Beautiful Views

This week we took another trip up to Cloudcroft and then took another highway that took us to Ruidosa.  The views were absolutely gorgeous.  Had a great lunch at a Mexican restaurant their called Le Hacienda.  It had snowed the night before up there so we saw alot of snow.  However, the road was cleared but snow was piled on the side.

Yesterday we were out again for Judy to get a haircut and we saw a man riding a longhorn cow.  Couldn't believe it so had to get some pictures.  So be sure to look at all the pictures below:

Some of the snow scenes

Mountain drive

Mtn Drive with view of white sands in the distance

Another Mtn view from drive

Looking thru mts at white sands in the distance

Snow piled on side of road

View from Kmart Parking lot

Bob with truck that the Eagle Ranch founder learned to drive on as a young lad

Cow Horse in middle of Alamogordo



Later, Judy & Bob

Cloudcroft, NM

We are settling in here and beginning to feel at home.  Our work is not hard and it's only 2 days per week.  And, Judy is not busy all day so she can carry our paperwork, etc., into the office with her so that saves on what she has to do when off.  She just has to be there in case someone comes in.  So she now has a new laptop and is portable with her computer.

Thursday we rode up to Cloudcroft.  It is up in the mountains east of us and is at just over 8000 feet high.  The trip up and back was breathtaking at times.  And, I say that in more ways than one - the view and looking down over the side of the mountains from the truck.  There was snow up there and it is only 16 miles up  from Alamogordo.  We took a bunch of pictures but they're not downloaded yet.  Soon, I'm going to shock  everyone and do a posting of just pictures taken since we have arrived here.

We have mountains on both sides of the basin here - part of the Rockies.  I was not aware they came this far south but they do.  The ones to the east which are actually in our back door are called the Sacramento Mtns.  Of course these are very rocky and barren but when you get way up there, many are covered in evergreen trees (and snow).  When we were up there this week, we could see the white sands between us and the mtns. on the west side which are a little farther away.  We can stand outside our RV and see mountains in both directions - east and west.

Life is great,

Judy

New Mexico

Well folks, we are finally getting settled here in New Mexico where we will be until the end of March.  We are volunteering 2 days a week for a campground, Boothill RV Resort so hope to have plenty of time for sightseeing and rest once we're caught up.

Amazon and Kentucky were terrible.  We won't make that mistake again.  On our way here from there we detoured back thru Alabama for Bob to see a doctor.  The report was good so here we are.  Had some truck problems on our way but made it all the way and that is now fixed.  We stopped at the Ford place in Lubbock, TX to attempt to have the truck repaired.  They wanted $2,000 so Bob told them to put a bandaid on and he was going to Alamagordo.  It made it here and the repair was $200.  That is quite a big difference.

Boothill is a nice campground and if you are ever through here.  The owners are wonderful and thanks to him, we found the garage that fixed the truck.  We got here on January 3rd and have mostly just been getting ourselves familiarized with the town and catching up from working at Amazon.  Have tried the locally grown pistachio nuts and they were wonderful.  Can't wait to stop and get some more.  Will take some pictures of the groves and post here.  Judy has taken a few pictures but haven't gotten them downloaded yet.  Will get that done next week and post.

We don't promise to post daily but will post at least weekly while we are here. We thank our followers for being patient during times of no posting.  Hope you will continue to follow us thru our journeys.  God has been good to us and we know he will continue to be as we journey thru this beautiful country of ours.

That's all for now,
Judy

Rain and Cold

Well folks it has rained for the last two days.  Yesterday it rained continuously without a break.  And today, although there is some sunshine it is cold.  There is some wind and it just cuts right thru you.  I had to walk the dog earlier so I experienced it.  She may get a very short walk tonight.

Bob is still not working.  We are still waiting for the doctor's form to be sent back to Amazon.  With any luck, it will get finished up this afternoon.  Let's hope, hope hope!  And let's also hope the doctor doesn't mess him up.  If he doesn't get to work we may need to find out how to apply for foodstamps.  Anybody know?  No, I'm kidding.  We'll make it but we'll sure have to tighten the belt.  We put 4 new tires on the rig last month and our RV/Truck insurance is due the first part of January.  Between the two, money is taking a bit hit.

Not much going on right now.  I'm off today.  I work 4 five hour shifts with 3 days off.  This is my 3rd day so it's back to work for me tomorrow.  Then Sunday, I will start to work 4 ten hour shifts with 3 days off.  That will last until overtime kicks in and then it will be 5 ten hour shifts with 2 days off.  Oh well, need the money as I already explained.

