We Survived

It was a rough 4 days and 3 nights, but Donna and I survived -- barely. Donna took the brunt of the attack from our grandsons, as they all follow her around. I was able to hide away in a safe room quite a bit.

The lads are full of life, that's for sure. Having 2 young ones just a year apart is really trying. They both require so much attention. Donna and Camden really bonded. I'm afraid that little guy is going to miss his Gammaw now that he has returned home. He really took a liking to her.

Jensen is crawling everywhere, and he's able to pull himself up. He doesn't crawl on his hands and knees; rather, he crawls like a spider on his hands and feet with his bottom sticking up. He makes good time. And Camden climbs on everything. You really have to watch him or he'll do a high dive off of something.

And then there's Xander, who is easy going but quite lively himself. He's a bottomless pit who eats us out of house and home. As soon as he's done with one meal, he's asking for snacks. But he's a big help with his little brothers.

Donna and I are used to being alone. Our house is always in order and usually very quiet. When the grandsons come, that all changes. Toys are scattered all over the house, kids are running in every direction, there's laughing and screaming and crying. It's really hard to adjust to the change when they visit.

I personally think that Xander called a meeting each night while we were sleeping so that he and his little brothers could plot destruction and mayhem for the next day. 

This is what monsters look like when they are sleeping. Actually, they're really only recharging their batteries for another spell of pillaging and looting.

Camden unleashed in our back yard. He seems to be interested in his shadow.

Jensen will probably be walking the next time we see him.

The Godfather of the Monsters himself, Mr. Xander. He sits back and calls the shots.

A Last Minute Reprieve

Like a death row inmate at the last minute, Donna and I got a reprieve from our daughter. She has to delay her trip here for a day. That gives Donna and me 1 more day before we have to face the music from Courtney and her little assassins.

But the reprieve is only for one day. That bunch of ruffians will be here tomorrow. 

To celebrate our extra day of peace and calm, Donna and I decided to do a short walk out at the park. We were disappointed that more people were not taking advantage of the park. The 2 campgrounds we passed were probably only about 60% to 70% full.

The weather was beautiful: temp was about 70 with plenty of sunshine and very little wind. It's a rare day to have such a beautiful day in this area, for the wind usually blows pretty hard this time of year.

We caught sight of a small group of wild pigs. I don't know much about pigs and I don't know what the difference is between a feral pig, a wild pig, and a javelina.

The lake at the park is now completely dry. Since our heavy rains last May or so, we've had at least a little water in the lake, but no more. We could really use a period of steady rain. We need several inches over several days, so that runoff can fill our area lakes.

I'm a Marked Man

I've been pretty busy lately. I've been looking for a good place to hide. In fact, I've thought about building a safe room. You see, the Sheriff is coming to town, and he's bringing that posse of ruffians with him.

Yeah, the Terror of West Texas is on his way. He'll be here Monday, and he plans to stay several days. He's been pretty busy lately terrorizing villages to the north of us, but he's getting a bit bored with that, so he's set his sights on his old grandparents. We went out today to stock up on medication. I hope we can survive.

Next week is Spring Break for most West Texas schools, so Courtney and the boys plan to spend the week with us. Xander and Jensen are no problem; they're both happy, easy going boys. But that Camden . . . . that boy's a handful, and he has no fear of anything. He's jump off the roof without giving it a second thought.

We haven't seen the lads since Christmas, and the two younger ones are still at the age where they change quite a bit between visits. Xander is pretty much the same from visit to visit; he's absolutely no trouble at all. All three are so different in appearance and behavior and personality.

I'll let you know next week how we fare.

Short Trip to East Texas

Donna and I took a short trip to East Texas earlier this week. It was cold and wet when we left and cold and wet when we returned. I'm really ready for spring.

Because of the bad weather, we did not take our trailer. Instead, we did the hotel trip.

It was nice to see the colors of East Texas. There was lots of green grass, some dogwoods, some redbuds, and some daffodils among others. The rivers were full, and lakes and stock tanks were in good shape. East Texas appears to be a well-watered country right now.

We've had a lot of wet weather in San Angelo as well, but not to the same degree. Over the past 3 weeks or so, we've had numerous freezes, and a little bit of ice, sleet, and snow, but altogether I bet we haven't had more than half an inch of moisture at the most. So, we've had all the treacherous weather without the advantages of good moisture. Our lakes are still drying out, our pastures are still over-grazed, and there just isn't much color.

But the year is still young, and I still hope for good rains as spring approaches.

It's Been a Cold Winter

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for winter to end. Officially, we still have almost another month of this coldest of seasons.

As I write this, I'm looking out my window. A light dusting of snow covers the yard, but the street is clear of snow and/or ice. We've not had much ice or snow this season, but we've had it frequently, more often than usual for this part of Texas. But none of the storms has dropped much ice or snow on us. We'll probably get a bit more of snow and/or ice today or tonight, but I'm hoping that is the end of it for this season.

