AL, MS, LA, TX, NM

First stop...Lake Charles, Louisiana. Due to popular suggestion, we immediately went on a search for boudin (pronounced boo-dan), a spicy Cajun pork and rice delicacy somehow stuffed into a sausage casing. Apparently, this is not to be confused with the Canadian boudin noir my Dad used to eat. Boo-dan was not hard to find--it was advertised on billboards, store fronts, road signs, diners, truck stops, restaurant marquees, souvenir shops, gas stations, corner stores and the RV Park brochure. After getting a thorough description of said boo-dan, we purchased one package of frozen and one link piping hot and ready-to-eat. Boo-dan was not an immediate hit. A few days later we put the remaining half-link on the grill with a bit of Swamp Mustard from the Everglades and wala--delicious!!

Day Two and Three: Texas is a BIG state! The wind was blowing--hard, dust was swirling and we drove into a headwind for hundreds of miles. The dually managed a whopping 6.5 mpg! Just to make it interesting, there was only one gas station between San Antonio and Fort Stockton. We limped in on fumes. The next day Fort Stockton to El Paso provided a few more fueling opportunities...and we took advantage of each and every one!

No matter the stresses of the day, once settled for the night in a comfy RV Park, it's time to relax with a neighbor. Someone always wanders over to the picnic table for the usual, "Where are you from?, Where are you going?" chat. Al's favorite thing is to talk with other full-time RVers, or better yet a fellow Bighorn owner, but he enjoys whomever, or whatever happens by. What a social butterfly he's turning into! Al and his new best friend Gomez posed for a photo at the picnic table!

Day Four: Recall this is my fourth day of arising at 7 a.m. Most of New Mexico flew by me in a blur. We have been reading a Nevada Barr book about a Winter wolf study on Isle Royale to pass the time. The kitties are holding up remarkably well! Although Zeus is quiet, he doesn't sleep when we travel and he is spent after a long day of driving. Al spotted a Roadrunner in the RV Park.

Day Five: Arizona at last! Southeastern AZ has Joshua Trees! We thought they were only in California. More interesting Forester behavior: They often name their first-born after a tree. The Togetherness Meter is off the chart!! We've made up for those working days in the Everglades when we'd sometimes be apart for... 2 or 3 hours or more! Tomorrow I can sleep as late as I want, I'll wake up in Tucson (my favorite place) and I might get my morning coffee served in bed. It's all about me! Does it get any better than this?

Pensacola RV Park

Contrary to my prediction, we survived another two days at the RV Dealership and rolled out of there with three new cargo doors and a new basement floor. Onward to Pensacola!

We had our annual beach rendezvous with our Montana/Florida, Oregon/Alabama buddies. Al's Dr. deemed him good as new! We unloaded our storage unit, no small feat, to get Adrienne's riding boots...and surprisingly everything went back in. We invited our friends to the RV Park for Sonny's cuisine and visiting. We had much fun and when everyone left, we marveled at the gathering of such good people...who are all our friends!! Once again, how are we so lucky? We were so busy having fun we only took one photo???

On the fourth day the errands were completed, the mail was gathered, the bills were paid, our friends had been hugged, the LP gas was filled to the brim and a clean bill of health was in hand. We were ready to pack up and get on I-10 going West-- destination...via the scenic route, Prosser, Washington by 31 March.

This is what I agreed to: Five days of continual travel, arising each morning at 7 a.m.(a major committment on my part!)...IF we could spend four days in Tucson. The master planner (Al) plotted the route, made the RV reservations, checked the oil, the tire pressure etc., etc. ....
Let's go, time's a wasting!!

Key West

Everglades Nat'l Park is quite remote. Shopping etc. is done in Naples 25 miles to the north. One can pass the miles watching alligators sunbathing on the canal bank. The beaches in Naples are nice.
We lucked out and had an 80-degree day when we ventured 100 miles in the opposite direction to Miami. South Beach was not everything Al anticipated...but it was enough.
A 4-day weekend gave us ample time to visit Key West. It's a beautiful drive down the Keys, and Key West was as tame (and as cold) as I've ever experienced it. The sunset action at Mallory Square provided the ordinary array of extraordinary! We stopped at the Key Lime Pie Factory for the obligatory yummy slice and the Key West Winery for a bottle of Key Lime Wine. The Key West Botanical Garden has a huge mirror on the ground reflecting the canopy of palm overhead. Al thinks a winter in the mid-Keys would be a great idea!
However, right now it is time to finish our work in the Park and start plotting our trek to Washington State where we will spend the summer. Enroute, we'll make another stop in Tampa for Bighorn work and then back to Pensacola for a short visit.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

