Van Go
Van-Go: Today is a good day to drive Joined: January 4th 2005
Logged in: December 23rd 2009
Logged in: December 23rd 2009
Travel Blog Posts
St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow
Russia was a whirlwind of experiences, tastes, and sites. From the mighty Red Square and magnificent St. Basil Cathedral to the clackety clack of the Trans Siberian Railroad to standing on the border of Europe and Asia in Ekaterinburg to teaching English at summer camp in Novosibrisk to standing on the bluff overlooking the Yenisi River in Krasnoyarsk to flying Aeroflot to St Petersburg and spending the day in the Hermitage Museum and the night watching the lights everywhere and the bridges rise for both social and commercial boats then back to Moscow for a stroll among the flower competitions in the city park. All the while visiting with friends and making new memories together.To read the details tune in to www.visitvango.blogspot.com... read more
Kitchener
While our parents generation had Pearl Harbor, V-E and V-J days and knew what they were doing on those days. Our generation remembers what we were doing when President John Kennedy was assassinated and when the twin towers in New York fell. It has been five years since terrorist hijacked four planes and attacked the United States. Today it is referred to simply as 9/11. Here’s to the heroes of Flight 93. … We were so excited to visit Home & Park Motors, birthplace of our Roadtrek 200 Versatile Motor Home. The visitors parking area was made only for cars; Will found a spot and backed in. We entered the brick building through the double door entryway and approached the desk where a young woman sat talking into a microphone headset. The large room was divided ... read more
Alta Cima
March 3, 2006 A trip up the mountain to El Cielo Biosphere in a cage truck... It was a dark and stormy night…well, not stormy, but definitely dark. And, oh, the stars! No light pollution down here. The night was restless, anticipating the knock on the door from Karen, the designated wake-up caller, listening to Mexican music in the middle of the night coming from the Nopalita plant next door where they package the pads of the prickly pear, hearing the click click of the room’s ceiling fan, barking dogs, and, early in the morning listening to the dew drops, like rain, falling from the leaves. We enjoyed breakfast in the dining room. Kerrie a young man from Wisconsin was here doing a bird study. He ate at a nearby table. We had a fruit dish ... read more
Kathy's nephew,Forrest ,told us about a place up in the mountains where he hunts. We have spent the last two weeks enjoying the area. We went off route 34 and took a small dirt Arapaho National Forest road, 139, and about two miles back we found a campsite near Keyser Creek. It was a perfect outdoor spot with the rushing waters bubbling over rocks to keep a constant music playing. Will fixed the awning that had blown off in a sudden wind burst in NM; it now rolls in and out like new with the instulation of the $40 piece we got from Fimma, the awning company. The man Will talked to descibed exactly how to put it in and it worked great. Will also fixed the locks on the cargo doors with some aluminum we ... read more
After waking up at Waldorf we decided not to park again on a slant as we roll to that side and sleep uncomfortably. We did some almost forgotten shopping and drove down to the Concho River where we did our morning constitutional. Before long we were head into a group of 5-K runners. They did not want to give up the sidewalk so we chose another route that brought us through the historic part of town. Today mostly antique shops the old town is still busy. The facades of the buildings remain oldwest, and the insides stil awit customers. We worked our way around and back to the river just in time for the last of the runners which were mostly women and children strolling along. The day past as we sat. The river is calm ... read more
Luckenbach Texas, where everybody is somebody.... Took an early morning bus tour of the LBJ Ranch, on the Perdanales River, just west of Johnson City. We are liking the Texas hill country more and more: rolling grasy meadows with big live oaks and colorful wildflowers everywhere. We spent the afternoon under a tree catching up on paperwork and doing a few minor repairs.Toward evening we drove to Luckenbach, TX. A "town" that was once for sale,"lock, stock and dancehall," it has become a country legend and a "Texas state of mind."While it has become a tour bus stop, and not a place where Willie or Waylon might just show up to play, the beer is just $1.50 during happy hour, and talented pickers and singers come every night to sit under the 500-year-old live oaks to ... read more
Planting Posts
Yesterday we planted posts after clearing around a mesquite tree at Osprey Overlook. Thorn bushes like to grow close to these trees keeping their roots shaded. The walking trail to Alligator Pond road that Will mowed last week looks pretty good. We did a little trimming and it is wide enough for two to walk side-by-side. It was about 90 degrees and we drank lots of water and tried to stay in the shade; Will was nice and cool in the bobcat while drilling the fence posts as it is air conditioned. Kathy directs the drill to the correct position and Will drills the hole out. Sometimes it takes several tries to get the hole deep enough. When the holes are drilled Will puts a post into each one and we measure to make sure it ... read more
Van Go Rilla
A day at the zoo watching the gorillas, hippos, monkeys, big cats and birds then dancing to music at Harley's. . .. After our morning walk followed by breakfast at the outpost we prepared a flyer to put in stores advertizing the black van for sale. We are ready now to sell it. We came up with a list of everything included with he van and put a price to each item. It came to $4000 and includes the new brakes and transmission along with mattress, 12-volt cooler, inverter, etc. After lunch we drove to Brownsville, about 40 minutes drive and went to the Gladys Porter Zoo. High lights were: Gorillas at play, Hippos in the water, Monkeys swinging from their tails, big cats sleeping, and Flamingos and Pelecans bathing in their ponds. There are three ... read more
Kite Festival
The kite competitions were held today. Two teams did routines. Four people each with a two string kite fly in formations. It is spectacular to watch. A guy from Huston, TX came down and set up lots of kites to add to the festivities. He had big lizards, a cat, a teddy bear, trains of 50-100 kites and had fun keeping them all in the air. He showed Will how to fly an airfoil plane. It had a big pull with air filling the foil. Will had it doing loops! For just $150 he could own his one. Will helped Rick, the guy from Huston put away all the kites and we headed back toward the refuge. We stopped at Walmart for supplies and at Harley's for some entertainment. John Paul was playing with his band, ... read more
Bull rider
Horses, cows, calves, bulls, clowns, cowboys and cowgirls. . . We attended the Los Fresnos PRCA 16th Annual Rodeo. We arrived a little early so walked around the carnival grounds and found some food booths. Kathy had a turkey leg and Will picked a briquette sandwich. The wrap the turkey leg in tinfoil and put it over a mesquite wood grill. The meat is so juicy and just melts in your mouth. We watched the hog judging while we ate. The Rodeo started about 3pm with the bull rides. Then came the roping events and the bucking horses. Last was the barrel racing the girls go. We watched world champions like Guy Allen, steer roper, Speed Williams, team roper, Monte Lewis, tie-down roper, Dustin Elliott, bull rider and Kelly Kaminski, barrel racer. The entertainment was Allen ... read more
