Jurassic World?

     Well I saw the movie a while ago and honestly wasn't that impressed.  It was good enough to watch once but the plot didn't inspire me much and the dinosaurs seemed to look really poorly done. It's probably just me.  Either way it doesn't matter because were off to....

Dinosaur Valley!

     Yep, its the last camping trip of the summer and we are headed out to try a new location.  Its only about a two hour drive to the campground as long as you don't try it during heavy traffic.  In our case it was mid day Saturday and I had figured it should be easy traveling.  Boy was I wrong.  The main freeway that I needed to take has construction going on and it seemed that every other person in the state of Texas wanted to go through this roadway section at the same time as I did.  It took 45 min to go south 5 miles on the I-35 west.  I took the first possible alternative route that I could find.
 
     The bus is still running hot but with much more consistant behavior.  I think I will have to replace that radiator and while I have the coolant drained I might as well replace the water pump too.  Then the hole system will be taken care of.

     Two hours into the drive the kids were hot and hungry. Time for a dairy queen stop.

     After a long lunch at the DQ we made the rest of the trek to the campground.  I didn't tell the kids where we were going so as they started seeing different signs of dinosaur life I was giving them hints to get there mind peaked about the possibilities of where we could be headed.  Finally when they saw us turn down the road with the sign for dinosaur valley they got really excited.

     We pulled in and parked next to the ranger station at the entrance.  I paid for our stay and got our campsite number while the kids were looking at all the displays of dinosaur stuff found around the area.

     I had called in earlier that week and made a reservation for a site at the campground and he said I was lucky because there was only one left that would be large enough for the bus. I told him great well take it, and while he did a few things to pull up my state parks account I thanked God for saving a spot for the kids this weekend.  When he had finished getting the spot reserved for us he said to me those are usually all taken up weeks ahead of time.  I replied "Well, thank God, he saved one for us."

      We got site #24 and when I pulled up next to the parking pad I was in awe.  It was 100% covered with trees the was a perfect arch for us to back in under the branches and park.

    We grabbed our new hammocks and walked around the site to find places to get all hung up.  The camp site was a large some what isolated space compared to most others and the tree coverage was very impressive.  With a ton of places available I hung up our hammocks and we started getting things set for the evening.

     A little while after we had most of our stuff set up a pair of curious little girls from the neighboring camp appeared at the edge of our camp where my kids where swinging in there hammocks. I said hello and welcomed them. I asked a few questions and encouraged my daughter that she could be social with our guests. Once they became acquainted they quickly turned into a set of giggly little girls and were having fun together in the hammocks.  Not too long after the parents of on of the girls came over and  said hello.  Naturally the school bus at the campground became a conversation focal point for awhile and we talked about the many possibilities.  They were really nice folks and apparently lived just a few miles down the road from us.  As it was time to get dinner started our visitors head out and we got our dinner cooking.  It had been a long week for me and I was ready for some rest so after dinner we simply hung out in the hammocks for a while then headed for bed.






  ** The fiberglass models were on display at the 1964-65 New York’s World’s Fair. The Atlantic Richfield Company donated them to the park in 1970.

Prep for the last summer trip.

     Summer's end is fast approaching and the kids will be back in school too soon.  Its not that I have anything against school in general it just means that camping and getting away from the metroplex will now be limited.

     With only one weekend left to go camping there were a few things to finish getting ready.


     First we needed to replace the hammocks that were previously taken.  So we looked around town for some lightweight, breathable and reasonably priced hammocks. Unfortunately as hammocks have been growing in popularity and the quality brands have come to the forefront of the market the materials have been changing and so has the feel.  I have always preferred the feel of polyester over nylon and most of the companies are now using what they call nylon silk to make there hammocks.  While they definitely have a nice appearance I don't think they breathe as well and and feel that great.  In need of an alternative and being a crafty kinda guy I ran down to the fabric store and bought some polyester taffeta lining material.  It comes 60" wide which is perfect for a single hammock and the edges wont fray.  Then I picked up some climbing runners for each end and with a quick knot each of us had a new hammock.



