TRAVEL LOG FROM N2QQS & N2BFH

January in Texas (2)

We took lots of walks in the park, enjoying the local birds - Green Jays, Chachalacas, Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Altamira Orioles, Orange-crowned Warblers.

We spent 1 afternoon at a nearby county park looking for another rare bird, Greater Pewee. No luck.

Next day, the woman at the next campsite invited me to go with her to look for the Pewee. We found it, but it flew off before we had the long look we wanted.

Friday we went birding with a group. We saw lots of good birds, such as Audubon's Oriole & Curve-billed Thrasher. Then the group went to the Co Pk to look for the Pewee. Per was the 1st to spot it, and we soon had scopes on it, so everyone had a good look.

One day really stands out. A Cooper's Hawk caught & killed a hachalaca, a chicken-like bird that is bigger than the hawk. It couldn't fly with it, but dragged it into the woods to eat. It was there about 2 hrs, propably was too full to fly after that big meal. The same day, a Bobcat crossed the CG road right in front of the RV.

Of course Feb started with the Columbia disaster. We are fortunately well south of the debris field, though some strange pieces of stuff have been found in the Rio Grande Valley. Not yet known if they are related to the shuttle.

We have now moved to Falcon St Pk. It is open & the only evidence of the helicopters is some burned grass. The temps have been up & down - one day was 91; but most highs in low 60s.

73
Per & Margaret

West Texas (mailed Feb. 20, 2003)

We spent 5 days at Falcon SP. The day we arrived was the warmest - shorts weather for me, but some of our neighbors thought I was an optomist. We put up a delta loop antenna - along with the kayaks on the roof, a tall antenna tends to attract a lot of attention. We took daily walks in the park and had a successful bird feeding station. We had planned to take down the antenna after 2 nights, go to the dump station & do some out-of-park birding, then put up a different antenna for the remaining 3 days. But it rained all day, so we stayed at the campsite. Next day we also stayed put, but the 4th AM the shower wouldn't drain because our holding tank was full. So we HAD to go dump. We drove to Falcon Dam & did some birding, then back to the park.

Moved 300 miles upriver to Seminole Canyon SP. We put up our HexBeam antenna. We decided that we could do it in 1/2 the time if we didn't have to explain what we were doing. It looks like an upside-down umbrella with no fabric and has lots of pieces so assembling it attracts lots of spectators.
Walked the 3-mi (each way) trail to the Rio Grande. We took our spotting scope so that we could get a good look at the "panther" pictograph which is across a canyon from the end of the trail. Then we used the scope to scan for ducks on the river below. Our real delight was a Canyon Wren that sat on a yucca plant while we focused the scope on it. Canyon Wrens are not usually that cooperative.

We moved 200 miles NW to the Davis Mts. Again set up the HexBeam and feeders. Took a walk each day, one moderately strenuous and the others easy. We planned to walk another trail, but it was closed, so we stuck to the park roads that day. One neat bird of the area is the Montezuma Quail. It has a really amazing facial pattern. They come into a feeding station almost every afternoon. I took lots of pictures.

After 3 nights at Davis Mts, we moved to Hueco Tanks SP near El Paso. We took I-10 for a short distance, then turned north on FM1111, a 42 mile long road though empty land. The road is relatively flat, with mountains in view most of the way. Occasionally a ranch house was set well back from the road. We saw only 7 cars on that road, 5 of them in the first 5 mi.
The first evening at Hueco there was a thunderstorm. The park has "mountains" which look like huge rockpiles. The rock is a sort of granite. It intruded in molten state into the cracks in limestone. The limestone eroded, leaving the harder granite-like material exposed. The area is a desert, (about 8" of rain a year), but the rocks have basins that collect the rain when it falls, and so it is sort of an oasis. In the thunderstorm, water ran down the rocks in every indentation, making enormously high waterfalls. On the other side of the cg was a rainbow.
Next AM it was 37 deg. We went birding with a local birder. Highlights were a Golden Eagle & a Mountain Chickadee. Later we watched a Verdin working on its nest. Temps climbed to the 60s during the day, making things quite pleasant. That night we watched the full moon rise. AM was cold. Thermometer said 34, but there was ice on the dish of water that I put out for the birds. Again it warmed quickly.

We moved 100 miles w to Columbus, NM & Pancho Villa SP. We took a 2 lane road from El Paso that runs parallel to the Mexican Border about 2 miles away. Again it was a road with no services and almost no traffic - 12 cars in 65 miles. CG is full as 53 RVs are forming a caravan to go to Mexico. Can you imagine? (Just me & 100 friends.)

