Happy Birthday Tony

Today is our oldest son, Tony Wayne Roffe 41st Birthday. Gosh all this means is I’m getting older and older particularly now that I will have two sons in there forty’s this year. We are very proud of you son. Tony is a lucky guy as he lives in the Colorado Rockies above Denver near Bailey, Co. (Click on pictures to enlarge)

He has a view out of of his windows that is just breath taking. He has always said it would be difficult to ever leave this area and I can’t blame him particularly when you wake up every morning to see the mountains, aspens, and trees like this. He also is fortunate to see wild game come through his yard from time to time mountain sheep, elk, deer, black bear and a mountain lion.
                                          One of his hobbies is to ride his dirt bike in the mountains as well as camp out under those Colorado skies. Him and some of his buddies get together and go to the mountains to camp and ride their dirt bikes.

This area I believe is designated for dirt bikes and four wheel drive vehicles.  It certainly would be a challenge to run up and down these mountains on four wheels let alone two. 
Another hobby is his band. He has been in and out of his band for quite a number of years. He went from the drums to playing the electric guitar now and they play what he calls gigs from time to time as well as do recordings of their music.

There are many more stories I could share about this guy, but I believe I’ve shared enough for now. Tony what a difference 41 years have made. You have grown into a fine young responsible man. Sandy and I are very proud of you. We send our Love on this special day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!













Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

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Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

May First Monday

The weather has been just about near perfect since the scare we had early Saturday morning. Our highs have been in the mid-70'’s with lows in the mid-60’s. In fact tonight we are to be in the mid-40’s. Now if the weather holds we just may have a good crowd for May's First Monday. The RVer’s are already beginning to come in and here it is only Tuesday. There is a Foretravel group here (about four rigs) and they have roped off some sites next to them for future arrivals.

The double header NASCAR races at Talladega Sunday were probably the best I’ve witness in a long time. The lead changes they had in the Cup race were just outstanding.  Of the 29 drivers who swapped the lead 88 times over the 200 labs set a record. Also the win by Kevin Harvick .011 seconds ahead of Jamie McMurray wasn’t bad either.

We met our new neighbors across the way and they are peddling Tupperware. Their booth is a very elaborate setup and for me just to much stuff to put out. Maybe I’ve become spoiled with the purse inserts as we can usually set out booth up in a couple of hours. We arrive early at Canton because where we park behind our booth it is difficult to get a 40ft motorhome into our spot behind our booth; particularly with all the cargo and pull behind trailers of the other vendors around us.

My brother Ward had a birthday April 24th his 66th and I failed to post it. Soooo…. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY BROTHER! Luv ya Bub. 
Live long enough to be a real concern for your kids!

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

We Dodge The Bullet Again At First Monday

What a morning! You should have been here in Canton this AM. We had it all…. straight line winds in some areas 80 mph, here on the grounds probably 60-65 mph, lighting , thunder, horizontal rain, hail. trees are down, no power in some places. Yes..... its First Monday again. At 2:05 am this morning Mother Nature hit us with a blow that scared the dickens out of Sandy and I. We actually did not sleep at all last night in our bed. We kept our cloths on just in case we were blown away. God forbid someone finding us in our PJ’s.

The motorhome rocked from one side to the other, the sound on hail  and rain on the roof was deafening. The worst passed as quick as it came but, it continued to rain, thunder and lighting until about 7:30 am. Then the sky opened to sunshine and clear blue skies. The air had a freshness about it that made you fell good even though we had a scare earlier. We were hungry and today was our day to go to Tyler for Sandy’s shopping fix. So, before departing we went to Whataburger for breakfast.

On the way we noticed there was an unusual amount of traffic on the highway for a Saturday morning here in Canton. We pulled up to the Whataburger and you would not believe the parking lot. It was full and people were parking in the overflow truckers area. Sandy and I could not imagine why the crowd. Once inside there was a line that  made me want to turn around and go somewhere else. Sandy being the patience one…. said  “no it wont take that long go an grab us a table”. In about fifteen minutes she came to the table with our drinks and the little tent with our food order number on it. She said the reason the place was so crowded was due to the lack of electricity in the area. The storm must have taken out a lot of power in the area. What is that saying…”Someone's misfortunes turns into someone else's fortunes”.

