We're now in Bandera, TX

This morning we broke camp in Edinburg and moved to Bandera. It rained from before we got up this morning until just after I finished setting up at the campground in Bandera. Carol has always liked taking drives in the rain and today she got her wish. We took about 5 hours for the trip and I don't rememer it ever letting up. We saw some new kinds (to us) of birds today. Also some floppy eared Sainte Gertrude cattle. Also saw a white animal on one of the ranches with the high fences along the road that we are not sure what it was. Probably one of those exotics that people go to the ranches to hunt. The rain was heavy and air was steamy so we did not get any pix of that animal. Suppposed to be sunny for the next few days so we will get around the countryside and see what we can discover. We are also planning on going to The Alamo, Riverwalk and some of the old missions around San Antonio. We are scheduled to be here for two weeks, give or take. Then it is westward to Arizona, through New Mexico.

We brought it home today!

Yesterday we took the new truck to the dealership with a list of things we wanted changed/repaired. The truck came with monster wheels and tires that we did not want and we wanted a slider 5th wheel hitch because this is a short bed truck and we would need the slider to back into many campground sites. There were also some very minor adjustments to be made. It was all done and more. They had thought that they had a slider in their warehouse but discovered that they didn't so they purchased one and installed it. They then discovered that they could not get the wheels off the truck and had to cut them off. We were advised that if we had a flat, we would not have been able to get the wheels off the truck. They then gave us new steel wheels and All Terrain tires. This was all done for us at NO ADDITIONAL COST!!! If you are ever in the Rio Grande Valley and are interested in a truck or car, we highly recommend Hacienda Ford in Edinburg, TX. Our salesman was Johnny Tellez and the Service Manager was Ed Ramon. They knocked themselves out to help us get a good deal and take care of our concerns. The only bad part of the day was Sunny's reaction to the dealership. We had taken her there several times before and there was a very loud public address system that frightened her. Also, there were many moving vehicles, some louder than others, and strange people. Today, we were in a loaner truck when we all went to the dealership. When we tried to take her from the truck, she was scared and shaking very badly and would not get out of the truck to get into our new one. I finally carried her out and she continued to shake. I then had to lift her into the new truck but, when she saw her blanket and mat on the wide back seat, she settled right down. We believe that she may have thought that she was being traded or taken to another track again. On the way back home, she was very content in the back seat all the way home and happy to see she was there. Supper was eaten and she immediately went to sleep. She has seen and apparently done so many terrifying things in her life and it will take a long time for her to finally realize, if ever, that that life if over and this one will go on. Until then, we will just love her!

Texas is expensive!!!

We did it! The 2005 Ford King Ranch diesel is now ours! We signed for it yesterday and brought it home with us. Since we got it on Saturday, we take it tomorrow, Monday, for some finalwork - slider hitch and minor fix-ups. We came here to recon the area as a possible place to return to next winter and are leaving with a new truck - WOW! Guess it is time to turn in my app to Walmart to see if they have any part-time greeter jobs open. We will now be safer and more comfortable in our travels. We met Pete and Karen for dinner and then back to our rig to watch the Super Bowl. Sunny showed them who the boss really is around here, now - gotta work on that as soon as things settle down. Retired racers love to sleep and loll around and, since her third week with us, she has been traveling and touristing with us almost daily and may be becoming a little cranky because of it. Hopefully she can get into a more settled routine soon. She seems to enjoy the activities but the wear is starting to show. We will be leaving Tuesday or Wednesday for Bandera, TX, near San Antonio. We will spend two weeks there and, although we will see The Alamo, Boardwalk, some Missions and the Hill Country, we will try to lay low for a while, too. Low 70s today and partly sunny but another cold front coming in Tuesday. Besides rain and cooler weather, they are also calling for some "brisk" winds so we may stay until Wednesday when it will only be cooler and rainy.

We're gonna get it!!!

Carol, Sunny and I returned to the Ford Dealership today and took a spin in the truck. Looked, handled and sounded great. Johnny T, our young salesman, after some give and take, made us an offer that Sunny could not refuse and how could I ever disappoint those big brown eyes? She really loved the full back seat in the crew cab. They will change our hitch for a slider hitch so that we can maneuver the Montana with the short bed of the truck without the front edge of the rig striking the rear of the truck cab when backing in on a sharp angle. The truck has all we wanted in a tow vehicle and more and Hocienda Ford in Edinburg, TX is trying hard to reduce inventory so the price was really acceptable to us. Tomorrow morning we return and close on the sale. Whodathunkit? Not us, for sure. This truck has something for all of us!

Got truck fever!

Pete Timko stopped by today and showed us his new 2005 Ford diesel pickup. Great condition, tremendous price, the dealership is really trying to sell vehicles. OK, we can stop by but are not interested. Yeah, right! We saw the perfect truck for Carol and me and it is a crew cab so the back seat is a full bench - Sunny would be in heaven! It is a diesel that I have wanted for a looooong time, it looks great and the Ford dealership is really trying to sell vehicles. We got there late so didn't see as much of it as we wanted so they told us to take it home and return it tomorrow. We had things to do so we'll return tomorrow morning and talk with them. Since neither of us has won the lottery, I don't see how we could swing it but gotta listen to their best offer. Wonder what tomorrow will bring!

It's raining pretty hard right now...

...and is supposed to all day long. Temperatures are in the mid-60s, though, so shoveling is not an option (haha). Sunny did not want to go out into the rain and wind this morning so I guess we'll see how long she can "hold it." This recliner should get a real workout today.

Rockport to Edinburg, TX

Yesterday we traveled from Rockport to Edinburg. We are now in the Rio Grande Valley. There are many palm trees and working farms. We saw cabbages, oranges, brussel sprouts and some we could not identify being picked and trucked. It seems very different to us to see road construction and farming being performed in January and February. We left the crookedly live oaks of Rockport and now have scrubby trees and bushes and palm trees. Today was around 60 degrees and cloudy. The rains held off but should hit tomorrow. We went to a National Wildlife Preserve and a bird watching paradise of a Texas State Park and could not take Sunny with us so we did not get to see the border birds and animals. We were right at the Rio Grande River, which is the border between Mexico and The USA. The Border Patrol is all over around here. Many signs are in both English and Spanish and some only in Spanish. When coming back home we saw a herd of about two dozen of what looked like cattle with large sheep horns. By the time the camera was ready, this is what we got. We don't know what they are but we will be looking for them again. If you click on the photo, it will be enlarged and the animal is in the center facing you. Do you know what it is?