March 19-23, West Memphis AR

We drove to Tom Sawyers RV Park in West Memphis, AR. They advertise sites right on the Mississippi where you can see lots of river traffic directly out of your rear RV window.



Our campsite at Tom Sawyer's



They delivered on that promise.

Some barges were immense

Those traveling upstream moved fairly slowly

Those moving downstream whisked right by

Of course the wreckage on the side of the river and the office on wheels did not fill you with confidence.

What remains of a retaining wall after the flood of 2011



Note the wheels under the campground office

We spent most of our time watching the mighty Mississippi from our campsite, but we did venture across the river to Memphis to visit the National Civil Rights Museum.



Our spot on the river



Ray outside the motel where Martin Luther King was shot  (now a museum)

A noteworthy event to share--I saw my first sunrise of the trip!  (Being an early riser, Ray has seen many.)

Sunrise over the Mississippi River

March 16-19 Ozark AR

We had another easy drive to Aux Arc Park, an Army Corps of Engineers park on the Arkansas River in Ozark AR. Our site was the last waterfront site available and was absolutely beautiful—all for $9 per night using our senior discount.

We went to a local dive, the Speak Easy, twice--once for drinks and once for a chicken wings cook-off.



The Speak Easy

 We drove around town viewing some of the old buildings.

The old jail, now an attorney's office

There were things to see on the side of the road too--a multitude of feathers and an unfortunate armadillo.

Feathers across the road from a Butterball processing plant



One of ten armadillos we counted on Arkansas roads



Another sight to see was the Ozark River Bridge considered the 16th most beautiful bridge in the US by the American Institute of Steel Construction.

The Ozark River Bridge

The next day we drove to Reed Mountain Park and hiked the River Bluff Nature Trail.



The Ozark Dam and Locks as seen from the trail.  Our campsite is just to the right of the dam.



Following our hike, we drove to Altus City (population 817).  After stopping for a "Ray" photo op, we had lunch at the Wiederkehr restaurant and toured St. Mary’s Church.

An eatery in Altus City



Our table at the Wiederkehr



St. Mary's

When we returned to our campsite, we learned that Ozark had a severe weather alert (flash flooding) for the night before we were scheduled to leave through the end of the week. We decided to leave one day early.  It was a good decision.

River Flood Warning in effect until 2:50AM CDT SAT


THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE ARKANSAS RIVER AT OZARK LOCK AND DAM. * UNTIL LATE FRIDAY NIGHT... OR UNTIL THE WARNING IS CANCELLED. * AT 4:00 AM THURSDAY THE TAILWATER ELEVATION WAS 358.9 FEET. * MINOR FLOODING IS OCCURRING AND MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.

March 13-16 Choctaw, OK

It was a nice drive to the Oklahoma City KOA except for the end when we encountered a “road closed” sign one mile from our destination. We stopped at a local church with a big parking lot and a woman there drove up the road to make sure it was passable. (The KOA office was closed.) The road was passable and the site waiting for us was fine.

Our site at the Oklahoma City KOA was actually in Choctaw OK

The Old Germany Restaurant, about four miles away, had excellent Urban Spoon ratings. We went there for drinks and had a great conversation with the owner/bartender George. He and his family emigrated from Frankfurt and now run an annual OktoberFest which draws 40,000 people.



At the Old Germany after two free shots

The next day we toured the Oklahoma National Memorial and Museum.  We both were fascinated with Timothy McVeigh’s truck axle which survived the explosion with VIN number intact.

This axle was blown blocks away by thousands of pounds of explosives.

 I stood by the tree which survived the Oklahoma bombing. It’s aptly named the Survivor Tree.

The Survivor Tree

Across the street, where a parsonage had been destroyed, a crying Jesus statue was erected. The blocks of stone around the statue represent the children who lost their lives.



The Crying Jesus

The entire area is a moving testimonial to all those who lost their lives.



Each chair has a deceased person's name etched on it.



The bombed federal building stood where the chairs stand now.

