The Travels of the Agnew Family

Our friends Bob and Jean live in Bella Vista Arkansas and as it's not far off the route home we stopped in for a visit.


When we stopped to register at the RV park the people in the truck behind us called Ed over. They had noticed a bulge in one of the rear trailer tires. As it was on the inside of the tire we probably would never caught it. When Ed removed the tire there was a big rip in the rubber though the tire was still inflated and at pressure. First thing Monday morning Bob phoned a couple of tire places (he had a telephone book and we didn't) and located a tire for us. The rest of the morning was spent retrieving the tire and installing it.


While the boys were out tire shopping, Jean and I took Zaph for a walk through the park that's attached to the RV park.


Years ago I read a book about Sam Walton and decided that I wanted to check out the Wal-Mart museum which is in downtown Bentonville. The down town area has been restored.


The Wal-Mart museum is in the original Walton five and dime building --- the store where it all started. The museum chronicles all of the major events in the life of Wal-Mart. It also has a section dedicated to the Walton family .... especially Sam. Sam must have been a really nice guy as he really like his dogs.


Sam's daughter Alice (ranked the 13th wealthiest American in 2005 with a net worth of $18 billion) is behind the building of Crystal Bridges Museum of Art in Bentonville. The projected started in the fall of 2006 and will hopefully be completed within the next couple of years. When completed it will contain an Art Gallery, teaching rooms, concert area and much more. To see photos of what it will look like when completed go to www.crystalbridges.org

The second state park we visited was Eisenhower State Park north of Dallas at the Oklahoma border. The main attractions in this park are the boating and fishing as it is on the shores of Texoma Lake.


This park is large rig friendly --- we had a nice pull through site equipped with electricity, water and sewer.


While we were out walking this "military convoy" drove through the park. People in this club buy and restore old military vehicles. Today they were in the park to visit some boy scouts.


Much of lake shore is cliffs. This area is the official beach and one of the few spots where you can get to the water. Zaph was sad as the beach was off limits to dogs. We did find a spot where he could get in the water but he found it too cold.


One of several fishing piers.

We decided to check out a couple of Texas state parks on our way home. The first one is Dinosaur Valley State Park south west of Fort Worth (just northwest of Glen Rose). This park is tucked away in some beautiful rolling hills with the Paluxy River running through it. The main attractions to the park are the dinosaur tracks and great trails. Unfortunately, the tracks are in the river bed and the river was running high so we didn't get to see them plus the trails are on the far side of the river and we were too wimpy to ford the river.


These two fiberglass models; a 70-foot Apatosaurus and a 45-foot Tyrannosaurus Rex; were built under commission of the Sinclair Oil Company for the New York World's Fair Dinosaur Exhibit of 1964 - 1965.


All we saw of the dinosaur tracks were these signs on the other side of the river. We watched a class of kids crossing the river and decided we were too wimpy when we noticed that the water was mid way up the adult's thigh. Zaph was willing to give it a try.


Walking along the Paluxy River.


Some deer quietly grazing --- they really didn't care about us but would look up when a car drove by.


Shadows out for a walk.


Just outside the park you can visit Dinosaur World --- we didn't.

Yesterday was a very quiet day. I spent most of the day in bed trying to get over the flu while Ed helped a fellow RVer with some electrical problems. The big excitement for the day was moving the trailer from a regular site to an overflow site .... this park is very busy and could only offer us overflow when we tried to extend our stay. Two couples from the RV park in Mission arrived this afternoon.

Today Ed went to the National Museum of the Pacific War -- Admiral Nimitz Museum with our friends .... I was starting to feel better but not better enough to stray far from the trailer.


The inside portion of the museum is housed in the old Nimitz Hotel. Admiral Nimitz was one of the most respected leaders of the Pacific campaign of World War II.


One of he exhibits inside the museum.


One of the exhibits in the outside portion of the museum.

Carol and family needed to be home by 6pm so then just stopped by for a quick visit before heading out.


Carol tried to get a photo of Ed and me with the greats but Timmy wasn't too happy about it. Tim was trying to calm him down.

