Petroglyph National Monument

 We decided to make one more stop at a national monument on our trip.  This one is called Petroglyph National Monument.  This was another one that I was allowed to walk with the folks.  Mom really enjoyed it until Dad told her that we needed to get a move on because we had to be at our campground before sunset and it was further away than he thought.  We didn't get to walk the entire trail.  We walked about half and it was an easy walk.

The rest of the day was spent driving.  We arrived at Leasburg Dam State Park about 5 p.m.  I did not like this place at all.  Gravel, gravel, gravel.  I had to walk across gravel to get to a trail that was a cactus garden trail.  Mom kept an eye out for cactus and rattlesnakes while we walked it.  There was some dried out grass at the end of it but no matter how long Mom tried to get me to poo, I refused.  She was really worried I would get her up in the middle of the night but I am no fool, I didn't want to walk out there again. 

Our site at Leasburg Dam State Park

We left the next morning early because it was another long day of driving but Mom said we would be back in Texas. We crossed the state line early in the day, but I didn't see grass for quite a while.  We found some fake grass at a gas station and I was happy with that.  We arrived at South Llano State Park around 4 p.m.  There really wasn't grass, but there was dirt and weeds and that was fine with me. We forgot to take pictures here. Out site was nice and it was close to the restrooms.  Mom showered here but didn't like it because of the spiders.  They were large.

The next day we hit the road around 8 a.m. and we pulled into the parking lot of our condo at 3 p.m.  It was so nice to be home.  I was so excited when I walked into the condo that I jumped on the folks' bed and ran in circles.  

It has been nice being home. Everyone knows my name here and they all asked how my trip was and they said they missed me.

We were gone for seven weeks!  I missed my beach and my friends, but I am ready to go again.  Mom said we are going away for a few days around New Year's, so I guess I have that to look forward to.

Exploring Kansas

 According to Mom, the flower garden across from our campround in Abilene is beautiful.  We walked through it every morning while attending the greyhound event.  Mom said to remind everyone that it is September and the flowers have had a long hot summer, so they are not looking their best right now. Here are a few photos:

Abilene is a sweet town.  Mom said she would love to live there, but they don't even have a Walmart, so I don't believe her.  We left Abilene and made a stop at Mushroom State Park.  It has rocks that look like mushrooms, not the mushrooms you can eat.

We stayed two nights in Concordia, KS.  In 1943-1945, there was a German POW camp here.  The museum was closed due to the holiday weekend, but we drove by the tower that is still standing.

The National Orphan Train Museum is also here. Mom would have liked to have seen it, but it was closed for the weekend.  Mom didn't know about either museum before we arrived, but she would have liked to have seen both.  We may have to make another trip here.  

Concordia is a very small town. They do have a Walmart but they do not offer grocery pick-up.  We enjoyed our stay at their city park. They have RV camping sites as well as a dog park.  The fee for camping is whatever you wish.   The weather has been very nice. We slept without our AC last night.  It was in the 60's. It barely gets below 90 at home at night.

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Needs A Day To Relax

A Tour of Our Van

 Mom realized that we didn't give you a tour of our van.  Dad bought our van back in September.  It is a cargo van.

The van getting ready to become our camper van.

Mom's bed is on the right, I am in the middle (my bed extends) and Dad's is on the left. Mom's clothes are in the bins at the end of the bed.

We put our food above the chairs. The chairs swivel around so the folks can watch TV when we are parked.

We still haven't figured out this space yet. The microwave is on the bottom.  Dad's clothes are on the shelf above it. The pet cam can see the temperature in the van. The door next to the microwave pulls out and that is my bed extender.  

Our sink pulls out.

The sink is under the mirror.  Our fridge/refigerator is in the cooler under the sink.

One side is a fridge and the other is a freezer.  It works quite well.

The fridge runs on a battery when we are not plugged in.

This is the bathroom.  It is quite small.  The shower curtain pulls around it.  There is a shower in it. You can see the pet cam on the wall. We hang back packs above Mom's bed when we are traveling. They contain my items as well as Mom's items for showering.

That is basically the tour.  It is quite small especially when all three of us are in it at the same time. Most people have the beds pushed together and facing to the right instead of back to front.  Dad didn't want to have to crawl over Mom to get out of bed, so that is why he made it the way he did.  The carpet and paint are from our condo.  My bed is made from our old comforter.  It looks like home to me and I really like sleeping in it.  We have a butane stove that Mom can use inside.  We can grill outside, of course. Mom does find cooking in the van to be a real challenge, so she is concerned about the long trip we are planning for the fall. 

We may eventually get a bigger van but Mom wanted something that we could park anywhere and we can definitely do that with this van. 

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Likes Van Life

Two Week Vacation - Part 4

 We left Grandma's house around 8 a.m. on Friday morning.  It was a rainy morning.  We thought we were going to be able to avoid it, but the system kept moving down on us.  We were finally out of the rain when we reached Lebanon, MO.  We drove through the Ozark Mountains and through Arkanas again. The views are nice but the roads are very hilly and there are not any rest areas. It was a pretty uneventful day, but it was a long day.  We didn't reach our campground at Atlanta State Park in Atlanta, TX until 7 p.m.  Oh, one funny thing did happen.  We were just a few miles from our campground when Mom decided to follow Google's shortcut.  We ended up on some back roads that were almost too small for the van.  Mom thought it was funny.  Dad did not.  

The Atlanta State Park is nice with a big lake. The campground loop we stayed in was very small and the sites were not very spacious.  We were really only there to sleep and the folks took showers.  Mom said every time she went into the bath house, there were more bugs. It was hot outside, but the van was nice and cool.

Our site at Altanta State Park

We left the park around 9 a.m.  The drive home was uneventful.  We made a few stops for gas and one for lunch.  We finally arrived home around 3:30 p.m. due to traffic slowdowns.

It is nice to be home, but we are all a little bored now.  We have a bigger trip planned in the fall.  We are attending two greyhound events and visiting several national parks on that trip. 

Jaxson,

The Greyhound Who Misses Grandma's House