brotherhood

Washington, DC here we come!

2009-08-13T08:08:00.001-07:00

Last night my parents (the brotherhood's grandparents) had a wonder farewell dinner for us. Grandpa Gene slow-cooked his famous ribs for over 3.5 hrs until they were literally falling off the bones. My mom made fresh cole slaw and red potato salad too. It was really wonderful! To top it all off, my mom brought out a BEAUTIFUL blackberry cobbler, made with a special crust of coconut and pecans, topped with pure vanilla ice cream. YUMMO! Now that's a send-off.

Family Photos

2008-03-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

Right before we left on our Grand Adventure across the United States we had some family pictures done on our farm in Florida.

We want to share some of these pictures because they just turned out to be so beautiful and fun, truly capturing the spirit of our home and life. Our photographer, Rachel Whited, is so young, energetic and TALENTED, well, I would suggest you even FLY her to you! She is that good!

You can learn more about Rachel on her myspace website: http://www.myspace.com/photographsbyrachelwhited

We interrupt this vacation... Aunt Pam's surgery

2008-02-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

My beautiful little sister had a health crisis over the last few days. She was having a lot of pain on her right side and when she got it checked out they saw a mass on her ovary that was suspicious.

Long story short and many more tests later, she had laparoscopic surgery this morning. The mass on her ovary was malignant so she had a complete hysterectomy. The surgeon said it was stage one and NOT the kind of cancer that is lethal...this one is malignant but behaves benign, in that it is "encapsulated" and does not spread. She is expected to make a full recovery and no further treatment will be necessary as long as the pathology reports come back with clear lymph glands.

We sure do love you, sis, and pray for a quick recovery!!!!

Our Beloved Cabin

2008-02-29T20:40:00.000-08:00

Warm temps, long mountain views, boys wrestling in the yard.... Does it get any better than this???

To North Carolina....blowout!

2008-02-28T06:46:00.001-08:00

Dave accepted a contract position in San Antonio and will begin work on March 10th. We left the rig in a GREAT RV park there and we will stay with him while he works, returning to Florida every couple of months for a month.

So with all these logistics taken care of, we left "San Antone" to head to our cabin in North Carolina to check on things since it may be awhile before we can get back. Last night we had a blowout on the interstate. Dave "control crashed" the truck into the inside median. The blowout was on the left front tire. How scary! What is even more mysterious is we had a blowout on the same tire one year ago. We need to figure out why we are repeatedly blowing tires on the same wheel. If anyone has any ideas please leave a comment. We will put pics up in the next day or so.

We waited for almost 3 hours, in the dark, in the interstate, in freezing temps, for the tow. The tow towed us to the next exit and put on our spare. We couldn't change the tire ourselves because we were stuck in mud from our "landing" :-).

So we are having tires replaced and catching up on schoolwork and the blog in a hotel and feeling pretty blessed!

San Antonio, redux...

2008-02-23T18:41:00.000-08:00

Two days of 400+ miles each, whew! This is what we did Friday (2/22) and Saturday. But it was beautiful! We told jokes, laughed, and stopped at "look-it" sights along the way. And the boys also managed a little rip-sticking in the meantime too :-)

We're scouting out possible places to stay long-term as Dave might have a client here in San Antonio.

Tucson, redux...

2008-02-23T18:40:00.000-08:00

Grand Canyon

2008-02-20T13:30:00.001-08:00

(Driver Daddy here...) This is such a cool route that we can't possibly show it all in this one little map, so if you want to zoom in, look at the satellite shots, and see for yourself, click on this link. For instance, trace the goat path we took from Cottonwood ("A") thru the mountains to Jerome at a 1 mile or less resolution (on the link it's "E" for the roundtrip). Yikes! But it was fun and beautiful too.

Our last visit to the Grand Canyon was September 2004. It was still very hot and the Canyon was a vast desert. What a difference the season makes! As we journeyed west, we watched the weather for the Grand Canyon range from 8 to 22. So we started the excuses about our Florida-thin blood and consoled ourselves that our RV just isn't winterized. But then we saw some upward directin in the mercury, we decided that we could park the rig south and just go for it on a day-trip. Even though it snowed that week, we found a perfect day to visit with temps in the 40's. That's downright balmy compared to what we saw at the beginning of the trip. Here we are -- your intrepid Rislers -- at the southern rim!

Here's gang going up the stairs of the watchtower that provides 270 degree views of the canyon. It looks ancient, but it was built this way so that it would blend in with the area.

"Sedona is Like Living in the Grand Canyon"

2008-02-20T13:29:00.001-08:00

That's all we could keep saying, "Do these people realize that it's like living *inside* the Grand Canyon?"

Apache Junction to Dead Horse Ranch State Park

2008-02-15T20:11:00.001-08:00

Weird names, eh? Today we left the KOA in Phoenix on our way to the Grand Canyon. Well, a little bit south of the the GC because it's snowing there and very cold. But it was a gorgeous route and we're at a GORGEOUS state park.

As we set up the camper, the kids pulled out their rip-sticks (2-wheeled skateboards) and explored the nice pavement at the park. Then we loaded up and took the scenic Red Rock Loop to Sedona.

Checkout this satellite image and the terrain map:

Our little excursion from the park to Sedona looked like this above.

The Green-Dotted Roads to Phoenix

2008-02-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

Thursday, Valentine's Day. Although we hated to leave that beautiful state park, what a better way to spend the day than driving the ROMANTIC back roads to Phoenix?

Day 2 at Old Tucson & the Desert Museum

2008-02-13T22:09:00.000-08:00

Then we were off to the desert museum, which is really more of an zoo with walk-in aviaries (cage-nets for birds).

Look closely at this picture. It's a wild hummingbird gathering nectar outside the aviary!

Old Tucson Day 1

2008-02-13T08:40:00.001-08:00

(Daniel here) Monday (Febuary 13th) we got to Tucson and the Saguaro National Monument. You should have seen all the saguaros, with some being an inch high to most being taller than a house, their arms reaching in all directions. They literally covered the landscape. And we camped right in the middle of them! If you plan to do this part of the trip, we have to recommend the Gilbert Ray State Park Campground.

