I was sitting and watching the television last evening when suddenly, the lights went out, literally. The storm, that has moved off in the distance must have tripped the power somewhere. The RV lights stayed on as they immediately switched to battery, but everything else was off, so we went to bed. 

This morning, we awoke to another beautiful sunny day although it has cooled off considerably, thank goodness, when we went out for the morning walk. We wandered around the park saying “Good Morning” to anyone we met along the way and slowly made our way towards the water. I checked on the duck’s nest that we spotted yesterday, and the Momma Duck was sitting on the eggs. She blends in beautifully with her surroundings, but we did not get too close. Strange to build a nest so relatively out in the open like that with the only shelter, the trunk of the tree. Then as I am not a Duck, what do I know. I wonder if her mate is around somewhere? 

We finished the walk and adjourned back to Quatro for breakfast. I broke one of my unwritten rules and sat and watched Manchester United play Liverpool on tour in Thailand. I had to watch it on my computer which was OK. As it was a pre-season game, it was hard to say much about it as so many subs were used along with the well-known and some Super Star players and there was no real consistency to the game. Still, good entertainment and the season is only 20 or so days away. Then, the games will be for real. 

I worked on the blog after answering emails or in most cases, removing them, unread. I am pretty much caught up blog wise and posted up to date. Same with the pictures I have taken so far. I even have time to sit and listen to an Audiobook sometimes generally late in the afternoons. 

I decided that I should go into Hot Springs and do some shopping there as they have a large Walmart’s Super Center, and I can usually get everything that I need in those stores. It was only a 5-mile drive and took no time at all. On the way, I passed a couple of gas stations selling gas at $4.14 a gallon, the cheapest I have seen in a long time, but the Jeep is almost full so no reason to stop. The shopping was uneventful, but I was able to find the face and body cream that has sun protection which I have been looking for all over. I bought 4 bottles of the stuff which should last me a couple of months. At the checkout counter, as I had 4 bottles of wine, the clerk asked for my ID to check my birthdate. I looked at her in utter amazement and she apologized and said that they have to ID everyone, according to the law. I have not been carded in so many years it was funny. I did not blame the checkout lady as she was only doing her job. Maybe it is nothing to do with age but that that you must have an ID to buy the stuff. 

I left the store and checked with Sirie to find the closest Starbucks and this time; I was lucky as there was one a half mile down the road which I quickly drove buying my usual Latte to drink on the drive back. It is really pretty countryside, and we are in the mountains which tower above us. I could easily settle here butonly if the winters are not too severe. So far, the people that I have met have been very friendly and helpful. The drive was uneventful with the Jeep’s GPS system giving me instructions and scolding me for taking wrong turns. Well, it sure sounded like scolding. 
 
I unloaded the Jeep and stacked the groceries outside of the RV door because I was having trouble with the steps not staying out and while doing that, received a call from one of my Doctor’s Offices to do a monthly follow up. Nowadays, a lot of my doctoring is done over the phone but this time, it was just to get the records straight. We had an interesting conversation about the fact that I no longer wear glasses as my vision has improved considerably. I had been thinking about it and it might be because way back when, my right eye contact got dirty and inflicted some damage to the cornea that my Optometrist treated and which got better. I had a new prescription at that time and wore glasses for a while, but they were too strong as the eye healed and eventually, I just stopped wearing them. All the time I was talking to this lady, who was very interested in my RV’ing, wanting to do it herself, my groceries were sitting out in the hot sun and in the end, I had to sign off before everything melted or cooked. 

With the groceries put away, I took the dogs out for a walk around the park chatting to a few of my neighbors as I passed them. This is a very busy park as RV’s are coming and going all the time. Incidentally, following last night’s storm, today, although a bit humid, the temperature only reached 96 degrees. Cool by Austin, Texas standards which had a high of 106 degrees.  

We went out for one more short walk as it had cooled down even more before following the usual evening routine. 