Per, N2BFH & Margaret, N2QQS

Karchner Caverns, AZ (mailed Feb. 26, 2003)

We arrived in AZ last Thurs in light rain & headed for Karchner Caverns SP, about 65 miles SE of Tucson. We got to Benson about noon. Should we buy groceries & do laundry (we were down to our last set of clean underwear) first? We opted for the park 1st. There was no problem getting a site in the 60-site CG, but all cave tour tickets were sold out for the day.
As we returned to the SP late afternoon, the sky got very dark. Before we could park there were dramatic lightning streaks and heavy rain. We decided that we could live without hooking up to AC until after the storm passed. We felt sorry for some motorcyclists who arrived just after we did and had to set up tents. The thunderstorm passed fairly quickly but it continued to rain well into the night.

We woke in the AM to clear skies, temps in the low 30s and snow on the surrounding mountains (elev to 7000+). We walked to the Discovery Center to learn about the cavern. We saw the intro film & the exhibits. Then back to our site for lunch and a warm relaxed afternoon.
We put out bird feeders, including a "sock" with thistle seed. It attracted lots of Pine Siskins & Lesser Goldfinches. Sat AM we were delighted to discover a Lawrence's Goldfinch among the others! This was a new bird for us.

We dressed for the windy but 60 deg weather & went hiking. The trail was 2.5 miles in the mountain foothills and a wash. The vegetation on the slopes was scattered cactus and shrubs, some areas of grass. The wash contained larger shrubs and trees such as mesquite and Arizona White Oak. The birdlife we saw consisted mainly of Wrens (Bewick's & Rock) & assorted sparrows. We also saw our 1st Phainopepla for this year.

Sunday we drove to Sierra Vista for a day of birding in the San Pedro Riparian area - large cottonwoods along the small river. Lots of Sparrows & Woodpeckers.

Monday we tried for a cave tour. They take 500 people/day in 25 groups of 20 people each. They take reservations for 400 tickets (sold out thru Apr 12) & the other 100 are 1st come basis. People start lining up at the park gate at 5:30 on weekends for those 100 tickets. The system for campers is this - Drive out the back gate & line up at the front gate. At 7:00 they open the gate & give the people a number authorizing the # of tickets they want up to the 100. We gambled that on Mon there would not be 100 people at the gate. I went to the Discovery Ctr and when they had finished issuing the tickets to the number holders we were able to get tickets for the 12:40 tour.
The development of this cave was done after studying other caves& problems in them. Great care was taken to try to keep the formations growing. The entrance has double airlocks to keep the desert air from drying out the cave. They also use mist sprays to keep the humidity at its norm of 98%. The trail is handicap accessible & has a handrail. People may not touch the rock formations, as body oils will prevent the water from interacting with the minerals.
This cave has a large variety of different minerals - thus quite a range of colors. There is a 58' column which is considered the highlight. Most numerous were long thin stalactites called soda straws. One of those is 21' long. Also lots of Helectites which grow in all directions. We really enjoyed our tour.
That afternoon we put up our delta loop.

Tuesday we took a short walk, but the weather was threatening rain all day. After dark it began to rain in earnest & the winds (roughly 35-40 mph gusts) were enough to rock the RV. But we are glad not to be in the northeast.

Per & Margaret

Birding in South Arizona (mailed Mar. 3, 2003)

After our week at Karchner Caverns, we drove south & west a grand total of 55 miles to Patagonia State Park. Always enjoy staying there. We were amazed to find that there were sites available with electric hook-up. We often have to play a game of trying to find who is leaving. Sometimes one has to take a non-electric site for a night and move the next AM. But we had our choice of several. It did fill up by mid-afternoon. This is a good birding park as there is water in the desert. It was too cold to put the kayaks in the lake, so birding is the next best option. We learned that there was an Elegant Trogon that had stayed in the park all winter. Also a pair of Black-capped Gnatcatchers. The last are rare anytime & the Trogon is unusual in the winter. We got a good variety of birds at our feeders -- the best were Verdins (who came for the oranges) & a Broad-billed Hummingbird.
We put up our HexBeam antenna with just a little problem from a tree that wanted to grab it.

