Thursday, April 28, 2016

April 2016


Greetings!

Enjoying a Rocky Mountain moment

The BusRoads Duo has been on a bit of a whirlwind tour lately. If you are acquainted with us at all, you'll know that six states in one month exceeds our usual pace. Since we have been somewhat short of time for blogging, this will be an abbreviated issue of the Buzz. We will let the pictures tell the tale of our travels through New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Idaho and Oregon as we complete the last leg of our 2015-16 tour.

Cheers  ~  Brian and Andi



Springtime in Albuquerque

Lathrop State Park near Walsenburg, CO

Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park

Doing that thing we do, this time at
Coffee on the Rocks in Estes Park, CO
Rocky Mountain onlookers

Aztec Ruins National Monument, NM




Rock With Wings (or "Shiprock" to non-Navajos)

Navajo Rez road

San Juan River at Sand Island, UT
An unforeseen circumstance near Blanding, UT
Moab Man (far left) and friends say hi!

Disc golf in paradise (aka Moab, UT)
Welcoming committee in Mountain Home, ID


Peace and quiet at Mountain Home Air Force Base,
except for those fighter jets...
It was a great trip - thanks for sharing our journey!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

March 2016

A Riverwalk Selfie

Greetings!

What do you call it when there are freezing hail warnings one minute and temperatures in the 90s the next? We call in San Antonio in the springtime. As you probably know, the severe weather has been no joke in parts of the country for the past month and we hope that you and yours are managing safely. The Texas extremes we're experiencing have not hindered us from doing our Native flute and percussion concerts, going to the fitness center at Fort Sam Houston where we are camped, cooking Tex-Mex meals, playing disc golf and celebrating two March holidays – St. David's Day and St. Patrick's Day. We hope that you, too, are enjoying some of the good things that early spring has to offer.  ~  Brian & Andi


Wish You Were Here

Having made several visits to San Antonio, we were eager to experience a nice affordable attraction other than those we had already done, namely the Riverwalk, La Villita, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Alamo, and El Mercado. The perfect answer for us was the Briscoe Western Art Museum. This collection of paintings, sculptures, photos, artifacts and tasteful audio-visual displays depicting past and present life in the American West is conveniently located right on the Riverwalk. We decided to tackle it on a warm, steamy Saturday afternoon, intentionally choosing a busy time just to immerse ourselves in the Riverwalk's festive hustle and bustle. We almost got more than we bargained for as we shared the narrow canal walkways with backpacked students, families with strollers, sunburned couples carrying margaritas to-go, and aproned outdoor waiters.  After winding our way past umbrella-shaded restaurant tables (heaped with nachos, enchiladas, burritos and more margaritas) we found the museum across from La Villita. It is housed in San Antonio's historic first library, with a gracious, soaring lobby featuring a deeply carved wooden ceiling of rosettes in recessed squares.

Not overly large, the museum displays are contained in a few small rooms spread over three floors. The result was that we could take our time are really look at everything without becoming numb. One painting depicted and small village of teepees in the cold, flat light of winter. Another showed a bronco rider who had just gone airborne from his bucking steed. There was a nearly life-sized statue of a cougar, an ornate guitar inlaid with mother of pearl, photographs of Native Americans of the past and pioneer trains bringing the future, an authentic chuck wagon, a stage coach and a spinning windmill. Many displays had small touchscreens and headphones for more detailed information. The late Texas governor Briscoe would be proud of his namesake museum as it informs folks of today about western history and heritage. (See more of the museum collection in the photo collage below.)


