NS:: Travels With Nowslimmer

“divinity - I posted the general direction of our trip above somewhere before we started the trip. Would have loved to have seen you. We missed Mobile by using the Ferry Boat.

---

You have the see it to believe it. The destruction by Hurricane Kitrina. They are still tearing things down and rebuilding. Why anyone would rebuuild in the same areas is beyond me. We visited Biloxi and most of the coast down into New Orleans. Spent a couple of nights at different sites in Mississippi, one in Louisiana, two at Daingerfield, Texas. That Chappy is quite a preacher. He could talk anyone out of anything. He kept building up everyone with suspense. But that was my clue to fall asleep each time. Florida preachers hit us with fire and brimestone to keep us awake. Chappys' wife is very nice, too. My daughter and granddaughter enjoyed swimming at a nearby state park and the 99 cent movie house in town.

Last night we stayed in a riverfront, screened-in shelter. I'm not sure if that counts as a bagnight or not. Today we visited Waco and the scene of all that action a few years ago. We are now in a library in Austin, Texas. We are visiting a friend and may stay two nights. Then it is on to San Antonio.
last edited: 6/25/07 6:44:33 PM”

“Hi NS...sounds like you're having a great trip!!”

“I'm lost in Austin. I left my daughter and granddaughter somewhere, reached for the maps and discovered that she took all the Austin Maps with her. I have to pick her up at 2 pm, where I don't know. We had plenty of Texas rain this morning.”

“Sorry I missed the thread :(....hope ya get unlost!!!

I want to take the ferry one day...it was closed for awhile after Katrina...and YES...it is still a mess after Katrina....so sad for alot of folks.....

Maybe on your way back thru .....
last edited: 6/26/07 12:36:34 PM”

“This may not get finished. Most details may have to wait for a final trip report.

6-19, Wiggins, MS, Best Western(rain).
6-20, DeSota NF, MS.
6-21, Natchez SP, Natchex, MS, a pretty place.
6-22/23, Daingerfield SP, Daingerfield, TX. A nice park, swimming, visited Chappy and his wife, 99 cent movie, attended church (It was difficult to sleep with Chappy shouting!) Great people Chappy and his wife.

6-24 Sun. Blanco SP”

“Glad to see you made it through the flooding in Texas Nowslimmer! You had us wondering if you were okay.”

“dude, you are in for a major scolding!!!! Don't you ever go out into a flood without letting us know where you are going again. I was worried sick, sick I tell ya. Last word we had was you heading into the floods .... then nothing for days. You don't care about my feelings!!!!”

“We were wondering if you'd gone swimming ----

Good to hear from you.”

“6-20, DeSota NF, MS.
6-21, Natchez SP, Natchex, MS, a pretty place

Man! It's been in the 90's around here, and you camped in the heat and bugs?”

“He's tough as nails.”

“And then some.”

“6-25, Austin, TX. I played some some pool with an ex-classmate of my youngest daughter. Stayed at her apartment with another ex-classmate of daughter. Both girls went with my daughter to Central America in the summer of '05. The daughter now with me went down to Panama and saw them there so everyone knew everyone. I had played pool with the girl at Grinnell. I had played good there, but with my bad knees now, she was able to trounce me.

6-26, Monday. Guadalope River SP, TX. Screened shelter on a river bank. Great swimming. Visited San Antonio's usual spots, the River Walk, Alamo, some art museums, etc.

6-27, Wed. South Llano River SP, Junction, TX. Under flash flood warning. 22 inches of rain just missed the place the previous day. The heavy rain missed this area again, but lightning struck a short way from our site. It hit in the walk-in area, which we did not use!

6-28/29. Pine Springs CG, Guadalope Mt. NP, TX. Beautiful! No fires! Used fly paper!, Cooler at night. Visited Carlsbad Caverns, White City. Went to watch bats leave their cave.

6-30. Same place. Hot! Went to park building twice to enjoy AC! Soda, $1.00, water, $1.25. A girl scout group with parents moved into camping area. Very noisy with many bitter arguments - very unlike girl scouts. They went hiking for a while.

Two stupid hikers, about 35 to 40 years of age, males, took out camping site parking place. My daughter went after them and told them to move it! They did. There was plenty of parking available in the trailhead parking lot nearby! Finallly a nice cloud blocked the sun, while we ate MRI's. Thanks SS. The rest of the sky was a great blue.

A girl scout family took the Disabled spot next to us. It is OK to do that if all the other spots are occupied. But my daughter said site #1 was open all the time. The host did not get after them until the next morning. They did not have a disabled Placard!”

“Experience has shown some Girl Scouts to be bitter, but that's more the exception than the rule.....”

“Wooo Hooo..good to hear from ya!!”

