It certainly has been quiet here the last few months. So, just to take up bandwidth here is what we have been up to or are planning to do in the near future.

Libby and I are heading out a week from today to Fort Davis State Park in Fort Davis, TX. We plan to do a star party at the McDonald Observatory on Tuesday night. Then, on Thursday, we are moving about 40 miles down the road to Alpine, TX for the annual Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering at Sul Ross University. I believe this is our fourth trip to Cowboy Poetry, Its a really neat event hosted at Sul Ross the last week of February every year. Cowboy poets, storytellers and musicians from all over the U.S. and even overseas attend. Great music, interesting stories and poetry and a cultural affair that is pretty unique. While not as large as the big gathering in Nevada, the Texas Cowboy Poetry gathering still garners a lot of participants and fans.

After Cowboy Poetry, we will return to our homebase at Fort Clark in Brackettville, TX just in time for the annual Fort Clark Springs Festival, the first weekend in March. Period costumes, Buffalo Soldiers, sometimes a real cannon firing, lots of vendors and early western grub and souvenirs are always on tap.

Of course, all of this is predicated on not being deployed by FEMA for any disaster work. In the five years I have worked for FEMA, this is the longest I have gone without a deployment. It's been close to 11 months since my last deployment, This is good for our citizens, no big disasters in my region and the few that have occured in other parts of the country have been handled by those respective regions. There have been quite a few Public Assistance declarations for infrastructure, snow removal, flooded bridges and government buildings, but nothing in my area of Individual Assistance. However, it is almost March and tornado season is just around the corner so who knows how long this nice vacation will last. A few years ago, we had a tornado in New Orleans about this time of year and in 08 Arkansas had its first of three back to back tornado/flood declarations on Feb 5.

The old D is sitting under our roof over, looking rather lonely. It last moved in November when we attended a Discovery Rally in Kerrville, TX. Just to fill the page, we completed our little homebase Casita last summer. Its 880 square feet of retirement home for us. One bedroom, one bath and a utility room for my radio equipment. Libby has a sewing center at one end of the bedroom and the big screen tv sits in the living room/kitchen area which takes up one half of the structure. This is the last building project I intend to do! Well, maybe a bigger storage shed for my RC airplanes later this year but that won't be a big deal.

Speaking of airplanes, we have been flying at the local airfield here on the Fort. We have two five thousand foot runways that are seldom used, so its a perfect location for the RC group. I have also been busy with the Woodcarvers Club here as well as the Gun Club and frequent rounds of golf on our 18 hole course. Libby has been sewing away on her embroidery machine. I keep waiting to see the days of the week on my underwear!

Kirk and Pam Wood stopped by a week or so ago. They are volunteers at Government Canyon State Park over near San Antonio. I think they were impressed by the Fort and have maybe put this place on their short list for homebase. Our friends, Dave and Sally Stribling from Alaska, purchased a lot two weeks ago about three or four lots south of us. They will be back here after Cowboy Poetry to get their lot cleared and have some fill brought in. I think they plan to pour a pad and do a roof over next winter.

Lots of construction here in our Unit at the Fort. At the current time, there are five roof over/Casita projects going on. Lots of deer and turkey wandering around this winter and the migrating birds are beginning to show up as Spring is just around the corner here in SW Texas.

Ok, enough rambling, Updates on our adventures completed and a new thread for the BB. How about you? What are y'all doing this winter for adventure and or projects of interest?

Howdy gang:

As most of the regulars know, Linda and I are finally on the road for our eight-month
round-the-US journey to see new places, people and things.

We survivied the weather in Quartzsite, enjoyed two weeks in Yuma, and were about to
venture eastward toward Benson, AZ, when Linda received a call that her younger brother had
unexpectedly passed away. Our trip was suddenly put on hold; we drove the rig to Camp Verde,
AZ; jumped in the Jeep and headed back to the Sacramento area (a two day drive--rather
fatiguing and not much fun).

We spent a week with family and friends, managed to survive the emotions, and drove back to
Camp Verde and the familiarity of our RV.

We are still at the Verde Valley TTN park for another five days or so--just trying to get
ourselves back in the explore and travel mode. Though our travels have been delayed for
about two weeks, it seems like good fortune as some lousy weather passed us by.

After a few days in Benson, we will head eastward through New Mexico and start our somehwat
lengthy exploration of Texas. Watch out Texas, here we come. There are three or four RVA
folks that we hope to see, even if for just a few minutes. And, of course, while in San
Antonio, I will pause to remember the spirit and entertaining writings of DD, and hope that
Rosie and the eogs are still doing OK.

Thanks to all of you out there who have made suggestions to us for what to see and where to go.
Linda has incorporated many of the suggestions into our itinerary (but both the itinerary
and the schedule are cast in jello--always ready for a tweak when the time arises).

Linda is getting her feet wet trying to learn the less-than-user-friendly aspects of writing a
blog and also posting pictures--a very frustrating experience for her, but she is slowly
making progress. All you arm-chair travelers can follow our journey, in a very abbreviated
fashion, at http://blog.backroadtravelers.com.

OK, guys and gals, time for someone else to chime in and use a little RVA bandwidth.

Mike, the Verde Valley is one of my favorite places to visit and I have fallen in love with Jerome myself (of course, being a mining engineer probably had more to do with this love than my hippie brother living there back in the 70's). Several years ago I drove my 39 ft. MH through the town and remember scraping a guardrail on that curvey section coming in from the north. A guy coming at me cut into my lane on a curve and I had no place to go but against the railing and subsequently into a body shop. But I'm keen on taking this longer rig through there some day....I just know I can do it!!!!!

Of course, all the old mining equipment always catches my eye and there are plenty of exhibits around the place. Since leaving the mining industry I have been doing structural inspection work so this town has another interest to me. If you look closely, you'll see numerous instances of buildings moving down the hill, a result of rock creep and subsidence. Foundation and concrete cracking and general structural distortions are rampant in that town.

Finally, there is the hamburger joint up top-and I can't remember the name. Help me.... And lots of leftover VW buses from the 70's......would make BBJohn drool for sure. Yeah, Jerome IS a very cool place to visit.

A minor change of plans. I have to cut short the Cowboy Poetry visit by a day. On Sunday the 28th, I have to head for Denton, TX just north of Dallas for a FEMA training class in Direct Housing Operations. I've done DHOPS a few times but never had any formal training. That will make me miss the first day of our Festival here at Fort Clark also but I'll be back for the Saturday festivities. I don't think I'll take the D to Denton. A quick run up in a rental car or perhaps a quick flight out of San Antonio will get me up there and back. If I flew out of Del Rio, I'd have to go to Houston and then to Dallas which will take all day so I might as well drive.

2.21. Changed my mind, decided to fly out of Del Rio. That will make it easier on Lib taking me to the airport and picking me up. Its only 30 miles over there from Fort Clark Springs.

John, we have been to Jerome a couple of times, but I wouldn't take my rig up that road!

Hey, John, while yer up there at MY observatory take note of the name of the guy that donated all the $$$ to build that thing. Gotta be a distant relative of mine 'cause Pennsylvania is where my family originated.