Wondering who that visitor was.

We had a visitor the other day.  Actually two visitors.  They are friends of my son.  I thought that maybe you all would enjoy seeing my visitors.

Why the goggles, you may ask?  Well, she and her owner both like to ride behind my son on his Harley.  Now, don't you think that is a cute little pup? 

 Her name is Saphera.  She is quite the active pup.

This last picture shows her with her "mom". 

I don't know and wonder how so much energy can be packed into such a little space.  I hope you all enjoyed these "cute" pictures.  Now, you all have yourself a great day today, you hear?

The Lodge at Davis Mountains State Park.

For those of you who would like to visit the Davis Mountains State Park but do not travel in an RV or prefer not to stay in a tent, there is a nice lodge located there with wi-fi, a restaurant, a pool, a small shop, and of course rooms.  It is located on  the far end of the park at the end beginning of the valley.  Here are some pictures.  The first one is taken from where my RV was parked:

 And an enlargement of it:

My wife took this one out of the Jeep's side window as we were driving up to the lodge:

And another one as we approached a little closer:

And of course I had to get into the picture to show you that I was actually there.  This was in the court yard just outside the shop (the open door on the left of the picture is the entrance to the shop). 

I would think that this would be a pleasant place to stay, but I am very happy and satisfied in my home on wheels.  Now, you all have a great day today, you hear?

Made my yearly trip to the nearest drag strip that hosts the NHRA Top Fuel races, which is located near Baytown, TX.  It was a beautiful day but heavy rains the day before had soaked into the track's surface and then with the hot sun shining on it, some of that moisture came to the surface and caused the cars to spin the tires down strip.  This caused a increased times and slower runs.  I only saw one 313 mph run in the 1000 feet to the finish line.  That is 20 or more mph less than they are capable of.  But, of course, I still really, really enjoyed it.

I had given two tickets to our dog's groomer who had a close friend that just loved the races.  The groomer got sick, so his friend brought his son along.  I always try to get there fairly early so we have a lot of time to walk around the pit area and see the drivers and the cars.  Here is Rick and his son about to get John Force's autograph.
 

And here they are getting Ron Capps autograph.  I have never collected autographs from the drivers.
 

This is Rick's son getting Greg Anderson's autograph.  Greg is a past pro-stock champion.

They had a top fuel engine on display with a list of statistics.  It is an older display because I believe that they run 10,000 horsepower now.

 This is the structure at the beginning of the race track.  They bring the cars through that tunnel in the middle into the staging area.

 OK, time for some action!!  How about some Funny Cars burning out?

 And of course the top fuel dragsters.  As you can see, my reserved seats are just up from the tree.  Directly across the track is the unreseved seats and the TV cameraman.

I took another picture and zoomed in.  Click on the the pictures to see them full size.  Then you will be able to see much more detail.

I guess that is plenty of pictures.  Hope you enjoyed seeing the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.  Now you all have a great day, you hear?

Wandering up the mountain.

 One day I couldn't resist the pull of the mountain, it was calling to me.  So I just had to take a drive up there.  Just after I started up I took a picture back down to where the motor-home was parked.  There were some swithbacks on this road so just the little ole Jeep and me took this side trip.  So, you all come ride along.  Pick on these pictures to enlarge them so you will be able to see everything.

 There was so many beautiful views that I had a hard time deciding what all to show you, so I just picket a few that were spread out along the climb up.  At one switch-back, the Jeep and I passed this stone structure arrayed with antennae:

 At a higher elevation on the same side of the mountain and looking in the same direction as the first picture, you can see we are gaining altitude.  In the forground is our camping area and you can see the whole park back to the Lodge which is the large building at the top:

Going a little higher and on the other side of the mountain, we found ourselves looking down on the town of Fort Davis.  Those are unique rock formations for sure:
 

And another picture of the rocks.  This mountain range was formed by volcanic action and that is what must have produced the strange rock fomations.
 