As we left we could see that just about every fast food place, donut palaces and restaurants in town had their parking lots and drive thru full of cars. So, we would not have been any better off. Gosh, I hate it when she seems to always have the right answer.  As we traveled down Highway 64 to Tyler we could see the evidence of the storm downed power lines, tree limbs and fallen trees all up and down the highway.One particular place had a huge tree laying on its roof. A church lost its steeple and some walkway awnings.

We managed to dodge another bullet here at Canton and thank you Lord for your hand of protection last night.

A friend of mine sent this photo of the volcano eruption in Iceland a few weeks ago. I wonder if Mother Nature isn’t trying to tell us something?

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Spring In Northeast Texas

Everything is blooming nicely here in the piney woods of Northeast Texas. We missed a lot of the dogwood and red bud blooms this year but managed to capture these. Our trip to Ft Worth last week was the peak for most of the blooming trees in this area. (Click on photos to enlarge).

The pastures are turning greener and we have pollen everywhere. The rain we had Saturday night and most of Sunday managed to settle down the pollen. I just wish it had been heavy enough to wash it off the MH.

My sister emailed these bluebonnet photos. We don’t have many bluebonnets in this area but these were just to beautiful not to share.
This weekend before the rains, we managed to help BIL James do some more clearing and burning on his four acres. He is getting closer to building his home as he has brought in the sewer and fresh water pipe. We have even picked a spot where if we should choose we will build a pad with full hookups for our home on wheels. Where we are now we don’t have sewer thus the use of the blue boy for our dumping.
Today Sandy and I drove into Longview to pickup groceries for her mom and us. On our way in I managed to take several photos of our area that is really pretty with all the green trees and grass.

 

The double header NASCAR races today were will worth the rain delay. While we did not see all of the Sprint Cup race we managed to see the last 17 laps and  see all the Nationwide race. Was glad to see Kyle Bush win the Nationwide race.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Off With The Old …..On With The New

Sandy and I have been wanting to upgrade our windshield sun screen since we purchased the MH. After seeing Mark’s screens on both his 2002 Dutch Star and current 2009 Phaeton, we said if the RV Sunshade Company was ever in our area or we in theirs, we would have them change out our screens. Well that day has finally happened. Doug and Cathy Cline with the RV Sunshade Company were going to be on our area on their way to visit relatives in Northwestern Arkansas. So, with the help of Mark and Dortha we made an appointment with them to replace our old dirty and loose screens with theirs.

They arrived Saturday morning April 17 around 10:30am. We had already pulled the old screens off in anticipation of their arrival. They use a van which they carry their tools inventory , tables, sewing machine etc. They pull the van  behind their 2002 Alpine DP motorhome which they left at the KOA RV Park in Mt. Pleasant about 26 miles northwest of Lone Star.

We met Casey their Australian Sheppard that is probably one of the most well mannered dogs I’ve been around. Outside of getting out of the van twice to relieve herself she stayed the whole time they were here in the front seat.
Doug and Cathy unloaded their van and setup the tables, sewing machine etc. and got down to the business of installing the new sun screens.

Kathy at her sewing machine

Doug doing some measurements

Sandy offering her assistance in the layout of the big screen

The before

The After

Drivers Side

Door Side

They were here for about three and one-half hours. We are very pleased with their work and product. The darker sun screen on the windshield has certainly reduced the amount of glare for watching TV. Shorty after they drove off the bottom fell out and it rained pretty good for about thirty minutes.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Heaven Was Needing A Hero

Today would have been my Dad’s 98th birthday, but the Lord was needing a hero and called him home at the age of 62. Dad was born in Cumby,TX in 1912. His father died when he was only 7 years old. His Mom remarried and at the age of 15 Dad went to work with his stepfather who was a master mechanic. Dad learned well as he him self was a master mechanic and to the best of my  memory never was out of a job. He married Mom when he was 23 years old and fathered three children (my sister, brother and myself).

I recall stories about my Dad that really tells the kind of man he was. One particular I recall is one of his customers giving him a lecture about the need to be a more strict businessman telling him…..” he was just to honest”. My Dad replied “you know friend when I lay my head on my pillow at night I can go right to sleep. I never want to have guilt that would keep me awake”. Dad always stressed to us kids “never lie, if you lie you will eventually steal”. He believed in setting a good example and he did so by living a clean and wholesome life. He was a man of integrity. He also said that a mans name is the most important asset in his life and you need to make sure you always take care of it. His way of doing business was simply his word and by the shake of the hand.