March 10-13 Lewisville, TX

After a horrible drive in the rain to and beyond Dallas/Ft. Worth (multiple idiots on the road and 5 accidents including an 18 wheeler on its side), we arrived at another Army Corps of Engineers Park--Hickory Creek.



Our Hickory Creek campground

It was on Lewisville Lake very near to the beautiful home of the parents of our neighbor Scott. We very much enjoyed our visit with them.

Richard and Joyce Derrick

Of course we visited the Del Webb in Frisco Lakes.



Our favorite Del Webb model, the Copper Ridge

We did no sightseeing, but on our way back and forth to the Texas Land and Cattle Steakhouse we enjoyed watching sheep and their very attentive guard dog.

This is the best picture I got of the sheep and guard dog.  The dog is in the back.

March 6-10 Georgetown, TX

We took a leisurely drive to Cedar Breaks Park, an Army Corps of Engineers facility in Georgetown TX. Our reservations were not site specific, so we were really pleased to find a lovely spot on the water to set up camp. Our pleasure was limited however when the weather turned cold, windy and overcast.



Our campsite at Cedar Breaks



The weather kept us indoors for the most part (watching movies), but we did visit the Georgetown Del Webb twice. The first time we toured models.



I'm chatting here with the Del Webb agent



The second time we played 2 hours of table tennis with a congenial group of very good players. It was a flashback to how Ray and I met—at a table tennis club in Florence Massachusetts.

March 2-6 San Antonio, TX

We had a very nervous (lots of traffic and unexpected lane changes) drive through the city of San Antonio to finally arrive at Travelers World RV Park.

Our campsite at Travelers World

After touring the local Del Webb retirement community, we set out to see the tourist attractions in San Antonio. We went to all the San Antonio missions--beautiful churches built in the 1700s by Franciscans trying to convert the Coahuiltecan Indians to Catholicism.



Mission San Jose—Ray dropped his sunglasses under one of these bushes and we found them an hour later.



Mission Concepcion



The aqueduct near Mission San Juan



Mission Espada

Ray and I at Mission San Antonio de Valero, otherwise known as the Alamo

At the Alamo we wandered underneath an absolutely marvelous tree, then we emerged into a reenactment.

Ancient Oak at the Alamo

Canon fire reenactment



Can you guess who's not in period costume?

We then wandered over to the Riverwalk, enjoyed calamari at a restaurant, then took the Rio San Antonio Cruise.

Ray at the Riverwalk.  You can see one of the tour boats behind him.



Me at Landry's Seafood Restaurant



A snapshot from our tour boat

It was lovely.

Feb 28- March 2 Fort Stockton, TX

The next stop was Fort Stockton RV in Fort Stockton TX.

Our campsite in Fort Stockton

Our first excursion was to the Annie Riggs Memorial Museum. Ray sat at the desk where Sheriff A.J. Royal was murdered—the drawer was still blood-stained.



Ray at A.J. Royal's desk

The next day we went to Historic Fort Stockton.

Ray in the Fort Stockton brig

And then it was back to present day, visiting a local bar.



Me seated at the bar at K-Bob's Steakhouse

Feb 25-28 Las Cruces, NM

We had planned to drive to Deming NM and stay there for a few nights, but Ray’s I-phone froze and would not un-freeze, so we decided to go to a city that might have the resources to fix it. After driving by Deming, the phone suddenly resurrected from the dead which allowed us to have a very pleasant lunch at a rest stop on I-10 overlooking Las Cruces.

We stayed in the same Las Cruces RV campground as we did last year, Sunny Acres.



Our campground at Sunny Acres

The next day we visited one of the museums we only saw from the road last year--the New Mexico Ranch & Farm Heritage Museum.

Old photos at the Ranch and Heritage Museum



Ranch and Heritage Museum grounds, Organ Mtns in background 

We also made an excursion to Historic Old Mesilla eating at the Andele Restaurant and visiting the square.

Ray and the Basilica of San Albino in Old Mesilla Square