A Walk in the Park

RV Park, that is. In Aransas Pass, Texas, where we spent a month at Southern Oaks Resort, a newly constructed RV park where people can buy lots to build out (with cabanas, landscaping, patios, etc.) and live on with their RVs. We loved our rental spots...brand new at the end of the row, with no neighbors to the south to obstruct the view toward a lovely bit of woods that Patchouli took to like--well--like a cat to a tree. He was begging for daily walks in all that grass and sand, and he managed to explore every building and oak on the property by the time we left.

Our rigs at the end of a half-completed rental row (Ken's white truck, my red truck beyond). The owners know how to build for RVs--generously sized sites and double-wide roads for maneuverability, with plans for a pool, spa, etc. later. Our sites were so new that the electric meters still read zero. The price was exceptional--about $400/month, plus whatever electricity we used (at the not-so-cheap Texas rates).

Clubhouse construction was barely past the framing and siding stage, but they were still able to use it for weekly open houses (to sell RV lots), daily coffee klatches, and 24-hour laundry access. There's a big walled area beyond the building where a huge loop of RV lots are for sale. About 25% were already sold and built out with pads, landscaping, and outbuildings amid a very relaxing, park-like setting dotted with ponds and a creek-looking surface water control system.

Aransas Pass is 40 miles north of Corpus Christi (a typical major port city), and ten miles from the quaint and pastel-colored Gulf Coast towns of Rockport and Port Aransas. Port Aransas is at the north end of a 60-mile long string of barrier islands. Getting to it requires a ferry--a free, five-minute ride aboard one of four bitty boats that hold about 20 vehicles each. They continuously cross an intracoastal waterway that the big oil tankers use to get to Corpus Christi.

The waterway is much too narrow for a bridge, so the ferries do the job of moving residents and tourists all day long, pausing service long enough for ginormous barges and tankers to pass through. The channel is also subject to tides, which means that certain ferry runs can't take heavy vehicles like semis and RVs. The day we wanted to move to Aransas Pass was a low-tide day, and RVs were prohibited. It took us a 40-mile roundabout drive through Corpus Christi to get to a place 10 miles away by ferry.

While in the area, we toured the USS Lexington aircraft carrier in Corpus Christi, drove the posh shoreline neighborhoods in C.C. and Port Aransas, and poked around a couple of wildlife sanctuaries that proliferate here on the Gulf Coast. We also took a week-long Florida Interlude (photos in follow-up entry) during the month.

The whole region is Oil Rig Central. You can see platforms standing out in the ocean and watch the tankers coming and going with their loads. You can drive around and stumble onto an oil rig building facility and practically drive up to their front door to get a semi-close view of construction on the shore (these newer rigs are HUGE). You can also aimlessly come upon a graveyard of hulking rigs rusting on a beach across the street from a field of tanks holding fresh oil for processing at the neighboring plant.

Weather was humid so near the gulf, and extremely windy and somewhat cold on most days during our February stay. We were also caught by the south tail of those winter storms that crossed the US, waking up one morning to almost half an inch of ice coating the rigs, trucks, and ground. This little jaunt with Patchouli, below, was on one of the warmer, less windy days we had.

Patchouli's favorite woods, just beyond my rig.

Patchouli on his new retractable, lightweight, ribbon leash that we bought in Corpus Christi. It's much easier for him to drag around than his nylon lead.

Cat-scratch heaven.

OK, what to do next...

Oh, that's right.

Checking in with papa.

Viewing the Serengeti.

Ah, now the tricky bit...

Safe again.

Ground is good.

Climbing gear maintenance.

Blech. Sandy toe jam.

Let's see now...

...maybe another trip?

Nah, this'll do.

Sharing an apple with papa is the best part.

No Shag!

Or sofa, or recliners, or chairs or coffee table, either. Hurrah, hurrah, Ken's Carri-Lite rig has finally arrived after 14 weeks of waiting [over four of them spent living, for free and with full hookups, at the back lot of Ray Citte (pronounced "city") RV dealership in Ogden, UT].

All the design amenities we asked for were done to our specs--the higher-quality sculpted carpet instead of an awful shag (which some moron at Carriage has decided is all they'll use in future models), the valence fabrics we requested, single-pane windows, no interior border trim, no furniture except the dining room table, etc.

The checkin process went well--no damage to be found from transit--but there are a few glitches that the dealer needs to follow up on, such as a missing bedspread, a missing side table, a missing window covering on an interior door, and a blown fuse that needs to be replaced.

The rig goes into the service bay today for its dealer once-over (checking refer, furnace, systems, etc.) before Ken “takes delivery” (exchanges money and signatures) on the rig. Then we’ll spend the next week deep cleaning, moving into, and testing out all the systems ourselves, and maybe it’s on to Oregon at last! We're both looking forward to getting our stuff out of storage and increasing our combined living space this week. My little 28' Arctic Fox has been great, but it's still quite a shoebox for two people, a cat, a fullsize computer, and a LifeCycle!