After setting up the camper, we went to Old Tucson Studios, one of the places John Wayne filmed most of his many motion pictures.

When we got to the front desk they told us we were entitled to a two-day ticket since it was already late in the afternoon. Besides, we'd need more time get a full tour of the park. We came across an old train that once ran on coal (I got a sample from the pile for my rock collection) and we got several pictures of it.

After that we went and jumped on a the tour train (under which I had previously flattened a penny) that took us all around the studios.

After getting off, we went back to the place we had got on and retrieved my penny. It was very warped, but wasn't flattened like a real train would do. Then we watched a cool reenactment of a bank robbery from the movie Deathwish, complete with shotgun and revolver shots. I was really cool.

It got late, though, so we had to leave to get back to the camper. But we had one more treat before we called it a day. See, one of our friends, Miss Patte, has been asking us to take a picture for her of a moose on this trip. While we were buying some salt water taffy, we discovered our prize -- albeit a little-less lively than we'd hoped.

We had a great time and I could hardly wait to go back the next day.

Short Jaunt to an Oasis

2008-02-12T06:16:00.001-08:00

(Dad's turn) On Monday, 2/11, we didn't make it that far down the road (only 62 miles) before we stopped, set the chock blocks, and rolled out the slide. We'd planned to just come to Lake Patagonia for a picnic before proceeding up to Tucson. Wow, this is really a gem. We found a great back-in slot at the head of a birding trail with an awesome view of the lake. (Note: this is a big phobia for us since we've been picking RV places based on whether they have "pull-thru slots" available.) Usually Paula directs me as I pull into a parking slot for the night, but this time we tried something different: I directed and Paula pulled right back into it. It's a little bit of a slope (3 leveler blocks), so we couldn't even disconnect from the 5th wheel. If any of you have seen our rig connected, you can imagine that's quite a slope to live on! But it was pretty funny too. The boys pretended we were capsizing and had a big time with our predicament.

We decided to explore the park and take a tour of the small museum they have here. The boys got to hear about the more than 250 species of birds that live in this area. They also had some native snakes, a gila monster, and some guest corn snakes (non-native) too.

They were really excited when they saw this display because it looked like their favorite Perigrin Falcon, but it turned out to be a closely-related cousin, the Grey Hawk. It's a beautiful bird with grey feathers.As we left the museum, we got within 10 yards to a real-live Perigrin. He just sat there and looked into the camera before SWOOOPING off.

Right before sundown, we went on a nice hike along the nature trail in front of our campsite. We listened to the swooping red-winged blackbirds against the reeds of the lake as they hunted insects. It was unreal -- it sounded like we were at the beach and waves were crashing against the shore. (I wanted to post a video to our blog, but this feature doesn't seem to be working correctly). We also caught glimpses of some deer in the woods.

As it started to get dark, we made our way back to our campsite and cooked up some hot dogs, beans, and s'mores.
It was a chilly night, but we cuddled up to the fire, and talked, laughed, as the stars came out against a black velvet sky. It was truly magical end to another magical day on the road.

Ramsey Canyon Sanctuary

2008-02-12T06:13:00.000-08:00

(Daniel here) When we first got to the Ramsey Canyon Conservatory, we bought permits to let us go on the trails around the park. So we started on the nature hike and went on the scenic loops that meander around off the trail. When we got to the end of the trail, there was another hike going off just to the left that went to the canyon overlook. Dad, Joe and I started on it, but halfway up Mom said she was gettin ga bit tired and then went back to the truck to wait for us to come back after the hike. So we kept going.

Near the end there was a pretty good overlook, even though it wasn't the overlook. There I found a type of cactus that made good needle and thread... without even having to thread the needle.

I took the thorn end of it's thick leaves and bent it around. Then I set my teeth into it and pulled hard until the thorn slowly came out, with the plant fibres still attached. This makes superb thread, as it is stronger than real thread and comes already on the needle.

But on the way back to the trail, Dad hit his head really hard on a sharp jutting-out bough of an old fallen tree. Fortunately, there was an Asian lady on the trail waiting for her girls to catch up, and she gave Dad some toilet paper from out of her backpack. Dad joked later that I might have had to "stitch" him up with my needle and thread. (In this picture, Joe is hamming it up -- imitating Dad's expression after he bonked his head! We all laughed with relief that it wasn't such a bad cut afterall)

When we finally got to the top, the view was breath-taking.

There was a "V" in the ridgeline, and through this you could see the town Sierra Vista sprawling far below.

We got another man to take our picture, but left his glasses on the rocks when he left. We found him on the return hike and told him; there had been another trail in a different direction, and we were worried that we would be taking them in the wrong direction. He went and got it, though.

Tombstone - Bisbee - Sierra Vista Loop

2008-02-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

Daddy here...We pulled into the Tombstone Territories RV Park on Friday (2/8), got parked, and headed 8 miles back east to visit the (in)famous "town that wouldn't die." We walked the streets of Wyatt Earp and toured the very site of the shootout at the OK Corral (really just a back alley behind the stables). It's a bit of a tourist trap, but I'd recommend the diorama because it tells the whole story of Tombstone, its founding, growth, and its role in how the west was settled.

We got a little bit hungry, so we decided not to compete with the crowds and head towards Bisbee. During World War II and Vietnam, this area was considered a national strategic asset for its copper mine. There is a HUGE crater caused by the strip-mining technique used to extract the copper ore. At the bottom is a pool of black liquid, fringed with sulfur and the area really stinks.

Ironic by today's eco-friendly standards, there's a memorial to the man who developed the technique and made the mines profitable.

Men seeking deferrment from the military draft chose mining rather than fighting, so over the years this quaint town has evolved as a hippie area, attracting all sorts of eccentrics and artists.

When I was stationed at Ft. Huachuca (1985-88), I used to love coming to Bisbee. I still think it looks like a "model railroad town" because of the cool, old-timey architecture with gingerbread porches and little houses perched in the steep hills and mountainside that rings the village.

