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4/21-22/23 (please sign your comments, I can’t tell who they are from😉)

Goat heads?!? What? To backtrack a bit, Harleys first introduction to Las Cruces was walking in a patch, that I thought was grasslike plants, but were actually goat head plants that have a burr on them with a spike like end. We keep tracking them into the RV and we keep finding them with our bare feet…they really hurt Harleys paws and our tenter toes!

We leave our shoes at the door now!

This week we have been working on 3 houses that are on a street with 24 houses built by Habitat. These are the last 3 houses on this street to be built and will likely be ready for settlement by June 1! House 1 is close to being completed, needs the tile floor sealed and a few touch ups. House 2, where I have been most of the week is about 4 weeks behind house 1. Here are some pics from the week’s work…

We ended the work week by hanging with Bill and Janine after dinner, laughing and playing a new game, Sequence…Paul even liked it (because he and Janine won 😏).

4/23-4/24. We have off Sunday and Monday and our co-volunteers, Bill and Janine, graciously offered to take us to White Sands National Park on Sunday. Harley came along and we all had a blast. Out to breakfast, picked up sandwiches for lunch and off we went!

We were close to Alamogordo so we HAD to go to pistachioland… Home of the worlds largest pistachio! 😳

We stopped at the local Elks Lodge for a beverage then back to the RV for a much needed nap, called the kids, dinner, movie and bed!

The car should be picked up Monday but as I write this on Monday, it hasn’t been towed to the shop yet for repairs. We should have wheels by Friday 🤞 😁

update at 10:00 pm. When we return from our evening outing, the car had been picked up and work should start tomorrow 👏👏👏

Monday 4/17, we arrived in Las Cruces, NM where we will be until the 30th.

When we arrived, we were met by our team leader, Dienske, who welcomed us. After the logistics of where to park and how to swing in the lot wide enough for us to park the car/dolly off to the side, we had an orientation with Habitat for Humanity. We met our fellow Care-A-Vanners who we will be on this journey with.

4/18 and 4/19 we started working on finish projects for the 3 houses. The first day is a bit chaotic. The construction leaders have to figure out the day’s projects, who has what skills and make sure we all have jobs for the day. We were able to meet some of the family members who were spending time (sweat equity is a requirement) to help with projects on the build. It was a great moment to see the excitement on Rosa’s face when she got out of the car and saw the black trim on the outside of the house was almost completed. It puts things in perspective!

Yesterday the gas lines were installed and today the driveway and sidewalk forms were constructed. Many of us are painting trim in house 2, doing touch up in house 1 and starting the floor tile in house 3 (above). It’s a busy place, for sure!

What a magnificent organization and super staff with caring hearts working with this community. We are here from all over the country for a single purpose. Love it! 💖

Since we don’t currently have transportation, we were able to team up with Janine and Bill who provided us with a way to get to the work site every day and also offered to help with errands and such. One thing I love is the kind, giving hearts everyone has here and the willingness to help however they can. That’s the way it should be everywhere. Every day!

4/15/23

We went to Carlsbad Caverns National Park today. We had tickets for the 10:30 self-guided tour and made it on time! We decided to walk into the “natural entrance” which was a series of switchbacks down a 20% grade for a mile. We ended up 750 feet below the ground! We then entered The Big Room, which is the tallest cave in the United States. It was massive, a really massive room covering over 8 acres! After we walked through the entire area, we opted to take the elevator back up to the surface…smart choice!

We did over 9,000 steps in the caves alone! (13,000 steps altogether) Back to the RV for lunch and a nap!

We went back to the Park for the evening bat flight. The park ranger was there at 7 for a Q&A … here are some bat facts: 1) bats have no sense of personal space, 200 bats can fit in a 12“ square! 2) these bats migrate from Mexico and are on their way to other destinations. 3) these 17 species of migrating bats use this cave mainly to give birth to pups in July so they arrive in late spring, already pregnant. 4) the pups stay in the cave for 6 weeks then join the adults for the nightly flight. 5) There are 400,000 bats in the cave by late July and mid August to mid September are the best times to see the most bats.

It was so cool to see the bats swirl in front of the cave entrance. They flew in a circular motion to build up their speed then off they went in groups. Paul estimated we saw 100,000 bats. They kept coming out of the cave for at least 30 minutes. As people left the amphitheater, it got quieter and we could hear the gentle breeze created by the flight and could hear their wings moving. So cool!

