Meyer 50th Anniversary

Meyer 50th Anniversary

Lake Anita

We are enjoying our place on the lake. We have seen Canadian Geese, about a thousand Coots, Deer, a Skunk, a Beaver, Ducks, Fishermen and many different birds. There aren't many folks here yet so we pretty much have the place to ourselves. We decided to stay near one of the restrooms because it is tornado season. A run for cover would be easier to do here than in some places we have stayed. Although Butch seems to have a fatalistic approach to that sort of thing I believe in doing what I can within reason.;-)

Spring in Iowa is something special and not experiencing it for a time makes one appreciate it even more. The way sunlight plays in the trees with only partial leaves on the trees makes me grab my camera. The trees are budding and some are blooming. All things are new again in a way that is never true in the South. Every part of the country has its special features, true only to them. I am reminded to "Love the place you are"...and I do.

My Verizon Internet connection here is better than the WiFi in Peculiar and Carthage. It seems that WiFi is great in some places and a frustrating experience in others.

We have arrived at Lake Anita State Park and we are paid up for two weeks. We had a nice calm trip North from Peculiar Missouri. The only little bump was a turkey who decided to cross the road with barely enough clearance. Kinda scary after having a windshield so recently replaced.

We had a pleasant week with the Gary Brooker family.

Ahead of us now are doctor and dental appointments.;-) Not nearly as much fun but necessary. We anticipate that all is well.

We are on lot #108 at Lake Anita State Park. That is near the newest restrooms.

Truman Library and Museum

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Butch and I had never been to a presidential library before but now we have.

Truman Library and Museum

At Gary and Susan's

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At Gary & Susan's

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

I cannot take credit for taking this photo but we saw a bird like this while in Carthage. It is Oklahoma's State Bird but we won't hold that against it.;-)
 

Short Smooth Trip

We had a short smooth trip north to Peculiar MO on highway 71 or 71 highway if you are from Missouri.;-) Our windshield was replaced yesterday and it was a long day trying to entertain ourselves waiting for it to be done. Angel, who was locked in the bedroom didn't like it either and was also glad to see the day end.
We are going to be here for a week and then we will continue north to Lake Anita State Park until our doctor appointments are all taken care of.
Hope to see many of you soon.:-)

Sittin'...Waitin'

We are waiting for a new windshield to be installed before moving on. We caught a sizable rock in the drivers side windshield on our trip south last fall. That was after the tangle with the toll booth guard rail in Oklahoma. About an hour after. So we may wait till fall, October, before getting the rest of it fixed. So we are sitting and waiting...a little less patiently.;-)

Eastern Bluebird

There is an Eastern Bluebird nesting in the park. She has babies and is too busy to be shy. Bluebirds have always been a favorite of mine.
 

Brrrr

Southern Missouri...not that far from Texas...44 degrees at 2:30 PM. It snowed this morning. No, it didn't stick but it did snow.:-(
We are hanging around the house (motorhome) watching golf (not my choice)bundled up in afghans. There is chili in the crockpot for supper. All in all a cozy little winter day in APRIL!!

Quiet

Been awful quiet for a number of reasons. I have soft water, REALLY soft water at Coachlight RV park and I am washing everything in sight. The water in our deep south Texas location is so hard, really hard and the contrast is remarkable. Secondly it has been cold here too and we are not acclimated to it so I have been hibernating. Thirdly, I am working on a Swedish weave afghan for Amanda and Brad who are getting married in July. I did have it started this winter but had darn little time to actually work on it. I can say now I am only a few rows from being half finished. So we really haven't done much that is noteworthy. We do enjoy hitting the best restaurants in the area that we like. We have already looked over the historical sites in the area in years past. And fourthly my Internet connection in Texas is super(cable/DSL) and what I have to rely on when we leave (Verizon ) is less so and takes some getting used to.
Butch went golfing today. It looks like it will be the best weather today till sometime next week. I love to be able to go out the door without a seconds thought about needing a jacket or coat. Haven't had much of that this past winter and now not getting much of that this spring.
Bad news: Not spending much time outdoors
Good news: Getting caught up on indoor work projects.;-)

Catching S-no-wfish

 

Hwy 71 North to Carthage MO

I had myself really worked up about this trip north. Butch had decided that he had had it with Oklahoma roads and I did have to agree with him. They charge you for the privilege of driving on them and the roads are the pits. So he decided we were going to give highway 71 in Arkansas a try.
Highway 71 is far better than I had imagined it to be. There is sufficient shoulder and for the most part the road surface is smooth. It is twisty turny but
not to an extreme and it was not all that difficult to find
places to pull over. We stayed at the Y City Mountain Inn and
Campground. They have 3 spots with 30 amp electric near the road and
they offered us a spot for $10. We are happy about that.;-) We do not
mind paying a reasonable fee for a minimal service spot.
I am a far more nervous traveler than I would like to be. I
frequently have little mental talks with myself about how Butch is an
experienced driver. He has driven trucks all his life and has never
had an accident. etc. etc. I also ride with my eyes closed in some situations.
But now I know that highway 71 in Arkansas is not all that bad.

So now we are freezing our buns off in Carthage MO. We are paid up for a week and we have some things to attend to on the motorhome and it will depend on the scheduling of those issues on how long we stay here. Also with this cold I can't say we are all that anxious to go any further north any too soon.
I saw a beautiful little Mountain Bluebird this morning and couldn't get to my camera soon enough. But I will get back to taking some photos ASAP.

Rockport Maritime Museum

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Rockport Maritime Museum

Flower Collage

Click on picture for larger view. I got these shots in an interesting way. I held the camera by the strap at ankle or calf level. I like the way they turned out. I am guessing it looked weird to onlookers.
 

Rockport Texas Area

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Rockport TX

Rockport TX

We left the Rio Grande Valley this morning. Angel got out when I was putting my frog planter in and we had quite the ordeal getting her to decide she was coming with us. But after surrounding her with the help of neighbors, she let me pick her up. Our trip up to Rockport was uneventful and that is a good thing. We are staying at the Ancient Oak RV Park at the south edge of Rockport. The smell of the sea is awesome! We ate at Charlotte Plummers, said to be a great local restaurant right on the coast. The food was good. While waiting for our dinners of shrimp(me) and catfish(Butch) a boat came in with several burlap bags of oysters. We watched the negotiations on the selling of the catch. It looked like serious business. We are settled in for the evening but tomorrow I will take my camera and walk along the shore. We are here until Wednesday morning unless we decide to stay longer. We shall see!

Keeping Up

Magnolia Park looks pretty empty today. Not many of us left here. Butch and I will be leaving Sunday morning and going to the Rockport TX area for a few days before going to Carthage Mo so the motorhome can have its annual physical before we head to Iowa so Butch and I can then have ours.

Best friends

Huey and Tippy are best friends and rarely seen apart at my sister Myrla's home in Rockwell City Iowa

 

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By the way, if you click on the flood picture you will get a much larger view. This works with all single pictures but not the albums.