After Carol and family left, Ed and I decided to go downtown and check out the shops. I lasted maybe and hour and said I need to go home..... I became the next victim of the flu.


An old church.


The remains of the tree were carved into 3 eagles ... least I think their suppose to be eagles.


On the drive south of San Antonio we saw fields of beautiful wild flowers yellow, purple and red. Not so many north of San Antonio though I did notice a field of the red flowers beside the RV park.

Ed opted to stay in the trailer today ... not surprising so I went off to join my sister and family to do some sight seeing. That didn't work out so well as the weather decided to be nasty .... high around 38F with cold strong north winds. We persevered and did a quick walk through a fort and a tour of the barns at "Trade Days" --- most of the outdoor vendors decided not to open. By time we finished the tour it was noon and we headed back to the trailer for hot drinks and lunch. As Ed was feeling well enough to join us we decided to avoid the cold and remain in the warm trailer to visit.


Sarah loves dogs and had a good time playing with Zaph.


I went out for dinner with Carol and family. Thanks for the photos Carol.

By 9am we were on the road with the destination being Fredericksburg. The plan was to meet my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, great niece, and great nephew for the weekend. About 6pm my sister called to say they were running late .... 2 flat tires and traffic delays. About 7pm Ed said "I'm sick and going to bed .... he had come down with the flu. About 8:30pm my sister and gang showed up .... we had supper and a nice visit. Ed said he felt like he as in a mix master ... people moving around in the back of the trailer was really shaking up the front (bedroom) of the trailer.

Last day in Mission and being that it is my birthday we did a lot of the packing yesterday --- don't cook and don't pack on my birthday. As most of the packing involves the cargo bay it falls under Ed's jurisdiction and I really don't have a lot to do.

My day was very nice .... a drive to pick up fuel in the morning, a couple of hours of playing bridge, back to the trailer to eat Rosetta's homemade cinnamon rolls (very unexpected as she has been ill), out for dinner for friends, then back to the trailer for pie and ice cream. No, I didn't brake by "no cooking" rule as baking is different from cooking.


Ed decided we needed a photo of Zaph with his Mardi Gras trophies

Can't believe it's the middle of March .... at least that means spring is almost here. The packing has begun and the "things to buy" list has been started for all those things unique to south Texas or just a lot cheaper. We're scheduled to leave the park on Friday and are planning on taking two weeks to drive home. There's at least two stops planned and maybe a third and perhaps a fourth ..... Fredericksburg, Texas where my sister and brother-in-law will meet us, Bella Vista, Arkansas to visit Bob and Jean and maybe one or two Texas state parks. Wonder how many card games I can fit in between now and Thursday evening.

Somehow Ed managed it, he was vertical, dressed, drinking coffee and ready to go by 7am. Luckily John was driving to the air show in Brownsville so Ed could slowly sip on his coffee and wake up. We arrived at the Brownsville airport around 8:15 ..... 45 minutes before the gates opened ..... I could have really used the extra 30 minutes of sleep.

The first three hours of the show were a little slow .... you could walk around and look at the planes and the stuff that was for sale. After Carol and I finished walking around we got our chairs and found a place to sit. About an hour and a half later the guys resurfaced and joined us to watch the flying portion of the show.


Ed liked the idea of this truck .... especially the gun that was mounted on the front. Good addition when driving into downtown Toronto.


Art shot .... you can just see Ed in the centre and John has on the white shirt and red hat.


"Wolf Pitts" flying the knife edge. This little plane did some amazing manoeuvres.


When these Japanese planes started flying the announcer started talking about the bombing of Pearl Harbour during WWII. Next thing I knew there were explosions and fires across the field. Definitely have a better idea of what it would have felt like to be in Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941 and even happier that I've never had to experience something like this.


Ed's favourite plane is the DC-3. This Douglas C-47 Skytrain is a military plane that was developed from the DC-3.


A10 Thunderbolt II commonly known as the Warthog. This plane was used during the war in Afghanistan.


A simulation of the result of a bomb dropped by the Warthog. We felt a rush of heat all the way across the field.