So long for now.  Hopefully will get some pictures taken eventually.  I think I'm going to pick up a good book and start to reading.

Later, Judy

Amazon

Well everyone I swear I did a post since the last one showing.  Guess I didn't.  Well the parts did arrive and we got our RV fixed good as new.  It was done at Sunshine RV and Trailer in Sheperdsville, KY.  They really went out of the way to make sure we met our date at Amazon.  We got there on a Monday and left there on Saturday.  And, they did really good work.  So, if you other RVers are passing thru there and need some work done, stop by and visit them.  They did us right.  We even parked in their parking lot while we there. 

So we actually arrived in Campbellsville 6 days early but that's better than late.  This extra time gave us a chance to get "home" set up and rest a little.  We did make a day trip up to Bardstown, KY and visited with Bob's sister, neice and her husband.  It was a Sunday so we went really early and went to church at the Bascilica there.  It sure was pretty and we had a good service experience.

On Nov 7th we started with Amazon.  They had a "meet and greet" for us that day along with sandwiches and other refreshments.  We met other workampers starting with us, got our shift and department assignments and learned our schedules, etc.  Then the next day we spent the day in orientation and safety school.  On Wednesday, we did job training - both in the classroom and on the floor.  Thought things were really going well. However, they have strict security here when you leave the building so if you have any metal implants you have to apply for a waiver for the metal detector.  Well, Bob has an Implanted Cardiac Defibilator so he gave them his verification card for them to copy, etc.

On Thursday, we went in to work and were promptly escorted to the HR office.  They are all worked up because he has a heart defibulator and they're afraid he shouldn't be working in their warehouse environment.  He's not operating a welder or a weedeater so there really isn't a problem.  Guess this is something they are not familiar with.  Anyway, they sent him back home and wouldn't let him work.  They supposedly faxed a form to his doctor in Tuscaloosa for completion and when they get this back a determination will be made as to whether he will be allowed to work.  So right now, it is just me working and it could end up being that way for the time we are here.  Needless to say, he is upset.

We are staying at Heartland RV Park and can see Amazon from it.  Therefore, the plan is to walk back and forth to work like we did at Adventureland.  So far, the park has had one covered dish supper which we attended and met some other people and we stayed and played "Card Bingo".  It was our first time to ever play this game but we had a lot of fun and laughs.  They are planning a Thanksgiving dinner for us on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  The park will be furnishing the turkey and all the eating supplies with each camper bringing a dish.  They're even having two serving times to accomodate everyone - both night and day shifts.  We're on night shift so our time to eat will be at 3:30 PM.  Yum, Yum, Good!

The weather here is a little chilly and I have a feeling it is going to get colder.  Not exactly the 72 degrees we said we were going to maintain.  We understand that last year they had snow and an ice storm while the workampers were here.  There's also been a lot of wind since we've been here.  Bob said the wind here is jut preparing us for the wind in New Mexico when we get there - blows all the time.  We should be there sometime between Jan 5th and Jan 10th.  Will have to go back thru Tuscaloosa on the way for Bob to see his cardiologist.  These doctors can be a problem sometimes. 

Well, not much else to say.  There's really not alot going on.  Will keep you informed about what happens between Bob and Amazon.

Later,

Judy

Waiting on Parts

Well everyone the parts are ordered to fix our RV.  We are currently sitting at Sunshine RV & Trailer in Shepherdsville, KY waiting on our parts to arrive.  As soon as they do, our RV will be next to be worked on and hopefully get us to Campbellsville, KY to work for Amazon by Nov. 4th.  They have provided 30 AMP electrical hook-up for us and filled our tank with water.  However, the waste holding tanks are a big concern for us.  Let's hope we make it.  Have figured out how to conserve the gray but the "black" is another question.

We left Tuscaloosa, AL on October 23rd, spent the night at Wallyworld Campground in Fayetteville, TN and then came on into where we are on Monday.  And, here we sit.
Nothing much else going on.

We have pretty much used up our internet plan for the current month so will not be posting again until Nov. 9th when a new month starts.  Will try to catch up on everything at that time.

Later, Judy

Folks, We are still alive!!!

Yes, everyone, we are still alive.  Will try to catch you up on this blog in a short summary.