I used to run on a relay team for the annual "Mule Mountain Marathon" from Bisbee to Sierra Vista, which is the home of the fort. Wow, to be in shape like that again!

As the evening approached, we head back up the mountain, chasing the sunset towards Sierra Vista. Another glorious day on the road!

Rock Hounds!

2008-02-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

(Joe here) On Thursday (February 7th) we went out into the desert looking for petroglyphs. One of the RV park managers gave us a map with rough directions on how to find them. We failed, but it was not a complete loss. On our way out there was an abandoned mine and there we found tons of crystal-clear quartz clusters and jasper.

We also went to the Rockhound State Park where we found Thunder Eggs and very small quartz clusters too. On the way out of park we saw signs for a canyon that had a HUGE roller-coaster ride of a hill. It was fun!

As we made our way back, we saw some cows , which is pretty common. But in this part of the country there are no fences and they just cross the roads whenever they feel like it! This looks like a mommy and her two calves following close behind.

White Sands

2008-02-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

Mamma here...

As we left Alamogordo we stopped in to White Sands National Monument. The sand dunes look just like the ones you would find on the the beach of the West Coast of Florida...pure white and fine but these dunes are actually made of gypsum. There is a lake bed that periodically fills and dries up located just south west of the dunes. As the lake bed evaporates it leaves gypsum crystal behind. These crystals are actually a light brown/yellow color but as the crystals disintegrate in the wind and are blown around, they scratch each other, resulting in the while color we see. The prevailing winds are out of the southwest, so the crystals blow to the northeast into the dunes.

We took a hike through the dunes with a guidebook that showed us what kind of animals live there by their tracks. We saw kit fox tracks, bunnies, snakes, caterpillars and road runner. It was clear this desert had plenty of activity going on.

The boys had a great time sliding down the slopes and playing in the sand. In this last picture, they are holding up fossilized tree stems and roots that the guidebook told us are scattered across this one particular area.

EEEeeeeee... BOOM!!!

2008-02-07T16:48:00.000-08:00

(Daniel here) After a hike around and about the White Sand dunes, we drove about 30 miles to the White Sands Missile Range. Here the the U.S. Army test new bombs and missiles in the desolate gypsum dunes. The museum had many bombs, missiles, lasers, and other such weaponery. We had a great time. We looked at movies and pictures about the old bombs tested here. Also, we found out that some of the sound effects used in the Star Wars movies were recorded here. In a glass case was a replica of Darth Vader's mask that the Star Wars crew gave the Range in appreciation for their help collecting the sounds. For one effect, they had used a telephone pole's guide wire for the blaster sounds and the rest of the bomb launches as the other cool effects in the movies.

After watching a couple more movies we went out to see the bombs and missiles on display outside. One of the smallest one is pictured here.

One of the most funniest ones that is used for launching weather balloons. IT'S A "UFO!!!" You have to say to yourself, "Somebody needs to take those people in Roswell over here to show them their UFO sightings proven false.

Well, that wraps it up on the Missile Range. We had a lot of fun looking at the bombs. Sometime you should make your way out there.

Carlsbad to Alamogordo, NM

2008-02-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

(Momma here) We left Carlsbad this morning to drive up to Roswell, New Mexico. Maybe you have heard of Roswell? It was the place of an UFO CRASH INCIDENT in 1947. So we felt like we absolutely had to go see the INTERNATIONAL UFO MUSEUM (believe it or not...) and check the whole thing out. Basically, it appears that SOMETHING crashed in 1947 and a bunch of people saw an unusual aircraft, the crash remains, and four dead aliens at the scene. The museum is made up of a bunch of testimonials, plus UFO sightings from around the world. It was interesting, but we all agree -- we can't tell if it's true :-)

After leaving Roswell, we drove west along 70 through the BEAUTIFUL Lincoln National Forest and it SNOWED! What a treat to see snow on the ground and TREES and GREEN after days and days of brown, on light brown, on dark brown!We started at 2500 feet in Carlsbad and climbed to 7500 feet and then back to 4400 feet when we arrived in Alamogordo.

Tomorrow we go to White Sands National Monument and some missile sites.

Into the Darkness... Carlsbad Caverns

2008-02-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

(Joe here) Monday (Febuary 4th) we went to Carlsbad Caverns National Park and saw a lot of stalactites and stalagmites and columns It's easy to remember which are which: stalactites grow from the roof, so "t" for top. Stalagmites grow from the bottom. And columns form when both get connected. There was no cell phone service so there were telephones all the way down. It was very dark, cool (56 degrees) and humid. Every now and then we'd stop and get really quiet so we could hear water dripping and making more cave features.

Once we got down to the bottom we found that you could eat lunch 800 ft. under ground in the Cafe! Mom packed sandwiches for us, so we didn't need to eat down there, but it was still pretty cool that you could eat there if you wanted.

Goodbye, Big Bend!

2008-02-04T08:33:00.000-08:00

Mama here.

With mixed feelings we decided to move on Sunday, Feb 2nd. What a great four days we had here! We saw both the "purple mountain majesty" and saw "where the deer and the antelope play." This National Park is just beautiful.

Terlingua is made up of an interesting people. There is more community, culture, etc. going on here than I have seen in some big cities! You hear of quite famous people "hiding out" here. People come here to be anonymous and free. We spent a few hours in a coffee shop. Politics, the latest play that is being rehearsed, prices of gas, book reviews...a couple of hours and I felt like I had a pretty good grasp of community happenings. This is a group of independent, free thinkers for sure.

We pulled out and headed north on 118, back through Alpine and Fort Davis. We crossed I-10 and I-20 heading north to Carlsbad, New Mexico. Today (mon) we are heading into the Carlsbad Caverns and to some water falls in the area. Check back later and we will add some pics! Here's a cute one we saw in this week's US News & World Report (2/11/08, p. 16).

Ooh, Hot!