The AeroShell Aerobatic Team flying AT6 - Texan planes. This was a beautiful show to watch.


Can you find all four planes in the photo?


F/A-18 Hornet flying at 80 mph .... took full power to do it. The weather conditions weren't the best for seeing it but we did see white around the wings when the plane past the speed of sound.

Today was the day to see some of the nearby local sites that we like to drop into each year. First stop was Quinta Mazatlan a historic home and birding centre in McAllen. The house is surrounded by about 10 acres of woodland that is home to many different birds and animals. Unfortunately puppies are not allowed or we would visit more often.


The Clay-Colored Thrush (my bird books say Robin) is a rare visitor to south Texas.


Cute little sparrow happily posed for the camera.


Think this bat's been in the sun too long.


2nd stop today was La Lomita Chapel. This chapel was originally built in 1864. Over the years it has been rebuilt several times with the last restoration being in the last couple of years.


I think this was a monastery which was connected to the Saint Joseph and Saint Peter Seminary.

There was a sign for a nearby town so we decided to drive there. The sign on the community centre indicates this is a city ..... the population sign indicates 313 people. Now that's one small city.

It seems that spring just appeared out of nowhere this year. The early frosts had caused a lot of trees that don't lose their leaves to drop them, so things were a little drab for awhile. Now the trees are mostly green many with beautiful flowers. When you walk through the park your nose is bombarded with the smell of the orange blossoms. And with the good you get the bad ..... lots of mosquitoes and gnats too.

When we saw the movie Avatar we saw a preview for Alice in Wonderland in 3D and thought it looked interesting. In preparation we watched the original Alice in Wonderland movie last week. Today we saw the new 3D version. I guess I was expecting a remake of the original story maybe beefed up a bit. Instead I got a story about Alice 10 years later. It was pretty good though I'm not sure who the story was written for adults or kids. I also didn't think the 3D was up to Avatars standard but then I'm sure the movie didn't cost as much to make. All in all I think I would have been happy seeing this movie in 2D in the comfort of my TV room.

I'm not sure if Ed enjoyed the quiet of the last few days or it the hacking and coughing cancelled it. The head cold I had been fighting turned into laryngitis and a cough. If I could have temporarily removed a four inch section of neck I would have felt fine.

I was at about 60% today and as there is no charge on the first Sunday of every month we decided to go to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. It was overcast and low 70's but as we went a bit late in the day we didn't see a lot of birds.


This thrasher was singing his heart out. We listened to him for a couple of minutes before he flew off.


Our wildlife spotting for the day was this Spotted Whip Tail Lizard. At least that's what we think he was. There was a information sign about lizards and we think he matched the description of the Spotted Whip Tail Lizard.


Not sure if the water was cold or if everyone was just resting but there were more birds and turtles on the tree than in the water.


Ed trying out the canopy walk.

It's March 1st in southern Texas and I wore my parka. Actually the day started very nicely ..... the sun was shining, the wind was light, and the shorts and t-shirt came out of the cupboard. It was good to see the shorts as I haven't seen much of them this winter. By noon the wind had picked up but it was still warm .... actually it was 2 degrees warmer than the average temperature for March 1 --- very exciting given the weather. The day flew by .... bridge in the morning (had great cards for once), barbecued some chicken for lunch, attended a club meeting, gave Zaph a bath, took Zaph for a "dry-off" walk and went out for dinner with the group to celebrate a 52nd anniversary and birthdays. During dinner we discovered that several of us had not seen the movie Alice in Wonderland and as the 3-D version is being released on Friday we decided to show the original movie at our outdoor theatre. For those who don't know we bring our video projector to Texas and show movies using the side of neighbours trailer as a screen. Works pretty good as long as you can ignore the vent on the right hand side of the screen and part of the trailer design (decal) on the bottom left. Anyway, when the sun went down the temperature dropped like a rock but the wind didn't. It was a might chilly out there so out came the parkas, blankets, hoods and hot chocolate. The movie must have been good as eight of the nine of us saw the end of the movie. Everyone did scurry to their respective homes at record speed.