Thanksgiving Our Way

Since the Kids weren't going to be able make it for Thanksgiving, the Bride and I decided to take a little 3 day trip......no, not in the camper......but a nice, relaxing adventure....now to decide where to go....Galveston, The Hill Country, Austin....or a cabin out in the middle of no where.....after lengthy discussions, charts, graphs, and a dozen  or so "pro and con" lists, we threw a couple of darts that hit on a cabin in New Ulm Texas ....

One comment said..."Relax and enjoy the comfort and charm of the Bluebonnet Cabins in New Ulm, TX. See why every guest calls it  " Paradise."  The rentals are located on 60 acres: Curly Q Ranch Refuge, a wildlife center for rescued, rehabbed, and release small mammals.  Guests have many trails to hike, benches to sit, nature to observe.  Acres of hiking trails surround these luxury vacation cottages, lovely both outside and in.  Texas ranch vacation rentals don't get any better than these."


....Sounded like the ticket we where looking for. So Tuesday was spent  getting all the "stuff" we needed together and "batten down the hatches" on the home front. We left Wednesday about 1130 in the morning...It was a 2 1/2 hours ...traveling East on I-10 until Columbus, then head north about 17 miles  and meander on a country road through New Ulm till you stumble onto 60 or so acres of solitude...through the gate to a dirt, rutted road....as it bends like a mountain stream to the right, you enter a forest of pines...which turns into a canopy a "green" yellow brick road....... and leads you straight to the Cottage and Lilly pond.

Lilly Pond Cabin

What a serene setting........The A-Frame cottage is engulfed in a forest of Pine trees....along with all kinds of wildlife...Birds, a resident Blue Herron, foxes, squirrels, raccoons....and the list goes on.  As you face the front of the cabin there is a fire pit, swing sets and a two person hammock ....the lilly pond has a small dock with a swing at its front, two concrete benches around it and its all cloaked with more pine trees........and not one sound, except that of "mother Nature" telling us to relax and enjoy the quiet....

As we got to the front door we are greeted by the smell of fresh baked bread( which was still in the making) and Linda aka Ms Noah......what a great person, full of energy who truly enjoys what she and her husband are doing.....she walked us through the place, the rules and ways to relax and enjoy our stay.....then she drove off in her ancient, rusted out pickup......and I didn't have a camera at hand....

Janet and I unpacked...mostly "goodies" to munch on...relaxed for a bit and then decided to take a walk/hike and get a lay of the land......by the time we got back the sun was starting to set and we sat out by the Lilly Pond and listened to silence...and all of a sudden we heard the sound of a train passing near by and both agreed it was a additional treat....we vegged out, ate and called it a day....BTW the down comforter on the bed reminds me of the one I had as a young kid in Germany...boy that brought back memories....

  


Thanksgiving morning we got up at first light, made some coffee and went out to listen to Mother Natures choir singing away...cardinals, finches, titmouse, a Blue Herron and more... as we open the door we are greeted by our new best friends...two resident donkeys...their main agenda was getting us to give them some food....anything was ok...from bread to corn and anything in between....Our friends finally moved on and Janet went in for the first of todays surprises....She made a killer breakfast....eggs over easy, sausage,  hash browns and biscuits to die for......wow.....usually I only have a bowl of cereal in the morning....but this is "Thanksgiving".....I think its time for my mid morning nap.....around noon I went for a walk to get some photo's...ran into the donkeys, 3 longhorns, horse, a "good goat", and some silver foxes...I thinks thats what they were.....Janet joined me and the donkeys came around and wanted to be hugged and scratched...Janet felt obligated...haha

We went back to the cabin and Janet fixed her version of Thanksgiving Dinner...Brats, mashed potatoes, sides to include a "traditional stuffing" and fresh apple pie...called it a "German Thanksgiving Dinner"...Hey, I'm German!!! It was a SUPER dinner.  We went outside and watched the sun set, listened to the wind chimes, saw our two foxes...and called it a day...I couldn't have asked for a better day....peaceful, relaxing, and enjoying the beauty of this place and the company of my bride....thanks Janet...Life is good...no its GREAT!

Friday mornings sun rose way too soon.....we even thought about asking if we could extend our stay for one more night..... but decided not to get greedy ... weren't going to rush our departure though.......went out on the porch with some coffee and Janet called the Donkeys, but no luck.....I then packed and Janet cleaned and about 11am we where really to leave the "land of Oz"....Janet wrote Linda a note and called to let her know how much we enjoyed our stay......
It was a great idea Janet, and the perfect place with the GREATEST hosts...thanks again Ms. Noah for sharing you slice of paradise with us!...Until next time.....Happy Trails.....

Summary.... Thoughts...It's a Wrap

Been home for a couple weeks....my Casita is still at Camping World, and I haven't downloaded all my photo's to the Apple.....so its been "vegan" time...and I don't feel guilty. I suppose its time to provide some "stats. and money" figures......let me say I haven't done the best job with this part of the adventure, so it's kinda like "Kentucky Windage"....plus or minus this and that:

Horst Kelly photographer

Total Miles on Xterra..6070
Total miles on Casita...4500 + or - some
Gas expenditures..$1019.51
Camp Grounds..$603.29
Misc( food, oil change, photo stuff,  meals out, laundry, other sundry stuff)...$741.16
5 weeks on the road..but who's counting

Could I have done it cheaper...yup, especially on the Misc. stuff.....in addition, I put a lot of miles and gas  chasing the light..... would I have done it differently...probably not.....
Lessons learned...SLOW DOWN,  There was no reason to go from one location to another every 2 or 3 days....it did wear me down....especially with the numerous adrenalin highs...and then not allowing for down time in between....

Horst Kelly Photographer

The Journey was a fantastic experience....I find it difficult to describe the various emotions I experienced with each new area that I went through......maybe I should leave my lack of ability to convey my emotions with a quote from Ansel Adams:

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."

I think the quote "nails" the way I'm struggling with trying to find a way to verbally express my "Kodachrome Memories" that are cataloged in my mind...


Sound Bite memories.....
Smiling for the opportunity!!!;  poverty of a large part of the South West; Trains 1.5 miles long; large vastness of empty space; the beauty of different Natural Murals of Terrain in the area; the instant friends you make with the Camping/RV community; the lack of snakes I saw; the amazing sunrises; the crisp "morning air" of Colorado; the "palette" of the Colorado mountains in the fall;  number of "eclectic" towns; possible ET landing spots; number of towns with a population of 100 or less;  best hiking/exploring I have experienced; Sand Dunes in Colorado...wow;  Wolf Creek Pass....my personal speed bump and the SUPER out come;  Best "Petroglyphs" I have seen; wishing I had my "Grand Kids" with me; Smiling at a sunset....

Horst Kelly Photographer

I want to thank everyone that took the time to venture onto the journal....and especially for those that left a comment or two.....This trip was the most extensive one I have taken with the Casita, and it was also the one that gave me that John Denver "Rocky Mountain High".......I can't wait for the next one....thanks for stopping by!!!


I should have the photo's downloaded, sorted, darkroom stuff completed and posted on website within two weeks......