2008-02-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

(Joe here) We are still in Terlingua, TX. Today we went to the Hot Springs in Big Bend National Park. On our way to the springs, we found petroglyphs (paintings) and pictographs (carvings) in the rock face. When we got to it, we found that it was very hot. (I was cooked instantly). You can literally reach over and play in the Rio Grande (even though it's extremely COLD!). A Mexican on the other bank of the river (the Mexican side) tried to get our attention by producing a donkey. It was evident that he was trying to sell something to us. We ignored him because people told us that they get in trouble if they come across the river.
After boiling in the springs awhile, we left and started a hike. The hike was 1.4 miles so going in and out is 2.8 miles. Whew! That was the longest 2.8 miles I've seen! But it was worth it. We saw some illegal immigrants selling things like brass scorpions and walking sticks and some crystals, like amethyst and quartz. We didn't buy anything, though because the signs warned us not to do that.

Big Bend/Terlingua, Day 3

2008-02-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

Today we got an earlier start after a blessedly calm night. We took off west down route 170 toward Presidio, Tx which was about 60 miles away on the Mexican border. Most of the route was through the Big Bend STATE Park (as opposed to the National Park that we visited over the last two days.) It was a beautiful ride but wow, I don't know why anyone would take an RV down that road! There were 15% grades and so many dips that we literally felt like we were on a roller coaster ride. Great fun (without the rig!)

Much of the road runs along the Rio Grande river which is also serves as the border between the US and Mexico.

We stopped at a movie set called "Contrabandos" where all the adobe buildings are actually fabricated from chicken wire, fiberglass, and mud. There were three movies filmed here: Lonesome Dove and two others that I can't remember.

We made our way through the humble town of Presidio.... Ok, this is quite a dismal place and honestly I would not go back. And then we turned around and headed back to our "RV home away from home."

We always have a "favorite moment" of each day and todays was the ROAD RUNNER, who posed so cutely for our cameras. The boys have been wanting to see one up close and personal and this one really cooperated.

The other favorite bird is the PERIGRINE FALCON, which are very common here. We got back to the rig early today and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening kicking back reading and relaxing.

By the way, the picture of the yellow flowers and cactus are Dave's! He takes some beautiful pictures of flowers, everywhere we go! Who would have thunk?

Another day in paradise!

Big Bend National Park, Day 2

2008-01-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

Mama here again :-)

Today we got a late start because of the wind storm last night. Things settled down around 6 am so we all went back to sleep until 8am. By the time we were up and around, got down to the cafe for breakfast, back to the RV again, and out the door, it was nearly noon.

We headed to the Terlingua Ghost Town about 5 miles west on 170. We stopped at the Trading Post to get a self guided walking tour. Terlingua was a mining town around the turn of the century. The town has capped off 70 mines for safety reasons right around this region. They had one for us to peer down into by putting a 8 x 8 metal grate over the mine entrance so you could still clearly see the shaft. The boys dropped small stones down the shaft and we all listened and listened and listened and then finally heard a slight "clack" as it hit bottom. Pretty creepy to be standing over a hole that deep!

We also saw the one room jail and the iron spikes they chained the "over flow" prisoners to when it became full. We were able to walk through the ruins freely and Daniel even found some home made soap someone had made in times past in a natural "bowl" in the rock. It smelled just like old lye soap.

After we were done there, Big Bend National Park was once again calling our name. We drove back inside and this time decided to take the scenic drive down into Santa Elena Canyon. Breathtaking scenery for all of the 18 miles to the canyon.

We parked at the trail head and forded a branch of the Rio Grande to get to the trail that led out into the canyon. The sheer walls of the canyon rose 1500 ft on either side of us. The Rio Grande, a bit muddy, snaked its way through the canyon.

Maybe this satellite picture will show you enough details to see what I mean.

We met up with a neat couple from near our home when we lived in Germany some 16 years ago. This couple home-built this unbelievable rig and are on a year long trip through Canada, the States and Mexico before heading home. In years past they have taken a year here and there to go to Africa and all kinds of neat places. See the size of those tires? They can easily go through three feet of water. They never need to "hook up" because they generate their own power and have large battery banks.

What was particularly neat for me was that I have read about them on the internet over the past couple of years, so it was kind of like meeting celebrities :-). They were a super nice couple and eagerly answered all our questions and were equally curious about our American lives.

On our way out of the park we saw a coyote who let us mess around and take a bunch of pictures and trail along as he hunted and "did his business" (like any other dog!). Unfortunately, the best picture was the one doing his business so that is the one I will share.

It was cool to see one of the animals that was making so much ruckus by our rig last night.

As we left the park a group of deer crossed the road which started Chaucey barking like mad. The deer bounded away up into the hills, white tails in the air...that sure is a perty sight!

Thus ends our second day in this unbelievably beautiful place!

Big Bend National Park

2008-01-31T05:53:00.000-08:00

I guess it's mama's turn to contribute to the blog. I think I get to write about the best day yet!

We traveled from Alpine, Tx south on 118 to Terlingua and pulled into an RV park, got settled and headed straight into Big Bend National Park.

We drove through the main gate and purchased a week pass for $20 and got some maps and decided to drive the 25 miles to the main visitors site to get our bearings. Big Bend is one of the largest parks (over 800,000 acres) and the least visited park in the system. We agree: This is a Best Kept Secret and everyone should come here once!!

Having made the "upper west" trip three years ago (New Mex, Arizona, Colorado, Utah) we noticed that geologically, you find much of the same rock types, formations, colors, etc here in Big Bend as you get in many of the parks farther north. Of course, those parks (Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, etc) are NOT to be missed but you do get a taste of them all in one park.

It is simply GORGEOUS, MAGNIFICENT, GLORIOUS. Those are the words I would use, just to start. We haven't even begun to see what is here but already we are blown away. Today we took a hike through the Chisos Mountains to the "Window" (pictured). We saw deer and birds. Both boys are "birders" and chased the birds around quietly trying to get their picture to identify in our book later. It turned out the one we loved the most is a Silver Cardinal. The view was not to be believed and cannot be captured on our simple 4 megapixel camera.

