4 Days In Austin

Picking up where we left off, on Thursday Joyce and I revisited the Salt Lick BBQ. In my opinion, it was excellent. The brisket was moist with good smoke, and the ribs were very good with the mustard based sweet sauce, which is all they offer. Similar to what we found in South Carolina. Thursday evening we had dinner at  Kristin and Cody's place. Excellent steaks on the grill.
Friday we went to Franklin's for what is billed as the best BBQ in Austin. Kristin got there at 8:45 in the morning for the 11:00 door opening. She was 2nd in line. We got there about 9:30, and there were approximately 50-75 people in line. Joyce and Kristin thought the food was excellent. I thought it was good, but not as good as The Salt Lick.Friday evening we had dinner at the Hyde Park Bar and Grill.
Saturday we had brunch at Cody and Kristin's, then went antique store shopping. After that we went to a local Draft House for a beer, then to a Tex-Mex restaurant for dinner. And then back to Kristin's for dessert.

Sunday we went to the Lady Bird Johnson Wild Flower Center, then to a very nice restaurant where we met Cody's parents. All went well. We said our goodbyes after dinner and returned to the Colorado River RV Park and Resort. Monday morning we headed nort by northwest, and are currently in Big Spring, Texas. Tomorrow we should end up somewhere near Tucumcari, New Mexico...........Ernie

Howdy from Austin, Texas

We left Shiprock in Apache Junction on Monday the 23rd about 8:00 a.m.  About 25 miles down the road the windshield in the motorhome received a blow from a flying rock, and we now have a crack about 3 feet long. We notified the insurance company, and were hoping to get it replaced in Austin, but were told it would take several days for the glass to arrive. So, we'll wait until we get home to schedule the replacement.
We stayed in Las Cruces, New Mexico the first night, and in Ozona, Texas on Tuesday. We would have had a short run (200 miles) to our destination in Austin, but then*#^%#!*%!    Upon our 2:00 arrival we were informed that they had us coming in next week, and the park was full!! They recommended a park  about 20 miles away, so here we are. It's called the Colorado River RV Park and Resort, No idea where the "resort" is, but to call this rustic would be an understatement. We looked around for other parks, but no success. We're only sleeping here anyway.
Last night we met Kristin and Cody for dinner in Austin at the Hula Hut. He seems like a nice guy, and we approve. We will be meeting them at their place later this evening for dinner. We'll find out if he knows how to operate a grill.
For the rest of the day, we will be checking out some of the RV parks around Kerrville as a possible winter destination should we get tired of the perfect winter weather in the Phoenix area. While we're out today, we will be stopping for lunch at The Salt Lick BBQ. It's at or near the top of my BBQ joint list. Only eaten there once, and hoping it's as good the 2nd time. I also have Smitty's and Kreutz's in Lockhart on my "need to try" list, as they are only about a half hour away. I'd like to try Cooper's again, as I was dissapointed by it 2 years ago. 4 BBQ joints in 5 days, not sure I can talk Joyce into that!
So, we're off and running. We'll update before we leave here, or at least add pictures.       Ernie

Almost Time To Hit The Road

Blooming Cactus

Saguaro Blooms

Chilly Day In Oracle

All alone in our area

The time has come to pack up and hit the road. Next week at this time we'll be in Texas. 3 weeks from now we'll be close to home. With the weather forecast calling for 100 degree days by this weekend, cooler weather sounds good to me, but hopefully it will be dry.
Last weekend we went to Oracle, Arizona to see Biosphere 2. It was built in the late 80's ( with private funds) as an experiment to determine the feasability of colonizing other planets. The team of 8 lived in the Biosphere compound for 2 years, totally isolated from the rest of the world. That aspect of the experiment was a failure, but the site is now under the control of Arizona State University as a ongoing study in the earth sciences. The site has climate controlled areas ranging from tropical rain forest to desert.
The RV park is becoming deserted. It is now about 60 - 70% vacant. It's getting difficult to find anybody to golf with anymore. It's easy to get a tee time though, and the greens fees are about half of what they were a month ago. But, I'm still managing to get out a couple times a week, and my game is becoming more consistent.
Tomorrow we're going to take a drive up into the White Mountains. It should be about 20 degrees cooler up there. We haven't been up there since we spent a week in the late 90's.
The next update should be coming from Texas with some BBQ stories. Ernie

Winding Down The Winter Of 2011/2012

Cactus blooms

Oops! A little too deep

Winched out

At a shop in Sedona

Us and the view from the restaurant

Sedona, Arizona

We've got about 2 weeks to go here in Apache Junction, then we'll be heading to Austin, Texas for a few days. We'll be leaving Austin about the 30th and begin winding our way northwest. We're not sure where we're headed from there, as we have potential stops in 5 other states to visit friends. We'll figure it all out before we leave.
The last 2 weeks it's been getting quite warm with the last couple of days in the 90's. Temperatures are projected to be above 80 from here on out. We may be a little chilled when we get back home to 60's. I got out with the off road group last week for one last ride for the season. We've both been spending some time on the golf course, and tomorrow afternoon we're scheduled to play 18 with a group from the park. The forecast is for 94 degrees, so we'll see how that works.
Today (Easter) we went to Sedona. We were there 2 years ago on Easter, and found a restaurant that we like. We looked around a little, and got back in time for Joyce to watch The Amazing Race.
The park is emptying out fast with about 30% of the sites vacant now. By the time we leave, that will probably be around 50%. It's getting easier to get a walk on tee time on the golf courses, but harder to find somebody to golf with. And the greens fees are dropping fast.
Once we figure out where we're heading from Austin, we will publish our itinerary, Ernie