Category: Holidays on the Road
What’s to Love about Texas Food
April 15, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 3 Comments
Texans take their food as seriously as they do their football. Black's Barbecue is Texas' oldest and best major barbecue restaurant continuously owned and operated by the same family. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved If you slander their vittles, they’re apt to defend their deep-fried passion as though you personally launched another attack on the Alamo. Necessity has frequently mothered our creations, and early Texans had to make do with meager supplies, which is how they wound up with frugal favorites like chicken-fried steak and fried pies. Such resourcefulness produced foods that bring us endless gratification today. Many Winter Texans and other visitors to the Lone Star State have the good sense to agree with them—that Texan food is that of the gods. Little Known & Great Places to Eat Sure, there are thousands of great places to eat scattered throughout cities and towns all across Texas, and a Main Street Cafe on just about every corner of every berg from Wink to... [Read more...]
Natural Stone Architecture: Natural Bridges National Monument
April 3, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 1 Comment
Natural Bridges National Monument covers a relatively small area in southeastern Utah. It is rather remote and not close to other parks, and as a result is not heavily visited. A trail into the canyon underneath Owachomu Natural Bridge is a short distance from the overlook. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Since natural bridges are formed by running water, they are much rarer than arches, which result from a variety of other erosion forces. Natural bridges tend to be found within canyons, sometimes quite hidden, whereas arches are usually high and exposed, as they are often the last remnants of rock cliffs and ridges. Unlike Arches National Park, with over 2,000 classified arches, there are only three bridges here. The area also has some scattered Indian cliff dwellings, pictographs, and scenic white sandstone canyons. The pinyon and juniper covered mesa is bisected by deep canyons, exposing the Permian Age Cedar Mesa Sandstone. Where meandering streams cut through sandstone walls, three... [Read more...]
Steep Cliffs and Towering Spires: Dead Horse Point State Park
March 30, 2012 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
Dead Horse Point State Park is perhaps Utah’s most spectacular state park. The park lies on the same broad mesa as The Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park. The meandering Colorado River 2,000 feet below Dead Horse Point. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Dead Horse Point is a peninsula of rock atop sheer sandstone cliffs about 6,000 feet above sea level. Two thousand feet below, the Colorado River winds its way from the continental divide in Colorado to the Gulf of California, a distance of 1,400 miles. The peninsula is connected to the mesa by a narrow strip of land called the neck. From the overlook, canyon erosion may be viewed on a grand scale. This erosion process has taken approximately 150 million years. Much of it is caused by the river slicing down into the earth’s crust as land is forced upward. These powerful forces are still sculpting the fantastic shapes of the precipitous bluffs and towering spires. Vegetation and wildlife in this desert environment... [Read more...]
Discover San Antonio’s Mission Trail
March 18, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 1 Comment
The chain of five missions that were established along the San Antonio River during the 18th century stands as a reminder of Spain’s most successful attempt to extend its New World influence and control. Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purisima Concepción de Acuña. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved Representing both church and state, these missions were charged with converting the local Native Americans, collectively called Coahuiltecans, into devout Catholics and productive members of Spanish society. More than just churches on the Spanish Colonial frontier, the missions also served as vocational and educational centers, economic enterprises involved in agricultural and ranching endeavors and regional trade. Missionaries taught the Coahuiltecans farming skills and gave them religious instruction. Before the Spanish came, there were no horses in Texas and no gunfire, except for the raiding Apache. A vast frontier had never been touched by a wheel or felt the blade of an iron ax. Among... [Read more...]
Celebrating Easter At Sunrise!
February 19, 2012 by Diane Berry · 1 Comment
We developed a family tradition, back when our children first started school, of traveling when they were out of school for their Easter break. We are members of the Roman Catholic faith, and attend St. Francis of Assisi Parish when we are home in Manitowoc, WI. In fact, our children attended the Catholic schools associated with our parish. However, we often had difficulty locating a Catholic church in many of the cities and towns to which we traveled. Feeling it was more important to celebrate, then to be a stickler for one form of religion or church, we developed the habit of locating a nearby church and attending its services on Easter morning. One Easter Sunday morning while searching for a service in a small, rustic rocky mountain town, we happened upon a sunrise service taking place on the banks of a small creek. Complete with a large bonfire to warm us and donuts to nourish us, this was, hands-down, our children’s favorite Easter service. It was quite a momentous occasion, watching... [Read more...]