    I picked up an extra hammock from Walmart, the Equip travel hammock, that is a heavier nylon but it has a smooth feel and would be a good spare just in case.


     I couldn't help getting one more while I was looking at Academy Sports.  It was a double and currently I don't have access to wider fabric.  I like to have a larger hammock for napping in personally and it's obviously more comfortable when sharing.  It is made by Byer of Maine and called the Traveller double hammock XXL.  It is also a really good price comparatively.

Byer of Maine, XXL 

     As a final measure to add to the over all comfort until the interior of the bus conversion is completed I found a good deal on these Coleman Converta cots so I ordered two.

 

   With the little solar panel incident I decided to make a way to charge the auxiliary battery off the buses charging system so that we could still use it as needed.  It was a simple task really, all I had to do was build an extension from the main power supply and add a breaker. When I want the bus power to charge the auxilary battery I just have to connect the line and flip the breaker.

     One other thing that I have wanted to do was get better lighting and I have been looking around for LED replacements for the interior cab lights in the bus with out much luck.  While we were shopping for a few groceries I found just what I wanted at Walmart in the automotive section.  I didn't even think to look there. They are so much brighter and draw much less power.  I will be converting all the lighting over to LED lights eventually.  There much better and last longer too.

getting things lined out.

     One afternoon while I had the kids with me we did a little clean up and started plotting our master plan.

     Yep, our master floor plan.

     We stopped at Lowe's to get a few measurement to help us space things out.  Through some fascinating discussion with to bright and funny kids we made plans for where we will make things fit.  It is a crude outline in masking tape but it will serve well as a starting point.

     I really can't wait to get that old rubber floor out of there and start the conversion.  I'm actually still very undecided on what to do for the floor.  I know I want to lay down some insulation and have seen a number of different ways people have done it and frankly have not been satisfied by any of them completely.  I have noticed that on our road trips the floor actually gets pretty warm.  Heat from the concrete, the engine, the exhaust and other factors all play a part but the floor has been hotter than the ceiling at times.  I would ultimately like to use a bed liner coating to cover it with so that it would be very durable, seamless and totaly easy to wash out.  I plan to have a pet with us eventually too.

     We made plans for the sink to be right over the wheel well on the left with the stove directly across isle on the right.  A pantry and dish cabinet to the right hand side of the stove.  A convertible seating/couch/table/bunks forward of that just past the wheel wells.  The restroom area will be to the rear of the left wheel well and I think I have figured out how to squeeze a shower in behind that and still leave enough room for the garage/tool/storage room in the rear.  I have 3 rows of seating left up front and with this lay out have decided I will remove one more set.  Then when I build the seating area I will build a section that will butt up against the second row and face backwards.  This should give us all the living room we need and plenty of passenger room for trips too.  I will definitely have those bus seats recovered in something nicer as time goes on.

     Thats just the begining of the planning stage really.  Theres still so much to plan and decide on. The window removel and replacements, the rear deck/ramp and the safari rack just to name a few.

     By God's grace it will all come togeather.

Solar Eclipse?

     Well not exactly the kind you would probably be thinking of.  The day after I got the thermostat changed out I wanted to give the bus a run down the highway to see how it would run.  So I drove out to the post office to grab the mail I hadn't picked up in a couple weeks.  It's a good 15 miles and would give me an idea on the way back if there was progress made on the cooling system.

     So what about this eclipse you say, well I'd show you a pic of what happened but the median of the highway wasn't the best place to be taking pictures.  It was now a certain fact I was going to be having a solar power outage.  Due to the results of my failure to remove the solar panel from the roof before heading down the highway.

