December 1-8, 2019 Fort Pickens – the beach, the fort, the navel base, and the Blue Angels!

Fort Pickens is located at the end of a long skinny island on the national gulf shores, just south of Pensacola, FL. Quite a different view as we drove with water on both sides of us! We had a great campsite, but a little tricky getting the trailer around and under those tree branches!

Oh that white sand! Our friends and family had been sending us pictures of the snow they were getting in Colorado – we shared these back with them but had to caption them, “NOT Snow!” Its always good to create a little envy to keep their attention 🙂 lol!

This stay was booked for seven days – Lorree had time to work on gifts. So glad we brought her sewing and ironing equipment. She is having fun being creative! Dennis was able to work on the blog – trying to keep up with all of our adventures!

We went for a sunset walk on the beach – so beautiful. The colors!!

177 Steps! We were huffing and puffing 🙂 We could see everywhere. The lighthouse was only 1 mile from our campsite as the bird flys, but we had to drive an hour to get there going around the bay and over the long bridges.

Dennis had a hanker’n for some gooey barbecue ribs and sweet tater fries. He used the crock pot instead of the oven for the first four hours, then finished them off on the Blackstone. Soooo tasty! We’ll have to do that again for sure!

We visited the Navel Air Station base and museum in Pensacola – very impressive! So thankful we have such well trained people protecting us.

The Blue Angels were doing practice maneuvers right over our campground – I could never get out there fast enough to take a good close picture. These were the best we got. So fast – and loud! It was fun to hear and see them!

Fort Pickens

We toured the fort at the tip of the island. This fort protected our coast and was used in the civil war. There were so many canons (places for the canons) they could do some real damage!

There were some real interesting trees at the campground. We also made some new friends, Darrel and Phyllis Pufahl. We ran into them while doing laundry at the campground. We spent an evening together talking and playing card games. So much fun to meet others. We will try to get together with them while in Florida, we’ll see!

Right next door to us at the campground was a couple (probably our age) who was booked here for two weeks. They lived in their tent and out of their car. They didn’t have much but they had all they needed. We thought we had downsized….but this! We were impressed as they lived in the cold 40’s and sometimes rain. They had an air mattress, electric blanket, a hot pot, elec hot plate, few dishes and clothes, and their faithful dog who they never had to tie up.

Nov 22-Dec 1, 2019 Roll Tide! & Happy thanksgiving!! (…and oh so much more!)

We made to Alabama! This marks the finale of our first planned trip – its been 3 months on the road! We parked the trailer in Tate and Kimberly’s driveway, and moved into their house for a week. It was very warm and comfortable to be in a “sticks and bricks” again!

Our first adventure with the Wards was an Alabama home football game. First time for us to attend a college game – so much fun and excitement. They won big time!

These two sisters!! Oh my, Emily and Jessica have so much energy and hearts full of joy – it seemed they were always smiling 🙂 We kept up with them as best we could!

Meet Bentley, such a calm well mannered puppy….and Copper, the bearded dragon! A while back, someone in their neighborhood found the bearded dragon roaming around and of course the girls said “Yes!, we’ll take care of it!”

The girls are taking cheer leading tumbling classes. We were able to watch them practice – they are doing so well! We wish we were that limber and full of bounce!

We were served homemade breakfast by the girls – Kimberly has done a great job teaching them all about cooking and kitchen duties, thanks girls! It was delicious!

For this, Lord, we are truly grateful! We enjoyed a feast for thanksgiving dinner. After dinner we enjoyed seeing “Frozen 2” at the theater. We also were able to connect with all of our family during the day through “Signal” sharing pictures and thankfulness. We LOVE our family – God has hugely blessed all of us – we stand amazed!

We helped the girls make Necklace Hangers for their rooms. They picked out all the materials and did all the work – they had a great time being very creative!

Dennis was able to help Tate fix up his outdoor lighting, both front and back. It turned out great – really sets the house off!

We had a very full, fun, and memorable time – it’s always hard to depart, but we plan to be back for Christmas!! Love you Tate, Kimberly, Emily, and Jessica – thanks for all the memories!

Gunter Hill COE, Montgomery, AL

About 3 hours later we arrived at our camp site for the night. It was a Saturday and we were a bit anxious to watch the Alabama vs Auburn game in the “Iron Bowl”. Our neighbors at the campsite were all sitting outside watching the game – they even had blow up mascots for each team! We braved the opportunity to make new friends – there were two couples our age, each one rooting for the opposite team. We had on our Alabama shirts – they welcomed us with open arms and we visited while watching the game together. (Ugh – Alabama lost, but there’s always next year!)

