Day 109 - Monday, March 17 - WINDY

 Monday was a sunny day with a high of 83. The humidity was low so it would have been nice outside, except for the wind. The combination of lack of rain, the high winds and the low humidity put us under a Fire Weather Warning. That's not really a big deal for us in the campground but I suspect it could be a big deal in areas with more grass and brush. 

The wind advisory extends until 7 PM Tuesday. Steady winds of 20-30 mph are occurring with gusts up to 40 mph. Last week construction crews started work to repave Graham Road, in front of the campground. The concept of dust suppression (a little water sprayed around) is apparently foreign  down here. It isn't horrible but you can occasionally feel the dust getting blown around.

Monday's highlight was the St. Patrick's Day potluck here at the campground, 70 people attended. Lots of good food. We sat with a couple who are from northeast Ohio. There were multiple Irish themed food items, plus American standards. Kathy made ham and scalloped potatoes and homemade tapioca pudding. She dyed the pudding green. I tried several of the Irish dishes and they were good enough to go back for seconds.

I'm starting to count down the days. We plan on heading north some time between March 28 and March 31. The plan is to arrive back in Centertown April 6, at the latest.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 106, 107 & 108 - Friday, Saturday & Sunday, March 14, 15 & 16 - Pie Day & Birthday Party

Friday, March 14 (314) was Pie Day. We had more pie than we could eat. A lot of folks ate 2 pieces and some 3 pieces. There was still plenty left to take home for snacks. There were still pies in the kitchen waiting to be brought out when there was room on the tables.

Saturday afternoon there was cake and ice cream at a birthday party for two ladies who do a lot of work keeping events running smooth.

There was still cake left over to take home, even though turnout was good.

After finishing my cake I went into the puzzle room to see the latest finished puzzles.

These 3 sections of the bookcase are full of puzzles people can choose to work on.

It was such a nice day that a little relaxing, after all that cake, was in order. The high was 90 degrees but the humidly was low. There was some breeze. It was quite comfortable in the shade.

The main Cowboy Church Service was at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show in Mercedes, TX today. The Cowboy Church was putting on the Team Penning & Ranch Sorting event in the afternoon. I was on the volunteers list. Saturday afternoon I got a call asking if I could help with opening/closing cattle gates starting at 6PM Sunday, I said yes. Instead of going to Mercedes for church Sunday Morning, driving back to the campground and then back to Mercedes to volunteer I went to the campground church service with Kathy. 

About 4PM I drove over to Mercedes and was in the process of finding out  where I was supposed to park when I received a call letting me know that the event went much faster than anticipated and that they didn't need me at 6. I thought by going over at 4 I would have time to walk around and look at things. It was such a hassle finding a place to park that I just came home.

The weather was beautiful again today. Sunny, low humidity and a high of 83. At 11:30PM the temperature is 61.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

PS. Anybody who is interesting in reading about the drop in the percentage of able bodied men willing to work can find some data at https://bertspoliticalviews.blogspot.com/2025/03/why-are-so-few-men-working.html

Days 104 & 105 - Wednesday & Thursday, March 12 & 13 - Getting Warm Down Here

 Wednesday we didn't do anything. Just enjoyed the day.

This morning we drove back over to Edinburg, TX, to the place where I bought my hearing aids. It was time for the 30 day “checkup”. I’m a little disappointed in them. My old ones were going bad so I needed new ones.  I had hoped that with these being 10 years newer technology they might improve my hearing. I don’t notice any improvement.

On the return Kathy dropped me off at home and went grocery shopping.  I played Solitaire on my computer.

We went over to the clubhouse at 4PM for Meet and Greet. No new folks showed up, just 8 of us, representing 5 couples. We had a nice visit, of course snacks were part of the get together. We were the “new people on the block” since this is only our 3^rd winter here. Our “home bases” were Missouri, South Dakota, Illinois, and Oklahoma.

It's started to get hot down here. Yesterdays high was 87, todays was 92 and tomorrows is forecast to be 96. After that highs get back down in the high 70's and 80's.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

 

Day 103 - Tuesday, March 11 - AC Repairs

 We left the campground at 6:35 this morning, in the dark. It was 44 miles over to US 281 Truck & Trailer Services in Edinburg, TX. We arrived, for our appointment, just as they opened at 7:30. After unhooking the car Kathy pulled the coach into their shop.

I asked the lady in the office about a good place to get breakfast and she recommended Zamora's in Edinburg. I had their breakfast special, 2 eggs, hash browns & a sausage patty. Kathy got a bacon and egg breakfast taco. The food was great. 

After breakfast we drove down to the Costco in McAllen. You can get a really good parking place when you arrive an hour before they open. We sat in the car, Kathy  napped and I read. 

After killing some time "shopping" we headed back up to US 281 Truck & Trailer. They called us while we were on the way to tell us that they were done.