     I had done this once before regrettably but the panel stayed in place actually pretty good.  I always tried to take it down so that I wouldn't have an incident.  More so that it wouldn't cause anyone else any problems or worse.  The drive way entry to the post office has a good grade to it so the bus tends to rock side to side a fair bit coming out of there and it apparently slid the panel off to the side and when I hit the highway at speed it let go.  I am so thankful that nobody got hurt by it!

     I new right away that it had happened because the roof hatch made an awful sound.  I pulled off at the first exit and looped back to take care of the mess.  I made fast work to pick up the panel from the median where it had slid to a stop.  The glass portion was completely shattered but held together by the layers of plastic and electric elements inside it.  The frame was in 5 pieces and the wiring pulled out.  I piled it all together, crossed the highway, and tossed it on the floor in the bus. Glad that was over I headed back to my side of town.

     I had been looking at other solar panel options but am not yet settled on how I will set it up and don't have the finances for that right now so we will have to rely on the bus power for awhile.

     I'm looking at some flexible roof mounted panels from GLOBAL SOLAR

or from GO POWER.















     Pretty cool stuff.  I will have to talk with these companies later when get ready to power up the system and see what will work best for us.

Tuning in

      I was still at the shop waiting for the tech to change out the thermostat and had just finished the getting the front door to operate again so I immediately turned my attention to the radio project.  I was in need of some wire and connectors so I made quick walk to the parts department since I was so conveniently located and got what I was gonna need.

     The hole in the dash for the radio needed a little refinement so I got that cleaned up first and then focused on securing the deck in the mounting piece.  I was able to use some premarked spots in the mount to drill 4 holes that lined up perfect with the deck and I screwed it together.  With everything now lined up I connected wire to the leads from the radio connection plug so that I could wire the power and ground.  I installed the deck and mount in the dash and went out to the access panel to wire it in.  I started pulling the wire through from the dash to the fuse panel and examined where I was going to mount the ground and again had the thought, WHY?!?!  Why in the world are there so much wiring in here?

     I saw one guys post on the skoolie forum where he pulled all the extra wiring out of his bus project and it was a massive pile of wire.  Thousands of feet of extra wire it seemed.

     I will get this mess cleaned up eventually but for now I just need to get power to the radio.  I used a ground that was being used by a few other lines and ran my power over above the chaos and down to the fuse block.  Made my connections and tucked the mess back in for another day.

     Now that I had power to the radio I started installing the speakers in the box. as soon as the first speaker was mounted I ran the wire and connected it to the radio.

Oh, heck yeah man, we got sound!!!

     With the local country station tuned in I continued getting the rest of the speakers mounted and hooked up.  The service tech had showed up just about the time I started on the second speaker so I kept it turned down while he worked. I finished up and then cleaned up the tools and parts I had all over the bus.

     I stepped out to see how the tech was doing and he was just finishing up.  In a few minutes I would get to hit the road and turn it up!  Once I was clear to go I hit the road.

     Just like a teen I connected my mobile device scrolled to my favorite playlist and let the music fly. with just the deck power it has a fair bit of volume and the 8" speakers had a really good balance of bass. I'm quite pleased. The kids will love it and the next few road trips will be full of good sounds.

 

It's getting hot.

     There's nothing like some good old fashioned summer heat!

     Frankly the heat here in Texas is not quite my idea of fun particularity after the wettest spring season the state has seen in a long time.  Suffice it to say I'm not a big fan of the humidity down here. The last few years Texas has been in a drought so it hasn't been so bad for me but this ol' mountain boy can feel it this year.

     The upside has been full lakes, with a little flooding, to play in.  The downside of the heat besides that its uncomfortable is that it's not playing nice with the bus.  When I drove the bus home from Missouri I noticed that when running it full open at 65 and climbing hills it would heat up a bit and since then it has been consistently show more symptoms.  Now that the summer heat is running 100 degrees its more prevalent.