The first sighting as she's pulled into the RV dealership. Ken's truck is also all white, so this is pretty close to what she'll look like when he's pulling--only he's bought a gorgeous 2011 Ford.

Ken chats with the driver, Reg, who got the rig to us within two days from Elkhart, IN. Reg does this for a living all summer long, then stops for the winter. He's a real talker and loves his work, driving an average of 600 miles a day. He kept raving about how well this particular rig handled in heavy winds across Wyoming, saying it "is very well balanced" and "I didn't even know it was there--no sway at all." That is very good news considering it weighs 13,500 pounds dry and could be over 17,000 pounds when fully loaded with water and possessions. (For comparison, my rig is about 11,000 pounds loaded.)

Ken requested no decals or paint on the exterior because decals usually peel and look ugly after two years, and paints (especially dark ones) ultimately cause the underlying gelcoat to crack and craze from heat absorption. We therefore had no idea what this 37-foot roving wall would look like when we ordered it, and had already jokingly dubbed her The White Cliffs of Dover. But with only classic black accents from the windows, awnings, a/c cover, clips, etc., it actually looks pretty clean and sleek to us. Our salesman, Gary, laughingly commented, "It looks like it could belong to a movie star."

The rear of the rig is all windows; this is where a custom computer desk will look out from.

Only a living room (tall), kitchen (small), and bedroom (large) window on this side...the rest of this wall is covered with cabinets on the inside.

Carriage's innovative full-wall slideout, fully slid out. While several motorhome models have full-wall slides, it takes some special engineering to make them happen on a fifth wheel--note the wall narrows for the stairs and therefore slides out over them. Other fifth wheels avoid the stairs by using multiple slideouts, such as one for the bedroom at the top, and one or two in the kitchen/living space at the bottom. Having one huge slideout makes for a very spacious, clean-lined interior, with a wide hallway from living space to bedroom.

The other two slideouts, popped out. The nearer one is the bed, the farther one is the dining/sofa area.

At last, to the inside... Here's the living area with the slideouts pulled in for travel. Fortunately, the rig is nearly 8-1/2 feet wide, which means there are a few extra inches of room for us to squeeze through the kitchen into the living space if we decide to park and leave the slides in for the night (such as at a Walmart). We can still get to the sink, upper cabinets, and TV if needed. (The refer is to the immediate right and is always accessible.)

The same area with the slides opened up. The far wall is waiting for the custom desk. The space at the left beyond the dining table will soon have a power-reclining, two-seater loveseat for watching the (sheesh!) 40" TV directly across the room. We're also getting two chairs to use alternately at the desk and dining table.

Another view of the living space. The TV comes with a Blue-Ray player, multiple speakers, and a subwoofer for that "full home theater experience" from Sony. All that's missing is a Wii!

The kitchen with its island and many cabinets, including an appliance garage to keep that coffee pot off the counter. The tall cabinets down the hallway are all wardrobe and storage space--we omitted the washer and dryer and gained even more room. The scrap of carpet at the entry way comes up once we move in--they provide it to help protect the flooring before a rig is sold.

The lovely sculpted carpet, at the hallway. In this photo, the full-wall slide is stored for travel; the door to the right is a walk-through bathroom, which allows access to the toilet and bedroom when we stop for a break.

The bedroom with the slides pulled in. Note the unique folding bed. This room has two opposing slides, and they've created a fabric-hinged mattress to allow the queen bed to fold up 6" at the foot so the slides can meet. A big drawer is under the bed for storage.

The bedroom with the slides out. That empty far corner is THE reason why Ken bought this floorplan--it's the only one out there that actually has enough extra space in a bedroom to house his LifeCycle in a permanent and out of the way location. He'll store it against the wall and pull it out into the open space for us to ride in the morning. That corner is usually spec'd for a computer desk or side chair and ottoman, which we of course omitted.

Another view of the bedroom cabinets--with a second TV that's almost too small to see from the head of the bed eight feet away!

Ken in his new home, checking out the owner's manual.

Yellowstone: Roosevelt Country

Roosevelt Country is less frequented by tourists because it has few geological features marked out for walking and viewing, but people love driving through here because bison hang out this time of year and bear sightings can be common. There's also lots of fly-fishing, the Roosevelt Lodge (a quaint turn of the century log structure with a stand-up bar and seated dining), tiny log cabins for rent by tourists or use by employees, and horses and "stagecoach" rides for hire (in roofed, open-sided, horse-drawn, Yellowstone-yellow metal coach-lookalikes pulled across the plains and meadows of the area--think Yellow Cab meets Walls Fargo). This huge area is in the northeast corner of the park. Another wonderfully sunny day to enjoy.