“7-1, Sun. Frijole Ranch - dogs, flys, people, water, museum, trails. My granddaughter was able to pet a horse and feed it some carrot sticks. She had a ball.

Camped at Limestone CG, Brantley Lake SP, NM, a beautiful spot with jack rabbits, road runners and many birds! So many birds that some kept landing on the tent. Views of 2 lake areas, a dam and dike for flash flood control, etc. A road runner came right past our tent. It was not running, but sure could walk fast. Bathroom was exceptionally clean. Play area for children. Saw a cayote in a walk-in camping area. Most sites had a roof over the picnic table and a beautiful, stone, wind breaking wall.

7-2 Mon. Deerhead CG near Cloudcroft, NM, in Lincoln NF, elevation about 8,700 feet. Real woods, bear territory, real winds - almost blow the tent over with me inside. Campfires allowed. A winter night. Late in the afternoon we experienced hail! CG grass not cut to protect some butterfly!”

“and san diego when? did ya get my email? i have day shift all week so we can get together for drinks or something in the evening.”

“Pamela - Yes, I got the e-mail. Thanks. I'm not sure yet when we'll be in the area. White Sands is next on our list. I'll try to keep you informed.”

“Oh goody, he didn't drown so we won't miss his TR's...it's hard to write underwater...thank you for taking your time to check in you nogoodnic, you...we were getting quite worried...
last edited: 7/03/07 5:01:53 PM”

“South of Austin at Buda, TX, we stopped at a large Cabela's. I bought some new crocs! Did not like to pay so much for them, but the product has been improved.

In the back of the store on the second floor, reached by stairs or one of two elevators, they had a food service facility with some good food available. At and near the back of the store, they had more displays than many museums. Animals and things from around the world were set up in some great settings. They even had a moose and had live fish like those of Treebait swimming in a couble of ponds.

While there my daughter learned what real tents can cost. From all that we saw I guess I can write off the price of the crocs as an admission fee.

Buda, The Outdoor Capital of Texas
http://www.ci.buda.tx.us/

At least I finally learned how to spell "Buda" correctly!
last edited: 7/03/07 5:15:30 PM”

“Along the way I have discovered Lay's answer to Pringle's is STAX. They are good and not many of them were broken in the "tennis ball" type container.

Also, Pringle's has a wrapping of 12 small containers of chips, the total of which is 30 to 50% greater than the regular container. They are great for snacks in children's lunches, etc. and sole for 99 cents.”

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.........it's about time, I was fixin to call Austin PD and have them send out a dive team.”

“OK nowslimmer. Well just so you remember, I am leaving Saturday morning the 7th to go off to Boy Scout summer camp for a whole week. I won't be back again until Saturday afternoon the 14th.

Glad to hear you are having a good trip!”

“Welcome to Texas, NS. That Junction is as close to BFE as I've seen. Too bad you couldn't have spent more time in New Mexico and skipped the return through TX altogether!”

“A lot of things went wrong today, but it all turned OK finally.

Today, after a number of things and a wrong road,we visited Ruidoso, NM. My granddaughter turned five today, so we had a small party for her. In Ruidoso she got to enjoy a pony ride.

Our travels took us around Sierra Blanca, which at 11,973 feet may be the highest point in New Mexico.

We explored some in Cibola NF looking for one of two campsites. We never found them, but saw lots of rabbits. We now have a better map to the campsites, which we understand are never used. There is an outhouse there, but no water.

We have stopped in a motel in Corona, NM. Nice beds and a shower plus Internet access.
Cost for the night is $45. There is Micro-wave, so we can fix breakfast.

---

Pamela - Thanks. I hope you have a great week. Our trip plans have changed a little, so I'm not sure just when we'll reach your area.”

“BTW, White Sands NM in New Mexico was great. But it will never replace Indiana Dunes SP, Warren Dunes SP in Michigan, the many other dunes of Lake Michigan or those of Baja California especially near El Rosario around Punta Baja.
last edited: 7/06/07 10:22:00 AM”

“glad to read of your further travels...
Tell H. HAPPY BIRTHDAY from Jeff and Debbie...........
God speed...................”

“Nowslimmer world tour '07, North American leg.”

“can't wait to see the pics he'll have, or rather his daug. will have........”

“hey nowslimmer are you stopping to see tango? she should be on the way.”

“Well nowslimmer, I'll be back home on the 14th, so if you head back this way, let me know, k?

Sounds like a great road trip; have fun!”

“Tonight will be our 5th night on Santa Fe Mountain. The mountain goes up to 12,6xx feet. We are in a free campsite at about 11,500+ feet elevation. I have been having trouble breathing. In fact I had trouble with shortness of breath back in Florida. I wanted to see my cardiologist, but two appointments were canceled before the trip. Now, any exertion brings on heavying puffing. Fortunately, my daughter has been able to help me and to handle most things for me.

