Let's All Gather at the River!

To be honest with you, it almost seems silly to blog about this trip. After all  this is the fifth time I have visited this awesome bit of paradise. There isn't much more I can say. There aren't many new pictures I can take. But, just as I am compelled to come here, I am compelled to tell the story.

It is only two weeks to the day that I returned from a wonderful trip to the Grand Canyon. That was more than 40 hours of driving squeezed into 5 days. I have to be honest with you, but you can't mention this to Rachel. All during the week after that trip, I felt terrible. On that Monday, my doctor complained about both my blood sugar and my blood pressure. He made me start measuring my blood pressure at home three times a day, which is scary in itself. Add the psychological impact of that to the slow process of healing upper body muscles that were used in an unusual, for them anyway, way for long periods of time, and you had one semi-frightened old man. I am at that age when you aren't sure if that pain in your chest is gas or “IT”. Anyway, I spoke with the school nurses at both campuses several times, took an extra aspirin each day, and made sure I got more than my usual amount of sleep. By last Saturday, I was feeling fine, and this past week was also hunky dory. Lesson: Old farts that drive 40+ hours in five days, will need some recuperation time.

So, having recovered from the GC trip, I was ready to go for a “Jim ONLY trip” in the Colby T. Alamo River Ranch RV is under thirty minutes away from the house, even during rush hour traffic. I made a reservation, then got busy on the things I needed to get done, such as finding a new emergency breakaway cable for the camper. That turned out to be harder than I thought it would be. I couldn't get a clear handle on what to order off the Internet, knowing I didn't have time for an exchange, if I got the wrong thing. The cable is attached to a little pin that goes to a box on the tongue. If the Colby T breaks away from the truck somehow, the cable goes taut, and the pin is pulled out. This causes the trailer brakes to be applied full force until the battery goes dead or the pin is replaced. I pray to God that it never happens to me. Usually there is a lot of smoke as your now locked tires are ground away to nothing. It is supposedly the most frightening thing that can happen, and is known to cause fatal reactions, such as over correcting.

So I read on the Internet that I should unplug the pin and take the broken cable (with the pin to be sure I get the right kind) to any auto parts store, as they will all have them. Pep Boys and Auto Zone did not get the memo. Not only did they not have them, the guys that I held my broken cable up in front of had no idea what I was even talking about. Neither did either manager when I asked to see them. O'Reilly had them, but they were out of stock. He could order one for me by Friday, but, once again, I would be stuck, if it was not the right one.

The O'Reilly guy took a look at my cable and said I could build my own. He told me what I needed and I trotted off to Lowe's and got it. Unfortunately, when I got home, I realized that I had no tools in my house that crimp the metal pieces onto the cable. I was all set to get one of those tools, but I kept thinking I had one somewhere in my toolbox. I searched for it and took it to the kitchen where I had left my cable. It was not the right tool at all. Rachel walked in and said, “You have to cut the wire?”. I told her I needed to crimp the metal gizmos. She said, “With wire cutters?” Okay... Maybe I'm not Mr. Fixit. They kind of looked like what I thought I needed.

So I ran off to Lowe's to get the proper tool. I showed the guy my gizmo and asked him what I should use to crimp it. He leads me to the place where I bought the gizmo and the cable and hands me a tool that looked more like a pair of those long-armed tree cutter thingies. I almost dropped it. It must weigh 10 pounds. He told me it was called a “swagger”. I don't know if that is true or not, but I felt mighty empowered carrying it to the truck. Come on punk... make my day! Anyway, he even took me over to his work area and demonstrated how to use it. It looked really easy when Rambo (his actual last name) did it in the store. His biceps were so big they looked like footballs! Little old recently sickly and puny Jim had to put one handle on the floor and step on the other to get the job done. But done it was!

I went Tuesday night to install the new cable, just in case there was an issue. I could get it worked out before getting the trip. I thought it was too long. After researching on the Internet, I learned that there are two ways of doing it, and mine was fine. Like I said, I hope and pray I never need it! While over at the Colby T, I also installed a flat TV cable wire in my kitchen window. You bend it into the window track, close the window, and BOOM you have an exterior cable connection. The Colby T didn't come with one. I have mentioned before how I have to breakdown the bed and run the cable out through the shoreline hole. Takes about 15 minutes and much too much effort.