Friday AM we went Trogon hunting. We walked into a meadow along the upper end of the lake, then up the feeder stream. The trail was muddy and we had to pick our way carefully. We saw Black Phoebes & Song Sparrows but our target bird was elusive. We were about ready to turn back (tired of the mud) but decided to look just a tad farther. We stood at the edge of the creek when all of a sudden, the Trogon flew in and sat on a branch just across the stream. He was facing us with the sun shining on his rosy belly. Wow! He turned a couple of times & changed perch. Then after showing off for about 5 min he left. We headed "home" happy about our success.

Next AM Per went on radio while I took a boat tour on the lake. In the afternoon we walked to the end of the lake and found the Gnatcatchers with a flock of Bridled Titmice. We also saw a Gray Flycatcher which we were able to ID because of a lesson from a ranger on the area winter Flycatchers.

Sun we went into the small city of Patagonia, got propane & a NYTimes. Then to a Nature Conservancy sanctuary. It was a good day for hawks - we saw a dark morph Red-tail that looks quite different from the Red-tails at home. And we watched a pair of Northern Harriers hunting. Lots of small birds along the stream at the preserve. We stopped at a private home that welcomes birders. They had a Violet-crowned Hummingbird coming to their feeders.

Mon we moved to Madera Canyon Nat'l Rec Area. We drove SW, then N, Then E & S, about 70 miles to a place that is 16 air miles from the state park. But there are 9000' mountains in between. This area is National Forest land. Small CG with 13 sites, no hook-ups. Very quiet - just 3 sites occupied last night, so we are usinf our generatop freely as the campers are so spread out that we can't bother anyone.
We are in an oak-juniper forest with high snow-covered peaks around us. It took about 2 hours for our feeders to be discovered. We have 3 different woodpeckers (Acorn, ARizona & Red-naped Sapsucker), Mexican Jays, Magnificent Hummingbird, Scott's Oriole and Juncos in several different varieties. Lots of hiking trails here. Some climb into the snowy reaches. We stuck to the lower ones. (The campground is at 5100'.) I probably walked 5 or 6 miles today - I need the exercise, but all at once?
We had several human visitors today - Per said 1 woman spent an hour watching the birds at our feeders.

Per, N2BFH & Margaret, N2QQS

Sonoran Desert (mailed Mar. 14, 2003)

March is a wonderful time to visit the Sonoran Desert. The temperature is warm to hot, but does not have any days above 100 deg. Nights are around 50. It is the only American desert with 2 "rainy" seasons. The result is spring flowers.

We went from Madera Canyon to an area just west of Tucson. We were surrounded by hillsides covered with Saguaro cactus. There were also Prickly Pear and Cholla cactus in a large set of variations. The Creosote Bushes were in bloom - filled with small yellow flowers. There were other bushes covered with 1/2" pink fuzzy flowers called Fairy Dusters. The common birds were desert birds that we had seen before - Curve-billed Thrashers, Gila Woodpeckers, Gilded Flickers, Black-throated Sparrows, Black-tailed Gnatcatchers. But our delight were the Hummingbirds. We hung a feeder on our awning support and it was claimed by a female Costa's Hummingbird. She came frequently and did not want to share it, but when she was not watching a male Costa's would come to feed. And we had some other visitors - a Verdin & a Gila Woodpecker. One evening the female Costa's was there, but suddenly took off after another hummer. This happened several times before we discovered that we had a male Broad!
-tailed Hummingbird that was looking for access to the feeder. Occasionally he could sneak in when Ms Costa was away, but when she returned, Mr BT would retire to a bush & sit waiting for another chance. Finally a truce was achieved & the 2 shared the feeder for a while. We did not see him after that day, so he may have been passing through.

From Tucson we drove west to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. We drove 100+ miles on a good highway that was mostly on an Indian Reservation. The wildflowers were spectacular. There were large areas of golden Mexican Poppy. There were lots of Brittlebush - mounds of gray-green foliage topped by bright yellow daisy-like flowers. The lighter greenish-yellow patches were some sort of mustard. The yellow flowers would be joined by spikes of orange Globe Mallow.
There were long strips of blue and sometimes purple Lupine, and patches of reddish-purple Phacelia. Occasionally there would be stalks of hot pink Penstamen.

We hiked to a mine one morning. The mine produced gold & silver until 1937 when the National Monument was established. The trail was in rolling terrain as we crossed numerous washes. The washes had taller vegetation, including some trees, and were places that birds gathered. But the flowers grew on the hillsides as well as the washes. They were more subtle in the open desert than along the roadside. The patches were smaller the flowers often shorter. We headed back to the RV for lunch and stayed in the shade during the afternoon.

