WORKING (IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE) IN WEST TEXAS

30 April 2012
Ft. Stockton, TX
Dahleen

New Motorhome Floor

In addition to Greg working the EMS pilot gig, we have both been pretty diligently working on upgrading and redecorating the motorhome.  Greg's biggest chore has been tearing out the old carpet and flooring and replacing most of the area with "hardwood".  We did replace the carpet too, but the only places we went back with carpeting is the cab and the bedroom.  The rest is "hardwood".   We love the new look, and it is much easier to keep clean.   

One of the things we haven’t done a very good job of is documenting in the all the work done and progress made on our motorhome upgrades.  We found a great deal on a used motorhome late last fall in Houston, TX.  It only had 11k miles on it and looked new, EXCEPT for the flooring. 

The flooring wasn’t in all that bad of condition…..it was just super ugly.  The linoleum in the bathroom and kitchen area was OK, but the carpeting throughout the remainder of the MH was UGLY and somewhat worn.  The biggest problem was the color was a pink, mauve-looking color …..YUCK!!! 

In the picture above you can see the finished, installed Pergo product.  We either didn’t take many pictures, or have stored them on a jump drive we can’t find at the moment.  It turned out very nicely, despite the installation headaches for Greg.  There were lots of places to cut around and funky angles to negotiate, but when it was finished it looked great. 

We really enjoy traveling together in the motorhome.  Greg has become an expert driver, having never driven a BIG vehicle before.  (It was nerve wrecking for him leaving downtown Houston at 03:00 pm, in crazy traffic immediately after buying the motorhome.) 

We have already put more miles on it in the last six months than the previous (only) owners had in six years.  We are looking forward to doing this until Greg finds another job that is more lucrative. :-)     

Just so you don't think all we did was work during this trip, we did get out and ride our motorcycles several times.  Both times the weather was great, the rides were fun, and Greg ran out of gas.  In his defense, the Road King has the same gauge as his Fat Boy and they aren't calibrated the same.  The first time he ran out after riding 220 miles, the next time he had ridden only 180 miles.  Anyway, it gave me a chance to rib him about it.  

Probably the best part of this trip was getting to fly with Greg from Ft. Stockton to Odessa and back on a ferry flight.  It was a blast...I can easily see why Greg enjoys his job so much.  The rush of flying in a small helicopter above such beautiful landscape would be a dream job for me.  Even though I have flown a lot of miles as a flight attendant, it doesn't come close to comparing to flying in a Bell-206 or a Hughes/MD 500.  I had flown with Greg before in a Blackhawk, but even that isn't as cool as flying in a scout-type aircraft.  It was a great way to finish off our West Texas trip.

Dahleen flying from Ft. Stockton to Odessa and back in a Bell 407

Here are a few other photos of the Motorhome interior after some remodeling....warning, photo quality is poor:

 A Little Out of Focus

 Our TV table..We move the TV to the top of our bed when we move.

Our last upgrade will be to redo the sleeper sofa....we hate the floral patterned fabric.

Next project, replacing the fabric around the mirror.....yuck! 

 New bedspread/comforter thingy Dahleen made

 New carpet and bedspread

Blurry picture of Dahleen's new curtains and valance (?)

  

RETURN TO MONAHAN SAND HILLS STATE PARK

14 April 2012

Monahan Sand Hill State Park, W. Texas

Before the Sandstorm

After the Sandstorm

We are entering into Monahan Sand Hill State Park, in Monahan, TX, the weather was sunny, very windy and 80 degrees. We have been here a couple of times and we both think this is one of the coolest state parks we have ever stayed in.  There is not a lot of "stuff" here...in other words, not a lot of activities, but it is gorgeous.   The whole park is located in an area of sand dunes just like you would imagine the Sahara Desert to be.  (I guess that's why they call it Monahan Sand Hill State Park, duh ?!?  

This time we came in and shortly after we got set up the winds started blowing at 35-40 mph.   The sand was flying all over the place; swirling up in the air, around the roads forming big sand dunes making different shapes and literally changing the formation of sand hills.   

It was pretty with the sun out shining on the dunes and its bright color white.   After the winds died down we took our bikes out and rode around.... you wouldn't believe the amount of sand that was moved around in the previous few hours.  Check the picture out.....grills being covered or buried completely under the sand!  After a couple of hours of exploring, we parked our butts in the motor home and relaxed the rest of the day.  

Here are some additional shots from Monahan Sand Hills State Park:

 Dahleen in one of the cool trees throughout the park

 Our environment....it felt like we were in the Sahara Desert

 Resting from a bike ride......or a bike crash, I should say.  LOL

Dahleen and her folding Dahon bike from the boat.  Still a little chilly in early April.  

BACK TO WEST TEXAS

Early-April 2012

Ft. Stockton, TX
Dahleen

Brown Out, West Texas Style

We headed out from Tennessee toward Fort Stockton Texas.  We did get a few things accomplished while we were home…., but just too short of a time to get much done.   I did pack up some items to put on eBay, and took pictures of items I wanted to sell on Craig’s List.

Normally, it’s about 2 ½ day trip for us in the motor home…Greg made the trip in 2 days this time.  We picked up the rental vehicle from the Midland International Airport, Midland, TX, and then we continued to Fort Stockton.  We arrived late that night parked and went to bed.

Next morning Greg went to work and I started working on the descriptions and prices of the items I was planning to put on Ebay.  It took me a couple of days to prepare and complete this task.  I thought, why not email everyone on my contact list the description and price of the things I intended to list on Ebay; maybe some of my friends and relatives would want first shot at the stuff.
 

After sending the emails, within 15 to 20 minutes our stuff was being sold!  I was getting requests through text or email of items that people wanted.   By the end of the day I had posted $3000.00 worth of items and had sold $1000.00...not bad for a couple of day’s work.  Unfortunately, since we are in Texas and our home is in Tennessee those individuals buying our items can not able to pick them up until early May when we return home.  This may not be the best way to do business, but it worked well for us and the parties involved.

We will be in Ft Stockton for a couple of weeks, then on to South Carolina and Greg’s next assignment.