4/16/23 Sunday

We returned to the park once more to do a smaller guided tour in the Kings Palace. It was lit differently, more dramatic formations, and well narrated by the park ranger. We were so glad we came back.

Back at the RV park, We took care of food shopping, gassing up the rental car getting it ready for return tomorrow and then relaxed, listening to blues and dancing a bit 😁
Tomorrow is our trek to Las Cruces, NM where we will be for 2 weeks. It should only be a 4 hour drive…

Love to you all!

4/13/23

Just a quick update to say we made it to New Mexico, with the disabled car in tow 😏

The last 125 miles through Texas was, well, what one may expect… oil fields, large oil storage drums, power lines, oil fields, power lines, and did I mention there were oil fields?!? There was construction on route 285 for One hundred. Twenty. Five. Miles. Oh and yes, I was driving 🤪. This route was smooth but won’t make the list of scenic highways in America!

Made it to Carlsbad RV park where we apparently had a reservation for 4/13/2022 ( their mistake)! They were wonderful, moved a few things around and gave us a pull thru site so we didn’t have to unhook the car. Lovely!

4/14/23 day 12

When we arrived at the Carlsbad RV park yesterday, we arranged for a rental car so we could get around while we were here. After calling some transmission shops in Las Cruces, the rental company picked us up, rented us the car and we were off to see the Living Dessert Zoo and Garden State Park a few miles away. It’s a VERY blustery day and we are thankful we don’t have to drive the RV in this stuff!
The state park was really nice, lots of cactus and dessert plants, some in flower. We met a woman along the way, chatted with us and became our partner as we walked in the 1.3 mile path around the exhibits. We meandered for a couple hours, chatting and enjoying the company.

We needed a distraction. You see, as we pulled up to the state park lot, we got a call back from a transmission place in las cruces. The were able to fix our car while we were there…sounds like good news but did I mention it was to the tune of $7,400 !!
🤯🤯😬🤪🥲. I think NOT! So it looks like we are towing the disabled car All. The. Way. Home. At least that’s the way it looks now. We will see what the future brings.

4/11/23 Tuesday

Today we left New Orleans and headed to Anahuac (pronounced Ana-wok) TX. Sunny day all day, I-10 all day… uneventful 😊

We ended the day at a Harvest Host on Trinity Bay in Anahuac, TX.

This was definitely a rose of a day. We enjoyed the company of the other 2 couples staying the night at the Harvest Host. It was a good day!

4/12/23 Wednesday

Another travel day through Texas.

Started like any other travel day but today we anticipated going 420 miles to Sonora, TX. A little longer than we normally drive in one day.

We traded drivers at lunch time and about 90 minutes into my drive, a pick up truck passed and a woman passenger was waving out the window frantically, pointing to the back of the RV. I pulled over on the shoulder and Paul got out… the Honda we tow was smoking like crazy! Crap!
The transmission was really hot and we were grateful we were only a mile from an exit and a Shell station travel center. We got off the road, parked in the Shell station and Paul commenced trying to diagnose the issue.
It seems the car won’t go into gear…

After several calls to transmission shops (who couldn’t even look at the car for 3-5 days) we brainstormed our options. One clear option was to rent a uhaul tow dolly and tow the car to Las Cruces where we are spending 2 weeks with a Habitat for Humanity build. Hopefully that gives us enough time to get the car fixed.

Many calls led us to a military supply store that also rented uhaul equipment and they had the dolly we needed.. 3 miles away. Bonus! Once there we were wondering how Paul and I were going to push the car up the ramp onto the dolly… and so many other questions. Then 3 men arrived to rent a dolly as well! The men started chatting with Paul as I am inside filling out the rental paperwork and they were happy to take Paul to the auto parts store to get the receiver hitch and electrical plug we needed. It happens that they were 3 brothers, one of which tows vehicles to various locations and uses dollies regularly. Once all the paperwork was done, parts purchased we were ready for hook up.

The brothers had the dolly behind the RV before Paul could move the rig up to make room! They pushed the car up onto the dolly, hooked up the car and we were ready to be on our way again. We truly believe those brothers, from El Salvador, who came here 8 years ago looking for a better life, we’re put in our path by God. They wouldn’t accept money for helping us, just responded that they helped us and we help others. That’s the way it should be (we spent 1+hours with them and traded stories). As a society, we are so ready to gripe about the knuckle heads because they are so obvious but if we take time to look, there are angels everywhere.

