Once Around the Park...

is a far-enough walk to let you know your new shoes are too-o-o small.

I had ordered two pair of Keds sneakers last December, in anticipation of doing a lot of walking with the dogs, which I'm doing, which is good. I ordered size 6's; I've always worn a size 6, sometimes even a 5 1/2. I put on my new lightweight white, thin socks and put the sneakers on this morning. Oh!, I thought. These are a little tight. Surely they'll loosen up as I walk.

My walk around the RV park is probably 3/4 of a mile. By the time I was halfway through the walk, the back of the left shoe was rubbing terribly. I had to pull off the back end of the shoe and fold it under my foot.

When I got back to the RV, I pulled both shoes off and took a look at my heel; yep, small blister. The shoes, both pair, are now residing in a bag to be dropped off in the recreation center's white elephant area. Anyone who can wear them is welcome to them

The dogs and I ran to Walmart to see if I could find replacements for the tennies; nope. I guess I'll continue to shop for shoes as I progress across the Western US. Sheesh.

Bad news on the RV front: my microwave oven tripped a breaker the other day. I reset it, reset its clock and tried again. Nope. I called and made an appointment for Friday to see what the hell's wrong with it. The guy at Camping World said "Sounds like a bad microwave, to me. Takes about two/three weeks to get in a new one." I said, "Oh, are you a technician?" He says, "No." I posted to the RV forum who's been a lot of help to me recently and did a search on microwaves. Most folks think it's probably an electrical problem. I'm tending to agree. Thing is, the microwave didn't misbehave until after the satellite dish/receiver were installed. I'm wondering if the receiver, plus any other electrical stuff I've got going at the time, plus the microwave kicking on is what's causing the trip. Anyway, I cancelled the appointment at Camping World. I can live without the microwave, and I'll get it fixed when I'm in a larger city, nearer than 70 miles from the nearest Camping World.

Made reservations to check in at the Lost Alaskan RV Park in Alpine, TX on February 25. Evidently, they're booked solid that week for the Cowboy Poetry (who knew?) event, and I can only stay two nights unless someone cancels. The weather there sounds great: no humidity, high 75, low 45. They're very near Big Bend National Park, so I might go there and see what's up. They've got some hiking trails where the dogs are permitted. The really good news is that the Lost Alaskan has a bark park! Yea! The dogs could use a good run.

The weather here in Hondo (D'Hanis, actually) has improved just this morning. We've got a cool front in from the north, and the humidity has died down significantly in just the last six hours. It got up to 84 here yesterday!

Flora/Fauna report: Male cardinal in the area building a nest; fat-looking hawk (probably just well-feathered) stays perched on the power line alongside Hwy 90 every day; three I-don't-believe-what-I'm-seeing wolves (no; not coyotes) one grey, two black, in a fenced enclosure in a homesite near here, probably about a half-mile away. I was skeptical when told about it and decided to go see for myself, and, sure enough, there they were. No local stories about it that I've heard but I have to wonder where they came from and why they're being kept there.

Flora include lots of live oaks, very old, very large; a few pine trees, some palm trees, lots of cactus, a few Crepe Myrtle bushes (bare, of course) and my Very First Orange Tree. Oh, and one lone pecan tree right here in the Park. I'm sure there are the dreaded Mountain Cedar, as well, but I wouldn't know one if it was standing next to me. They don't use St. Augustine grass here; probably not enough water. The Bermuda grass is all dead of course, so this is a pretty desert-y looking place. Not much growing locally (except for the cabbages mentioned earlier), but I'll bet in the summer it's pretty green. I've noticed the fields are all equipped with those huge irrigation thingies.

PM/PS: The manager at the Lost Alaskan called. They had a cancellation up in Alpine, so I now have reservations for a whole week. Outstanding!