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Lake Morena Campground (Jan 29-Feb 12) 2026
Welcome to California!
Along our route, we stopped at the Jaime Obeso Sunbeam Rest Area and realized it is where we saw the Blue Angels when we were here before! Once again, we stayed and watched for a while. It is an amazing experience to watch these pilots in action. This time I wrote down the name of the rest area, so that we can be sure to stop everytime we pass through here to see if they are here.
We arrived at Lake Morena and were assigned the site we stayed in the last time we were here. Last time I almost had a panic attack backing in, as it is a tight spot to get into. This time we were better prepared and I’ve also had MUCH more experience backing this beast, so it went much better! YAY US!
We really like this campground. The sites are spacious, it is very peaceful and at night, the stars are stunning. I was excited to have another big yard to put my new lights up and be able to relax outside. We had lots of turkey visitors last time and they are still here and thriving.
We went to the Campo Railway Museum and rode the train. It is not an exciting train ride, but we enjoyed it last time and wanted to support the museum, so we went again. Our car only had one other person in it, which made it feel like our own private rail. The volunteers here are very enthusiastic and we appreciate all the work that goes into keeping these places running. Trains have become a thing for us.
We went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. We have never been before. We really enjoyed it! It is so well laid out and the exhibits are meticulous. It was well worth the trip.
The area where the park is located is beautiful. We look forward to visiting again someday.
The next day, we went back to San Diego to do a whale watching tour and tour the USS Midway.
The whale watching tour was great. We saw lots of whales and really enjoyed the wonderful weather. I love the blue water and blue sky.
We went to the San Diego Zoo. This is my favorite zoo. I have mixed feelings about zoos. I am happy to see that most zoos now are highly involved in conservation and rehabilitation. I have never seen an animal here that paces or looks stressed. They all seem to be very well taken care of and the exhibits are very well maintained.
We did a two day trolley tour in San Diego. We really enjoy the trolley tours of the larger cities, it is a great way to learn the history of the city and to see where we may want to go back to visit. On day one, we just rode the tour and enjoyed the sites, the second day, we hopped on and off a few places where we wanted to explore more. We really enjoyed the Old Town San Diego area.
On the trolley the second day, we had this hilarious driver, Benjamin, who read Hop on Pop to us while we were waiting for our scheduled time to leave. He was a riot. We also had the trolley that they use for the haunted tour, so the decor was just my style!
Ed made friends with his type of guy…the silent type! His buddy was quite interested in what Ed was doing on his phone.
We visited Miramar, the “Top Gun” base. We had a good laugh, as there was a young soldier there that had a Buzz Lightyear hoodie on at the commissary. It would have only been better if he was at Vandenburg, the Space Force Base! I wasn’t quick enough to snap a photo, as I was parking the truck as he was exiting the building.
We enjoyed our time at Lake Morena. We would stay here longer, however they have a two week maximum stay per month. I suppose it’s to keep people from trying to live in the campground. I understand, but I wish we could have stayed longer.
I figured I should include a shot of the lake and this is what I have. This man cannot be at a body of water and not throw a rock in. He and James used to do this all the time and it is his way of saying “Wish you were here” to James.
Where will we adventure to next?
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Gila Bend FamCamp (Jan 15-29) 2026
This is our first stay at Gila Bend FamCamp. I was hesitant, as it is a very isolated area and in the middle of the desert, which initially made me think I would be miserable here. The campground is all gravel and low bushes. All of the sites are very spacious and open. Surprisingly, this became one of my favorite campgrounds!
One reason being that THIS is the view! Stunning!
But the big hit for me, was that the birds are plentiful! The hummers found me right away! They kept me on my toes filling the feeders. They hung out in a bush that was between us and the neighbor. There was a woodpecker who enjoyed my suet/mealworm pellets. The hummingbirds loved my fountain, too. They bathed in it daily. I apologize in advance for all my crazy old lady bird photos/videos LOL
Ed caught me talking to one and it gave me a little love bump! I am in heaven when hummingbirds are around! *swoon*
Ed bought me a new hummingbird feeder with a camera on it while we were here and I LOVE IT! This is the feeder, the woodpecker enjoyed the nectar, too.