Dad we miss you and well never forget the upbringing you bestowed in us kids. We can only hope that we’ve managed to do the same in ours.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Back At Base

It’s been a busy last four days since returning from Fort Worth. Our weather here has been wonderful the kind that makes you want to get out and do things. Lets see Saturday I spent the morning cleaning the bugs off the front and treating the Diamond Shield protective film with Plexus a plastic cleaner protectant and polish. Also cleaned and waxed the chrome mirrors and put their covers on.

Monday April 12th we took Mom Alice to her heart doctor for a sonogram and did grocery shopping for her and us. That afternoon I cleaned and re-greased the slide rods on the Blueox tow bar. Also sanded it and touched it up with some black paint. I also ordered some new pins and clip rings as the ones on there are about four years old. They probably are okay but I want them to be the best (never know if they might be fatigued) since that what holds the Jeep to the tow bar.

Yesterday, I spent two-thirds of the day weed eating the fence line, around the trees, nine culverts, trailers etc. I was quite surprised with myself as lately I haven’t had all the energy it takes to tackle this kind of job. I do have to admit though I used the BadBoy to scoot around on and go from one project to the next. When I awoke this morning my body told me I might have outdid myself. Charlie horses in both legs and both arms felt as if they just might fall off.

I have a rant. My BIL home is on a pretty busy highway and I don’t know what it is about people  but they use the ditches that run in front of his place as a garbage dump. They litter the area with paper, beer cans, bottles, fast food containers, etc. It just drives me up a wall that people would do this. I patrol with the BadBoy and pick up litter usually every other day. I use a 5 gallon bucket that pretty much is filed at the end of my run. If I could find out who the culprits were I would dump the bucket in their yards.

My friend that lives in the Texas Hill Country sent me the following pictures of the Bluebonnets in their area. Fields of blue as far as one can see. Photos taken along Loop 337 in New Braunfels from River Road to I-35 Highway 306 from New Braunfels to Purgatory Road (almost to Canyon Lake).

 I miss the Hill Country!
Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Travel Day Back To Lone Star

Sandy and I were up before 7am as we had a few make ready chores to do before heading back to base. We had about an hour to kill as we did not want to drive I-20 through Ft Worth and Dallas during their rush hour. So, we decided to eat breakfast at the Whataburger about a mile down from the Cowtown RV Park. After eating we returned to the MH and finished the last minute make ready to travel chores.

We pulled out of the park at 9:10 am and headed east toward the Ft Worth/ Dallas metroplex. The rush hour traffic had thinned out as Mark said it would and we flew through this metroplex without incident or delays. Oh, we did have one incident where an 18 wheeler pulled over in front of us nearly hitting a four wheeler causing him to swirl over in the lane to our right. I mean all this happened within 25 yards in front of us. No one was hit but it was a close call. Thank you Lord!  At the Valero at exit 567 we stopped and filled up the MH . We were able to purchase diesel at $2.87 a gallon. Everyone else we saw were $2.99 - $3.06 per gallon.

Our Garmin, Ms Gappy kept telling us to take I-30 instead  of I-20 for some reason. I can not tell you how many times the old girl kept saying “re-calculating”.

The drive down I-20 was just beautiful with everything turning green.  I feel spring time is the best time to travel. The weather could not have been more perfect.

We arrived at base about 12:40 pm and had the MH setup and ready for our stay till the end of the month. After the outside jobs were completed I jumped on the lawn mower and mowed the three acres finishing up around 5:45 pm. With Sandy’s help we cleaned the bugs off the front and the windshield prior to installing the windshield screen. Speaking of window screens we are hoping to have new ones installed by Doug and Cathy with RV SunShade Company sometime toward the end of next week. Our current screen is white and in horrible shape.

Tomorrow we start applying the Klasse wax treatment to the MH and will do a little at a time till finished. At my speed now this may take a week or longer as I just don’t do things like I use to. LOL

Until next time MtnAire Travlers.

