C&C Retirement Adventures, VOL. 3--Cross Reference

To our Muskrat Ramblers Blog Followers:

I'm finding it much more efficient to post to FaceBook  (Corky posts to Facebook & Google+) than to continue with my Blog.  My blog requires me to have my computer to recap our activities, load pictures, then publish photos and blog which can be cumbersome and usually impossible with our spotty connnectivity.  With our new smartphones, we can update you on where we are and what we are doing--while we are doing it!  (most of the time).

Anyway, please "Friend" me or Corky on FaceBook to continue following our adventures.

Thanks.

C&C Ret. Adventure-Vol 3, Tex.& AZ 12/22-1/5

OK, I've been a bit remiss in keeping you all up to date, but time just slips away and we seem to be having some connectivity issues here and there.

Anyway, back to our stay in Lajitas, TX.  The resort itself was quite nice-- a lodge, a lounge with live entertainment, dining room, golf course, little boutiques, and the RV park where we stayed just across the highway.  The Resort hosted a yummy Christmas Day Brunch and we noted that several events had been planned for the week between Christmas and New Years.

Beautiful view; we hiked back into that mountain on Christmas Day.

The concierge at the Lodge told us that Terlingua, a little town about 10 miles away,

C&C Retirement Adventure, Volume 3, Lajitas, TX

Just a quick note to our followers, that Lajitas (though very comfortable and picturesque) is REMOTE.  Both Corky and I are experiencing dropped Internet connections, error messages, slow or no connectivity.  Loading photos is becoming more and more difficult.  Don't know whether to blame it on our equipment, their WIFI, or just the remoteness of the area.  Hopefully, it will improve once we move to more populated areas.

Have a very merry Christmas to all.   C&C

C&C Retirement Adventure, Volume 3, Lajitas, tX

Well, here it is, December 21, 2012, the end of days according to the Mayan calendar.  One whole day left--what to do, what to do?  We decided to gamble that the Mayans screwed up and we'll be around for a while,  so we drove over to the Golf Resort & Spa to see what's what.  It's quite a nice place, with facades designed to resemble the main street of a old western town.

C&C Retirement Adventure, Volume 3, Alpine, TX

Due to the high winds predicted for Wednesday, we chose to stayTuesday and Wednesday nights here at the Lost Alaskan RV park in Alpine, rather than fight the gusts on the highway going to Lajitas.  We enjoyed a very nice dinner at Reata's, a small house-converted-into-a-restaurant on Tuesday evening, then drove out to Marfa, a town about 15 miles west.  The brochure we picked up at the RV park listed the Marfa as a "must go to" place to see the mystery lights that have baffled residents and visitors for years.  So, of course, we HAD TO GO!

Here's what is printed in the brochure:  

“The Mystery Lights of Marfa:  The ghost lights of Marfa are as mysterious today as they were when they were first seen by early settlers who drove their cattle into the Marfa area in 1883. 

The lights appear almost every night and can be seen from the Marfa Lights Viewing Site located on the south side of Hwy 90, nine miles east of Marfa.  Ghost light watchers scan the southwestern horizon, looking toward Chinati Peak.  Using the distant red tower light as a marker, one can be certain that any light to the right of the marker which appears and disappears is a Marfa Ghost light.”

And here's what is on the signage at the Viewing Site:

“The Marfa mystery lights are visible on many clear nights towards Marfa and Paisano Pass as one looks towards the Chinati Mountains.  The lights may appear in various colors as they move about, split apart, meet together, disappear and reappear.
 Robert Reed Ellison, a young cowboy, reported sighting the lights in 1885.  He spotted them while tending a herd of cattle and wondered if they were Apache Indian campfires.
 Apache Indians believed these eerie lights to be stars dropping to the earth.
 Many viewers have theories ranging from scientific to science fiction as they describe their ideas of aliens in UFO’s, ranch house lights, St. Elmo’s fire, or headlights from vehicles on US 67, the Presidio highway.  Some believe the lights are an electrostatic discharge, swamp gases, moonlight shining on veins of mica, of ghosts of Conquistadors searching for gold.
 As explanation as to why the lights cannot be located is an unusual phenomenon similar to a miracle, where atmospheric conditions produced by the interaction of cold and warm layers of air bend lights so that it can be seem from afar but not close.
 The mystery of these lights still remains unsolved.” 

So, off we go into the night (and believe me it's dark, dark, dark out here on a lonely TX highway).  After driving past the viewing site (because it's so dark, dark, dark), we hang a uey and find the turn-off to the viewing site which is actually a dimly-lit rest-stop with porta-potty-type facilities and a deck/veranda where one can stare off into the darkness.   Neither of us was impressed.  I must admit, though, that I did see distant lights fade out and then brighten again several times during the 10 minutes we were there.  Mystery lights?  Maybe.  I guess I was expecting something a little more Twilight Zone-ish.  The three other people we happened upon at the viewing site were equally unimpressed!  We chuckled at our gullibility as we returned to the RV.

