BACK IN ALBUQUERQUE NM AREA

We arrived at our new RV park on Thursday afternoon. Found a nicer RV park to stay in that is close to a very new casino, Walmarts and a Social Security Office. No-o-o-o, I am not looking to return to work yet. The first picture is the view from the front window of our RV at our site. Much better view than we had during our last visit. We found the SSA office in Rio Rancho while looking for a Walgreens. Not very busy on a Friday morning as you can see by the parking lot. Also for any SSA colleages, fenced gated employee parking in the side and rear of the building. We did not stop in for a visit today. We drove to Camping World for replacement windshield wipers, and ended up looking at a newer RV. More to come on whether we make an up grade. Yikes!!! Also found a new casino West of Alburquerque. The Route 66 Casino and Hotel. Of course we had to check it out. The sign at the entrance is unique as the sign posts are replicas of the old visible gas tanks from the 1920's. We dropped some coin in the slots and gift shop and had lunch there. Later in the day we also visited the casino near our RV park. Ted hit twice with four of of kind on video poker so we came out ahead today at the casinos and had a great time. We plan to stay in the area for at least 4 days.

HEADING NORTH TO NEW MEXICO 8/2010

The first picture shown is West Texas landscape taken on the way to New Mexico. Second picture was obviously taken as we crossed the border from Texas. The third picture is of the landscape in New Mexico after crossing the border. We spent two nights at the KOA in Carlsbad, the next picture was taken at the entrance to their office, store, community area. This KOA is definitely the nicest KOA we have ever stayed in. The sites are very large, lots of amenities offered for the KOA nightly price. It was our second time at this RV park. While there we made a trip to the Sitting Bull Falls. We drove down into a canyon in the Lincoln National Forest to get to the entrance of the falls. They have several nice picnic areas, and very clean restrooms also available at the park. It was a short walk to the Sitting Bull Falls. The last picture was taken while "driving through" Artesia NM. We had seen it on our previous trips on NM 285. The bronze sculpture is the 1st of 3 in a series titled "Cattle Drive." It is titled Trail Boss by Vic Payne. After researching it on the internet, we discovered there are two more sculptures in Artesia, The Vaquero, and The Rustler. Maybe we will get to look for them the next time we drive through Artesia.

VISITS WITH FAMILY 8/2010

The week after the races we spent some time visiting with relatives. Dorothy's Dad had medical problems and spent 24 hours in the local hospital. He was upset about the overnight stay because we had invited him and Nelda for a steak dinner on the day he was admitted through ER. So when he was released the next day, they immediately drove over to our RV site and we found his appetite was not affected by the hospital stay. He is doing well since with some changes to scripts. We also had lunch with Dorothy's youngest sister and her husband at Z-Tejas near Cedar Park. A nice restaurant and we had a great visit with them. Before we left Texas, we spent two nights at the Guadalupe River RV Resort in Kerrville, TX. It was a nice resort, but we also found lots of other RV parks in the area. While at this resort, Ted discovered he could pay a $5.00 fee and wash the rig at our RV site. So we spent the morning washing and drying the RV in triple digit heat. (Not something I want to repeat any time soon. It took several hours to recoup after that adventure.) Dorothy's brother and his wife come to the resort and we went to dinner together at Bella Vita, a really nice Italian restaurant. We will go there again when in the area. Dorothy's brother and his wife also took us for a tour of the Pathways 3H Camp near Kerrville TX. They have been involved with this agency for several years and are doing lots of great work with troubled teens. The last three pictures show wind turbines east of Fort Stockton and some Texas pride at roadside picnic area, Texas flag in colored stones .

LAST DAY OF LAKE FEST

On Sunday, Aug 15, we returned to the races and worked under the Merchandise tent at T-shirt, hat, kozy, poster sales booth from 8 - 11:00 am. Of course we bought t-shirts for our two sons and six grandsons so we definitely contributed to the profits of the event. We could see and hear the races when they began. Had a great time again meeting new people and enjoying the whole experience. The drag boats were going so fast, it was difficult to get good pictures, and my new camera does not take short movies. The fastest race we saw was going over 242 miles per hour. The boats really throw a roostertail during the race. It was so hot, we only stayed a short time after working our assigned time slot at the merchandise tent, then went back to the RV to cool off. Had planned to go back later and walk through the pits and take more pictures, but honestly couldn't talk ourselves into getting back out in the heat. Actual temperatures were over 100 degrees and heat index much higher. We still think it would be fun to return next year.

WOW ARE NITRO DRAG BOATS LOUD AND FAST

The first three pictures show two nitro boats in qualifying race. The fastest boat was going 171 miles per hour, and it took him 7 seconds to travel the quarter mile. We only watched the boats for about 1 1/2 hours, then left to get out of the heat. There are more than 150 boats participating in the race this weekend.

NITRO PRO DRAG BOATS

After volunteering, we stood by the in-ramp and watched several pro nitro drag boats come the the entrance ramp. Have so many more pictures to post

DRAG BOATS ON SATURDAY FOR QUALIFYING RACES

These pictures show:

Racer on the way to the starting line, drag boats on trailers at the in-ramp; trucks with boats waiting their turn in line at the in-ramp; and crowd watching boats getting into the water.

VOLUNTEERED AT ENTRANCE BOOTH SAT 8/14

Ted and I were up at 5:30 am, had a quick breakfast, dressed in our volunteer shirts and wristbands.

Took along cameras, water and chairs in case we needed them. Found a close parking spot and reported for duty. We worked the entrance gate for three hours. It was lots of fun. Luckily they had a very large fan placed behind us and a tent overhead to protect us from the sun. Judith is a local Sheriff who worked the LakeFest security all three days. Kim and Dorothy made a great team taking money and getting wristbands on visitors. Jerry who you see to my left in the last picture told us he worked the entrance gate on Friday for 6 hours by himself. He was very helpful when we messed up the cash registers. There were lots of people offering free bottles of water on your way into and out of the park. Found out it was free to get into the pits. Maybe we will check that out tomorrow.

LAKEFEST 2010 DRAG BOAT RACES

This is why we are here, Lake Fest 2010 started today!! The first picture is a photo of the posters advertising the event. We got several copies of the poster at the Chamber of Commerce office. Several teams racing in the event are staying at the same RV site. Yesterday they had their "play" boats out on Lake LBJ. Hope to get some good pictures of their "race" boats this weekend. Today we went to the event to pick up our volunteer T-shirts and wrists bands so we can go back as volunteers on Saturday and Sunday morning. We stuck around awhile to check out the "show" part of today's show and shine event and took the last picture. Wow is it loud!! Can't wait for tomorrow.

BACK IN MARBLE FALLS BEFORE RACES

We returned to Texas in the heat of August because of the drag boat races; otherwise we wouldn't be here "enjoying" this hot weather. The first picture was actually taken while we stopped over in Waco to see friends and relatives for a few days. It was soo hot, even the cows were standing in ponds or under trees to try to stay cool. Thought I would share some pictures of the park at sunset. The last picture is of a "deluxe" site that is only rented annually, not weekly or monthly. Maybe we will look into that in the future??