Lamar Valley Bison. Note all the people on the beach of the river. By the time you get to that level, you're so low to the opposing bank that the bison become just humps of brown above the grassline.


Cruising across the river...and stopping.

Another bison jam, this time near Silver Gate, the northeast entrance of the park.

These bones have been here so long that a trail spur leads to them. We presumed it was a sheep or elk, but it may have been a hiker.

Yellowstone River, as seen from the Specimen Ridge trail.

Columns of rock, possibly basalt, line the upper canyon of the river here. They reminded me of enormous pencils stacked against a wall.

Munch time for a bird.

Another view of the Yellowstone River, this time from the hill at the end of the trail; the little bit of rapids is from the creek spillout of Tower Falls to the west (right). In the center of the shot, at the far side of the curve in the water, is a small beachhead and low cliff area...

...which is just about where I was standing for this photo of the river looking the other direction. The tallest part of the hill in the background is the end of the Specimen Ridge trail hike where we were in the previous photos.

Tower Falls from the viewing platform. Sadly, the trail to the base of the falls was closed by storm damage.

A black bear claws and digs at the earth on an embankment near the road. Cars were backed up ten deep and people were out of them, getting photos, way too close...

...as seen here when the bear started shambling up to cross the road. You can barely see its back and ears behind the tall grass beyond the Elk Creek sign, but I'll be those folks ten feet away got a good angle. Note that one lady high-tailing it across the street. The bear took little notice of any of them, and we left everyone flocking to the other side of the street to follow it for more photos.

Yellowstone: Canyon Country

The "grand canyon of Yellowstone" is what keeps people coming to Canyon Country--a deep, creamy yellow canyon carved by the Yellowstone River, direct from where it starts miles away at a placid Lake Yellowstone, before it becomes a raging force down two falls (Upper and Lower), and wends north to ultimately meet the Missouri. Other highlights are Hayden Valley, a lovely green swath full of bison this time of year, and a particularly pungent collection of hot springs.

All artists love Lower Falls, here seen from a north rim pullout. There are also lots of viewing places down near the head (brink) of the falls along a winding trail down. The south side of the canyon offers its own views, some with boardwalk steps that cling to the side of the canyon.

Yellowstone Canyon, as seen from the brink of Lower Falls. The sun that day was glorious.

A bison jam in Hayden Valley: traffic is stopped for two miles in both directions.

Bison were meandering across the road toward grazing lands along the river. They do this a lot--back and forth throughout the day.

Although it ultimately took us 40 minutes to get past the moving blockade, it was hard to get irritated at the delay...I'd rather stop for bison than for 5 0'clock traffic any day.

Two babies. The caramel-brown one is younger, a later arrival that may have trouble in the winter if it doesn't get really strong really soon.

No worries for this crowd even with cars piling up on the road. The dust cloud is from a bison rolling in a wallow.

This pair forced us to a halt by walking directly in front of our truck--and stopping! Note the size difference of the male (back) and the female (front). She looked straight at us as they paused for a bit, then they slowly moved on as if hitched together. Those two people up ahead are park employees. They show up at heavy traffic stoppages to make sure animals like bison and bears aren't harassed by photo-hungry tourists and that no one is injured; they don't do much to hurry or guide the animals along. Critters run the show in Yellowstone.

The pair paused and looked at us again near the other side of the road. Still no moving for our truck until they were completely off the pavement...with the male's butt within scritching distance through my window (no, I didn't).

The bison seemed to enjoy walk into traffic and stopping. This one held up the line for several minutes. Another stood in front of a motorhome for more than ten minutes before it decided to move on. Generally neither lane of traffic could move, because a bison is just as likely to turn around and go back as to continue the way it is facing. A little later another one stopped in the road because its right forefoot was sore...it held it up gingerly and finally limped away and paused again just a short distance from the road for another rest.

Canyon Country has its own set of hot springs and fumaroles with interesting names like Mud Volcano and Sour Spring. This is Dragon's Mouth, a wonderfully noisy and active spring that spits water through the opening in belching, steaming waves. The entire area is highly sulfurous, making a great stench as well.

Bison own the land...even along a walk that thousands of people use to reach other springs in the area. This one just hung around his wallow, chewing cud and flicking dust onto his back with his tail.

I could have been at a zoo taking his photo, except that there's no fence between us. Thank goodness for zooms.

Churning Caldron [sic], one of the many appropriately named hot springs in this area. This spring was really fun to watch--it boiled up incessantly like some soup gone mad.

Sulfur Spring, one of the world's most acidic bodies of water. It's pH is like battery acid. The gorgeous hills in the backdrop are at the edge of Yellowstone's famous caldera--volcanic crater--that extends for miles. That hill there is actually still rising and falling like an inflating and deflating balloon because of the volcanic action that continues beneath Yellowstone.

Another view of the Yellowstone River. Beyond the falls, it's generally shallow, wide, and quiet, with very few rapids.