Ehausted!

This week I've been working the evening shift, 2 to 8 pm. OMG! It was so busy this weekend, I am totally exhausted. Nearly every site was filled & several monthly newcomers came in for a space. What I've noticed is that the wind plays an important role in the amount of spaces that get filled. Joe & I know all-to-well how difficult it is to drive a big rig with cross-winds blowing; it wears you out. Now I have 2-days off to recuperate. Yeah!

Workamping

After two weeks of training, I started working a full shift by myself. Joe volunteers from time to time showing campers to their sites. He enjoys driving the golf cart around the RV Park.

I picked up the computer part pretty quickly; the hardest part for me are the questions about the area -"Where can I find this' or 'How do I get to that?" I'm sure my knowledge of Amarillo will improve over time.

The dogs are getting use to the park - it's so dry here there's not much grass, just a lot of weeds with burrs that get caught in their fur. So once again (remember El Paso), I have to send about a half an hour every day removing the stickers. It's a love-hate relationship; they are happy to get rid of them, but at the same time they hate the pulling of their fur. They will be getting their summer cuts soon; that should help. Until next time...

Texas Panhandle

Howdy everyone!

We are now in Amarillo, Texas, a true cowboy town. Amarillo comes from the Spanish word for yellow (I hear there are a lot of yellow wildflowers in the spring). Amarillo is the largest city between Albuquerque, NM and Oklahoma City. It is the unofficial capital of the Texas Panhandle, and is 3,605 feet above sea level.

There is a local restaurant here called The Big Texan Steak Ranch. They serve up the World Famous FREE 72-oz steak dinner (if eaten in 1 hour). I'm happy to report very few people have accomplished this feat. They also offer a free limousine service (pick-up & return to your campsite). Notice the "Long Horns" mounted on the front of the limo.

Amarillo has the typical dessert high plains weather - Warm, very windy days & cool nights.
This video shows a typical spring day at the RV park (click on arrow to play).
My biggest complaint about the wind is that I can't cook outside on the grill. Can you imagine trying to light a grill in these winds? I hear from the locals that the winds will calm down somewhat during the summer months... we shall see.



We will be here at Amarillo Ranch RV Park for the next 5-6 months. This old truck parked next to the office represents the dust bowl, when people would pack up there belongings & travel west on Route 66.

I start my WorkKamp experience on Monday morning, greeting guests, imputing their info into the computer and assigning them a site. I'll work an alternating biweekly schedule - 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, followed by 6 hours a day for 4 days a week.

Until next time...

Cowboy Country

The wind blew us into Tinker AFB RV Park in Oklahoma City. We took a day trip down town; the city is a lot bigger then I thought it would be. There are a lot of beautiful city & federal buildings, museums & galleries, and sport stadiums. The oil boom must have something to do with this. In fact, there is a working oil drill in front of the State Capital Building.

We drove through Bricktown, once a major warehouse district, it is now a very hip & growing entertainment district.

We visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the site of the April, 19, 1995 bombing, one of the largest terrorist attacks on American soil - 168 Oklahomans died on that day. It's a beautiful, peaceful memorial, but very sad. We couldn't bring ourselves to go inside the museum; we've had enough sadness in our lives.

WOW! At the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, we spent hours looking at all the different exhibits. From fine art to pop culture, and Native American objects to historical western gear we watched the history of the American cowboy unfold.

This statue called The End of the Trail by James Earle Fraser depicts the "doomed fate" of Native American Indians as western expansion consumed their land.

Till next time...

Mammonth Cave, KY

Mammoth Cave National Park has the most extensive cave system in the world. With 400 miles of surveyed passageways, Mammoth Cave is over twice as long as any known cave, and Geologists think there could be 600 miles of yet undiscovered passageways.

An African-American slave, Stephen Bishop, was a guide to the cave in the 1840's and 1850's. He was the first person to map the cave & name many of its features. He is also credited as the first person to cross the Bottomless Pit, pictured above.

