April, 2005

Our first week of April was spent "blowing around" at Palm Creek Resort in Casa Grande, AZ.  Many of our neighbors and friends departed during the last weeks of March, but we were in no hurry to get back to colder weather.  Although the temperatures in Casa Grande reached close to 90* most days, the winds seemed to start around 10am and blow till dark.  However - we still played our usual rounds of golf and tennis right up till the last day.  The park was getting emptier each day and it was strange to be able to see across the acres of land without RVs blocking the view.  There were some last get-togethers with remaining neighbors at happy hour time and a pot-luck dinner with the tennis group. Mary tried, unsuccessfully, one last time, to win some money at Bingo.  Friends Char and Terry Eicher came for an evening of cards and shared a delicious lemon pie that Terry had promised as a birthday gift for Mary. We tried to check a few things off our "to-do list" each day as the week progressed, and on Thursday, April 7 we said good-by to Palm Creek and Casa Grande for the season.  It will be interesting to see what changes will be made in town and at the resort when we return in the fall.

On the road again....We headed east on I-10, through Tucson and to New Mexico.  We had the winds at our back and leaving late in the day, we also had the sun at our backs.  We stopped for the night at the Lordsburg, NM Tourist Info/Rest Area and parked with several other rigs.  Friday morning we drove on to Las Cruces, NM for a weekend visit with Mary's cousin Geoff Close and his wife Bethann.  They had moved from the Washington DC area just 2 months ago and have a great home with a fabulous mountain view. It even has an RV garage big enough for our rig, although at the moment it is still filled with moving boxes.  So, we just parked in their big driveway. (If we wanted to buy a house, we'd like this one!)  Over the weekend we enjoyed some local cuisine, a local winery (plenty of tasting!), the Farmer's Market and Craft Fair, a hike in the mountains and went to a theater in the historic "Old Mesilla" district for a free showing of "Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death" starring Adrienne Barbeau and Bill Maher.  How many of you have seen that film???  We had a great visit with plenty of catching up on family and reminiscing of old times.  We enjoyed just sitting on their garden patio and soaking up the mountain view.  We even got to experience a wild and windy, but short, thunderstorm.  When the black clouds disappeared the mountain tops emerged with snow capped peaks.  But, the snow melted in an hour or so as the sun also reappeared.
On Monday morning, April 11, we drove about 50 miles from Las Cruces to the other side of El Paso, TX and made a stop at Rocky Mountain Cummins.  They took a look at our leaking engine coolant and repaired the block heater connection which had come loose.  From there we drove on to Van Horn, TX and the El Campo RV Park.  We had been snowed in here several years ago in the middle of an ice and snow storm.  This trip was a little warmer.  After having "boondocked" for four nights, we were able to dump and take on fresh water and do some laundry.  Next stop was in Abilene, TX.  We filled up with fuel (98 gals. at $2.15), hit the salad bar, and spent the night in the RV parking area at Flying J.  Who said this is a free parking place?   On Wednesday we arrived at the Thousand Trails Preserve, Lake Texoma near Gordonville, TX.  The preserve is a large one with property on the huge lake.  Once you go onto the water, you are in Oklahoma territory.  During our 6 day stay here we drove into various small towns to do grocery shopping and find cell phone service and checked out a Chickasaw Indian casino.  We attended the weekly manager's meeting and got caught up on news and info in the Thousand Trails system.  We met fellow campers across the road that were from the Detroit area, Bob and Darlene Bell, and perhaps will see them this summer at the preserve in Michigan.
Geoff and Bethann's new home in Las Cruces, NM...complete with circular drive and an RV garage.
Mary's cousin Geoff Close and his wife Bethann.
Geoff and Bethann's backyard...the Organ Mountains.
Mary chatting with the New Mexico state bird...the Roadrunner.  Beep, Beep!!!