     I have read as much as I can on overheating issues with the DT466 engine and talked with a number of service people and others along with using my knowledge to try and isolate the issue.  The general consensuses was to start with the clutch fan.  It was leaking a little fluid at the seal and never engaged at any temp.  Replaced it with a nice new $400 unit.  Ouch!  Unfortunately that has not resolved the issue. The new fan clutch does kick on but its very sporadic.  It seems that the air getting to the sensor coil on the front of the clutch is not consistent with the engine temp.  In fact when the bus gets to 210 degrees the fan won't come on unless I slow down below 35 mph then it will kick right in.  As soon as I get over 35 mph it goes off.

    I started temp testing the radiator, I have previously checked to see if it was dirty and clogged up on the outside preventing airflow, and the radiator temps were mid 180's on top and about 167-172 at the bottom about a 10 to 15 degree temp drop.  However I noticed that there was a cool spot that seemed to be about 145 degrees.  I figured that I'd better run it down and have the radiator guys check it out.

     I set up an appointment with Miller Radiator, the local radiator shop that a few people had mentioned.  I arrived early at 7:30 am to meet their top radiator tech.  He however had not arrived  as of 10:30 am and they were not sure when he would be in.  Someone else ran a pressure test and said it appeared good.  They suggested I look into the thermostat.  At this point I figured I'd run down to Southwest International and see what they would say.

     I  met with Bobby at Southwest International and gave him a quick rundown of the issues.  Based on that information he agreed that the next step was the thermostat.  I spent the rest of the day down at the shop while they got things arranged to have a tech replace the thermostat for me.  Something that I would normally do myself however I don't currently have anywhere I can drain out the coolant and do the work.  I didn't mind waiting as I had a vital door repair to work on and I had the radio project to keep me busy.

     While I waited for a service tech to become available I started looking in to that dang door. I couldn't imagine what caused it to go wacko like that all of a sudden.  So I started by testing all the air solenoids that operated the air cylinder and the all seemed to be in order.  Then I checked to make sure that the cylinder itself was operating properly when pressurized from each end.  That all looks good.  Which left two possibilities the air regulator and the electrical to run the solenoids.  I could already tell that the regulator has the signs of leaking and its possible that if it went bad that the higher pressure could cause the cylinder to stay in the extended position keeping the doors open.  The problem is that I don't really have a way to test the out put pressure to tell if its working or not.  So the electrical system would have to come first.  I tested the wiring coming to the solenoids and it wasn't making sense, I had the same voltages weather the switch was on or off, so I was assuming the issue was at the switch.  After I unscrewed the dash panel and puled it I had a good look at the back of the switch.  It all seemed to be in order with wires secured in each terminal.  I did a quick scan of the other wiring in the dash section and again thought to myself why is there so much wiring in here it seems half of it isn't even connected.  While I was scanning I saw a little wire that looked bright and fresh like it had just been disconnected and it didn't have the dusty aged look about it.  I examined further at the back of my door switch.  I pulled a little on each connection and looked closely to see if it possibly had pulled loose from on of the ports.  The very last port at the top of the switch had a bright clean spot where it obviously had another wire siting next to the wire still in the port and the terminal wasn't completely tight.  I secured the loose wire and made sure all the terminals were tight and check the door operation.  It was fixed.  Yahoo.  Thankfully no expense required and now I could move on to the radio.

     The tech got to me about 3 pm and got right to changing out the thermostat. Once he had it  replaced I chatted quick with the tech about if the issues did not resolve and he mentioned that the system looked good and that he would look at the radiator itself and the possibility of too much airflow over the clutch fan.  I packed up and headed out a couple hundred dollars lighter.

No more silence

     For over a month I have been riding around in the bus getting used to its many idiosyncrasies however one afternoon with my kids on board and bickering with each other I had come to a conclusion.  There was one project I had planed for later that I would have to due a little something about now.

     The end of Radio Silence!

     I found it interesting when I bought the bus that it didn't have a AM/FM radio in it at all.  I can remember riding the school bus as a kid and always having the drivers favorite station on.  My Amtran however is not so equipped and wasn't really laid out for one it seems.  It has a slot for an intercom which is great for yelling out my fast food order but that's it.