We left Iowa on Septemeber 27th and ended up in Branson, MO on September 29th after a one night stop in Sedalia, MO.  Spent five nights at Branson and saw three shows.  We're cheapskates so the shows were not named stars, just little tributes.  However, they were very good and we enjoyed them very much.  We saw "Tribute to Marty Robbins", "Tribute to John Denver", and "Tribute to Hank Williams, Sr.".  Bob liked the last one best and I liked the first one best.  We never like the same thing. The only pictures we took were of some of the shows so  won't bore you with them.  While there, Bob noticed that we had a tire on the RV wearing significantly.  This alarmed him but he decided we could make it on to our next stop, Dumas, AR.  While traveling he stopped and checked the tire several times and said that he thought it would be fine.  During this leg of our trip we came thru the Ozark Mountains and realized how beautiful they really were.  I got a couple of good pictures which I will try to post at a later time.
Can't seem to locate them today.

We made it to Dumas where we spent 3 nights on the Arkansas River.  For those of you who have followed us from the beginning, you may remember that we stayed there a week (without cell phone service) on our journey up to Iowa.  Nice little campground but no sewer hookup.  After checking the tire again, Bob was confident that we should be all right to go all the way in to Tuscaloosa, Al before dealing with tires.  So, on Thursday, October 6th, we left Arkansas for Jackson, MS to spend some time with our youngest son.  We had a great visit with him and I have a couple of pictures from there that were taken when we met the parents of his deceased significant other for lunch.

Then, on Sunday, October 9th, we left Jackson completely confident that our tire would be O.K.  Well guesswhat!  It wasn't.  About 50 miles west of Tuscaloosa on I-20 there was a loud explosion and we had suffered a blow out.  Had to pull off and call AAA and consequently were delayed until after dark getting in to Deerlick Creek campground and into our campsite.  If any of you have ever been there, then you know what that must have been like.  Not fun!!  Besides the delay, we suffered damage to our RV.  I have pictures and have posted them below.

Since arriving in Tuscaloosa, it has been one doctor's appointment after another.  We have had two free days since arriving - Monday, Oct. 10th and Wednesday, Oct.19th.  Believe me we needed those to catch up at home and rest a little.  Of course, you have to combine all these doctor's appointments with rig repairs.  We had the truck in the shop one day to repair a power steering leak and the RV was in the alignment shop another day.  We didn't want to buy tires until we knew all the alignment, etc, was in good condition.  And, then we had to have tires put on the RV.  They had to be ordered so we spent one night in the Tire store parking lot.  But all worked out and we now have 4 new tires on the fifth wheel.  Hope we're good to go.

We were supposed to have left T-town yesterday but when Bob saw Dr. Hill, his cardiologist, on Thursday he put a kink in things.  We were just lucky that the campground had had some cancellations that morning and we were able to extend our stay two more nights.  This is football game weekend.  Dr. Hill is not crazy about what we are doing and I think he thinks we're crazy for doing this.  Back in March before we left, he cautioned us to stay out of rural areas and stay near big cities.  So, Thursday, when Bob saw him, he decided he needed to do a further test.  Luckily, we were able to get it scheduled Friday morning about 8:00 AM.  We were there all morning for a nuclear stress test.  And, we won't get the complete results until sometime next week.  However, the Nurse Practitioner called us Friday afternoon with a preliminary report that nothing had changed since they had performed this same test two years ago.  Everything still looked the same.  She said her "guess" was that he would order nothing further.  So, we're banking that is what will happen and we will be leaving tomorrow for KY.  We need to get the tire blow out damage to our RV fixed before we start to work for Amazon.com on Nov. 6th.  No one in the Tuscaloosa area could get this done in our time frame.  But, in Kentucky they can.  Don't really understand the difference but the shop in Kentucky is getting the work.  If we have misguessed Dr. Hill, then we'll deal with that at that time.  After all, God is in charge, not us.  And when I refer to luck, I really mean God.

And here are some pictures:



Front lower panel missing between wheel well and steps.



Part of Mor/ryde fender skirt missng along with scratched up remaining part.



More of the Mor/ryde fender showing scratches and screws missing to hold it on.  Bob is putting some temporary screws in until we can get to KY to hold it in place.



Undercover torn and inslation hanging out.



Undercover torn with insulation hanging out.

 

Back of hotel at entrance to Adventureland Campground along with the lake.
Look closely and you can see the ducks and geese.  Had lots of them.




Campground Office as you approach the campground.



Casino across from the campground as shown from the entance to the campground.



Bob and I with Sonny and Cloma Magnum.  This is a real neat place in Mendenhall, MS to have lunch.



Keih and Bob with Sonny and Cloma.  We really had a good time here.

 And so that's it for this post.  I know I keep promising to post more often but hopefully will now.

Regards, Judy & Bob