Tyler, Texas to Ruston, Louisiana

Lincoln Parish Park, Ruston, LA.

We spent last night in Tyler, Texas, visiting our friends Meade and Lee Ann. They took us on a bike tour around their neighborhood and through the campus where they both work. Back at their house we did what you do when you visit friends in West Texas, we played Texas Hold’em Poker. Lee Ann took all of our money but we drank all of her beer so it evens out. When you consider that they live in a dry county and that it will take them a 40 minute drive to replenish their stock, you might even say we came out ahead. This morning per their advice we headed for Tyler State Park which is said to have some fantastic mountain biking.





The park is gorgeous and the trails look like a blast but today they were closed due to rain, so a driving tour was all we got. Again we were impressed by Texas’ state parks and would recommend this one. Not to be dissuaded we got back on I-20 and headed east for Louisiana. This is the first time we’ve been in a new-to-us state since Christmas. I get to put another state magnet on the stove so I am happy.



Our friend John Owen, who we will be visiting tomorrow, told us about Lincoln Parish Park outside of Ruston, LA, another place known for mountain biking. We got here around 1pm today, and promptly took a nap, seems it took Lee Ann a while to take our money so we were up too late. After the siesta we started peddling around the lake we are camped on, we easily found the trailhead and followed the well marked path through the dense and damp forest. The riding here is so much fun. The trails are rooty. muddy and a little technical in spots, but not steep or punishing like all those Utah and Colorado trails Dan drags me on. We buzzed through the trees and came out back at the lake an hour later. There are over ten miles of interconnected trails here and we have only ridden about four so far, (we did a lot of lollygagging along the way). Tomorrow we’ll finish off the loop before going to Alto to visit John and his family.

This park is truly wonderful. The campsites are full hookup but with a primitive feel, cost is around $18/ night. We are overlooking the lake and only about 20’ from its banks. The cove we are in is filled with turtles and bass, we are being serenaded by crickets, toads and birds as I write this. So far I am loving Louisiana, the people here are so friendly and helpful and the scenery is superb.

Louisiana, Rice Farming

Alto, Louisiana.

John Owen and Dan worked together at Wolf Creek early on in Dan’s illustrious ski patrolling career. John had maybe the most interesting off-season job of them all, he is a Louisiana rice farmer. We spent yesterday afternoon with his wife Anne and their sons Bob and Pat before John came home covered from head to toe in grain bin dust. After a quick rinse off he drove us out to the farm for the grand tour. The Owen farm is 1900 acres of which 1200 is rice and the rest is a hodgepodge of wheat, soybeans and even some old pecan trees. John and Anne took us out for our first mudbug meal at Cormier’s. Along with his boys we put away 25lbs of crawfish. John even got us T-shirts from the restaurant that have instructions on how to eat them, (this is for Dan’ benefit he didn’t get the hang of “grab it, pinch it, peel it, suck it”, and almost starved).


Anne, John and a bucket o' bugs.


The Boeuf River.




Dan and John spent the evening reminiscing over the good ‘ol days and threatening to break out their explosives training to blow up some pesky beaver dams that interfere with rice farming. Fortunately they were all talk and no beavers were harmed in the making of this post. This morning we visited John out at the only high point on the entire farm. John showed us the grain bins and his huge combine. Dan had serious toy envy, our rig isn’t half the size of that combine.


Dan and John atop the Grain bin.


A dry rice field.


A flooded field.


The grain bin.


Irrigating the fields.


The grain bin fan.


Nothing brings me back to childhood like the smell of honeysuckle, which is everywhere around here.

Dallas

Our friends Ryan and Jonika (you may remember them from the Grand Canyon posts) relocated to Dallas right after we got off of the Grand. We got to be their first non-family houseguests and they showed us a great time. Friday we got to visit Ryan at his office in a downtown high-rise. He took us to the famed grassy knoll and we got to hear a myriad of conspiracy theories, see the sixth-floor window in the book depository and the X painted on the road that marks the spot (supposedly) where JFK was shot. (The picture above is a commentary from a visitor to the JFK site, taken from the infamous picket fence.)


Sixth-floor window.

We ate out at fantastic restaurants, throwing our budget aside for the weekend we feasted on sushi and pasta. Saturday we did a bike tour of the city. Dodger and Jonika just bought their first place- a condo in Uptown, so we stopped by there. Nearby is a cemetery filled with prominent Dallas residents. On this particular Saturday a local seventh grade class was performing their Texas History assignment for the public. Each student stood near the grave of some past Dallas resident and acted out that person’s life. This boy was a prominent civil rights leader who died in the 1970’s.



From there we continued the tour around the city. We rode along the Katy trail, a local running/cycling trail made from an old railroad bed with really nice city views all along it. Once the tour was complete we enjoyed a lazy day of movies and board games.


Ryan and Jonika in front of their new place.

Dallas made a really good impression on us. Coming from Colorado as we do, it is bred into us that Texas is bad, but it seems that may not be entirely true ;) Now we are off for East Texas and another stop-over with friends.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Chapter Four.