     I have some idea of what I want to have for the audio system setup when the conversion is complete but I'm hoping to utilize the intercom speakers running down the head molding of the bus and just add a deck and a sub to fill in the bass for now.

 
     I run around to a few audio stores and evaluated what I would need to get set up for now and be able to work with it in the future. I got a good deal at DFW Audio on a Sony deck, a pair of 8" Infinity 3 way speakers and a ported dual 8" box.

     Now to get some tunes!

     I quickly removed the intercom system to see if I would be able to use that location as it would be the most user friendly but decided that I will save that space to mount a CB radio in the future.  I then decided that there was a good space that would work out and keep the radio accessible but not in the way just to the left at the end of the console where they have the Webasto heater module mounted.  I have planed on removing the Webasto system so that area should be good.  

     The first thing I've needed to do is make a new hole.  Like any good minded and mechanical guy would do I grabbed my interchangeable blade folding Milwaukee hand saw and just cut in.  Literally.  I estimated how much space I would need around the top and left side of the radio and cut into that corner as a starting point. Then I used a straight edge to line out the left side and the top and started cutting it out.  I opened the radio box and started looking at the mounting setup when I abruptly noticed that it did not come with a deck mounting cartridge frame like every other deck I've installed in my other cars in the past. Um Crap. Well it was starting to get late and I had to get to work so it would have to wait till tomorrow.  

    The next day I made a trip to the audio store to explain my new problem and they kindly explained that that's the new normal and that the decks have the holes preset in them to mount into the newer model cars.  I would need an install kit to mount the way I wanted to and that it would be awhile to get one ordered for my deck.  Then he offered up, if you want to try to modify one from Kenwood for that Sony I have one you can have. With out hesitation I said yes. Surely I could make it work somehow.  I headed back to get to started.

     Armed with a new mounting piece I made some sizing measurements and finished cutting the hole for the mounting piece.  I  also made sure there was good clearance behind the deck for the electrical to be run.  I was going to need to get some wire and connectors to get the power hooked up so I made the trip to my storage unit.  I dug around for and found my collection of connectors and wire of which didn't have the sizes I would need for this project.  Again with it getting late and having to get headed to work I would have to wait for another day to finish this project. 

     I put up my tools and started the bus to head back to town and I had a new problem.

     The front air door would not close.  It was open with air pressure and the control switch wasn't in the open position.  I tried to evaluate what it might be but that wasn't changing anything and I had to get going to be on time for work.  I disabled the air door system with the manual override switch and closed the door and headed out.  As soon as I hit the road and turned to the left the doors swung wide open.  I should have figured.  I pulled over and found a couple bungee cords to use to hold it closed on the inside.  Not but a minute later as I just got to speed the doors were being pulled open and flapping in and out a few inches .  I again puled over found another heavy duty bungee and hooked it tight.  As I pulled back on the road that HD bungee came unhooked and bounced right past me.  I hooked it back up to the door and to a different mounting location.  I made it to work with this arrangement with the doors flexing in and out a bit as I traveled down the road as if the bus was breathing through a set of gills.  This would be fun since I had an appointment with  the radiator shop the next morning.

Rude Electrical

     Sunday night two weeks ago as we were settling down to get some rest I turned on the ignition to run some of the interior lights.  To my pleasant surprise the alarm buzzer that signals if one of the emergency hatches or doors is open was going off.  I had this issue about a week earlier and it just took a quick adjustment to the sensor on the roof hatch and it stopped.  This time however it simply wouldn't stop.  In typical I can fix it style I grabbed a couple tools headed to the electrical access panel and dug in.  I found the component and the connecting lines and determined which one of the wires was powering it.  I quickly disconnected it to stop the annoying sound ringing throughout the camping area around us ( it was after 9 pm ) and then had a new problem.  There was no longer any power to the bus at all.  Now this simply baffled me as to why anyone would run the electrical in this kind of method but it was too dark to continue working on it.  I decided to work on it in the morning and we used our flashlights to get through the evening.