One of the problems was that a knob on the dash worked a cable which in turn opened and closed a damper adjusting hot/cold air in the duct work. The control mechanism is no longer available. They rigged up a new cable that we can use to operate the door. It is kind of a Rube Goldberg device, but it works. (Great job guys!) It was kind of a pain driving all that way for service but I was pleased with  their work and would use them again if we have a problem.

I took the photos below as we were leaving. It is an interesting place. Note the old diesels "stored". Also not the "cattle gate" we drove over entering and exiting.

The place is in a rural area. Their property all appears to be surrounded by a substantial chain link fence. When we arrived we stopped in the road/street in the photo below and unhooked the car. While I didn't see any cattle, my nose told me that the area on the other side of the road definitely has cattle pasturing in it.

We were back home and set back up by 3 PM. Kathy headed to the puzzle room and I took a nap.

Today's weather was warm, high of 82, mostly sunny and a little windy (its windy most of the time here).

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 101 & 102 - Sunday & Monday - Cooler Weather

Yesterday and today were a relief, with  highs in the mid 70's, after a 100 degree day Sunday. Yesterday was quite windy but both days were nice.

Kathy had a busy day Sunday. She played the piano for church at the clubhouse then we went to the Cowboy Church for another great service. A guy visiting relatives, he is from Tyler, TX, about a 5 hour drive from here, attended the service. He said it was his first time back at the church in 5 years. He told how blessed he was that he felt the Spirits presence as strong this time as he did previously.

The service ran a little long and we didn't have time to stop for lunch. Kathy had to be back to play 3 songs for a memorial service for someone who used to come to the campground.

In the afternoon I regened our  softener and did a few other household chores but we basically just kicked back and enjoyed the day.

Today Kathy led her 8 AM Ladies Bible Study. After that she came back to home for a short time and then went back to the clubhouse for the Monday morning informational meeting. Around 11 we went grocery shopping and then went to the Golden Corral for lunch. Back home we both did some chores to get ready to drive the coach over to Edinburg tomorrow to get the dash AC repaired.

Nothing spectacular but nice days.

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 100 - Saturday, March 8 - TOASTY

We drove over to the DonWes flea market to buy some grapefruit today. They don't have a lot worth looking at there but we like the fruit and vegetable place. I didn't even notice the Canadian flag until I moved the photo from my phone to my laptop. I'm sure there was an American flag flying somewhere. There are a surprising number of Canadian Winter Texans.

Today was the hottest it has been while we have been here this season. Driving the 20+ miles back home our car thermometer regularly read 100 degrees. My Weatherbug app reported that todays high was 100 degrees. It was hot but with the humidity down below 40% it wasn't totally oppressive.

We stayed off the Interstate driving over and back. On the way back we stopped and had lunch at a Long John Silvers. We both like their fish, and it was good. We also drove around in a couple of the small towns we drove through. We found the Mercedes Stock Show grounds, where I will be volunteering next weekend.

After getting home I took a nice nap and Kathy went to the clubhouse and worked on the latest puzzle.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you  and yours. He has blessed me.

Days 98 & 99 - Thursday & Friday, March 6 & 7 - Trail Riders

 I didn't do anything all day Thursday. The only time I left the coach was to carry back in a couple of quarts of strawberries a neighbor dropped off for us. Kathy was busy in the clubhouse kitchen most of the day. She cooked up 37# of pork for sandwiches. In the afternoon the ladies sold 80 sandwiches to raise money for the Christmas Fund. 

Friday morning she was back over to the kitchen for a good part of the day, cooking soup for the soup lunch fund raiser and to feed the trail riders who stopped here for lunch during their 50 mile ride from Port Isabel to the Mercedes Stock Show. They added $1,000 to the Christmas Fund.

Below is the text from an article on the ride, and photos I took.

"HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) – It has been a long week of riding horses for members of the Tip-O-Texas Trailriders Association who are making their way to Mercedes.

Dozens of riders left Port Isabel on Tuesday morning so they could arrive at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show in time for the fun.

The trail ride made overnight stops in Los Fresnos, San Benito, and Harlingen where they rested their horses, enjoyed a hot meal and got some rest. 

Chairman Alfonzo Garcia says the group started in 1960 with just three cowboys who wanted to ride to the stock show.

The ride is an annual tradition that helps raise scholarship money for the youth who raise animals.

He said they’ve got third generation riders whose relatives started on the trail ride 65 years ago.

“The families that are here and the relationships and the friendships that we make, it seems that every year. It’s a big family reunion because we don’t see some of these people the whole year,” Garcia said.

He says the Tip-O-Tex Trailriders Association is the oldest riding group in the Valley. Garcia says there are now more than a dozen similar groups across South Texas.

The riders will spend the night at the Mercedes Boot Company and then take part in the livestock show parade on Saturday."

One of the Harlingen Police vehicles that escorted the trail riders.

The ladies made at least 20 different types of soup that were on the table cafeteria style.

On her way from the serving line back to the kitchen.

In the evening I did get in 40 minutes on the clubhouse treadmill and a 2.5 mile bike ride around the campground.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.