So yesterday was “Friday on a Thursday” at school, since we are off today for Good Friday. I packed the few things I needed and put them in the truck. Fortunately, we got to wear jeans and spirit T-shirts, so I was already dressed for the trip. As soon as 3:00 rolled around, I headed strait to PackRats, hitched up, and got on the road. Last time I went right after school, I had to go through a 4-way stop by Southwest HS. It is three miles from the RV park. I was number 175 in line (at least!). It took me longer to get through the intersection than the rest of the trip altogether. This time, I decided to take Bandera Road to 410 to I35 to 1604. I left PackRats at 3:45 and was already set up and making coffee by 4:15.

This time, I slowed to a stop before coming into the park. Remember last time? I hooked my stabilizer on a ridge of the gate and severely damaged it. To prevent that, I came in at an angle and barely at a crawl. It was fine.

A little after 5:00, I took off for my first walk around the park. It was really nice. There was a steady wind, very little humidity, and a crispiness to the air without being cold. I saw the white doe and the biggest living armadillo I have ever seen. I also saw a bunch of trees all over the place that looked just like poison ivy. I know they can't be, but I stayed away anyway. I need to look it up on the Internet. Hold on! Okay... Those are box elders. They look almost exactly the same to me. There is a subtle difference. The leaves off poison ivy alternate on the stem. The ones on box elder are across from each other. In the pictures, box elder is the top one.

Okay... Time for my next hike. Back in a few.

Okay I am back. Where was I? Oh yeah... So after the walk, I got back to the Colby T and finished getting some of my creature comforts set up the way I like them. Then I fixed myself a delicious dinner . I had tacos with cochinita pibil and spray cheese. They were great.

After dinner, I setttled in for awhile and watched some TV. First I watched Mucho Talento on a Spanish station. My Spanish has gotten good enough to almost understand everything I hear. This show is pretty much the same as America's Got Talent. I like it because they go a lot faster and you see more acts per show. After that, I watched something else, but can't begin to tell you what it was. I totally forgot to look for Grey's Anatomy, but I have it recorded anyway.

TV was boring, so at about 8:30 I opened a bottle of Merlot and looked for a movie to watch on my kindle. I did that, but kept falling asleep, so I just went ahead and called it a night.

Now, the downside of going to bed early, is that I end up having to stagger to potty in the middle of the night. Since I am just not ready to dewinterize the Colby T, I had to hike to the bath house, which is about 100 paces from my site. I expected it to be cold out, but it wasn't. Everything had a strange glow to it that was either from the waning moon or the Merlot. Who knows.

I woke up this morning at 5:15 and absolutely REFUSED to get out of bed. I laid there semi asleep for about an hour. Then I laid there (I don't think I am spelling laid right or something) and looked at FaceBook for awhile before I had to go talk to a man about a horse, as we say sometimes in Texas. When I got back from the bathhouse, I fixed a breakfast of tacos with powdered eggs left over from the GC trip, bacon jerkey, and spray cheese. They were great. Then, I got hooked into the Today show, because they were supposed to show “As seen on TV” products and review them. I was particularly interested in the dust glove, which they say does what it is supposed to.

I went for my first walk at around 9:00 am. It was really pretty. The sun was out and everything was vibrant. I took some photos of the things I have taken photos of before. Once, I was going to take a photo of a fungus growing on a dead tree trunk. As I approached about five little snakes went off in different directions. They were about the size of a pencil. I couldn't get a picture and skipped the one of the fungus in case mom was around.

Back at the Colby T, I hooked up the computer and started writing this. Then it was time for another walk to earn my lunch. This time I saw a tiny snake in the path. I picked it up with a stick and put it by a tree so that it wouldn't get stepped on. It seemed like it may have already been run over or something, but was still alive. There were lots of signs on the tent sites by the river. I guess a lot of people are coming to Easter camp. For those not from this area, families start staking out their territories in the city parks for weeks before Easter. It is a traditional thing. This place is a lot nicer.

