Eye Opener

Our second full day at “the mothership” began with our 7 a.m. wake-up call, as the tractor arrived to take Cloud 9 to the service bay. On Day 1, a list of warranty items were addressed, all very minor. For example, we needed a smoke alarm re-attached, a few rivets replaced, some knobs and handles…

Center of Our Universe

We arrived at Jackson Center, better late than never. We had hoped to arrive in time to watch the presidential debate, but that was not to be. Instead, we arrived about 10 minutes after the debate started. By the time we settled in and started watching, 45 minutes had elapsed. Fortunately, we recorded the event…

A Fine Romance

When Jon worked on the real estate sections at The Dallas Morning News, he often had to deal with “romance” copy — content written by realtors to evoke emotion and speak to the dreams and aspirations of their target market. You’ve probably read “romance” copy in some form or fashion. Here’s the romance copy for…

Big Bend: Day 4

Thanksgiving Day found us wandering around Big Bend Ranch State Park, the largest state park in Texas, with more than 300,000 acres of pristine desert wilderness. Adjacent to Big Bend National Park, the state park is similar to its national counterpart in desert ecosystem and topography, but different in its use of the land. The…

Big Bend: Day 3

Because we wanted to stay close to base camp for Day 3 of our Big Bend adventure, we made our way to the Terlingua Ghost Town, in search of an authentic Chihuahuan lunch and expansive views of the Chisos Mountains. We weren’t disappointed. The Terlingua Ghost Town is all that remains of a once-thriving mining…

Big Bend: Day 2

Our second day took us from the Chisos Mountains in the heart of Big Bend National Park to the park’s easternmost point at Boquillas Canyon. The Chisos are distinguished, in part, by being the only mountain range in the U.S. completely contained within the boundaries of a national park. The route through the mountains to…

Big Bend: Day 1

After Jon spent more than two hours tying up loose ends at work, we were finally ready to set out for Big Bend National Park. Our Day 1 destination: Mule Ears, Castolon and Santa Elena Canyon — among the park’s most iconic sites. First, we stopped for lunch at Rio Bravo, a Terlingua cafe that…

Third Time’s A Charm

We hadn’t planned on visiting Big Bend National Park when we set our 2015 travel calendar. But we also hadn’t planned on Jon attending the world’s largest gathering of radiologists just two days after Thanksgiving. The Radiological Society of North America will hold its annual meeting in Chicago from November 29-December 4, and Jon was asked to attend so…

All Quiet in Quanah

The hundreds of visitors who camped around the Hardeman County Courthouse in Quanah, Texas, are all gone now, leaving Cloud 9 as the lone witness to a weekend of activities, acquaintances and all-things-Airstream. It was our first regional rally, and our first experience “boondocking,” or dry camping–that is, camping without water, electrical or sewer hookups.…