On our way in we saw a pack of javelinas or piccary (wild pigs pictured). They are rumored to be able to tear up a man if they feel threatened. We sure saw a lot of them along the roadside. We hope we don't encounter too many while out on the trails!
In the literature it said that no matter where you are in Big Bend you are in the territory of at least one mountain lion. That is a little wild! Also, black bear roam freely here.

We capped the day by having dinner at the Chisos Mountain Lodge overlooking the canyon. This was recommended as a splendid place to have dinner and watch the sun set. Beautiful! We understand why the park is said to be "God's country and the devil's playground". What a wild and wooly place!

We drove back to camp and the stars began to come out. By the time we got back and stepped out of the truck we were all awestruck at the sight! We had purchased a star chart so we got it out, along with our red tinted flashlight (so it won't "ruin" your eyes to looking at the stars) & we did an impromptu astronomy class.

:-) "School" happens everywhere!

As we were preparing for bed we heard a noise -- coyotes! We rushed to the door and the dogs were barking and howling and carrying on. We could see around the park that lots of people were peeking out to get a glimpse of them but we never did see them. They were very close, though.

We were all awakened at 4am by a wind storm that literally rocked the RV for about an hour. (At breakfast our waitress said there were gusts over 50 mph). It reminded me of when I was a girl and we took boating trips to the Bahamas each summer and sometimes summer storms would pop up in the night and my dad would creep around making sure the anchor was holding and that all was well. I imagined that all the men in the park were awake and wondering if their rigs were going to topple in the wind! It was exciting!

We are LOVING this trip! Living simply in the RV, having our "home" everywhere we go, and being able to experience God's creation so up close & intimately has been such a gift to our family!!!

Ft. Davis, TX

2008-01-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

Today (1/29), we left from our RV spot in Alpine to see a museum of the Big Bend National Park. The entrance opened into the gift shop, and the tour guide started us on our walk through the museum exhibits. At the beginning, there is a map of the surrounding area with push buttons that light up a named area in the park. Above our heads soared a life-size Pterodactyl (flying dinosaur) with 40 foot wingspan! We then toured the whole museum, watching movies about Big Bend and its history. There were movies and set-ups about how Pancho Villa used to come across on his raids from Mexico. They also had a couple of documentaries about how archeolgists excavate dinosaur bones and a huge, 17-foot wall of pictographs (which they had a replica in the museum). After seeing the whole museum, we went back to the gift shop and the exit. I looked in a book about road runners while in the shop. There was some amazing pictures.

After leaving the museum, we ate at an authentic Mexican restaurant called "La Casita" or "Little House," which is what it really looked like. Our bellies full, we started out on our 24 mile drive for Ft. Davis. When we got there, we also entered the gift shop (all these museums start in the gift shop it seems!). While cruising the shop, Joe saw something that he’d like to try out: a jaw harp. I had my eyes on a Monopoly game board with all the National Parks as property. I talked to Mom about it in the museum part, and she said, “I dunno, maybe you can split the price in half with Dad.” I agreed and asked Dad about it. He said he’d think about it, so I paid my attention to the exhibits.

We soon went outside to see the enlisted mens’ quarters and such. Along the way we found two old nails with their tips broken off. The were very old and rusty, so we knew they were authentic. But we had seen a sign in the office that said not to pick up anything we found, so after examining them we put them back where we found them.

After finishing around the grounds, we headed back to the gift shop and bought the Monopoly, with Joe twanging the jaw harp beside me. He is getting quite good at it. (Ed. note: Dad got a book about the fort because it told more about the history. It turns out that the first African-American West Point graduate served here. Also, General Myers ["father of the Army Signal Corps"] was stationsed here and it is believed that it is believed that he learned from the Appache and Commanche Indians how to communicate with fire, smoke signals, and wig-wag flags.]

On our way home, Mom got some great pictures of wild antelope.

(Blogged by Daniel)

Rattlesnakes, Mountain Goats & Astronomy

2008-01-29T15:58:00.000-08:00

On Monday (1/28), we visited the Mount Davis State Park. On our way, we spotted a sign that bragged "World's Largest Rattlesnake Collection," so we just HAD to stop. This little lady snake got a little riled-up about seeing us, so we got a couple great action shots and a movie.
Next, we got to the park and saw a mountain goat perched on the tip of a craggy rock.

We found the trail up to Mount Davis that maybe a literal goat trail too! Mom hinted that we’d be going back soon (she hadn’t anticipated a hike; she only had sandals on) and stated that she’d go no further when we got to a really rocky part of the trail, the start of the real mountain.
Dad, Joe and I were adamant to get to the top, so we left Mom waiting for our return journey and started up the steep trail. Mom urged us to come back, but my Dad allayed her fears by telling her that he was always staying close to us to back us up. I came near the top and spied a diagonally climbing precipice. I immediately started climbing up it. I got to the edge (there was a jutting-out piece that kept me from falling down the three hundred or so feet) and started to slowly stand up. Joe and Dad just got level with me and realized what I was doing. Dad didn’t seem very worried at first, but Joe literally freaked out, yelling “Daniel, not a step closer, come back! Get down here right now!!!” I sat down again (it was too dangerous to look behind me standing up) and looked behind me. “Go back, Daniel!” Mom yelled far below. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” I replied. I went forward again, I stood up and howled a conquering war cry. The view was incredible! Down below, Mom looked as small as an ant. Dad took a picture of me, but Mom got a good picture of me standing up. I got down, and we started our climb down, which also afforded us some great views.

After getting back, we got in the car and drove out to the McDonald Observatory (not the hamburger restaurant! He was an actual person who left money in his will to build the observatory). We saw the observatory domes coming up the drive. We went inside, and after eating hot dogs and quesadillas we took a tour of the place. The first telescope we saw was a reflecting (107” mirror) telescope.

The tour guide moved it about using a controller, and asked if anyone would like to control it. He asked Joe, but he shook his head. Then he pointed at me. I shrugged, saying “I wouldn’t like to break anything.” Everyone broke out laughing. The tour guide beckoned me forward and said, “Let me show you how easy it is.” I walked forward and took the control from him. “See,” he explained. “you just move it about like a joystick.” I did just that, pretty much moving the telescope around the whole room before giving it back to him. Then the woman that had laughed most at my little “joke” asked, “What would have been the bill if he did break something?” The tour guide grinned and said, “Probably $50 million. Just send the check to me.” We all laughed.