     I got to the issue as soon as we finished breakfast knowing that the temperature was going to get hotter quickly.  Now that I could see I could tell that they had run the power loop from the ignition to this buzzer and then spliced off from it to the main power solenoid.  So to get thing straitened out I would need to redirect the wiring which didn't look like it would be all that bad.  I removed the buzzer completely and moved the extra wiring from it out of the way and then used a splice connector I had in the tool box to run the ignition switch power to the solenoid.  We had power, I checked all the systems and fuses just to be sure and it was good.  It was a pretty simple fix but it really reinforces my desire to go through and rework and clean up the electrical systems on this bus.

     With that taken care of it was time to hit the water.

Having fun. Even when things happen.

     Its been about two weeks since I have done much posting and that's primarily due to the kids and I just enjoying our time with our bus.  Which frankly was the plan.  However there have been a few things worthy of mentioning.

     After a night of terrible discomfort I went and see a Doc during the week and she said it looks like a torn rotator cuff and to take it easy and not make it worse.  Then I scheduled an appointment with her recommended specialist a few weeks away. fun!

    We have been Camping every weekend and have tried a number of the campgrounds around Lake Mineral Wells.  We have a couple favorites sites now and will definitely visit them often as our quick getaway from the  DFW Metroplex.

     Things have been pretty good and the kids have been slowly learning about catching all the critters we can find, frogs and toads, (both of which have taken trips to the shower with one kid or the other) minnows, lizards and one little crawdad.  It's good to see the kids find so much interest in the nature around them and enjoy the opportunity to get hands on with it.  

     We have also seen lots of deer and both kids have been expressing their own interest in hunting.
I'm not a big hunter in many respects as I just don't have a need to go out and kill a ton of animals every year just to do it.  I have done my fair share of hunting for the purpose of filling the freezer however and I do plan to take them both hunting as the get a little older to teach them the skills and the proper perspective to respect the wild and the animals in it.

    Overall we've spent a lot of time playing in the water where they have been making friends to play with.  There has also been the occasional sand castle and bury the kid up to the chest in sand.  Its been a pretty good few weeks for the most part.

     This last week I had a couple people come and pick up bus seats and I finally got the second set of 4 rows out of the bus.  I simply love the extra room and cant wait to start taking measurements for the interior planning.

     This last Sunday things were going really good we decided to try a campsite that's a little further from the lake but was a more spacious area and had more room for our hammocks.  It also didn't have any electrical so the prices are less and we don't need the utility.

     When we got to the site we had picked there was a very large branch that some previous campers had broken off laying across a good portion of the fire pit area and a lot of debris from it crashing through the adjacent trees.  I called the park ranger for a rake and we got it all cleaned up.  Then we set up our stuff at camp as usual and after a short rest we headed down to play in the lake.

     We had a blast playing with some other folk at the swimming area and finely headed back to our site around 7:30 pm.  My daughter said something to me as we arrived that  didnt quite understand on first hearing but as I looked around the campsite I quickly made sense of her words.

     We had been cleaned out.

     Yep, she said "Daddy the hammocks are gone" with a little bit of quiver and a higher tone to her voice.

     With a lifetime of camping I have never had anything taken from camp before and just thought to myself who takes stuff from a camp.  Really?  I walked around the site in bewilderment at the fact that the stuff was gone.  We hadn't left all that much really just 3 hammocks, the old ropes to hang them, a few extra straps and a couple bungy cords basically.  All totaled probably about $200.  The thing I found strange was that it was all totally gone.  I could see if someone wanted to steal the hammocks that they'd grab them quick and bolt but to go to the effort to take down all the hanging ropes which where made from some old ratty fades rope and two, one clearly broken, sun faded ratchet strap and some cheap bungy's just didn't compute.

     Since it was starting to get dark I made us dinner and then listened to the kids complain all night about not having anywhere to sit with the hammocks being gone.