This Is The Year! Happy 2012!
January 1, 2012 by Diane Berry · 2 Comments
Some of you may recall a post that ran at the end of last year in which I discussed our family New Year’s tradition of listing accomplishments of the past year and goals for the new. We traditionally spend the week between Christmas and New Years vacationing at our little cabin in the northwoods of Wisconsin. In the days preceding the holiday, each family member makes a list of each and after eating a delicious dinner, we take turns reading, first accomplishments, then goals. Our little cabin in the northwoods We do not read our own lists, however. Each family member reads those of the next oldest member of the family. Our theory in structuring it this way was that the accomplishments of older siblings might provide motivation for the younger ones. We have been doing this for more than a dozen years and I think it has worked well. Accomplishments of the children might involve such things as being named captain of the Dance Team or making the “A” Honor Roll. Terry’s and mine often... [Read more...]
Blessed to spend CHRISTmas in our RV…
December 22, 2011 by Dana Ticknor · 7 Comments
Christmas in an RV can be a greatl experience! We wondered, that first year that we were traveling, if Christmas would be as wonderful and as meaningful as it always was to us in the house. This year will be our 3rd Christmas ‘houseless’; and we have found that we may just enjoy Christmas all the more without the house! Granted, there are some ‘sacrifices’ that we have had to adjust to in this smaller space – we don’t decorate quite as much; while we keep a small artificial tree and a few ornaments, all our other decorations are made by the kids, and renewed each year. We also don’t bake quite as much as we did while we were in the house. And we do have to put more consideration into gifts for our family – no trampolines, gun safes, or big doll houses anymore – there just isn’t room for them in our RV. But we have also found that we tend to pick up more and more of our ‘old’ traditions each year –... [Read more...]
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
December 21, 2011 by Rex Vogel · 3 Comments
It’s that time of year again. The Christmas countdown has begun! While the holidays bring with it lots of love, time spent with family and friends, good food, and more, it can also bring stress—most from the gift exchange. Trying to find the perfect gift for someone can get frustrating. But if you’re still looking for gifts for the RVer in your life, you are in luck! To keep this manageable, it’s been parted out into two posts—each with five items. These are in no particular order, with no favoritism or affiliation to the actual products or vendors. So, without further ado here are five gifts that keep on giving: The National Parks: Our American Landscape A collection of over 200 stunning images depicting America’s national parks is a perfect gift for any RVer or lover of the outdoors. The book was originally released in 2010, but was released this year in a more affordable paperback version ($16.47 on Amazon.com). Texas State Parks Pass The Texas State Parks Pass is an annual... [Read more...]
Spending Christmas at the RV
December 14, 2011 by Canadianladybug · 3 Comments
Last week-end, my son Jérémy asked his dad if we could go spend Christmas at the RV this year. My husband likes the thought of it considering the weather we have in Ontario, Canada since we closed the RV for the winter season back in October… To be honest, it is almost tempting to drive up that day just to say we were there on Dec 25th. Tomorrow, which will be Dec 15th by the way, the temperature announced for Ottawa, ON is about 9 degree Celsius which is about 48.2 Fahrenheit. I know we won’t drive to our campsite that week and deep down I am hoping to have a white Christmas but this year waves of temperature made us seriously think about the fact that all campground in our province closes during the long week-end in October which is our Thanksgiving week-end. We could have spent more week-end at our “cottage” like my mother-in-law calls it. We could have fish more, explore the woods more, see the wildlife slowly going to sleep… So many opportunities that... [Read more...]
‘Twas the Feast of St. Nick…
December 1, 2011 by Diane Berry · 5 Comments
I published a post last year about this time, talking about St. Nick ideas for the avid RVer. My focus last year was on items new on the market. As it is that time of year again, I want to, again, focus on St. Nick ideas, but will be addressing a combination of both the old and the new; some items upon which you rely, most likely need to be replaced and this is a good excuse to trade up for a few of them. We always have a need for a new flashlight and those other items that we use everyday but seldom give much thought to. This year, my husband is in sore need of two items, both of which have been improved since we last purchased them, so these will be my first two suggestions: Our "new addition" 1. To replace our old generic flashlight from 15 years back, he is getting a new Maglite model that will provide a high intensity light beam. The light has two settings and a krypton bulb and is able to provide either a spot light or a flood light with the flick of a switch. Also,... [Read more...]