Per & Margaret

Southern California part 1 (mailed Apr. 6, 2003)

After camping for 2 nights along the Colorado R south of Parker Dam, we drove west to CA to Joshua Tree NP. It had been warm and sunny on the river. But as we got to Joshua Tree it started to rain. It was also much cooler at 4500' than at 450'. So we planned the afternoon around the laundry. Then to the campground. Because it is a NP CG, there is no electricity. Not a proplem in warm weather, but the furnace in the RV uses lots of battery power, so the batteries were a little low in the AM. We drove to Big Morongo Canyon, one of our favorite birding spots, & had a fine afternoon of birding. Then back to the CG for another wet, windy & cold night. We thought we were in the desert, but it really POURED!

Next AM our battery was so low that we had to run the engine for a while to get enough juice to start the generator.

Monday we drove again to Morongo Valley, this time to pick up mail that was supposed to be sent to us there. We expected 2 envelopes, but only 1 came. But the day's mail was due in at 11 AM, so we went to the birding preserve to kill a couple hours. Someone said there were Vermilion Flycatchers in an adjacent park so we went to look. We have seen them in a lot of places, but they are so pretty. Yes we saw them, but we also found a Red-breasted Sapsucker which was a new bird for us. We also walked a trail we had not been on before.

We went back to the Post Office, but our missing envelope was not there, so we left a forwarding address & went on to Palm Springs.
There we took the tram ride up to the 8000' level. There was 9" new snow making a couple of feet total. It was truly a winter wonderland. We wlked for a while on a trail from the top of the tram. So very different from the desert below.

We descended to the valley (via tram) & continued west to Lake Perris, which we had discovered last year. We were tempted to put the kayaks in, but were lazy so stuck to birding. Lots of ducks on the lake.
Since L Perris is not too far east of Los Angeles, we had to get around the big city without getting snarled in traffic. The traffic was not bad, & we stopped early at a private RV park in a citrus growing area. Lots of flowers & hummingbirds, & we had time to walk in the valley.

Next AM we headed for Santa Barbara & its Botanical Garden. Have to do more research on possible public transportation to the Bot Gard as there was hardly enough parking for cars - definitely none for RVs. So we went on to Lake Cachuma, a large county park on a water supply reservoir. We were not allowed to put our kayaks in & no body contact with water, but motor boats are OK. Go figure! We took a wildlife boat tour there. It gets into some of the bays on the far side of the lake. We saw an immature Bald Eagle with an orange wing tag, indicating it had be introduced on Catalina Island. It was interacting with a Red-tailed hawk & some turkey vultures. There were also Osprey in the vicinity. We saw a variety of ducks but the raptors were the highlight of the trip.

Our next stop was a visit with K6PIZ, Ron, & his wife, Arlene. We had a nice tour of the surrounding countryside & a great dinner as well.

On to Pismo Beach. Driving on the beach is allowed, so it was a zoo on the weekend. Fortunately the campground is behind the dunes and quieter. We missed the sign directing us to the CG & ended up at the booth for beach access. The ranger looked at our RV and said "I don't think you'll make it out there" We assured her that we had no intention of trying to drive on the beach, but where was the CG? So she gave us directions to the CG.

73, Per N2BFH & Margaret, N2QQS

Southern California part 2 (mailed Apr. 6, 2003)

There was a lagoon along the CG and it attracted lots of birds. Monday we ventured out to the beach, but all the weekend traffic keeps the bird population down.

We went North along the coast. CA1 is a spectacular road, but not a fast road, especially for a motorhome. We enjoyed the scenery on a beautiful day & camped among the redwoods at Big Sur. We hiked in the AM & after lunch I took my chair & a book to a spot under the tall trees. Really nice!

Continued north to Monterey. Weather turned hot, 80+ deg F. Planned to stay at the fairgrounds, but it was not attractive so we went to a county park, Laguna Seca. There is a racetrack there which is used by motorcycles & cars. The CG is perched on top of a hill and the road in climbs a 16% grade! The racetrack closes at dusk, so evenings are quiet.
We went to the Monterey Aquarium - a wonderful place. I particularly enjoyed the jellyfish, but all the exhibits are good.