Wednesday was really windy, so stocked up on a few groceries, lunched at the "Cowboy Grill," and spent a couple of hours at the Museum of the Big Bend on the campus of the Sul Ross University.  The Museum's displays depicts the history of this area from the Jurassiac period with its Texas Pterosaur (fossil was discovered in 1971 by a geology student), evidence of early cultures, pioneer settlements and the wild west era through to the present day.

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Thursday was a perfect travel day for the 100 mile trek to Lajitas, a golf & spa resort outside of Terlingua, Texas right on the Rio Grande not far from the entrance to the Big Bend National Park.   The half-price special the Maverick Ranch RV Park was running was very hard to pass up.  We checked in on Thursday afternoon and spent the rest of the day checking out our new surroundings.  

More about Lajitas tomorrow.

C&C Retirement Adventure, Volume 3, Texas

We left the WinStar Casino RV Park around 9:30 a.m.  For those of you who know Corky and his penchant for waking at the crack of dawn and getting going right away, you'll be glad to know he has mellowed a lot with 2 years of retirement behind him!!!!  We leave when we are ready to leave.  No hurrying, no stress.  Of course, the fact that this is our third adventure and we are becoming more experienced in RV life may have something to do with it.  Or it could be because we have no self-imposed deadline to arrive anywhere.  Or maybe it's the pleasant weather.  Or no mechanical problems that we couldn't handle.  Regardless, this has been a good trip so far.

Our overnight stay was in Big Springs, Texas at the Whip-In RV Park. Not quite as fancy as the WinStar but a comfortable Park.  On Tuesday, we continued southeast on I-20 skirting the edges of Midland and Odessa which I found to be less than picturesque.  Scrapped oil tanks, pipes and other rusty equipment dotted the landscape for miles.  (I didn't take any shots of the littered areas--apologies to followers who have a soft spot for SW Texas).

Perhaps a different route would have given us a better perspective.  At any rate, we put the area in our rear view mirrors and headed toward the mountains.

We arrived in Alpine, Texas at the Lost Alaskan RV Park about 1:30.  WOW what a difference in the landscape.  Alpine lies at the southern edge of the Davis Mountains not far from Big Bend National Park.  According to the brochure provided by the Park's hosts, "The town was originally established as Murphyville in 1883.  The name was changed to Alpine in 1888 to reflect the beauty of its natural surroundings in the 'Alps of Texas.'"

Currently we are taking it easy, having a little lunch and discussing our plans for the next few days.  We've decided to stay here in Alpine until Thursday as high winds are forecast for tonight and tomorrow.  Hope they calm down by Thursday when we will head for Lajitas, TX and the Maverick Ranch Golf and RV Resort.  Their website describes a nice RV park and an associated hotel, restaurant and lots of activities.  They have reduced their site fees making it very tempting to stay over Christmas.

Hope you are all staying warm!  We are.  Later.

C&C Retirement Adventure, Volume 3, Oklahoma

Well, we didn't make it into Texas yet; instead we chose to spend a couple of nights in Thackerville, Oklahoma, just about 75 miles north of Dallas on I-35.  The Chickasaw Nation runs the WinStar World Casino there.  It is touted as the third largest casino in the world and there's no denying their claim--the place is HUGE!  It attracts players from Oklahoma City, Dallas/Ft.Worth and local area.  The massive facility is segmented by "countries" where players can stroll through the areas and play on themed machines.  Surprisingly, the lion's share of one-armed bandits are penny and nickle slots.

Main Entrance

Big Ben look-alike is actually the facade for the Parking Garage!

Rome's Colleseum

Dwight Yocum is scheduled to perform on Dec. 22

The associated RV park is nicely designed and offers all the necessary amenities--long, pull-through concrete driveways so you don't have to unhook your tow vehicle, electricity and water, sewer, picnic table, charcoal grill, clean showers, ice, pet walk for the VERY reasonable fee of $20/night!  And, as an incentive for you to spend a few bucks at the casino, they offer $10 free play with $10 cash play AND one night at the RV park for free.  We took advantage of the deal and yes, with the dollars we left at the casino, we got nothing free!  Oh well, fun time.

The weather has been wonderful; today reached almost 70.  No jackets needed.

While walking the pups in the RV park, I happened upon this festive RV reminicent of Chevy Chase's "Christmas Vacation" film.  I just had to share:

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.  Tomorrow we head into Texas.  Later.