We then checked out a new type of telescope now known as the Hobby-Ebberly Telescope, HET for short. It was ingenious in construction, revolving on a cushion of air like a hovercraft and using many hexagon-shaped mirrors to focus light on the tracker. So really instead of revolving the whole thing, motors controlling the mirrors (each mirror had three motors; the whole mirror was made out of lots of hexagonal mirrors to make one huge hexagonal mirror) would just move the mirrors to keep them in a parabolic shape, and can track pretty much anything across the sky without moving the actual mirror a fraction. It was really cool.
Well, we headed back down the road using the same road that we used in the opposite direction to see the Marfa lights. We stopped at the look out (see our earlier Marfa’s Mystery Lights post) to see if you could spot the lights in the daytime. It proved not to be possible, so I just rode my Hi-Tide around (I had brought it with me just in case) and soon Joe got out and took out his. He still doesn’t quite know how to balance by himself, but he’s learning fast.

It soon started to rain, so we got in the truck and left. It was a great day; I’d like to visit the McDonald Observatory again sometime.

Marfa’s Mystery Lights

2008-01-29T05:11:00.000-08:00

(UPDATE: We have maps now! Checkout our older posts to see our route.)

Yesterday (1/27), we left San Antonio and started our eight-hour drive to Alpine, which is still another 110 miles from Big Bend National Park (one of our main goals). So you can expect there wasn’t much going on other than driving, driving, rest break, driving, driving, diesel stop, and so on. We arrived at an RV park that can really use some smooth concrete around the place (anyway that’s what I think; there’s absolutely no concrete other than a small bit of sidewalk by the office to ride my Hi-Tide on).

After setting up everything you have to at an RV park, we went on a drive in the falling dusk to see what Mom hinted vaguely as “mystery lights in Marfa.” On the way she described it more fully as mysterious lights that come on almost every clear night. It was reported by a cowboy in 1883 who thought at first it was just Apache Indian campfires. We thought it was funny because at the same time, the Indians thought it was stars that fell out of the sky! After about thirty minutes we came to a look out station where for the first time saw the mystery lights. Dad and I thought at first it was the headlights of cars on one of the roads, but we found that no road ran out there – it’s only desolate wilderness – no towns, roads, or radio towers – just nothingness. We knew they were really the famous “mystery” lights when they started doing weird things. First, they melted together, then split apart, disappeared and reappeared. We were able to see them very closely with our binoculars. Mom explained that park Rangers had gone out there and found nothing there, but they know it is not attributed to fire or smoke. There are many theories about why the bright lights are there: The majority think it may be either St. Elmo’s fire, static discharge, swamp gas, or the ghosts of gold miners. But the Rangers have gotten close enough to see that it wasn’t any of the above theories. Here's some more details you might find interesting: http://www.astronomycafe.net/weird/lights/marfa.htm

After a while, though, we got a little spooked by the dark and the unknown lights and Joe urged us to leave. We did, and we will never forget that experience. (Blogged by Daniel)

Remember the Alamo!

2008-01-28T18:19:00.000-08:00

On Saturday (1/26), we got up at about 8 am and headed out to downtown San Antonio to see the Alamo. We walked to the Alamo and started exploring the grounds. In the buildings, there were exhibits of the certain equipment (musket locks, artillery shells, silver spoons, etc.) and little placards beside them in a glass case. In the gift shop there was a miniature replica showing the battle of the Alamo, including the explosions of the shells (constructed of cotton balls) and the little plumes of smoke from the rifles and muskets (trimmed down cotton balls).

Then we heard about the cattle drive that recreates the cattle drives that cowboys made from the plains into the city by the Chisolm trail. There were five horses, followed by about fifty longhorns going at a quick trot, followed then by another five horses. There were about ten horses at the rear, their riders carrying flags.

Next, we walked down by the old canals now known as “River Walk.” We ate at a barbeque place down there. I got the beef ribs while Joe got a pork. After we ate, we walked along the bank (300 people fall into the canal every year!) before we climbed the stairs back up to the road.

We walked a couple of blocks to get to the Market Square, sort of a series of outdoor shops (it kinda felt like we were in Mexico; we’ve been to Tijuana and know what it feels like). We went into the building in the middle of Market Square to see the stores in there. One interesting thing in there was paintings of people’s that if you look closely, you could see that there were people in the faces. Other than that there wasn’t much other than cheap souvenirs, so we came back out and found a woman selling wooden toys. I didn’t buy it, but my favorite of her selection was a rubber band Gatling gun. You would pull on a knob attached to a string to spin the barrels and shoot rubber bands at a machine gun rate of fire (each barrel had two bands, so when the string came round again it would fire off another volley). Joe bought a wood yo-yo with the Texas flag in its center and San Antonio, Texas in a fun font on the edge. She customized it for him by putting the name Joseph in the same font. Joe used to have yo-yos, but he fell out of practice. He soon picked it back up, though.

After wandering about a bit more, we found the truck and drove off back to the RV park. It was a really fun day. (Blogged by Daniel)

Missing time & pictures

2008-01-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

(Daddy here) Ok, ok, so we fell a little behind the posting schedule so we'll try to catch you up with some cool pix we took while we were on Galveston Island, so we thought we'd give you some more details :-) We actually stayed in a big field to the left of the marker "Jamaica Beach" shown in the map above.

We are *sure* it's a beautiful place when the weather cooperates, but it was pretty rainy & cold for our visit. Here's a shot of our barefoot boys searching for shells. They'd rather join the Polar Bear Club and go swimming, but we had to draw the line somewhere....

I *tried* to cook eggs & bacon outside on our stove, but we had to finish up in the microwave...