We went inland to a SP on a pump storage reservoir along the CA aqueduct. I had a chance to put in the kayak, but Per did not join me. Next day we were joined by friends from the San Francisco area who were returning home from a family gathering in Las Vegas. From there it was just a short drive to San Luis Nat Wildlife Refuge where there is a herd of Tule Elk, the smallest race of N Amer elk. We saw lots of Marsh Wrens (usually secretive) which were sitting at the tops of reeds & singing. Also saw a number of hawks including Swainson's Hawk which is endagered in CA.

Next day we visited Kern NWR. Lots of ducks there. Some of the Coots had babies - little black fuzzy things that swim. Our special birds were Tri-colored Blackbirds and Burrowing Owls.

We drove SE to Tehachapi in the southern extension of the Sierra Nevada. We went to a CG which was located at about 4800'. We had worn shorts in the AM but it was 30 deg colder at Tehachapi. Next morning we had 3" of snow.

The snow melted fairly quickly and we drove a windy road to the Tehachapi Loop, a place on the RR where the track makes a circle around a hill and crosses over itself. We spent about 3 hours watching trains on the loop from 2 different vantage points. The we headed east through Tehachapi Pass into the Mohave Desert.

Per & Margaret

Quick Trip through Arizona and New Mexico (mailed April 17, 2003)

 We crossed the Colorado River into Arizona near Needles. The gas prices dropped dramatically from $2.25 in Needles CA to $1.59 in Kingman AZ.

We stayed overnight in a private CG & had a chance to do laundry.
In the AM we drove SE toward Phoenix on the Joshua Tree Parkway (US93). We went to Lake Peasant Regional Park which is run by Maricopa Co. Next day we drove along the north side of Phoenix & headed North on AZ87 to Payson to visit friends. Nice visit but we went back to winter temps, 21 deg overnight. At least it didn't snow.

Heading south from Payson we took route 188 past Roosevelt Lake (1st project by US Bureau of Reclamation) and made a stop at Tonto National Monument, the site of some cliff dwellings of the Salado People. We hesitated before turning onto 188 because there were giant signs warning of construction on a 35 mile secment of road, but the reality was that they were working on 9 miles & had a pilot car on about 4 miles. It was no trouble at all.

At Globe AZ we turned west on US60 & went thru 20 mi of spectacular canyon to Superior. We stopped for the night & in the morning went to Boyce Thompson Arboretum, a state run arboretum. We spent 3 hours there & could easily have stayed the entire day, but after lunch we headed east back through the canyon to Globe & took US70 to Safford and Roper Lake State Park. The park was running on the honor system. We stayed 2 days & never saw a ranger - only maintenance people. The facilities are nice & look very new. In fact, the entire park looks as though it has just been bulldosed & shaped. There was no park folder to tell us the history of the park, so we just don't know. But there was a lake, so there were ducks & some wading birds. There was a hot spring - a stone walled hot tub that would hold maybe 4 people.

On to New Mexico, still following US70 (which coincides with I-10 from Lordsburg to Las Cruces). At Alamagodo we went about 10 miles south to Oliver Lee State Park. It sits on the hillside on the east side of the valley. We picked a campsite with a spectacular valley view. We could see the bright white of White Sands National Monument, some 20 miles away. We put up a hummingbird feeder & soon had Broad-tailed Hummingbirds stopping by for a visit.

Next day we again took US70 over the mountains through Ruidoso to Roswell (no UFOs). Then east on US380 to Tatum & south on some state roads to Hobbs, site of B-17 training during WWII. There we stayed at Harry McAdams St Pk where the jackrabbits were almost tame.
Into Texas with a stop at San Angelo SP on what used to be a large reservoir but is now quite shallow. Then on to South Llano River State Park at Junction TX which is a good birding park.

Per & Margaret

East Texas (mailed April 20, 2003)

The weather in East Texas proved better than in North TX & Oklahoma. We had a relaxing 2 days at Fairfield Lake State Park (if you call 3-mile walks relaxing). Weather was hot but no rain. We walked around the campground loop one evening and heard a lot of bird noise. We looked up to see what was making all the racket and saw a group of 6 Scissor-tailed Flycatchers chasing & calling. As the changed direction, they would spread their wonderful, long tail feathers into a wide V. We watched them for about 10 minutes.

The State Park was full (reservations) for the weekend, so we moved to a private RV park in Palestine TX. Saturday we took a train trip. It was on the Texas State RR which was built by prisoners and completed in 1909. It runs 25 miles beteen Palestine & Rusk.