Everglades National Park

Without prolonging the bitching and moaning about the 2009/2010 Florida winter, the first leg of our journey to southern Florida found us frozen solid when we arrived in Lake City. The thermometer in the truck never passed 36 degrees. On to Tampa to volunteer at the Super RV Show, get some warranty work done on the Bighorn and pick up a case of our favorite citrus wine in St. Petersburg. Somewhere in the middle of all that, we saw hundreds of manatees at Apollo Beach near the power plant. Apparently, the water is warmer there and a favorite winter spot for them.

Driving from Naples to Miami on Rt. 41 was absolutely amazing! The trees were full of large exotic-looking birds. It was the most incredible thing! We arrived in Homestead, FL the National Park Headquarters and our home for the next two months. Not exactly... the schedule changed somewhat, but they couldn't tell us what the changes were because...it was Thursday before Friday of a long holiday weekend. We checked into a private RV Park in Homestead to wait until the Federal Gov't resumed work on Tuesday. Homestead is an agricultural mecca: miles and miles of fields of tomatoes, mangoes, papaya, guava, avocado, orchids, bougainvillea, palms and many things we could not identify.

Tuesday's message is that we are really needed at the Tamiami Ranger Station located about mid-way between Homestead and Naples...back the way we came on Rt. 41. Upon arrival at Tamiami, Ranger Bill explains we are really needed at the Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City...but the RV pads have just been poured. And by the way, "Could you both work?" inquired Ranger Bill.

We worked at Tamiami for a week and visited the Shark Valley Visitor Center, home to alligators, great blue herons, great white herons, egrets, storks, ibis, anhingas, snakes, turtles...and more alligators. The Roseate Spoonbill is our favorite bird, but hard to catch for a photo. Anhingas are diving birds and the water does not roll off them...so they stand with wings spread to dry after being in the water.

As soon as the RV pads dried, we moved to Everglades City where we stayed until the end of February. The major attraction in this section of the Park is the 100-mile Water Wilderness Trail. It took me a while to realize we were LIVING in a National Park! That is really COOL! Every once in a while, I'd pinch myself because we actually got used to the alligators everywhere.

It is a hard-to-believe truce, of sorts, how the hunter and the hunted -alligators, turtles, birds...and people-seem to exist companionably...by the light of day anyway. Al was quite fond of the baby alligators and sought them out for photos. ONE time he lingered longer than mother thought necessary...and she bellowed...and bellowed. We don't know how long she bellowed... because we made a hasty retreat out of there!


THINGS WE WANT TO REMEMBER:
What few flowers were blooming in February were beautiful.

The Mangroves really do create tunnels to navigate by canoe.

There are wonderful people caring for our National Parks, and we are honored to be working among them.

It is not illegal to don an official Park Ranger hat...momentarily.

The smallest U.S. Post Office is in Ochopee, Florida along Rt. 41.

Alligator's protocol...(according to the locals trying to eradicate tourists): "Don't bother me, and I won't bother you." Right.

Blowing bubbles at sunset on Chokoloskee Bay when all the visitors have left the Park for the day gives one pause for reflection.

Mother Nature rules with a heavy hand--45+ manatees died in Everglades Park as a result of the unusual prolonged cold weather. Alligators must raise their body temperature to 86 degrees to digest their food...or the food will rot and they will die. Exotic Burmese Pythons (endangered in their country of origin) are thriving (a 6-8ft. snake is considered small) in Everglades Nat'l Park, but need to be eliminated as they pose an immense threat to the delicate balance of nature within the Park.

Park Ranger Biologists keep dead pythons in coolers in odd places.

The Everglades is a slow-moving river...not a swamp.

English is not the first language in Miami. Al will never learn Spanish, despite Raul's daily, patient effort. Pollo Tropical is our new favorite fast food. Authentic Cuban food is delicious.

The New Orleans Saints won the SuperBowl.

Tony Dungy was shocked.

The Togetherness Meter took a big hit, but, all things considered, volunteering in a Nat'l Park is an awesome experience! How can we be this lucky?