Our Last day In Fort Worth

It’s hard to explain why good things must come to a end but while we have certainly enjoyed our visit with Mark, Dortha and their family for the past four days, we did our hugs and said our “See you soon down the road again” this evening. Sandy and I enjoyed every minute we had with this great family. We think them for setting aside the past four days to share themselves with us. Particularly with them just getting back from their winter travels.

This being our last day we all jumped into Marks Jeep and headed out to Dallas where we went to Penzeys Spies which we understand is the only store that's in Texas.  Dortha and Sandy browsed every aisle with Mark and I following carrying the baskets for the girls to load their favorite spices in. We also understand this is one of Jim and Ellie’s favorite stops when they are in the area.

Afterwards we treated them to lunch at  Spring Creek BQ down the way from Penzeys. Their barbeque plate was excellent and their rolls ….well we wont talk about how many of those we ate. Oh, I forgot on our way Mark made a point to drive by the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium and what a site. It looks like a huge space ship. Its hard to imagine the size of this thing in a photo.

He also drove us by the old stadium “Texas Stadium” and it looked so small compared to the new stadium. Mark tells us that this coming Sunday morning a 11 year old boy will push a button that will demolish the old stadium. So, watch for it on your local news.

After our outing we returned to their MH and had Pizza with them and their daughter’s family. This is the closing sunset on our four day visit. We take with us many fond memories of our visit. Thanks again Mark and Dortha for allowing us into your home.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Our Trip To Fort Worth

Monday April 5, 2010

We were up at 6am and had breakfast at the Dairy Palace before our departure to Camping World in Fort Worth to have the refrigerator checked out. We arrived without incident at Camping World’s RV park about 11am. We hooked up to electricity only as our appointment was at 1pm.  We left to find a Bank Of America and a place to eat lunch before checking in with the service department. We arrived back at CW about 12:45 pm and checked in with the service writer who asked us to pull the MH up to their service bays and a tech would meet us. Sure enough at 1 pm sharp he arrived and drove the MH into one of the bays. Sandy and I went into the store and browsed around. We purchased some things we needed and things we probably did not need. CW to me is like Bird & Bath is to Sandy. We can’t get enough. LOL

About 1:40 pm the tech located us and said all was okay and we were good to go. When we went up to pay (the fee for this service is normally $79) Sandy told the service writer we had a complaint with their monthly flyer mailing. They showed this service was available for $59 through mid March but we did not get the flyer in the mail until after the sale ended. The salesman looked at her and said okay I’ll honor the $59 price. Yea for Sandy!

Besides the refrigerator check we wanted to take this opportunity to visit with our dear friends Mark and Dortha  with Rving with Poppa who were staying at their daughters home west of Fort Worth in between their travel's. We’ve known these fine people for about 16 years. We did craft shows and Canton together as well as made several RV trips with them. Since I lost some of my vision Mark has also helped me do a lot of things on the MH that I just didn’t have the sight to do well anymore. He also introduced me to the Klasse wax system and The Solution for keeping the MH nice and shinny. Mark keeps his Phaeton so clean and shinny they say at night you can see stars reflecting off the paint. Dortha is a jewel! She and Sandy have a lot in common with regards to things in the MH and kitchen gadgets.

We left CW and arrived at the Cowtown RV Park which is about 13 miles west of their daughters home about 3 pm. This park has both concrete and gravel pads which because the weight of the MH they prefer you use their gravel sites. So, we set on a gravel site and with the wind and other RV’s coming and going the dust isn't pleasant at all.

Mark and Dortha came over to the park about 5:30 pm where we exchanged hugs and spent the evening catching up on their traveling adventures since we last saw them in April 2009. They were kind enough to buy our dinner at On The Border in Weatherford TX. Thanks again guys! After dinner we came back to the MH and visited some more. Lots of laughs and story telling were exchanged before they departed to their MH around 10 pm.

Tuesday April 6, 2010

We were up and had breakfast in Weatherford as we wanted to do some site seeing before going over to Mark and Dortha’s after lunch. For a brief history about Weatherford  click here. It is also known as the Cutting Horse Capital of the World. 
The Parker County Courthouse is an historic building located at Courthouse Square in Weatherford Texas, the seat of Parker County. It was constructed in 1884 in the Second Empire style. We drove to The Chamber Of Commerce and they had a lot of sites we hope to visit while here.
One being the Doss Heritage museum which has this magnificent animal on display in the museum. Look at them horns.