     The fallowing morning I called the ranger station and asked if by chance they may have come and collected the stuff from the camp thinking it was left behind.  They said no and sent us the park police officer who kindly filled out a report after looking the site over and said that this was the first time in four years that they have had a report of anything missing from a campsite.  I felt so privileged.  OK maybe not.  He said he would let me know if he found anything.

     With that we spent the majority of the day at the lake since our loungability had been reduced and enjoyed what was left of our weekend.

A U-boat?

     On the last day before the temporary tag expired I made a final trip to the title and registration office and finally got the bus title, licence and registration done along with a payment of sales tax.

     I again got the same lady who was so adamant that I go get an official scale weight for the bus before she could finalize the paperwork.  This was to my benefit however as they determined the fees of the scale weight instead of the actual Gross Vehicle Weight Rating which saved me about $400. Every other state I have worked with in the past Has always used the GVWR.

     With payment made and documents signed she handed me the plates and I immediately had a thought of WWII when I read the number.  One of the sets of numbers happens to be U99.  I have always had a interest in the great mechanical wonders of the industrial age especially  the later part considered the machine age.  Like many boys big, loud and powerful pieces of transportation are at the top of my list of interests and submarines are one of the coolest.  I instantly recalled that the U99 designation was one of the more successful U-boats in the German fleet and as a man who appreciates the machines and there engineering I thought it was pretty cool.  I have thought many times how cool it would be to have a submarine for a home just like the old classic 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Now that it's all legal I hope to get her down the road some more and start planning for the conversion.


  

Full timer.

     

     Now that I have had a few weeks to get everything situated I am a full timer with the bus. I will be selling the small SUV I have to help with the overall cost of the bus. I am still planning out the layout for the inside but I'm already enjoying it and really look forward each step of this project.  There are so many things that I want to do but I will have to take it slow as it all has costs and requires time to do.

     I am planning to hopefully be able to take a few longer trips with it in the late fall and winter season.  I very much want to take the kids home to Montana this Christmas season to play in the snow and see some family.  It has been six years since I have been home and seen any of them.  No one in my family has ever even met my son. 

     I would also like to try for Yosemite National Park.  I really enjoyed its splendor as a child and would love to see it in the fall colors while watching the kids take it all in. We'll have to see how progress is going at that time and see what happens with our schedules.

     I do have to say that I have driven a full gambit of vehicles of all types but this definitely ranks at the top for me when on the road.  The window views are awesome and the International DT466 just hums right along full of authority.

Rock climbing?

     It was Tuesday and after our morning routine we packed up camp.  I find it amusing how the kids so much want to help set up camp but are so against helping the tear down process.  With some parental encouragement and a little explanation of the expectations if they wished to have an afternoon with some fun we made good progress.

     On the far end of Lake Mineral Wells Park map it says there's an area for rock climbing and we were headed to check it out.  I have heard about it from some other people in the past and hoped it would be a fun excursion for the kids.

     It's not exactly what I would call rock climbing coming from a high mountain region of the country.  The area was built up of a lot of large stone and broken rocky ledges. The maximum height was probably about 40 feet and the majority was around thirty.  There were lots of places however that the kids could challenge themselves climbing around the rocks.  I helped them up a couple of obstacles and we explored all around the area for a few hours.  We will definitely come back to this area on our next trip and let them play some more.

   
     As a side note I seem to be bad about taking pictures while on our adventures.  I will have to make a much more focused effort to do so so that I can share with all of you who choose to keep up with us.

     This past week was  my sons 5th birthday so for fun our trip of camping concluded with a trip to Dairy Queen for lunch and ice cream on the way home.  What's better than that! 