Pensacola, FL

We were excited to arrive in Pensacola,

our home away from home.

There is a little something to be said for familiarity of one's surroundings. The plan was to spend the month of November visiting with friends, checking on our storage unit, biking and playing on the beach, making our annual doctor visits etc. Surprise, surprise, the first thing to do was prepare for a late-season hurricane! Ida downgraded to a Tropical Storm, and she wasn't much more than a rain storm for us, but when one LIVES in an RV, one needs a PLAN of action. Our friend Lee decided we should move the RV into a vacant building at the West Fraser Mill. Thus, a plan in hand, we waited...eyes GLUED to the WEATHER CHANNEL. Happily, there was no need to evacuate. Ok, so back to the fun we had planned!

Ida rearranged a lot of sand around the beaches and closed some roads. It was a perfect opportunity for biking out to Ft. Pickens, with our friends Patti and Nicole, without the threat of vehicle traffic. All of us being northerners, we had the strange sensation of being surrounded by snow banks instead of mountains of white sand...until the Gulf of Mexico showed itself between the hills. Even storm damaged, the gorgeous Pensacola beaches are second to none!

We were enjoying ourselves immensely, squeezing in those doctor's appointments here and there. When one begins to age, health maintenance takes on new and interesting meaning. My Dr. discovered a bit of a vitamin D deficiency...who knew? Al's maintenance was more complicated and required us to extend our stay through December.

Thanksgiving dinner was a shared meal at the RV Park. It was a feast really--fried turkey, smoked turkey, grilled turkey, duck, ham and every side dish imaginable including the requisite banana pudding, pecan pie AND sweet potato casserole (y'all know it was made by yours truly.) Understandably, local cooking in the Deep South involves lots of pecan and sweet potato concoctions as both are readily available in great quantities. The ever-present, much-loved and sought after, elaborately- embellished banana pudding remains an enigma. Let me back up just for a minute. If you've never seen a 15lb. turkey lowered into a pot containing multiple gallons of boiling LouAn peanut oil...well, you just need to see it... and taste it. Yummy! P.S. LouAn Peanut Oil is available in 5-gallon containers in any local supermarket...year round.

We finally got to see the Blue Angels fly! What an amazing show of pilot skill and airplane technology...and unbelievable noise! The photos are courtesy of our friend Victoria who remembered to take a camera.

By Christmas, Al was recovering from his much maligned maintenance. But, in his weakened condition, he could not prevent me from snagging Winn-Dixie's last, red, tin-foil tree... that we trimmed with ONE ornament from the Visitation Monastery. It was BEAUTIFUL! We bought lots of raw peanuts and mailed them off to Josh and Adrienne with their Christmas stockings. Of course, I included the Zatarain's and instructions on how to boil the peanuts. Our friends Annie and Steve treated us to a delicious Christmas dinner! It was a nice, quiet Holiday.

The fireplace is absolutely our FAVORITE thing in the Big Horn!!! The weather was so cold, we dug out sweaters, winter coats, gloves...even socks. Thank goodness I had the foresight to pack my Couch Potato! My retirement plan to never wear anything on my feet except flip flops was foiled by freezing Florida weather. Our furnace roared through four 30lb.tanks of LP gas in about 2 weeks. Tulip discovered the counter above the fireplace was the best place to stay warm while Zeus burrowed under whatever blanket was available.

We ate lots of really good food over the Holidays including black-eyed peas and cornbread on New Years Day--compliments of the RV Park owners, Lane and Wyndell, but we didn't sample every Holiday special Pensacola had to offer...I wonder if that bologna is fried in LouAn??

The sun is setting on our time in Pensacola, and we're sad to say good-bye to our friends...but, it's TIME to GO! Gypsies need to hear the drone of a truck engine in their ears, feel the smooth ride of (six) brand-new Michelins rolling on pavement, see the landscape flying by the window and smell the aroma of diesel from the frequent fill-ups it takes to get the 8mpg Big Horn to a new destination. Gypsies don't need to hear a howling cat while enjoying the aforementioned pleasures of the senses...and Tulip is cooperating fully! Gone are the hours of yowling and howling. We anticipate a peaceful trip as we journey south to Everglades National Park where Al is scheduled to be a volunteer Park Ranger through the end of February. Warmer weather would be great too!!