We never know who or what adventures God has planned for us – but this traveling adventure is great!!

November 20-22, 2019 So peaceful….Roosevelt State Park, MS

Have a Boudin (pronounced boo dan)! So many signs along the highway advertising these deep fried sausage balls. “The best in the world!” They were pretty good – but too spicy for Lorree’s taste. Another surprise to us was while traveling into Mississippi we saw many sugar cane fields!

We stayed two nights at Roosevelt State Park, MS. Just enjoyed the down time – didn’t explore or go anywhere. It was so quite and peaceful (maybe only two other campers a distance away).

This place reminded us so much of Turquoise Lake in Colorado. It was the pines and leaves and lake setting. So much that God has made beautiful for us to relax, sit back and enjoy – Thank you ELOHIM. our Creator!

November 17-20, 2019 Alligators! Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, LA.

We’re in Louisiana! A bit different here – swamps, cotton fields, and wildlife everywhere. We were greeted by raccoons when we checked into the State Park – so cool! Lake Fausee is pretty much a nature preserve of sorts – check out the alligators below!

Our campsite was nestled in the trees along a water way. Small boats would cruise by real slow headed to the open waters of the nearby lake. We even had a fishing dock at our site – but look what the sign said – YIKES!

We got on our bikes and rode the trails and the bridges across the swampy areas. There were lots of rough spots with roots and rocks and various hills. We had fun but had to walk our bikes in some areas (and we were feel’n the bumps on our backside – uncomfortable to say the least! 🙂 Dennis had to try out the Tarzan vines hanging from the trees!

We had no data service at our campsite, but found “one bar” on this bridge so Lorree could work her JP business. The water way under the bridge was covered with live water plants floating on top – looks like a meadow but it’s water …with alligators!!

Yep – there ARE alligators in the swamp waters! And also big turtles! The alligators and the turtles would get on a log and have a staring contest – we never saw who won :)! The turtles would also climb up on a single log and line up we suppose to get warmed by the sun. So fun to see these critters in their natural place.

This is sooo funny! The camp host was a single guy who rode by on his Gator several times a day. One evening Dennis was cooking up some steaks. The host stopped by on the road and asked Dennis a question. Dennis went over to him to hear what he said. “I was just ask’n if ya’ll are cooking up some squirrel for supper?” He was serious! Dennis didn’t know what to say … 🙂

Surprise! They had a splash pond in the middle of the campground. Since there were so many signs about not swimming in the waters we guess they had to do something for the kids. Pretty smart!

This was a real nice State Park except for having no data service, fresh out of squirrel, and we couldn’t go swimming!

November 15-17, 2019 Crystal Beach, TX – Ferry ride, Oil Museum, changing the rigg’in and Grouper Po Boy!

We followed the sun to the beach – (the forecast north of us was cold and rain)! We stayed at a very nice camp-spot with full hookups – Paula’s Vineyard RV Park. This is on Goat Island – just across the water from Galveston, TX.

We rode the ferry over to Galveston. It’s always fun to see all of the activity going on in these port cities. We remembered riding this ferry when we visited Galveston a few years ago coming from the other direction.

We wanted to visit this museum last time we were here but ran out of time. We were curious about the oil drilling platforms and how they worked – it was very informative! We learned a lot about the use of oil and how it plays such a major part in all of our lives!

We walked down the pier and saw this tall ship – look close there are people way up on top of the masts – re-rigging the lines. We stayed and watched – so scary!

After this we enjoyed lunch at a local sea food restaurant – fresh “caught that day”. Dennis had a Grouper Po-boy and Lorree enjoyed fish tacos!.

We ended our day driving down the beach of Galveston reminiscing about our previous visit – great memories!

Oct 26-Nov 15, 2019- SOWER Project 1 – Riverbend Retreat Center Glenn Rose, TX

SOWER – “Servants On Wheels Ever Ready”

We joined the Sower Ministry before we left Colorado. Its a 3-week commitment at each location. This is our first time to just park and live in our home without traveling anywhere. The Camp was about 20 minutes from town and hosts churches and other Christian organizations. It is a beautiful campus with lots of facilities and activities – Wow, everywhere we looked was another lodge, house, building, chapel, or outdoor activity center! Very Christ centered – we were delighted to work here!

We started work on Monday it was “Demo Day”!

In one of the lodge buildings they were refurbishing each room one at a time. After showing us what the finished new rooms looked like, they turned us loose to demo the next room. They wanted it gutted down to the studs – everything had to go!

The ladies were given the job of laundry… Riverbend has 162 “”pillows” so the bedding and towels never ended! Because Lorree and Jacquie stayed and did laundry everyday, the couple that normally did laundry was able to go on a much needed vacation. Being a servant allows others to be blessed!