Footage from the feeder camera of a hummingbird. It identifies them for me also. This is a ruby throated hummingbird.
We went to Phoenix one day and visited the Boardwalk. We went to the Aquarium and Butterfly Experience. It was a nice day and we enjoyed both!
We also drove to Yuma. We went to Castle Dome Mining Ghost Town. This place is awesome! They have so many buildings and inside the buildings are so many artifacts. The city gives a real feel to what life was like in a mining town. You can go inside the buildings and see the stuff inside without a dirty glass between you and the interior. It has changed so much from the last time we were here. They have added a trail that goes to another entire area with buildings and there are sculptures made from the metal they have found in the desert while clearing the area. I could wander around here for days, there is so much to see!
Rita sounds like my kinda lady! Seems to me she didn’t need no lousy man!
The graveyard
We chilled out for several days and just spent time at the campground, walking around base. This is a pretty low activity base. They do flight training and we saw lots of jets flying low to the ground and doing “touch and go’s” and we heard several ‘bombs’ being dropped/set off. They shook the camper!
We did venture out to Phoenix again. We went to the Phoenix Zoo and the Botanical Gardens. I loved the gardens. It is much bigger than I initially thought and they have lots of trials. This is another place that if I lived in the area, I would get a membership and come here often. However, Phoenix is probably in my top 10 of areas I will never live…it’s just too dang HOT! Although, I have to say, it is chilly in January, lol!
Honestly, we really enjoyed this stay. There is lots to do around and we really enjoyed the campground. It was a great combination of touristy fun and just chilling at the casa. I constantly have to remind myself how wonderfully blessed we are to be living this dream life. It comes with sacrifices and challenges, but the rewards are so worth it. I couldn’t imagine a better partner to be doing it with either, this man is my king!
I had to add a larger version of this beauty…just in case you missed it earlier. Man, do I love him!
Ok…onto our next adventure…
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Quail Ridge RV Park (Jan 1-15) 2026
Happy New Year! 2026, can you believe it? Time is flying.
We arrived to Quail Ridge RV Park and got settled in. We have stayed here previously during our very first year. It’s an ok campground. It has gravel sites and no grass. There are goat heads everywhere, so Scooby hates it. There seem to be a lot of annuals here and they are not exactly welcoming. Ed said the bathrooms are nice and they have large showers. We chose to stay here because there are many places we enjoy visiting here in the area. It is close to a larger town, Sierra Vista, but far enough away that it is nice and quiet.
We went into town and while Ed was picking up a package, I spotted this guy in the parking lot. Work smarter, not harder. LOL
We visited Pima Air Museum, this place is massive. I love the artwork on the planes and in various areas. Some of them are truly wild. This is a great place for me to get my walking in while Ed browses all the displays.
We stopped at two Free Little Art Galleries and an Art-o-Mat. The Art-o-Mat is in this great little gallery in Tubac, which is a cool little town near the border. We got there late and had to hurry home, but I do want to go back and explore it further someday.
On the drive home, a couple of deer tried to take us out! The buck hesitated and decided that we were not the hit he was going for, I guess. *sigh*
We visited the Mescal Movie Set. We were here in 2021 and it has changed quite a bit. I am glad to see that they are improving it and that they are still filming here. The tour guide was awesome. They were no longer doing the wagon ride as part of the tour, so that was a bummer, but it was still really cool.
We also visited Tombstone. We have been here twice before, but this time we came on the weekend to see the street performers. It was a good time. We spent most of the day, which made it even more enjoyable. We drove to Bisbee, just because we had never been. Well, that is a town that is NOT meant for a big truck like ours. It is a bit more hipster than we care for. It was a cute town, but just not our cup of tea; more like an espresso martini town, if you know what I mean.