A couple days ago I was reading a devotional about how we don’t thank God for our thorns. Thorns give our faith the opportunity to fly into action. Today, I thanked God for the thorn, we got to meet some angels!

After 12 hours in transit including a 3+ hour layover in Saguin, TX, we opted to spend the night at the Loves travel center in Sonora TX, grab a sandwich at 9 pm and rest . We didn’t even bump out the bed slide-out, just crashed on it as is! Another driving day through Texas tomorrow and then into New Mexico.

God is good!

4/8/23

We started the day in the drizzle but it held off while we were hooking up the car. We left at 8 am (!!) and drove southwest towards Montgomery Alabama. It drizzled for the first 5 hours of driving with intermittent periods of heavy rain. We did hit the 1000 mile mark in our first hour today! We also saw an alligator along the road but unfortunately he was in the same condition as the armadillo ☹️

We had about a 45 minute stop at a rest area in the afternoon… Paul heard a knocking sound in the passenger area while I was driving. He wanted to make sure nothing was going to fall off, good idea 👍. After consulting the service department of Indian Valley Camping Center (where we bought the rig), he couldn’t find anything but a wire that he zip tied some of the extra length. Probably wasn’t it but we didn’t hear the sound the rest of the way to NOLA. Can I say, bravo Mr. Fixit? 👏👏 BTW, if you are in the market for an RV, definitely talk to Indian Valley. We have called them while on the road and they have been so helpful to us, answering questions and having the service team get back to us. Superb customer service!

Once we got into Mississippi, the rain stopped and we had some clearing skies as we approached New Orleans.

We found St. Bernard State Park with no problem and I must say, quite the lovely park and friendly staff! I would highly recommend this park. They had some recommendations about where to go in the city and also a recommendation for church tomorrow, Easter Sunday.

We set up (not our finest moment…I’m tired and cranky after 8 hours of travel, even tough it was relatively uneventful and no traffic.) After leveling everything and setting up the RV, Paul took Harley for a walk and we got ready to go into town. We took the advice of the park ranger and reserved a parking spot, 2 blocks from Bourbon street. We walked a bit, looking at the sights (people watching) and decided to stop in at Mr. B’s Bistro for dinner. Superb dinner (shrimp and grits for me and mushroom crab pasta for Paul), wonderful staff and a recommendation to go next door for some live music. Next door, 21st Amendment bar, had a great blues band playing and we hung, grooving to the blues. Great start to our New Orleans adventure. “Laissez les bons temps rouler“.

370 miles today plus 35 miles on the car! A long day, a great day! 2 more states on the map MS, LA. Good night New Orleans!

4/9/23: day 7 and one week into the 10 week adventure. Happy Easter Y’all! 🌹🐣✝️

We found a church to attend Easter service in…Poydras Baptist, half a mile from the state park. Such a lovely, friendly group of people. About 40 attendees and a service with a little fire and brimstone along with some praise music from Chris Tomlin. We enjoyed the fellowship and afterwards decided to stay close to the camper today and spend some time with Harley. We took a walk about 1.5 miles on the park nature trail. We thoroughly enjoyed the quiet and listening to birds and frogs in the swamp and picking blackberries 😋.

A day of rest and relaxation before we head into New Orleans for a bit tomorrow. Naps seem to be in order! Relaxing evening and movie night (second time the two of us watched a movie in the RV!).

4/10/23 Day 8 and last day in NOLA

We started out with a leisurely morning and anticipating our last day in New Orleans.

We reserved a parking spot near our end destination, Cochon restaurant where our friend’s son works. OMG what a gorgeous day! We walked about a mile to the Mississippi River near Jackson square. Walking up to the river, we gazed at the glory of where we were, trying to soak up the moment. We continued walking along Jackson square admiring the talented artists that are displaying their creations. We also stopped for a street performance, they are really good at their craft too! 🤪

In our quest for some music and a light bite, we came across Gazebo Cafe which had a 3–piece jazz/blues band playing. Exactly what we were hoping to hear. We hung there for a bit, split half of a muffuletta sandwich… and frozen drinks. Paul was trying to sing along but didn’t know the words so it was like White Fang, from Soupy Sales show, singing (only those our age will get that reference but you have to look it up!).