We embarked on the 2-hour, 2-mile Historical Tour on Sunday morning. Not realizing we were on central time, we got there an hour early.

In this photo we start descending into the cave entrance.

Visitors to Mammoth Cave were invited to carve their name into the cave walls, but anyone who did this after 1947 was committing a Federal Offense.

The discovery of salt-petre in Mammoth Cave became significant during the War of 1812 when the British blocked US ports, thus the import of salt-petre used in making gunpowder. The mining vats and wooden pipes are still visible today.

These wooden pipes were hand-carved & hollowed out to carry water needed for the mining operation.

Warning! Fat Man's Misery - a long, winding, narrow passage that is also at times low overhead.

Joe squeezing through Fat Man's Misery. Don't get stuck!

Watch your head Joe!

Climbing up the steep 138 steps of Mammoth Dome to get out of the cave was exhausting.

Until next time...

Gettysburg PA

Left Reading on Wednesday & drove to Gettysburg, PA. Stayed at Artillery Ridge Camp Resort right by the battlefield.


First, we went to the Gettysburg National Museum & Visitors Center which houses one of largest collections of Civil War relics/artifacts. We watched a documentary film , "The New Birth of Freedom," about the causes of the Civil War & the sacrifices of Gettysburg. The battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War. It was the wars bloodiest battle with over 51,000 casualties (every farm field & garden was a graveyard).



That's Joe & Abe in front of the Visitor's Center.

Next, we saw the Gettysburg Diorama, a 3- dimensional viewing of the entire Gettysburg battlefield with over 20,000 hand painted figures. You get to see & hear the fury of the battle through the eyes of Generals' Lee & Meade.




There are many ways to tour the battlefield - tour bus, Segway, horseback, bicycle, or auto. We opted for the auto tour.








There are 1,328 monuments, markers & memorials throughout Gettysburg battlefield.



We stopped at Little Round Top; a pivotal point of the battle. Union forces seized this strategic high ground, which they held for the remainder of the battle. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by the Confederate troops against the left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.




This is the of Valley of Death. So named for the many soldiers that fell here during the struggle for Little Round Top.






Our last stop was at Soldiers' Memorial Cemetery. This is also the place that Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address speech.

Willow MacKenzie is Here

On Wednesday, April 7th, Jen's water broke, she went into labor & headed to the hospital. Willow MacKenzie was born at 2:17 am Friday, April 9, 2010. She weighed in at 8 pounds & 20" long. Joe & I left Asheville immediately after my doctor's appointment on Friday and arrived in Reading on Saturday. We had dinner with Bill, Bev & Em at Viva and then we all went to visit Jen & Willow at the hospital. Jen was totally surprised to see us, she wasn't expecting us until Sunday. Willow is so adorable; like a Gerber baby. David was there too. It was like an Evans family reunion. Jen & Willow came home Monday afternoon.

We took a side trip to Lancaster & Ephrata where we saw this Amish horse & buggy on its way to Walmart of all places.

This Walmart also has a special place to park your horse & buggy.

We had great time watching Willow's progress during the week - Her cries & smiles; her squiggling & squirming around & the cute noises she makes. We even went out to eat at Austin's Saturday night & Willow slept through the whole meal. On Wednesday afternoon we took Willow & the dogs to the Reading Museum for her first walk in a stroller. Again, she slept through the whole experience.





























Caught this Mallard Pin-Tailed Duck posing in the Wyomissing Creek at the museum. Looks like he's practicing yoga poses.

Well, things have settled down now - Jen, David & Willow seem to be adjusting to their new life together.

Monday, I met up with my friend Kerry (we've been friends since the fifth grade). Even though I haven't seen her for a couple of years, it's like we've never been apart. We just pick up where we left off, catching up on what's been going on in our lives. It was great fun.






Can't leave Reading without a shot of the Pagoda.