It has been a long, cold and wonderful winter. Living in the camper in the cold is infinitely more challenging than in the warmer months. We chose to run dry all winter, in other words we had no running water. This complicates everything, especially meal preparation. When faced with the prospect of having to boil what precious little water we had in order to then do our dishes in bus tubs, eating out seemed less of an extravagance. This is a big part of why winter camping proved to be much more expensive for us.


Last night's dinner, Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

The other big reason was heat or lack there of. Our camper has the winter package, extra insulation, a two-paned front window etc, additionally we covered all of the windows with silver bubble wrap-like insulation and big fluffy cushions designed to fit in the sky lights, all helped to keep the chill away. Even with all of this it got cold, sometimes really cold. Our forced air furnace heats the living area well but not the cab-over part where we sleep. We bought a small electric heater which solved this problem but required a campsite with a plug-in. This meant that we had to pay to stay in private campgrounds with hookups, forgoing our preferred BLM or boondocking sites, and increasing our costs substantially.

Not only did we lose all of our “outside space” for the winter but the insulation kept out all natural light, making the camper seem more like living in a shoebox. Everything was just a bit harder.

Even so, I am so glad that we got to travel to and ski all of the places we did, but I won’t live in the camper for a winter again, unless it is in Mexico or somewhere warm. I would easily go on a week-long ski trip in it, but everyday for 4 months of cold is no picnic. So here we are headed south, water tanks filled and thrilled to be able to brush our teeth indoors again.

Thus begins the fourth and potentially final leg of our trip. We will spend the next two and a half months traveling the southern U.S. and then following the eastern coast north until we reach Canada again. This marks a bunch of unexplored territory for us both and we are so excited to be really on the road again that we can hardly contain ourselves.

From Durango our first stopover was Sante Fe and a night with our friends Connie and Albert (incase you are actually able to keep track of all of the supporting roles, Connie is Colin and Bjorn’s mother and Brook’s Mother-in-law, making Albert their step father and father-in-law by association) . If you are ever near this area a detour to Chimayo is a must. Not only is Chimayo home to the sacred and much folklored Sanctuario de Penetantes, but it boasts the best chili anywhere. The hillsides around Chimayo produce some of the sweetest and most flavorful red chilies in the world. They are dried and ground to make chili powder that is worth making a special trip for.



The Sanctaurio is the holy center for the Penatente faith. You may have seen photos of the faithful on their pilgrimages, where they carry huge crucifixes and practice self-flagellation. The shrine is home to the pit of dirt considered holy and said to have miraculous healing powders. Legend has it the hole never empties of the dirt, the faithful come and take vials and film canisters full of it, but every morning it has replenished itself. The church and surrounding buildings look straight out of deep Mexico and Spanish is as readily heard as is English.



The hole of healing dirt.


Crutches of the cured.

Connie and Albert treated us to a movie at their favorite art gallery/ cinema. We saw “Born Into Brothels” which I recommend very highly. If you like our photos wait until you see what a group of red light district children in India can do when a foreigner gives them cameras and sets them loose among the prostitutes and poverty.

After the movie we returned to Connie and Albert’s house which is located right along the river in Sante Fe, we laughed so much my stomach hurts today. Our campsite was right next to the flooding river and we slept the deep sleep that only comes from lying next to the sound of moving water.


Connie and Albert's house.


The guest quarters.

Today we are speeding along I-40 headed for Amarillo and eventually to Dallas for the weekend. It feels so good to be making miles and to be on a road we are blissfully unfamiliar with.

Thursday

Last night we camped at Greenbelt Lake about an hour east of Amarillo. Texas’ parks all seem to offer water and electric hookups for about $10/ night, which is a deal by our standards. Greenbelt has such a park, right alongside the lake there are about 20 cement back-in sites. Once we parked we met the only other person around who was leaving his camper here overnight while he went back to retrieve his boat. We asked him who we should pay since all of the offices we sealed up tight, her said “you won’t find no’bdy round here, ain’t the season”. So we got a site with water, electricity and a lake view for free.


Campsite at Greenbelt lake.


Prairie Dogs.


Lake Arrowhead.


Behind our campsite.

This evening we are at Arrowhead Lake outside of Wichita Falls. The ranger here informed us that in Texas you do not need a license to fish from the shore, and even better they have a “lend a rod” program. So I gave him my driver’s license number and he gave me a lure chucker and a tackle box full of hooks to go fish for crappie with, for FREE, for up to seven days! Camping costs $16 once you pay the day use fee, but again we have electric and water and this park even has hot showers. Who knew Texas was so camping friendly.


Bobber fishing.


Fish measurer.

Costa Rica

This was a true vacation. I realize the humor in my talking about vacationing, but hear me out here. We are constantly planning, where to go, how to get there, how to afford it and so on. This trip was put together by our friends; all we had to do was provide a credit card and next thing we knew we were whisking away for Central America.





