The After-Christmas Lull

Christmas 2017 has come and gone. And what did Donna and I do for Christmas? Basically, the same thing we've done for most of the last 20 years or so.

After Courtney graduated high school and Donna and I found ourselves in an empty nest, we started a new Christmas Day tradition -- going to the movies. For most of the past almost-20 years or so, we've continued this. This year, we saw Father Figures, starring Owen Wilson and Ed Helms, with supporting roles by Glenn Close, Terry Bradshaw, J.K. Simmons, and Christopher Walken. We enjoyed it for the most part, except for all the gutter language. Why does Hollywood feel they have to include such language when there is absolutely no reason for it? I'll try to be more careful in future about the movies I watch; such language does not impress me at all.

Normally, we find a place to eat after watching a show on Christmas Day, but we couldn't find anything we wanted this year so we just headed home and put something together there. And I was surprised by the crowds at the few places that were open. I saw several families going in and out of these restaurants, and they didn't look like travelers to me. I guess the traditional holiday meals are fading away for some folks.

A very cold front moved in on Wednesday. Never did the temp rise above freezing on that day. We had an early appointment and had to get out. Because of moisture the previous day, there were several icy patches around town, especially on the bridges on the loop. We left early, choose a low-traffic and safe route, and safely arrived at our destination. There were numerous wrecks around town that morning.

The cold continued the next day, when the temp just barely rose above freezing. Daughter Courtney and her band of mercenaries arrived close to noon for a belated Christmas celebration. Donna cooked ham, baked beans, and white potato salad -- yum yum! We opened presents, watched the little guys play with their new things, and had a good visit. They spent the night, then returned home the next day.

After they left, Donna put away all the indoor Christmas decorations -- tree, stockings, etc. I went outside and removed the lights there. So, Christmas is officially over for us for 2017.

The cold has continued. Every day is a wintry day, with low temps and overcast skies. We've had light moisture almost every day; not enough to add water to our reservoirs, but enough to make driving tricky with the overnight freezes. As I write this at just after 3:00 PM on Saturday afternoon, the temp is 38, and that is probably the highest it will be for the next several days. The high tomorrow (Sunday) is 32 with an wintry mix. It dips to 17 Sunday night, and climbs to a mere 25 on Monday, New Years Day. Monday night gets to 16, rising to 28 on Tuesday. We finally get back above freezing on Wednesday.

Donna and I had planned a trip next week, but with the bad weather, we decided to stay home, so we canceled and rescheduled for another time. Now, for all you mountain folks and northerners out there, this weather doesn't sound that bad. But for the folks in my neck of the woods, this is quite cold. It seems that we haven't seen the sun for a week or more.

To end the week, we will attend a New Year's Eve party out here at Rio Concho West on Sunday night. Lock up the women and children, as the old folks are cutting loose! I'll tell you about this wild affair in another entry.

Merry Christmas, 2017

I wish you a merry Christmas!

Luke 2:1-20 King James Version (KJV)

2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

--------------------

I quoted the King James version above, as I've always felt the language used in that version is the most beautiful. 

I wish you peace and love for the coming year. May we all strive to live by the example set by Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile, Back at RCW

Christmas is sneaking up on us. I hope all of you are ready. We are. Daughter Courtney and her merry band of terrorists will come barreling down to see us a few days after Christmas. That means Donna and I spend Christmas alone. It also means I have more time to ponder the impending invasion. It's kind of like when you get sent to the principal's office and s/he makes you wait . . . and wait . . . and wait. Just makes the torture worse, doesn't it?

We've had some rain, followed by some beautiful weather. Early in the week, we had about three-quarters inch of rain. A couple of days later, we had temps in upper 70's and even the lower 80's. Wow! It was really nice, so I made sure to get some walking in. We went to the park one day for a short walk of almost 4 miles, then the next day I walked just over 4 miles in our neighborhood.

Sunrise at Rio Concho West

Same direction, but zoomed in a bit and a few seconds later.