Life On The Road

Living in thin walls and outdoor spaces while RVing can make you acutely aware of the weather. Our winter itineraries are designed to take us to locations that usually have decent weather for this indoor/outdoor lifestyle. Once in a while, though, Mother Nature throws us a curve ball, as was the case with the recent Texas storms. When talk of severe overnight thunderstorms began to give specifics like, "60 to 70 mile-an-hour winds" and "golf ball-sized hail" we had to make a decision – stay in the exposed RV park, make a run for it to a geographical location with better weather, or seek shelter locally. 
See San Antonio in the middle??
The area of severe weather was so vast that we would not have been able to drive far enough to reach safety. Going to bed in the campground with the possibility of waking up to the sound of damaging hail was worrisome, too. Finally we decided that having a little RV gave us the option to seek cover for ourselves and our rig. We found it on Google Maps in the form of a nearby concrete block carwash. It was dark in the RV park when we pulled out of our campsite. Lights shown from neighboring motorhomes and crickets were making a racket The air was thick and hot, with humidity approaching 100%. We had no trouble finding the carwash and the bays were easily high enough for us to fit without danger, so we tucked Sierra in and waited to see what would happen.
No rain was falling yet but tornado warnings for a nearby county crackled out of our tiny weather radio. We phoned a couple of folks to tell them we were safe, checked the doppler map on our tablet computer, played Farkle, read books and watched a few cars drive by in the dark. Still no rain nearly 2 hours after we had taken cover. Then around 11:30 pm we began to hear thunder, followed by fat drops of rain. We looked southwest through our open back door in the direction of the oncoming storm and saw sheets of bright lightening. Sometimes a bolt would stab down to the ground. Rain fell in curtains. There was a tremendous bang and we felt the ground shake as the storm exploded right around us. We slammed and locked the door, staying huddled inside for the rest of the show. This type of weather ebbed and flowed for a couple of hours as we sat in the front seats watching and dozing. Gradually the dark world became quiet and still. The clouds lifted and we could make out distant lights that had been invisible during the storm. We were glad (but admittedly somewhat disappointed) that there was never any hail, and at about 4:00 am we coasted quietly back into our RV space at Fort Sam.

  

Did You Know?

St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, is commonly celebrated throughout much of the US, but we also like to honor St. David, the patron saint of Wales, on March 1st. This usually entails buying daffodils, eating leeks in some form and flying the red dragon flag of Wales. Looking for more party opportunities? How about St. George's Day (England) on April 23rd or St. Andrew's Day (Scotland) on November 30th?


Coffee Chat

We enjoy watching the many dog walkers who are out exercising man's best friend in every RV park we visit. Sometimes we think we are the only ones without a dog! Occasionally the animals are large but usually RVers have dogs that are on the smaller side. One pair of neighbors stopped to tell us about the small brown and black dog on their leash. It was a dachshund/yorkie mix called, you guessed it, a "dorkie". They had been doing a nationwide search for just the right rescue dog to adopt. They even knew they wanted to name it "Bella" when they got it. When they saw the description of this dog it sounded just right but they wondered where in the country they would have to go to see it. It turned out to be 12 miles away from where they were. They went, they saw, they adopted. And the dog's original name? Belle.




More exhibits at the Briscoe Western Art Museum








"Winter Camp" by Michael Coleman

detail from "Winter Camp"
detail from "Winter Camp"







Saturday, February 27, 2016

February 2016


Andi and Brian
With Herb, circa 2005
Greetings from the Coastal Bend of Texas! This geographical designation covers the broad, curving sweep of Texas lowland along the southeast coast. More than seven million people inhabit Galveston, Beaumont, Brownsville, Houston and other semi-tropical cities of the region. It was first discovered in 2003 – by us, anyway! That was when our year-long USA circle trip in Herb-the-VW-bus first landed us in Corpus Christi and we have made several return visits since then. The drawbacks of high humidity, constant breezes and the occasional hurricane threat are offset by sandy barrier islands, scenic waterways, moderate winter temperatures, swaths of green grass and abundant sea birds. We take advantage of the added bonus of a waterfront RV park on Corpus Christi Naval Air Station. We hope you enjoy our notes from another place that has become a home away from home for us. 
                                                                   ~  Brian &  Andi










Wish You Were Here

Spring break came early for us this year as we visited the holiday mecca of Port Aransas, Texas on a sunny Thursday. The temperature hovered in the mid 70s and even the customary winds took the day off. Port Aransas, known as Tarpon from 1896 until 1910 (and Ropesville for a few years before that) perches at the northernmost tip of Mustang Island, one of the chain of thin barrier islands separating the Texas mainland from the Gulf of Mexico. Once a humble fishing village, Port Aransas has evolved into a fully functioning small, beachy town with serious resort vacation overtones. The combination of locals, relocated retirees, youthful spring break partiers and "winter Texans" like ourselves have shaped a town that boasts a library, a sport fishing harbor, a museum, a golf course, an abundance of hotels and restaurants, a marine science institute, a small airport, spreading condo villages, golf car rentals, and shops for tee shirts, reef sandals, bikinis, tattoos, shell-shaped dishware, sun hats, abalone jewelry and handmade pottery. Soon the college kids on spring break will descend in full force, as evidenced by the surf shop we visited that was busily stocking its shelves with shot glasses and beer mugs. Whether you are seeking an active vacation of fishing and surfing or a peaceful interlude of bird watching and beachcombing, Port Aransas has got you covered.



