Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Florida

     South Florida is full of people, houses, roads, and more people. It could get genuinely irritating at times but we try to remember that we chose to come here even though we knew it was crazy. In spite of all the city, someone has done a great job of carving out small areas of nature for us to enjoy. One of these is only a few miles from us, Wakodahatchee Wetlands. One morning we spent a few hours wandering around the trail.s 

One of the many birds we saw.

These guys were sunning themselves.

It's hard to see but this floating island was loaded with birds and iguanas. 

Another bird enjoying the morning sun.

Much of this hike was on boardwalks. 

Watching a Marsh Hen.

There is a Grebe in this picture. Watching them zip around underwater was so cool.

     Experiencing a new part of God's world is so amazing. We are just loving all the different plants, animals, and birds we've been able to see. We also saw 4 big alligators here!

The Atlantic Ocean!

     We arrived at our friends' place after dark and it was SO fun to wake and realize that we were indeed, in a tropical paradise! The weather has been just absolutely amazing and we have a hard time staying inside. We're happy to fall back into a bit of a routine with school and chores but are very flexible when something else comes up 😀. Most days Eldon goes with Chris to work and they are off doing repairs on RV's most of the day. He's having a lot of fun working with a friend plus getting to see some really cool rigs.

Drinking coconut juice-I love it!

This is in our backyard and it's already provided many happy hours. Eldon and I haven't jumped in yet because it's just to cold. 

After being here a whole 3 days, I took them to the Ocean.

We're only 15 minutes from this! I plan to go at least once a week :).

They just love the waves!

Last year we were at the Gulf of Mexico and this is so blue in comparison. 

Having a blast!

 

I find great joy in tossing a shell and watching the Gulls go crazy over it.

Michael's sand castle.

Of course, we had to bury someone!

Back at home, doing school outside just because we can!

     If you don't follow our Facebook Page, you probably didn't hear about our week of mishaps. First it was the broken spring......

Our sink hose started leaking into the cabinet. It's fixed.

Our shower drain started leaking into the underbelly. Eldon patched it and we're holding our breath that it holds. Also, stepping softly in the shower.

Our water heater started leaking (outside, thankfully) and had to be completely replaced. 

    We're happy that nothing has broken since and that most things waited to break until we were at an RV repairman's house.  Our new water heater is an instant one so no running out of hot water ever again! All's well that ends well.....

Roosevelt State Park, Mississippi

     January 21 I had scheduled us to drive through Louisiana and half of Mississippi, only about 4 hours. We stayed at another state park, also older and not built for big rigs. There was hills, curves, and many trees. I had reserved the only pull-through site so set-up was a breeze and we were shocked to realize we had full hook-ups! It made the pain of paying $24 a night a little less.

     This park has a huge water slide as well as disk golf and many other things that made us wish it was warmer. But it wasn't, so we put on our jackets and went hiking. We couldn't find the trail we wanted so we ended up wandering through the woods for an hour or so then went home. The children wanted to rollerblade and scooter again since we had hills so I stayed home and cleaned the house. Eldon went on a small walk alone and saw 5! beavers and several deer. 

Lovely lake!

     We'd give this campground at least 7 stars and would certainly come back!

On the 22 we crossed the Mississippi River.

     Once we were East of the Mississippi, things slowed down a little. We had planned to drop South just before Montgomery (you know, avoid the big city!) but at a bathroom stop, Eldon noticed one of our springs was broken. I had no idea what this meant, but apparently it's pretty important since it holds the axle in place. So we detoured into Montgomery and pulled into a Airport Trailers. They proceeded to drop everything and work only on our rig. We ran to another store to pick up springs, then returned them because they didn't fit. It was a bit of a fiasco but in the end, we pulled out at closing time all ready to roll and only $360 out. We were very thankful for the timing of everything!

Most things RV are a certain size and he didn't have our size in stock but they found a set that works!

     Since we had sat there for several hours, we were all in favor of adding an hour to our plan and just pulling into a Wal-mart for the night. Eldon was able to unhook and go fuel up and he treated us all to wings from Zaxby's since the children were absolute champs through it all.

Taking pictures on my phone is one way to pass time :).

     We had 8 hours left to Florida and had planned to stop one more night but the next morning once we hit the road, everyone wanted to just keep going. So go we did! We were ever so happy to arrive at the Travaglino's shortly after dark. I was thrilled that Chris was here to help Eldon back into our spot since it was quite tight and Kimberly had pizza ready for us. And, it was warm and there was Palm Trees. What a welcome!

Martin Creek Lake State Park, Texas

     After leaving my parents on January 20th, we loved our drive through East Texas. Small towns, big fields, and changing landscape. We chose to only drive 3 hours then spend the night at a state park near the Texas/Louisiana border. With our Texas State Park Pass, we only paid $13 a night.

     Check-in was a breeze - the lady even knew our name and site as soon as we told her our last name. This is an older campground so the sites are not made for big rigs. Our 40 foot 5th wheel didn't have a problem but we could barely park our truck in our site too. We'd do it again in a heartbeat though so it obviously wasn't to bad. 

     Once we had some hot food in our bellies (thanks to my mom for sending Sunday's leftover casserole with us!) we headed out to do some hiking. This park has a small island so our first hike was around the perimeter of it. 

That blue sky!

60*'s is such good hiking weather!