In the previous post, I mentioned our annual outing to see Christmas lights. After the drive around town, we stopped in for a light supper at Chile's. Back in the 1990's, we frequently ate at this Chile's on our shopping trips to San Angelo when we lived in nearby Ozona. But we don't eat there much anymore, and I'm not sure why. Donna enjoyed her tortilla soup while I really liked my Quesadilla Explosion Salad.

Turkeys came through our yard shortly after the sunrise.

On Friday, a cold front moved through. Temperatures hovered around 40 for most of the day. What do you do on a cold day? You go to the movies. Donna and I drove to our local theater and caught Downsizing, the new Matt Damon film. The movie let out about 3:30, and we headed over to our local Olive Garden for a late afternoon lunch. Nice day.

Christmas Light Tour, 2017

Since retiring to San Angelo in 2011, it has become a tradition for Donna and me to follow the Tour of Lights each Christmas.

The Tour of Lights is a unique Christmas celebration whereby a 1 mile stretch of West River Drive -- sometimes referred to as Park Drive -- is ablaze in Christmas lights. This stretch of roadway follows the North Concho River as it meanders through downtown San Angelo. Most of the decorations are set up on the opposite side of the river from the road. For much of the stretch, the land rises from the river, creating a bluff to serve as a backdrop for the lights, with homes gracing the land behind the lights. The reflection of the lights in the waters of the North Concho River certainly adds to the beauty of the scene.

This is the 24th year for the event, and the number of lights grows each year. It runs for the entire month of December, roughly from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Currently, a $5 per car donation is suggested.

If you go to the website linked in the first paragraph above, you will see mention of a 2.5 mile route. The actual route along the river is only 1 mile. At the end of this section, the route then leaves the river, travels along historic Concho Avenue in downtown San Angelo, then turns south on South Oakes Street where it then detours for its finale through the area across from old Fort Concho where the Farmers' Market is currently held. At certain times during the month-long event, there is a live nativity at this location.

I encourage you to visit the website linked above to view the gallery there, as their pictures are far superior to my unworthy efforts. But, if you are a glutton for punishment, then you can view a few of my pictures below. We got there just a little before it was fully dark.

The tunnel near the beginning of the route. The lights rotate across the top.

Notice the bit of reflection at the bottom of picture, as well as the house in the background farther up the slope.

Some of the displays bring the old 12 Days of Christmas song to life. This one shows the 8 maids a milking.

I love the reflections in the river.

A close up of one of the displays to demonstrate the detail that goes in to this.

Some of My Favorite Roads in Texas

It's been a while since my last posting. To be honest, we've just not done anything worth writing about. So, I thought I would dig into my bag of material to see what I could find.

Donna and I have been fortunate to travel all over Texas. It is such a vast state, a land of contrasts, with each corner of the state offering something different.

Below are some of my favorite drives in Texas. These are drives that we have made at least twice; some we have made many, many times.