We went to Sabino Canyon and took the Crawler to the top and back. We were being lazy and it was COLD. It is a gorgeous place. Perhaps next time I can convince Ed to hike it a bit with me.
This was in the parking lot of Sabino Canyon. Oh, how I loved my two Elements. I guess nowadays, they are a unicorn.
Ed was a champ and went letterbox hunting with me along the Arizona trail. The sun set while we were out there and we heard the coyotes calling…then we saw one cross the trail ahead on our way back to the truck!
We really enjoyed our stay in this area. There is so much to do, I have a list of all the things we want to do when we come here again. So until next time…
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Loves RV Stop (Dec 31) 2025
We did just an overnight at Love’s in Las Cruces. Had Wendy’s at the Love’s for supper and didn’t even unhook the truck. We have had really good luck with the Love’s RV Stops, they are a great overnight when your destinations are far apart.
On our drive to Las Cruces, we saw this giant roadrunner sculpture. Too Fun!
Tomorrow is a new year! Where will we begin 2026?
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Carlsbad KOA (Dec 25-31) 2025
MERRY CHRISTMAS! We moved to Carlsbad KOA and the campground is nice. We got a nice large site and we got settled in.
Santa brought this good boy a hamburger for the road!
On Saturday, we drove to Roswell, NM. We were here a few years back, looking into having James attend the New Mexico Military Institute. He was accepted, but unfortunately, circumstances prevented him from being able to attend. He has regrets about not going, but he is doing quite well in life and it just wasn’t meant to be his path.
Ed and I had a blast going to several museums and shopping around. Again, my kinda kitschy stuff!
When we were kids, Mama used to take us to a park in Richardson, Texas and we called it “Rocket Park”. It had one of these! I haven’t seen one in ages!
Believe it or not, my cavern loving husband had never been to Carlsbad Caverns! I went as a child, but barely remember it. It is a cool place, literally!
On the 29th, it snowed ALL day! We stayed at the campground all day and enjoyed the peaceful beauty of it all.
Scooby played in the snow for a short time, then he decided snuggling into his bed was a better idea.
Thankfully, the snow melted just in time for us to move on to Las Cruces! We did really enjoy it.
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TT Medina Lake (Dec 4-25) 2025
Lake Medina is one of my favorite campgrounds. It is funny, because most everyone in the Thousand Trails groups complain about this campground. They can’t seem to get over the fact that the lake is dry most of the time. The city of San Antonio empties it for agriculture and city usage. It is confusing, I admit. Why call it Medina LAKE, if there is no lake. Well, there is a lake, it just isn’t as large as it used to be and you can’t usually see it from the campground. The other complaints seem to be based around the maintenance of the campground. It is pretty wild and lots of sites seem to be ‘let go’ as far as lawn maintenance. I think many of the sites go unused, as this campground doesn’t seem as popular as it may have once been. Most of the sites that are near where the lake used to be don’t have sewer, so they tend to stay pretty empty. I’ve heard lots of folks complain about issues with power, which we have been fortunate to avoid. I know that they have always been very short staffed when we have stayed here, but I dunno, it has a old campground charm for me. It is quiet, dark and there are tons of deer that are essentially domesticated from generations of them born in the campground area. There is a nice pool in the front area of the campground and Ed likes that bathroom facility the best. The middle of the campground has a recreation building that has a mini-golf course and lots of different games that can be used there. I dunno, I really enjoy every stay we’ve had here…perhaps its good that it isn’t super popular and crowded. That way we get to pick our site and it stays peaceful.
This time we ended up with a perfect site, it is right off the main road in on a corner. it has a huge yard area and a beautiful big tree. Our door faces the big yard and there is a cabin on our non -door side, but it is pretty well away from our area. It made for a great spot to put up Christmas decor!