We landed in San Jose around 9pm Sunday night. We got a taxi and found a cheap hotel. Our taxi driver was named Wilson and he turned out to be our personal valet throughout Costa Rica. The next morning Wilson picked us up and drove us the four hours to Manuel Antonio, stopping along the way to point out crocodiles and to help us rent surf boards in Jaco.


See all the crocs in the river?

We stayed at Costa Verde a very nice and small resort in Manuel Antonio just south of Quepos on the Pacific side. Wilson returned to San Jose and promised to fetch us at 5pm the following Saturday. It was still the afternoon so we threw down our bags and headed for the beach. The walk from the hotel to the beach is only 1km but is all downhill there and seemingly up a mountain on the return. We must have walked that hill 50 times during our stay.




There are giant Iguanas at every turn.

We had been warned repeatedly about the theft problem in the area and so we brought nothing of value with us, leaving only our flip flops on the beach. After an hour or so of frolicking in the waves we got back to the beach to learn that apparently flip flops are of value, and someone had stolen Dan’s brand new ones that I had given him for his birthday. Lesson learned.



The next few days were filled with beach/surf sessions, pool sessions and alcohol consumption, punctuated with huge meals of casada. Casada, also known as comida tipica, is the traditional Costa Rican dish which consists of rice and beans (gallo pinto) fried plantains a meat of your choice (always pescado for us) and often a green bean and ground beef casserole of sorts. We ate casada for almost every meal.




On our first full day in Manuel Antonio Dan and I woke up early to catch some good waves. Note to self: learn to read tide charts. The tide was very low and as such the waves were shore break. None the less we gave it the old school try. Not a good idea, the first wave I caught I went over the falls and got cold cocked in the cheekbone by the board. Within minutes I was smuggling a golf ball under my eye that would slowly spread down my cheek and, as I was told by a local fellow, produced a nice green/black bruise which really set off my eyes. For the remainder of the week Dan got some nasty looks from anyone who noticed, I do look a bit battered.


Me with a super-sized cheek, and shamelessly plugging our friend's restaurant. When in Durango eat at Nini's :)



The next day we hiked through the National park which is the big tourist draw in the area. The park is home to some truly stunning beaches and tons of wildlife. Everywhere you turn there are dozens of these super colorful crabs. Monkeys, Tucans and Sloths abound and we were treated to a particularly spry sloth at the end of our hike, in ten minutes he progressed at least five feet.


Crab in the park.


Three-toed Sloth.


Squirel Monkey at the restaurant in our hotel.


White-faced monkey.

Since surfing early was not good we opted for fishing instead. This is how Dan, Travis Zac and I ended up on the gay nude beach. We started fishing along the coast and worked our way around a few rock bars until we came upon a beautiful and deserted beach, the boys left me alone to go try their luck further down the shore. Slowly other people started to arrive on the beach; eventually I started to notice a trend. All of the other people were men, in Speedos and they were all in pairs. Apparently at about ten a.m. there is a signal, that I missed, which causes every one to hang up their Speedos and head into the water. I should have known, after all this was the prettiest beach in the safest neighborhood, of course it was the gay beach. The boys were equally as surprised when they came back to find me flanked by dozen of naked men, paying absolutely no attention to me, but they were largely distracted by the two fish they managed to land themselves.

The four of us stopped for breakfast at very empty beach side restaurant. We came to find out that it was deserted because the hotel had been rented out for a movie which was being filmed there. We enjoyed our breakfast, got to watch a trained Chimp parade around in a dress (he’s in the movie) and generally reveled in what an odd morning it had been. The movie is titled Surf Camp and stars a bunch of pre-pubescent kids who star on various WB shows. Just then three drop dead gorgeous models walked past (also in the movie), laid out their towels and stripped off all but their bikini bottoms; then they ran past us Baywatch style into the surf. Conversation immediately stopped, and I became invisible to them all. Ahh yes what a day indeed.





On Friday we opted to use our February ad revenue to enjoy our second Reader/Clicker Appreciation Day. This time we went on a zip line canopy tour through the rainforest. Thanks again to all of you. This was an exhilarating tour and a real challenge for me since I don’t like heights. Waiting my turn to zip, atop a platform suspended 90’ off of the ground was not something I would normally do. Once it was all done though I was thrilled to have done it.


This was a 65' rappel.


Morgan zipping along.


View from the zip line.

Mostly though we just made laps between the beach and one of the three pools at Costa Verde. It was a relaxing and fantastic vacation and a true departure from what has become our routine in the camper. Wilson, true to his word showed up Saturday and delivered us back to San Jose. Sunday we spent 19 hours traveling back to Colorado.


From left to right. Jeremy and Steve, Eric and Jamie, Dan and me, Travis, and Zac and Morgan.

Today we leave Durango for the first time with no set return date. This weekend we will be in Dallas and from there we are off to the land of mudbugs, gators and swamp buggies.

Thanks to all who wrote in response to our last posting, unfortunately all of the correspondence was complimentary so there will be no rebuttals this time ;)