 













Life On The Road

Most of our fellow travelers have the time and inclination to pursue some type of sport or recreational activity while on the road. "Move it or lose it," is the mantra of many RVing friends. Some carry elaborate plywood washer-toss games, others prefer golf, cycling or the ever-popular dog walking. We have stumbled across a sport that meets our criteria for a great nomadic pastime - fun, cheap and portable. Welcome to disc golf! If you are not familiar with the sport, imagine flinging a Frisbee into a low basketball hoop. The target is usually a horizontal metal ring on a pole with dangling chains that catch the disc and drop it into a wire basket. Discs tend to be flatter and harder than Frisbees and are designed with specific aerodynamic properties that classify them as "distance driver," "fairway driver," "mid-range," "putter," and more. Courses usually have 9 or 18 baskets spread around a park-like setting. They are generally free of charge to use and might be more widespread than you think; we have certainly been surprised at the number of courses we have been able to find, including one right on an Air Force base in Del Rio, Texas. We know from experience that you do not have to be a good player to enjoy disc golf. It's mostly an excuse for a walk in a park, with the added bonus of many comical moments to laugh about later.




Coffee Chat

As glamorous as our lifestyle may appear, there can be drawbacks. Being sick away from family and friends is an isolating feeling and one that we experienced in Tucson. However, a friend who was also on the road provided a huge morale boost in the form of a pot of darling little daffodils. This caring gesture was so appreciated that when we got to Corpus Christi and learned that a lady in the neighboring RV was undergoing an unexpected medical procedure, we made a point of giving her a bouquet of pink alstroemeria blossoms. She was so touched and grateful that she told us she would pass this thoughtful act along to someone else in the future. May this small thread of kindness weave itself into many lives.


Did You Know?

Of the more than 215 bird species found along the Coastal Bend, the frisky, black-headed Laughing Gulls are among the most common and vocal. With their strident call of "HA-ha, HA-ha" it sounds like they are engaging in the old swimming pool game of "Marco! Polo!" This inspired lines in poem you will read below.






1% For Art

Leisure time in a tropical setting can inspire one to attempt artistic pursuits. During a previous visit to Corpus, I (Andi) read an article about a style of poetry called a pantoum, and being an enthusiastic amateur writer of poems, short stories and song lyrics (not to mention blog entries), I decided to try my hand at one. (You may also know I later set my pantoum to music, using the same pattern for the chords that is required for the words.)  Pantoums are Malaysian in origin and contain a highly structured set of four-line verses. Lines from previous verses must be incorporated into the next verse in a specific manner. The second and fourth lines of one verse become the first and third lines of the following verse. This pattern continues until the final verse. This last one not only has its first and third lines dictated by the previous verse, but the second line of the last verse must be the same as the third line of the first verse, and to end the whole poem you have to use the very first line for the final line. As you might imagine, the trick is getting any type of meaning and congruity while staying true to the pattern. Here is my stab at it, and I called it simply...

Pantoum

The laughing gulls play Marco Polo on the beach
I wonder what the joke is
It seems an ordinary coastal day
Palm trees sway and pelicans glide

I wonder what the joke is
Could a special magic touch this place where
Palm trees sway and pelicans glide
I think I'm starting to understand why


Could a special magic touch this place where
It seems an ordinary coastal day
I think I'm starting to understand why
The laughing gulls play Marco Polo on the beach



Crossing West Texas


Basking in the sun by the county courthouse in Marfa TX
West Texas: a good place to do little


Call of the raven

The ubiquitous century plant

Our favorite coffee shop in Marathon TX was closed that day

Lone stars everywhere
Daytime at the Marfa Lights viewing area