For lunch, I fixed a can of Dinty More chicken and dumplings. It was okay, but not nearly as good as Sue Bee. I only bought it because it had a convenient pull top. Next time, I'm sticking with Sue. While I ate, I copied my photos to the laptop and re-sized them. Then I added some of this,

Now, I am going to the office building to buy an ice cream treat and cold drink. More to come...

Well I bought a diet coke and a Snickers ice cream bar. I can't say either of them was all that great. Still, they were cold. Not long after I got them, I went ahead and took my third hike of the day. This one was a three-miler. The sun never came back out, although it wasn't too gloomy. Just cool with a gentle breeze. That is a blessing at the river level. It can get really steamy down there. This whole visit it has been nothing but pleasant.

As I was headed past the horse coral, the two horses in there were going crazy running and kicking. The lady that was with them told me they do it every time the horse trailer is pulled near. I thought maybe there was a snake. Anyway, she got them calmed down and I walked on. There were several more tent campers in place. I wonder what the bathrooms will be like with so many people coming up to use them. They have porta-potties down there, but I bet they come up. I would for some things.

I looked for my little snake. He was still where I put him. Still alive. I passed him twice during this walk and later during my last one of the evening. He must be hurt. I hope he makes it!

When I got back to the Colby T, my back was hurting along with one of my knees. I washed up real quick at the bathhouse, then laid down for a nap. I woke up just in time for Judge Judy, so I put my robes on and helped her out. Then I went for my last walk. This one was only one loop around the trails with no off shoots. It was about a mile and a half. I took my time, hoping to avoid any back issues. It was a pleasant easy walk. There are now lots of tent campers down there. One area has a great big family group. Their boys were in the woods with an axe chopping up fallen trees. I hope that doesn't mean they plan on a fire. If the do have a fire down there, you might see me on the news! It is so dry right now a cigarette butt could take out San Antonio.

Back in the camper, I ate my dinner. This time it was a can of Dinty Moore stew. It was okay. I'm not really about the food on a camping trip. I spent some time goofing around looking on the Internet. Then I noticed the news dude saying the Spurs were playing tonight. I didn't realize that. I fired up the NBA League Pass app and the game was listed. I pushed the play button right at 7:30 and got an error message. When I went back, the game was gone. It doesn't seem to matter where I am, it is always blacked out. Now I am listening to it on my radio. I like listening to it, but it makes me angry that I paid all that money for an app that is always blacked out now matter where I am!

Rachel texted me that when she went to get Jared's truck inspected, she discovered that it was his registration that was due. I went on line and took care of that. Then I sent the print job for the receipt to the house. Now I am drinking the rest of my Merlot, listening to the game, and trying not to fall asleep. It's only 8:30, and I am tired. I am going to go ahead and post this. I'll update it online tomorrow.

Well, it was one hell of a game. It came down to the very end. When it was over, I was ready to go to sleep, but I felt itchy. I decided to go over to the bathhouse for a hot shower just in case I had something on me causing the itchiness. The bathrooms are private at this place. They have shower curtains blocking off one corner of the room with a drain in the middle of that section. It is really clean, and you get the impression that not many people use the bathrooms there. Most of the others have full bathrooms in their campers.  Anyway, I showered quickly then went back to bed, all itchiness a thing of the past.

I woke up at 6:30 and went to the bathhouse before cooking my breakfast. It was still dark, but you could see the sun rise getting ready to happen on the horizon. It was also dry, which was good. I was hoping to eat breakfast, leisurely pack things up, and get home fairly early. weatherbug was threatening thunderstorms around noon, and I wanted to be well off the road beforehand. As it turned out, there were no thunderstorms.

I ate breakfast, cleaned the camper, stowed my gear, and got ready to hitch up. The owner came by and took my trash. We talked for about 15 minutes. He is really nice. Everybody at Alamo River is. When he rode away, I hitched up, did a final check of everything and drove back to PackRats. I pulled up to the house by 9:30. All in all, an uneventful morning.

Not sure when I will get away again. I hope it is soon. I would like to get back to Lockhart State Park. Later
See all the photos from this trip by clicking HERE.