Critters

     

     In the late Monday night hours and wee early Tuesday morning hours I spent some of it hanging out with guests.  Not really invited guests but guests all the same.  Now I've never had anything against the average critter from the forests but I wasn't completely enthused about the noise and timing this evening.  The local raccoon's were having an absolute party scurrying through all the empty camps chattering and dumpster diving.  After a few hours of this I decided I would get out of my hammock and encourage them off to other areas.  A few steps into my walk and I found I had another camp friend.  Not quite as entertaining however.

     I of course standing there in shorts and slip on's with only a flashlight in hand felt a little unprepared for the possible skirmish that could arise.  Choosing to equip myself with better tooling before directing the serpent to vacate I made the ten steps to the back of the bus full well knowing he wouldn't stay where he was.   With the right accessories now in hand for removing the critter I turned back to see his movements.  To my slight surprise he took a hard left and had bailed for cover.  Where?  Under the tent that was housing my sleeping kids.  While I was fully confident that he wasn't going to get in the sealed up tent having him under there with my son rolling and flopping as he does when he's asleep didn't seem like a good situation.  I decide that the tent and kids would have to move.  I pulled up the tent stakes as I watched the tent floor move between the  two kids.  I grabbed the foot end of the tent and lifted it straight up and the kids rolled up and over as I turned the tent over.  Our unwanted guest made a lunge for the treeline opposite of my position. I quickly fallowed him in to the grass and piles of leaves prepared to strike until he slipped under the leaves and I could no longer see him.  With the quick realization that he now had the upper hand and that I was still not dressed for such a dance I chose to return to the tent.  With a little work I had the kids rearranged and humorously they never stirred at all.  I spent a few minutes there with the tent removing some very large spiders from the area including one carrying hundreds of babies on its back.

     I returned my attention to the raccoon's and had a rather one sides conversation with them.  I think they got the point of my side of the conversation however as they made off to other campsites and didn't return.  I'm not sure just how long this all took but it seemed like it was about an hour of which was long enough for the mosquitoes to do there damage and while I was in the grasses it appears I had run in to a pack of chiggers/red-bugs.  I wiped off and prayed down with some more repellent and made my way back to the hammock hoping for some rest.

A New Campground

 
     Sunday afternoon the kids and I headed out to Lake Mineral Wells.  I had been to the lake about 6 weeks prior camping with a few people.

     The campground the kids and I went to is a little further up the lake from my previous trip but it has good shade, a decent amount of trees for hanging the hammocks and is pretty spacious.  Sunday evening my kids found some playmates from a neighboring campsite to play soccer

with.  

     This campground was overall much better maintained and the facilities where miles above the cleanliness of the last place we visited.  We even got to catch a gecko lizard while we where using them. 

     Monday morning we had our bible reading time and my daughter continued reading from genius and then I read out some from psalms.  I'm really not sure how we got on the topic but my daughter showed off her bible knowledge a bit clarifying that Jesus was not baptized in a lake but in the river. It was an interesting conversation to have with my 5 and soon to be 8 year old.  I am always in awe as they continue to reveal just how much they are learning from the kids classes at the church.

     This day was pretty relaxing overall as we did the usual go down to the beach and swim, grill some burgers and just hangout.

A Slow Week

     Well the Forth of July was good and the bus and I did a little bonding, well I bonded with it while I sat on the roof and watched the fireworks.

     I haven't got much else done on the bus over the last week.  I have just been enjoying it and contemplating all the possibilities.  Even a few of my friends have started thinking of the possibilities of one for themselves.

     On Thursday I made another trip up to the regional title and registration office and was surprised to find them closed for the day. This was what I saw when I arrived.

     I was not very pleased to say the least as it's a bit of a trip to get there and it's not like I can really just put it off until it's convenient for me in a few months or so.  While I was there there were about 20 people that came in to be surprised by the shutdown and had some really nice things to say about it.

      I really just find it sad that it takes an entire office shutdown to do training and the only notice provided seems to be the sign on the door after you arrive. They seemed to omit those of us that needed tax and title work and that this is the only local station.  I guess I'll try again next week. 

This weekend the kids and I are off for a few more days of camping.