• I love Texas 21 between Alto and Crockett in East Texas. I wrote about this road over 4 years ago in "Favorite Drives: Old San Antonio Road from Crockett to Alto" so I'll not repeat myself here.
• Texas 207 from Silverton north to Claude passes through Tule Canyon and Palo Duro Canyon. I wrote about this road earlier this year in "On the Road: San Angelo to Amarillo." 
• Ranch Road 337 from Leakey to Vanderpool is a beautiful drive as it crosses the divide between the Frio and Sabinal Rivers. Highway 1050 from Garner State Park east to Utopia is also a beautiful drive linking those two river valleys.
• Texas 17 from Balmorhea to Ft. Davis provides some unique mountain scenery for Texas. The best part of the drive, at least for me, is on the south side of Wild Rose Pass, where the road begins to follow Limpia Creek and the mountains begin to close in more.
• Texas 118 from Alpine through Ft. Davis all the way its intersection with Interstate 10 is another great mountain drive. My favorite stretches are those just south of Ft. Davis, and the drive north from Ft. Davis past McDonald Observatory to the intersection with Highway 166.
• US 67 from Marfa to Presidio is interesting. It starts with some high plateau country where you can often see pronghorns in large herds. As you near Shafter, the country gets a bit rougher, and the old mining town of Shafter is an interesting detour for those who enjoy history and this rugged country. From Shafter south, the road is rather straight and in a long, downward slope as it heads for the Rio Grande.
• Another interesting drive involving Presidio is the River Road (Highway 170) that follows the Rio Grande from Presidio to Terlingua, Study Butte, Lajitas, and the Big Bend area. Near Presidio, the road has gentle rolls as it hugs the river. About midway, there is a steep climb (known locally as "the Big Hill") where the highway veers away from the river temporarily. From there, it is a short way to the park (Big Bend National Park).
• Back in the Hill Country, Texas 16 from Kerrville south to Medina defines Hill Country drives. There are some pretty sharp turns on this road and some gorgeous country. As you near Medina, you pick up Wallace Creek, which later feeds into the North Prong of the Medina River. Both streams provide some pretty ranch settings.
• If you like something less remote, take Texas 27 west from Kerrville along the beautiful Guadalupe River. For the first several miles, there are quite a few resorts and other developments. At Ingram, be sure to veer left onto Highway 39. Eventually, the resorts give away, as does the river.
• Years ago, I always enjoyed the drive along US 290 from Johnson City west to Fredericksburg. However, that stretch -- especially from Stonewall west -- has gotten so developed that it has lost its allure for me. Still, you can detour off US 290 just west of Hye and follow Highway 1 as it winds along the south bank of the Pedernales River, offering views of the river as well as the former "Texas White House" occupied by President and Lady Bird Johnson. It will eventually rejoin US 290 on the western edge of Stonewall.

There are countless other drives worth making, especially along the many back roads of Texas, but those above are some of my favorites.

A Walk in the Park

After 3 days of cold temperatures and overcast skies, I was itching to get outside. The outdoors is my medicine; it is what makes me feel good. When I'm sick, the sun heals me. When I feel depressed, the wind lifts my spirits.

To celebrate improving weather, Donna and I drove the 2 miles or so down the road to our local state park, San Angelo State Park, on Friday. We are so fortunate to have this park. As I've stated in previous posts, it has more than 50 miles of trails for hikers, bicycle riders, and equestrians, and we've walked every mile of them.

Normally when we walk in the park, we just stay on the paved park roads. Our main objective when doing this is exercise, but we like to walk in the park because we don't have to worry about traffic and we usually get to see some critters. It's nice to be away from the usual city noises. I wrote about some of our paved road routes in the park back in April 2015; you can read that entry at "Walking at San Angelo State Park".

On our walk Friday, though, a cold wind was blowing quite steadily out of the west. So, even though the sun was shining brightly, it was still chilly. To block some of that wind, we opted to walk on the loop trail near the south entrance to the park. Basically, this trail parallels park roads, rarely venturing more than 20 yards or more from them. The trail is level and well maintained. It is an easy walk except for the numerous rocks that populate the trail. But there are quite a few mesquites, junipers, and other brush, and they helped block the wind that was blowing that day.

Aside from the steady wind, it was a pleasant walk, and we saw quite a few critters. Almost immediately after getting on the trail, a red-headed woodpecker came squawking over us and lit in a nearby tree. We then spotted a good herd of white tail deer scampering away, perhaps as many as a dozen strung out to our left. Next, we spotted part of the bison herd in the distance. I tried to get a picture, but I only had my phone camera and it did not come out well. It is hard to see that screen in full sun, so I more or less guessed at getting an image, even when zoomed in.

The bison are a good quarter mile away in this photo, on the other side of the park road that parallels our trail.

The trail takes us near one of the RV camp grounds, and we always enjoy taking a look at the campers. We still have that itch to take off in a travel trailer.

Following our walk, we drove around the campgrounds a bit, looking at the campers again. We then drove to Pulliam Point, which is as far north as you can drive on park roads from the south entrance. The point is actually a ridge jutting north, and it provides good views in almost all directions. I took the following pictures from that ridge.

This image looks southwest. I love the fish scale clouds and the distant hills. If you click the image to enlarge, you should be able to see the ridge drop away.