The Jeep and I finally got to the summit.  I took a picture looking east over the vast plains.  I enlarged a small part of that picture to show you this strange building.  I thought it may be a secrete government site where they keep all the UFO's stored, but it turened out to be a very huge greenhouse system for raising fresh vegetables in this harsh climate:
 

The Jeep wanted proof that it took me to the top of the mountain, so I just had to take its picture:
 

I took a lot of pictures but if you want to see them all you will have to pay me a visit in person.  Too many to post, for sure.  The hardest part is deciding which ones get posted and which ones don't.  I will not be posting tomrorrow.  Just telling you so you will not worry.  Now, you all have a great day, you hear!!!

Got back home safely.

We got home yesterday afternoon.  The last day was the hardest drive for sure.  Not just because we were heading home, but because it was not on interstate highways or those straight West Texas roads, but through populated areas with lots of small towns and a few large ones and the roads where mostly two lane, narrow, and with no berms.  But we made it even though it tired me out.  OK, I am ready to do it again (grin).

Today, I am going to show you some wildlife pictures that I took while at Davis Mountains State Park.  This first picture was of a deer just outside my windshield:

 The next day they visited the camper behind me.  I took their picture anyway:

 I opened my door (screen door handle visible at left) and took a picture of a Javelina outside on the other side of that tree.  The next night a bear was on this side of that tree!!

And here is the bear picture.  My wife wouldn't let me open the door.  She said the bear would come in.  I figured it would run.  Either way, I decided to take the picture through the window.  My old camera that I always used needed charged so I used my other one.  I thought the flash was turned off but it wasn't and the reflection from the window and the screen blocked the bear picture.  I guess you are going to have to take my word for it.

Later this huge Javelina came by.  It was the biggest one I have ever seen.

 Here is a picture of small Javelina visiting the campers behind me.

 This last picture is of an ant hill.  Well, it isn't actually an ant hill like we have back here in East Texas; it was flat!  The ants were big and black.  My foot will give you an indication of size.

Out of all the large animals that reside in the park, the only ones I didn't see where the antilope and mountain lions.  Maybe next time.  Now, you all have a great day today, you hear?

Some highlights of our trip.

First of all, let me tell you that I really enjoyed this trip even though I had two break-downs.  I enjoyed all of it but I must say that Davis Mountains State Park was the highlight of my trip.  Between the wife and I, we have taken hundreds of pictures.  I think that I will make some multiple blogs to cover the highlights.  Here I am driving thought Ft. Davis:

I pulled over at one of the few places that I could stop, got out, and took this picture.  These are some really scenic roads.

This is in front of our RV at the camp site that we had at the park.  My wife and our three mutts with mountains in the background.

I enjoyed sitting out outside looking at the beauty around me and for any wildlife that may wonder by.  I noticed that the moon was out in the daytime and the sky is so clear it was plainly visible:

 This was taken from next to our RV looking in the direction we were parked:

 

I walked a little ways up the hill and took a picture back at our camp site.  Ours is the unit in the middle in front of the white fifth-wheel.

That is all for tonight.  I am now back at an RV park in Junction.  Tomorrow, if all goes well, we will be back home.  Now, you all have a great night, you hear?

Wandering to Ft. Davis State Park

My wife bought a bag of sweet potato chips back home.  She went to get them last night and look how the bag puffed up.  Now, tell me we are not getting up in altitude.  In fact, we will be heading to Ft. Davis State Park today and it is about a mile high and the mountains even higher.  In fact, I believe that the highest place in Texas in located there.  Here is the bag picture:

OK, got to get the four slides in, everything packed up, and all hookups unhooked, so we can head out.  Even if you are only going to move this thing a few miles, you got to prepare it for the road.

It has been a pleasant stay here at Lost Alaskan RV Park and the weather has been perfectly clear.  If you are ever in this area I highly recommend it  The nights are beautiful.  Now, you have a great day and don't forget that I will have no phone or internet service where I will be for the next few days.  So don't get worried if I don't post for awhile.