I decorated as much as I could inside, too. This is first Christmas I really was happy with the camper decor. It is much different than in a home!
We honestly just spent the time here relaxing, doing ‘normal’ stuff and enjoying each other. Our washer and dryer both had to be replaced and so did our toilet. We had a great RV tech come and install all of them. He had his son along as an apprentice. We did drive around the Hill Country a bit, we went to Medina, Leakey, Utopia and Bandera. We found a nice apple bakery in Medina. One night, we had supper at Trail Boss Steak and Grill and their Chicken Cordon Bleu was excellent! We frequent a little Mexican restaurant that is right down the road and we found the most wonderful tamales being sold out of a van. I swear, the best tamales in the world are sold out of the trunk of a car or back of a van! I got the guys card so that I can look him up when we are here in the future. I ordered 6 dozen tamales to freeze and take with us along our travels!
Christmas is a hard time for me, has been since my brother’s death, but it really amped up the difficulty when we hit the road. I still love Christmas, however, it is very different these days and I am still adjusting to that. This year was particularly hard due to some personal stuff going on in our family, but I am so dang grateful for Ed. He is my rock and he never lets me forget that together we are strongest and happiest. I adore that man!
So, since I only have photos of all the sweet wildlife that visited our site while we were here, I will leave you with a few to enjoy! The last video is “Baby Girl”. She started coming every morning about 3 days into our stay to let me know it was time for breakfast. She would stomp on the steps until I acknowledged that she and her friends were waiting. I love her big beautiful eyes!
Next stop…Carlsbad, NM.
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Corpus Christi NAS FamCamp (Nov 19-Dec 4) 2025
We arrived in Corpus Christi on Nov 19th. We got a great site right by the bay. We saw dolphins as we were setting up! It is VERY windy here and hot. HOT in late November, that is the Texas I know. Ugh!
We enjoyed walking around in the evenings when it cooled down. The campground is very peaceful and quiet.
On the 24th, we went to Texas State Aquarium in Corpus. It was a nice aquarium, I enjoyed the dolphins.
On the 26th, a cold front moved in and the wind became even more crazy! Ed started to feel like maybe he had the flu.
On Thanksgiving Day, Ed was still sick and I was getting sick. We weren’t sure if it was the flu or COVID. We stayed sick for the rest of our stay. Ed got better by Monday, but I got it much worse, which is why I think it probably was COVID. Ed gets COVID, but recovers pretty quickly, but when I get it, man it really kicks my rear!
Unfortunately thanks to our illness, we didn’t do a lot while we were in Corpus. I really liked the campground, however, the wind is a bit much. We know we would melt in the summer and it seems winter is a crapshoot, so who knows. We might return after Ed investigates when the best time to be here might be.
Next stop is Medina Lake, outside of San Antonio…
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TT Lake Conroe (Oct 31-Nov 19) 2025
Trick-or-Treat! We arrived in Willis, Texas and got all settled well ahead of time to have fun passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. We got a site in the new area up front. It was ok, but I would have preferred a site in the back, more ‘campground’ area. We got quite a few kiddos, so it was fun!
Switched to fall on Nov 1
Ed loves Pancho’s Mexican Buffet! Anytime we are in the area of one, we have to go. This one was a big hit, as they still have the flags on the tables! “Raise the flag!”
One night, Ed booked us a sunset cruise around the lake. Well, it was an experience! First of all, the sun was well set prior to boarding, so we missed the sunset completely. The boat was a mess! There were spider webs in every nook and corner. The boat was filthy, the ails, the baseboard area, the trim, the seat cushions…it was wild. Some people had dinner aboard, but I am so glad we opted not to purchase the meal, as I would have not eaten anything, as I figure if what I can see if filthy, imagine what the kitchen must look like! UGH!
Unfortunately, I had to return to Dallas for a couple of days, due to some ongoing health issues. I spent about a week feeling poorly, so we didn’t go out too much or do many ‘fun’ things.