I love the wide open spaces out here. This image looks west. You can see the ridge drop away about halfway up the picture. Notice the top of the juniper bush towards right.

This picture looks north/northwest. On the left in the distance is a rather new housing development called Buffalo Heights. Click to enlarge and you should see the trail slanting from lower left just above the juniper tree towards the right. That trail is one of the trails that leads to the north section of the park

This image is just to the left of the picture above, and I have zoomed in some. You will see the trails below, which basically turn into the trail mentioned in the picture above. 

This is the northern tip of Pulliam Point. A dry creek, Potts Creek, runs from left to right, towards the lake, which is difficult to make out. There is also a water tower on horizon mid-right, as well as the lake dam. All are hard to see unless you enlarge.

This picture looks almost due east, towards the mass of the dam. You can also see Burkett Trailhead on right. The building is a restroom. The trailhead is the jumping off place for hiking/riding to the north section of the park. At one time, all the low lying areas in the picture were under water, but that was a long time ago.

Dry pond in park. This once was a very popular fishing place. Note the sign. 

And once back home in Rio Concho West, one of the first things we see is this rafter of turkeys.

Weird Texas Weather

Well, my great autumn weather of my previous post has disappeared. On Monday, we reached 81 degrees. It was a beautiful day, though a bit warm for December. On Tuesday, a front moved through and we reached a high only in the 50's. On Wednesday, I awoke to a cold drizzle, which lasted most of the day, resulting in nearly a half-inch of rain. We can use that moisture. The high that day was only in the 40's.

Yesterday, the north wind blew and the cold and overcast skies hung around. I saw only a very brief flurry of snow, so light you could barely see it. After a few minutes, it was gone, so most of my neighbors probably never saw it. But other areas nearby saw snow.

The mountains to the west got a pretty good dusting, and areas to our south (Ozona and Junction, for example) saw about an inch of snow. Even the country around Eagle Pass along the border saw a bit of snow, a rarity for that area. A friend in the Rockport area posted a picture on his blog this morning showing a very light dusting of snow there.

This morning, it is dry but cold, below freezing. What a change from our 81 degrees just a few days ago. But the sun should come out today and reach the mid-50's. Tomorrow will see temps in the 60's, followed by a day or so reaching the 70's.

We normally have a few cold waves like this throughout the winter. They don't last long. One of the nice things of being retired is that we can stay in our warm home and just ride them out.

Great Autumn Weather

This has truly been a great autumn. I can't remember one I've enjoyed more.

The temperature has been just about ideal. Nights often dip down into the 30's, but they usually only get to the upper 40's or lower 50's. The highs each day are usually in the 70's. We've even set several records this fall for high temperatures, and we may do that again today as the high is expected to inch above 80. We've been able to walk at all times of the day, and we've sat outside at all times.

One of the things we've enjoyed most is sitting out just past dark and watching the deer parade. We do this almost every night. You can almost set your watch by the deer. We normally try to get outside about 15 or 30 minutes after dark. The deer slowly start emerging from the brush and high grass to the south and walking north along the street or through our yard, often stopping to graze a bit. They then head off into a draw across the street and disappear.

We've really been surprised at the inability of the deer to detect us. We have sat in our chairs on our patio with the deer not more than 10 or 15 feet from us. They seem to sense we are there. The other night, one doe in particular strained her neck and twisted it about trying to get a better look. She appeared to look straight at us, but we remained motionless. Eventually, she resumed grazing. One night, our 8 point buck stood just out of Donna's reach and never saw her. You would think they could smell us at least, but they don't. If we remain perfectly still, they never know we are there.

My only regret about the weather this fall is that we just haven't had much rain. We are a few inches below our average rainfall amount now, and we will undoubtedly finish the year in a deficit. Perhaps next year will be better, but I'm afraid we are entering another drought cycle. And since we had some pretty good rain in the spring, there was a lot of plant growth in the rural areas. Now, with the lack of rain, that growth has turned into tinder, so we could see some wild fires in the coming spring and summer. Gosh, I hope not.