The last time I wrote to you was during our family trip to Maine. For those of you who didn’t read it, I will remind you that we have a motor coach and drove there and back. Google Maps says that from our storage facility near Boerne, to Freeport Maine is 2,233 miles. For us, that is at least a four-day trip up—and a four-day trip back.

            The weather was wonderful. The scenery was beautiful. And the people were great! In fact, they were almost as country as we are—with a slightly different accent. We really enjoyed the trip. So much so that it was hard to come back. Even so, by the time we got back, we were gone two days short of three weeks. By far the longest time we had ever been away from home.

            As it turns out, taking four days to get home was a blessing because the closer we got, the hotter it got! On our first night, we stopped at a nice RV park called Turning Stone RV Resort and Casino in Verona, New York. The trip to Verona took us through New Hampshire, a little bit of Massachusetts, Vermont and of course upstate New York. I highly recommend this route. Vermont and New Hampshire are stunning as well. I’m told the best time to go is in the fall to see the leaves turn. Which happens to be one our busiest times of the year, so I’ll settle for pictures.

            Day 2—we make it to Southern Kentucky. We have found that on a journey this long, we can have enough water on board, etc. to stay on the road for 2 days. So, every other day, we try to book an RV park so that we can hook up, dump our tanks and refill our freshwater reserves. On the other day, we boondock. We pull into a rest area, an empty parking lot, etc., turn on the generator and a/c’s, let out the slides and go to bed! What I won’t say is that there is a chain of stores all over America that we try to find along the way for two reasons. Number 1—their parking lots are big enough for us to get in and out of with ease. Which is good for another reason. They have just about anything and everything we need in terms of food, appliances, etc. You need a deck of cards to pass the time? You have a tv that goes on the fritz? They have you covered! But back to the trip. Kentucky is a pretty state as well. And the weather was pretty good. Upper 80’s for a high. Not too bad.

            Day 3—next stop was Nashville, Tennessee, where we stayed at a very nice RV park called the Elm Hill RV Resort. Situated on the shores of J Percy Priest Reservoir, you couldn’t ask for better views. It was gorgeous! But the temperatures were climbing fast! The high that afternoon was 94 degrees. And the a/c’s were beginning to work a little overtime.

            Day 4—we made it to Southern Arkansas and decided to make a stop at the Draggin’ M Ranch near El Dorado. Draggin’ M will be the location of the inaugural sale for the newly formed CDP Brangus Group on Nov. 15 & 16^th. I wanted to take a look at their plans for the sale facility and pens. It will be a very nice set up I must say. We also stopped because my mom and dad are up there for a few months helping out the crew there with the haying this summer. Now, weather wise, El Dorado has seen more than its fair share of rain this year, so they have plenty of ground moisture to not only grow grass but cook you with humidity. While it was only in the low 90’s, the humidity made you think it was 110!

            Day 5—the closer we get to home the hotter it gets! And the drier it gets too! When we left town on June 24^th, our yard was beautiful! On July 13^th, our back yard was burnt to a crisp! The hottest temperature was right here at home—107 degrees.

            Today is now Aug. 1^st. We have recorded temperatures above 100 degrees every day since we have returned. I know, it’s July and August. It’s supposed to be hot right? The problem is that the heats really started here in the middle of June—not the 1^st of July! Perhaps by the middle of August, we will see a break from the heat? Let’s hope so.