2022 already! Unbelievable, isn’t it!
Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
We are still here in Texas for a little while yet and I apologize for not keeping you updated. So here is what we have been up to..
We are very blessed to have our good friends, Ann and Norlynn, nearby. They invited us to spend Christmas with them and their daughter, Caren, and Son-in-law, Kenny. The last time we saw Caren, she was about 2 years old. My how time flies.
It was a great day of talking, laughing, getting caught up and of course, a wonderful meal – thank you so much.
Norlynn, Ann, me, and Andy:
Norlynn, Ann, Caren, and Kenny:
And our selfie – LOL.
Me, Andy, Kenny, Norlynn, Ann, Caren.
What a wonderful time. We are meeting up tonight for dinner – Mexican – Yum.
We played tourist one of the days and went to the Fort Worth Stockyards for Running with the Herd. Twice a day real Texas cowhands drive a herd of Texas longhorns down East Exchange Avenue in the Stockyards National Historic District. We were told that every detail of the cattle drive – saddles, chaps, boots, hats, etc. – is authentic and historically true.
“A stockyard is a large yard created to contain livestock and typically near a slaughterhouse. Back in the late 1800s, the Fort Worth Stockyard was the last stop to rest and get supplies before crossing the Red River. After that, the Chisholm Trail led to Native American territory. The Chisholm Trail is where the cattle came up from South Texas before being driven on towards San Antonio and then straight north past Waco and Fort Worth.
More than 4 million head of cattle have passed through this last stop. Thanks to so many people coming through, by the end of the 19th century, Fort Worth’s population was booming.
The fancy new railroad in 1876 helped spur growth further. The area became a major shipping point for livestock, so the Union Stockyards (the earlier name of the Fort Worth Stockyards) were built to hold cattle. In the decades that followed, meat-packing plants were built around the stockyards. A one-stop-shop, you might say — though different than its earlier last stop on the Chisholm Trail.”
We made our way to the Historic District which is made up of little shops, restaurants, music and pubs. It really is cute (and touristy )
Before and after the run, there is some entertainment on the street.
They are getting ready:
It was hard to see but there are three cowboys and about 6 Texas Longhorns:
And there they go:
It was interesting but over in about 2 minutes – LOL! Would I recommend going there? Yes for the shops, the history,and the little side shows but for just the running of the herd, probably not.
On Thursday, the 30th, we ran out of our time at the Hickory Creek Campground and we moved a few miles south to Lake Park Campground.
Our site:
Our front view:
Our side view:
One of the days. I took a walk around the park – it is beautiful!
Our RV is in the center of the photo:
Growing thru the rocks:
As I came back around to the campground, I saw all these rocks.
Initially, I just thought they were dumped there but as I walked around them, there are patterns:
And walkways:
I tried to find out more information on them but could not. (So if anyone our there knows, please email me or comment on the blog.)
Our last day there was Saturday, 1st. Up until this time, the weather has been beautiful – most day’s in the 70’s. That Saturday, a front rolled in and within a few hours, the temperature dropped from 73 to 30 with lots of wind. The wind came in first and I think it caught a number of us off-guard. We watched a number of boats trying to get to shore quickly. One poor fellow with a pontoon boat had a very difficult time making it to the ramp.
The following morning we woke to 18 degrees and one of our water lines froze (even though we had heat.) We finally got it going, packed up, and went back to Hickory Creek where we will be for a little while yet. (Yes, the weather did warm up.)
During this time, we celebrated my Dusty’s “gotcha day”. In November 2009, our 17 year old cat that had traveled with us, passed away and I was missing having a cat around. So the day after Christmas 2009, we were on our way to see the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument and saw the pet event sign by PetSmart. I wanted to check it out so in we went and out we came with Dusty.
We were able to find out his story. If you remember during 2008 and 2009, the housing industry was crashing. Many folks lost their homes and could not take care of their pets. So Casa Grande had two places for pets – Animal Control and a Rescue Organization. Each one put 5 pens outside their facilities and advertised heavily to not let your pets run free. Bring them to one of two places and put them in one of the pens. Well, Dusty was left with three siblings and his mother. And I am so glad he was.
And a first, Bella sitting with Andy. It was only for a little while but it is a start:
Our neighbors:
Since we will be here for a little while yet taking care of some things, we have decided to head east instead of west. So we will not be Arizona this year – hoping for next.
Stay tuned and enjoy today.
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