We did determine that due to the traffic in the Houston and surrounding area, we did not enjoy this area. It is wild how awful the traffic is. To get anywhere takes much longer than it should, which makes going out something of a chore. We probably will not make this stop one of our usuals. We just didn’t prefer the area.
Next onto Corpus Christi!
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TT Lake Texoma (Oct 2-31) 2025
We arrived at TT Lake Texoma on October 2nd. We initially had a site in the very front area where all the new spots are. The site was alright, but we prefer to be in the areas that feel more like camping, not a parking lot. These new areas that several of the Thousand Trails are putting in are nice sized and usually decently spaced, however, they are usually all concrete and have no trees or bushes, sometimes not even any grass. They feel cold and exposed. I like to be tucked into nature and to have some shade. So, anyhoo, we extended our stay and we were able to move to a spot that is in the older area of the campground. Another bonus is that we were able to reserve a cabin for Mama to come stay at, like a semi-vacation for her and the spot we picked is directly across the road from her cabin!
On the Saturday after arriving Farmersville had their Old Time Saturday. Michael had a 5k run and we met up with him afterward. It was fun to see how different yet similar Old Time Saturday is. It has had its ups and downs throughout the years, but it is a tradition that still remains! I saw a few old friends, one I hadn’t seen since 1989! It was a nice time. We met up with Joshua for a bit also.
One of our ‘goals’ while being in the area was to downsize our storage unit. We initially kept lots of things that we thought we might need if we decided this life wasn’t for us and we wanted to settle into a non-mobile home again. It was quite the chore to sort through all the boxes and things that were left. Again, I have trouble letting things go. We had lots of kitchen appliances, pots and pans, some furniture…just household items that were still in great shape and would be very useful, however, just not for our lifestyle anymore. We gave some things to Michael and Joe, but most things went to the donation center. I even unloaded tons of craft supplies to my friend at the craft store, so she can sell them at her garage sale that she holds at the store. I did keep all our photo albums, all my Lawn Fawn craft items and things that are precious to me, more of a sentimental value than monetary value. We went from a rather large unit to one that is probably the size of a double depth closet. It was a relief to get it all done and to save the monthly fees!
We packed things into the Uhaul and took them to Mama’s house to sort through them. Sigh…all that Christmas stuff…wah! I did keep the sentimental stuff.
On the 11th, Michael and I completed our first together and my first ever 5k. It was a blast! I am aware my time is not awesome, but at my ripe old age, running is not something I do without a bear chasing me and I like to just walk at a brisk pace.
Screenshot 
I have realized that I don’t do well with taking photos when I am in Dallas. I like to think it is because I am ‘being present’ when I am there. I don’t get much time with those I love in Dallas, so when I am there, my focus is on them, not getting photos. I know I will regret this, but I really do try and remember to take photos, but I usually fail.
We had what Ed has always called a “Family Hoedown” on the weekend that Mama had come to stay at the cabin. Thankfully, Robyn is very good at remembering to take photos! Unfortunately, that means she usually is not IN them! Ooops!
From left to right: Angela, Patrick, Michael, Mama, Joe, Me (holding Fancy)and Ben
Here we have Mama and her adoring children!
We spent our time in Texas organizing, cleaning, visiting and catching up on medical appointments. We don’t really do any ‘touristy’ stuff when we are there, as we lived there and have done most all of it! I enjoyed spending time with Mama and Angela while they were staying at the cabin. We saw some friends and ate at our favorite places. It was a great visit.
On Halloween Day, we will head to South Texas!
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Burkburnett/Wichita Falls KOA (Oct 1) 2025
We just stayed overnight here on our way to Texoma. We probably could have pushed it and made it to Texoma, but we initially had something we were going to do here, but those plans were cancelled. We did take advantage of having an On the Border to have supper at! The campground is really nice and would be one we would stay at if in the area again.