     Our next hike was the Harmony Hill Loop. Part of the trail was the old road that went through Harmony Hill, a small town that died after the railroad bypassed it in the 1880's. We didn't see much wildlife besides squirrels but it was fantastic to be hiking in tall trees again.

Someone had a Pine Tree Farm many years ago. 

Emily is pretending to be lost in the "Hundred Acre Woods".

It was only a small forest but so dark in the middle of it!

     This was a perfect park to overnight at, especially if you have a few hours to spend exploring. Even though our children were sooooo tired they could barely walk, once we got back to the camper they had a blast rollerblading and scootering on the hilly road. 

Time at Grandpa's.....

     We had such a good time visiting my parents and are thankful God has given us a life that allows us to spend so much time with people. Michael and Makayla did a fantastic job of taking turns walking the barn with grandpa every morning and helping him pick up floor eggs. Emily and Ethan took turns in the evening most days and Makayla often packed eggs in the evening.There was a little complaining but it was the perfect opportunity to teach that you just have to do it anyhow!

     I mentioned in my last post that dad's were remodeling their bedroom and bathroom. The men didn't get it finished but all the old stuff was torn out, pipes moved and new plumbing installed, new insulation in, and most of the drywall hung before we left. Like most remodel jobs, there was a few surprises and it took longer than anticipated.

One job involved cutting the cement to move the drains. Michael and Ethan were so happy to help when they put concrete in the holes.

     Instead of simply giving the children money or stuff, mom and dad chose to spend time with us and do something special. This was the second time they've treated us to Mayborn Museum and we loved it so much! Afterwards they treated us to Golden Corral where we properly stuffed ourselves.

The old church house in Historic Village. Ringing the bell is such fun!

Of course, one must always try out the pump!

This darling little cabin has always been my favorite.

Learning about bees and other pollinators.

The water tables are such a fascination for all ages.

Making ramps for pong-pong balls to roll down.

Ethan just couldn't wait for the cowboy room!

3 generations, all having a blast planting a little wheat along the chicken house :).

     My younger sisters were happy to babysit for us one Saturday so Eldon and I had a grand time in Waco. Harbor Freight, Thrift Store, Museum..... We texted friends who live nearby (BK and Emily, for those that went to HH with us) and decided to meet them at a steakhouse at 4:30. Eventually we went for dessert because we just weren't done talking. We finally left the frozen yogurt place around 8 with full bellies that hurt from laughing ( at least mine did).

The Texas Ranger Museum we went to had all sorts of cool knives and guns, not to mention history!

     One Tuesday afternoon mom and I loaded our girls up and went to Waco. After spending way to much time at Goodwill, we headed to the mall for food and more shopping. We had a fabulous time. Our deal of the day was saving over $300 at Bealls' when we purchased swimsuits off the $4 rack. Apparently they jack the prices way up before throwing a sale!

All of us..... mom is scurrying up behind us.

Ethan and Grandpa checking to see if the wheat is sprouting yet.

     So yes, there was sadness to leave but we're so excited to find out what the future holds. Florida bound!

2019 Wrap-up

     I love numbers and statistics so making spreadsheets and keeping them updated is such a joy 😁. I do my best to keep them 100% accurate but there may be a few mistakes. Here's the breakdown of our past year.

Miles traveled: 6,954 (This only includes towing miles from one destination to another)

National Parks and Monuments visited: 2 (This number is incredibly low compared to other years but we did more non-popular things like visiting an alligator farm, the Jelly Belly Factory, and other cool places.)

State Parks visited: 3

Miles hiked: 42

Nights with family or friends: 257

Nights at an RV park: 1

Nights boondocking (NO hook-ups): 31

Number of states we slept in: 20

Average cost per night: $3.75 (Note: this does NOT include the hours Eldon worked this summer in exchange for our site. It's hardly fair to count it though, since he enjoyed it so much. )

Nursing contracts: 3 (Started the year with a month left in Page, AZ,6 months in Baker, MT, and finished the year in Wichita Falls, TX)

Our 2019 basic route. Many places were left out because Google limited me but you get the general idea.

     Once again, we feel so blest for traveling mercies and safety. We've seen beautiful country and spent time with amazing people - what a gift!

     While it's nearly impossible to pick a favorite place, here's what each member of our family named as a highlight for this year.

Eldon: He wouldn't give me a solid answer but very possibly, making hay in Montana

Monica: Growing a garden again

Makayla : The Gulf of Mexico

Michael: Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Emily: Playing with the horses at the Standard's

Ethan: The Medora Musical

     And now, a random photo from each month. 

January. There are no words to describe the desert sunsets.

February. Gulf of Mexico at Holly Beach, LA

March. The farm Eldon grew up on.

April. Bum calves in Montana.

May. A week of relaxation in Missouri with the Beachy family.

June. Getting up close and personal with the bison at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

July. Acres and acres of hay to make.

August. Small town fairs are the best.

September. Our garden.

October. Helping Grandma Beachy make applesauce.

November. Sunset over Lake Arrowhead, TX.

December. Christmas lights in Wichita Falls, TX.

     We're excited to see what God has for us in 2020. Our plan is to head to Boynton Beach, FL in a few weeks where Eldon will be working for a friend doing RV repairs for a couple months. We've got a contract in Baker, MT from mid April to September but otherwise, our plans are jello.

Tentative 2020 route.

Thank-you for being our friends!