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On Tuesday, April 19 we took to the road again...north into Oklahoma and east on I-40.  We stopped for the night at one of our favorite campgrounds, Wal-Mart in Sallisaw and the next day went on into Arkansas and headed north from Ft. Smith to Branson, MO.  In northern Arkansas we stopped in Bentonville and went to the Wal-Mart Visitor Center which is in the store-front on the town square that was Sam Walton's original dime store.  The center holds much memoribilia of the Walton family and the history of Wal-Mart's growth.  If we'd bought 100 shares of Wal-Mart stock for $15.60 each in the late 60's we'd have $12 Million now.  Isn't "hindsight" great?
April, 2005
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Next, it was on to Branson were we camped in the Fall Creek Resort.  We drove over winding, hilly roads of the Mark Twain National Forest to get there.  Neighbors from Palm Creek, Art and June Nelson, are camped at the Treasure Lake Resort nearby and we enjoyed visiting with them and attending the "Country Tonite" show.  Their park was having a "Spring Fling" weekend and we enjoyed some of the activites there with them.  On Saturday they had almost non-stop entertainment from the various shows around Branson giving short performances...just enough for us to want to see more and come to the theaters later!  Some of them were really great - others just enough!  Reliable RV from Springfield, MO provided a free lunch for 700 or so people who also had the opportunity to tour RVs they brought for us to look at.  Art and June joined us at Fall Creek on Sunday for an afternoon at the movies...we saw "Meet the Fockers" and then went to dinner.  On Monday we stopped at the Stone Hill Winery for a tasty tour and took in one last show, "14 Karat Country."  We're still having a little "Internet withdrawal"....we're finally in good cell phone coverage area again, but in the Branson area it did not support data transmission.  When we had arrived in Branson on Wednesday it was hot and sunny. .But during our stay, the weather turned cold enough to have the heat running and we had rain...but overall much better than our stay here last year.  Once again, a great stop.
Walton's 5 & 10 on the square in Bentonville, Arkansas...Sam Walton's original store.
The 50s group, The Platters, performing at Treasure Lake RV Resort.
Welcome to the Ozarks...
Tom checking out the wine bottling at the Stone Hill Winery in Branson.
Tom made one last trip to the Post Office in Branson on Tuesday morning, April 26.  It had taken a week for our priority mail package to arrive, but at least it did!  Then we started east once again, up through Springfield, MO and on to St. Louis.  We made stops along the way at the Russell Stover Candy Outlets...always good for some tasty samples and some good bargains.  We spent a night in the lot at Harrah's Casino in St. Louis...plenty of parking space and always a fun stop.  Then it was on to Monticello, Indiana where we checked in at the White Oaks on the Lake Resort for two nights.  The resort has some great facilities and must be quite popular in the summer.  The staff had just arrived from their sister park in Casa Grande, AZ and we were all wishing for some of the Arizona warm weather.  It had turned quite cold! 
On Friday, April 29 we moved on to Plymouth, IN. and parked in the lot at the Swan Lake Golf Resort....another beautiful resort...but this one is not an RV park, so we had to park without hookups for the weekend.  We arrived at Swan Lake at about the same time as our good friends, Kathy and Dennie Dew, and were here to attend the wedding of their older son, Dennis and his bride, Anjela Martin.  We met lots of family members and had some great visits with people we hadn't seen in quite a while.  We conducted tours of the Dutch Star for quite a few who hadn't seen our rig.  Swan Lake is home to a PGA Golf Academy and has several beautiful golf courses, but the weather sure wasn't inviting for playing golf.  Tom and some of the guys did go use the driving range on Saturday morning.  The highlight of the weekend was the wedding at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Plymouth and the reception at the beautuful Swan Lake Resort Conference Center. The bride and groom had planned a beautiful ceremony and a lovely reception and we were honored to be a part of it.
By now, we've been on the road for three weeks...Palm Creek is fading into the past and we're headed on to Nappanee and more adventures.  Sure hope it warms up soon!!!!
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Dew