Dennis and Evan went to work on tiling a couple rooms, installing doors, trim, and painting. What a transformation from the old to the new. We figured it out that we were on our knees for 7 of 12 days! Thankful for knee pads!

We even took time on weekends fore some fun! This is Fossil Rim Wildlife Center just outside of Glen Rose, TX. We had a great safari expedition, was able to feed the animals as they approached the safari jeep. It was a great day!

We made an overnight trip to Dallas to see friends Bruce and Marsha. They took us out to a great TX Barbecue place, we played cards, talked and had a great time! We also went to our first Buc-ees gas/convenience store – so large they could service 100 cars at a time!

We had a great time making friends with Evan and Jacquie, eating together and playing cards. We also met up with another SOWER couple that lives in the area, Evan and Popsie -we went out to eat and enjoyed great fellowship! We hope to meet up with these special people again at another assignment some day.

October 24-26, 2019 Heading North – Lockhart State Park

A little fun while were driving – Dennis was eating semi’s as fast as he could! LOL!

We headed north today – another State Park near Austin, TX. We enjoyed a great little campsite – a pull through this time, just above a little creek. It was a beautiful setting!

We had a lot of fun hiking this state park. It had a nine-hole golf course with hiking trails, waterfalls, green-ways, and wildlife everywhere. A great place to get some fresh air and walking in!

…and another big Armadillo! He let us get real close to him, then he scooted away. They travel fast!

October 20-24, 2019 The Beach! Relaxing at Goose Island State Park and Padre Island National Park.

Traveling south to the gulf was a lot of interstate highways and overpasses. We stopped to get a haircut (isn’t she beautiful!) and take care of our laundry. Learning to look for these things as we travel.

It was a beautiful drive to Goose Island State Park. We were looking forward to being camped at the gulf.

In the campground we found The Big Tree – claimed to be over 1,000 years old! Some of the branches were being supported by iron poles – we all get old and need support from time to time!

We hiked around the campsite and enjoyed all the twisty maple trees. Our campsite was all right but had lots of stickers in the grass and mosquitoes at night. We always seem to eat some good food!

North end of Padre Island – Mustang Island Beach!

Our truck floats! We were first in line on the ferry across to Padre Island – pretty cool ride!

First thing we did was to drive right on the beach! I made some interesting tracks as I did a “16 point” turn on the beach!

It was a beautiful day warm sunshine but not hot. The water felt good on our feet – so nice to relax and unwind listening to the waves and seagulls. Ahhhh!

October 17-19, 2019 Juice Plus Live! Austin, Texas

Looking forward to meeting up with our team and learning more about Juice Plus! an estimated 12,000 people are expected here in Austin!

We learned SO MUCH! – new research, new compensation plan, new videos, and more, to help us be successful! This company is so full of innovation, integrity, and inspiration!

A highlight at every conference is the early morning Prayer Breakfast attended by over 3,000 people! This conference featured speaker was Jenna Lucado Bishop (Max Lucado’s daughter). Matt 11:28 “Come to me , all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. We also enjoyed a great time of worshiping our Lord and Savior. What a great way to start the conference with God first!

We had an awesome experience during lunch – we were privileged to help pack food boxes for the Children’s Hunger Fund. The goal was to pack 2,000 boxes – but we exceeded that, nearing 3,000!

It was very organized – the lines moved fast through pallets of food and boxes! Each box contained a couple of balanced meals to share, and had scripture on them to introduce the recipients to Jesus. https://childrenshungerfund.org/

Each Juice Plus conference is rich with fun, education, inspiration, and motivation – looking forward to April 2020 in Phoenix, AZ!

October 14-20, 2019 Texas- McKinney Falls State Park and Juice Plus!

This was our first campground to book before we set out from Colorado., and here we are! McKinney Falls State Park is pretty much in the city of Austin, TX. Only 20 minutes from the conference center for our JP Conference. It’s a beautiful campground with lots of trails and different wildlife.

Ben came to visit! He was attending a banking function in Austin. Although he didn’t get to eat with us, he stopped by before his flight home – it was a great visit! Dennis set up the griddle and we enjoyed steak and sweet tater fries – yum!

Then we saw this varmint rummaging around a tree next to our trailer! A nine-banded Armadillo – first time we ever saw one, it was quite entertaining. This is the Texas state animal.

NO FALLS! …NO REFUNDS! This was on a sign in the Welcome center. They haven’t had any rain for months, soooo – there isn’t any falls at the falls! It was still a beautiful place and people were enjoying the swimming hole.