The prison was in Rusk and in an attempt to make it "self-supporting" it had an iron smelting furnace. They needed Chacoal for yhe furnace, so they built the RR to an area where they could cut hardwood to mke the charcoal. The iron smelter was shut down & the prison unit was closed, so the rail line was leased to a commercial RR for a number of years. In 1972 ownership was transferred to the Texas Parks Dept. Parks built 2 stations in the style of the time the RR was built. They obtained & refurbished vintage rolling stock. They have 5 steam engines dating from 1901 to 1927. They also have a number of diesel engines built in the 1950s & 60s.

When we reserved our seats we learned that only 1 steam engine would be running Saturday and all seats were sold on that train. So we reserved on the other train which was scheduled to be pulled by a diesel. But on Friday the steam engine broke down & both trains had diesel engines.

We arived at the station early and watched the engine switch from one track to another & be coupled to the passenger cars. Then it brought the train from the yard to the station. The last car was an open car with a rear observation platform. We considered riding in that car until we discovered that it had unpadded wooden seats. We opted for a standard car.

It was a nice day, we had lots of windows open, the trees had fresh green leaves and it was a great day for a ride. But when we reached a siding (approx 1/2 way) where we would pass the train going the other direction, there was a conference of the train people. Our last car had developed a hot box - the equivalent of a bad wheel bearing - and smoke was coming out. It was determined that the car would have to be left on the siding and the passengers from that car would have to squeeze into the other cars. It took an extra 1/2 hour, but then we went on to the end of the line. We had an hour at the other station for a picnic lunch. As soon as we stopped at the station we saw another diesel head out.

The return trip was less eventful. When we got to the siding we stopped on the same track as the disabled car. After the other train went by, they moved the 3rd diesel with the disabled car to the other track and we went on.

Having spent all this time relaxing & playing in E TX, it was time to move on. We drove NE till we came to I-20, then all the way across Louisiana to Vicksburg MS.

Per & Margaret

Hummingbirds, Skunks & WX (mailed April 20, 2003)

We set up at South Llano River SP for a 3-day stay. We put up 2 hummingbird feeders, 2 seed feeders & a water tray. The Titmice were the 1st to come, follwed by Cardinals and Black-chinned Hummingbirds.
The hummingbirds had lots of feeders to visit. There were 3 feeders at the Park Office, 5 at the Campground Host site, 2 at the bird blind & others scattered around the campground. But there were so many birds! We saw 9 or 10 hummingbirds on a single 8-port feeder. Most were Black-chinned, but there were also a few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. The 2 species are so much alike that the females cannot reliably be told apart in the field, and the males are almost identical unless the light reflects from the gorget so that the red or purple throats show. We were some distance away from other feeding stations, so we didn't get so many hummingbirds. The most we had at our feeders were 5.

The park has a large number of "Rio Grande" Turkeys. We saw a few hens but, as it is nesting time, we saw mostly toms. They would parade through the campground in groups of 5 or 6.

Another specialty of the area is the Black-capped Vireo, so one day we had to go looking for one. We had no trouble locating it, as it was singing lustily, but from the middle of a dense juniper. It took some patience to actually SEE the bird.

The park is in the "heart" of Texas and close to the 100 deg meridian - generally considered to be the divide between the eastern & western birds. So many of the birds were familiar birds from home while others were birds we see only when we travel.

We left S Llano River on Tuesday and headed north. We planned to go to Oklahoma to a National Wildlife Refuge in the central flyway. I figured 2+ days to get there.

All along the road were dead skunks. Although I thought that we had not run over any skunk carcasses, when we arrived at our chosen park near Abilene our RV smelled like skunk. It was particularly strong near the door.

The wind had been blowing hard all day - 25 to 35 mph. The driving was not bad because it was a tail wind. When we arrived in the Abilene area we learned that we were within a tornado watch area. The wind blew hard enough to rock the motorhome (gusts hitting it broadside) so we moved to a more protected campsite. Reception on the weather radio was poor, but I thought good enough for the alarm to go off if a tornado was imminent. We tried watching TV, which also had poor reception & we dared not leave the antenna up. So there was a fuzzy picture and every 15 minutes there was a weather update. There were several warnings, all for areas north of us, but each time they mentioned a small town, I had to look on the map to find where it was located.
Finally Per said, "What are we doing here?" I agreed that we really did not need to be in "tornado alley" & we would give up Oklahoma & head east instead. So we are now about 90 miles SE of Dallas & hoping for less scary weather.

Per & Margaret