Still, in the true Risler fashion, we made the most of it and found some cool shells and other interesting ways to track wet sand into the camper :-)

Home On The Range

2008-01-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

Thursday we arrived in San Antonio and found a working ranch that doubles as an RV park. It is sixteen miles from the Alamo where David Crockett was killed defending Texas against the Mexicans led by the general Santa Anna. In fact, an old tree down by the river on the RV park property is the same that Santa Anna camped under before attacking the Alamo.Friday we went on a hike on the old road that was used to travel to San Antonio and the Alamo. We found a lot of flint in the gravel before leaving, and I added this to my collection. After getting back, Mom went to wash some clothes at the RV park laundry room. Joe, Dad and I started a game of pool and went out and set about giving the ranch horses a good petting and talking to. Once finished, Mom came and helped us to pet them. Joe made a quick friend with a big white quarter horse (he almost fell asleep to Joe's petting) and spent most of his time with him while Dad rubbed the mule. I visited every horse, giving everyone a general petting.

On our way back to the RV we looked in at the ranch chickens that lived in a spacious coop. Two were taking dust baths and others were scratching and pecking about, while one was sitting in the nighttime shelter (perhaps laying an egg). All in all, we had a pretty full day.

On the Road Again...

2008-01-23T09:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we left New Orleans, but before we left we took a walk up on the levee behind the RV park. As soon as we topped the ridge, we were just about deafened by the sudden noise of the peeper frogs in the swamp below. The levee had blocked the sound, and the sudden exposure was startling. When we walked by the muddy water, you could see the frogs hopping into the water.

We found an old Coast Guard buoy down by the water that was half buried by a rotten log. We levered it off and were met by five or six beetles and four earthworms.

After getting back to the park, we quickly prepared the fifth-wheel for travel and hitched it up to the truck. We then put the things we wanted for the five hour trip in the truck and left. We have now arrived at Galveston, Texas by the Gulf of Mexico. There is lots of concrete to use my Hi-Tide on (I took full advantage of that) and a pool and game room. Written by Daniel.

The Big Easy

2008-01-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

Today we left Bagdad, FL before ten 0'clock and arrived at New Orleans, LA at three o'clock. After unpacking the truck, my dad drove us out to downtown New Orleans to show us the restaurants and shops there (my dad as a software engineer worked in New Orleans and knew how to get to these places).

After eating beignets (pastries with powdered sugar) and drinking decaf "cafe au lait" at the Cafe Du Monde, we went exploring the streets and stores. After a couple of hours walking, we ate barbecued shrimp at Mr. B's Bistro. It was a very tasty snack.
We spent the rest of the day looking in antique stores and walking. We topped it all off with a seafood place where they served oysters. They were a quick favorite of mine (I ate twenty-one) and will always order oysters when at a seafood restaurant. (Blogged by Daniel)

YAM: Yet Another Museum

2008-01-20T17:22:00.000-08:00

Today we went to Crossroads Baptist Church here in Bagdad (day two). We listened to a great sermon by Dr. Chuck Baldwin on the evidences of salvation. After the service, we went to get lunch at a Mexican restaurant and headed toward the Naval Aviation Museum.(www.navalaviationmuseum.org)
When we first walked in, my dad went to the front desk and found that guided tours are free, so we followed a former pilot around the whole museum. He showed us some of the first planes and fighters, mostly fighters. One of my favorite parts of the museum was the Top Gun Air Combat Simulator Center. It was a motion-based movie that you watch inside a pneumatically-powered cockpit that makes all the motion of a true mid-air fight.
Another favorite of mine was the Blue Angel. Joseph got a cap at the museum gift shop that says "Blue Angels" with a picture of a Blue Angel. I got a mouse pad to replace the one I have for my computer that depicts a Blue Angel air show, mid-air.

Joe says his favorite part of the Naval Aviation Museum are the Blue Angels. (Blogged by Daniel)

Live From Bagdad... FL

2008-01-19T17:20:00.002-08:00

Today we arrived at a place called Bagdad, FL, and visited the Air Force Armament Museum at the Eglin Air Force Base. There were literally tons of airplanes, bombs and guns in the museum. The picture to the top shows Joe and I standing in front of the MOAB bomb outside. MOAB stands for "Mother Of All Bombs."
It was pouring rain, so we went inside first and looked at the planes and rifles on the first level. After studying the SFW (Self Fused Weapons) we went up to the top level, and watched a movie about air-to-ground missiles. After looking about up there, we went outside to see more planes and helicopters. One of the coolest airplanes was the Blackbird SR-71 that Pop (Mom's dad) worked on it in his engineering career. We read that it could actually go coast-to-coast in just over 68 minutes.

I asked Joe what his favorite part of the museum was, and he answered, "The MOAB was pretty cool, but I have to say the Gatling gun was my favorite. It had six barrels and shot 60 rounds per second." (Blogged by Daniel)

Off like a herd of turtles

2008-01-18T18:32:00.000-08:00

Today was mostly a driving day. We left at 10 am and got all the way to the Opahumpka rest stop on the Florida Turnpike before we had to have our 1st stop :-) We made several others along the way until we pulled through Tallahassee and found a cool Kampground of America (aka "KOA") where we made a new friend, Tanner (the right-most kid). It's all dirt roads, but we managed to find a short strip of sidewalk where we could use our Rip-Stick skateboards. Tanner took to it like a duck to water until his mom ordered him to stop. So he borrowed Joe's skateboard (a 4-wheeler, not 2-wheeler like what I'm holding in the picture). We gave him a 10-commandments coin (http://www.livingwaters.com/) and a gospel tract. Tanner will be eight years old on 1/28/08. Soon it got dark, so we had to quit and eat dinner. We had some grilled "Rottweilers" (as Grandpa Gene calls them), but you probably know them better as "bratwursts." Tomorrow we are heading for Pensacola (maybe stop at the naval air museum if there's RV parking) and then onto New Orleans. (Blogged by Daniel

Daniel's Take: Downtown Disney Marketplace, Orlando, FL

2007-07-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

Marketplace Facts:
Located near Disney World in Orlando, FL. Full-size outdoor shopping and dining experience.

