water. The only kind of odd thing is that the water is shared between two sites. We have a Y-splitter so it isn't a problem.
Part 4 - Presidency and Depression - The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
His presidency was probably the lowest point of the information in the museum - as it was necessarily impacted by the Great Depression occurring early in his term of office.
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| Since we saw the Hoover Dam a couple of years ago (http://trekincartwrights.blogspot.com/2015/01/hoover-dam.html), it was interesting to see this information and be reminded of things we learned there. |
This letter to the editor from Will Rogers expressed what I had been thinking to this point in the exhibit - even without the Great Depression, it would have been nearly impossible to accomplish all that was expected from him.
From this next exhibit: "...Prior to the First World War, presidents devoted as little as two hours a day to office work, with another two or three spent in receiving visitors and the press."
From the exhibit above: "Herbert Hoover was one of two American presidents to give away his salary (John F. Kennedy being the other)."
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| "Election Day was a Democratic sweep..." |
Another letter to the editor from Will Rogers:
One of my favorite writings by Hoover:
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