Written 07/14/2022 Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com   

We got up at a respectable hour which is surprising seeing as how I watched, “In the Heat of the Night” with Carol O’Connor until 1:00 am. Interesting series and it is heavily influenced by the racial divide in the South. I like watching O’Connor portray the wise old sheriff with his deep southern drawl. 

Our morning walk was uneventful except when we walked by the lake, there was what I thought were dog feces and I mean a lot of it. I happened to pass 2 staff members who were adding more doggy bags to the stand and jokingly said they needed to put them over there, pointing in the genral direction of the lake. Turns out, it is not dog poop at all but the resident geese that live here for the summer months. We had a good laugh over that one. 

Back in Quatro, we had the usual breakfast and coffee before settling down to write. Prior to that, I had let the awning back out so it could dry after yesterday’s shower. We have no plans, and this lazy life suits me no end and as I was saying to BJ yesterday, I think that my hiking days are probably over unless I left the dogs behind and used my walking poles. Hiking with dogs on leashes is not an easy thing especially with Sandy as she gets distracted by every new smell, she comes across plus she is always in a hurry…or not and never walks in a straight line. 

I spent an hour or so working on the pictures that I took yesterday of this park. While I was at it, I learned a lot more about the Adobe Lightroom Program that I use and was able to straighten up several pictures that had come out on an angle besides the usual touching up. Wonderful program, Lightroom. 

 Later, I went outside to work on some anti slip step coverings that I had bought but unfortunately, I will need to work on the fastening system as the springs were not long enough to secure my steps. No biggie, just need to stop at Home Depot for the parts I need. I found the restraining strap for the camera which I had been looking for as I had been making do with another which was way too heavy and bulky. I use a waist belt to carry my camera when I am walking or hiking and it has a restraining strap in case it loosens from its holder, like I did once before. I was out hiking and dropped a different camera in my haste to get it up to take the picture because it did not have a restraining strap at that time. Luckily, the camera was not damaged and as soon as I could, I bought the restraining strap. Might not be so lucky next time. 

I also found one of my wide brim hats that has a sun flap attached for the back of my neck. All in all, a productive afternoon out in the sun. Thinking about it, who does the sun belong to. Obviously, only I used to write, ‘Texas sun” but now we are in Arkansas, I guess I need to write, “Arkansas sun”. Does that mean the sun is associated with each point on the map in the entire world? Just wondering…Obviously, the sun does not “belong” to anyone. More like, we belong to it. Wasn’t there a sun worshippers’ religion once? 

I adjourned back inside Quatro to write whilst waiting for it to drop at least a couple of degrees before taking the dogs out for their evening walk around the park. Other people are braver than me as I see them out in the hot sun walking their dogs. This is a very busy campground as RV’s are coming and going every day. Some only stay a couple of days and then move on. Two more came in today. 

We went out for our final walk of the day and ran into several people. Some were fishing and when I talked to them, they only managed to catch minnows which they put back. We also met several other dogs and Sandy tried to be friendly with them. Mikey, not so much. I spotted a duck’s nest in the base of a tree and another lady said that the duck was sitting on it yesterday. Maybe, it was one of the Canadian Geese. I would be very surprised if the eggs hatch as the mother??? was not sitting on them. We continued our walk around the park stopping to chat to people along the way. At our last stop, there were a couple of guys sitting in their chairs with a very young boxer dog, who upon spotting Sandy, picked up her disc toy and brought it over to show Sandy. Really cute. I had to restrain Mikey though as he was ready to defend his partner in crime. At another spot, there was a very young terrier puppy that just wanted to play with Sandy who did not want any part of it as the puppy was way too rambunctious for her. Too much energy as puppies usually are but it was fun to watch. Even Mikey was on his best behavior around the puppy probably recognizing what it was. 

We finished the walk and adjourned back inside of Quatro for the rest of the evening. BTW, it has clouded over and cooled off considerably and there is thunder in the distance. Just to be safe, I let in the awning. 
 
And so ended another day on this journey. It truly is a strange and wonderful life, and I would never have thought that is how I would end up as a travelling bum. 

Written 07/13/2022 Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com