This area is nothing but prairie with rolling hills and there is nothing to slow the wind down. Mark tells me they have plans to build about 30,000 homes in the general area.

We also want to pay a visit to Slipdown Mountain is a located in Parker County, Texas. It is located just east of the Advance Community (near Poolville), and along with Slipdown Bluff is the highest point in Parker County, and also the highest point within the Dallas Ft.  Worth metroplex.

We left around 1:30pm to travel to Karnes home where Mark and Dortha were staying in their MH. Arriving around 2 pm.

After visiting for a while we all loaded up in Marks Jeep and headed out to do a little shopping. We traveled to the Container Store and Bed and Bath two of Sandy’s favorite stores…. Dortha’s too. After shopping we returned to their MH where they fixed grilled chicken, green beans and potato's, an excellent salad with garlic bread. Yummy.

Wednesday April 7, 2010

Mark and Dortha had some personal things to attend to today, so Sandy and I hung around the MH and did some chores. Sandy cleaned her tile floors and Murphy Oiled the furniture while I was outside using The Solution to clean the MH. Mark and Dortha did drop by for a brief visit and Mark drained and flushed the hot water heater for me. The anode rod was still in pretty good shape so we put it back in. Thanks Mark for all your help and especially being a good friend. Tomorrow we plan to meet them at their MH and yes you guessed it do some more shopping. What fun.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Closing Out April Canton

Thursday April 1, 2010

Surprisingly we did not get much April Fools jokes or pranks this year. Our weather was nice and the crowd was light. But, we managed to cover our expenses and we were looking forward to the weekend. The winds were out of the northwest and had it not been for our backdrops and our neighbors across the way we would have been blown away.

Friday April 2, 20120

We had a light rain for most of the day and it rained really hard in the afternoon. That did not hurt our crowd as for a Friday it was better than prior months. I guess the Easter holiday had everyone off work and out of school. The only problem was they didn’t want to let go of their money. Friday sales just barely beat out Thursdays sales. Because of Sandy’s gallbladder flare up earlier in the week we both enjoyed mostly bland non spicy foods.

Saturday April 3, 2010

What a beautiful day! The winds had lighten up and the air felt cooler and we were expecting a good turn out. And, boy did the customers turn out. The biggest crowd we’ve seen for sometime. The parking lots were full, people double parking and having to park and walk a pretty good ways from the grounds. All of us vendors were watering at the mouth thinking…. yes finally a good Canton weekend. But, as  it turned out we all only had a mediocre weekend. People I'm sure worried about the direction our country is going in and the economy had a lot to do with them holding on top that dollar.

This was the last evening we had to give our neighbors across the way that are leaving Canton their going away dinner.
We all gathered outside our motorhome and had pizza and hot wings from the Pizza Hut. We shared our weekend disappointments but mainly went back and relived all the good times and laughs we've shared over the past five years. We will miss them but now they can do some of that fun stuff on weekends instead of spending that time making their signs for the next First Monday. Good luck Don, Carla and Denise on your new ventures.

Sunday April 4, 2010

This being Easter Sunday we naturally did not expect much of a crowd. Everyone was at church, sharing time with family and having Easter egg hunts with the kid's. And, what a light crowd we had. You could roll a bowling ball down the aisle and not hit anyone. This is the first time I believe in nine years that First Monday fell on Easter.

We tore down our booth after 3pm and moved the motorhome across to the creek where there are full hookups. Sandy wanted to do some laundry that evening before getting up Monday and heading out  to Fort Worth where we were going to have Camping World check out the new refrigerator we brought from them last April 2009. We were also looking forward to this trip as we would get to see our good friends Mark and Dortha with Rving with Poppa. We have not seen them since last September. We have however kept up with them and their travels by following their blog. Even though we were not personally with them following their blog made us fell as if we were their.

Until next time…MtnAire Travlers.

He Has Risen------Happy Easter!

All I need to know I learned from the Easter Bunny!
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

There's no such thing as too much candy.

All work and no play can make you a basket case.

A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.

Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.

Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.

Some body parts should be floppy.

Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans.

Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.

The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.

To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.

The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

May the joy of the season fill your heart.

AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU! 

Happy Easter!