So far, we've really not had enough good weather for taking out our new trailer. It will probably be late March before we can get away, as Courtney and her gang of ruffians have scheduled a trip here during their spring break in mid-March. We hope to have good weather after they leave, then spend a week or 10 days really breaking in the trailer and enjoying some spring weather.

I'm thankful that we no longer work, for I would not want to get out in this messy weather every day. Keep safe and warm out there.

Book Review: Travels with Charley, by John Steinbeck

I like to blame John Steinbeck -- at least, in part -- for my interest in the RV lifestyle. When I read Travels with Charley years and years ago, I really knew little if anything about RVing. That book helped plant a seed for travel and wanderlust in me that still haunts me today.

Steinbeck begins his book trying to explain his own wanderlust disease:

"When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked. Four hoarse blasts of a ship's whistle still raise the hair on my neck and set my feet to tapping. The sound of a jet, an engine warming up, even the clopping of shod hooves on pavement brings on the ancient shudder, the dry mouth and vacant eye, the hot palms and the churn of stomach high up under the rib cage. In other words, I don't improve; in further words, once a bum always a bum. I fear the disease is incurable."

I know exactly what he means; Donna and I both suffer the same disease.

Steinbeck is considered by many to be one of the giants of American literature. Arguably his greatest novel is The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. I would argue that East of Eden is his most perfect novel as regards structure and theme. In 1962, Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in Literature, though not everyone believed him to be worthy of the honor. Regardless, it is difficult to deny that he produced an impressive body of work.

Travels with Charley, published in 1961, is a travelogue of a trip that Steinbeck and his large standard poodle (Charley) took the previous year. Steinbeck felt the need to travel the country discreetly, without checking into hotels or other places where he might be recognized. He opted for what we today call a pickup camper. Working with a manufacturer, Steinbeck had a camper built on a ¾ ton truck. He dubbed his rig Rocinante after Don Quixote's horse. It contained a double bed, 4-burner stove, heater, refrigerator, chemical toilet, and storage space.


He began his journey after Labor Day, once the children had returned to their studies and people had returned to work following summer vacation. From his home on Sag Harbor outside of New York City, he headed as far north in Maine as possible, then continued traveling about the country in a counter-clockwise direction. In all, Steinbeck would travel over 10,000 miles and through 34 states. 

Steinbeck hoped to meet people, to get re-acquainted with the country he felt he had become somewhat isolated from. Much of the book details conversations he had with people on various topics of the day, including desegregation and politics. He also made numerous observations on how the country had changed in his lifetime; those of us with more years behind than ahead of us can easily relate to these observations.

I've read this book three times now, and each time I've gotten more out of it. It causes me to think a great deal on the topics he discusses. And each time, it makes me want to hit the road. I wish I didn't have this travel disease so much, but gosh, it surely is fun.

Brake Controller for our Trailer

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not real knowledgeable when it comes to technical stuff about our trailer and towing. For example, I know axle ratio is important, but that information does not translate into practical application for me. So, I just get recommendations from reliable sources and go with that information.

But there are some things I feel comfortable with on the maintenance/technical side that I can share.

Before pulling our trailer off the dealer's lot, I had a brake controller installed in our Ram 1500. Technically, a brake controller engages a trailer’s electrical braking system either time delayed, or in proportion to the tow vehicle's brake engagement when slowing down or coming to a halt. In other words, it helps brake and/or stop your trailer. Without a brake controller, you rely completely on the power of your tow vehicle (the vehicle you are using to tow your vehicle) to slow down and stop your trailer. And if you happen to have a trailer whose weight is maxing out your tow vehicle, that is a very scarey proposition.

In the past, most tow vehicles would have a brake controller installed after purchase. They were usually mounted on the lower dash on the driver's side, often in the most inconvenient location for your legs to bump into while operating the brake and accelerator pedals.  Today, vehicle manufacturers are beginning to sell tow vehicles straight off the lot with brake controllers already professionally installed in the dash rather than below it. We did not get such a vehicle, but we did get one with a slot in the lower dash for installing a brake controller at a later time.

When installed after-market, the brake controller usually hangs from the lower dash by a bracket, often right where your legs move while working the pedals. This is NOT our vehicle, but we've had brake controllers installed in the past like this.

So, right before picking up our trailer, I had our local Dodge dealership install the brake controller for our Ram. I like that it is flush with the dash. In fact, unless you are looking for it, you don't even notice it.

Close up of our brake controller

Brake controller and its location in the dash, right below the air/heat controls.

When you adjust the settings for the brake controller, the readout appears in the control panel above the speedometer.

I could have picked up a dash mount brake controller for less, but I'm glad I spent a little more and had this one installed. It certainly looks more attractive, and I don't bump it with my legs.