Thursday September 28 2012

It has been a while. Takes some time to get over a heart attack. I am felling better but really tire easily. It is so much better breathing now we are out of the mountains. I guess we will not be visiting the mountains anymore. That is a shame as the mountain states are really beautiful, We are in Bridgeport, Texas now at Bay Landings. This is a Thousand Trails park and I am really impressed with the great maintenance and beautiful setting of the park. It is close to major metropolitan areas so mail and shopping are readily available.

While we have been travelling we have had many reports of our friends that are ill. Some very seriously. Guess that means we are all getting older which is a good thing. Linda and I wish all of our friends the best and a speedy recovery from their illnesses. My brother Dallas has had real heart problems with the replacement of one valve and the repair of another. He is still undergoing evaluation for an ongoing problem and we certainly wish him a speedy recovery. As Dallas said, we still have our gators and Tim Tebow to cheer for so all is not lost. We both worry greatly about the future of our wonderful country and have decided we can not do anything about it so we will vote and enjoy the great USA.

It has been wonderful weather here in Texas. A little on the dry side but rain is expected this weekend. The wind is constant here and does make it feel cooler than the 92 degrees. We will leave here Sunday to travel to Point Texas and another Thousand Trails RV park. Then it will be a dash to Florida.

Been a really good trip with only a few problems. Had to replace the filter in the fridge yesterday and we have a small list for Lazydays to fix when we get to Florida. Thank God for his watch care over us and our friends.

Otis and Linda

This is a picture of the University of Mexico Hospital. It is shown as this is a place I went to after our arrival at the ROD park in Tijeras, NM. We were getting the coach ready to travel to Tuscon and I was walking to the front of the coach to get in and put the slides in when I was hit with a terrible heart attack. Linda pulled me in the coach and got me my Nitro patch and a couple aspirin. I took a couple nitro tablets and proceeded to throw up and get the clammy sweats. I hurt so bad I could not move. Linda called 911 and we had the medics here in short time from the UNMMC. There were 5 of them and they immediately started the nitro drip and gave me lots of morphine for the pain. I had never had morphine before but I can see why they give it to seriously injured servicemen. I think they gave me 3 shots before they (all of them) lifted me out of the coach on a fireman's blanket. In the ambulance I got more morphine and more when I got to the hospital. Xrays and blood were taken and it was confirmed I had a heart attack. I had a heart cauterisation and it was determined there was nothing they can do for the heart anymore. Not complaining as I had open heart surgery in 1986 and the doctor said then I was good for 7 years. It has been over 25 years and I have no complaints. God has been good to us and we can only praise Him for His care. We are now on a higher dose of nitro time release medicine and it should keep me going a while longer. I will stay out of the mountains from now on as is is to heard to breath at altitude.
One thing I would like to pass along that I learned by this experience and that is the importance of a "bug out bag". We got to the hospital without any of the things we needed so I will list the things that will be included in our "bug out bag".
Insurance policy and cards, Cell phone charger, tooth paste and brush, comb (for those of you that have hair), June issue of FMCA mag for names and phone numbers of volunteers that can help you, pass ports, park membership phone numbers, membership copies, list of medicines you are taking,

I am tired so this is all for now.

Tuesday Sept 11, 2012

A day of remembrance! God Bless America

Been a long time since I have added to my blog.  I will blame a lot of it on my high school friend Fred Morrison and his lovely thoughtful companion, Marsha. Fred and I were in school together in Minerva, Ohio way back in the 1950's.

Our lot at West Des Moines was Walnut Woods State Park. What a wonderful place. I could write the whole blog on this wonderful park. It was full of birds! What a sight. We had hummingbirds at our feeder every day. Four at a time would come and you could get within 2 feet of them and they would still feed. The pads are all concrete with a concrete patio with a picnic table and a fire pit. This park is the largest stand of black walnuts in the western hemisphere! Wonderful paths along the Raccoon River! Could have stayed there for a lot longer but we have lots of places to see. I will say West Des Moines is one of the most beautiful cities I have been to. We went to the local Farmers Market (really big) and an antique show that covered many blocks with the streets all closed to traffic.

We played Hand and Foot with Fred and Marsha and Fred and I won more than we lost. We had a really wonderful time here and would recommend it to all.

Driving across Nebraska is a real challenge. As folks who have driven I80 knows, it is a constant wind. The fuel mileage goes way down - we went to 7.5 MPG and it is a lot more challenging to drive and you are definitely tired at the end of the day.

We stopped in Kearney, NE so we could go to Pioneer Village in Minden. What a worthwhile stop. You can see the history of the country there as there are buildings housing kitchens, bedrooms, electronics, cars, airplanes, farm tractors and implements, and clothing and even hobby's from the start of the country to after world war II. I even saw a Frazer from 1951, the year and make of my first car. It was a wonderful day!

We are parked in a Flying J on I 80 (exit 107) for the night. An interesting sight here is 6 Propellers for the giant electric generators going up around the country. The driver told me that these are the smaller ones!! Looked big to me!

See hummingbird feeding on right

Caught him nesting in the tree

Our site at Walnut Woods State Park

Entrance to Pioneer Village

Stage coach and covered wagon

Gypsy Wagon



early motorized wheel chair

Fountier Church

Chuck Wagon

Looks big to me

Monday Sept. 3, 2012

We have finally left the wonderful state of Michigan and are now at the  Walnut Woods State Park in Des Moines, Iowa.Weather was nice on our drive. We made it easy by stopping half way here at a WalMart to stock up on supplies.

As we left Buchanan and was on I 94 heading south, the alarm went off on our TST tire monitor. The tire pressure was 40 lbs and the Temperature read 170!!!  I pulled off the highway and went to look and see what could be wrong. The left front tires were both extremely hot. The Brake Buddy had caused the brakes to drag! Without the TST monitor we would have had a disaster with a blow out or worse. I had just replaced the TST controller in GA earlier on this trip as I really don't feel safe not knowing what is the state of the tires. A friend of mine had told me how his tire monitoring system had saved him a world of hurt in his coach a while back and I am sure that there are others that know the value of a good tire monitoring system. We disconnected the brake buddy and allowed the tires to cool down and continued on our way without further problems. 


Walnut Woods State Park is a state park of Iowa, USA, located in suburban West Des Moines. Within the Des Moines metropolitan area, the park preserves a bottomland hardwood forest featuring the largest natural stand of black walnut trees in North America. The Raccoon River meanders through the 260-acre (110 ha) park, providing fishing and canoeing opportunities. The park also provides picnic areas, a limestone lodge built in the 1930s, and a small campground with 22 sites. More than 90 bird species have been seen in the park<sup>.

We will be here a week  and will be visiting with a high school friend. 

Still enjoying this lifestyle and will have pics of Walnut Woods  State Park on the next blog.</sup>