November 17^th – We got the 5^th wheel unloaded, cleaned and put in storage yesterday. We got a few things done and have seen some changes even though we haven’t been very far from home. We will have to do some exploring to see in person what we read in the paper.

 

We did get our first Pickleball in this morning and there is a fun tournament here this week.

November 14^th – We finished the last leg of the journey to Green Valley today from El Paso in about five hours. We got in about noon and found the house in good shape – a little TLC and yard work will be in order but first we will empty and clean the RV so it is ready for storage. We did get our afternoon walk with Lexi down in the wash and she found three groups of quail so she is right back in the groove. The patio was nice with 83 degrees for our afternoon break…

We did have a fun day with our friends – it has bee five years since we were here last. The most fun was the girls going shopping and the guys going to the fire station. Private tour from the Fire Chief because our friend is a town commissioner and I not only got to see the new 80 foot Pierce Quint I actually got to drive it. How Cool!!!

 

 

 

Interesting Texas facts: 2797 traffic deaths so far this year – more than all last year! Up 10 since we entered the state 3 days ago. We are seeing more brown, Texas road bumps (AKA Armadillos), cactus – mostly prickly pear, more oil rigs than I can remember and elevation from below300 feet to above 4500 feet today.

 

November 13^th – A real cool start to the day officially 19 although ours said 24. Wahoo! Luckily it warmed up fast on a beautiful sunny day and we were heading west. It got to 65 while we were having lunch. We are now on Daylight Mountain Time which I believe is the same as Arizona Standard Time. By starting early and gaining an hour we did over 500 miles today which should put us in Green Valley at a reasonable time tomorrow. We are in New Mexico now which makes 8 states in as many days and only one more to go.

November 11^th - We made it to Eastland, TX – long day with a delay in Dallas after somebody lost a big hay bale and shut down two of the four lanes. Boy these Texans get upset when they can’t go fast! We met our friends for supper and got a few chores done but not as much as we wanted to. Down day tomorrow.

 

November 12^th – Planning to stay put today. Good thing too – it was 75 when we got here yesterday and 40 this morning. Forecast is for upper 20’s in the morning but the wind is supposed to drop. Today would have been ugly on the road anyway….

Fall & winter 2013 – 2014

 

From Kickapoo State Park in Illinois

Our regular campsite for Iowa is closing on the 15^th of October. We were ready to head into Wisconsin for a family campout on the 10^th anyway in a touristy little town called New Glarus. They have a great Brewery and a Winery there along with great old style German food.

 

As unfortunate circumstances often direct our paths – on October 8^th we received word that my brother Kevin had fallen from the roof of his home in Lexington, KY. He was in a coma from head injuries – he never regained consciousness and died on November 1^st – All Saints Day. Many of the siblings made the trip to Lexington to support his wife Linda but she called us off when one of the brothers (Scott) and I were heading down. 11 of the 12 remaining siblings made the trek to Lexington for the funeral. He is buried in the Camp Nelson Military cemetery just south of Lexington in Nicholasville.

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin T. Phillips October25th, 1949 to November 1st, 2013

The sky lanterns from cousin Dona were a big hit.

 

November 9^th – we started our way to AZ for the winter after a nice breakfast with sister Kathy and hubby Ross at the Kentucky Horse Park campground where we both stayed. Made it to Lexington, TN from Lexington KY – just a little irony there…

 

November 10^th – another late start with church and breakfast but we made it to Arkadelphia, AR. Only 1200 more mile to Green valley – yuck.

Less than two weeks of AZ sunshine and we will head back to Iowa. There are a lot of flowers blooming right now especially on the cacti but as beautiful as they are the just last a few days.

We saw our first hatch of baby quail and encountered the first rattle snake. It was not close - at least I saw it from a good distance and had Lexi close. The rattle was very distinct - upon my description I was told it was a ring tailed rattler but I haven't confirmed it. It just laid there sunning and paid no attention to us.

February 12^th, 2013 – We woke to the sound of owl calls. Two Great Horned Owls on our roof peaks calling to each other in the dark. We tried to take pictures but the reach of the flash is limited. I got one just before they moved on. We went back out when it got a little lighter but then they spooked easily.

 

Then we headed to the desert for our morning jaunt. It was pretty with snow on cactus and the mountains in the background but most of it was melted already. We did see an eagle out near the old Saurago Cactus – we were hoping to see snow on it but no luck. Lexi had a ball but got very wet and dirty – third bath in a week – I really like that sink in the garage!