Yum! Off to Frenchman street which was recommended to us by some locals. Hung out in the street by Spotted Cat bar, listening to music coming from inside, walked to the park, listened to a guy playing the piano in the park, and met a man with a great sense of humor who told Paul he looked like Tom Skerritt and sold us a hat ( for a donation to a food pantry 🤷‍♀️). Anyway, it was fun and makes for a good memory.

The original plan for the day was to Uber it back to the restaurant for our 5:30 reservation… we ended up walking back on Decatur Street, walked through the French Market and onto downtown.
We love to walk into odd shops, people watch and take in the sights. Paul’s head is on a swivel, taking the sights in and keeping an eye on the surroundings for safety. As we walked there was a gaping hole 3×3 and about 1.5-2 feet deep… Paul’s head on a swivel goes side to side, not typically up and down…

He stepped right into the gaping hole! Where was Karyn to catch this one on video!

It was elegant, fairly graceful and all he could say was “I didn’t see that”… I hope not, otherwise he shouldn’t have walked into it! Happily I tell you that there were no major injuries involved and a sore knee and shin to remind Paul to look down occasionally! 😅

We made it to Cochon restaurant, ready to rest our feet and sore body. We walked at least 3 miles! We hope we can get up from the table after dinner 😬. We saw Max, got some hugs, and caught up for a few minutes when he took his break. Haven’t seen him for almost 10 years and he looked great and seems to enjoy his job. Rabbit and dumplings and crawfish pie were recommended and didn’t disappoint. 😋

After dinner, we did manage to get up and walk a couple blocks to the car.. 16,486 steps today! Early to bed tonight! Off to Houston tomorrow!
We love sharing our adventures (and mis-adventures) with y’all 💖

4/4/23

Today was a second day of driving through the Appalachian mountains. Sunny, interesting cloud shapes, and the beautiful season of purple buds on the “red bud” tree. The roadside was filled with some newly budding trees with a lime green bud, some pines and others still struggling to start budding. Then there are these beautiful purple flowers speckling the highway amongst the lime green. Just beautiful!

As we made our way south, I spent some time finding a campground in New Orleans to hang for a couple days before we head directly west to Carlsbad New Mexico. Paul and I laid out the most southerly route we could last night in an attempt to miss the major storms in the mid west. The latest one predicted to effect the area from Dallas to Chicago… that’s a big storm! So, one more reservation to make and we shall see how this plan goes. Those that know me, know I like to be organized, the last month has taught me to also be flexible. We take an older gentleman to church each Sunday and he said that every day he gets up and looks forward to seeing what God has planned for him. I am carrying that thought with me.

We arrived at Rutledge Lake RV Resort near Asheville after 7.5 hours of driving. Paul was beat and I wanted to get there before 5 so I could pick up my package sent by our lovely neighbor. (My cpap cord arrived 😊. I see a good nights sleep in my future!) After set up and dinner, we took a stroll with Harley around the small lake and watched as she frolicked with excitement chasing the ducks and geese. She is a great traveler.

About 350 miles today through VA, TN and NC. We are staying here till Friday morning. Looking forward to seeing the gardens at Biltmore tomorrow.

Thank you for all your prayers for safety. Good night 💤

April 3, 2023

It’s been 4 years coming since early 2019 and we are finally off on our longest adventure. 70 days! 😅

We are excited, nervous of the unknown, but soooo ready for this adventure. We started our planning with going to Ohio, Illinois, Memphis, Little Rock and Oklahoma… Mother Nature had other plans! Tornados touching down for the last week and more projected for the week to come. After careful consideration of the weather, 10:30 last night we decided to go south to Asheville, NC and replan the route to New Mexico. So Asheville, here we come!

What a relief to be headed south in the sunshine. A beautiful day to drive on 81 through the mountains! Our first stop was in Harrisonburg, VA at a Harvest Host. This stop was at Harrisonburg First Assembly of God church. Nice big parking lot and easy set up… 3 buttons to push and we are done!

Paul took Harley for a walk and I started setting up my cpap machine and I FORGOT THE POWER CORD! 🤯😬 Panic set in, called medical supply places, and 10-15 calls later with no luck, I realized exactly where the cord is. So a wonderful neighbor was able to get in the house (with their spare key), grab the cord I left by the bed and overnight it to our campground in Asheville! It will be there when we check in 👏👏👏

Love our neighbors!💖 Hallelujah! I can deal with one night of snoring… hopefully Paul will too!

302 miles today then Asheville tomorrow to see the Biltmore gardens! Yay spring! 💐🌸 🌺

States traveled today PA, MD, WV, VA