We spent Joseph's 10th birthday there, and boy was it fun! We went to the Lego Store with some friends, and spent about an hour there. We had lunch at one of our favorite resturants, the Rainforest Cafe.

The Lego Store has a huge selection of the newest Lego sets and themes, such as the all-new Mars-Mission and Castle sets. Inside it has many life-sized Lego sets, which Lego designers have built. Another cool thing about the Lego Store is that up front it has a huge robot made out of Lego bricks! On the side of the building is a full-size T-rex, also made out of Lego bricks. In the lake is another brick made creature, this one a sea serpent with his mouth open. Built in to the side of the building are little "windows", which contain detailed creations by Lego designers. You really should go there, especially you Lego fans.
Daniel

Joe's Take: Downtown Disney Marketplace, Orlando, FL

2007-07-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

On my 10th birthday we went with some friends to the Lego Store in Downtown Disney Marketplace. We had a lot of fun there. I sure hope I get to go again! We also went to Rainforest Cafe. The food was great! We had a awesome time!
Joe

Daniel's Take: Lake Nantahala, Aquone, NC

2007-07-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Lake Facts:
In 1941 Duke power company flooded the town Aquone and displaced the cemetaries, homes, and businesses. Aquone now lies underneath the waters of Natahala Lake. The lake is located near Andrews, NC and is 3,100 feet above sea level. The lake is drained for use by the Duke power company and the water used to create power is then sent downriver for white water rafting. The lake is used for recreational activities such as boating, swimming, and jetskiing.

There is a lot of room to swim and the lake is great for boating. The people around there are friendly and the lake is in a great area. I like to dive down as deep as I can and swim around down there. The water can be FREEZING in late fall and winter, even for avid swimmers like us. There are also awesome mountain veiws at the lake.
Daniel
(The dates on the pictures are wrong. They were actually taken in July, 2007.)

Joe's Take: Lake Nantahala, Aquone, NC

2007-07-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

I love Lake Nantahala. The water is cool but not too cold. It has a rocky bottom and if it's at least 6 feet deep it is safe to dive. It's worth the 5 minute drive over there, though you're not allowed to be on the dock when the boats are around. Lake Nantahala was a small town called Aquone. Duke power company dammed up the river and filled the valley with water. The lake is at 3,100 feet above sea level. It is always nice and cool, NOT like Florida which is very hot.
Joe

Daniel's Take: Queen's Creek Lake, Nantahala, NC

2007-07-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Lake Facts:
Queen's Lake is a Duke power company created lake. It is located in Topton, NC. It is one of our favorite places because of the fifteen-foot high jumping dock. The lake has steep red clay sides with only one way back up to the dock.

I don't know how many times we've been to Queen's Lake, but I just can't get enough of it! Joe and I just have buckets of fun jumping off the fifteen-foot high dock! The first time you go, it seems almost impossible to jump off, but once you do, you can't do it enough. The water feels great in the summer, but in early spring and late fall it might be a tad bit cold for adults. The lake may be too large for six year olds and under too swim across, but anyone above that age should have no trouble. But be careful! The natural track that runs up the side to get back to the dock can be really slippery when it gets wet!

Joe's Take: Queen's Creek Lake, Nantahala, NC

2007-07-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

Queen's Lake has a high dock, about fifteen feet high. On one end of the lake there is a dock and at the other end is a dam. It's about 100 feet deep at its middle. I like going there to jump off the dock. I also like to swim across the lake to the other side.
Joe

Daniel's Take: Wekiwa Springs Park, Florida

2007-07-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Spring Facts:
Hrs: All Florida State Parks are open from 8AM to sundown, 365 days a year. Full-facility camping, canoeing, and swimming. There is 7,000 acres of wild scenery of how central Florida looked when the Timucuan Indians lived there. The spring pumps an amazing 42,000,000 gallons per day. The Indian word "Wekiwa" means "spring of water" or "bubbling water." Springs most commonly occur along each side of the Florida central ridge.

The first time we went to Wekiwa Springs (We-ki-va), it was my birthday. We came to try out my new snorkeling kit which I received from my grandparents. I was pretty excited when I got in the water! After a while of snorkeling I decided to go over to the spring head with Joseph, my brother. There we met some people who found fossilized sharks' teeth at the bottom. Believe it or not, there is a fossil "graveyard" for sharks and sting-rays down there.

I went down about ten feet and got a handful of silt at the bottom. I searched through it and found a sting-ray's jawbone, a fossilized Indian bead (Indians were buried with their bracelets and necklaces, which contained beads) and a medium-sized shark tooth. I was pretty proud of my first pile!

That was when we realized that a wild raccoon was rummaging through our beach bag! We got a few pictures before he went back into the forest, the bold little creature!
The second time we went to the spring was with my 7 year-old cousin, Connor. Joe had just turned 10 and our grandparents had given him a green version of the snokeling kit they had given me, and he was eager to try it out. This time I was able to go down to the very bottom of the spring head! At first I couldn't go to the very bottom because my ears were pounding and they couldn't acclimate. So I tried clicking my ears (the same thing that you do when riding on an airplane at high altitude). I heard a high-pitched whine in my ears and immediatelly felt normal.

It was pretty creepy down there with all the reflections underwater. Once, I was returning to the surface with a double-handful of silt to look through, I hit my head, HARD, on an overhanging ledge! Bubbles exploded from my mouth. I was genuinely scared that I was going to black out, for I was seeing little black spots pop around in my vision. But somehow I made it. Mommy made me take a break for 5 minutes, but as soon as the time was up I was right back in there!

Joe's Take: Wekiwa Springs, Seminole County, Fl

2007-07-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

It feels a little scary when you first dive down toward the spring head. When you get within 10 feet, you can really feel the current pushing you away! I enjoyed swimming down as far as I could and pushing hard against the current.

There is a lot of wildlife at this park. I saw a raccoon even come right out and it looked like it would take something from our beach bag!

We walked out on the boardwalk to see where they launch the canoes and we saw alligators in the water plants.

Til next time,
Joe

http://www.abfla.com/parks/WekiwaSprings/wekiwa.html