Santa Fe is beautiful. My daughter loves it, mainly because of all the art places. I think it stinks because of traffic problems. It is difficult to find one's way about town.

We had lots of hail a couble of evenings ago.

We'll be moving on soon.
last edited: 7/10/07 5:42:12 PM”

“http://koa.com/where/az/03164/
tango's koa
hey paul, sorry to hear you are having trouble breathing. hope you get to feeling better. maybe you should get to a lower elevation.
http://www.mapquest.com/directions/main.adp?go=1&do=nw&rmm=1&mo=ma&2si=gaz&un=m&cl=EN&qq=IEaKSvfsRsq5g4lrcIFMtAVXcelE6Ct3YfPEJfL9CxYJTTWQAAbN%252fz6ZtZJLePzmpOHQ7qPPhSiXf4lgGBKE6tfLN4oQp6kbo5C1bkqqxPbLvw41GpoFEzPHad0fy1uioVY6xVhefJn0HQObeIFQvA0mDckZfUmQBnoG%252brdTmRwVkHnrvS%252bYtEVdDqIAyKrtxZ79Au7Z9QYtvOhVSdR%252f8zXqTrH6Ym07M6tmn%252f9p7S73xulLhfsSIwt75bJJNiF%252bTPmD8ksUzDKE5ghwpSFNlXCv38cxeTxOYNJs%252bMaH2MqAL0wDNQua7fvYCgPxf97b5eJh5EctJXxUxus28IisA83pXfgxPHHXXdjcVf889bsbzENBeyed6OYv4kPT4qkv&ct=NA&2rc=A5XAX&did=1184108092&rsres=1&1y=US&1ffi=&1l=&1g=&1pl=&1v=&1n=&1pn=&1a=&1c=seligman&1s=AZ&1z=&panelbtn=1&2y=US&2ffi=&2l=HGwoFbBJYKtd9iXv5ivyJw%253d%253d&2g=89IOc22%252fBr9VTylPG8FI2Q%253d%253d&2pl=&2v=CITY&2n=Santa+Fe+County&2pn=&2a=&2c=Santa+Fe&2s=NM&2z=
here's a map for you!
last edited: 7/10/07 5:56:21 PM”

“Howdy NS!!!!!”

“Hi all, This is Claudia, nowslimmer/Paul's daughter. He has been in the hospital since Friday. He was feeling short of breath and had some pains so checked into the hospital where they recommended he get a defibrillator placement (a sort of pacemaker). He goes into the operation tomorrow afternoon at Valley Hospital in Las Vegas. The doctor said the procedure will take 4 to 8 hours and he can be released the next day with a much improved heart.

Please keep him in your good thoughts and prayers.”

“He will most definetly be in my thoughts and prayers!!!

My husband has an A.I.C.D.

It's a cardioverter/defibrillator. He's had it for four years now. The surgery does not take very long, 4 hours should be it. While it has paced him out several times, it has never had to shock him. It's worked well for him.”

“The best to ya, Paul. Hope all goes well. Claudia, thanks for the update.”

“I'll say a prayer for a successful procedure, Paul.”

“Thanks for the update. We were wondering about him in another discussion on the board. He'll be in my prayers.”

“Best thoughts to you guys.
Please let us know if you need anything.”

“We warned him about those Dancing Girls ---”

“Heal well, Paul.”

“thanks so much for the update claudia. i had been looking forward to an update on his travels and glad you let us know how he is doing. give him my best and i hope all goes well. my cousin from ocala is flying into las vegas tonight!
cindy”

“Big love and hugs to you! You're definetly in my prayers!

Dee aka Crazygurl”

“...BIG hugs and prayers to NS!!!!....and hope he is on the road again soon!!!...

...it is so strange to open this thread and see the name Claudia.....I'm one too...not many of us around!!!!”

“Thoughts and prayers with ya!”

“Thanks for the update. I will keep Paul in my prayers.”

“My heart is now under inboard, computer control. As soon as I break through the codes. my heart will really hum. Likewise, I want to program it to help me with aikijutsu techniques and with backpacking.

Every flutter of my heart is recorded and with another device can be used to transmitted by telephone everything, the data, to a team of doctors for analyses. They can then reset the software on my computer or modify it as required. It will even give me a strong wake-up call, shock, whenever needed.
last edited: 7/27/07 4:20:58 PM”

“your like the bionic man!”

“Unbelievable what they can do now to save the precious heart muscle. I just heard from the guy I went to my Junior prom with (in 1977) and he had a massive heart attack at 32 years. He's 48 now and still walking the earth. Haven't seen him in 30 years, and will when I visit Ny next week. He found me on myspace.”